The Whistles in the Forgotten Land
The kingdom of Equestria is usually known for being a land where all of its ponies are being protected by their princesses, powerful beings capable of facing mighty foes whose force cannot be comprehended by the common pony. It's very usual for the ponies of Equestria to feel safe living so close to the princesses, capable of traveling far away into the kingdom's border to either solve the equestrians problems or to help them in their time of need. Sadly, there aren't enough princesses to help all the citizens living in Equestria and that's more felt the farther you move from Canterlot and the closer you get to the borders of Equestria.
In these border lands, more often than not, the common pony has to live and solve their problems on their own, learning through hard work the benefits of earning the money they need through the sweat of their brow, capable beyond belief to show what a pony can do without the need of a princess or a high official, everypony was on their own and they had to live with the consequences of their actions.
A good example of this can be found on a remote place at the north of Equestria, somewhere between the, once forgotten, Crystal Empire and the kingdom ruled by Celestia. A land that has flat plains with a fertile soil capable of growing anything, close to the mountains but never too cold or too hot to live, so distanced away from Canterlot that very few, if any, guards can protect the citizens from wild animals, beast or thugs ready to steal the farmers's harvest.
One such pony living on this lands, an earth pony stallion whose name has been lost to time, who was known for being able to scare away any thief and win any physical battle he got into, with his cutie mark's shape long forgotten but with enough abilities to confuse on what it could be, he was capable of singing any song he heard through his four-string guitar and just whistling it for days, usually signaling his arrival into a town through his mouth whistling a song heard from a long distance. A great friend of parties and a deep lover of drinks, the only thing he lusted more than any of that was a good mare on his bed every night. Owner of an amazing wealth thanks to his harvest, capable of magnetizing the pleasures of the body and bringing heat into his bead at his own desire he was the envy of any stallion that wanted to know the pleasures of an oyster being thrust by an iron club.
As many would guess, in a land where the mighty rule and the weaker are crushed, it was just a matter of time before this stallion's end came up to him. The exact details of how his end came to be are varied and it always differ from town to town in this region, but, all the versions has a series of details that are common to find that allows to get a more accurate description of his fate.
The story goes that, one hot day, close to the harvest of lemons, the stallion decided to invite his old man into his house so they could enjoy a good series of drinks. At the same time, this stallion decided to call a common lover he had so they could both enjoy the intimacy behind a bed later that night. As the little encounter between the stallion and his father went on, wasted on the sacred waters provided by fermented fruits, the younger stallion decided to go for his best stuff, hoping to earn something from the encounter with the one that seeded his mother, leaving the elder stallion alone with the lover mare.
In a whip of energy, common from those who have fell under the spell of a drink, leaving their capabilities of reason degraded and the impulsive actions become more common within the mind, the father decided to show the mare how he became a father, taking her into his son's bed and destroying the younger stallion's honor through a bleaching blot on his bed and his lover.
Once the stallion knew what happen, he took his father and decided to show him his anger, boosted by the sacred waters that turn the most educated stallions into a degenerated beast, and immediately reshaped his face with the power of his hoofs, stomped his bones until they could bend like a dog and cut what many would like to call "a Stallion's treasure" and send him off to his old house.
The stallion's father, dying in the middle of the journey, was later found by his own father, a stallion known to have the patience of a bee and the fury of a hell hound, who quickly took the body and buried it in the family's mausoleum. Blinded by grief and pain, the stallion cursed "I don't care if that's my grandson, I'll teach him the hell deserved to anypony that dares to harm my son and blood" and quickly sent his best stallions to capture the murderer.
Once the stallion was captured, he was tortured with whips that opened his body while his extremities were being held by the mouths of the most terrifying dogs the grandfather could get, once the whips were done, they quickly threw salt and vinegar into his wounds to increase his suffering and, as a final act of despise from the progenitor to the descendant, the stallion was buried alive with his father's bones, held on a bag, while they kept on shoveling his face so he couldn't run.
After meeting his end in such brutal way, and feeling that an injustice was made into him, the stallion's spirit refused to rest, jelous of those who could still enjoy the pleasures of the living, and decided to roam this plain lands, searching for any stallion lover of mares, drinks and night parties to add him into the bag that still holds his father's remains. Always preferring to appear on the hour between night and day, but never shying away from the dark hours, he always signal his arrival through his whistles, always a familiar song, always sounding farther the closer he is and only being scared by dogs, vinegar, salt and whips, he's now known by his signature ability "The Whistler", although those who lives on the other side of this lands known him as "El Silbón".
So now you know, my fellow traveler pony, the day's end will come soon and the resting houses don't like to open up on the darkest hours, so I recommend you to start searching for a place to rest, for you may become a new victim of "El Silbón".
As the old clairvoyant ended her story, the earth pony stallion listening to it gave her a good look, he took notice of the midday sun and, after laughing out his skepticism, decided to give her a few bits while brushing her off with the confident voice common among the young ponies that still have the youth in their bones and reflected it in their voice.
"That was a nice story fair mare, it was entertaining to listen what you, folk ponies, are afraid off".
And, as he was going away from the old mare, he turned away with a smug grin to give her a last retort.
"Don't worry, I won't forget your story, I'll make sure to tell it to my children so they behave when they grow up".
This stallion, tall and of a slender body, with thin extremities but never looking malnourished or guilty from a lack of exercise, a brown coat with a black mane dying his body, with sky blue eyes and a series of alcoholic bottles decorating him as a cutie mark. He was a traveler that came from Manehattan to make some new deals on this town lost on Equestria's outer rim, and see if he could find a new type of drink for the rest of Equestria to enjoy and he has heard that this town was well known for making good wine.
As the sun was high and his new direction was being made, he moved out of the rural town he was visiting, with houses that haven't been reformed in decades as the faint paintings and straw roofs denounced it, the streets were made of loose rocks with holes calling out how little care they had, the ponies were almost all earth ponies, with an ocasional unicorn although no pegasus in sight, and they were wearing garments that you would only see on the images of ancient history as the stallions used straw hats with light white shirts ridden with holes all over themselves.
It was a town trapped in time.
The stallion went closer to a resident, a red coated stallion, with his face hidden behind a huge hat as he had his head turned downward, making it impossible to know what his face even looked like, and wearing on his bags a large machete knife capable of cutting a pony's head with a single slice.
Our stallion, understanding what kind of pony he could be dealing with and showing the finesse of a gentlecolt that would fool anypony and make him look like being raised on Canterlot, he gently asked:
"Excuse me, fellow Equestrian brother, I'm an stallion looking for the Hacienda Romero for I have businesses with its owner and I would feel quite pleased to know where I could find him".
The stallion moved his head up, showing the eyes of a pony that has experienced the adventure of living through the night, with his face showing the scars of fights with other ponies both on his cheeks as on one of his eyes, with a scar going through his right eyebrow and passing through his left eye, and his iris of an emerald green surrounded by the bloody red caused by the drink and the adventure of never sleeping.
The two stallions shared looks, measuring each other up, and tried to decipher what the other was thinking with a deadly silence only broken by the local earth pony, with a voice that showed tiredness and a pain common from those who screamed too much, his pronunciation was slow, common from those who feel no pressure from time and his tone betrayed no fear towards the stranger his eyes were witnessing.
"I'll give you my salutations stranger, for very few ponies ever come to Lagüiña and even less for a business reason. Now, while I would like to give you an answer, we have our customs here and they dictate that we don't tell anything to a stranger until he presents himself".
The brown coated stallion quickly decided to contribute to the conversation and spoke with a soft voice that hinted a lack of fear towards a potential threat or an abundance of bravery towards a danger that could slice him up in less than a second.
"My apologies good sir, my name is Goodwill Deal and I come from Manehattan. I'm a stallion that searches for good lands that produces great harvest so I can sell them across Equestria and I've heard of this town's wine along its good quality, so I would like to meet with the owner of said farm to make a proper deal, I've already traded letters with the farm's owner and he asked me to come here".
Goodwill Deal then took out a letter from his saddlebag and gave it to the stranger, who decided to take a look at the note before giving it back.
The red stallion kept looking at Goodwill Deal, his expensive clothes, his "refined" accent and his tone belonging to those who thought of knowing everything they needed to live, for Goodwill Deal, there was no reason to deny his simple question, it wasn't even a demand and he has been as friendly as possible, all he had to do was to wait for the response he needed. In the end, the stallion of unmovable voice decided to respond, never betraying his peaceful yet strong voice:
"New Harvest is the name, 'Vino Seco' I'm known as and the stallion you're looking for is my boss. He sent me here to deliver a series of barrels containing our most recent harvest of wine, it's already sold out but my boss would be interested in hearing your proposal".
Goodwill Deal started to smile, he knew that coming here was a good idea but he never expected to have such luck, maybe he would be able to get what he wanted so much.
Before departing, Goodwill Deal took a look at the little town he was leaving, noticing its active streets and the ponies, as closed and isolated as they were from the rest of Equestria, were moving left and right. It was quite fascinating how they could be just as active as a city like Canterlot or Manehattan, albeit on a lesser level considering that there weren't so many ponies living in Lagüita compared to either city.
The two stallions departed the town and took a small journey through the plains, feeling the heated sun above them while the wind blew across them as a large refresher, the scenery would be peaceful to any normal pony but, to someone like Goodwill Deal, this was just boring, he only wanted to end his deal and celebrate later that night in a bar, so, to make the journey less boring, he decided to engage into a conversation with New Harvest.
"So, what can you tell me about your boss? I've heard that he's quite the loner and that he doesn't trust many ponies in general".
New Harvest took a moment of silence before answering, never looking back at Goodwill Deal but he did raise his voice so it could be better listened, although it remained as calm as ever.
"Don Viña is a stallion that knows what he does, I won't talk about his personal life because his private life isn't a public thing neither a stallion of your caliber deserves access to but I will say that he has learned how to deal with the fierce monsters, thugs and whatever being desires to harm his lands, that's something I can certify, after all, I work for him".
Goodwill Deal took a moment to take the meaning of his words as the wind passed through his mane, feeling a bit struck by his bluntness, after all, there was no need to be so rude to him. But, from all of what he said, there were some things he did took note off.
"So this lands aren't so safe? That's something I would like to know more about, what can you tell me about the thugs?"
"The thugs aren't a big problem" -, responded New Harvest without a single sign of sweat, nervousness or tiredness, even though the sun was hitting both of them with an intensity that was unheard off in the center of Equestria, - "those are normally a bunch of youngster who believes that trying to steal from others will get you a quick buck. No, a good punishment is all that's needed to stiff them up and make sure they're no longer a problem here, they're not a problem".
"The real problem here are the beasts, those good for nothing creatures always come at any moment of the day and try to eat from our crops. We've always tried to get rid of them but those tend to be from simple moles to huge bats, and no matter how hard we try to fight them off, they always seem to come back".
As New Harvest spoke, a chill wind passed through the two stallions, easing the sun's heat and giving Goodwill Deal the second air he needed to keep trotting and, as he was listening, New Harvest's voice started to croak, as if his throat was getting dry and he needed a new drink, with each word he pronounced being more and more chilling.
"Now, the other problem..."
Goodwill Deal started to feel a dread going through him as he heard him talk.
"The other problem that tends to bring us problem are the other beings living on this plains".
The Sun, even though it remained on the same place, no cloud was passing and it was hitting with the same intensity, suddenly started to look dimmer, the chill started to force itself on the stallion and the wind started to lay down. As Goodwill Deal started to feel a growing tension, he tried to dismiss it.
"Other beings? You mean, like ghost? Do you really believe on that kind of stuff?"
New Harvest turned around and looked at Goodwill Deal, his red coat seemingly pulsating with his words and giving the sensation of being angry for some reason.
"I don't know if they're ghost or if they're illusions, all I know is that they live on this plains and that they tend to disappear our workers from time to time".
The wind died down, making New Harvest's words even stronger even though his tone and voice remained as dry, low and forced as always.
"More than once I've seen a mare coming to our farms or the town, a very fine mare if you ask me, and seduce our workers into a night they'll never forget. Most of them never come back and those that do prefer to never tell what they saw".
Goodwill felt curious about this.
"And you? Have you ever seen what this mare do and why you haven't done anything about it?"
New Harvest voice only felt stronger as his gaze grew heavier over Goodwill Deal.
"I've only seen her once, during the road, the very same one we are travelling right now, on a very dark night and I was with a friend of mine. She had a reddish purple coat, with scarlet eyes and a deep black mane, I never managed to look at her cutie mark but I'll always remember her silk like voice and how her look invoked on me a desire to enjoy the night as never before, she asked us if we wanted to take a few drinks at her house and we both said yes".
"We went to her house and drank the best wine I've ever tasted on my life, we played games and we sang a lot to see who would be the first to have more personal games with the mare. In the end, my friend won first and she decided to take him to her room first. Hours passed and they never came back, eventually, the wine ran out and I decided to go for more and, to be honest, I don't know where I went but I do remember that I found myself on the middle of the plains in the next morning and, as much as I tried, I never managed to find the mare, her house or my friend. All I ever found was a piece of land that had pony bones all over it with a few stuff that belonged to ponies long gone, one of those things, being my friend's knife".
Goodwill Deal felt a chill running through his spine, hoping to never find such mare but, before he could dwell more on the story or even dismiss it as a simple murderer that knew how to run away from justice, a house started to appear on the distance. It was massive and had the looks of having passed through a better time as the white paint coloring the walls was wearing off, the windows looked about to break and the wood was holed by termites. Goodwill Deal was hoping that this wouldn't stop him from getting the money he was looking for.
As the two stallions passed through the Hacienda's portal, with a decrepit title saying 'Hacienda Romero' but having a few letters missing, so the title now said 'H[]cie[]da []omer[]'. Once they crossed the portal, the heat came back and the wind grew up, making Goodwill Deal wonder how he forgot the strong heat on the first place.
The door opened and a very old, yet healthy, stallion came out of the house. His vibrant green coat combined with his white mane and yellow eyes was all that Goodwill Deal needed to know who this stallion was, although he also showed why New Harvest was so rude.
"Vino Seco, why do you bring this stranger to my farm, you know how I feel about strangers and I don't want to know anything about family members".
Goodwill Deal reacted quickly, never wanting to miss the opportunity, and took out his letter to show it to the old stallion.
"Oh, no good sir, please don't take on New Harvest here, for it was I who decided to come here on the first place. I'm Goodwill Deal, the stallion that has been contacting you through letters and came here to see if we can make a deal with my company to sell your wine, oh Don Viña, across Equestria".
The old Stallion got closer to Goodwill Deal and took the letter for himself, he read the letter with a speed that Goodwill Deal never saw in his life and then looked at him with a judging stare. Goodwill Deal wondered what kind of stuff he was thinking about him, hoping that nothing wrong was going through his mind or that he wouldn't find him unsuitable to make the deal for any reason whatsoever.
In the end, the old stallion eased his stare, although never stopped looking as if he was judging him for something, and offered his hoof to the scared contractor.
"I see that you're a nice colt, glad to see that there's still young ponies that still care about how to make good wine, I hope that we can make a good deal for the both of us" -. The old stallion looked at his worker and directed the word to him. - "Vino Seco, bring here one of our barrels, the ones from twenty years ago, and a couple of cups. We might get something good out of this".
New Harvest started to move but, before he ended, the boss gave him a final order.
"And we'll talk about your sale later, I want to know how it went".
With a final nod, New Harvest moved aside and disappeared from Goodwill Deal's sight.
The two remaining stallions then went to the house inside and Goodwill Deal managed to see how this house was also trapped in time, with multiple black and white photos all across it, chairs that looked like being over 200 years old and an air that told him that life was nearing its end very soon.
The two stallions seated on a pair of chairs and started to discuss the deal, the fermented stallion started by trying to see how far could he pressure the new harvested colt. It started hard but the young stallion didn't give in and managed to get a deal that would benefit both sides. Once the deal was done, the two decided to celebrate their new deal with a bit of wine and writing the conditions of the deal on a letter for Goodwill Deal's boss.
As the hours passed and the wine emptied, Goodwill Deal realized that it was getting late and he had to move quickly if he wanted to take the train to the next town that would get him to inner Equestria but, before he could even cross the Hacienda's portal, the old stallion talked to him on a cold tone.
"If you're really leaving, then I recommend you to search for a place to rest in case you miss the train".
Goodwill Deal looked back at the owner of the Hacienda, his eyes radiating as strong as if he was 20 years old.
"The streets of Lagüiña are dangerous in the night and you don't want to know what you can find in them".
Goodwill Deal wanted to dismiss the ominous tone on the old stallion, but he knew that he was telling the truth, regardless of what he meant with that, and decided to move quickly.
As Goodwill Deal was leaving the house, he noticed how the Sun was starting to set down, making a pain crossing through his heart as he knew that he was running out of time, and tried to run toward the town, barely noticing how the chill returned in the moment he crossed the Hacienda's portal.
As Goodwill Deal crossed the grassy plains, the reddish light from the sun mixing with the pasture's green, creating a foreboding combination of colors that would've scared any pony paying enough attention to it, combined with a wind that blew from all directions yet moved nothing and a silence that was common of a land that had little to no activity on the day, all of this created an atmosphere that no normal pony could take lightly but, again, Goodwill Deal was too focused on reaching the train on time to notice.
Our dear stallion was too focused on reaching the station, leave this time locked town and celebrate his new deal. He was going to get a promotion from this, he was sure of this, his dreams were just going to begin to be fulfilled once he had this deal made. After that, he would finally get what all the stuff the stallions of the high society could get, all the mare, all the fine stuff, the money, nothing would be away from him. Goodwill Deal was so happy with this turn of affairs that he barely noticed a whistle sounding close to him.
When he heard the whistling, Goodwill Deal had to stop, trying to decipher what he was just hearing. He tried to take his time to listen carefully, he noticed how the whistles were following a pattern, they started on a low B, then raised with each whistling on a middle tone until reaching a high B; once the High B was reach, it started to whistle again on a down direction until it was again a low B.
Goodwill Deal tried to find the source of the whistling, it sounded very close, but no matter how far he tried to look, he couldn't find the whistling's source. He was about to drop the search and move when, right in that moment, he noticed a stallion in the distance. He was very far away, closer to the setting sun instead of the earthly grass, as if he was going through a place between the grass and whatever the sun was hiding below the earth.
It was impossible to see how it looked with detail, thanks to the sun covering it with its bloody light, but Goodwill Deal could see that it was wearing those common straw hats that the townsfolk wore and, if you could avoid the blinding sunlight, you could see the shadowy stallion moving with a strangely big saddlebag as if it was lightweight. But what Goodwill Deal found the strangest about the stallion on the distance was how tall it was, even though he was so far away, it was quite visible, with its shadow reaching very far, very close to where Goodwill Deal was located.
Our earth pony trader was going to move in the mysterious stallion's direction when he started to hear the whistling once again. Goodwill Deal looked again at his surroundings but all he could find was the stallion in the distance, who noticed Goodwill Deal and was starting to move on his direction, and which each trot the mysterious stallion gave toward him, the farther the whistling sounded.
Goodwill Deal started to feel the danger of the situation he was located right then and ran away as if he was possessed by a monster, running for his life into town and hoping to never return to this town in a long time. As his trot started to burn his legs and his lungs caught on fire, all Goodwill Deal could do was run for his life and hope that it was just an illusion, a simple piece of his imagination. He couldn't look back, for the terror of looking back and finding that creature closer to him was even more terrifying than just imagining it.
The more Goodwill Deal ran, the more he could finally see the town in the distance, bringing him a sense of hope that he never thought he would ever feel in his life. As he got to the streets of Lagüita, the more he could see its stallions and mares moving from one part of town to the other, moving as if they've never seen anything.
When Goodwill Deal finally got to town, he decided to stop at the entrance to recover some air that he had lost during the chase, which, when he turned around to see if the stranger was still chasing him, he found nothing. Not a single sign of the strange pony in the distance, not a single whisper on the air and he was sweating hard due to running so fast but this wasn't a moment for rest or celebration to Goodwill Deal, no, he still needed to reach the train station to leave but he had no more energies to run, so he had to walk fast to the station.
When he finally got there, all Goodwill Deal could see was that the train had already left and the next one wouldn't come back until tomorrow so, all he could do now was search for a place to rest for the night and wait for tomorrow to take the next train.
As he was moving, he took a look at the streets of Lagüita and noticed how there was less activity compared to the morning or midday, maybe they liked sleep or they weren't nocturnal ponies like in Manehatten or Canterlot? Regardless, he would be searching for a place to rest and hope that things would be better tomorrow, maybe there was a motel nearby? Who knew, by this point, all he wanted was a good drink to pass the bitter moment he just had.
As he traversed the little town, he noticed how the stallions were very young or very old stallions but never in between, he wondered for the reason behind it, maybe something happened to the stallions? Would that murderer mare be, somehow, related to that low on the middle age stallions?
He wasn't sure, maybe he could get his answers on a local bar after getting a place to rest, maybe not, all he knew was that he now wanted to have a cold drink after loosing such a big opportunity to leave this dreaded town, he have just passed by an awful experience and the few stories he's heard only made him wanting to leave as fast as possible.
After moving for a while, he managed to reach a small tavern with a little place to rest above the building and went inside. There, he started to drink like the world was about to end and sulked on how far he has come. He came to the town as a nopony, somepony with little to no hopes of getting far but this deal, this meant that he could finally get promoted, this meant that he would no longer be the joke in Canterlot, he would no longer be seen as some lower class pony, his dreams would finally come true and he would get everything he wanted.
And, just as he was about to go on his sixth drink of wine, a mare came to his side, she had a black coat with silver eyes, a red mane and a bottle of white wine as a cutie mark. Her look was invigorating and her voice made Goodwill Deal feel as if he could take over the world.
"Hey there mister, why that face? Sad because you don't have somepony to share the night with?"
Goodwill Deal needed a moment to think about what he's just heard, a very nice looking mare was talking to him, maybe his luck was starting to change before he could even get home and, looking at the mare, he was starting to feel much better now about himself.
Maybe this town wasn't so bad after all.
"My sadness was because I lost the train, dear miss" -. Said a somewhat drunk Goodwill Deal, fighting off the drink and trying to look as charming to the mare as possible so he could get a nice night on a bed, if that was a possibility of course. - "I come from Manehattan, I came here in the search for fortune with the owner of the Hacienda Romero, Don Viña, hoping to make a trade deal, but until I can deliver the letter that seals the deal, I'll be feeling sad this night".
At that, the mare made a great laugh, her voice sounding even more inviting and charismatic, and with a very sarcastic tone, she replied to the stallion's tragicomedy.
"Hacienda Romero? That old stallion its still alive? It's been so long since he has been on the outside that many of us has forgotten about him, many of us has even forgotten his name, or doubt if his actual name is Don Viña, but, if you managed to see him, then maybe you're more than just a nice looking face. Maybe there's something into you, Mr. Jackpot".
Goodwill Deal, tried to stay sober now. This mare was paying attention to him and he really didn't want to mess this chance to finally enjoy the pleasures of sharing your time with a mare. He had to be as confident as possible and to show that he was capable of taking any challenge as possible.
"Of course there is, fine lady. I'm Goodwill Deal, a stallion capable of making a deal with the monsters of Tartarus themselves if needed be and wherever there's a chance to earn something good, I'll be there and get it".
The mare looked at him with a fiery sight and, now making a more lustful voice, she remarked on the stallion's confidence.
"So you think you can earn anything good, right? Then let's see if you can earn this mare Mr. Deal, my name is Charming Looks but many here prefer to call me 'La Fiera'".
Goodwill Deal could feel something growing inside of him, it was a warm feeling that came from within that grew stronger as the alcohol started to feel stronger on his brain.
"'La Fiera'? What does that mean and why such a lovely mare would earn such a name?"
In that moment, the mare started to get closer to him.
"Oh, the origin behind my nickname is of no importance but, if you mind..."
She then got to his ears and whispered, with a passionate and lustful tone, the words that made his stallioness grow beyond normal levels.
"That's because I could eat you in one night".
Goodwill Deal wasn't sure if he could keep up with it, but he had to keep playing well his cards, he had to get this mare.
"And what kind of deal would I have to do to become a part of your meal, lovely mare?"
The mare looked at him, it felt as if he was the one moving on her hooves, but Goodwill Deal didn't care, all he wanted was to enjoy one night with such a great looking mare and he would do anything on his hooves to do it.
"Well" -, she said with a challenging tone -. "let's see how much of a stallion you are. Do you know that there's a post service near the train station?"
Now, Goodwill Deal's attention was being called again, although not for the mare he so much lusted for.
"Yes, my dear stallion, there's a postal service near the train station of Lagüiña, so here's the deal: if you manage to get your card on the mail service and then get to my house before the bell at the town hall sounds. Then you will see what I can do for you".
Goodwill Deal felt invigorated, this was going to be the easiest job in his life.
"But, if you get even one second late, you'll have to spend your night alone, understood?"
The foolish stallion started to move his head on a nod, falling prey to this nice mare, not knowing what kind of fate was waiting for him.
"Alright then, big colt, I'll be waiting for you. The Postal Service is three blocks to the left of the train station and my house is four blocks in front of the Postal Service, good luck".
The mare then moved to the outside of the tavern and disappeared with in the middle the night's darkness. Goodwill Deal was feeling anxious, he really wanted to get that mare, even if he was warned about the streets, but his instincts were telling him to not leave.
"Hey!"
Goodwill Deal moved his head and found the owner of the tavern, cleaning the cups and looking directly at him with his blue eyes and sky blue coat with grey mane.
"I know that mare, she has the reputation of meeting many stallions on her life and, I warn you, you better not waste your night for her, especially not on this night, the wind is chilling and that usually means that the streets won't be deserted. I recommend you to stay here".
Goodwill Deal looked at the stallion and how serious his look were, he knew that there was some truth in them but, either the alcohol or the hormones, were telling him to try it anyway.
"Sir, I understand your worries, but I'm a stallion that do the impossible to get what he wants and that mare has fallen into my objectives, besides, I got nothing to worry about."
And, as he was leaving the tavern, he heard the last warning.
"Alright, little colt, just know that, by the time the first bell sound, this tavern will close and I won't open until the next morning. Good luck and I hope you come here first."
And, just like that, Goodwill Deal went outside to the dark and desolated streets of Lagüiña, in the search of a mare that he knew nothing about just to get something that was vacuous in the end. Neither the cold wind or the dark clouds hiding the moon were indicative enough of the kind of situation he was getting into, he ignored how empty the streets were, how close was the clock to sound or how all the houses had little to no light just because he wanted to fulfill a dream deserved to those who's life was dull enough to desire the material and the lust for a mare that only the most desperate would try to get.
As his trots moved around the rocky streets, echoing his hoofs to anyone still awaken on the town, he turned into the claustrophobic roads and dived into the darkened streets just to reach the place where he could drop the letter that would seal his future and then looked at where he stood.
He looked at the train station, lacking the needed light that you could find on a place like Canterlot, there was no train or workers waiting for customers, he could say the same to the rest of the town, with its closed windows, no light, lack of care, lighting system, not even the animals that were common on this hours were moving around its dead streets. There was nothing that could tell if this was an actual town or not, someone who came at this hour could easily think that this was a ghost town and nothing else.
With that said, now it was time for Goodwill Deal to earn his final prize: That gracious mare that would turn him into a true stallion.
He was about to move when he started to hear a sound that chilled his spine, a series of whistling that looked like they came from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. It was at the same rhythm and tone as the ones he heard on the plains, he could remember the stallion making those whistles but he didn't wanted to meet him, especially not under this conditions, so he ran.
He heard the whistles and noticed how close they sound related to him, he knew what he could do and decided to run into that mare's house, he was still on time and there was nothing that didn't made him deserving of that mare and, with that thought, he heard a second sound that sent, not a chill, but a stab at his heart, sinking it down into a spiral of dread and fear like he has never felt before: A bell ring.
He could see the house when he heard the sound of doom ringing on his ears, followed by the whistles that, even if they sounded farther away now, he still felt it close enough to run. He went to the door and started to slam the door with all of his strength and shouted with the desperation belonging to anyone who was close to meet the end of its life.
"Lady, please, I managed to get here, please open the door, I don't care if I won't share the night with you but, please, just let me in!"
There was no sound coming from the inside of the house, nothing indicative of a mare waiting for him, nothing indicative that he was actually going to gain what he desired so much, just an empty promise but then the house created a musical voice that were followed by a series of words that would've made silence and the empty promise a much better alternative.
"Sorry mister, you didn't got here on time so there's no reward for you. Aren't you a stallion that get whatever you wants? Well, if you want your life so much, I recommend you to run and pray that you don't meet anything undesirable on the streets. Bye!".
And, just with that, all the ambitions and desires of Goodwill Deal were shattered as he fell prey to a short term goal, belonging to the type of mare that no male should ever desire and ignored the warnings given to him all the day, such was the fate of those who wanted go for the today and never think of the tomorrow, and the whistles remembered him that he wasn't alone on this dead streets.
Goodwill Deal understood that he was alone on this moment, he understood that all he could do now was to hope to survive the night and all he could do was to run from the whistler, in the hopes of it giving up the chase.
So run he did and far he moved, going through street to street, sometimes hearing the whistles closer, sometimes farther, those were all he could use at his advantage to run from the mysterious stallion. The streets stopped feeling desolated and started to feel like a labyrinth where the cat and mouse were playing, with the mouse feeling how the cat was playing with him through the sound.
The clouds then started to dissipate around the town, allowing Goodwill Deal to see where he was going but, even so, the clouds would only allow for certain spots of moonlight to appear, giving the appearance of searching lights trying to get him.
Goodwill Deal was feeling each time more desperate, no matter where he turned, he could hear the whistles following him as they defied logic and followed him more and more the farther they sounded, he felt as if there was no way to escape but, in a desperate attempt to find a sign of hope, he started to rationalize that, maybe, this were just sound, that there was nopony making those sounds but, just like the bell and the mare's voice, he turned the next street and saw the figure that would plague anyone's nightmares.
It was a pony with it's limbs stretched, making him as tall as Princess Celestia, his snout was twisted and deformed, making his mouth impossible to close which, in turn, revealed his mistreated pearly tooth which, combined with its burned and slashed faced, its mangled, thin and bitten legs, its open and rotten body and his piercing white eyes with red irises, highlighted by the moon's light that made its features to standout even more, it looked like a being that was rejected from Tartarus for how evil it looked.
Goodwill Deal felt how his legs froze from the induced fear this creature brought to him, he wanted to run but he couldn't find the strength to move, he then heard the whistles, sounding even farther and weaker but, defying logic even more, as if it was coming from this ghoulish creature from Tartarus, even though his mouth didn't look like they were moving.
It was a fight of wills between Goodwill Deal and El Silbón, one trying to stay alive and the other wanting to get a somepony new to add to his saddlebag. Eventually, Goodwill Deal broke the stare battle and ran away in the opposite direction to El Silbón. He started to move from street to street and turning left and right without a care of direction, again, using the whistles as a form to tell how far he was from the fiend.
Sadly for him, it was a matter of time before he reached the end of the town and he were greeted by the plains surrounding Lagüiña. Goodwill Deal considered to cross the grassy plains and hope to reach the Hacienda Romero but, what the light of day made the plains look inviting and safe, the dark of the night made it look like a house of evil waiting for its newest prey. Goodwill Deal was about to turn when he heard the whistles of doom following him, forcing him to choose between trying his luck on the unknown danger or risk it with another chase with the known death, he thought that this was the end for him but he then saw a deserted barn at which, common of those prey of desperation, surviving instincts and a lack of reason, decided to run into the barn, ignoring whether or not that was there or even consider how good of idea it was to take shelter in there.
Once Goodwill Deal entered into the barn, for a brief moment, he felt safe. He no longer heard the whistles, he no longer felt the excruciating feeling of dread neither the dooming sensation of being chased. He closed the door and went to a corner of the barn, piling himself with any type of garbage and broken wood he could find and hoped for it to never come here but those hopes were crushed in the moment he heard the whistles once again and the barn's door opened.
Goodwill Deal stopped moving and looked into the barn's entrance, trying to see if he could see the creature coming. At the start, all he could hear were the whistles but he then started to see and hear things, chickens, dogs barking, stallion's shouts in pain, he then started to hear heavy hoof steps moving inside the yarn, the moon's light shining the entrance and revealing the ghostly shadow haunting the shivering stallion.
He saw the shadow moving, each time closer to him, and with its saddlebag bouncing with each step. Goodwill Deal could hear how each step meant that his demise was closer to him but he didn't have the courage to fight it, all he could do was look at his captor and wish for the end to come quickly.
El Silbón then stopped right besides him, dropping his bag and revealing the bones it held, making Goodwill Deal to hope there was an afterlife for him as he saw the legs turning on his direction and moving even closer to him. He could feel his heart beating at unprecedented speeds as he waited for the end, he wanted to scream but there was nothing capable to release his terror.
In that moment, Goodwill Deal saw El Silbon moving his head down and pierced him with its red eyes, shining with a glowing red that belonged to the flames of Tartarus and making him release a scream that crossed the death of the night and resounded across the whole town, revealing them that the beings of the night that didn't belong to the world of the living took one more victim and there was nothing they could do about it.
Author's Note
EDIT July 12th of 2019: If you like this and you want to support me, you can do it through my Ko-Fi. Feel free to check it out.
