a new hero

Chapter 2: conflict and connections

The group was led by twilight towards the town of canterlot, the only place near ponyville to have a practical morgue. The trip took the rest of the day, luna’s moon was casting its gaze over all of equestria now. The group stood still in front of the two stainless steel doors, a sign hung above saying “morgue” fluttershy broke down with rarity following suit.

             “I think I should go in alone,” jack moved closer to twilight.

             “if you’re going to be with them I want to be there too,” twilight countered.

             “what I plan to do here is not going to be pleasant, I need to inspect their injuries. The only real way to find the full extent of the damage is by going to the inside.”

             Fluttershy gasped at the idea of some strange creature cutting into her friend. At the same time rarity fainted, rainbow dash touched ground after flying all the way there, but twilight’s eyes widened as she shrunk back where she stood.

             “you should have some friends here right? Someone who you can go and talk to?”

             Twilight couldn’t process this statement, she was focused on the image of jack mutilating applejack and her family, “we could go see the princess,” she finally responded, “yeah I think we should go.”

             “this might take me a while, where should I go to look for you?”

             “the castle, on the edge of the cliff. I will make sure you can get in,” twilight found it hard to speak and yet her words seemed to carry themselves off her tongue, having a will of their own.

             “ok, make sure to get some sleep. All of you.”

             Jack was no doctor, but performing an autopsy was a simple task to one trained so highly in ending lives. The bodies were long since cold but they held no meaning to jack, just another dead thing. But he had to shutter and clear his mind as he came up to applebloom. Her once bright yellow coat was dulled, and stained with her own blood. Her red mane was frazzled and out of order, the bow in her mane was removed by some pony doctor. Her eyes were closed, her mouth just slightly open, as she lie on the steel table. There were three more victims along with the apple family, three new ponies that appeared to have the same injuries. To find out everything he wanted to know would mean being up all night.

             Twilight and her friends slowly made their way across canterlot. It was close to midnight, yet there were someponies who were still having a good time, out drinking and partying in the night air. Pinkie felt almost angry at these ponies ‘how can they party, when our friends have been killed?’ even the usually attention sharp rarity chose to block out the world, she normally would have been giddy at the sights and sounds of one of the most fashion centric cities in equestria. Rainbow dash hadn’t flown since the morgue, she just trotted at the back of the line they were forming. The normally strong upright feeling she usually had was long since gone, without this strengthening force the entire group began to suffer. Fluttershy still stood next to her best friend rarity, she had become slightly accustomed to death, being around short lived animals, had tempered her loss. But it still couldn’t stop her from weeping, nothing could. Although she would never show it twilight took it the worst. Jack and the human military might pride her in how well she accepted her friend’s demise. She had finished mourning them and now was only thinking of how she could make things right. She was the only pony in the group with her head up actually looking where she was going, deep in thought of how she would find the culprits responsible and moreover what she would do when she found them. Although twilight looked the part, spike was the one most content among the group. He had fallen asleep upon the purple unicorn’s back. She was the closest thing he had to a mother and he never wanted to leave her back again. Time seemed to fall into a riff as the group soon realized they were standing outside of princess celestia’s private chamber. The door was already open in anticipation of their arrival, inside the princess was already asleep.

             “I think we should get some rest,” twilight spoke quietly yet still with purpose. The others just nodded, almost happy to have someone point the way. They spread out on a few simple beds presumably set up by some servants in preparation for their arrival. None of them had slept better since hearing the world changing news.

             “rise and shine kiddies!” jack’s voice boomed in the large room. Twilight arose, seeing that the sun was risen to almost noon now. The others did the same, almost looking worse than the night previous.

             “what did you learn?” twilight got straight to business.

             “I don’t think that is an advisable place to start,” the princess seemed to come from nowhere.

             “you know how hard it is to break into this place?” twilight lit up in remembering that she had forgotten to ensure safe passage for jack.

             “you broke in?” even the princess seemed shocked at this.

             “yeah it is what I do. Your princess and I were up all morning talking about what’s going down here, I have learned a lot. But I still know you holding back cellestia.” Nopony had ever heard something speak so harshly to the royalty.

             “I told you all I could know of our new enemies!” cellestia nearly shouted, yet still held her composure. It was only now that everypony had seen the small alicorn Luna hiding behind her sister.

             “you have told me what they are, where they are, and their movements. Yet you are neglecting to mention some sort of motive,” jack had moved out to the balcony.

             “big sister, he needs to know,” Luna spoke for the first time. A smile crept across jack’s face, in knowing he was right.

             “maybe you’re right Luna,” cellestia followed jack to the balcony, with all the other ponies, “ but we should at least tell the rest off them what will happen.”

             “that would be nice,” twilight tried to downplay the fear that hung in the room.

             “for starters, we know that these attacks are being perpetrated by the diamond dogs, worse off they have help.” Jack started.

             “worse off we think they are being helped by the dragons,” cellestia continued.

             “but the worst part,” Luna finished, “some ponies have joined their cause.” Everypony gasped at this startling revelation. They had faced dragons and the diamond dogs before, but have never even heard of conflict amidst ponies.

             “stop me if I’m wrong,” jack looked across the city towards a small building, “I think you have an object of in that building. However I don’t know what you call it. but that would be more than enough to draw these factions together and against you.”

             “how?” the princess was shocked, this human somehow knew something that cellestia thought only her and her sister knew about.

             Jack laughed as he turned to them, “its my job. But moreover it must have been dormant for a long time. Frankly put I can see no absurd reason why anything… unindoctrinated would want one of those things around.”

             “care to inform us of just what you are talking about?” rainbow dash interjected, finding her usual attitude gave a bit of life to the group.

             “jack said it,” the princess took on a troubled look, “we have come to call them objects. They are large statues that are not carved, they are found,” the group focused.

             “they are dangerous, just being in the same room as them, can allow them into your mind. Where they twist and tear till you find you sanity lost and you want nothing more than to do its very will. They are made of rock and metal, yet they seem to be sentient,” jack rejoined the main room.

             “we kept one, that we managed to keep dormant, for study. To maybe learn something about it. well it was actually discord who managed to capture it. we just kept it around.”

             “and with discord gone once again, the magic he must have cast upon it faded, awakening it. or he simply released it when he was awake,” Luna was calm when the rest of the ponies saw only gloom.

             “but that was two years ago!” twilight spoke.

             “it can take a long time to get an army together,” jack said with the confidence earned of him, “being absorbed can take a while.”

             “how do you know all of this,” dash looked angry.

             “my first encounter with these things,” jack sighed, lost in a memory, “it wanted me. Somehow I managed to win the battle for my mind and ended up destroying the bitch. Ever since I started hunting them, they kept trying to capture me, it is an interesting expirence.”

             “what do you mean? What does it say to you? Howdidyoubeatit?” Luna sped as she spoke, clearly intrigued by the notion of being able to win.

             “it starts slowly, like a small whisper coming from inside your head. Then you start to discern individual words, then phrases, then you can hear everything. It tells you different things, trying to find the way into your mind. In my case it told me what I wanted to hear…”

             “and what was that?” twilight cut him off.

             “it told me that if I did what it said, it would bring back my wife and daughter,” twilight didn’t know what to say, “I realized that nothing would bring them back, that it was just lying to me. But I would be lying myself if I said I didn’t want to join it.”

             “I hear it,” pinkie spoke up, “it is inside my head, telling me that nothing is worth it. that my friends all hate me. And after applejack…it told me that you all would follow if I didn’t release it.”

             “there was a song written about them where I come from,

Life it seems will fade away

Drifting further everyday

Getting lost within myself

Nothing matters no one else

I have lost the will to live

Simply nothing more to give

There is nothing more for me

Need the end to set me free

Things not what they used to be

Missing one inside of me

Deathly lost this can’t be real

Can’t stand this hell I feel

Emptiness is filling me

To the point of agony

Growing darkness taking dawn

I was me but now he is gone

No one but me can save myself

But its too late

Now I can’t think

Think why I should even try

Yesterday seems as though

It never existed

Death greets me warm

Now I will just say goodbye

             “well do you think we should confront it?”

             “couldn’t hurt, you guys go on ahead. Twilight, I would like to speak with you in private for a second,” jack looked at her and motioned for the others to go, “we will catch up.”

             After the room was empty, save for the human and unicorn, “what did you want to talk about?” twilight seemed eager, expecting to chat about knowledge from the foreign world.

             “I’m gonna be frank. Stop thinking about revenge,” jack had looked away now. Twilight was astounded. She tried to think of ways that he could have known about her feelings of hate.

             “how?” she asked simply.

             “you and I, we are not so different. We think about each step we take to the nth degree. Your friend was taken from you and now you wish to return the favor.”

             “you don’t know how it feels though!” twilight was livid.

             “I do, I won’t bore you with sorrowful details, but I will tell you this. If you seek revenge, and achieve it or not you will die. Not in a physical sense, but in a mental sense. It happened to me and if you continue, it will happen to you.”

             “but you seem fine, Not ‘mentally dead,’” she half mocked him, “you are the same as when you started!”

             “who says I am?” he still couldn’t look at her, “I was different. My own family probably would not recognize me now. I have done terrible things to bad people, and sometimes to those who didn’t deserve it. My anger and fear clouded my judgment, and guided my actions down a path I wish I could have avoided. Not guilt haunts my mind; that is why I still remain a soldier, to try to maybe help some people, to vindicate me from my fate. I live by an oath, ‘to help others, even at the cost of my own life.’ I fully intend to eventually die for what I believe in. moreover it is too late for me, satan is waiting in hell for my soul, and he will get it one day. But I will bring as many malicious souls with me as I can.”

             “so what? You expect me just to give up?” twilight was in full attack mode now.

             Jack sighed, “I see I am already too late with my advice, you have chosen your path. And you will follow it. there is still hope though, I will help you. But you must promise me you will take in what I have to say, and mostly you must be patient.”

             “what?!” twilight was confused.

             “I will try to guide you down your path, make sure you don’t lose sight of who you are. It won’t be easy for you, the natural feeling of anger is easy to follow. But if you do, your life as you know it will disappear.”

             “so what is the plan?” the unicorn had settled down now, knowing that her feelings would be followed to an extent.

             “well overall, simply put we have to kill all those indoctrinated,” twilight gasped, “there is no saving them. Once you are in there is no getting out.”

             “but you got out.”

             “I was never fully in. one more thing,” as jack began walking to the door, “keep an eye on your friend, pinkie, the object wants her. Keep her close or you will lose her.”

             The group had reformed in front of a tall slender building. The sign out front spelled out “the original museum of equestria” it was a collection of assorted art and historically significant items. Cellestia used her horn to open the large wooden doors supported by large iron hinges and bands. The inside was lit by natural light, filling the large open room with a yellow light. Looking up one could see all the way to the ceiling, with each floor standing like a balcony over the center, in which stood a large marble and obsidian statues of the princess sisters, each with a statue of the sun and moon above their respected guardians. The entire building seemed to be made of white marble.

             “so where is this thing exactly?” asked rainbow dash.

             “eight floors up, twenty feet back towards the right, in a corner by itself,” jack didn’t miss a beat.

             The two princesses stood aghast, “how did you know that?”

             “ask pinkie,” jack replied calmly.

             “it speaks, in my mind, I can hear it,” pinkie spoke softly.

             “she is right, I have just tuned myself to be able to locate these things. As they try to pry apart my mind they have to reveal parts of themselves to me.” Twilight’s mind was spinning, the very idea of an inanimate object able to somehow invade something’s mind and control it, was….was….absurd. she thought it impossible, and had it not been for pinkie, or the two princesses confirming what she was hearing she would have denounced it completely. The group clambered onto a small primitive elevator, that was magicked up to the eighth floor by cellestia, upon reaching their floor a brake was activated by Luna, and the group departed already drawn by the force emanating from the corner. All but pinkie pie walked away, the party pony stammered up to the nearest wall and shrunk down to the floor holding her head in obvious pain. The thoughts invading her mind, pushing, clawing, and digging at her to take the nearest sharp implement and plunge it deep into the human’s chest. She felt herself move finally move, although not by her own will, she walked clumsily up to one of the museum displays. It would have been clear to anypony around her that something was wrong, but they were all too absorbed in their own curiosity to notice their friend’s peril. Pinkie began to cry, she willed herself to stop, but her body did not respond. The object controlled her mouth to bite down hard on the blade in her mouth, the ancient steel devoid of a handle cut into her lips and tongue, she wanted the pain to stop, she knew what the object was about to do, blood dripped mixed with saliva from her mouth, marking her path. With one last drip hitting the floor she took her charge. Past her friends, still caught in their trance. Jack became aware in a way the others couldn’t. in one fluid motion he deflected the attack, with his left arm and produced a hatchet with his right, striking pinkie with the hammer end, the adrenaline slowed time for him as he could feel ribs breaking, in his weapon. The attacker fell to the ground, but recovered quickly, regaining a combat stance, jack made the next blow precise, but nonlethal. A simple swing to her head knocked his assailant unconscious. As pinkie fell to the ground, the spell cast over the rest of the ponies was broken. Rainbow dash was the first to lash out, unwilling to see past the person holding a weapon over her broken and bleeding friend on the ground.

             “WHAT DID YOU DO!?” tears found her eyes, as rage boiled her blood.

             “she isn’t dead,” jack couldn’t even look at his accuser, “if I wanted her dead she would be gone,” he hid away his weapon, with the same quickness in which he produced it.

             “what happened?” twilight spoke out half crying, “how did none of us notice this?”

             “simple,” jack still did not look up from the comfort he found in the floor tiles, “the artifact had gripped your attention. It had me too, for a while. This one is particularly strong, normally it can’t control hosts that quickly. We could be in for quite a fight.”

             “what are we supposed to do with pinkie?” rarity was the one most worried, “we can’t just leave her here.”

             “for now we have no choice, she isn’t going anywhere. We are close now.” The two princesses seemed nervous, nervous in a way twilight had never seen before. To see her great teacher, one of the most powerful alicorns scared troubled her. But on the other hoof was jack. Some mysterious being from somewhere far away. He showed no fear, almost more of an impatient anger towards this threat. Once more the princesses had accepted him with very little thought, when they first saw him he was wearing singed armor, and in general he looked rough. Twilight herself could not explain why she trusted him so well, sure he had saved her life but normally she would not even trust another pony this much after so long. It even took a good bit of time before she truly trusted her now close friends. Still trapped in thought twilight ran into the now motionless jack. He was just standing there. Staring up at some large statue. It was purple, not unlike twilight’s coat, but it was also streamed with black orange gold, and a deep red. It looked like a mess of tentacles rising from a large cracked stone; the whole thing seemed to glow. But more worriedly twilight could hear something. Almost like a whispering emanating from the staute. Everything about it just seemed wrong, every fiber of her being wanted to just run away, try to escape to the danger that she could feel in the air. Twilight turned to her mentor, her eyes displaying her distress, ears folded tightly against her head. To her chagrin princess celestia just gave an empty stare back, she still seemed confident, yet the beads of sweat that ran down her face told otherwise. A plume of magical smoke began to rise from the statue, all the young mares came close to one another, trying to gain some sort of comfort in each other’s embrace. Only the two royal sister’s and the human remained motionless, as the plume surrounded the group sealing them in a magical prison. The whispering from before was now more audible, the group of friends looked about each other, trying to determine if they were the only ones seeing what was happening. Still jack and the princesses remained still.

The air turned cold, and felt dense as it entered jack’s lungs. He had been in this shadow ‘cave’ before. And he knew the way out. He looked around, still just listening to the whispers, the smoke wanted him to slaughter the ponies behind him. It would be a lie to not say some part of him wanted to do it. Those horrid words became louder still itching in his ears, it was torture. But he had made it through this before. He finally broke the deadly silence, much to the ponies delight, “so what is your name?” twilight was taken aback by his politeness, this….object wanted her to kill everything around her, and jack was treating it like just a common passerby.

“I have many names, you may choose what you want to call me,” the twisting shadows seemed to answer from every direction at once.

“I don’t suppose you could make this easy for my?” jack spoke with a arrogance twilight had not seen yet, “you could just kill yourself, but then I guess it wouldn’t be fun now would it.” twilight was shocked, ‘was this fun, was fighting something that humans enjoyed?’

“ha,” the shadows laughed, “I see you know how things work with us. But I still have a few  questions, who are you? Where did you come from? Why are you here?”

“I suppose there is no gain in lying. My name is jack, I come from earth, and…well I am here to kill you. And you have never seen anything like me before.”

“you are a human. We have fought you before. We have killed you before. And you cannot stop us here!” the voice grew in intensity, almost deafening now.

“wow, you are no different,” jack was almost giggly, “when you little fucks get scared, you try to assert your authority, you get loud, and start speaking in the third person. Give me something new eh? But that is the difference between you and I, you remain predictable, we change, you are willing to kill for something, ‘we can’t possibly understand’ we fight and die for our very lives. But we also fight for others, you lack such unity, such compassion. You will try to resist but I will kill you, no matter the cost.”

The smoke was silent, jack’s little soliloquy had left the great thing speechless. Even the great solar princess did not know how to respond. But yet the princess of the moon could not hold her tongue any longer.

“you may have returned, but now we have the secret to finally kill you for good.” Every one instantly looked at the blue mare, stunned that she knew of such things. And even more so that maybe she had fought this thing, but what worried jack the most was the implication of failure. Luna’s words were those of hope, but they were built upon words of defeat. Jack regained his composure, pulled out his hatchet, and rushed into the shadow wall. And just like that he was gone. Twilight could not here him, or see anything that gave her a clue to his existence. The darkness continued to twist, and writhe. Even the princesses were scared now, though neither made it clearly visible. But then it stopped, the darkness was still, the whispers quiet, light began to pierce through, burning away the veil. The bright indoor light had twilight temporarily blinded, but as the world came into focus, she could see the statue was in pieces, destroyed by jack who was standing before them, his entire body was still covered in the shadow, but even that shadow was burning off now. It gave him a look of being on fire. The group looked around at each other clearly overjoyed to be free of the trap, rainbow dash even started to chuckle a little at the whole experience. Jack even gave a little laugh as he looked at the shadow melting off of his hands, it had truly hurt to walk through the wall but he needed to do it. there was a lighthearted feeling, cellestia thought that the trials were over, that whatever was causing her grief all these centuries was finally gone. A smile spread across her face, much to the delight of her sister who almost jumped in excitement. It would have been a perfect time to raise all of their spirits, until somepony finally shouted.

“I WON’T LET IT HAVE ME!” pinkie’s voice was that of fear and anger, she stood near the railing. No one had noticed that she was now awake. Blood was just running down her face, from where jack had struck her before. There was a fear in her eye, as if she knew what was happening to her and there was only one way out. She looked to her friends, giving one last smile, as she let herself fall backwards.

Author’s Notes: yes i know some of you are going to hate me for killing pinkie pie now, but...i need it for the plot to work later down the line. keeping this short the song’s lyrics are actually from metallica’s fade to black. hey i was listening to that song while writing that segment and it seemed to fit...a little too perfectly o.O