Author's Note

Sorry more exposition. Next chapter should be the last of it then nothing but gratuitous sex and violence all the way to the end. Yay Sex and Violence!!!!! Alright I hope these are the final edits. In either case I am moving on to the next chapter, called Memories of the Sun and will be placed between this one and Tempest Gives Her Report. Which for those not in the now is that I am going through and finishing/fixing all of my old unfinished stories. I will be updating this until it is complete. I will not be updating anything else until choices is done.

Gathering Darkness

Savage moved through Ponyville, the herd parted before him, fish before a shark. Walking in a straight line, unconcerned about further guard interference, the Guards would either get the message or not. He had set his terms, he would hold to them, if others sought to test his resolve than they would face the consequences. After finishing with Toy, he'd removed himself from her and produced one red amaranth. Making sure Toy was comfortable, Savage then calmly placed the Red Amaranth down upon the ground. It had immediately begun to pulse. As he exited his and Alla's apartment those broken guards had watched in fear of the mysterious Jem. He smirked again, it was a distress beacon cued to the royal guard's frequency. Letting Loose a Dark Chuckle that sent three nearby mares to fainting spells he remarked,

"If they think I'm bad news wait until Tempest gets a hold of them. Besides them trying to kill me, they were out of their jurisdiction as well. Captain Tempest Shadow of the Friendship Guard is going to be Livid."

Strolling off towards his destination, he whistled a lively tune as he knew those that had come to kill him were about to get exactly what they deserved.

Fizzlepop Berrytwist had been closest when she heard the distress beacon. So, cutting her business short, she tracked the beacon to its source. Upon arriving Captain Tempest Shadow of Twilight's Friendship guard had been greeted by a splintered door. Glancing around at the carnage, she beheld the brutalized royal guards.

"What are a squad of Celestia's pretty ponies doing in my jurisdiction? EH?" She queried

The one that wore Sergeant's stripes made as if to speak, but Captain Shadow cut him off.

"Don't talk. As far as I am concerned this an unsanctioned Op gone bad. You obviously confronted an individual you were ill prepared for. You followed no protocol that I know of and you are violating half a dozen procedures by even bleeding on the floor. If you say one word to justify this I will make sure that Celestia herself will hear you screaming. So Shut up, lay there, and bleed."

Tempest Shadow shook her head. Upon accepting the position as Twilight's Guard Captain, She'd made dossiers on all of the residents of Ponyville. The individuals that lived in this apartment were one Jack Trades and one Alla Round. He worked doing odd jobs around town, a have tools will travel kind of individual. Fizzlepop had used him on occasion to repair some of her more complex weaponry. He'd always done a superb job and always been friendly. Alla Round was the clerical and financial version of Jack. There was no one in Ponyville that didn't owe Alla big time during tax season, as the rather plump pegasi usually single handedly did most, if not all, the taxes of everyone in town. Alla had also helped Fizzlepop get her finances in line, as well as begin to establish a financial history. Fizzlepop had liked the overly friendly Mare. As far as Tempest knew so did everyone else. It had been a complete surprise when Alla had been taken, her family brutally beaten. Now this mess.

"I need to find the connections. I know exactly who I need."

Pulling a scroll of blank parchment of the military jumpsuit she wore, Captain Shadow scribbled a quick note, then ignited it and watched as twin green flames shot from her hand. Tempest then proceeded to examine the room, snarling in disgust at the Royal Guards in various states of pain. It was then she notice the Mare, sitting, unharmed, not saying a word, upon the only couch. The mare had been so quiet Tempest had not noticed her despite the small size of the room.

Trying to smile in a friendly manner, Tempest asked. "I'm Fizzlepop. What would your name be?"

The Mare remained Silent.

"Do you understand me?" Tempest Tried again.

A wonderfully innocent smile and a amazingly enthusiastic nod were Tempest's only reply.

"Ah, so you can't speak."

Another enthusiastic nod.

"Okay, make yourself comfortable on the couch and I or someone else will tend to you in a moment, okay?"

Again came the innocent smile and a slower nod. Leaning back, the silent mare revealed that she was quite nude, certain markings also revealing that the silent one before her had been intimate with another within the last 30 minutes. Seemingly not caring about her nudity the Silent Mare just waited for Tempest's next order.

Shaking her head Tempest went back to examining the rest of the room. She made no motion to help those that still groaned in pain on the flour. Occasionally the low groaning of the ones in pain would turn into pleas for medical attention. But one look from Tempest was enough to silence even these pained individuals.

"I see no reason that I should rush your medical attention. You all have broken the oath we took as Guards, you can suffer a little longer. None of your wounds are life threatening. After all what is a little loss of Limb. My horn happens to be just the visible scar of what I have dealt with. Some of the others are.... less obvious."

The former royal guards shuddered as they stared into the Captain's face, quickly understanding why this pony was still feared, even after her reformation.

"Reporting for duty as required, Dear Captain, My Captain." a mustachioed unicorn began.

Captain Shadow turned to face the door, as two red maned Unicorns stepped into the room. They were tall of build and had the identical body type and coloration, the only difference being that one bore a mustache and the other did not.

"Agents Flim and Flam, we are here to help." The other replied.

"Only because you don't want to see what jail looks like. We wait for one other." Captain Shadow again glanced around the room. This time subtly watching the reaction of the two stallions. "We wait for her, then we can begin."

"We have a partner, dear brother?! Oh the lack of trust our beloved Captain places on us." Flam exclaimed.

"Indeed, Brother, The captain must not place much confidence on our abilities or seriousness in walking upon that path of angels that we hath decided to tread. Oh how will we ever survive such indignities." Flim sympathized.

Both brothers flung their arms around each other and wept piteously, only to have Fizzlepop begin clapping her hands.

"Bravo! Bravo! Do you do Encores? A first class performance." Tempest snarked.

"That would have fooled anyone from inside Equestria, even the Element of Honesty. Would have made them doubt their own opinion of you two. Would have made them empathize, sympathize, and laid the groundwork for them to trust you. To bad for you two professional performance liars, I come from outside of Equestria. If anything think of it as I am well aware of how good you two really are. Therefore, I don't trust you at all. Oh, and before I forget, both of you are going to empty all your pockets when she gets here or I'm going to strip search the both of you, then force you both to run all the way to Canterlot, by way of the Everfree, completely naked and on Hoof. Am I Clear?"

"Crystal" Came the united reply.

"Good, then put those con man eyes of yours to good use and look over the room."

It was not long after that a well built mare walked into the room. She was purple of mane and grey of coat and utterly unremarkable in every way, even her expression was one of pure neutrality. Her voice when she spoke was monotone and betrayed no emotion.

"Maud Pie reporting for duty Captain. Hello Flim, Hello Flam."

The brothers started eyeing the door. "Why hello Maud, haven't seen you in a while." Flam started.

"Indeed, it is so nice to see you after all this time, but......" Flim continued

"We really must be going." Flam interjected.

"The two of you will not be going anywhere," Tempest watched as the two brothers flinched.

Maud turned to the brothers, "Marble was really hurt when you two left. She honestly thought you two were her friends. Limestone too, though she won't show it."

Flim and Flam both had the decency to look ashamed. "Friends aren't for ponies like us, Maud." Flim stated.

"Indeed, Ms Pie, your sisters are well rid of us. But is the machine we installed still running well?" Flam finished.

"Yes." Maud laconicly replied.

Tempest glanced between the three, then sighed.

"Maud we won't have any problems with you three working together, will we?" She asked.

"No, I can wait till afterwards." Maud Deadpanned

"Good, Flim, Flam turn out your pockets, all of them."

Glancing at each other, then at Maud, the brothers very carefully turned out all of their pockets, when they got to the end, Captain Shadow put them both against the wall and frisked them, both brothers uncharacteristically quiet.

Upon finishing Tempest turned and asked, "Alright Maud, that red stone you pocketed while my back was turned after they dropped it, what is it and why are you helping them conceal this? The red dust is all over the place, why do either of you want to conceal that one peice of stone?" Maud glanced at the two brothers, then sighed.

"Do you know whose house this is?" She asked.

"Yes, His name is Jack Trades, his special somepony is a unicorn named Alla Round. He is an Earth pony that has familial and business ties to both the Apples and the Pies, as well as having to many jobs, official and/or otherwise to count, both in the past and in the present. He is literally the biggest Earth Pony I have ever seen at 8"9' and weighs in at over 300 pds, solid. Recently, Alla Rounds was taken from her family's home. None of her family have been able to give any statements as all three of them are still in intensive care."

"Oh is that all? Then how about that these Royal Guards came here to assassinate him?" Flim snarled, the usually jovial unicorn shaking in anger.

"Don't either of you tell us you didn't notice that none of these Guardsman followed Procedure for apprehension of a Hybrid." Flam continued, disgust on his face. "They came here to put Jack down. Not apprehend him." Flam spat on the floor, his revulsion at the guardpoines written on his face. "It's always the same story. A crime is committed so blame the scary looking Hybrid. This time at least the bullies had the decency to confront Jack directly instead of whispering behind his back."

"Wait, what Hybrid? Since when is Jack Trades any sort of Hybrid? What do you mean same old story?" Tempest paused and glanced around the room, examining it again with the new information. "It all adds up now. The procedure for securing a Hybrid are to have an Earth Pony negotiator backed by an Alicorn with a squad of said alicorn's personal guard on hand. Above all else a peaceful resolution is sought lest the Hybrid take more..... drastic measures. These Guards did none of that. You are right this was a hit and now I know in part why."

Gesturing to the Silently Nude Mare, Tempest Continued her query, "But what of her, and why would these guards come for him now? What has this to do with the taking of Alla Rounds and the brutalization of her family?"

"All three of us know Jack, he's family." Maud said. "Jack was able to utilize these red Amaranths from a young age, as well as being a Tactile Telepath. The Amaranths give him the ability to absorb magic and redirect it as he sees fit. If he wishes to he can introduce them into a living being and rewrite magical pathways throughout and organism. He can then change the organism as he sees fit. It is generally only something he does to himself."

"Why would he do such a thing to himself?" Captain Shadow interjected.

"To change the way his body utilizes magic for one." Flim began.

"So that he can make himself stronger, or to use specialized earth pony techniques, say the Pie's rock breaking skills, or the Apple family's talent for Applebucking. Things like that." Flam finished.

All three of the Tempest's agents looked at each other. Maud was the one that continued the briefing.

"His most dangerous ability is his Tactile Telepathy. It means that if he touches any being with a mind he can read, modify or otherwise influence the mind of said being. I have never seen him use it for anything other than to scare someone off or to help a family member. Several times he used it to calm Marble when she was an infant. Although I doubt she remembers."

"But how did he attain this kind of power?" Tempest queried her three subordinates. "Few Hybrids can manage one of those things let alone be powerful enough for all of it. What makes him so special?"

Maud glanced at the Brothers for a moment, seeing that the both would be unable to say this next part, Maud took the responsibility.

"He is a direct descendant of Sombra and, according to Trades family legend, comes from the last line of ponies known as the Discordians. Whom supposedly lived in these lands during the reign of Discord and made deals with him to exist within the chaos. When the Equestrians moved in and defeated Discord they vanished. Again, according to Trades family lore, the Equestrians killed them off while the princesses looked the other way." Maud finished.

Flim and Flam both snorted. "Although we doubt that Celestia ordered these guards here to take Jack out, that does not resolve our benevolent Princess from all authority." Flim began.

"Indeed brother, Jack first utilized these powers during a schoolyard brawl, he never liked to talk about it much. But the end result was Celestia herself warping his very Cutie Mark and using Alchemical Potions to make the enchantments stick. Including of course a plethora of post-hypnotic suggestions and Mnemonic devices to keep those safety measures in check. All in the name of the greater good."

Both Brothers, and to Tempest's surprise Maud as well, spat onto the floor. Their distaste for the phrase unifying the three for a moment.

"Yet with all this stacked against him, Jack never complained." Maud interjected. "He worked excessively hard, before my younger sisters where able to work the Rock Farm, Jack often worked for us as a hired hand. His abilities making him great at whatever we needed him to do. He babysat Marble, Pinkie and Limestone, and would often sing them to sleep. He drifted away after we no longer needed nor could afford the help."

"Indeed, Jack was very useful to us as well. You see, although we are distantly related to the Apples, our cousins want very little to do with us. Something about us not doing honest work. Jack was a Cousin we could count on to be able to do any work we needed. Hell, the Cider Squeezy 2000 was built in part by Jack. Even if he did caution us to not take it past a certain speed."

"Jack's connection to both the Apple's and the Pie's complicates things. If it were known that a cousin of both families was attacked by Royal Guards with little to no evidence, without procedure, their would be problems. So I called in what I had. I called in you three. But what about that stone. Amaranths are Black not red. Why would someone take Alla? And how did one Earth Pony do all of this?"

The Flim Flam brothers looked at each other and sighed. "Jack has rules he does not violate." Flim said. He looked at his brother who nodded but stayed silent. "He works very hard to restrain his power, so that he does not scare others. He does this because he seeks a dream. It's not really a big one. He wants to have a place to live, a job that covers his expenses, time to pursue his hobbies, a mare to be his partner, and then to be able to live the remainder of his life quietly producing children with said mare."

Maud again interrupted the Con ponies, "But when those he loves are attacked, when the chips are down, Jack will annihilate everything that is a threat to the ones he loves. Alla was the perfect mare for Jack. She was tolerant of his eccentricities, patient loving and kind. With the current contracts to do all of the repair work on both the Pie and Apple farms, he had finally attained the beginnings of his dream. Now, all that is ash. Look around us Fizzlepop," Maud held her hand up to her Capitan to forestall the rebuke for using Tempet's off duty name on the job. "These Guards are a sign of two things. One that he no longer cares about obtaining that dream of his and two, that all the limitations have come off. He is going to get Alla and this is what awaits all those that stand in his way."

Flim and Flam pointed to the silent naked mare, "This one is a sign of Jack leaving his rules behind especially." Flim began.

"Indeed this mare has had her mind wiped and modified to Jack's purpose. She is his, whoever she was before is dead. The proof is in that if one was to look at her cutie mark you would notice it still bears the marks of being new. If I had to geuss, her 'name' is Toy and that is her purpose. A purpose given by Jack."

"But why try and keep this from me? Why hide that bit of Amaranth. Hell I have one in my pocket that was transmitting a Guard distress signal. I am assuming he did that to broadcast his intent to the world." Tempest questioned

Maud looked Fizzlepop in the eye. "Because one does not stop an avalanche, you just get out of its way and you make sure that others stay out of its way as well. If we'd given you this blank Amaranth then you could've tracked it back to Jack. You would've tried to confront him. Jack can shatter Diamond one handed. I have seen him do awful things in the name of protecting family. He once ripped the arm off of another stallion that had slapped Marble when she was young. The fact Jack beat the stallion nigh unto death with his own arm is irrelevant. You will not be able to stop him. You will not be able to contain him. When dealing with something like Jack the best thing to do is let him pass on by and hope to Celestia that you get IGNORED.