Chapter Two: Is Vengeance What You Want

Canterlot

Two Days Ago

It's a warm night in Canterlot, the radiant moon illuminated the grand city being the only light provided with a building or two having light inside, with the sun set to rise soon some were already up others were dreading the morning. Canterlot, is the capital of Equestria, home to Celestia herself. None would think that crime would happen here, and with the recent eye of Luna watching over nopony would dare do any veil deeds, but the closer the enemies are the harder it is to see them.

A fire that was ruled an accident, took the life of two ponies, but at a small store that was wedged between two taller buildings. One of them was recovering, he stirred in his bed, sweating  profusely. Memories of that day that ended his "life".

..."Dad, what's wrong?"...

..."Nothing sweetie, we just have to go now"...

..."Why Dad? Is it because of those stallions"...

..."Y-yes, those stallions want to hurt your dad, but don't worry we're going to be fine"...

The stallion winced from that last sentence. He shook more in his bed, holding tight the covers. Nightmares plagued the apricot stallion who only days prior had gone through a torment no pony should ever go though. Memories of the fire that took the life of him and his young daughter. In his slumber the visions grew more real as he relived that moment every night.

Smoke billowed black across the building. A stallion coughed uncontrollably, making his way though the smoke and fire. The black smoke took away any visibility leaving him wandering. The intense heat scorched his fur and skin. The sound of a collapsing ceiling spanned the building. "Sweetie where are you! call out for daddy!", he yelled though coughs for his lost daughter and he got no reply but he continued to move though the blazing building. Though what he could see came the sight of his daughter's room, the door was open but fire acted as the door blocking the entrance. With pained screams he entered her room. "Sweet Puree! Are you in here, please respond", but the sound of cracking wood and a sudden heavy feeling came upon him.

He awakes suddenly with a gasp, his mind racing, panting in fear, heart thumping. Holding his hoof to his head calming himself down, he sat up right, his breathing steadied. Next to him was a glass of water that he grabbed and gulped down. With his recent nights like this, Harvest Pumpkin hasn't had a good night sleep. He shook his head in defeat as he slid off his bed. He approached the cover window pushing back the blinds to see what time it was. The sun was now barely breaking the horizon. With a sigh he trotted over to the room staircase and went downstairs.

At the ground floor of the building was the store part, a very claustrophobic room where bottles, herbs, nicknacks, novelty items, and certain items of magical properties litter the shelves, floor, and pretty much everywhere else inside the room. A cloaked elderly white maned mare was categorizing more items upon her shop. Her shop is called: The Witch's Craft, a very creative name for a potion and herb shop. The owner, the elder mare's name is Haggis, a grey mare with red eyes who saved Harvests life or what was left of it after the fire. She pulled him out and nursed him back to health. Though Harvest Pumpkin half expected her to still be asleep but it seems that she is committed to her work, still not noticing Harvest at the bottom of the stairs.

"So the freeloader is finally awake, I half expected you to still be a sleepin'. She said not taking her eyes off her work. "Was it the nightmares that woke you again or the sudden realization to do something besides feeling sorry for yourself", she said turning her head to see Harvest. She has great pony skills that's for sure.

"Nightmare", Harvest answered. The elder mare smirked before going back to her work. Harvest Pumpkin slowly and carefully stepped over the various things on the floor as he made his way to the kitchen. He sat himself down on a chair, looking at him would tell you that he was lost, damaged, or simply dead. Haggis soon came into the kitchen as well and as much a he was grateful he wasn't in a very talkative mode. "Shouldn't you be out there in case any customers show", he said rather bluntly and with the answer obvious.

"We ain't open for another three hours. I think", she said snorting loudly. "You can be bit more polite ya know", she said. "So when are you gonna leave and start anew", she asked. He gave her an annoyed look. "Okay, okay, I get it but you have to go back out there, not here in Canterlot but somewhere else", she finished saying she said before making herself a glass of water from a pitcher.

Starting again felt impossible for him, he can't just forget about this, about her, and he can't just accept that those responsible are still out there free and without remorse for what they did.

"Thinking about those who did you wrong?", Haggis asked out of the blue. Was he really that transparent, he actually didn't try to hid his gloom, but that she would know what he was thinking about was kind of weird, of course she could have used a spell.

"Yeah, yeah I am. I-I just can't start over without her, I can't start over knowing the ones who took her away from me are still out there", Harvest said with his hoof in the air gesturing to the outside. "You told me this wasn't the first time they did this type of stuff, and that it won't be the last", Harvest mind filled with thoughts about probably the countless innocent ponies who were forced by these guards.

"I've been in Canterlot for most of my life, and I can assure you that those royal guards are still gonna going to extort others, and the "warning" they gave you wasn't meant to get out of hand like that", she placed a few items into various places around the shop with her magic.

Anger began to build up inside him, that blaze was meant as a warning, he couldn't believe it. Look how thier warning turned out to be, a fire that consumed his house and another who luckly for them that they weren't home. "I can't anymore Haggis, I came here because I thought it would be safer then living next to a wild forest. It's worse here because the things that come out of that forest don't pretend to be something they're not. Which frankly i'm more frightened of", Harvest let his head fall onto his hooves.

"They were Royal Guards though, weren't they", she knew the answer but she wanted to make sure he knew.

"Yes, but not the ones that came after, they were wanted criminals. Doing the dirty work of a bunch of corrupted royal guards", Harvest wouldn't think about corruption in Canterlot at any point in his life, he had heard such wonderful things about Canterlot and how it was a grand city were you can be about anything, and that it was the safest city in all of Equestria with the watchful eye of both Celestia and Luna. The big bads that threaten Equestria were about the only thing that couldn't be helped. He was told that if the princess couldn't be there then thier royal guards would be there to protect and serve, to stop all crimes big or small. He say the ugly reality after that night, he saw how truly ugly Canterlot was. Those villans were nothing compared to the degenerates of this city who did what they did for money, just for stupid money.

"Why do it yourself when others can do it and take the blame", she said it as if reciting a quote. "They aren't going to get caught you know, and if they do it won't be the guards themselves", she still didn't focus on Harvest but rather her work.

He didn't want to think about any of this no more. His anger was replaced with sorrow and hate towards himself. This was his own doing, his own pathetic attempt to try and protect his daughter, to move away from a small threat to a storm. He shut his eyes tight, holding back tears. She's died because of him, not just from those degenerate sons of a bitch but from him and his ridiculous plot to save her from her mother's fate. "I need some fresh air, your herbs are starting to give me a headache", Harvest said sliding of the chair and moving towards the front door, grabbing a old cloak before putting it on. "I'll be back whenever, I guess", Harvest said to Haggis who only smiled and nodded slowly, she understood.

A cold morning breeze greeted Harvest Pumpkin when he stepped outside the shops doors. Canterlot at this time was barren, little to no ponies were outside or awake, places wouldn't be opened for hours. The silence calmed him, allowed for a second of peace for him. "And the weather today is cloudy, with a chance of sorrow", he sighed. He knew exactly where he wanted to go, home. The walk there was not long taking about ten minutes to get there, the whole way there he hung his head down letting the cloaks hood to cover most of his face but his muzzle. If anypony saw him they would think him homeless, think him elderly or spooky. He made sure the cloak cover his whole body especially his cutie mark. He wouldn't want them knowing he was still alive and kicking.

He stopped feets away from his destination, from his home. The faint smell of burned wood and other items quickly filled his nostrils, what was left of his former home was

In shambles, as the white colored house that it was before was now blackened and charred from the fire's rage. The roof seemed to have burned off, and the house itself seemed to tilt to the side barely standing in the pale morning light. Seeing his house in this state saddened him as all his memories where gone, photos, drawing, toys, precious items gone. He entered his burned home black dust hung in the air and invaded his lungs as he walked around, he didn't care. Glass from the windows littered the floor, he had step on some but he didn't care. The whole upstairs caved into the bottom floor, as he noticed certain burned items from his daughters room on the floor. He shyed away from seeing anymore but he just wanted to see if anything was left.

"Such an unfortunate event to have taken place here, no?", Harvest jumped back at the sudden voice that came from behind, it was a flat females voice. Her voice helped him figure she was a mare for she also donned a cloak, but this particular wear was much cleaner then his own, white in color with gold edges. She purposely hid her face, more so then how Harvest was. Making her appearance seem some what ghostly and unnerving.

"Yeah, two dead and no one to blame. Tragic" was the only thing Harvest mustered but he didn't lack on the emotion, saying the last word with a quiet saddening tone.

"Do not be startled of me, I am friend", her voice told him that she probably wasn't from Canterlot. "I simply vant to give back item that I found", what item could she have that belonged to him. She slid her hoof into her cloak searching for said item until she seemed to have found it pulling out something that Harvest wouldn't have thought to see again, he gasped and reached out for it taking it from the hoof of the mare.

Sweet Puree's pendant, she wore it all the time, a gift from her mother. It wasn't the fanciest of pendants or the most bedazzled of them but it was the most precious thing to her. Harvest couldn't believe it and then it hit him, she wore this the day she died. "Where exactly did you get this from?!", Harvest was little loud with his question but the mare seemed unfazed as she gestured to Canterlot and said.

"I found one of the merchants selling it. I remember seeing your daughter wear it, and upon seeing it there I knew something was not right. So I...bought it and waited here for you", she said.

Harvest couldn't tell anything about mare, she sounded forgien but thats all he could get from her, but how did she know about his daughters pendant and how was it at a merchants possesion. It hit him hard, his ears flopped down, he realizes that the only way it could have gotten there was if they had taken it from her on that night. His sadness sweeped through his entire body he felt weak, he held back his tears and popped open the pendant. Sure enough the picture of her mother, his wife was gone. Closing it again he held it against his forhead, tears on the verge of seeping though.

"Do you wish to make them pay?", she said getting Harvests attention. "Do you wish for them to suffer as you have?", her soft voice was now serious. "Do you vant vengance?", she asked. Sadness to anger was what he felt and all he could think about was ending those responsible, those who took his life away.

"They already made my grave, I should make theirs", Harvest solemnly said.

"Then take this, you need it more then I do", she gave him a what looked like a seed, it was a pale brown color with small vein like roots wrapped around it.

"Wait a minute, what do I do with this?" Harvest said.

"Ask your friend about a demon of vengeance, she'll tell you the rest", she said so with confidence and a tone that told him that she was telling a truth.

"A Demon of Vengeance. Now thats a something I haven't heard in a long time, even back then you wouldn't hear much about them", Haggis was unfazed at Harvest Pumpkins sudden interest about the demon. She simply continued to stir ingredients into a mortar bowl. Harvest wore his daughter's pendant as well as the cloak still.

"Well, what do you know about them, she said you would know", Harvest sat on a stool near Haggis who seemed to ignore his response. "Hey, yohoo I'm still here you know", Harvest waved his hoof about.

"In the Olden time of Equestria, certain mortals created beings of darkness that would help those who sought vengeance, creating a pact with the summoner both being connected until the vengeance was fulfilled", she began. I believe the last recorded "Demon Of Vengeance", was more then one thousand years ago, no mortal has summoned one since then, as the events turned to legend then to a simple mares tale until it faded away into obscurity", she said still not prying away from her work.

"A thousand years ago? Then how do you know about it? You ain't that old...Right?", Harvest tilt his head in confusion to the mares tale about the demon that was suppose to aid him. He wouldn't be messing with any of this but thats was before and now he didn't care anymore.

"Because I know. Don't go callin' me old all willy nilly now though", She said her hoof did a shooing gesture.

"I have trouble believing you, especially when you forgot which pouch was the tea and place a dirt bag inside you water", she did this the first night he had stayed.

"It tasted fine to me", smacking her lips whist say it. "Back to our old conversation, I don't know where who dis mare you talk to is but, unless you know where you can find previous sunmoners of one you're fat out of luck, as most of the Demons made have been lost", She finshed her herb making thing and added it into a bowl of liquid which changed color afterwards.

"What if I create one then, you did say that us "mortals" made them", Harvest added.

"I guess you can do that, but I have no idea how to do it", Harvest raised an eyebrow.

"Have you summoned one before", Harvest continued.

"Well, yes and no. I have never summoned one but my mother, bless her soul, did. I remember once that a stranger came over carrying his dead son", Her story pulled her away from her potion as she walked over tp Harvest. "He asked my mother what she could do. She said she could not revive him but the stranger wanted revenge and so...my mother aided him and well I don't know what became of him, my mother refused to tell", her ears fell down indicating there was something more but it was personal, Harvest let the thought of pushing forward away. "You're a good stallion, Harvest. let it go and move on. You don't need to summon a demon at a period of peace", Haggis placed a hoof on Harvests shoulder. "I will help you if you decide to go through with it, but there are consequences of doing it", Harvest didn't know if Haggis was being serious or not, as her expression didn't change from the small smile she had.

"What do I have to lose, I'll accept the consequences whatever they may be", he didn't think that the consequences would be all that bad.

"Did that mare you spoke of give a seed by any chance", there she goes again with her knowledge about something she shouldn't know, Harvest would question her about this but she'll probably worm her way around it, as she usually did.

"Yes", he reached inside the cloak and pulled out the seed thing. "May I ask how you knew about it", Simple question.

"I just knew", Perfect answer.

"When the moon rises, go to your grave and your daughter's. They most likely buried you side by side. Take something that has grand significance to both you and her", Harvest lifted the pendant up. "Bury the seed between your graves, water the seed with you blood, then recite these words..."

Skyreach Memorial Cemetery

It surprises Harvest how fast life can change, how it can all go downhill so fast, almost sonic rainboom fast. He wanders the cemetery looking for his and his daughter's grave. The thought of finding his own grave sent shivers down his spine, but the thought of seeing her grave, he couldn't begin to think about that. He shook his head to clear his mind though cpme to think of it does it really clear your head. He shook that thought out as well.

"Late at night, the moon is shining", he sing-songly said as a means to comfort him as the cemetery at night was beyond creepy. He has found the graves, he let out a loud sigh as he gazed at the tombstones. They were etched with what you would expect a tombstone to have, the names, the date of birth and death. All caused Harvest to cringe. His daughter's grave was what gave him the most impact as he knew she really was down there, or what was. He didn't want to think of that, he just couldn't help but just stare sorrowful. "I'm so sorry. What does your mother think of me now. How do you see me. I-I promised her I would protect you, but look at what I did, what I failed to do. I've broken too many promises to you and her...I love you guys so much, but I failed to protect either of you", His eyes were watery now, on the peek of letting the tears just flood out. "I won't let them get away with this. I'll make them suffer for hurting you, and that's a promise I intend to keep", The tears breached and streamed down his face. Harvest began to dig a hole inbetween the graves before placing the seed into it. He pat it down gently then he placed the pendant around the covered area where he planted the seed. He pulled a small knife out of his cloak. "Water it with you blood", he repeated what Haggis had said to him. Gently he stabbed his hoof only enough so that some blood would trickle down on to the covered spot. He groaned a little from the pain, but it was a small price to pay for his vengeance.

"Keep away from those you've wronged, unless you tired of living, our enemies will be mostly dead", he started the chant which Haggis told him was necessary since he was no unicorn so the spell wouldn't work in the traditional way. "We're mean and unforgiving. Laugh at us and you're undone", Harvest noticed the ground move slightly up. "But in some dreadful fashion, Vengeance, we consider fun, we plan it with a passion", The ground was now rising up as a small wet flesh appendage with what look like four fingers grew out of the ground "Time will not erase or blot, A plot that we have been brewing, It's when you think that we've forgotten, we'll conjure your undoing", another small arm breached out of the ground. A sharp pain in his head began to form, causing Harvest to have trouble finshing the chant. "Bolted doors and windows barred, dogs prowling in the yard, Won't protect you in your bed, Nothing will, from our VENGEANCE!", The sharp pain became unbearable as Harvest fell on his back, holding his head and wincing in agony.

Then the two arms pushed against the dirt, pulling the rest of itself out from the ground. It had small bulbous head with transparent skin with pieces of dirt covering it, it's eyes were closed, and the creature was still growing but in away as if it was aging. The appearance of it changed dramatically with what was before a featureless body was now showing, bones, rougher skin, veins, and other protruding parts. Parts streched and grew from what was a small creature into a towing monster. Harvest was on the ground still in agony from the pain in his head that grew as the creature did. He didn't think he was going to make it through that is until the pain suddenly stopped. He picked himself off from the dirt feeling a bit light-headed, taking a deep breath to calm down, he looked up at the creature that towered over him. He stepped back, terrified of the beast before him. Was this what was going to exact his vengance was this the Demon of Vengeance.