Home is Where the Swords Are

by NekoAbunai

Rating: teen
Tags: Original Character, Snails, Cutie Mark Crusaders, Slice of Life, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Snips
Length: 5666

Bright Bounce has lost it all. She lost her home, family, and her way of life. Can she adjust to the new life in Ponyville and new ponies, or will she succumb to the added weight of her future as a Royal Guard?

My first long story I plan on writing for this site. Please give positive feedback and cristism. I hope you enjoy :).

Bright Bounce has lost it all. She lost her home, family, and her way of life. Can she adjust to the new life in Ponyville and new ponies, or will she succumb to the added weight of her future as a Royal Guard?
Oh also, she's got possessed swords. Thought that might be an important detail.

Rated teen for scenes of gore in future.

Published 2015-09-01 01:20:02 UTC
Last updated 2015-09-02 23:37:58 UTC

Prolouge

“... Bright…”

…

“... Bright Bounce…”

…

“Hey sis, wake up!”

A sudden push pulled me from the darkness and into the land of light. With a yelp, I sat up and was greeted by a teenage unicorn mare, smiling as she pulled back a hoof from my side. The dark blue pony grinning as she registered my look of confusion had splotches of indigo all over her body, one spot resting on the corner of her eye, crinkled in a smile. A dark red sash tied around her horn caught the wind and blew into my face, causing a little flinch and a bigger grin from the mare.

“Sash? What’s going on?” I rubbed sleep from my eyes as I yawned up at my sister, drawing a small chuckle from her. Looking around, I recognized the familiar plains surrounding the tree I sat under. A little ways off, there was a little house with a tiny garden in the front and a small wagon behind the two-story house.

“You fell asleep, silly,” Sash answered, her indigo mane shifting in the dry wind slightly as she leaned forward to kiss me on the forehead. “Now, come on, dinner’s waiting for us.”

I stood up and stretched as my sister stepped back, my wings spreading out behind me as I reached forward. Smiling as I finished getting the sleepiness expelled from my system, I trotted up next to my sister, ready to take on the afternoon, or what was left of it, based on how low the sun was in the sky.

Sash smiled down at me, her dark blue, almost black, eyes twinkling in a mixture of happy emotions. I grinned up at her before yelling, “Race ya!” and running full trot down the hill. I heard a snort behind me prior to the sound of hooves hitting the ground at a much faster pace than mine.

The wind blew against me in a familiar hug, embracing me with the scent of home and freedom. It pulled at the corners of my mouth, coaxing out my biggest smile and, eventually a laugh as I ran towards home. I heard my sister running beside me, prompting me to turn and look at Sash as she ran with me, her red ribbon billowing out behind her horn and into her tied-up ponytail. She wore a smile similar to mine, her enjoyment shining in her eyes as we raced home.

As the grass became coarser we slowed to a trot, our hooves clopping occasionally on flat rocks when we drew closer to a training dummy and a sword hung on a pieced-together weapon rack. I drew to a halt looking at the pony dummy, stitches running all over it from my sister's practice. I looked over to her, watching as she lit her horn in a blue light, a cerulean aura flowing over her sword.

My ears pricked up and I said, "Sash, can you show me your cool fighting moves?" She turned to look at me with surprise.

"Why?"

I jumped around her a bit. "Cause I wanna be like Dad when I grow up!"

Her soft eyes hardened. "Dad is not... That isn't a very safe profession, Bright. Mom couldn't handle it and our father..." She bit her lip and looked off to the side. "Our father isn't the best pony to be similar to."

I cocked my head. "But you're training to be in the Royal Guard, like him."

My sister's ears pinned to her head. "Father in not in the Royal Guard," she spat out, her eyes closing in something akin to anger.

"But you both fight and use swords," I motioned toward the training dummy. "The Army is basically the same as the Royal Guard."

Sash stamped on the ground as she whirled on me, her teeth bared and expression fierce. "The Royal Guard doesn't go out to kill things!" I fell back in surprise, her voice strained and angry.

I sat up, looking up at her in confusion. "But, the Army defends ponies! So does the Guard!"

My sister shook her head, a short bark of laugh escaping a sudden grin. "What Indigo Smite does isn't defending the nation." She straightened up, examining her blade. "He doesn't even go to protect towns... Father doesn't protect ponies; he just goes to war to kill..." Her eyes softened as something came across her eyes, a memory maybe?

I looked down, ears drooping from my sister's anger and outburst. "I'm sorry, Sash." I lifted my chin to see if she was still mad after a moment. She was sucking on her teeth, regarding her sword, her hoof running across the blade's hilt. The steel glinted in the glinting light of the sun.

Sash looked at me, her eyes softening as she took in my low ears and sad eyes. "I guess I can show you a few moves..."

My ears shot up and I hopped up to my hooves, all traces of sadness gone as I shouted, "Yesss!" I ran to the side of a traced out square of stones, marking the zone for my sister to practice.

Sash snorted from my antics before stepping in front of the dummy, her eyes narrowing as she examined it. Her blue eyes took in the bucket on its head and comical expression, her gaze sweeping over its form. She lowered her stance and floated her blade to her side, eyes trained on her opponent.

I held my breath as she stood still, the air going quiet as Sash glared at the training dummy. With a battle cry, my sister moved as a blue blur, her blade moving as a cerulean flash. She stepped to the side of the pony as her sword slashed across the dummy, cutting deep into the target. Hay flew out of the stuffed pony, the force of her swipe making the cut clean.

Sash rammed into the shoulder of the fake pony, pushing it over, stone base and all. As it fell, she brought her blade back down and cut through its neck easily, showing no mercy to the familiar opponent. She stood over her defeated dummy, watching it as its head rolled over to me.

I clapped my hooves in excitement, whooping as I praised my sister for the damage done to the stuffed pony. I jumped up and ran to my sister, hugging her as my excitement continued. She laughed and threw a hoof over me, dropping her blade as she did.

We giggled together, smiles on our faces and hearts light. Sash sighed and looked down at me, putting her hoof on my head, rustling my mane. Her hoof froze though, I looked up at her in confusion as it stopped. Her ears were up, quivering as she listened to my clapping.

I looked down at my hooves, breath catching as I realized my hooves were still and the sound of hooves hitting each other continued. Sash turned around and I peeked around her flank in curiosity.

A stallion sat on his haunches, a blade to his side and armor glinting on his chest. His mane hung around his head in unkempt locks of black, a few tied up in a ponytail and a few bits of hair curled around his horn. His fetlocked hooves collided loudly, leading up to a muscular frame and a deep blue chest piece. A black blade in front of a blue flame emblazoned his flank on an indigo coat.

He was grinning at us as he clapped, white teeth somehow looking sinister in the smile he wore. His eyes held no light, the black irises trained on Sash during his clapping.

"Hello, dear daughters of mine," he said, his deep voice sending a chill into the air. His hooves slowed and hit the ground. "I see that you were training."

I looked up at Sash's face, waiting for her to respond. She glared at the pony in front of us, a slow hoof sliding in front of me as she bared her teeth at the stranger.

"What do you want?" She growled out, horn igniting and pulling her sword from the ground and positioning it to her side, the blade not pointing at the stallion, but quivering in some emotion from my sister.

The stallion looked hurt from her tone, placing a hoof on his chest as he frowned. "Now, is that any way to speak to your father?" He closed his eyes, shaking his head as he tsked at us. "What would your mother say?"

My heart clenched painfully as my sister responded. "She's dead, you killed her, Indigo Smite."

Indigo looked at his hooves in boredom. "Did I? I don't remember such an occurrence." He looked at her, eyes twinkling innocently. "Maybe I was drunk?"

Sash stepped toward him, eyes narrowing at him. "You had nothing but water that day, you brought her out to the field when a griffin 'ambush' occurred." Her tone coldly came out as her sword rose. "I watched as you stabbed her through the back. I saw from the bushes while you laughed and cut her to look like claw marks ran over her." My sister bared her teeth as her eyes watered. "I saw you clean up and come home, call the authorities, and pretend that you had arrived too late to scare off the griffins."

Indigo looked at her, eyes coldly regarding her rage. He yawned into his hoof. "Now, why in Equestria did you have to go and say that? I've come back from a battle. Good news, I won! Don't throw such accusations during my time of celebration."

"Whose battle?" Sash bit out, a tear rolling down her narrowed eyes.

He stood up, displaying a towering height to the teenage pony in front of him. "A battle with the griffins. Those savages came to the home of a military officer and murdered his daughters!" His blade was encased in an aura of dark blue light. "I just was able to scare off the beasts! But..." Indigo came closer to Sash, his sword coming closer to his side and pointing directly at my sister. "... I was too late to save my daughters."

Indigo's sword flew at my sister with deadly speed, clanging to a halt as Sash blocked and jumped back. Indigo advanced in a slow trot, every two strikes blocked by Sash timed each step his dark blue hooves took. My sister was backing up, parrying every blow and never taking her eyes off the stallion's sword.

His advancing and never leaving any time for counter attacks from Sash's blade. His eyes were trained on the cold steel. My sister's sword swung through the air to block the swinging sword. The steel blades flashed through the air, my sister's sword barely blocking the stallion's blade.

She whipped around, eyes wide with fear. "Bounce, run!"

I turned as soon as she yelled, taking off toward the door to the house, wings flapping to speed me up. My heart beat in my chest, about to burst from my torso in fear of the maniac showing up at our house and trying to murder us.

My hooves fumbled with the doorknob, heart pounding in my ears, barely quieter than the clanging of swords meeting behind me. I finally pushed the door open, falling in and onto the welcome mat. Stumbling to my hooves, I ran into the kitchen after slamming the door shut trying to calm down to think.

"Okay, I can't run to the next town, not that I even know where it is or can outrun him," I panted, holding a hoof to my chest as I ran through my options. "Maybe, Sash can take him. Sh-she can do anything."

A scream from outside shattered my thoughts, and grabbed my heart, holding it still for a beat. I turned and grabbed the boiling pot of pasta, straining to hold it up with my teeth, but fueled by adrenaline. I rushed back outside, rounding the corner and almost fainting in fear.

Sash flew at Indigo, her sword flinging at him in a rage as she fought. Cuts lined her body, each deep and pouring copious amounts of blood onto the dry grass. Indigo parried her attacks easily, gliding back and expression annoyed as though he were dealing with a house fly. He sported a long cut on his forehoof and a few smaller on his chest.

I gulped and quietly rushed at the defending stallion, jumping and turning the pot of boiling water over and onto him. Indigo screeched in surprise and pain, whirling around and slamming a hoof into my stomach, sending me flying back and against a wall of the house. The stallion narrowed his eyes at me, true anger beginning to leak through his eyes as he slowly turned back to focus on Sash.

I weakly pushed myself up, whimpering and still holding onto the pot. I ran at him again, desperate to get him away from my sister. I swung the pot at his leg, making him lose his balance and stumble back. Taking the opening, Sash yelled incoherently and swung her sword, cutting deep into the stallion's armor and drawing a scream from the stallion as blood gushed from the wound.

Indigo's horn blazed brightly as his anger was brought to the fore. The sword whistled as it flew through the air and sliced at Sash. With a yelp, she parried the attack and grit her teeth in concentration.

"Bounce! Get out of here!"

I shook my head, despite her not being able to see me. "I can't leave you here!" I said, muffled by the pot still in my mouth. "I can't leave you with this stallion!"

She glanced back at me for a moment. "No, Bounce, you need to get out of danger! I can handle myself!"

"Yes, listen to your sister," Indigo said, his voice suddenly closer. I whirled around to stare into the stallion's chest plate, the leather armor displaying a deep gash into his chest. I looked up, stepping back as he stared down at me. Black eyes bored into mine sending my heart racing in fear of the cold, dark pits in his pupils.

I glared at him and swung at him only to drop the pot in sudden pain. I was pushed against the ground by a powerful hoof, holding me to the dirt. Squirming as I tried to get up, the dark indigo hoof pressed harder on my back, pain spiking up my spine and forcing my jaw to clench to prevent myself from yelling. My ears flipped back as I heard and felt a loud crack and my vertebrae shifting from the force above me.

"I do believe that I'm done here," he murmured, lowering his face to mine. I looked up, watching in fear as his pasta-covered horn lit with darker blue, a stream of the magic threading down to me. I flapped my wings in desperation, stopping as my head pounded in agony. I screamed my pain to the world, writhing as my father's magic mentally assaulted me, wrapping around my head and pushing into my mind.

I didn't notice his hoof remove from my back, caught up entirely by the pain of Indigo's magic burning through my thoughts like acid. I screamed until my voice became hoarse, the sadistic magic rolling through me like a plauge.

The magic suddenly withdrew, leaving me limp with the sudden recess of pain. I curled up, crying as the presence left me broken in mind. I lay there for some time, lost to the world, just withdrawn from my surroundings. I drifted off into painless darkness, not caring if I woke or not.

The darkness of unconsciousness left me, leaving my with closed eyes and weary. I opened my eyes as something wet fell on my face.

I cast my gaze up, looking into the face of my sister. She was smiling at me, but there was... Ketchup from her lips? It dripped onto my face, but it didn't feel as thick of the sauce. I sat up weakly, looking at her. Her hair was strewn about her head, most of it out of her ponytail. Her sash on her horn was cut up, but she'd never let it get damaged like that?

"Hey, Bounce," she murmured weakly. A hoof raised to my face and touched me. It had more red stuff on it, most of it had grass though. She coughed a little, bringing up more ketchup and making her lean on me.

"Yeah, Sash?" My voice was hoarse for some reason, but I just wanted to know what my sister was doing with all those hot sauce packets. She looked like she had gone rolling in the stuff.

"What is the one thing you want most?" She whispered, closing her eyes.

I rolled my eyes. "I have you, silly, what else do I need?" She winced, but I didn't think I did anything wrong.

"I won't be able to be here long," Sash grunted out. "I want to know what you want more than anything."

"What do you,-" I looked at the rest of the blue mare, breath catching as I registered the long gashes along her body and the steel firmly running through her chest. It was her blade, the well-worn handle with teeth marks from when Sash was a filly. Outspread wings made up the guard of the sword my mother passed down to my sister and the steel had the words Sash Dance engraved in the blade. It reflected a terrified face of a filly in it's blade, splotches of yellow on a blue face and yellow eyes looked back at me.

Tears welled up in the pony's eyes. "I want you!" I yelled, sobbing as I watched my sister's face pale.

Sash looked at me in desperation. "I can't promise I'll stay with you! I love you so much, Bounce, but I want to give you something, anything!" She wrapped her hooves around me, drawing me into a hug, pressing the hilt of her sword against my chest.

I cried into her shoulder. "I need you to stay and protect us! I- I need you, my big sister in her shin-n-ing new Royal Guard armour!" I gripped her tightly as I sobbed. "I love you and need you!"

Her hoof patted the back of my head, a soothing whisper trying to calm me. I heard her horn buzz with magic and I felt like my hooves were iron and my eyelids were lead.

"Sleep, sister," she murmured as consciousness drew away from me. "I love you so much..." I slumped onto her, falling into deep sleep, hearing her murmur as the buzz of her magic became louder and louder as I drifted away.

Chapter One: Waking Up

"...no relatives..."

"...Sash Dance and Indigo Smite..."

"...terrible thing to happen..."

A soft pillow greeted me from sleep, its cool cloth pulling me from unconsciousness and into a world of headaches. I opened up my eyes, blinking away the pain of the suddenly bright light. Groaning I sat up, holding hoof to my head as I did. I swiveled my head around to take in my surroundings and decide on my next course of action.

Unfamiliar white walls surrounded me in a weird bed. A machine sat next to me letting out beeps at a seemingly specific rate. Tied to the my hoof was a little wire that led up to the beeping machine. I listened to the beeps, mesmerized by the sound and drawn in by the black screen and the little green lines forming a mountain and valley with each second.

My ears swiveled to the door, my attention flicking to the source of a quiet click. A stallion with tan fur and a white outfit walked in the room, smiling as he saw me sitting up and looking at him.

"Hello, I'm Doctor Stable," the unicorn said, lighting his horn to float a clipboard at the end of my bed to under his nose. "I see you've woken up, little miss." He read over the papers on the board. "Now, to test for any signs of concussion, I'd like to ask you a few questions." I nodded at him, waiting for his inquiry. "What is your name?"

"Bright Bounce," I said in a scratchy voice. Surprised by the sound, I placed a hoof on my neck as my face contorted to confusion as to why my voice was so hoarse.

"How old are you, Miss Bright Bounce?"

"Eight years old."

"How many hooves am I holding up?"

"Two."

I shivered as I felt magic swim over me, opening my eyes to see the doctor writing on the clipboard. A sharp prick of pain in my head made me place a hoof to my temple, massaging the spot to alleviate the pain. Doctor Stable sighed after a moment, looking up and placing the clipboard back.

"I would like to announce to you that you are devoid of concussions, Bright Bounce. But I'm afraid I'll have to ask you some questions pertaining to how you came to become injured."

I blinked and looked at my hooves. A few bandages covered what felt like minor cuts and my mind was fuzzy. I thought back, trying to make something of the blurred images. The beeping on the machine beside me increased in frequency of its sounds as I recalled my sister.

"Sash!" My hooves slammed against the bed and I looked up at Doctor Stable. "Where's Sash? Why am I here? Where is she?" The stallion's mouth twitched before he pushed his glasses up his snout. I searched his face desperately, trying to find any sign as to if he knew where my sister was. I was met with a practiced mask of neutrality and a bit of sympathy shining in his eyes.

Coughing into his hoof, the stallion said, "Ma'am, a magical signal was sent up near to where you were found. A trading caravan was passing by and, well." Doctor Stable pulled up a chair and sat down while a creeping sense of fear and despair floated over me. "They found you, lying in a pool of blood next to two swords." He put his hooves together, rubbing them as he prepared his next line. He looked up at the ceiling. "It has been determined the pool of blood was not made by you."

I let out a shaky breath. "So, if there wasn't... My sister next to me, maybe she walked away...?" Hope rose in my chest, only to slowly die down as the doctor gave a sympathetic smile.

"There was unfortunately too much blood for her to have gone far, Bright," he said, placing a hoof on my hind hoof in pity. Patting my hoof as tears ran down my cheeks, he stood up again and opened the door with his magic.

"Unfortunately, there is an inquiry that the Royal Guard is going to conduct and, as you are the only living relative of the pony who was signing up for the Guard, you will be asked a few questions about Sash Dance." I looked up to see an earth pony with golden armor entering the room. His coat was white and his eyes were blue, as anypony who was in the Royal Guard looked like. The stallion stopped at the end of the bed, turning in a militant fashion to face me.

"Bright Bounce," a gruff voice grunted out as the stallion raised a hoof in salute. "I am a representative of the Canterlot Royal Guard. My name is Light Lance and I am here to ask some questions about what happened to both Private Bright Bounce and the dishonorably discharged Indigo Smite."

Hearing that name sent shivers up my spines as I could see his cold, uncaring eyes staring in my direction. He didn't look into my eyes when he gazed at me; he looked into my fear and my soul. His black eyes coldly had examined me, judging my ability, taking note of my weaknesses, and leaving a quivering fear when his eyes moved on.

Closing my eyes, I saw those eyes, but instead of the lifeless black void one could see when he examined his surroundings, my pain had brought a pleased smile to his eyes. Malicious glee danced in those black pupils while he ran magic through my head, coiling around everything it touched and burned those parts of my psyche with acid. My heart pounded as dozens of scenarios played out in memories that were not my own.

A monster bathed in blood and pain, smiling as a pony in military fatigues writhed around, holding his head while the dark blue magic killed him over and over in his mind. I felt the monster's magic slowly drain from his point of view, my blood going cold as I felt a spell deposit memories of previous victims. The stallion on the ground screamed in fear and agony, a symphony to the creature's ears. I knew the stallion watched each torture, witnessing the ponies in the memories clutching their head before meeting a painful demise.

A family of five cowered in a corner, watching with tiny pupils as the father of the family stood up, smiling an unnatural, forced smile while blue magic flowed through each ear. The pony took a step forward, picked up a knife and-

"Ma'am!" A hoof on my shoulder shook me from those thoughts. The Doctor was lighting a spell, sending a wave of magic over me and taking note of what magic lingered on me. The hoof on my shoulder was from Light Lance, his blue eyes wide in concern.

I touched a hoof to my cheek, bringing it back wet with salty tears. I looked at my light blue hoof in wonderment. It was clearly cleaned lately, but the yellow patch of fur on my hoof was tinged a darker color than I remember. The stallion from those memories... He must have loved his family much more than I could ever know, but the monster... The monster named Indigo Smite made ponies do far worse... Could my hooves have been the ones to...?

I pushed out of bed in a panic, rushing over to a door labeled "restroom", startling the white earth pony as I took off toward the door. A blast of pain interrupted my dash, staring from a point on my back concealed with bandages. I hissed through my teeth as the crippling pain shot through me, my spine whining at the sudden movement and leaving me on the ground.

Hooves clopped loudly on the cold, tiled floor, making me look as Doctor Stable and Light Lance came to my aid. I whimpered as the two came to a stop and white hooves slid under my barrel to pull me up. My head pounded as the hooves tightened and shifted. The stallions were talking, but their speech came out as garbled mumbling. I looked confusedly at them, their concern shining through their eyes as questions poured from their mouths.

My head pounded, fear and confusion coursing through me as the headache continued, I closed my eyes, trying to block out the now-painful light of the hospital room. I barely registered the magic floating me back to the bed, but the headache increased in pain as Doctor Stable's magic carried me. The cool pillow cradled my head as I kicked my legs.

I heard the machine next to me beep loudly and quickly. I covered my ears to block out the annoying sound, but my bandaged hooves barely blocked out any sound. I felt yet another magic scan run over me, this time pausing on my head. The deep mumbles of the ponies in the room bounded back to the two stallions in the room in conversation. I cracked open my eyes, looking through slits at Light Lance chewing on his lip and Doctor Stable writing on the clipboard in a feverish fashion. The tan unicorn seemed to be rattling off some words that made Light Lance confused. The unicorn looked up and said something to the white pony, sending him rushing out and back with a mare with a cross on her hat.

They were all talking at once, their voices slipping into my ears and increasing the headache. The earth pony was standing off to the side listening intently as the doctor explained something to the nurse. The beeps from the machine behind me kept on raising my headache pain with each beep. The green lines sent uncontrolled annoyance lancing up my chest, its sound making my head pound angrily.

My gaze shifted to the mare who trotted up to me. A gentle smile and soft eyes pulled my attention from the exceedingly painful torture device to my side. She lit her horn in a pink light, levitating a needle up to me. The sharp tip glinted as a little bit of fluid escaped the needle, sending a little fear into the mix of emotions running rampant in my head.

I backed away from the approaching needle, taking my hooves away from my ears to help push away from the nice mare with the scary pointy medicine. The beeping machine piped up and picked up speed, much to my chagrin. My ears flattened as the mare frowned and floated the needle closer and the beeping kept screeching out to the world its terrible song. The stallions at the end of the bed yammered on, the tan one watching the machine beeping and the white one looking at me in concern. my eyes were trained on the sharp object aimed for my hoof and the nurse trying to make a gentle smile despite me pushing sheets in front of me.

My head felt like it was splitting, the unfamiliar memories, the pain from today, and this extreme pressure near the front of my head. At the forefront of the chaos, stirring of something or somethings added to my skull splitting headache. The needle floated closer as my back slid against the bedside table, sending little shocks of pain as the hard wood jammed against my injured back.

I cried out a little, barely a whimper due to my scratchy throat, and the pressure in my head responded. It felt like two entities recoiling from the pain, each one full of confusion and surprise. A gentle, warm sensation radiated from one and a cooler, harsher feeling pulsed from the other.

The nurse said something, making my eyes flick to her as I tried to understand. She rolled her eyes and her horn pulsed a little more, its pink light softly grabbing my hoof and holding it out for the needle. My heart beat in tune with the beeps from the annoying machine, sending the presences in my head rolling around in an emotion I couldn't decipher.

The needle floated above my hoof as the pink magic held my hoof still in a firm grasp. I whimpered in fear, as the nurse tried to murmur gentle words to soothe me. My head was in chaos, the beeping from the machine was driving me nuts, and Doctor Stable looked like he was trying to say something or give some information.

I closed my eyes tightly, my hoof held still as the tip of the needle pressed against my fur. My heart pounded in my ears almost as loud as my head pounded in pain.

Somepony, I thought to myself. Please make it stop. The two presences responded immediately, the pressure lifting, but still there as the cold entity filled with annoyance directed at something. I was pulled from my thoughts as the needle pierced my skin.

A sudden crash resounded in the room, bringing back clarity to my thoughts as the beeping machine beside me fell silent. I opened my eyes, finding myself staring into the wide eyes of the nurse. She stared at something beside me with surprise in her eyes. I turned a little, but couldn't fully look behind me due to my hoof being grasped by the surprised nurse.

I could see the two stallions at the end of my bed, eyes transfixed on where the beeping machine was and was mercifully silent. The white stallion had grabbed a sword on his side and stepped in front of Doctor Stable, placing himself between the quiet machine and the tan unicorn. I followed their gaze as best I could, barely seeing something out of the corner of my eye.

A hilt of a blade was in the corner of my vision, its steel glinting in the white light. It had a black grip on it, the leather pristine aside from one or two bite marks. The guard of the sword had a piece of string with the words 'EVIDENCE' on a label. I felt satisfaction from the cold presence, seemingly pleased at the death of the machine and end to the noise.

A cool feeling and pain spread from my hoof, bringing me back to look at the nurse. She had taken the opportunity to give me a shot while I was distracted. The two presences in my head growled at the smile of the nurse. To me, it appeared to be a gentle smile, a motherly gesture as I felt the world slip away. But the dark presence saw it as a smug gesture.

I heard the screech of metal on metal as I sunk into the covers. My eyes closing to slits, I saw the glint of a blade as it passed by me, pointed at the nurse. Blackness closed in on me as I heard a scream from my left.

Author's Note

Apologies if this is a bit short. Future chapters will be longer and will have better descriptions.
Thanks for reading! Please give constructive criticism!