Bad Company by Five Finger Death Punch

{{{{BLUE}}}}

I watched it all go downhill from the point that thing that had taken Twilight Sparkle into what I could only guess as a dream state where he could and probably did do horrible things to her. Made her see things that weren’t there, maybe even torture her. It was horrid to think about. Soon though, true to her word, Celestia showed up with dozens of guards and the look of death on her face. She was scared, and didn’t even try to hide it. Though, behind that fear, was pure malice. Something that I had rarely seen on the sun goddesses face. In all my years, I hadn’t seen it many times. That creature, whatever it was, knew Celestia and wanted her attention. Why though? Earlier, it didn’t want any attention. It didn’t want even Twilight to know and yet, here the creature was in the body of the murderer.

This did raise some questions for myself. Was Graymayne truly guilty of all the killings? Was he forced into it by this monster? I recalled seeing gaps earlier… but what could they have meant? Were they when the beast took over? My heart sank when I saw what was after each gap. Each one ending in the same, bloody way.

Everything was dead.

Every single pony, torn to pieces, blood matted everything, and the cold laughter of this monster echoed throughout the area. This thing, wasn’t just a monster, it was a genocidal demon. I tried to clear my head of the horrible images that I saw but no matter what I tried, those images were glued to my brain and may never be forgotten.

“Monster…” I heard Celestia speak up.

“Now, now, there’s no need for compliments. I try my very damnest.” The dark eyed pony replied sarcastically.

“You're supposed to be dead. The Ock Menn Ron destroyed you. I saw it with my own eyes. I saw you obliterated, reduced to nothing but ash and bones! There is no possible way that you’re-”

Before she could finish, the black eyed pony started chuckling. “You think a meager wizard such as Starswirl could destroy me? Please,” he waved his hoof--Graymayne’s hoof--lazily. “And, with a spell that I helped create? Now, I will admit, you had me beat. Nothing I could do but stand there and waste away under the blast. But, I am Sin my dear. You cannot destroy Sin,”

He took a step forward and was quickly met with force as the guards thrust their spears toward him opposingly. He looked at the spears, mildly amused before waving a hoof and the spears themselves began to disintegrate from their tip. After that, a pulse rang out and the guards were flung to the side, crashing to the floor in pained groans.

Pathetic excuse for guards. Always charging straight in, I thought

The dark pony, after removing Celestia’s guards, had created a straight path to her. Nothing stood in his way and he happily approached her. She gently set Twilight down, whom quickly backed away into the safety of her little group of friends, Fluttershy still by my side, making sure I was okay. Her quiet pleads only begged me to stay sitting and stop shuffling, even though, right now, Princess Celestia was in danger.

Celestia at the moment flared her wings and let her horn flow with a magical, golden aura. Her eyes showed nothing but intensity toward the beast in front of her. I had to do something, anything to halt his approach. I had to protect the Princess. It was my job… or, used to be my job. With that in mind, I tried to get up but was stopped by Fluttershy’s gentle hoof.

“W- What are you d- doing?” She asked as she pressed me back against the wall gently. The look in her eyes showed a fear that I couldn’t bring myself to push back. Those big blue eyes and the way they seemed to stare into the heart of any who came into eye contact with them. They were so kind, so full of love and affection. It hurt me more, knowing what I was about to do to her.

“The princess,” I said through light coughs, “needs my help.”

I slowly pushed Fluttershy away with my magic, my energy almost completely drained from me as I stood and slowly took a few steps toward them. Their arguing made it easier.

“Maybe not…” Celestia said, a small smile forming on her face. “But while you are trapped in that pony’s body, you are not Sin! Once he dies, you are gone for good as well!” Her horn glowed a bright golden color, and it caused Twilight and her friends to gasp.

“P-Princess? W-What are you doing?!” Twilight asked, a little panicked.

“I am getting rid of the evil inside of your brother, Twilight. Without it, Sin will cease to exist.”

“That’s not the way I *cough* see it,” I spoke up, standing almost between the monster possessing Graymayne and Celestia.

They both turned to me. “What is it you want this time Blue?” the monster growled. “Haven’t you ruined enough of my fun already?!”

My ears flicked at that and Celestia spoke up soon after. “Stay away from him! This is too dangerous for normal ponies! You all should leave right now!”

“And do what?” I asked Celestia. “Stand back and watch you kill a pony just to get rid of something?”

“K-Kill...?” Twilight and her friends said in unison, backing away from the three of us.

Celestia looked a little frantic. “O- Of course not! I’m just going to expel Sin from his body. In doing so, I- we will be rid of this monstrosity that should have been destroyed long ago!”

“You think I’m not prepared you sun sucking wench!” the monster roared at her. “You could throw any spell at me and all you’d be doing is delaying the inevitable,” he paused and looked at Twilight. “And harming the young stallion that I possess and whom also is the brother of your puny student. Just how awful would it be for her to see you try to kill her long-lost brother, hm? She’d be furious with you Celestia. She’d hate you forever. Wouldn’t you… little pet?”

Twilight remained silent and simply let her head dip down to avoid further attention.

“I’ll take that, as a ‘yes’.” he grinned before looking back in my direction. “Now move aside, I want this more than anything.” the creature growled.

“I’m afraid I cannot do that,” I replied, standing firm. “There’s a policy I follow. While I’m around, nopony dies. And I stick by that even in this situation.”

“Such heroic words from such a weak stallion. You should know that you stand no chance against me.” the creature replied coldly. “Just remember what happened in Grazil. Oh, that’s right, that wasn’t you, was it?”

I stopped then.”You know me… but I don’t know you…” I thought about that for a second before laughing a bit. “Oh, that makes things way easier for me.”

The monster raised an eyebrow at me before letting out a little chuckle. “Do tell, please, indulge me with your incompetence, Blue. Just know, that if you don’t move out of my way, I’ll force you.”

“Again, I cannot do that. But you are not the one I plan to stop with how ‘weak’ I am right now.” I turned to Celestia. “Sorry, princess, but I do not like your intent to kill.”

“Do you not understand the sincerity of the threat that stands behind you? Are you that blind?” She began to approach me. “Little pony, the monster behind you has done unspeakable things, and you plan to defend him?”

“Defend him? Oh, don’t flatter me, Celestia. I don’t defend someone guilty. Nor do I support the one who claims all of these awful things, when you’ve been driving him to do this. No, I am not defending him, and I won’t be defending you here either. I choose my own way of doing what is right, and this is the easiest way,” I sighed as I popped my neck a bit.

“Now, you can either stand down and let me take care of whatever is going on, or you can attempt to get through me. That is your choice right now.”

“Blue,” she pondered, “that is what the beast called you. I wonder, just how does he know you.”

I chuckled. “That is something I wish to know as well. He speaks as if we’ve met before, when I only know about him from earlier today. You might say it would be from earlier when I spoke my name in front of Graymayne, but no… he knows it from somewhere else. And that is one reason why I will not let you kill him.”

“Is that your only reason? Blue, please understand your actions. Please see reason. If I let that monster live any longer, then he will simply cause more and more pain and death among my little ponies that’s already been done,” she pleaded with a desperate look in her eyes.

I couldn’t help but stifle a laugh. I couldn’t believe that I had actually just heard that phrase, from her of all ponies.

“And what good will it do by murdering your student’s brother? Nothing. She will not forgive you. Because while you taught her, raised her and even made her even more powerful than any unicorn who’s trained with you, she has just gotten a brother she didn’t even know about back, and you’re willing to take it away because he’s become the vessel for a monster he never wanted! I am going to say it one more time. Stand down Celestia! This is not what is meant to be done!”

{{{{TWILIGHT SPARKLE}}}}

Just like that, Celestia, took a step back. She let out a sigh and then looked at me.

“Twilight, I’m sorry,” she said before returning her gaze to Blue. “Blue, I will allow you to go along with what you are planning, but if Va-Korum makes a single move that is against Twilight, her friends, you, or me… I will not hesitate to end him.”

“I wouldn’t want you too, Princess,” he gave her a gentle smile and a nod. “Twilight, would you mind stepping over here?”

I swallowed the lump in my throat and approached, never once taking my eyes off of Va-Korum, whom stood there looking bored as ever.

Once I was near, Blue leaned close and whispered into my ear. “You need to talk to Gray, get him to calm down. He’s still in there, and you can bring him back. I saw that earlier… you can do it.”

I looked at Va-Korum and then Blue. “You really think I can bring Graymayne back?” I whispered back. “He wasn’t completely possessed before…”

“Yes,” he replied. “Because no matter how possessed something is, there is still what is being possessed there. I cannot reach it myself, and only somepony like you, his sister, can bring him back. Talk to him. Don’t listen to what… ‘Va’ says. Graymayne is still there, and you can talk to him.”

I hesitantly nodded and turned to Va Korum, whom gave me a little smile. I took a small step toward him and as soon as I did, he growled. I wanted to take ten more steps back but I couldn’t, I couldn’t let this evil god control my brother. With that in mind, I took another step forward.

“Graymayne,” I spoke up. “Graymayne I know you’re in there. I need you to come back. I need you to fight back against this… thing that’s-”

“Shut your mouth little wench!” Va-Korum shouted. “You think that just meager words are going to give your brother control? Don’t make me laugh,” he grinned and scanned the room. “Do you think this is a story book!?”

I ignored the demon and continued. “Graymayne, from what I’ve seen. You're strong, you're brave, you’re… arrogant but you know what you want. You want freedom from this monster. I want to help you. Please, fight against it. Come back to us.”

Va-Korum burst out in laughter and looked at Blue. “This is your plan!? Your brilliant plan? To have this pathetic pony try and break her brother out? This is hilarious!”

“Shut up!” I screamed at Va-Korum. “Graymayne! You’re in there and I know it! Fight back! Be that stallion that I met in the field! The same stallion that tried to kill the princess! Fight back against Sin! I know you can!”

Va-Korum’s eye twitched and he growled. “Did you just tell me to ‘shut up’? Little pet,” he took a step forward and I took a step back. In that instant, I heard another horn light up and when I turned my head, Celestia was prepared to attack. “I’ll have you know that I, Va-Korum, God of Sins, do not take lightly to being commanded by little, impudent swine such as-”

Then he stopped.

He coughed a bit and when he had caught his breath, his coughing became more erratic and violent. He turned and grabbed his throat, and soon began to beat on his head maliciously. Whatever he was doing, he continued but this time, taking it to banging his head against the bookshelves nearby.

“No, no, no, no, NO! You cannot come out now! I have you! You are mine! Your soul, your body, your mind! Mine! Mine! MINE!” Va-Korum shouted out angrily. He screeched out loud and roared into the open air around him. The loud bellow echoed throughout the library and possibly out and around Ponyville as well.

As he roared, his eyes began to shift from black to green and then to white, before starting it over again. He looked at me angrily before his eyes widened. “E- E- Element bearer… Sister… Force to be… reckoned with,” His eyes shifted to the form of Blue. “You… knew…”

He hissed before trying to lunge at me but something held him back. One of his fore hooves-- My brother’s fore hoof-- punched him repeatedly across the face and Va-Korum growled before biting the hoof down hard. Digging his sharp teeth into the hoof but then a second hoof began to beat on his head. Va-Korum collapsed to the ground and growled before looking directly at me with the most hateful glare I had ever received. A glare that made my heart stop and my blood freeze.

It was then, that his eyes shut and he clutched them tightly in his hooves. “Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you!”

“Graymayne?” I asked, hearing the vulgar language that my brother usually spouted out.

“Should have killed you… when I had the chance…” I heard the voice of Va-Korum hiss before being overpowered by something else.

And just like that, he stood up and ran at the wall before violently colliding with it and falling onto the floor limply. A chill ran across him and he slowly began to shift on the floor. The bitten fore hoof moved and planted itself against the the ground before pushing up as best it could, followed by his other fore hoof which helped push him up.

“G- Graymayne?” I asked again.

The pony in front of me let out a long sigh and went to turn his head. When he did, the eyes that were there brought a sense of relief to me. Those icy blue irises that belonged to my brother. A small grin splayed itself on his face and when he tried to turn completely, he collapsed to the floor with pained groans.

Before I could move to his aid, Celestia shouted. “Guards! Restrain him!” The guards that had been knocked down earlier had gotten up and charged at Graymayne, the intent to use all their will to hold him down in their eyes.

“No!” I shouted, fearful of what would happen if I were to lose him again, or worse, he released that monster again.

Right before they were grabbed, everything around me froze. The guards were frozen in midair, my friends all had the same shocked looks on their faces. Even Celestia was frozen, pointing her hoof at Graymayne. All sounds around me had stopped, as if the world then felt still.

A voice to my right sighed. “Honestly, and I thought I could get away with doing nothing at all for my lack of energy.”

I turned to the voice, seeing Blue sitting on his haunches and rubbing his head. “That takes a lot of magic too… I’m surprised I had it in me.”

“Blue?” I spoke. Unsure of what was going on, I asked, “What happened…? Why is everypony else frozen?”

“First off, they are not frozen,” he said. “Time around us is.”

“Time? Time is frozen...? That’s impossible, isn’t it? Only Starswirl the Bearded had that sort of power to control time, and even it wasn’t too great.”

“Well, you can either accept the words I’m giving you, or you can choose not to. I just gave you the best reason to what is going on.”

I staggered for a bit. “W-Who are you really...? You’ve done the impossible… Three times now. You move too fast without teleporting… you manage to stop time, and most of all, you stood up to the Princess.”

He only gave a quick laugh. “You call those impossible? Coming from the bookworm, the sister of both an assassin and the captain of the royal guard, Celestia’s student Herself, and egghead extraordinaire, you call those feats impossible.”

I stared at him. “Well… how would you explain them?”

“Moving too fast was another spell I cast. It makes the world seem to move slower for me. I see everything that is going to happen in a sort of slow-motion effect. Its another time spell, and kept me moving at a normal pace. It could also be called a ‘speed up’ spell, seeing as how it made me fast for all of you to see. As for stopping time, it’s also magic. It’s a much more difficult version of that spell, one which makes the world move even slower than before. But since the world moves at the slowest pace possible, it would just be better to call time frozen. You’d have to wait for days in here, nothing going on and unable to do anything just to see the guards move maybe another two inches toward Graymayne.”

I thought about that for a bit. Starswirls’ spells I once heard about did mention having special properties over time, slowing down and speeding things up. But that magic couldn’t be achieved, and needed a constant effort to keep it going. I looked to Blue’s horn, which was glowing still, probably to keep the time spell going.

“But… what about the way you spoke to Celestia? Why? She’s the Princess of all Equestria… why would you withstand her judgement, and… say things in such awful tones to her? She’s everypony’s princess…”

Blue sighed and looked all around him. “Have you ever wondered what really needs to be done every once in awhile? Each day is filled with something different, something new. You get to see some awesome beauty every now and again, and it’s a wonderful sight to see.”

He looked directly into my eyes. “Now what do you think death does?” I froze at that question, and he continued. “Death takes that ‘new’ away. It takes away the ability to see. That ability to hear, to smell, to taste, to feel. All of that contribute to the feeling of something ‘new’. Without those, there would be nothing. Death takes everything in the exchange for nothing. It gives pain to those who have to live through seeing and watching the death. It makes others mourn, and question about life. Some even feel that, if they lose their best friend to death, they think that they’ll only be happy again with them. One death can lead to two, and then to five, or twelve, and sometimes even leading much further than that. It makes everything horrible and everything different.”

I was too shocked to say anything, and Blue seemed to get a look in his eyes as he stared at the ground. “And sometimes, death is just a game to them. Those who kill.... and enjoy that feeling, no less, think that killing is just a game… a sport to enjoy. A way to get another bit of ‘excitement’ and ‘new’ out of life. It turns them into monsters, worse than Graymayne even. It makes them willing to do things because they cannot find the enjoyment in the little things anymore. It creates wars, chaos, destruction, and even worse, loss of friendship.”

I gulped.

“I cannot stand killing… or the thought of doing it for fun. I have refused all my life to do it, even to those I thought deserved it. There are sick, twisted and downright murderers out there. But if for one second, there’s that moment where you might be forced into a situation like that. ‘Kill or be killed’. The thought of losing your own life becomes your entire world, and you make the choice right then.”

“That’s probably what’s happened to Graymayne all these years. He’s been thrown into that situation many times. Not always because he would want to. He has to kill to cling to his own life, and when it’s about to be killed, the monster is released and destroys everypony and everything around it. Nothing left to see. It’s awful to look at… to have to bear.”

“What do you think would happen if these guards reach Graymayne? What would have happened if Va-Korum, as you all call him, had been attacked? Destruction. Death. You all would be caught in the middle of it too. It’s unbearable to see that happen, and it’s why I stepped up. Stopped the fighting from breaking out. I gave the third option, the option to let everything go peacefully. I had to speak to Celestia that way. She’s not the princess you thought she was… the look in her eyes says it all. She despises what is in Graymayne, and because of that, she hates him too, because he has also killed.”

“B-But… She m-might have won! G-Gotten rid of that monster!” I spoke up, barely breathing from what I had heard.

Blue shook his head. “Whatever is in Graymayne has almost fused with him. Not entirely one, but definitely two separate beings within a singular body. It’s caused it so that it would be nearly impossible to just take one out by itself. In order to ‘get rid of the monster’, as you say, you would have to kill Graymayne as well. And with that look to kill in Celestia’s eyes… she wouldn’t have cared if he died or not.”

I took about two steps back before falling to my haunches. This was all too much… it was awful… death and destruction… I thought that hearing about it alone was bad, but this… it was much worse. Blue spoke as if he’d been there first hoof to experience that, and his voice spoke every word with a true meaning.

“I know it’s a lot to take in, Twilight,” Blue said, walking closer to me. But there is something you must remember in all of this.”

I turned to him and stared into his blue eyes. “W-What...?”

“That there is still beauty to be found. ‘Kill or be killed’ can be averted with the right choices. For if there is a way to show somepony… anypony some mercy, then you choose that option. You may have to do the violence route if there is no mercy to be shown in order to force them to see the mercy option, then so be it. But all being said, there is always a better way to go about it all. And it only takes the right mind to find it.”

All at once, my heart felt lifted again. I was amazed by what was said. He knew that the world is rotten sometimes, and some ponies don’t bother seeing the good in it. But he knows how to find it for them. He looked at me with a smile. “Does that answer your question?”

I nodded slowly.

“Very well.” He nodded once and then turned to the guards. “Back to Canterlot for you bunch. It’s time Celestia here got something straight.” He tapped his glowing horn to their heads and they soon vanished in a quick flash. Long distance teleportation, as I recognized it.

“What are you going to do?” I asked him. He wobbled a bit on his hooves.

“Me..? I’ll try to talk some sense into Celestia… but, no matter what happens… he can’t be taken by her. Don’t…” he panted, “let that happen.”

As soon as he finished his last words, his horn stopped glowing and the world became loud again.

{{{{GRAYMAYNE}}}}

“Oh… fuck. Fuck… fuck… fuck…” I clenched my eyes tight as I heard the solar bitch yell it and in came the raging guards ready to tie me down again and drag me back to Canterlot, again. Where I would probably end up spending the rest of my days. That, or the fucking cunt was going to kill me now that she knew Va-Korum was alive. Well, to hell with it! If she thinks I’m just gonna sit here and get tied up with chains and ropes, and not fight back, she’s fucking wrong! I’ll take her fucking head now!

And just like that, I quickly sent out a burst of magic and turned. Swords piecing themselves together in ethereal magic and dark fragments. When my eyes rested on what was there, I stopped.

No guards.

Only Twilight’s friends who just stood there looking at Celestia who’s horn glowed furiously. Off to the side, I saw Twilight staring at me before turning her gaze to the crazed sun bitch. Next to her, Blue had fallen over and looked completely drained.

An easy kill if I can get past… I stopped, remembering that there were no guards. Real easy. Just gotta worry about her... I thought about Celestia for that second who began her approach.

Beside Celestia, a golden war axe was summoned and poised to strike. The look in her eyes said it all. Kill. Sadly, those eyes were trained on me, or maybe they were trained on Va-Korum. The fucker almost did kill the pony race… and is probably the-

I was interrupted when my throat was gripped in a golden aura and I was thrown against the bookshelves.

“I will not allow this to continue! Va-Korum was supposed to die long ago, and never return! I don’t know how Discord did it, I don’t care for how he did it, all I know is that it ends here!” Celestia screamed and raised the war axe over my head.

There was truly nothing I could do, each and every time I gained my body back from Va-Korum, I felt drained. Vulnerable to whatever was around me and an easy target to those who survived the Sinful God’s murderous rampage. Yet, it was extremely rare that somepony ever did survive. Though, this time, there was nothing. No blood caked the walls, no bodies torn apart around me, no taste of… flesh in my mouth. All that was there, was the sun Princess and her intent to kill me. I started up my horn again, hoping for any kind of magic to burst forth and save me but nothing happened. I looked up into the eyes of Celestia, those hate filled eyes that only saw the monster that I harbored deep inside my head.

“Now, die you sinful creature!” she screamed.

“PRINCESS CELESTIA!”

Upon hearing her name, Celestia ceased her attack and looked behind her. I followed her gaze to see Twilight standing there with a look of determination in her eyes. She took a step forward and continued on. Behind her, the others --excluding Rarity who was still in the hospital probably-- tried to stop her but were silenced when Twilight looked at them and whispered something. Her eyes turned back to Celestia with a hint of anger in her eyes and the rest was pure will.

“Twilight, you must understand. I’m doing this for all-”

“No!” Celestia was harshly interrupted. “This isn’t right at all! Blue was right about what he said. If you… ‘kill’ Sin. You’ll also be ‘killing’ Graymayne. Sin is fused to Graymayne’s mind and his life. I know you princess, I know you want to do whatever it takes to keep Equestria and all of ponykind safe. I know you have good intentions and I can’t agree more that Sin needs to be destroyed but this… this is not the way to do it. No more ponies need to die.”

She took a step forward and I realized that the battle axe near me was beginning to slowly dissipate into small bits of golden dust. The particles floated into the air before completely vanishing.

“I failed you, I understand that. You told me, never to give him his horn. I did. That was my mistake but do you know what he did…?” she looked at me with a genuine, soft smile. “He saved Fluttershy and me. From creatures that wanted to turn us into their meal. He did… what Discord raised him to do and… ‘killed’. He even saved Rarity from her home that caught on fire,” she said, turning her gaze back to Celestia.

“He’s saved lives, while ‘Va-Korum’ would have let them die. He’s not a monster but a pony that desperately needs our help.” Twilight took this moment to let her horn glow its gentle lavender color and the golden aura around my throat dissipated.

When I felt my hooves meet the wooden floor, I carefully stood up not trying to make any sudden movements. Celestia’s eyes were trained on Twilight but her magic and real focus was on me. Any move I made was taken as a major threat level in her eyes, every breath, every twitch, every single nerve in my body. I was --to my own dismay-- scared shittless at the moment. I knew there was no way of defending myself right now and it scared me. I knew that in one fell swoop, Celestia could take my head out of rage and fear. Va-Korum had told me some of his stories of old. His battles with the ponies, the countless massacres he had caused. Did he ever have regret for his horrendous actions? He told me, and I quote…

His only regret, was not killing more of them…

That always sent chills down my spine. Knowing that he’d taken more lives than anything in this world. If anything, he was Sin but he was also a blood god. Fueled by pure bloodlust, a knack for killing everything around him whenever he felt like it. When I was younger, I had these urges too. To my own horror, I always thought what it would look like to have Discord’s soldiers hanging from my bedroom ceiling. I expressed these concerns to Discord, but he only called them minor side effects from the potions transfusion. If I had known that the black fluid that Discord gave me was the essence of Sin itself, I wouldn’t have drank it. If I had known that this… fluid was going to be responsible for the death of Gunner and so many other ponies… I wouldn’t have drank it.

I remembered the weeks following my decent into an utter hell. I remember the hallucinations of deceased ponies that walked through the halls of our hideout. The ponies that I had murdered all shouting and screaming at nothing. I saw the ways they had died still on their bodies. From lacerations, to decapitations, to fire… they were all there. Each one gave me the same blank look as blood gushed from their open wounds. I remember staying awake night after night, as my dreams became nothing but bloody nightmares. It brought me to the near breaking point. I thought that I had lost my mind, that I had gone completely crazy. I begged for the voices in my head to stop screaming at me day after day but they only got louder with each cry that came from me. After weeks of torment… they stopped and finally, I met him. I came face to face with Sin.

I don’t recall exactly how it went. But he made everything seem… different… better back then. He told me of all the glories that came with my training. He told me that what I had been given was a gift from long ago and that I should feel proud to bear such an abomination. The worst part… was that I believed him. I took a liking to his power, to his crave for blood and killing. He brought me a whole new art of murder. I didn’t just slit the throats of ponies, I’d cut open their stomachs and I’d… I’d… hang them by their entrails, in the streets, for all the passing ponies to see. Instead of decapitations, I ripped their limbs off with brute force and beat them with said limbs. I was some sick psychopath.

It wasn’t until I had grown older that I realized all that I had been doing was driving me further down the road to insanity. I was letting Va-Korum drive me over the edge and I knew that if I continued to let him do it, I wouldn’t come back alive. So, from there, I stopped him. I refused to let him out and since then, he’s tried hard to break the mental chains I put on him. I can’t recall the amount of times he’s broken those chains…

“Twilight, I don’t want you getting harmed. I won’t ‘kill’ your brother, but I will be taking him back to Canterlot for further evaluation. I refuse to allow him to stay in your care while Va-Korum is in his head.” Celestia said. I found a golden aura wrap around my body and hold me tightly.

“Wait!” Twilight shouted again.”You can’t take him! He’s my brother! I won’t let you!”

The Princess’s eyes widened. “Twilight! He may be your brother but he is a murderer and is bearing Sin!”

“That doesn’t matter to me! We are all bearing a bit of “Sin” in ourselves, aren’t we? It is no different is he bears the entity or even a piece of him! Even you have Sin in you, Princess!”

The Princess looked shocked at her student. “Twilight…”

“Don’t! You know you do! Don’t say that you're so innocent! Nopony is completely-”

“Twilight... “ I spoke up. “Please... stop.”

They both looked at me, Twilight was on the verge of tears and Celestia had a look of shock imbedded on her face.

“No Graymayne! I’m not stopping! She can’t do this! You were already taken away once and I won’t let it happen again!” She yelled at me. “I won’t let you live the life of ‘kill or be killed’ any longer! I won’t let her try to remove Va-Korum if it means killing you!” Fresh tears flowed down her cheeks. “I don’t care if some horrible thing is buried in your head! You are my brother! We’ll figure it out… as a family.”

I looked at her, almost heartbroken. ‘As a family…’ That’s what she said. She didn’t care that I was a monster…. she wanted me to stay. She wanted to be a family and here Celestia was, trying to keep it from happening.

Twilight looked at Celestia, her tear filled eyes glaring at her. “Now, put him down.”

Celestia looked back to Twilight whose gaze never wavered for a second. Soon, I felt myself released and gently set onto the ground. With that, Celestia turned her gaze to the other girls who watched in disbelief at the scene that played out before them. Twilight watched as Celestia turned back to meet her harsh gaze.

“Now, please leave.” Twilight demanded.

Celestia twitched there, her eyes showed an utter shock and sadness that nothing that I would have expected from her. She nodded shortly before turning toward the door and trotting rather slowly over to it. All eyes were on her at this moment, each pair studying her every move. Once she reached the door, it’s handle glowed with a soft golden aura.

“Twilight…” Celestia spoke up, without even turning to look at her.

“I asked you to leave.” Twilight replied coldly.

“I know… I know. I just have one question.” She turned back to look at Twilight and me. The shock and disbelief was gone, and replaced with one utter sincerity but in her eyes, nothing but hatred and malice. “When the monsters comes back out, what will you do then?”

Twilight never once turned her head, her form never shuddered and remained there, strong and independent. “Just like I said before. We’ll figure it out as a family.”

Just like that, Celestia opened the door and with a deep sigh and walked through before closing it gently on her way out. There was a flash of light signaling that she had teleported away. Probably back to Canterlot where she would either start working on a way to remove Va-Korum or something…

I swallowed the lump in my throat and looked to Twilight who sat there quietly. Slowly, I approached and sat in front of her, watching as tears dripped from her cheeks and onto the floor. I couldn’t help but feel guilty for this. All of this was my fault and Twilight had just pushed her own mentor away and stood up for me. A stallion who's done nothing but cause pain and death in his life.

“Twilight… I’m sorry.” I looked at her saddened. “Why didn’t you just let her take-”

“Because Graymayne,” she looked up and straight into my eyes. “There’s no telling what she would have done to you. She didn’t care whether you’re my brother or not. She would do anything to kill Sin, even if it means killing you,” she looked over to the unconscious form of Blue that laid motionless next to some bookshelves. “The look in her eyes and that stallion were enough to convince me…”

I looked at Blue with a bit of curiosity, just what did he do, or say, to make Twilight do what she did. It puzzled me, why would he stick his neck out for me? The stallion who tried to murder his friend. I didn’t understand this at all and began compiling a small list of questions to ask the strange pony when he woke up. My thoughts were interrupted when I felt a tight squeeze around my fore-legs and body. Twilight had pulled me into a tight embrace.

“You aren’t alone Graymayne. I promise, to do whatever I can to help you free yourself.”

I played along for now and hugged her back. She didn’t know that the only reason that I ever put up with Va-Korum was to kill Celestia. I wanted to be the one to kill her, but Va-Korum was an alternative if I wasn’t up to the challenge of taking on the almighty sun goddess. I’ve always hated Va-Korum, but in some ways, we were similar.

Family that had been killed off.

Burning desire for revenge.

And a common enemy.

I remember when we talked in all sincerity for the first time. He told me everything about the Draconequus race and how Celestia, along with the help of Luna and the traitor Aria Draconequus of Love, brought it all crashing down. The final battle that concluded with Va-Korum’s downfall and near obliteration. If it weren’t for Discord who just so happened to find even the smallest bit of Sin’s essence so many years later, Va-Korum would have been forgotten and replaced with a history of lies.

I did understand why Celestia would do such a thing though. She wanted to world to forget about the cruelty and endless bloodshed that Va-Korum along with his brother and servant, Orlog, had caused. They were the most hated and feared things in their time.

I pulled back from the hug and looked at Blue again. “What did he say to you…?”

She followed my eyes to the unconscious stallion that laid there. “He said a lot, Graymayne. I think it’s best that you two have a talk later…”

“Sure…” I groaned a bit and was prepared to turn and walk over to him but Twilight stopped me and looked me dead in the eyes. “What?”

“Your horn.”

“Fuck…”

“Watch your language.” Twilight said with a soft sigh. Her horn began to flow and soon enough, my horn was gone again. The black crystal fell to the floor with a clink and remained still until a lavender aura picked it up before vanishing. She then turned to her friends, who each stared at us with the same shocked expressions.

“Girls, I don’t mean to be rude but could you leave. We,” she placed one hoof on my shoulder. “Have a lot of stuff to talk about…”

Almost immediately, Rainbow blurted out. “No way! Did you see all of that?! I mean, what was that?”

Fluttershy’s voice softly spoke up just barely loud enough for me to hear. “I-I-I’ve n-ever s-seen C-Celestia like that…”

“That was so cool, standing up to your own teacher like that!” Pinkie shouted in her usual bubbly attitude.

I think I like you just a bit more Pinkie… I thought to myself.

Applejack was the next to speak. “Sugarcube… are ya sure yer alright?”

Twilight walked forward after that and gave her friends a soft smile. “I’m going to be fine AJ, really. We just have some issues that need to be solved.”

“But… did you not just see that Twi!? Your brother just… changed!” Dash blurted out again. “We can’t just leave you alone with that- that- thing!”

“Dash has a point Twi. I don’t think it’s a good idea that we leave you here alone with… your brother and the other stallion.” AJ looked over at me with a little worried expression.

I simply raised an eyebrow at her and groaned before taking a seat. “Hey Applejack, why don’t you just let us handle this. Clearly, Twilight knows something that I don’t and from what we all saw, she was able to break Va-Korum’s grip on me with just a few words.”

“Shut your mouth you bucking thing!” Dash yelled.

“Kiss my flank, you dyke.” I replied.

“Why I outta!” Dash was prepared to lunge but was quickly stopped by Applejack. “When I get the chance, I’m gonna break that muzzle of yours!”

“Would love to see you try!”

“Both of you! Shut up!” Twilight yelled. At that moment all went silent and the only thing heard was Blue’s pained groan. “Dash! Don’t say another word. Graymayne! Stop antagonizing her and apologize!”

I looked at Twilight whose gaze only seemed to burn into my conscious and with a rough sigh. “Sorry, Dash.”

Before she could reply, Applejack hushed her and with an irritated growl, she crossed her hooves and sat there. Twilight nodded to me and then looked back at her friends.

“I don’t want you all to worry. I assure you that I’m going to be okay,” she said with a bright smile. “Blue is going to be okay. Same with Graymayne.”

“Who’s Blue..?” Applejack questioned.

“It’s not a long story but still a story that I’m still trying to understand,” Twilight replied.

“Just leave it to us Applejack. I assure you that I’ll keep the big, bad monster back,” I reassured with a little grin.

“Then why do ah get the feelin’ that’s a lie?” Applejack retorted.

“What happened to that ‘trust’ you had for me?” I replied. “Don’t worry… as long as Twilight’s there, I’ll be fine.”

Twilight looked between them. “If you girls want, you all can come over tomorrow morning to check on us. It would be nice to put this day behind us.”

“Oh my god! I gotta throw the big, bad monster a PARTY!” Pinkie exclaimed before leaping up and bolting out the door.

We all watched as the door flung open and then slammed shut and where Pinkie was previously, now was a dust cloud in her exact shape that poofed into nothing. I heard a light chuckle in my head before all went silent again.

“Should I ask?”

“Nope!” they all replied.

“Alright Twi, the others and ah will show up tomorrow mornin’ to check up on you three. Ya know how early ah’m up in the mornin’. Ah expect ta see you answerin’ the door. If ah don’t get an answer, ah’m chargin’ in,” She turned her eyes toward me and with a huff, said, “An’ yer the first ah’m comin’ for.”

I chuckled a little. “Is that a threat? Because you could do a lot better.”

She narrowed her eyes toward me before turning and making her way toward the door with Fluttershy in tow. Rainbow Dash stood there, fidgeting her hooves. Her magenta eyes glued to me like a predator finally finding its prey.

“Hey Dashie,” I smirked. She furrowed her brow at the mention of her pet name. “You keep staring at me, and I’m gonna think that you like me. Is that true?”

On response she gasped and with an angry snarl, flew her way toward the door where she exited along with the others.

“Was that really necessary?” Twilight asked me.

“I have no regrets.” I turned my head from her.

{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

Later that evening, the house was silent beside the heavy snoring from Blue who had been moved to the couch for now. We still didn’t have a place for him to rest yet and were currently contemplating about him sleeping in the living room. Twilight objected and said that he could spend the night in her room with her and that he would be on the floor. I quickly objected to that. For my own reasons. I’m not letting some pony that I personally despise with all my being sleep in the same room as my sister. Not. Fucking. Happening.

“Well, where should we put him then, hm?” she questioned.

“I don’t know! Make him sleep outside for all I care.” I replied

“Well then, it looks like you’ll just have to share a room with him.”

“Fuck that!”

“Well, there aren’t any other options! And watch your language! I’m about ready to start smacking you.”

I grumbled. “Well, it’s not like he can have my bed…”

Twilight looked at me and smiled. We exchanged looks for just a moment.

“No.”

“Well that’s our only other option. You get to sleep in my room and he can sleep in your room.”

“Ffffffuuuu-” before I could finish, I received a swat to the head.

“No more swearing.”

I groaned and looked at Blue. “Fine... “

With that decided, Twilight walked over to Blue’s unconscious form and in an instant, he was taken in her lavender aura and she brought him downstairs and into the guest room. Once she returned, I raised an eyebrow and she pointed her hoof up to her bedroom.

“Sure, sure. I’m going.” I went ahead and climbed the stairs and through the door.

Twilight turned out any lights downstairs and followed behind me. She pulled out extra blankets and a spare pillow from the nearby closet. She laid them out on the floor for me and after some adjustments of my own, I was lying down and trying to ignore the hard floor.

“Graymayne…”

“What?”

“When were you going to tell us about Va-Korum?”

“I wasn’t”

“Why? Did you want to put everypony in danger?”

“No Twilight. I wasn’t trying to put everypony in danger.”

“Then what were you trying to do?” Twilight turned over on her bed

“I don’t want to talk about this right now Twilight. Please.” I turned away from her and pulled the blanket up and over my head.

Just when i thought I could go to sleep, the blanket was warped away and I let out a groan.

“I said we were going to talk, Graymayne. I wasn’t lying.”

“You wanna talk, Twilight? Fine. Fine!” I growled and turned to her. “Let’s talk about how I’ve had to deal with a fucking demon in my head for the past six years. Let’s talk about how every goddamn night, I’m forced to listen to all the voices of ponies that he’s killed. Let’s talk about how I found my brother and sister, relieved but still scared of what you both would think when they find out that their brother is the fucking vessel of some goddamn Sin god!”

I huffed and turned back around to lay down.

“Twilight. I’m not about to tell you my sob story. For one, it makes me look pathetic and two, it makes me look like a victim. If there is one thing that I’ve learned in my life, it’s that there are no victims. Only those who act.”

“Graymayne…” Twilight gave out a deep sigh. “In this predicament, you are a victim and it’s okay to accept that.”

“I’m no victim, Twilight. I’m just another stallion who- quoting Applejack- ‘got played a bad set of cards’. I play those cards to the best of my ability and see where they get me. Looking at the place around me, they seem to have been somewhat good, and somewhat a pain in the flank.” I let out and closed my eyes. “Now, goodnight Twilight.”

“Wait, we aren’t done here. I still wanna-”

“Goodnight Twilight.” I exclaimed with a low growl.

After an annoyed groan, she turned over and pulled her blanket over her. I lied there, and reached for-

“Um… Twilight?”

“You said goodnight. What is it?”

“Can I get that blanket back?”

Author's Note

Well, another chapter. Hope you guys enjoyed and Happy New Year, Merry Christmas, yadda yadda. Leave a comment if you want. Take care everybody.

Next chapter... Blue's Nightmare. I'm gonna have fun with this.