The room was well furnished, a dining table placed in the center, large enough to sit twenty or more individuals. Its rosy brown varnish shone in the light of the chandelier above, a big old thing with multifaceted crystal and gold trimmings. Paintings lined the walls, landscapes of almost unreal beauty in painstaking detail their only features – not a single figure adorned one of them. On the hardwood floor, a rug with various geometrical patterns woven of reds, browns, and yellows, tassels running along two of the edges. Windows lined one side of the room, placed at equal intervals between the artwork. The view outside was one of dirt and grime. A worn down cobblestone road, dirty and cracked, gave way to hard packed earth in places, moss and weeds sprouting from the corners. The houses across the street were ramshackle and run down, sagging boards draped loosely around rotten frames. Chipped paint would be a welcome sign among them, as only the aging wood showed. Grime coated what glass there was, most windows being boarded up or broken. The sheer amount of gray outside set a stark contrast with the warm orange interior of the room I stood in.
However, none of that was current focus. Next to me, that oh-so beautiful table was overturned, a stallion’s back half coming out from under it, and a red stain was visible on the carpet. One of the windows was broken, shards of glass littering the floor, some with specks of blood on them. Another stallion lay on the floor next to me, two bullet holes in his chest, his eyes rolled back in death. A sickly green glow emanated from ethereal chains crisscrossing in front of me, a snow white alicorn struggling within. Celestia’s entire body was bound and wrapped, runes of containment inscribed onto the magical bindings. Next to her, a dark grey aging unicorn, obviously male, was pressed up against the wall by my magic. His glossy black mane was ruffled and matted with sweat, and his green eyes bored into mine.
“I always suspected…” He croaked, coughing at the effort of producing words through the telekinetic field on his chest. A trickle of blood ran out of his nose, and one of his eyes was blackened and swollen, barely open.
“But you never acted.” I smirked. “But you always wondered, didn’t you? Wondered if one of Celestia’s own would go so deep? Lose themselves so much? You didn’t think so.”
I took a step forward. “You were right. Those tin men have their heads so far up their asses when it comes to honor. Not even the Night Guard. No, I’m neither. In fact, I’m not even an Equestrian citizen, not anymore. Isn’t that right, Auntie?”
Celestia whipped her head towards me, her jaw hanging open. I turned to her, whilst still keeping my magical grip on the revolver hovering in front of the dark stallion’s head. “Has it really already been two years? Well, you know what they say; time flies when you’re toppling a kingpin.”
“I won’t go on too much of a monologue, but I wanted to get a little satisfaction about this.” A sudden blow from me knocked the stallions head to the side, causing him to grunt in pain, spitting out a tooth and some blood. “But first things first.”
A shot rang out, the revolver kicking in my hold. The cry of pain put a grin on my face. The pony’s horn was now only a splintered, bloody stump. The chains dissipated, and the princess fell to the ground, groaning.
“Ever since I was banished and stripped of my title of ‘prince,’ I’ve been trying to rectify my past mistakes.” I said, gesturing with a hoof. “Make something of my life. Do something other than be a snobby brat with ego issues, you know what I mean. And when I came to Longsmouth, boy did I get an opportunity. And now, I’ve done it. Brought the famous ‘Dark Horse,’ horrible name by the way, to his knees.”
“Infiltration isn’t the term I would use. That implies I tried to be sneaky about it.” I scoffed. “It took me less than a week for your boys to count me as one of them. They really aren’t too bright, you know.”
“But that’s how you like it, don’t you? The only ones allowed to have brains are the ones that are loyal to you.” I chuckled. “Like good ole’ Silent. He was my favorite.”
“Fuck you.” The Dark Horse spat. Another blow snapped his head back again, his body slumping. He was still alive, judging by his breathing. I pulled the trigger once more, a splash of blood painting the wall behind him, his head sporting a hole. I released his body to the floor, landing heavily. His blood pooled silently, and his mouth hung open. I spat on the ground in front of him, lips curled in disgust.
“Blueblood?” Celestia rasped, barely lifting her head from the floor. I turned, and with earnest, ran over to the downed mare, putting a hoof to her lips. “Don’t talk. Drink this.”
I retrieved a bottle of blue liquid from my saddlebag, and, uncorking it, held it to the Sun Heralds lips. She drank slowly, color visibly returning to her mane, which had previously fallen limp. She gasped for air as she finished the potion, looking up into my eyes.
Now looking from a different angle, I could see once more the carnage, bodies and broken glass and blood everywhere. Two ponies in the golden armor of the Day Guard lay next to each other, one missing an entire hind leg. A pony with a broken neck had its head through the wall, its body hanging down. Two more corpses lay against was, bullet holes riddling them. As I watched, the chandelier fell from overhead, hitting the ground next to the table with a thud, shattering upon impact.
“So, Auntie, how’ve you been? I’m just peachy.” I deadpanned.
Author's Note
This is an idea that popped into my head a while back, and I'm going to just roll with it. This is gonna be a long one.
