Band of Five Attributes (Re-Written)

The lightpost-turned-monster screamed in anger as it forced itself to look in the direction of the unseen attacker. Many ponies, including the mare it had tried to attack, fled screaming in terror, revealing the owner of the weapon and string to be a mare who was entirely purple in hue.

The monster snarled at her like an animal. “Yuuki!” It hissed before awkwardly galloping towards the alleyway in which the purple mare stood. She recalled her weapon before hurling it again, this time hitting the monster square in the face with it. It recoiled, standing on its impossibly thin hind legs, and screamed in pain. It then stomped its front hooves into the ground, looking like a long metal noodle in the process, and hissed once more at its assailant.

Yuuki wrapped her weapon around her hoof thanks to the string and stared intently at the beast. She heard another metal clanking sound behind her, and turned around to see a trash can with a pony’s face plastered onto its front, and two elongated legs serving as arms.

It snarled before using its legs like a cricket would, pouncing at the purple mare with such haste she had no time to react. It knocked her onto her side and pinned her head and ribs with its two only legs.

The lightpost drew close, its elongated form almost impossible to hold up on all four of its pathetically thin legs. It then reared up on its hind legs, towering over almost all else, and readied its front hooves to smash into its opponent.

“Freeze!” Called out a voice, causing the lightpost to revert to all fours and postpone its attack. It turned its long neck and small head side to side, looking for the owner of the voice. It then noticed a few half-dozen or so ponies, some with wings and some with horns and all clad in a blue uniform.

The ponies in uniform were carrying things under their wings, in their hooves, or in some kind of glowing aura that corresponded with their horns. Things like handcuffs, black sticks, and what looked like switchblade knives.

“What are these things?!” Cried one as he got closer to look at the lightpost and trashcan.

“I have no clue! Detain them, at once!” Yelled another one as his black stick levitated next to him.

“What of the mare?!” Shrieked a third as he readied a pair of handcuffs in his hooves.

“Take her in for questioning, but only after we deal with these freaks!” Called a fourth as he loaded a black stick into his mouth.

“I am not a freak!” The trashcan objected, jumping off of the purple mare it had pinned before approaching the ponies in uniform. It ran up to one that had a switchblade knife in a magic aura at a speed comparable to that of a pony running on all fours.

“What the?! How can something with two legs run so fast?!” Yodeled the pony the trashcan ran to, nearly jumping in surprise as it sprung up with a hoof ready to punch him. At that moment, a grey-and-purple blur whizzed around the trashcan two times before a string tightened and was pulled back, forcing the can to break its leg as it punched the concrete.

“I may be down, but I’m not out just yet!” Yuuki shouted, retracting her yoyo-ball hastily with an outstretched hoof. She was now trying to stand up using her other foreleg, but there were noticeable bruises on her left cheek and side.

“Get down! You have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into!” Cried a pony in uniform, who was rushing at the lightpost with his black beating stick hovering next to him as he ran. The lightpost swung its whole upper body before the pony could land a hit, causing said pony to then careen a ways in the air and land in another small crowd of accumulated ponies. The whole lot fell onto their backsides and bellies upon impact.

Yuuki forced herself into a sitting position, wincing as she then moved onto her wobbly legs. She turned her head to see that the lightpost was about to come crashing its forelegs down on her body. The mare ran out of the way, then around the monster quickly, utilizing her yoyo-ball in the process. The weapon wrapped around the hind legs of the monster and tied them to the lanky base.

The monster tripped, its whole body crashing down in that instant. It growled like an animal before forcing itself upright with its front limbs and dragging it’s now-useless lower quarters as it turned around to face the purple mare.

The monster roared again, but this wail sounded as if it were admitting defeat. It fell to the ground, and then vanished from the world. The trashcan had also disappeared without so much as a trace of it having existed, and the purple mare retracted her weapon before coiling it around her hoof.

She looked around, and all was silent as she did so. It was as if her mere presence stunned the ponies who witnessed the event to the core, the things she just pulled defying all forms of reason.

And then she laid eyes upon a pony in police garments standing right next to her, a serious glare present on his face. “I don’t know what else to do about this situation, but you are coming with me, miss.” He said.

“A-Am I under arrest?” She asked, pupils shrinking to tiny dots.

“Not quite. You will be taken in for questioning.” The pony answered, his expression unwavering.

“What in the great balls of fire am I to do?!” Was the thought that bounced about madly in the mare’s skull. “I’d seen a body or something like that hours ago...or was it minutes? Hell, was I even dreaming then? Should I tell him?”

“Is something on your mind?” Asked the pony, eyes widening just a bit.

“There’s...something…” Yuuki stammered nervously. “Come on already! Just tell him for crying out loud!”

“Well, what?” Asked the pony again.

“J-just follow me.” Yuuki stuttered before walking to the alley she came out of earlier ago. The other ponies in suits followed with looks of curiosity on their faces. She took a left, noticing the discarded trash cans, and then a right shortly thereafter. The ponies who she ushered soon found themselves asking questions only a deranged madman could answer.

There on the lightpost of the empty street beyond the alley was the body of a stallion clad in breathtaking gold armor, complete with helmet and horseshoes. His white coat had been stained in blood, and his body dangled uselessly under the head of the post, tied by the hooves in chains. Patches of muscle were evident even from a distance, indicating that he had been decaying for at least a few days.

“Who is stupid enough to string up a royal guard?!” Asked one pony as if he were in denial.

“I can’t be too sure, but I think I know who did it.” Hissed another, glaring at Yuuki as she turned to look at him.

“Poor bastard looks like he got strangled. By something thin.” Commented a third, also looking at the purple mare.

“I hope this doesn’t mean what I think it does…” Yuuki thought, sweat starting to form on her body again.

“And what she has happens to be a thin string.” Stated a fourth, also casting his glare on the mare.

Yuuki turned her whole body around and began backing away slowly.

“You are under arrest!” Cried a unicorn pony, his horn glowing with some freaky aura and brandishing a pair of handcuffs in a corresponding aura.

The mare turned around quickly and ran past the dumpster, taking a right onto the empty road which was really a bigger alley. The ponies in uniform followed, some not wasting a second as they took to the air on wings of feathers.

A total of seven ponies--three unicorns and four pegasi--suddenly sprung up in front of the purple mare, causing her to skid to a noisy halt on her hooves before she could crash into them. They all had no strange picture on their flanks, and they all had some kind of erratic scarring on their bodies. Whatever pelt, mane, and tail they may have had had either fallen out or had been plucked out from the roots. Two of the unicorns had red eyes, a pegasus had green eyes, and the others of the lot had varying shades of brown irises.

All of them stared at the purple mare intently, some smiling as they did. The ponies in uniform immediately stopped behind Yuuki and looked at the bald stallions.

“Well, well, lookie at what we have here. The mare from last night. And she got herself into some trouble with the cops.” Spoke one of the bald unicorns, poking Yuuki in the shoulder with his hoof. “Ya owe us big time.”

“O-owe you w-what?” Yuuki stammered nervously.

“I dunno how or what happened, not even why. All I know is you made a hole in the roof of our hideout.” Answered the stallion, his voice darkening as he spoke. “So, how’s about we make you a deal?”

Yuuki looked back between the police and the bald ponies for a moment before looking back at the unicorn who poked her. “And w-what happens i-if I d-don’t t-take the deal?” She asked.

“Ya ain’t got a choice, sweetheart. You carry out your end of the bargain whether ya want to or not.” Answered the stallion, whose horn began lighting up in a bright orange color.

It was then that the bald unicorns were jumped by the winged officers, and handcuffs wrapped around the hooves of the bald pegasi. Then, the wings of the baldies were chained against their bodies and the horns of those tackled by the pegasi found themselves with what could best be described as hats of metal. Pretty quickly, the bald ponies were pinned against walls and cuffed accordingly.

Some of the officers, mainly those who lacked horn and wing, looked at the purple mare reassuringly. The bald stallions were raising hell, shouting about how the alleged royal guard deserved his death because he crossed in their territory or something.

And then a decrepit building suddenly towered over the others with huge arms and a pony’s roaring head on top. It turned to the group in the alleys, growing a horn on its head in the process.

“Well, shit.” Yuuki hissed, shaking her head sadly as she looked at the sight. “I think we’re fucked.”