La Bruja Enojada

Chapters

Heridas Frescas
Cuernos de Toro
Magia Negra

Heridas Frescas

Screaming.

It was an action he had done many times in the past in a variety of situations. When he was but a wee babe he screamed for comfort and love, chubby childish arms reaching up towards the towering giants around him as his immature lungs screamed out his full heart’s desire. At times the immense creatures would bend to his earsplitting whims but more often than not they would ignore him, turning their heads away and focusing upon something else more relevant to their own skittish interests. When he was a child he screamed out in pain, his body howling out in a painful wail as impact after impact connected with his bared flesh; angered goliaths striking him for infractions that none could hope to stop.

When he was an adolescent he howled with sorrow, his ragged voice carrying for miles around as he screamed out his frustrations and his pain in the center of a cold and heartless city. When he was a teenager he cried out in ecstasy, passion and desire flowing through his body with every pulse of his heart as sweat rolled from every pore. His muscles ached, his heart pounded out of his chest, but through it all he withstood and allowed the pleasure to swallow him into the unknowing oblivion.

However, at the moment he only screamed for one thing.

Rage.

Just as with screaming, anger was nothing new to him; it was a common occurrence, a wizened advisor, and an old friend. Wrath had helped him overcome the harshness that was his world, the callousness of those around him, the inane stupidity and unyielding bigotry that seemed to spout from various lips until the end of eternity. With every contemptuous comment anger was there to feed his fires, a flaring inferno of vengeance spewing from his lips as the fuel of fury pumped through his quickly tensing muscles. As every foolish hate-filled strike fell against his tanned skin the dressing of rage quickly mended the wound; angered adrenaline racing through his veins and silencing the sting so that he may continue to clash. When the tides of battle began to turn ferocity felled any thoughts of mercy, any wayward fantasies of kindness upon his opponent; instead anger brought out the inner beast, the lingering monster inside whose only goal is to destroy, to win, and to triumph no matter what the cost.

It was with this mindset that he found himself rising from a deep crater in the loamy earth; his smoldering body pulling itself from the fuming basin without a pulse of pain passing through his bleeding skull. Instead there was only that eternal, guttural scream, and his dear friend wrapping its greedy, claw like fingers over the controls…

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“What in Equestria was that?” Twilight muttered in surprised confusion, her brilliant violet eyes staring in wonder as the object came to a rather spectacular crash landing. The soil beneath her feet rumbled in agreement, a shivering of the earth that spoke volumes to the sheer strength of the impact that the object had inflicted. For a moment Twilight could almost feel the gears in her mind spin, the well oiled and finely tuned machinations of her massive mind spinning at harrowing speeds in an attempt to remember any sort of information on unique storms and the objects that could fall from them.

In mere seconds Twilight could see the hours she had spent over her numerous tomes, images and information about meteorites, comets, and other astronomical objects falling from the heavens crossing her mind’s eye with the speed of lightning bolt. However, just as quickly as the images and the information came they were swift to leave, the low groan and choked sobbing of the cyan colored filly at her side snapping her attention from the unique phenomenon to something much more important, “R-Right, no time!”

Twilight immediately turned her attention to the shimmering violet shield that surrounded the library, the thick walls of condensed magical energy able to withstand an incredible amount of force before it even came close to cracking. Yet, as Twilight put just a bit more focus into her magical barrier she could feel something odd, something rather unexpected given the events of the past few minutes. Instead of the constant pressure and pulses of powerful micro-bursts against her shield Twilight felt nothing, a void of activity that seemed to indicate that the winds that had just been flying mere moments ago had vanished leaving nothing but scattered debris in their wake.

Taking another second of observation Twilight could not hear the noise of the calamitous storm but in its place was the gentle sway of the summer breeze; instead of the whirlwinds of leaves, grass, and various other wreckage on the other side of her purple bubble Twilight only saw swiftly clearing skies and the gentle curls of a delicate late afternoon wind.

“Is…is that it…is it over?” Spike pondered his voice and posture unsure but hopeful given the lack of activity on the other side of the force field.

Just as the question passed through Spikes lips the torn lime-green clouds above parted even further, their sickly jade hue rapidly dissipating from the sky and allowing the bright majesty of Princess Celestia's sun to grace the land once more. As the warm rays of sunshine fell down upon the group Twilight gently released her hold on her magical shield, a fresh jet of cool, post-storm air fluttering through her coat and mane, “I think it is Spike…” Despite the peace that the world seemed to be at now Twilight quickly shook her head, her wonder at the suddenness of the storms end being broken by her ever responsible nature, “Spike, I want you to go back downstairs and close the door just in case the storm comes back.”

“But Twilight,” Spike offered a weak protest but Twilights intense amethyst gaze cut him short.

“No Spike, I need you to stay here and be safe,” Twilight said with a determined snort, “this might be our last chance and I can’t risk more of my friends getting hurt.”

Spike’s gaze was apprehensive, his mind torn between staying with Twilight and hiding in the secured safety of the basement. After a few moments pause he merely nodded, his emerald eyes cast to the side as he softly muttered, “Be safe okay?”

Twilight responded to the nod with one of her own as a thin veil of violet energy encompassed the earthly form of Equestria’s fastest flier, her mouth letting lose the slightest of pained whimpers at the sudden movement before she quickly silenced herself with a bite of her tongue. While levitation was one of the safest and most cautious of ways to carry any injured body that didn’t mean it was pain free; not that Rainbow Dash would ever admit to feeling something as ‘weak’ as pain, “Th-Thanks guys…”

Twilight declined to respond; instead she simply ran with the full force that her legs could carry her. Twilight’s hooves bolted over the ground like rolling thunder as she hastened for the hospital with Rainbow Dash following behind in a floating cast of magical energy. As the duo headed for the hospital Twilight couldn’t help but wonder what became of her other friends during this storm, what was their fate in this mysterious typhoon? Also…what had fallen from the sky?

Taking a brief glance towards the direction of Everfree Forest Twilight felt her intellectual curiosity building, a bubble of resolve forming in the back of her mind before releasing itself to the inner workings of her psyche; she would find out what fell from the sky and what it had to do with this sudden supernatural storm, even if she had to do it alone.

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The world began to take on the hue of freshly spilled blood, the fine coloration of brilliant scarlet covering the landscape like some perverse pair of rose-colored glasses. Had he taken the time to examine himself he might have found that most of this crimson sheen came from a deep gash that spanned the width of his forehead, a wide wound among many that seemed to cover his physique from head to toe. Over and over his body seemed marred by the sheer amount of lacerations that decorated his flesh, freely bleeding lesions that turned his normally tanned skin a deep and ruddy red. However, the greatest of these injuries was the one about his cheek; a wide and crudely cut slash that had seemed to cauterize into a permanent scar on his once youthfully clear face. His clothes lie in tattered ruins about his body, mere scraps of fabric clinging to his figure through the adhesion of the blood and sweat that poured from him.

If one were to look upon him one would think he was but a walking wound, a shambling mess of pain and agony that seemed mere seconds from falling to the ground in death.

And none of it stopped him…

Instead his body continued to move forward, deep ochre eyes burning with fury as shadows continued to dance in the corner of his vision. The wounds, the tattered clothing, the loss of blood; it all held so little influence in his outrage hazed mind. Instead all that mattered was his anger, his fury directed at the being that had caused him this pain. Those dully gleaming white teeth, the skin that looked like aged leather, the flowing and dully colored robes of a Brujo Negro…and those infuriatingly smug shimmering golden feline eyes!

The mere thought of the man send a fresh tsunami of ire throughout his body, muscles tightening and mouth opening in another horrific scream. Long ago his voice had given out from his incessant shouting; instead all that rose from his open jaw was a wheezing snarl, his shattered vocal cords becoming animalistic and brutal in nature. In a way it was a poetic representation of what he had become; a mess of blood and bone, each bloodied step crushing grass and flower alike beneath his ruddy foot falls. He was no longer a man, no longer human, simply a creature full of anger and a single overwhelming purpose.

To kill

As the scream in his throat died so did another rise, a horrific and ear splitting howl that shattered the forest for miles around. However, unlike the bellows of the past this scream came from a new source, this deafening roar causing his teeth to clench and his body to quiver with excited fury. A slow and jerky turn of his head brought his livid chocolate brown orbs to rest upon a shaded section of the forest, a dark and foreboding patch where the light of the sun above refused to enter. For a few long moments he remained completely still, the only movement throughout his form being the heavy heaving of his chest and the slow grind of his teeth in his mouth.

With a sudden thundering crash the underbrush seemed to explode towards him, leaves and branches alike bursting out and showering him with a heavy wave of various plant debris. For a few brief seconds his eyes widened in surprise as the sight that greeted him, yet it was only a heartbeat later that he quickly narrowed his gaze into dangerous slits of sight. The cause of the explosion stood before him tall and proud, a massive creature of at least six feet tall that crawled forward on four distinct and very powerful looking legs. Upon a first passing glance he would have easily mistaken the beast for an abnormally large female lion, the smooth and lean musculature of a dominant hunting cat playing beneath the monsters sleek-looking earth brown fur. The creature’s paws looked very much like a lions as well, the thickly muscled limbs and sheathed claws drawing his attention away from the fact that the back pair and the front pair were grossly mismatched from one another in size. The creatures face also resembled that of a lion, the narrow predatory eyes of a hungry lioness on the prowl causing the briefest shiver of primal fear along his spine as a rough sandpaper-like tongue greedily caressed two rows of razor sharp fangs.

Yet, it was at this point that any resemblance to an earthy lion ended and the additions to the monster brought about even more surprise in his eyes. Perched atop the monsters head were a pair of horn like ears, wickedly curved structures that were covered in earth brown fur on the outside leaving the inside to be coated in a deep bloody red coloration. Those evil ears twisted towards his body, listening intently for any shift in movement or any signal that he might try to run. Connected to where the monsters shoulder blades should be were a pair of tremendous bat like wings, massive webbed limbs that splayed out in a magnificent display of power and size. The flying limbs looked to be at least one and a half times the size of the creature if not more, their brown furred backs only accentuating the murky ruddy ruby of the inner skin. At last his eyes traveled to the creature’s tail, his gaze widening even more at the unique and deadly addition to the monsters already impressive physique. Curling up and across the monsters back was a vibrant scarlet tail, a segmented appendage that appeared more suited to a scorpion than any animal of soft fur and warm blood. At the very tip of this unique attachment was a deadly looking stinger, a needle sharp growth of carapace that dripped and oozed aqua-marine venom.

In the back of his mind he could feel his fight or flight instincts wage war against his rage, his fury fueled form calling out for him to take action against the beast while every single one of his survival instincts told him to turn tail and run with all the speed he could muster. His mind fought and fought over his next course of action, his panting breath and shivering coffee colored eyes being the only outward sigh of his internal conflict. Yet, as he stood there he could see the monster take a confident step forward, a slow grin forming across its lips and a smug sense of satisfaction dancing in its eyes; a look that he had seen in the eyes of a cat mere seconds before it began to play with its meal…

The same eyes that belonged to the gilipollas that did this to him.

With a great surge of strength his rage toppled his instincts, the wrath of his memories silencing any opposition with deadly efficiency. That gilipollas…that bastard, the horrible things he said, the things he did…the things that he would do to the bastard. Quickly he took a deep breath, his scratched and scarred chest swelling with air before he let it loose in a great and terrible wail, his own voice echoing throughout the clearing as the shadows in his eyes grew ever larger. Louder and louder did his sweltering song become, the volume of his inhuman howl shaking the trees that surrounded him and causing the offending monster to halt in its tracks in confusion and curiosity.

As he continued to scream the shadows in his vision swept in and out of his gaze, a dark and misty lens flittering across his pupils with greater frequency the longer he bellowed. This, however, was ignored as a small bit of satisfaction crossed his mind; the monster before him taking a tentative step backward and its once cocky and hungry head pulling away from him in trepidation and caution. With a slight grin on his face he took a heavy step forward, his foot hitting the ground with an authoritative and surprisingly loud thud. His furious heartbeat pounded a staccato rush of blood into his ears, the repetitive thumping of his racing chest drowning out all save for the hastening war-drum of his flesh. His muscles tensed and flexed, their previous exhaustion vanishing under the lava-like sear of his fury saturated blood and being reborn even stronger than before. Shadows danced, blood flowed, and throughout it all rage continued to spread…

His wrath so absorbed his consciousness that he completely overlooked the violent vibrations of his single intact side pocket and a pair of brilliant ivory horns sprouting from his own bloodied skull.

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Twilight let loose a grateful sigh as she saw the hospital standing proud and tall amongst the destruction that surrounded it. Somewhere in the back of her mind she had almost expected it to be demolished along with many of the other buildings in the area. However, as luck would have it, it seemed that the magical wards and superior construction of the emergency facility held true and the vicious tearing winds that had raged for several hours before were easily withstood. It was with this sense of elation and relief that Twilight picked up her pace, her hooves racing with all of their might into the doors and shouting out in desperation, “Please, somepony, anypony, I need help!”

Instantly Twilight found herself face to face with a very stern-looking pristine-white earth pony mare, her ice blue eyes glaring at Twilight with all of strict and authoritative powers granted upon her by her position as head nurse of Ponyville General Hospital, “Miss! I’m going to have to ask you to be patient and wait your turn! As it is we are already over capacity due to injury incurred by the Pegasus weather team trying to stop that freak storm and please don’t get me started on the ponies whose homes collapsed on top of them.”

With this spoken the nurse waved her hoof across the whole of the hospitals waiting room floor, the vision that met Twilights eyes causing her pupils to shrink at the sheer number of injured ponies present. Almost every inch of first floor not needed for personal locomotion was covered in hospital beds, each one containing a pony with at least one injury that required immediate medical attention. Twilight felt tears prickle at the edges of her vision, her heart sinking in her chest as she felt Rainbow Dash groan in the confines of her magical gurney, “But-”

“I’m sorry but no buts,” the nurse said with a heavy tone of regret, her once proud and unyielding posture weakening as the fatigue of her station truly began to show, “there have been so many ponies hurt because of this storm…I don’t know if we’ll be able to save them all…all we can really do is hope that the help we sent for from Canterlot arrives before it’s too late.”

Twilight swallowed the lump in her throat, the tears that had pooled in her eyes beginning to trickle down her cheeks as she spoke, “I…understand. But please…my friend…”

Twilight couldn’t finish her statement and instead opted to bring Rainbow Dash forward, her broken and bloodied form catching the nurse’s eye and causing a horrified gasp to break past her lips, “Oh dear! What happened to her!?”

Twilight sniffled, “She tried to break up the storm…but she said something about being knocked out of the sky by an object…”

“This…isn’t good,” the nurse muttered, her teeth biting at her lower lip in consideration and concentration. After a few moments of apprehension the nurse spoke out softly, “This mare…she’s Rainbow Dash isn’t she? The bearer of an Element of Harmony?” Twilight could only nod as the chromatic maned mare moaned in pain, her freely bleeding wounds turning many patches of her cyan blue fur a deep scarlet. The nurse took a deep breath, her head shaking slightly as she muttered, “I’m so going to lose my job for this…come with me, quickly.”

Twilight looked up in surprise as the nurse took off in a quick trot, a single ice blue eye cast over her shoulder and watching to make sure the violet unicorn was doing as she was told. All Twilight could do was offer a weak smile, her head nodding as she quietly whispered, “Thank you…”

The nurse either didn’t hear Twilight or she just didn’t care, something that was apparent in the way that the pointedly refused to respond and instead led Twilight through halls filled with rushing doctors, panicking nurses, and hospital beds filled with pained ponies. Twilight was only numbly aware of her surroundings; instead her focus and much of her massive intellect had delved deep inside of her own mind, puzzling away at what she had seen and what it could possibly mean. What object had injured Rainbow Dash so seriously? Was it like what she had seen fall from the sky earlier? As a matter of fact, what HAD she seen? Was it just some particle from space or was it alive? If it was alive, was it friendly or was it hostile? What could be done if it was hostile or even worse, what if it brought some sort of disease? If something with a foreign disease had landed in Everfree Forest how long would it take to spread? What if Rainbow Dash already encountered it? What if it was a disease without a cure? What if…

“Nurse Redheart!” a sudden and irritated shout broke Twilight from her increasingly frantic musings, her head snapping up from its gaze toward the floor and towards the scene before her. Standing before Twilight Sparkle and the nurse, apparently a mare named Redheart, was a male unicorn of tan colored fur and brown colored mane. Perched upon his nose was a pair of glasses, thin oval silver rims encompassing pristinely kept lenses. Draped over his back was the white laboratory coat of a doctor and slung around his neck was a shimmering stainless steel stethoscope, “There had better be a VERY good reason you have brought this patient to me seeing as we are beyond strapped for help as it is.”

It was obvious to Twilight that the stallion was a doctor and a very important one at that given that his badge was significantly larger and more ornate than the other doctors that she had seen in the building. Twilight felt herself shrink back slightly from the enraged doctor, her tail tucking slightly between her legs as her ears flattened against her head in an attempt to appear even smaller and somehow avoid his understandable ire.

However, while Twilight seemed to recoil from the doctors anger Redheart only seemed to be bolstered by it; her chest puffing out and her body standing tall and strong and she spoke, “I understand that doctor but this situation requires your immediate attention.”

The doctor let loose a harsh sigh, his nose huffing in irritation at the nurses claim, “Nurse Redheart, need I remind you of protocol in this building? All of the staff is working as hard as they can and there just isn’t enough room for any ‘special cases’ you might have.”

Redheart’s gaze turned absolutely frigid and for a moment the doctor looked taken aback by her gaze, “Of course they are working as hard as they can ‘Doctor’ Stable, it can’t be helped when some of us don’t put their whole heart into it and leave the rest of us to pick up the slack.”

In the blink of an eye Redheart’s immobilizing glower was sliced through by the doctors furious glare, “How DARE you! I should fire you right on the spot Redheart!”

Despite the sharp rebuttal Nurse Redheart remained unmoved, her stare hard enough to lower the temperature in the hospital down a few notches as she spoke, “No, how dare YOU doctor? Do you think I haven’t seen you sneak off early on your shift to play golf or take your precious ‘beauty naps’ in your office? You might be one of the most talented doctors here and you might be the hospital manager but that gives you NO excuse to shirk your duties!” As Redheart continued her rant the doctor seemed to deflate before her eyes, his once confident and righteous stance vanishing as he started to back away from the rising threat of Redheart, “Even in the middle of this crisis you don’t think I haven’t seen you hiding in the break room or sneaking away to your office for thirty minutes at a time!?”

“B-But-” the doctor began only to be cut off by Redheart shoving her forehead against his own.

“No buts! You have a patient in emergency condition and you will give her the best bucking treatment she has ever had or so help me I will write a letter to Princess Celestia HERSELF and explain why you should be exiled from Equestria and locked up in the land where you are exiled too! That also wouldn’t be that hard seeing as the patient is a barer of an Element of Harmony and I’m pretty bucking sure that the pony that brought her in is also a bearer as well as Princess Celestia’s own student!” Nurse Redheart’s voice turned harsh as she screamed at the doctor, his body now lying flat against the floor as his eyes stared upward towards Redheart in pure, abject horror, “DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR!?”

“Y-Yes Mam,” The doctor stuttered, saluting Redheart with a single shaky hoof and a quick nod.

“Good,” Redheart barked, her head turning from the doctor and to Twilight with lightning speed, “If you would kindly place Ms. Dash on the gurney by your side I’m sure the ‘Doctor’ would be happy to take her to the ICU.” Twilight couldn’t nod fast enough, her wide violet eyes looking at Redheart with a combination of gut-wrenching terror and shocked respect. With a quick pull of magical energy Twilight placed Rainbow Dash on the gurney and gingerly stepped clear of the war-zone as fast as she could. It took only a single cursory glance from Redheart to get Doctor Stable on his hooves, his body rushing past the two mares and grabbing hold of the gurneys handle with his teeth before he quickly pushed it in the direction of the ICU, on a mission not only to save a life but also to run from the white furred demon glaring icicles at his back.

For a few moments Redheart looked at the space where the doctor had once been, her eyes locked in what seemed to be a permanent stare that was almost determined to turn around the corner and follow the ‘illustrious doctor’ to the grave and beyond. With a sharp turn of her glacier blue eyes Redheart looked around the surrounding area, several gazes meeting her own and each with a varying degree of fright and surprise, “Can I help you?”

Instantly everypony was back to work, all of them pointedly looking away from Redheart and her haunting azure irises. With a slow turn Redheart faced Twilight Sparkle once more, the lavender unicorn giving Redheart the exact same look of astonishment and terror. It was in the face of the powerful unicorn’s fearful look that Redheart gave off a small smirk, the anger in her eyes vanishing from view and being swallowed by a look of amusement and satisfaction, “Ah…I’ve been waiting for that for bucking ever. Thank you very much Ms…”

Seeing that the ivory earth mare was waiting for a response Twilight Sparkle shook her head, clearing her nerves as she did her best to not allow her knees to knock, “Twilight Sparkle.”

Redheart gave a soft chuckle, a warmhearted sound that was at ends with her once furious voice, “Thank you very much Twilight Sparkle, you have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to call him on all his nonsense. And if I’m not mistaken I was right about you being Celestia’s student hm?”

Twilight nodded slightly as she offered her own small smile and allowed herself to relax around the snowy nurse, “Yes I am, and for the record I would have no problem putting that letter through to the princess if what you said is true.”

Redheart smirked, casting another glance to where the doctor vanished before shaking her head in entertainment, “That and more Ms. Sparkle; but I think things will be a lot smoother around here after that little speech.”

Twilight giggled a bit, her past fear of the medical mare dissipating in the face of her true friendly nature, “I agree, but I want you to know my offer still stands. If not for the fact that what he is doing is wrong, then as thanks for helping my friend. I don’t know how I can ever repay you…”

Redheart grinned, “Just drop by every so often so we can chat alright? It’ll keep him on his tip-hooves.”
Twilight offered her own smirk, “I think I can do that.”

“Good,” Redheart responded, her body already starting to turn towards the crowded halls of the hospital, “now unless you have any further questions I really have to get back to work.”

Suddenly a light bulb popped into existence over Twilight’s head, a thought sparking across the neurons of her mind as she spoke, “Actually yes, do you know if any of my other friends are here? Their names are Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity.”

Nurse Redheart tapped a hoof to her chin for a moment, her sapphire eyes looking up toward the ceiling as she tried to think of any instance in which she had heard those names, “Hm…actually now that you mention it the name Applejack does sound familiar. You might want to give a trot around the third floor; if I remember right that’s where the less injured patients were taken.”

Twilight smiled, nodding her head as she responded, “Third floor, got it. Thank you very much Nurse Redheart.”

“No problem Twilight, good luck finding your friends in this mess,” Redheart said with a slight tone of exasperation, a wry chuckle on her lips as she turned and wadded into the thick of the mess that was Ponyville General.

After being dismissed by Nurse Redheart, Twilight raced for the third floor, her mind and body on a mission to find any of her friends that might have been injured in the storm. Up and down she paced the halls, wide eyes glancing form room to room searching for any semblance of her friends. After the third pass through the crowded walkways she was just about to admit defeat when a very familiar tan colored hat slid into her line of sight, “Applejack!”

Instantly the head wearing the hat snapped upward, blond mane fluttering from the sudden movement as a slim and distinct orange colored muzzle turned from side to side in confusion, “Twilight?”

Twilight’s heart leapt into her throat and she quickly bounded over to her friend, a bright smile on her lips as she shouted, “Applejack! Over here!”

As quick as a whip the orange coated mare turned to face the approaching violet unicorn galloping her way, a smile swiftly crossing her lips as her shimmering emerald eyes sparkled with joy, “Twilight! It IS you!”

After a bit of acrobatics that would surprise many who knew the sedentary studious habits of the purple mare Twilight came to a stop directly in front of Applejack, her body reaching forward so as to give the southern pony a gentle nuzzle of comfort and relief, “Thank Celestia you’re alright.”

Applejack gave a soft chuckle, responding to Twilight’s nuzzle with one of her own before speaking, “It’s good tah see yer all right Twi. That was one mighty crazy storm…”

“Indeed,” Twilight said with a worried tone, her body taking a small step back so at to look into Applejacks eyes, “How is your family holding up?”

Applejack sighed, “Well Big Mac went ‘n got himself all busted up fierce durin the storm but other than that we’re alright.”

“Oh my, what happened?” Twilight asked with sudden concern.

At this Applejack snorted in amusement and, to a point, annoyance, “Sometahms ah think Mac’s heart is bigger ‘n his head. He went out intah town in tha middle of that storm an brought a whole mess a Ponyville folk to our farm so they could hide in our apple cellar. An THEN he goes an tries tah hold the cellar door closed all by himself with all that freaky wind blowin!”

“Wow,” Twilight said with wide eyes and disbelief in her voice, “that was incredibly brave of him.”

“Yeah I s’pose,” Applejack muttered, a single sherbet hoof scuffing the floor, “An he didn’t get ALL that hurt…but still, he shouldn’t a gone ‘n scared me like that! Doc says it’s a miracle he ain’t dead or more hurt than he already is. As it is he’s lookin at a week ‘er two ah bed rest ‘an with the storm knockin out a ton of our orchard we’re gonna be really hurtin for hooves to help out.”

Twilight gave Applejack a soft smile as she placed a comforting hoof on the orange ponies shoulder, “Applejack, what your brother did probably saved the lives of many ponies and I wouldn’t be surprised if those ponies jump at the chance to give you and the rest of your family a hoof at fixing up the farm.”

For a moment Applejack appeared to be in deep thought, her glinting jade eyes looking down at the floor in deep contemplation over the words Twilight just spoke. Then, just as quickly as she had slipped into silent introspection Applejack remerged, a brash smirk on her lips as she spoke, “Yah know what? That’ll work out jus fahn Twi. With a little bit ah help ‘round the farm it gives me some time tah tan his hide fer scarin us like that.”

Both mares shared a soft giggle at Applejacks tough love for her brother, a kind of silly joy that came as a great relief in the midst of such a painful situation. Yet, as the laughter died a nagging question gnawed at the back of Twilight’s head, a thought that came out in the form of a simple inquisition, “Applejack, have you heard anything about the rest of our friends?”

Applejack, hearing the sudden severity in Twilight’s voice, quickly nodded her head, “Big Mac was able tah get Rarity an Fluttershy over to tha cellar, same with tha Cutie Mark Crusaders. Ah think after tha storm broke Rarity an tha Crusaders went back to the boutique to see how it fared an Fluttershy went tah help care for any of tha animals that were hurt. Pinkie Pah…well, Pinkie was in our cellar before we got there, yammerin somethin ‘bout her pinkie sense goin crazy so we didn’t bother askin but right when tha storm broke she hopped up and bounced right out of tha cellar like nothin happened. Didn’t find hide er hair of Rainbow Dash though.” At the mention of Rainbow Dash Twilight’s expression fell, something that was instantly caught by Applejack, “Wait, do you know what happened tah Dash Twilight?”

Twilight nodded, a heavy weight pressing down on her back as she spoke, “Yes…you see, apparently Rainbow was trying to break up the storm but some sort of…debris must have hit her and knocked her out of flight. She crashed through the window of the library in very bad shape.”

“Aw Ponyfeathers,” Applejack sighed, her head sinking towards the floor as well, “Dash went an tried tah be a hero again huh? Shoot, how many times gettin hurt is it gonna take for that silly filly to stop doin these crazy stunts!?”

“I don’t know but apparently she’s being given the best care the hospital can provide,” Twilight said with a thin grin, her entertaining conversation with Redheart and the grimness of the situation clashing to produce an expression somewhere in-between the two emotions. A raised eyebrow from Applejack prompted Twilight to tell the orange mare the whole story, something that brought a deep chortle and a wicked grin to the country mares features.

“Land sakes, sounds like that miss Redheart is one hay of a spitfire,” Applejack said, her grin growing by the second, “and tah risk her job fer Dash like that, have tah say she’s almost beatin my brother fer usin her heart instead of her head.” Sitting back on her haunches Applejack tapped the edge of her chin with her hoof, a semi-contemplative look in her eye as she continued her thoughts, “Maybe ah can arrange it so she can be Mac’s nurse. See if she can knock some sense intah that thick skull ah his.”

“Or maybe even get him to say more than two words at a time,” Twilight playfully jibbed, her thin smile forming into a fully fledged grin as Applejack gave her a light punch in the arm.

“Yah just might be onta something there Twilight.”

Just as Twilight was going to respond with another jest a violent pull on her peripheral senses sent her head spinning, a massive wave of vertigo sweeping over Twilight and causing her to stumble backward and eventually fall onto her haunches.

“Twilight!” Applejack shouted with surprise as she rushed over, her head pressing itself into Twilight side in an attempt to help the violet mare stand, “is everythin alright!?”

Ignoring Applejack’s sudden cry, Twilight’s body moved on its own, her form rising from the cold linoleum of the hospital floor and taking a few steps towards the nearest window and the center of the abnormal magical pull on her senses. The closer Twilight came to the unbroken pane of glass the more her heart pounded, her trembling muscles only barely able to take her to the window before she fell once more onto her rear.

She recognized it…this feeling.

She had only caught a glimpse of it once and even then it was very weak.

But now it was much stronger.

And it seemed to be growing…

Cuernos de Toro

There is no such thing as an easy hunt…

It was a saying that she had heard from the very first moment she heard her father’s voice growling in the echoing confines of their small but sturdy stone den. She had not yet even been able to open her eyes before her father communicated that snarling lesson, the harsh reality of survival and individual domination being delivered long before she could understand it and well beyond. As she aged under her parents carefully guiding paws she heard that very phrase repeated over and over again, each reiteration pounding another nail into her mind; a massive scaffold for future information and lessons being formed upon a single all encompassing thought…

There is no such thing as an easy hunt.

Because of this groundwork she was taught from a very early age how to hunt, her sire and her bearer grinding the art of the kill into her head with the same unrelenting and tireless work that one would use to crack the thigh bone of an elephant. Over and over they drilled the skill of silence in her steps, the ferocity of fire in her fangs, the cruel casualty into her deadly claws, all because of that one unending truth…

There is no such thing as an easy hunt…

When she was first allowed to attend and participate in the social hunts of her kind she came face to face with a monster of her species, a massive specimen whose hunting prowess and past victories brought him to near god-like status among them. Along with the title also came a sense of overly inflated pride and entitlement, his growling and postulating causing one to think he expected all to fall at his feet from a mere glance. She remembered his attitude, his face, his pride; it all spoke of the single defining fact of his own life.

My hunt is always easy. I’m the best there is…

When the day had come to its close she remembered him pridefully trotting around his trio of adult cockatrice, their necks slashed and snapped for good measure rendering their petrifying stare moot. She remembered the gawking of her kin, their mouths open and their eyes wide as if this singular male had come and graced them with the pleasure of a miracle. All of them, except of course, for her. She remembered as he swaggered over to her, the only one of her kind not groveling at his feet, and waved his prize in her face. It was clear from his actions that she was supposed to bow to him; his wickedly crimson eyes demanding her submission to his whims and to his godly seed. She remembered looking him directly in the eyes, her own glittering gold gaze asking a single question, ‘was your hunt easy?’

The response was easy to glean from his that the response was a sound and resounding, ‘Yes.’

She remembered her own fearsome smirk as it came across her lips, rows of bloodied fangs bearing themselves as she gave a small and simple nod over her shoulder. She remembered leading the male and several others deeper into the forests, their silent paws sticking to the ground more and more as they entered the swampy and marsh covered territory found near the heart of their wild homeland. She remembered watching with glee as that infuriatingly pompous male dropped his trio of serpent birds to the ground as she happily hopped upon the skull of her own prize; a juvenile but incredibly large hydra. It was easy to read the question in his eyes, his ruby orbs looking up at her with disbelief and fear, ‘How?’

She snarled loud and roared proud, her eyes always glaring into his as she took a vicious bite of the beast’s thick neck, ‘It wasn’t easy.’

She remembered being addressed with great respect and fear from that point, her skill in the art of the hunt and her formidable record of various defeated foes causing many of her kind to bring gifts and offerings. Each and every one she would turn away, calmly and respectfully sliding the gifts and treasures back to their owners with a firm gaze offering no argument against her obvious wishes. She needed not pity as if she were some young kitten and nor did she need tribute like a power hungry god. All that she needed was prey…

And the knowledge that the hunt would never be easy.

So it was a rather unique experience that she found herself in this early morning; freshly woken from a deep summer evening sleep by the cacophonous sound of thunder and lightning she had gone to investigate a rather loud crash deep in the heart of her territory. To her great surprise she found a being unlike any she had found before, something that she tried to equate to some sort of forest ape but finding several differences between it and the tree dwelling snacks she so happily devoured. For the most part the creature seemed to be lacking a great deal of hair or any other covering for that matter.

To be honest all she saw to cover the skin of the creature were a few scraps and remains of some sort of second skin that had once covered it; a small scrap or two adorning its shoulders with a few more pieces covering its hips and each of its flat footed legs. Taking a brief sniff of the air her mind was flooded with scents, but none were more prevalent than the fragrant aroma of blood and the harsh odor of ash. Indeed the creature seemed to be covered head to toe in various wounds, scrapes and cuts of all shapes and sizes decorating its skin in ways that made her wonder how the creature was still standing. She also could see where the smell of ashes was coming from, if the creatures smoking head fur and cindering second skin were anything to go by she might have thought that the creature had been struck by a wayward bolt of lightning.

Giving another quick scan of the creature solidified her suspicions of this creature’s dubious nature especially considering her knowledge of this wicked forest. This creature lacked horns, claws, scales, fangs, hair, any sort of extraordinary muscular structure, and anything else that could possibly aid it in survival in this ferocious landscape. If anything the creature seemed scrawny and undernourished; a fact that when combined with the creatures obviously weakened physical state sent her stomach into a violent growl. It had been a long time since she had such a defenseless meal…

Perhaps, she thought, just this once…

The hunt would be easy…

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“Twilight yah ain’t makin a lick a’ sense!” Applejack shouted, her hooves thundering over the dirt path as she raced after her violet furred friend, “What’d y’all talkin’ about the Everfree Forest for!?”

Twilight said nothing as she continued running for the border of Everfree Forest, her teeth grit hard and her horn leading the way and she continued to follow the source of the mysterious pull. It was as if some sort of clawed hand had reached out from the forest itself and ensnared the whole of Twilight’s corporeal form, slick transparent fingers sliding around the center of her magical being and reeling her in like a fish on a hook. Thoughts came and went across Twilight’s mental eye without recognition, her focus turned away from her normally analytical mindset and instead being enthralled with the goal of her accelerating path. For Twilight it mattered not what force was in her way, what dangers or perils she might befall, all that mattered was running and running towards this mysterious phenomenon.

It was at this moment that Twilight’s force of will and determination was put to the test when the orange coat of Applejack flittered into her vision. The firm emerald eyes of her friend locked with her own as she raced ahead of the charging mare. When there was a good distance set between them Applejack quickly spun on her rear hooves, the earth beneath her feet giving way but her practiced balance holding her aloft as she turned to face the quickly oncoming purple unicorn.

With her feet firmly planted Applejack thrust her entire body forward, her hat flying from her head as she made a brief but agonizingly painful impact upon Twilight’s own skull. Twilight gave out a yelp of pain as her head made contact with Applejacks, the farm mare’s headbutt powerful enough to cause her a substantial loss of balance thus leading to her falling to the dusky ground in a heap. For her part Applejack only seemed mildly perturbed at the strike, her nostrils flaring and giving a quick snort to forget about the pain before focusing on her true mission, “Now I ain’t gonna ask again Twi, what’s this all about!?”

Twilight groaned as she rubbed the now sore spot on her skull, the tender area just beneath her horn pulsing with every heartbeat as she tried to register the world around her. It was through this pain that the world took on some semblance of normality, the ache in her mind forcing her logical thoughts to work overtime and thus gain some leverage over the pull that continued to tug at the edge of her senses, “Ugh…what are you talking about? Oww…and what just hit me?”

Applejack trotted up to her friend, gracefully scooping her hat from the ground and placing atop her head as she spoke, “That’d be a good ’ol fashioned Apple family apple noggin knocker…be glad I took it easy on yah Twi, most ponies get knocked out from one’a those.”

Twilight slowly cracked open one violet eye, her body slowly rising up to sit upon her haunches as she massaged at her temples, “I can see why but why did you just hit me?”

Applejack sat before her friend and gently reached out with a comforting hoof, “In tha hospital yah went and just stared out tha winda for a couple a minutes before you suddenly whispered somethin’ about the Everfree Forest and ran off. I could barely keep up with yah, yah were runnin’ so fast.”

“Huh?” Twilight spoke in confusion, her mind trying its best to rewind time between the throbbing in her brain and the drain of some unknown force on her senses, “Wait…I…I think I’m remembering…Yes! Now I’ve got it.”

“Er…Twilight,” Applejack asked with a raised eyebrow, “What do yah got?”

Twilight offered a small smile to the orange mare as she stood up, one hoof continuing to rub at the freshly forming bump on her forehead as she spoke, “Well you see, earlier today, just as the storm was ending and Rainbow Dash crashed into the library, I saw something fall out of the sky and land in the Everfree Forest.”

“Somethin’?” Applejack said with confusion, “Like somethin the storm picked up or somethin else?”

“Something else,” Twilight elaborated, “I mean, I am only hypothesizing but the only reason I saw it was because it produced a strange aura, almost like it was magical. I feel that this can also be supported by my observation that it seemed to be on fire when it fell but the fire looked to be green in color which, as we both know, is an indication of flames from a magical source. It also appeared to be of substantial size, though I can’t be entirely sure about that since I didn’t have a known object nearby which I could use to calculate its average size-”

“Uh, Twilight,” Applejack spoke up, her voice pulling Twilight’s attention back to her explanation and away from her theoretical ramblings.

“Right, right, sorry,” Twilight said with a sheepish smile, “anyway, as I said before I sensed some sort of aura around the object when it fell but I lost track of it when other matters became more important.”

“Yah mean Rainbow right?”

“Exactly, but earlier in the hospital the aura that I felt from the object came back but stronger. Much, MUCH stronger,” Twilight said with an almost palpable sense of worry, the pain in her head fading and the pull on her senses being put on the back burner as her logical mind went into overdrive at the implications of such data.

“So…?” Applejack said with uncertainty, a touch of worry in her tone at her friends gradually accelerating apprehension.

Taking a slow breath Twilight closed her eyes, her mind focusing on her own internal magic and the innate flow that it held. Sure enough Twilight felt a slight oddity in her magical stream, a slight pull that seemed to originate in the direction of Everfree Forest, “The aura that the object is resonating seems to have a sort of magnetic effect on my magic, almost like it’s drawing in magic from the surrounding area and centralizing it on a singular point.”

“So what yer tellin me is that this…whatever it is, is suckin up magic?” Applejack responded with wide eyes and her own nervous tone. While it was true that many ponies didn’t think about the words magic and earth ponies in the same sentence there was an undeniable connection between the physically powerful pony breed and the magic of the earth that they worked.

“Yes…and if my assumptions are correct that isn’t even the worst of it,” Twilight said gravely, a heavy sigh escaping her lips as she continued, “The best case scenario is that the object itself simply landed near a large magical energy source and is overloading on the nearby supply; kind of like gorging itself on a huge meal and using that energy to try and pull even more in. That would definitely be the easiest to deal with and the cleanup would be the quickest with the least amount of collateral damage.”

“And tha worst case?” Applejack questioned, her emerald eyes turning from her friends to the looming forest in the distance.

“Worst case,” Twilight sighed, following Applejacks line of sight and setting her eyes upon Everfree and the enigma contained within, “whatever the object was is alive and it is consuming magic to grow stronger. This in turn would cause it to send out a larger aura and pull in even more magic which would power an even stronger aura and so on until it either was defeated or consumed all of the magic in the world. Earlier in the hospital I was also theorizing on if the object was carrying any sort of foreign disease which would compound upon the previous hypothesis and create a situation that I’m not certain we would be able to handle.”

For a great long while Applejack was silent, her mind racing over the information that she had gathered from Twilight’s monologue. Despite what some ponies might have called her the orange mare was very sharp, her practical knowledge of magic and how it affected her life causing her to realize how dire of a situation this was. With a heavy sigh Applejack adjusted her hat on her head, allowing the shadows of her Stetson to swallow her eyes as she spoke, “So why ain’t we seein a bunch of other Unicorns makin a break for the forest?”

“If I had to guess then I would say it had to do with my training,” Twilight said with a halfhearted shrug, “Princess Celestia made sure I knew how to sense and counter any kind of magic so I guess whatever beacon that this object is making is just ringing on a level that I can sense and the others in town can’t. I can’t imagine how much worse this would be if every unicorn in Ponyville was affected…”

“Right,” Applejack said with a nod and slight shiver, her mind picturing dozens of mares and stallions charging the forest and what could be their inevitable doom, “So next question is, what’er we gonna do about this?”

“The only thing we can do is get information,” Twilight said with a sigh, her eyes closing as she felt the tug on her magic become just a bit stronger, “Applejack, can you look for the othrs and give them a heads up on what happened to Rainbow Dash and this object?”

“Ah’ course Twilight but what are you gonna do?” Applejack said, a knot forming in her stomach as she anticipated Twilight’s next words.

“I’m going to see what this object is,” Twilight said with a tone of determination, “I know enough counter spells to magical absorption that I should be safe-”

“Should be?” Applejack cut in with blunt skepticism, “that’s all nice ‘n good with yer fancy theories and mathematics but it ain’t flyin with me Twilight. Yer comin with me tah tell our friends about all this THEN we’re ALL goin tahgether. Like you said before we fought Discord, nothing can beat us as long as we stay tahgether!”

Twilight smiled softly, remembering that battle from so long ago. The lessons they learned, the trials that they had overcome. Shaking her head slightly Twilight sighed, turning her gaze from the forest to Applejack and offering an apologetic grin, “I’m sorry Applejack but I don’t want to risk hurting anypony else.”

Before Applejack could say another word Twilight was engulfed in a sphere of lavender energy, her body vanishing in the blink of an eye and revealing nothing but a softly smoking patch of grass where she once stood, “Aw pony feathers….”

////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

With every step towards his goal he felt a new strength surge throughout his form, a fresh rush of energy that turned his blood to fire and fed the fanatic flames of his fury with an ever rising vigor. Had he looked upon his body he would see the miracle of his numerous cuts clotting before his very eyes, wide gashes and lacerations of all kinds sealing with a plug of solidified blood. He would be dumbfounded at the sudden evenness in his own gait, his steps coming with greater reliability and firmness despite the fact that not a few moments ago it was an almost assured fact that at least one of them had been broken. Even the ugly scar upon his cheek seemed to be in the process of fading, the marring mark gradually melting away as new, supple flesh bubbled up and buried the area which it once lie.

And yet these would pale in comparison to the other changes he would see.

It would be assured that he would scream in terror at his new face, an amalgamation of his own human features and the elongated snout of some vicious bull-like creature. This alteration only seemed to be accentuated by his new ornate cranial decoration, a pair of foot long bull horns sprouting from his temples and giving him the silhouette of a demonic monstrosity from the depths of hell itself. And yet, while this change was drastic and rather dramatic it only seemed to be a precursor to the rest of his body, each step seeming to send a pulse of metamorphosis along his earthly form and causing new transformations to occur by the second.

With a sickening tearing sound and a fountainous spurt of blood his musculature changed in an instant, his once smaller and streamlined human muscles giving way to an almost juggernaut level of physical fitness; his skin stretching tight and snapping from the strain only to mend seconds later with multiple bandages of coagulated blood. For a moment he stumbled and fell, the first error in his strengthening steps caused by a sudden repositioning of his flat footed legs; knees bending backwards with a violent crack and feet melting to form a pair of monstrous cloven hooves at the end of his now digitigrade limbs.

As his legs repositioned themselves and forced him to the ground so did the rest of his skeletal system take the opportunity to mold into its new terrifying form; a multitude of splinters and snaps echoing in the clearing only to be silenced as their instantaneous rearranging gave birth to something monstrous. In as much time as it takes one to blink he found his way back to his feet, his new hooves finding greater purchase as his hunched body gave a snort of displeasure. As one final pop filled the air his transformations seemed to come to an end; a thin tail tipped by a small tuft of pitch black hair waving back and forth from the base of his spine crowning his rapid transmogrification. With his transmutation at an end he turned his deep ochre eyes towards the monster before him, his rage mounting to a pitiless peak and causing is body to begin a charge of pure instinct and full of boundless fury.

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For her part the Manticore could only watch with an astounded gaze at her prey’s sudden metamorphosis, the feeble creature that had stood before her peeling away piece by piece and becoming something unlike any she had seen before.

Once or twice she had come upon a fabled Minotaur, the hulking bull-like creatures able to back up their musculature with a surprising amount of cunning and skill. Their strikes were powerful and precise, their defense physically impressive and tactically ingenious. Yet, they always seemed to suffer from some sort of egotistical weakness, their arrogance begetting their downfall and lending her a rather handsome meal with every encounter. However, with this new creature there was none of that egotistical hesitance, none of the overinflated confidence that drove many to ‘toy’ with her in battle. No, not only did this new creature seem to physically tower over the Minotaur’s of her past but it seemed to lack any of the higher brain functions that would lead to an over inflated ego. In fact, it seemed focused…

Worst of all, it seemed focused on her.

She was just barely able to give a quick leap to the side to avoid the creature’s goring horns, the sharp protrusions of bone able to eviscerate her in seconds and with minimal effort. However, while she did avoid an instant death she was far from the danger zone as one of the creatures massive hands swung to the side, catching her in the barrel of her body and pulling a squealing yelp of pain from her mouth before throwing her away like a rotten piece of flesh. For a few seconds after the hit she floundered through the air, the force of the strike sending her aloft for quite a distance before gravity took hold and returned her to the floor of the forest.

Her body continued its path and rolled on the ground form the force of the hit but after a second of mental reorganization she found her bearings and hopped to her feet, her teeth clenched as a wave of pain washed over her from her now bruised, if not broken ribs. With her body once more on its feet the creature turned its gaze toward her once again and began to twist its massive body to face her position. With keen eyes she watched as the meager scraps of cloth it once wore pulled tight against its newly formed legs causing its mobility to be reduced; a fact that she intended to exploit in great detail.

As the creature kicked up dirt in preparation for a wicked charge her paws dug into the soil below her and she prepared to enact her plan with cunning vengeance…

////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Twilight let loose a grateful sigh as she peeked out from behind the tree, her violet eyes watching with restrained hope as Applejack argued with herself for a few moments before she finally raced off in the direction of Ponyville. No doubt the sherbet farm mare had just been debating over following Twilight or rounding up their mutual friends to do the same. Somewhere in the back of her mind she was thankful that Applejack had decided to go gather their friends first before attempting to follow her, if this did turn out to be a worst case scenario then they would definitely need the teamwork…

If she lasted long enough for them to get to her that is.

Shaking her head to clear that grim thought from her consciousness Twilight turned to the source of the magical pull that she had felt, her eyes squinting in determination as she raced toward the epicenter of its signal. When she had first sensed the broadcast she couldn’t help but be attracted to it, her long time in Ponyville lending her a sense of complacency and relaxation that she couldn’t afford back in Canterlot…or at least that is how she felt it was.

No matter what the case had been when she had first sensed the magical phenomena the irresistible pull easily squirmed its way into her brilliant mind, her lack of practice in resisting magical effects on the mind causing her to lose her senses and mindlessly search for the source. However, after Applejack’s impromptu attack on her head her logical mind reset itself, the pain drowning out all external input and giving her time to prepare a mental ward against the overwhelming pull of the eldritch beacon.

With this in mind Twilight raced towards the center of the beacon, surely if she could sense it then other creatures of Everfree could as well. Worst case it would be a dragon that found itself drawn to the beacon, the greedy and gluttonous creatures being pulled towards the signal in hopes of finding some sort of glorious treasure or even another dragon to either fight or mate with. Best case scenario she was the only one that had felt it due to her training and her own mind had made a mountain out of a mole hill in terms of threat level. No matter what the case she had to press on, her surprisingly athletic leaps and bounds carrying her over many of the forests many hazards and bringing her ever closer to the source of the beacon.

It was at that moment that she felt the beacon change position, the pull of the object moving a short distance to the side rather quickly before coming to a slow stop. This immediately caused her heart rate to skyrocket and her pace to hasten even more; had something found the beacon? Was it trying to make off with it and harness its power? Or…or…was the beacon itself alive? As Twilight allowed her mind to become slightly more sensitive to the beacons pull she could feel it move again, a slow and laborious shifting in its position leaving no doubt at her assumption. The movement felt too smooth, too natural, too organic to be something else carrying the beacon.

Whatever it was, it was alive and it was on the move.

A sudden flash of ice water raced through Twilight’s veins, her entire body shivering and her hair rising on end as the implications of this fact invaded her thoughts. Whatever it was, was indeed alive and, despite the fall that it had suffered it was apparently on the move. This fact brought even more thoughts to Twilight’s mind, her scientific self beginning to theorize on the exact nature and composition of a creature that could withstand a fall from over a thousand hooves in the air. What was it made of? How big was it? Was it sentient? What was its diet? What is its natural habitat? How did it get here?

That last question was currently the main source of Twilight’s mental inquiry as she broke through the edge of a rather large clearing, the pull of the beacon becoming almost overwhelming as she happened upon something that nearly caused her to faint on the spot…

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Thunder seemed to come from the ground as the creature charged her, its pitch black hooves splitting the earth and shattering rocks with each powerful stomp. Its head was lowered in typical goring position but she could still see those dark brown eyes, staring at her with unwavering attention and unbreakable concentration. The fury of the creature was palatable as it rushed forward, its monolithic form bursting with surprising speed as a bone shivering howl of horrific fury flowed from its bloody lips. Despite this display she waited with practiced patience as the creature drew near, her back legs wavering back and forth in preparation for her plan. She would only get one chance at this and given what she had seen of this creature it was a very slim chance that it would work but she had to try.

After all, it wasn’t easy.

Just at the creature was upon her she leapt not to the side but directly upward, her powerful legs and strong wings granting the lift she needed to leap up and above the monstrous creature’s monolithic body. Just as her plan had predicted the monster continued its charge unabated and it drove the full force of its body into the tree she had cunningly positioned at her back. The monster hit the tree with enough force to send the organic pillar flying, ancient wood and weather toughened bark being torn asunder by the creatures iron hard horns and flailing limbs. For a moment she allowed herself a small smirk at the creatures befuddled floundering, the constraining and shockingly resilient tatters of cloth causing just enough pause in the creatures movements to enact the second part of her devious plan.

As the monster rose from the wreckage of the tree it had just demolished she landed on the creatures broad back, her tail lashing out with lightning like speed and implanting the tip of her venomous stinger directly into the side of the creature’s thick neck. The monster grunted in pain at the sudden sting moments before it screeched in agony from the influx of venom in its veins. She could feel her tail lighten just the slightest bit as she poured every last drop of her potent poison into the monster, her once smirk turning into a full on grin as she gave even more toxin than twenty Minotaur’s could handle directly into the beasts blood stream.

In the blink of an eye the creature would surely peri-

GHACK!

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Somewhere in the back of her mind Twilight knew it would be smart to backpedal with all of the speed she could utilize and hide behind some trees, her survival instincts and her logical mind teaming up and shouting with all of their combined might to have their host show some sort of initiative for self preservation and run like the fires of Tartarus were nipping at her tail. However, no matter how much she ordered her body to move she couldn’t even twitch a muscle, she was barely able to breathe given the circumstances of her situation.

Standing only a short distance away was a huge Manticore, a vicious predator of Everfree Forest that seemed to tower over the Manticore she had faced when she had first come to live in Ponyville. In fact, this Manticore made the other look like an infant; its rippling muscles, vicious fangs and claws, gigantic wing span, and the terrifyingly large scorpion tail causing Twilight to freeze with fright in a way that her previous Manticore experience hadn’t even come close to doing. Given that this Manticore was lacking a mane also caused a brief pause for thought only for it to be absorbed in a silent mental scream of horror that she quietly emitted at the sheer sight of the monstrosity. However, while this sight was shocking on its own it was what the Manticore was perched upon that truly caught Twilight’s attention and the subsequent fear that followed.

Standing with a hand around the throat of the Manticore and a venom filled stinger in its own vulnerable neck was a Minotaur like creature, the monsters physical build and facial features reminding her of a Minotaur called Iron Will that Fluttershy had shown her in a picture only a few months before. However, if the picture were anything to base her calculations off of then this Minotaur seemed to be about twice the size of Iron Will and with about three times the musculature to boot. Not only that but this creature seemed to lack any sort of body fur whatsoever and, even more disturbingly, it was covered in a thick layer of dried blood. Whether it was its own blood or that of another creature was left up to debate but that was far from Twilight’s most prominent observation.

One such observation was that the creature was larger than the Manticore, its muscle-bound body outweighing and outsizing that of the poisonous feline that it now had in an unbreakable grip. Given that the Manticore itself was already gigantic it compounded another level of terror onto her already petrified mind. Another factoid gained from Twilights frightened focus was that it seemed to be ignoring the effect of the Manticores venom, an impossible feat that Twilight found on par with discovering how Pinkie Pie did what she did. Manticore venom was one of the deadliest poisons on the face of the planet and even the smallest of doses were enough to kill a large number of ponies in a few quick heartbeats. Not only that but Manticore venom was commonly called the Bloodfire Fever, its effects on the body being so painful that the few that have survived it have described it as your blood transforming into liquid flames; a sensation that caused many to reenact the pain by lying down on the ground and screaming with all of their might.

However, it was Twilight’s final observation that caused her breath to halt in her throat and every last thought in her mind to stop on a bit. A single and all encompassing truth that tugged at her senses as well as her innate magical being…

This creature WAS the source of the magical beacon…

And it looked very, very angry…

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He turned to the creature in his grip, his massive fingers wrapped around the creature’s neck and holding on with as much strength as he could possibly muster. Despite the venom coursing through his veins and vicious rending that the monsters claws were doing to his arm none of it mattered. Nothing of the pain seemed to pass through his senses, no signal from his body at how wide spread the poison had become, no message from his heart at how little blood was left in his body, nothing…

Nothing but rage…

Rage and revenge…

His hand tightened even more and the creature let loose with a painful wheezing snarl, every bit of air being squeezed from its lungs as its once powerful struggles began to falter Somewhere in the back of his mind the voice of mercy spoke, telling him he had won and there was no reason to continue to fight. In fact, the voice spoke, it would be much smarter to retreat and find aid for his wounds than continue with this battle.

The cacophonous crack of his partners’ clawed hand on the cheek of this soft reasoning filled his skull, the greedy lizard like grin of his silent friend looking down at the fallen notion before giving his own nod of ascent towards his actions. Where was the mercy when this creature attacked? Where was the kindness when it saw him bleeding and broken? What good would forgiveness be in this situation?

It was only a weakness to be cleansed in the flames of rage…

He felt whatever blood was left in his body quicken at the thought, his hand continuing to squeeze as the shadows of his anger danced through his vision. Swirling patterns of inky blackness flittered in and out of his gaze, their shapes growing and becoming more defined as he focused the full force of his anger at the creature in his grip. For once it was no longer looking at him with eyes of arrogance, no stare of superiority glared down its nose at him from behind two cat-like eyes. There was only pain and terror.

With grit teeth he watched as the shadows in his vision began to concentrate, their once hazy visage gaining higher levels of opacity as he spoke one word and one word only, “Morir.”

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For a moment Twilight could have sworn that the beast that held the Manticore in its grip had said something but this was quickly forgotten as something completely and utterly unthinkable happened before her very eyes. With the speed for a striking snake the shadows at the monsters hooves turned as dark as the bleakest night sky, the once docile grey toned shade cast by the duo of monsters forming the blackest of black before it began to shift and twist like a living, breathing creature. Twilight watched as the shadows seemed to coil in upon themselves, twisting and turning in a tensing pile before all at once they sprang forward, tearing themselves from their complacency on the ground and reaching out with a lance like tip towards the dangling Manticore. She could hear the muscular flesh of the Manticore tearing and multiple bones snapping as the lance pierced the apex predator from chest to spine, its entire body tensing from the agony and its mouth opening wide in a futile attempt to voice its pain.

Yet, this was far from the end of whatever the creature was doing as the spear like shadows began to recoil, pulling free from the Manticore and, terrifyingly enough, beginning to pull something with it. At first the Manticore struggled and twisted with a renewed vitality, trying its level best to slice itself free not only from the monsters grip but also from whatever the lance of shadow was doing to it. This proved to be a futile effort unfortunately as the spear of shade continued to pull, the Manticores clawed paws passing through the bleak javelin as though it weren’t even there while the monster continued to ignore whatever pain the Manticore had to dish out. Harder and harder the spear seemed to pull, drawing out even more of the mysterious substance that seemed to be colored a similar, if a bit lighter shade of black than the tendril that had ensnared it. As this substance was pulled from its body and the Manticores struggles became ever weaker Twilight realized what was happening and her head lurched forward, releasing the contents of her stomach onto the ground before her.

Not only was the source of the beacon alive but it was devouring magic directly from other living creatures.

As Rarity would say, this was

The.

Worst.

Possible.

Thing.

////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Bit by bit the monster in his grip began to weaken, its once hearty struggles fading faster and faster until at last it felt limp in his hand leaving its full weight to dangle like a dead man hung upon a noose. Beyond the range of his vision he couldn’t see the last bit of the shadowy substance being pulled from the chimera nor was he able to watch as it was drawn into his own shadow, the raven pool at his feet absorbing the writhing shade in its grip before returning to a dormant state of natural grey. He was also unaware of the unnatural lack of shadow beneath the Manticores limp form, its deceased body casting nothing but a few errant splatters of crimson liquid upon the ground below. Nevertheless he felt a small touch of pride in his work, a grim smile crossing bearing his bloodied teeth moments before he swung his arm to the side and cast the carcass along with it.

This was only a small sample, a meager taste of his wrath.

That pompous gilipollas would get the full force of his anger…

He could…count…on…

A sudden wave of vertigo crashed across his senses as he felt his body give way beneath him. His senses became so scrambled that he couldn’t hear the thunderous thud that happened when he fell.

But he certainly felt the pain that followed.

////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Twilight was somewhere between trying to wrangle her stomach into some form of working order and trying to get her legs to stop shaking enough to run when the monster that had only seconds before slaughtered a fully grown Manticore and devoured every last bit of its magical aura fell to the ground in a wrecked heap. Twilight could almost feel the earth beneath her hooves quake at the force of the fall, trees from around the edge of the forest shivering and earth being kicked up from the massive weight of the titans’ tremendous collapse. For a moment Twilight was confused at the creatures’ odd behavior until it let loose with a wail of pain, a pitiful call that seemed to stem from the multitude of snaps and cracks that were originating from its body.

Sure enough Twilight watched with wide eyed fascination and a still queasy stomach as the beast began to shrink, its hulking form quickly being reduced by the rapid transformation that it was undertaking. Bit by bit its bones and muscles snapped and shrunk, its skin bonding back together and its skull reshaping into something she had never seen before; all of it happening in a matter of seconds and with the constant scream of pain that continued to echo from its open mouth.

Twilight felt her heart and mind pulling in two different directions as the beast continued to shriek; her logical senses telling her to run as fast as she could and never looking back while her heart reached out to the being in pain only a short distance away. The two played with her sense of survival and her duty as an honorable and compassionate pony. Over and over they debated facts and observations, ideas and possible scenarios that could happen until at last Twilight’s heart won out and she approached the agonized being, her ears held flat against her skull and concern growing in her eyes with every step.

By the time she was standing next to the being it had shrunk to barely a quarter of its original size, the once titanic terror that had caused her vomit in fear and horror being reduced to what appeared to be a hairless and rather weak looking ape. Swallowing back her fear she leaned in just the slightest bit closer, the back of her mind just barely noting the lack of any sort of magical aura as she meekly asked, “H-Hello?”

////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

A muffled voice called out from the edge of the ever growing void that was his vision, his neck muscles just barely acknowledging his order as they weakly turned his head to face the voice. Upon being greeted by the owner of the voice all he could do was exclaim his surprise before the world finally went black and he sunk into blissful, painless unconsciousness, “P…Potro?”

Magia Negra

With a heavy sigh he allowed his head to droop ever so slightly, worried earth brown orbs looking at the curled fist before him. Inky black strands of hair fell messily from his ill-kept mane, the shaggy accumulation of raven locks conforming to his mood and shadowing his face in a curtain of fear and self doubt. As he continued to stare at the olive skinned fist he thought of the consequences of his next actions, his next move determining not only his fate, but the fate of his friends and the very world in which they lived. Everything relied upon him, the sheer weight of his responsibility crushing him beneath its mighty tread.

Yet, as the pressure crested and his fear seemed to be at its very strongest he could hear a voice, an elderly crooning tone that shook him to the very foundations of his being, “Believe Nieto… believe in el espíritu guardián…let them guide you like a proper Brujo.” As those soothing words rung in his mind he could feel his once tremulous emotions calm, his previously trembling breath coming in as regularly as the most sedate tides and his racing heart slowing to the gentle tick tock of an ancient grandfather clock. In the blink of an eye he snapped his head back, poised ochre eyes glaring into the mocking emerald orbs of his adversary. Slick grin met confident smile, his fist loosening and fate falling to the merciless whims of gravity…

“Natural Twenty bitches!”

“What? No way!” The pale skinned man at the head of the table shouted in disbelief, his ivy eyes opened wide in surprise as he looked down at the pitch black die on the table. Sure enough sitting atop the small twenty sided obsidian stone was a crimson number twenty. “Gah!” the red haired man growled, leaning back into his seat and retreating slightly behind his cardboard wall of ivory, “Whatever, you still need to back it up to even have a hope of-“

“Another nat twenty!”

Pale skin turned even whiter as the man leaned forward, peering over the screen and seeing yet another twenty fill his vision, “No…fucking…way…”

The olive skinned boy merely grinned, his brown eyes gleaming with joy as he spoke, “Way; ask Alex and Bri. They watched me roll each one.”

Emerald orbs moved from the dark skinned young man to another figure at the table, a stout and burly gentleman wearing a tight muscle shirt and a shocked expression on his face, “He’s not shittin you John…he rolled each one legit.”

Quick as a whip the eyes moved again to the rather nonplussed young woman at the table, a single finger sliding her glasses up her nose as a haughty smile crossed her lips, “I assure you, both rolls were legal in every way John. Marco just double crited on your Pit Fiend and with his eighteen double zero strength and holy avenger…”

“GAH! Fine!” John growled and glared at the dark skinned Marco with a sneer, “Let’s see you back that one up!”
Marco merely grinned, rolling his D20 in his fingers as he spoke, “How much HP was the Pit Fiend on again? I’m fairly certain it can’t withstand a double crit from a holy avenger.”

“Just roll you lucky Mexican bastard,” John snarled, watching as Marco rolled his dice and letting I land on a healthy nineteen. A glare built up as he looked from the dice to Marco, the dark skinned boy giving him a shit eating grin, “You back it up…roll for damage.”

Taking out multiple dice Marco tossed them onto to table, malicious merriment dancing over his eyes as he spoke, “How does max on every dice but one suit you?”

For a long while John was silent, his eyes taking in every number on the dice before him and comparing it to the remaining health of his devilish monstrosity. After what felt like an eternity of calculating John sighed, his body rising from his chair and leaning over his screen before reaching out and pulling the monstrous game piece from the map, “You decapitate the Pit Fiend and send its bloody, disembodied head flying into the wall behind it.”

“Hells yeah!” Marco cheered, one fist pumping in the air as the other reached out towards Alex, “Where the dogs at beef?!”

“The pound!” Alex hooted, his fist slamming into Marcos with the resounding smack of flesh on flesh, “awesome crit dawg.”

“Yes, very impressive,” Bri said with that almost omnipresent haughty tone and grin, her ice blue eyes watching with amusement as Marco rubbed his now sore hand, “for once you were useful instead of a muscle bound burden.”

Marco rolled his eyes as he continued to nurse his bruised knuckles, “Love you too Miss Backstabby Mcbitchbitch.”

“Ugh enough with the love and friendship,” John groaned, one hand on his stomach as he tongue lolled out of his mouth, “it’s making me sick.”

“It’s not our fault you run on pessimism and hate,” Marco chuckled, “learn to run on camaraderie and anger like I do.”

“Yes, a much healthier life attitude,” Bri said with a healthy note of sarcasm in her voice, “so where does that leave us now John?”

“Yeah,” Alex barked with sudden enthusiasm, a wide grin on his face as gazed hungrily at the board before him, “any awesome loot on the thing?”

“Yeah some,” John said with a small smirk, his hands sliding beneath the covers of the book on the table before him and rising up causing the tome to shut with a resounding clap, “But we’ll save that for next time. It’s getting to be midnight and some of us have work in the morning.”

“True that,” Alex said with a slow stretch, his thick muscles straining against his shirt as several joints loudly popped, “I’ve got like, four weight training classes to teach tomorrow. It’s gonna be a bitch.”

“Indeed,” Bri said as she daintily stood, her lithe and waspish form rising with the air and formality one would expect from a queen bee in her hive, “the museum just recently received some Sumerian relics and they have asked me to begin restoration on them.”

“Blegh,” Marco stuck out his tongue in annoyance, arms gliding across the table as he gathered his small obsidian dice, “consider yourselves lucky. I’ve gotta get to the carwash and listen to the gringo’s bitch and complain about how the ‘wetbacks’ are stealing all the jobs.” His hand began to move faster and his hand clenched harder as he continued to speak, “and don’t get me started on those pendejo mexicanos who think just because I don’t speak fluent Spanish that they can talk shit behind my back.” Marco’s voice began to turn into a low growl as he violently shoved the dice into his bag, fists held tight with veins rising to the skin from the sheer strength of his grip. In the very corner of his vision Marco could almost see the brief outline of a shadow dance over the wall; an occurrence that was easily ignored in favor of continuing his rant, “¡Hijo de puta! I still understand the word ‘halfbreed’ and ‘fake Mexican’ you assholes! ¡Me cago en la madre que te parió!”

“Hey!” the sudden voice of John snapped Marco out of his trance, his furious visage turning up to face the stern gaze of his fair skinned DM, “Relax alright? I understand it’s a shitty situation man but really, is freaking out about it here really helping you?”

Having his trance broken Marco took a deep breath, his muscles relaxing for a moment before he rolled his neck around his shoulders thus producing a resounding crack, “Ah….much better.” Turning his gaze back to John, Marco nodded, his hand slipping his bag of dice into his side pocket before he spoke, “Yeah…I guess you got a point John. Sorry about that…that stuff just gets to me you know?”

John nodded, an expression that was shared around the small table of friends, “Oh we know…remember last time you almost flipped the table onto Alex when your character went down to negative two HP?”

“Or when you almost crushed your D20 for rolling two ones in a row?” Alex provided, his arms crossed over his chest as he remembered both incidents with crystal clarity.

“What about the time you nearly tore apart the pewter figurines with your teeth after the ghoul paralyzed you for the third time in the fight?” Bri offered, one hand supporting her elbow while the other elegantly cupped her chin.

“Yeah, yeah I get it,” Marco grumbled, an embarrassed flush overcoming his cheeks as he spoke, “I got to relax alright. Geeze, enough with the after school special stuff, I gotta get home before el viejo beats me retarded.”

“You certainly don’t need help with that now do you?” Bri said with a sly smile, something that caused Marco to roll his eyes and chuckle at.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Murky, dank and murky.

If there were words to describe that night than those would be them. Long overdue rain hung over the land like a thick soggy blanket, smothering everything with the wet heat of ninety degree humidity. It was times like this that Marco wished that he lived somewhere with a drier and colder climate…or at least accept Alex’s offer for a ride. Yet, just as he had every time that the group had a game Marco denied the offer and walked his way home from the nice apartments, the humid streets of the city swallowing him whole into its massive digestive system of buildings and danger. It was just a lucky thing that he remembered how to navigate the bowels or else he might have been in real trouble.

The streets wound and slithered like the body of an ageless serpent, steel skeletons and concrete organs spiraling deeper and deeper into a seemingly endless labyrinthine maze. Yet, with the practiced knowledge gained through years of practice Marco was able to identify the individual towering steel stomachs and brown brick hearts of the city, instinct guiding his way to his home in the very heart of Little Mexico. As he walked Marco thought of his small home, the cramped living space granted to him and his family through sheer luck and financial help from the state. The brickwork was old and chipping, the fire escapes were rusting into nothingness, it was hot in the summer and cold in the winter, but it was better than nothing…right?

A heavy sigh came from Marco’s lips as he looked up toward the road ahead, his eyes locked on the dimly lit horizon that was the city streets. Long ago, when he was young, he used to enjoy playing out in the streets at night with friends. The bright lights of the streetlamps only accentuated the shadows of the night, a sense of danger and excitement fueling their childish imaginations. They would play cops and robbers, pirates and ninjas, every game that they could think of in their youthful bliss. Nothing could burst the bubble of their imaginary world, their lower economical status doing nothing to stem the glee they got from running streetlight to streetlight so as to avoid la fantasmas hidden in the dark.

Nothing, except for reality.

His eyes glazed over as he remembered the fracturing of his friends, of his family…of his heart. The loss of his friends was great, the loss of so many family members was greater, but it was the final loss…that last person slipping into the oblivion that lies beyond this life…

With a dull gaze Marco’s eyes stared into the shimmering humid heat before him. The water laden air causing the light of the streetlamps to waver and twist in the dance of mirage, his mind forming the image of a short olive skinned and white haired woman in the wispy air…

Perhaps it was then that the shadows started to arrive…

“Hola,” a voice spoke, a grave and elderly tone rising from the silence causing Marco to jump and spin on a dime. Standing only a short ten feet behind Marco was an elderly gentleman, his ancient body hunched as his wrinkled visage stared directly at Marco.

“¡Jesucristo!” Marco shouted in surprise, one hand clutching the left side of his chest, “Don’t sneak up on me like that please! You nearly gave me a heart attack!”

A low chuckle rose from the elderly man, his thin and chapped lips cracking into a grim smile as he spoke with a heavy Spanish accent, “Oh? That’s not good…at least not yet.”

Marco gave the old man a curious look, the cryptic words that the man spoke causing his mind to wonder, “Er…yeah…so uh, what are you doing out here sir? It’s getting to be midnight and the streets aren’t safe here.” Despite his question and subsequent warning Marco had the vaguest feeling that the man wasn’t listening, instead he simply seemed to stare at Marco through the darkness of the street. Perhaps it was the lateness of the hour that caused the shadows to cover the elderly man so perfectly, maybe it was Marco’s own visual exhaustion that caused him incapable of determining any specific details about the old man before him. Whatever the cause no matter how much Marco concentrated he couldn’t get a clear picture of the man, only a vague outline and the soft white gleam of a small smile.

“Would you be the nieto of Lupe Moreno?” the man asked, his head tilting ever so slightly as he seemed to lean forward in anticipation.

Marco was slightly taken aback, the old man’s grave voice echoing within his mind as the streets seemed to become even darker than they had before, “E-Excuse me?”

“I asked if you were related to la Bruja Blanca, Lupe Moreno,” The old man spoke, his voice taking on an impatient tone as the streetlights around him began to dim, “so tell me, are you the gilipollas that puta helped create or not?”

At that Marco stopped on a dime, his eyes growing wide for a moment before they snapped into a glare so deadly the very air could split from his hatred, “What did you just say?”

“So you are. I had a feeling that you were,” the old man said with a smirk, his hand reaching into the collar of his shirt as he continued to speak, “your abuela caused me a lot of trouble, you know that?”

“Trouble?” Marco growled, his anger skyrocketing as the man’s voice continued to taunt him, “Abuelita was a Bruja BLANCO you pendejo! She cured people, she helped them!”

“Exactamente,” the old man spoke, pulling out a small object from his shirt, “she cured people, she broke their curses. She broke MY curses.” The old man’s tone became bitterer the longer he spoke, “I was feared for my power and ability to curse others. My services were sought after, revered, and expensive. But that puta…that pinche puta broke them. My curses were useless and those that asked me to cast them got the full force of the backlash. Needless to say, she ran me out of business.”

“Sounds like Abuelita showed you your place pendejo,” Marco said with a cocky smirk, his hands curling into hard fists as he started to walk closer to the old man, “and for pissing me off so well how about I do the same you old culo.”

“¡Alto!” The old man shouted with cold cruelty, the object in his hand clutched tightly as he forced it out toward Marco in a threatening gesture. The moment those words crossed the old man’s lips Marco froze, his body halting in mid-step and not moving an inch more.

“Wha-What is this?” Marco shouted in surprise, his teeth gritting hard but not a single muscle on his body moving in the slightest, “why can’t I move!?”

“Pendejo,” the old man smirked, walking up to Marco with a slow and easy gait, “it is simple to cast this sort of curse when you have hair from the one you wish to weave your magic on.”

“¡Gilipollas!” Marco snarled, his eyed glaring liquid hate at the old man as the very corners of his gaze caught the slight flicker of dancing shadows, “how did you get hair from me!?”

“It was easy,” the old man spoke, coming close enough for Marco to finally get a good look at him, “when you can transform into el gato.”

Marco’s eyes widened in realization and fear as he caught full sight of the old man before him, snow white hair covering his head in sparse wisps while a pair of golden cat like eyes peered out from an ancient wrinkled face. The man wore drab and dully colored robes, the clothing of a Brujo Negro adorning him from head to toe. In one wrinkled and decrepit hand the man held a small doll, a human facsimile fashioned from old burlap and several strands of pitch black human hair. “Y-You…cabrón,” Marco hissed, straining against his own frozen muscles as he spoke, “why are you doing this?”

“Your abuela ruining my business and breaking my curses with her magic not enough?” The old man smirked, his one free hand reaching out and cupping Marco’s cheek, “think of it as a return to what I do best.” With a rough shove of his hand Marco slowly but surely tipped over, his frozen body landing on the ground with a thud and a grunt which the old man ignored, “I’ve waited years for your abuela to die so I could have my revenge and you will be the crowning masterpiece of my patience.”

“Have your revenge?” Marco grunted, firm brown eyes glaring with fiery rage as the shadows in the corners of his vision began to swell and twist, “What the hell are you talking about? Abuela is already dead you pendejo, you’ve already lost your chance-”

The old man squeezed the doll in his grip just a bit tighter, his stronger hold cutting off Marco’s breath and whatever words he was going to say next, “Don’t think I just sat around waiting just waiting to kill that puta of a bruja you pendejo. She broke my magic so easily; it would be stupid to attempt to confront her head to head. Instead I watched her and waited, just biding my time for the opportunity to get my revenge. As I watched I saw how much time she put into you niño, how much care and love she gave you…all the information she shared about your familia. What better way to get the revenge I seek than to kill you in the street like the perro you are.”

Realization dawned on Marco as his blood boiled even higher, fury pouring through his veins as the shadows from the edges of his vision grew ever larger, “The second I’m free, I’ll kill you…”

The old man chuckled once more, that low and mocking voice matching the callous smirk on his lips, “I doubt that very much pendejo. Now hold still…this will hurt.” Marco watched and struggled in his invisible binds as the old man knelt down beside him, the one hand not holding the burlap doll sliding into his numerous robes and retrieving a rolled sheet of parchment from deep within. The antique weathered paper unrolled with unnatural smoothness, easily lying flat against the concrete covered ground revealing numerous immaculate drawings and symbols lining the surface and forming a circular pattern. With the paper in its desired position the old man reached deep into the cavernous folds of his clothing and pulled out what looked to be the thin blade of a razor. Once more the man returned his attention to Marco, a malicious gleam in his eye as he reached down and drew the blade ever so slowly across Marco’s face.

Marco clenched his teeth and bit back a hiss of pain, the thin edge of the razor slicing opening up a diagonal wound across his left cheek. Slowly, the new laceration began to bleed freely, crimson liquid rolling down Marco’s skin seconds before the man dipped two ancient fingers into the very source of the scarlet river. Marco couldn’t hold back the grunt of pain as the old man began to twist and dig his fingers into the thin cut, widening the wound as he covered his fingers in viscous blood. After a few moments of the torture the old man removed his fingers, his now blood soaked digits moving from the boys wounded cheek to the paper he had set down only moment before. With careful and practiced movements the old man began to cover each and every rune with a stroke of blood, crimson paint covering the glyphs until the very last letter was covered. The old man grinned as the paper began to pulse, a dull purple hue overtaking the once off-white page as the letters and symbols began to burn with a crimson glow. With his hand still covered in Marco’s blood the old man held his palm above the page, his voice rising from the silence of the night and softly chanting as the fires of scarlet began to rise in a small circular inferno.

As the old man chanted over the parchment Marco continued to struggle, his eyes narrowed and the shadows in the corners of his gaze growing ever greater. Had Marco the mind for intelligent thought at the moment he would marvel at the way the shadows seemed to become ever larger, changing from the passing shapes of small animals to those of men and even vicious monsters. He also might have wondered why the shadows were becoming so large, the black mirages in the corner of his vision never once becoming as prominent as they were at this very moment. However, at the moment all he that came to his mind was rage…pure and unbridled ferocity. His heart thundered with wrath, his mind bathed in the pools of fury, and all he could think was one thing and one thing only, ‘kill.’

As the old man drew his chanting to a close he held the doll of Marco above the now roaring circle of crimson fire, the runes and other markings glowing brightly with royal red flame with nothing but pitch black emptiness in the center, “Excellente. Once I drop this doll into the portal the spell will be complete and you will be delivered to the deepest pits of hell. Any last words gilipollas nieto de Bruja Blanca Lupe Moreno?”

“Sí,” Marco said with a voice of pure deadly calm, “Morir.”

The old man grinned, his fingers loosening around the doll in preparation for release into the pitiless void of his ritual spell. However, just as he was on the verge of completing the ritual and sending Marco into horrors beyond imagination he felt a sharp pain erupt from his chest; a spire of agony that started at his very heart and spread out like the web of some vicious parasitic spider. Looking down at this chest the old man saw nothing but darkness looking back, a single tendril of inky shadow spearing his body from back to front like a skewer forged from the blackness of the night sky itself. With a wet cough blood splattered from the old man’s mouth, several drops of crimson life blood splattering over his spell and changing the flames of his revenge from bloody crimson and royal purple to vibrant emerald and neon orange. Seeing his spell change before his eyes the old man could only glare, his weakened grip slowly letting the doll in his hand to dangle closer to the ivy fire below, “You…will…suffer…gil-”

Another blood filled cough cut the old man off, his hand releasing the doll on pure reflex thus allowing it to fall into the emerald flames below…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thunderstorms were nothing new to Twilight Sparkle.

Precipitation spread life giving water over the land, fertilizing the soil with Dihydrogen Monoxide and allowing crops to grow in anticipation for the coming harvest. This harvest would feed the citizens of Ponyville and allow the prosperous town to continue upon its merry way. It was also no big surprise to her that some storms are worse than others, should the pegasi get behind on their rain schedule then they need larger and larger storms to cover up their past mistakes. While these storms could be a bit more chaotic that the ponies of Ponyville would like, it was a necessary evil in making sure that everyone was well fed and happy.

Yet, no matter how factual that these revelations might be none could account for the storm she was suffering now…
All around the library which she called home the wind howled and screamed, the ghastly wails of hurricane force winds tearing the land asunder and laying waste to anything within its path that was not nailed down. The ancient wood of her hollowed out tree home groaned with the stress of the storm, thick ageless branches squealing with effort as they tried their hardest to withstand the wild whipping winds. Long ago several windows had shattered from the sheer force of the tempest, spider web fractures cracking across the surface before the magically reinforced glass shattered into millions of pieces. Because of this Twilight had taken shelter in her basement library quite a while ago, her body crouched low to the cold stone floor with her purple dragon assistant huddled next to her and quaking with fear, “T-Twilight…wh-what’s going on with this storm?”

Twilight swallowed nervously, her ears flattening against her skull as yet another window in the library shattered with a resounding crash, “I…wish I knew Spike. I’ve never heard of any natural rainstorm being this strong and we would have been able to sense if somepony was casting a Tempest Spell.” Somewhere in the back of her mind Twilight felt the bleak shadow of doubt creep into her brilliant brain, while it was true that a successfully cast Tempest Spell cost a massive amount of magic to use and it was more or less a beacon to any nearby mage for miles around the storm that now raged had come in faster than even the professional pegasi weather team could keep up with. She remembered looking out her window as the winged ponies of Ponyville tried with all of their might to hold back the encroaching grey clouds only to be overrun by violent winds and catastrophic lightning in mere minutes.

“Are…are we going to be okay?” Spike whimpered, his head ducking and his ear frills lowering as the low crack of one of the older branches on the library snapped off in the wicked winds.

“Y-Yeah,” Twilight said with a weak smile, her head softly nuzzling the purple scales of her number one assistant, “Princess Celestia herself helped ward the basement from any damage so we should be safe if we just stay here Spike.”

Despite her attempt at comforting words even Twilight could hear the fragility of her words, the flimsiness that came from doubt and terror echoing in the timber and tone of her voice. Despite her knowledge on storms and her extensive training in magic and its uses even she could not begin to fathom where this typhoon had arisen from. It was as if it had come from absolute nothingness…

Her entire body winced as she heard another crash from the floors above, yet another window being reduced to nothingness from the wind and what it was blowing. However, unlike the previous times where glass had broken there was a sound that followed the loud shatter. A hollow thump vibrated through the ceiling of her guarded basement, a thick and weighty sound that was akin to somepony throwing a sack of potatoes on the floor of the library with the full force of their body. This alone was enough to get her ears to snap to attention once more but it was the following sound that caused her to hop to her hooves in terror, the horrible scream of pain that swiftly followed.

In mere seconds Twilight was galloping up the stairs toward the entrance of her safe haven, her voice calling out to her dragon assistant as a deep purple aura surrounded the door before her, “Spike! Get the emergency medical kit in my desk, I think I heard somepony in pain upstairs!”

Not waiting for a reply from her dragon companion Twilight swung the door open only to confront the full force of the storm with her face. Had Twilight taken a moment to think about her situation she would have thought of the pressure differences between the sealed basement and the open library as well as the fact that wind travels at a faster speed depending on the narrowness of the passage in which it is flowing. Yet, the only thought in Twilight’s mind as she faced the storm and was subsequently thrown down the stairs by the sudden rush of air was a very simple one, ‘OH MY CELESTIA!’

Twilight flailed about for some sort of ground but she found none as she floundered in the whipping winds, her hooves searching for some purchase of earthly friction but only tearing through the whirlwind that blew her about. For a few terrifying seconds Twilight spun through the air, her mind being thrown into turmoil and confusion as the world swiftly began to resemble some sort of abstract painting done by swirling hundreds of colors on the same canvas. Yet, almost on instinct she could feel the lessons of her instructor ring throughout her mind, the calm and wise voice of the great snow white alicorn goddess silencing her panicked thoughts and allowing her to react with swift rationality.

In the blink of an eye Twilight’s horn encompassed herself and the entire basement in a peerless purple bubble, her force field spell silencing the wind and causing everything that had been blowing around the land with an ungraceful clatter. Twilight herself was lucky enough to be the main benefactor of her spell, her body being easily lowered to the ground as though she had wings to slow her sudden descent. Spike on the other hand hit the ground with a grunt and a thud, one clawed hand reaching up and rubbing at the new bump upon his shout, “Ouch…geeze Twilight, think you could have put the force field up FIRST?”

“Sorry Spike,” Twilight muttered, her cheeks blushing slightly before she quickly shook the shame away, “but this is no time to be discussing retrospect! There might be an injured pony upstairs and it is our duty to help them!”
“Right! Got it!” Spike snapped to attention at the reminder, his body rising to his feet and a single claw giving a sharp salute before he ran over to Twilight’s mahogany desk. In seconds he returned with a small white and red box, the kit tucked securely under his armpit as he spoke, “found it Twilight!”

“Good, now let’s go Spike!” Twilight said, her legs already carrying her at a full gallop up the stairs as Spike followed to the best of his stubby-legged ability. In short order the duo arrived upstairs in the main floor of the library, the howling of the storm raging against Twilight’s mobile shield but unable to break the thick magical barrier. However, this came with a cost as Twilight grunted and let loose drops of sweat with each micro-burst of wind, her shield being battered and smashed with the full force of the tempest that blew throughout the library. Despite this minor distraction Twilight and Spike quickly found the source of the pained scream, an image that was not uncommon due to their adventurous lifestyle but still disheartening beyond belief, “Rainbow Dash!”

Sure enough, lying on the floor of the library, covered in shards of broken glass, torn books, and numerous wooden twigs was Rainbow Dash, her right front leg and one of her wings bent at unnatural angles while hot salty tears poured from her shimmering rose colored eyes, “H-Hey guys…wh-what’s up?”

“Oh no, no, no,” Twilight muttered as she looked over Rainbow Dashes beaten and battered body, “How did you get here Rainbow? It’s way too dangerous to fly!”

Rainbow chuckled weakly before wincing sharply and taking a shallow breath of air, “I-I tried to break up the storm…got close but…but this…thing came out…of nowhere…knocked me right…out of the sky…”

Twilight felt her curiosity burn at the mention of an unidentified flying ‘thing’ but she knew it was best to keep Rainbow Dash as quiet as she could, her hoof reaching down and pressing against Rainbow Dashes lips, “Stop talking Rainbow, it’s draining your strength. Just concentrate on staying with us okay?”

Dash nodded softly before she let her head rest on a miraculously debris-free portion of the wooden floor, her chest rising and falling in shallow gasps and her eyes continuing to leak terrified, painful tears, “Got it…Twi…”

Twilight ignored Dashes comment as her eyes began to dart from side to side in panic, it was far too risky to lift Dash and bring her back downstairs. Even if they had managed to patch up her superficial wounds in her lab there might be other internal damage that they wouldn’t be able to take care of with the equipment that they had. The only real option was to hold up her shield and try to lead all three of them through the storm but despite her magical talent not even she would have enough power to hold it that long. Over and over Twilight ran scenario after scenario in her mind, each simulation presenting a different solution but each ending in a very similar way. With a heavy sigh Twilight’s head hung down, her body being flooded by a single oppressive emotion; hopelessness…

A sudden shiver ran down Twilights spine and in a flash she lifted her head from her depressing thoughts, her gaze shooting out one of the many broken windows to the violent churning storm outside. For a few moments Twilight’s eyes scanned the heavy grey clouds fruitlessly, the swirling and tumultuous weather unchanged despite the magical tingling in her mind and the strange thundering in her heart. Yet, just as she was about to turn her attention back to the injured Rainbow Dash and worried Spike something appeared in a massive ivy flash, a monolithic explosion of emerald color slicing apart the clouds without the slightest of care of effort. It was as if some formless giant had appeared from the ether, tearing apart the storm with the finesse and skill of an untrained and drunken warrior. Out of this gargantuan blast came a single object, an object that looked to be on fire…an object that was heading directly for the Everfree Forest…