It was a quiet and clear evening in Ponyville. The ponies living there were headed back to their homes for some sleep. A young mare, Rarity, was headed there now, bags in tow. She had finished with an order a few hours earlier, and had some time to herself for some shopping. Now she was heading back home after her spree. She quickened her pace, because she hated being out in the dark. All of a sudden, a pony wearing a black cloak attacked her. The assailant tackled Rarity to the ground, trying to get at her. Rarity had dropped her bags, and was now trying to hold back her attacker.
“Somepony help me!” she cried. The assailant pulled out a knife from his cloak. As he raised it up, the blade shimmered in the moonlight. Rarity screamed loudly, probably shattering a few windows. The assailant had enough. He brought the knife down, and was suddenly struck with a blast. Rarity whipped around to see an Alicorn silhouette behind her. Her savior’s horn was crackling with gold magic, and his mechanical wings were spread wide. As the Alicorn stepped into a light, Rarity saw that it was her friend Braveheart. He ran up to her and helped her up.
“Are you OK?” he asked.
“Thanks to you,” Rarity said, picking up her bags. Braveheart nodded with a smile, but the smile faded as he turned to the pony assailant. He angrily walked over to the assailant, who was writhing on the ground. Braveheart grabbed him by the neck and brought him up. He whipped off the assailant’s hood, and found and a dazed changeling underneath.
“Why am I not surprised?” Braveheart muttered. Two royal guards ran up, and Braveheart gave the changeling to them. The guards cuffed the changeling and dragged him off. Braveheart and Rarity waved to each other, and Rarity trotted home. Braveheart looked to the ground and sighed.
That was the third incident this week. Ever since Braveheart’s enlightenment with Celestia and Luna’s spirits, there had been a bit of a crime spike in Ponyville. He had no idea what caused it. He needed a break. Braveheart spread his wings and flew to the Ponyville bar. He reached the place, opened the door and walked inside, the door creaking loudly. A few ponies looked as Braveheart walked up to the bar counter. Braveheart was used to this. He knew he was the ruler of Equestria, having Celestia’s letter as proof. But most other ponies had no idea. Braveheart preferred to keep it that way, to avoid drawing attention to himself. Only his friends, the former bearers of the Elements of Harmony, knew about his royal status. He sat down at the bar counter, and Berry Punch walked up. Braveheart and Berry had gotten to know each other rather well, since Braveheart came here actually quite regularly.
“Evening, Braveheart,” Berry nodded, cleaning a shot glass. “The usual, I assume?”
“You know me,” Braveheart said. He pulled out a bit and placed it onto the counter. Berry slid it away and started making Braveheart’s drink, sliding him a glass of water. Braveheart took the glass and took a sip. He sighed. Being in an environment like this helped him relax. The alcohol just gave him that tipsy feeling he didn’t care for. A crash erupted in the back of the bar. Braveheart and Berry turned to look what happened. A very buff stallion with an anchor for a cutie mark was bearing down on a mare. The stallion was clearly drunk off his ass.
“I got it,” Braveheart quietly said. Berry nodded and returned to her work. Braveheart took another sip of his water and put the glass down. He walked over to the stallion and tapped his shoulder. The stallion turned around, and was met with Braveheart’s mechanical hoof to his face. He barely flinched.
“Shit…” Braveheart muttered. The stallion grabbed him by the face and threw him across the room. Braveheart hit the wall with much force and fell, landing on an empty table, destroying it. The mare, panicked, flew over to Braveheart.
“Are you OK?” she asked, concerned. Braveheart writhed on his stomach.
“I don’t know,” he groaned. “I think something might be broken. Probably my back.” The stallion stepped up.
“Ha ha,” he laughed in a deep voice. “Puny alicorn. Needs mare to protect him. I snap him and her like twig. I let weakling mare watch first.” Something in the mare’s head suddenly clicked. Her eyes became a reptilian’s slitted red. The whites of her eyes turned a bright yellow. Her mane, tail, and coat became a dark red as fangs grew from her teeth, and her ears grew longer and wolf-like. Six more tails grew from her flank, dark red ones like her mane. Sharp black claws grew from her hooves, except for her right front one. With a monstrous screech, she whipped around and jumped at the stallion. Tackling him to the ground, she began to slash away at his flesh. Bar patrons backed away quickly as blood sprayed around the bar. Berry had ducked underneath the bar. Braveheart witnessed the violence in horror. Ignoring the pain in his back, he ran up to the vicious mare and grabbed her in a lock, then proceeded to pull her away from the stallion.
“Get a doctor!” Braveheart cried, struggling to hold the mare back. A pony nodded and ran from the bar to the Ponyville hospital nearby. Braveheart lit up his horn and cast a spell on the mare. She slowly calmed down, and eventually passed out. Braveheart dropped her, and fell to the floor himself, in pain and exhausted. He focused his magic to a healing spell and the pain in his body subsided. He got up and pulled the mare up. He sat down at another table and put the mare into another seat, gently laying her down on the table. Berry Punch brought Braveheart his drink, along with the canister in case he wanted another shot.
“On the house,” she said with a wink.
“Thank you,” Braveheart smiled. He downed his shot and put it down. He looked back at the mare, who was starting to come to. She had reverted to normal. Her coat was a very faded purple, and her ruffled mane and tail were a faded red. She bore a scar over her right eye. Her hooves were actually paws, and she had a canine nose. Her right paw was mechanical. As she opened her eyes, Braveheart saw that her right eye was a bright blue, and her left was red. The mare groaned and gripped her head, trying to shake a migraine.
“What happened?” she asked.
“You don’t remember?” Braveheart asked.
“Remember what?” the mare asked. She suddenly did remember. “Oh no,” she gasped. She looked over to the stallion, who was lying on the ground, being bandaged up by Doctor Redheart. Her eyes went wide, and she started mumbling to herself.
“Nonono, no,” she said, frightened. “Not again. I can’t go through all that again. I can’t!”
“Ma’am!” Braveheart cried, taking hold of the frightened hybrid’s shoulders. The mare stopped, looking at Braveheart with a panicked look. Braveheart stood up and walked over to the mare hybrid, sitting closer to her.
“Calm down,” he soothed. “Take a breath. What’s your name?”
“Rusty,” the mare said, trying to calm down. “Rusty Ace. What’s yours?”
“I’m Braveheart. Just relax, Rusty.” Rusty nodded and took some deep breaths.
“I think I’ve seen you before,” Braveheart said. “About a week ago, I saw you flying somewhere, and we flew past, waving to each other. That was you, right?” Rusty thought for a second, then nodded.
“Oh yeah,” she said. “I remember. I was just trying to be friendly.” Rusty sighed, still a bit shaken. Braveheart put his mechanical hoof on her shoulder and looked her in the eyes.
“Tell me everything,” he said. “I already noticed you’re a pony and wolf hybrid.” Rusty nodded, still a bit panicked. She sighed, and began her story.
“My father was a dragon pony and my mother was a wolf pony,” Rusty began. “Rhinestone, and Crystal Shard.”
“Wait, dragon too?” Braveheart asked. Rusty nodded.
“Part of my dad’s bloodline,” she said. “As a pup, something happened. I can’t remember what exactly, but all I can remember is a very painful feeling for a long time. After which, ponies would look at me in fear. I never knew why. But as I grew up, I couldn’t control…something. A vicious side of me would sometimes erupt, and I would hurt others without choice. I eventually found a mark on my shoulder. I didn’t know what it meant until a particular incident. After I lost it again, I regained control, and found out that the seven tailed demon Kashluna was sealed within me, marked by the seal on my shoulder.” Eyes wide, Braveheart looked at Rusty’s right shoulder. Just as she said, there was a mark where she had said. Braveheart instantly recognized the mark as Kashluna's curse mark. It was a yellow star, with blue swirls between each point. Braveheart closed his eyes, trying to take in the sudden information.
“Something wrong?” Rusty asked.
“I’ve read about Kashluna,” Braveheart said, trying to keep his cool. “After hearing what she had done, I refused to get involved in Equestrian supernatural matters. I left that to Princess Twilight and her friends. When I heard that Kashluna just…disappeared, I didn’t know what to think. I heard of a few incidents where ponies claimed to see the demon, but when I would get there, there was nothing. And now, right here, I just witnessed her for myself.”
“She doesn’t take kindly to being called weak,” Rusty explained. “She does have feelings, you know.” Her eyes turned sad, and they started to water.
“Rusty...” Braveheart started.
“I’m being torn apart,” Rusty sobbed. “I want to be free of this pain. But if I let Kashluna free, there’s no telling what she’ll do. I don’t want to bring harm to innocents, but just look. I can’t control her, Braveheart. I can’t.” Braveheart took Rusty into his hooves and brought her close. He let her cry onto his shoulder.
“Rusty, listen to me,” he whispered. “I’ll never know exactly how you feel, but I have been through my own harrowing experiences. Ones that scarred me for life. Literally.” His mechanical hoof gave a whir as he clenched it. He brought Rusty’s head to his chest.
“You and I both have had troubles that have changed us forever,” Braveheart said. “And I will help you in any way I can.”
“I just don’t want to hurt you,” Rusty moaned. “I can’t hurt you.”
“Even if you do, I’ll never abandon you or hate you,” Braveheart assured. “I promise you, I will always be here. Always.” Rusty sniffed.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
