A Dark Sky

Stratus had just gotten into his room when a blue blur slammed into his bed, throwing the blankets to the ceiling.

Stratus sighed. "Blitz. Why are you in my bed?"

Blitz rolled over in Stratus's bed, facing him. "I wanna talk to you."

Stratus was intrigued. Blitz rarely wanted to talk to anypony. "And why is that, Blitz?"

Blitz gazed into Stratus's eyes, her face filled with longing. "Because I'm in love with you."

Stratus was caught completely off guard. He couldn't think of anything specific he had done to earn the filly's favor. He wasn't particularly fond of her, either. But he wasn't about to create emotional tension before a big mission. Finally he managed to stammer out, "Really?"

Blitz rolled off the bed, roaring with laughter. "Of course not! You're not a filly!" She finally regained some control over herself and said, "Nightshade wanted me to ask you if you'd be able to kill ponies tomorrow."

Stratus scoffed. "She knows I won't."

Blitz rolled over on the floor, facing Stratus belly-up. "Why?"

Stratus responded, "I don't kill."

"Why?"

"It's a vow I made back when I was an enforcer."

"Why?"

Stratus put a hoof to his forehead, sighing. "I never told you about my days as an enforcer?"

Blitz shook her head, causing a massive static buildup on the carpet.

Stratus breathed deeply. "Alright then. Here goes…"

***

Stratus was on top of the world. The young, strong pegasus had achieved his dream. He had been accepted as a trainee for the enforcer program in Manehatten. The training alone was near deadly. Most applicants quit. Stratus was not one of these. The colt excelled at training and quickly worked his way up. While some of his graduating class mates were still grunts, answering petty calls like disorderly drunks, Stratus had gained the rank of responder, second division. The only ponies he answered to were first division responders and the district director. When assignments called for it he would have to answer to peacekeepers, the roaming bounty hunters of Equestria.

Stratus's parents were jubilant at his success. The night he made the rank of sergeant second division they took him to a local restaurant to celebrate. His favorite cousin decided to tag along. As the family sat around the table, Stratus noticed his younger cousin seemed distant.

"Hey, Spacey, what's up?"

The young colt, only fifteen years of age, pushed his food around on his plate. He didn't look up.

Stratus's mother gently nudged him. "Astro, dear, Stratus is talking to you."

The thin pony looked up. He was scrawny. Not exactly frail, but definitely not built like Stratus. He was a shut in and a daydreamer, more concerned with the stars in the sky than the world beneath his hooves. This earned him his cutie mark, a telescope, as well as his nickname, Spacey. Spacey turned to Stratus. "What'd ya say, cuz?"

Stratus laughed as he answered, "I was asking if you're alright, airhead. You don't seem to be on this planet tonight", he teased gently.

Spacey smiled. "Oh, yeah. There's supposed to be a killer meteor shower in a few nights." Spacey turned to his aunt. "Hey, I'll be back, I gotta go." With this, he left the table.

As Spacey left the room, Stratus's mother moved closer to her son. "Stratus, there's something wrong with Astro. His mother tells me he's been hanging out with the wrong crowd lately."

Stratus was suddenly intrigued. "That's not like him at all. Does she know anything about them, the ponies he's hanging around with?"

"Apparently he's been made an errand boy for one of them. The ring leader of the little group is… Handsaw? No, Hammer, I believe. Astro's mother thinks they have him delivering drugs for their gang. She wants you to talk to him about it. You're closer to him than any of us have managed to get, she thinks maybe he'll open up to you."

Stratus nodded. "I'll see what I can do."

Outside, Stratus caught his cousin buy surprise.

"Hammer? Really? You're running around with Hammer now?"

Spacey was cornered. "Cuz, it's not like that!"

Stratus shot him a look. "He's a criminal, Spacey!"

Spacey sighed. "I know. And I'm not proud of it. But it's just small stuff. They pay me well. And they're not so bad. They're nice to me."

Stratus gave his cousin a swift bonk on the head as he answered, "Because you run drugs for them, you dope! Dealers like ponies who keep them in business!" He softened his voice. "Look, just get out of all that nonsense. Stay away from Hammer and his crew. They're bad news. I don't care how you do it, get away from those ponies."

Spacey's face fell. "Okay cuz. I'll tell him I'm out."

The next week of Stratus's life was uneventful. As a favor, Stratus had the captain of first division keep an eye on his cousin whenever he could. As the week went by, he had nothing to report. Stratus forgot the whole affair until his cousin showed up at the door of his apartment. Stratus opened the door, gesturing for his cousin to enter. "What's up, Spacey?"

Spacey smiled brightly. "I talked to Hammer. He says it's cool that I wanna leave."

Stratus beamed. "Great! I'm glad to hear you're out of that business, cuz. You have a bright future, you don't need to screw it up."

Spacey sat down on the couch, nodding. "Yeah, he was really cool about it, too. I told him you set me straight. He thought that was really cool of you."

Hearing this, Stratus tensed. "Spacey, did you mention that I'm a cop?"

Spacey shook his head. "Uh, I don't think so. He wants to meet you. He should be here soon."

Stratus felt his stomach drop. "What the fuck, Spacey?! Did you tell him where I live?"

At that moment, there was a knock at the door. From behind the solid wood, a voice called, "Open up, Space-Boy. I wanna shake your cop cousin's hoof!" The sound of other ponies laughing could be heard.

Stratus jerked Spacey up off the couch. "Out the window, up the fire escape to the roof, I'll be along in just a minute. Don't question me, go! Keep quiet and stay out of sight!" As Spacey scaled the ladder, Stratus looked for an alternate exit. Something hit the door hard, and the wood bent inward, cracking. There were no other exits. Stratus looked out the window; Spacey was well on his way to the roof. He began to follow, pulling his bulky frame through the open window.

The door exploded inwards and a bulky earth pony stormed in, followed by two pegasi. The sand colored earth pony had a hammer cutie mark. He rushed into the room, pushing past the furniture. Spotting Stratus, he shouted to his partners, "He went up the ladder, get him!"

The two pegasi blasted out the window, sending Stratus tumbling to the ground. He righted himself and flew up after them, only to be passed by a faster pegasus. Stratus recognized him as Magnum, the captain of the responders' first division.

"Mag!"

The speedy pegasus called back, "I followed them here! You take the goons, I'll take Hammer!"

As Stratus ascended, he called ahead of him, "Thank Celestia! You go find my cousin, keep him safe!"

Atop the roof, Stratus saw Spacey sprint over the high ridge of the building, followed closely by Hammer and Magnum. The two pegasi charged Stratus directly. The lead one slashed at him with a knife in his mouth. Stratus sidestepped  and slammed his forehead into the joint of the attacker's jaw, sending the knife flying. He retreated, setting up another attack. Stratus turned to the other pegasus, who was still armed. The young colt rushed Stratus with his knife. Stratus flapped his wings hard and spun around, bringing the edge of a back hoof across the attacker's face. He sprawled out on the ground, unconscious.

Stratus looked to the other thug. The young pegasus shook his head, saying, "He ain't payin me enough for this shit!" He turned and galloped off the edge of the roof, flying away.

Having dealt with the goons, Stratus sprinted over the curve of the roof in time to see Magnum squaring off with Hammer on the second roof. Spacey stood against the door of a roof exit, trying to stay out of sight. As Spacey and Stratus watched the action, neither noticed the tall grey pegasus rising like a specter over the side of the building. He silently landed behind Spacey, a knife in his mouth. Stratus noticed the newcomer too late to keep him from slashing his long blade across Spacey's neck and down his side.

"SPACEY!"

All three other ponies looked to the fallen colt. In the break in the action, Hammer sprinted away. Magnum shouted to Stratus, "Strat, that's Rain! Get him!"

Stratus started after the criminal, but looked back to his cousin, gasping and wheezing on the roof. "Mag, take care of my cousin! Get him help! Please!", he sobbed.

Mag looked from Spacey to Hammer. "Will do, Strat, just go!"

Stratus rocketed over rooftops, chasing the grey blur. The tiny speck on the horizon grew smaller and smaller. Finally, Stratus gave up the chase. He turned and frantically flew back to his cousin. Upon landing on the roof, Magnum was nowhere to be found. Spacey was still wheezing, blood pooling around him. Stratus knelt beside his cousin.

"Spacey! It's okay, cuz", he lied, "You're gonna get help. You'll be alright, I promise. Stay with me, cuz!"

Spacey looked up at Stratus, tears in his eyes. "Hey cuz", he asked weakly, "Do you think those old pony tales are true? That when a pony dies he becomes one of the stars in the sky?"

Stratus let the tears flow freely as he held his cousin's head, replying, "Yeah cuz. I know they are."

Spacey smiled faintly as blood trickled from his mouth. "I'm gonna be a star, cuz…" As the words left his lips, the young colt's body went limp.

Stratus felt himself shaking. A strange, horrible sound filled his ears. It was a wretched scream of agony. Stratus eventually realized that these screams were coming from himself. His long sorrowful sobs shattered the peace of the night. He only stopped when he felt a hoof on his shoulder. Magnum. Stratus reared up and turned on the captain.

"Magnum, he's dead! You let my cousin die! You left him here, you son of a bitch!" Sobbing, Stratus shook the captain by his shoulders, fighting the urge to hit him.

Magnum felt tears welling up in his own eyes when he saw the colt's body. "Stratus, I'm so sorry. Protocol dictated that I had to pursue the crimin-"

Stratus exploded, "FUCK PROTOCOL! You soulless fuck, you let him die because of protocol?!"

Magnum was silent for a moment. Finally, he indicated a bound and gagged figure on the roof next to him. "If it's any consolation, I caught Hammer. He won't be hurting anypony else."

A darkness fell across Stratus's face as he replied, "No. He won't." With this he lifted the earth pony by the neck with his teeth and flung him from the roof. A loud splat told Stratus that Hammer had fallen the full ten stories and landed on the cold pavement.

***

Blitz rolled over. "How come you can't kill anymore after you killed Hammer?"

Looking up at the ceiling, Stratus replied, "It was later at Spacey's funeral that I realized the pain that killing brings. I felt it there. It's not like physical pain. It stays with you. I wouldn't wish that pain on anypony. From that day forward, I never could bring myself to kill a criminal; every time I tried, I saw my cousin, smiling up at me from a pool of his own blood."

Blitz shrugged. "I've never had that problem. Not since the fire."

Stratus sat up. There was something on his mind. "Blitz, you talk about that fire a lot. What happened?"

Blitz absentmindedly pawed at Stratus's sheets as she responded, "I forgot Mom, Dad, and Sissy were in the house when I set it on fire. I didn't remember until they started screaming. They stopped after a while", she finished casually.

Stratus reeled back in shock. "You seriously immolated your whole family… on accident?"

Blitz nodded. Through a yawn she added, "I'm sleepy, Strat. Your bed's too small for me so I'm going back to my room. Or maybe Nightshade's!"

Stratus raised an eyebrow. "Blitz, all the beds are the same size."

"I know", she crooned with a wink. With this she hopped out of the room, giggling.

Stratus laid back down. Sleep wouldn't come. For some reason all he could think about was death. He muttered to himself, "Everypony's gotta die someday." This thought didn't help distract him from wondering who would die tomorrow. And how many of those deaths would be his fault.