Chapters Author's note: This is my first fanfic. And even so I ended up waiting quite some time before actually posting this and am very nervous about it. However I would appreciate any mistakes being pointed out so I can improve on them. And if you do like it, informing me with a comment will bolster my confidence to make more. Enjoy!
"It has been many many years since that terrible day..." The dark green unicorn grumbled. "I am certain even the youngest of them should have withered away by now. And besides, I am only going to be there for a few days. What could go wrong"? The Colt looked himself over, his dark brown hat was on his head. His tan cloak covered the bulk of his body. And his saddlebags were stuffed and ready to go. He wasn't going to socialize or anything of the sort, he just needed some supplies and he would be off. It was a seven day journey there and seven back. All he had left to do was to make up a name in case he was approched. "...a name...a name...Arcanian...yes that should work fine". And so he set off to his destination, a small town where no trouble is to be expected. Ponyville.
The young green colt stepped out of the everfree forest to sight a nice little cottage nearby. "Perhaps I can get directions from the residents" *Arcanian* said with a smile. Although he did not come to socialize, it had been a long time since he had talked to another pony. He approached the cottage and knocked three times. Since the sun was already in the middle of the sky he knew this person should be up... No answer. He Knocked thrice more. A small chunk of snow fell from the top of the cottage and landed on his unsuspecting head. "Ahhh!" He cried. He looked and not too quickly realized that if the resident had not come out by now. They probably were not home. "Ah well, the road probably leads to town anyway".
After about fifteen minutes of walking he reached the bustling town. But wait...Something was off about this... He sighed, "I should have realized...Today is winter wrap up"! Normally this would be no concern, but all the shops were closed because of the holiday. He would have to spend the night here.
Applejack noticed the colt just standing there grumbling to himself, She approached "Wull howdy there! M'name is Applejack!"
He looked over at her and in a weak yet friendly voice returned with a "H-hello."
She looked at him and quickly said "You don't have a vest? We could use some help here if ya can offer it!"
"I should try to blend in", he thought. "Um, sure. Where do ya need me?" he asked.
The orange mare looked him over and said "Well, we need another puller if you think you can handle one of those plows. No offense, but you seem kind of scrawny for one of those..."
He gave a small chuckle and stated "I'll do what I can, which fields need the most work?", he asked.
"Well, the southern and western fields have yet to be even touched...", She sounded rather sadly. "And unless we hurry, We ain't gonna have wheat for bread this spring".
"Well then" ,he said with a smile. "Sounds like I have some work to do!" Just as Applejack was about to leave he spoke up a quick "Hey, no magic correct"?
She looked at him confused, "Huh? Oh yeah, no magic. I kind of thought you were hiding somthing under that hat of your's"! She concluded with a grin.
...Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Why didn't I keep my mouth shut? Alright then...I suppose I can just roll with this... He looked over the south and west fields. They were completely covered in snow. Hoping nobody was watching he set to work.
"I can't believe I forgot to ask his name!", Applejack said as she started heading back his way. As soon as she arrived at the hill over-looking the southern field she couldn't believe it! The entire field was free of snow! Upon closer inspection she saw it was also tilled and all seeds were planted! It had only been a few minutes since she had left him! "He probably has friends helping him...", she said awestruck. Looking to the west she saw lines of snow dissapearing almost instantly! "Or he's using magic!" She said outraged. She started towards the field when she saw the snow lines weren't dissapearing...they were...being plowed by a...blur? She couldn't quite make it out. When the last of the snow had been taken care of, she saw the Colt standing at the edge of the field panting, covered in sweat. She approached him "What was all that???"
He looked at her and then angrily beat his hoof against his forehead "stupid! stupid! stupid!" He whispered. After a quick sigh he looked at her "I should have told you, I have rather...strong legs..." He said.
She looked at him with anger "Or powerful magic!" She exclaimed.
He quickly responded with a "Nonononononono!" Taking off his hat he showed her his horn. It had an engraved ring around the base "This keeps me from using magic untill removed" He said. "I'll leave if you'd perfer..." He stated sadly.
"No...no, I believe you" Applejack said with a smile. "Anything else you can do well?"
He looked at her grinning and said "Well, there is one thing. What will be planted in this field?"
"A new apple tree orchard!" She proclaimed quite proudly.
"Hand me an apple" He responded. She reached for the apple and handed it to him. "Thank you." He took a bite and from the core withdrew a seed. He put the apple to his ear, for about 2 minutes silentely listening to the apple. All while Applejack looked at him great confusion. "Ah, over here then?" He nodded and dug out a small hole. Dropped the seed within and recovered it. Afterwards he pulled some green dust from his saddlebags. "Just a pinch..." And dropped it on the spot. "Stand back" he warned.
"What are you doin?" Applejack asked backing up...vibrations... The ground was shaking! "EARTHQU-" she started but her mouth was quickly covered by the stranger. The shaking grew worse and worse and suddenly a large green bushell sprouted from the ground! But it got higher! and higher still! Untill standing before Applejack was a beautifull fully grown apple tree! As it slowed it's growth, so did the ground slow in shaking. Untill both tree and ground stopped. "H-how did y-you?"
"Years of practice" He responded before letting her finish. "I should be on my way then, I'll see you later. He stated as he turned to leave.
Still awestruck she barely had time to ask before he left "Sorry I forgot...What's your name?"
Without turning to face her he kept walking and simply stated "Twis...I mean Arcanian!"
Well, I should find something else to do and not openly reveal who I am...
"Hey you!" shouted a voice above him.
He looked up, a light blue mare with a rainbow mane was hovering above him, "Yes?" He asked expectantly.
She looked down upon him, smiled and said "You don't look to busy, maybe you can give us a hand. I don't suppose you're hiding wings under that little cloak are you? Cause I really need somebody to go retrieve the southern birds"!
He looked up at her "I don't have wings, sorry. But I am a rather...erm...fast runner!"
She laughed "Ha! Alright, if you think you can do it so quickly lets see! The birds should be about a day's journey past those mountains!" She pointed a hoof at the mountains which looked to be atleast 30 miles off.
He started looking around, smiled and trotted off to a nearby open field. "There aren't any houses nearby are there?" He asked.
"No, why?" She inquired.
In response he raised his hind end and lowered his front half and calmly stated "Give me a countdown"
The blue pegasus couldn't contain her laughter. "Hahaha! Alright alright, 3...2...1...GO!" She yelled.
As soon as the word go escaped her lips he was gone. A clear ripple effect was the only proof he was ever there. Followed by a very, very loud
Boooooooom!
And not but ten seconds afterwards did she hear a softer boom in the distance. A few seconds later the green colt stood infront of her again, with a flock of birds in the net behind him. He looked back at the net, opened it and quietly apologized to all of the birds "Sorry, it was the fastest way..." He looked up...and nothing. It appears the blue mare fell from her hover and was flat on the ground. Mouth gaping wide open. "Um, thanks for the countdown..." He stated shyly.
She stared at him in utter disbelief "H-h-how d-did you?
"Years of prctice...de'ja'vu..." He stated laughing "I never got your name miss."
Regaining her composure she looked at himand quite proudly stated "Rainbow Dash is the name and being awesome is my game! And you?"
Smiling he stated "Arcanian, nice to meet you miss Dash. I'll be on my way then!"
As he left, he thought to himself just how stupid he was to do that. "I shouldn't be attracting attention to myself" As he walked he came up to a pink pony that seemed to be singing to herself while ice-skating. As he approached he could see she was almost completely worn out. "Hello miss!" he greeted her, trying not to startle her.
She looked at him, her eyes went wide and she took a very deep breath.
Crap! He thought. Does she know me? Have I been found out???
"Ohmygosh!Himynameispinkiepiewho'reyouhowareyou?doyoulikepartiesilikepartiesdoyouwannabebestestfriendsforever???" She finished breathlessly. Slumping to the ground exausted.
"Uh sure, looks like you could use a break" He stated looking down at her. "Unfortuantely I can't cover for you, I'm no good at skating..." An idea popped into his head "But I may have something that can help!"
Pinkie looked up at him expectantly. Her stomach let forth a large grumble, she looked at him blushingly.
He looked back understanding "I was about to stop for lunch anyway" He pulled out of his saddlebags two pies, and two canisters that appeared to contain a rainbow colored drink. "Here, these should get you through the rest of your work day with a little pip in your step!"
Pinkie took a big bite of the pie and realized the insides of it were as well rainbow. But then it hit her. It was the greatest thing she had tasted since the zap-apple harvest. "How did you get zap apples this time of year??Oooh! We should throw a party to celebrate!!! You're new in town right? Ohh! thats 2 parties! And It's winter wrap up! Thats three parties!!!"
"I'm sorry, I don't think I can attend... As for the zap apples, I found a way to grow em all year long. They make quite the pastries and ciders!"
"But hooooooowwwwwww????" Pinkie asked
"Years of prac-" He stopped himself "Em, practice...My name is Arcanian by the way!"
"Newsh too muut yu." Pinkie said with her mouth full.
Smiling he left her to finish and continued onward.
Unlike all the other jobs he'd seen, this pony seems to be doing this one all by herself. She appeared to be making decrative nests for returning birds each one unique and wonderfully beautiful. "That is amazing work you are doing miss!" The white unicorn looked up at him happily but suddenly shiverred. "Are you ok m'am?"
"I'm quite chilly, my cloaks are all destroyed thanks to my little sister and her crusade to find her cutie mark in sewing..." She appeared to be shivering the entire time she was talking.
"Here, take mine. I'll be fine without it". He removed his cloak and put it over her like a blanket. As he did, a rather large ruby fell out of one of the pockets. Great, now she's gonna think I'm a show off...
"What a beautiful gem!" She excalaimed eyes sparkling. "Is there any poosbile way a big strong handsome colt like yourself would give me this pretty little gem?"
He may not have dealt with ponies for a while. But he recognized puppy dog eyes and flattery immediately. They were a powerful combination that not even he could resist. "O-of course you can have it!"
The white pony squealed and looked over the gem carefully "It's perfect! Where did you come across such a beauty?"
"I made it." The green pony replied then instantly regretted saying.
"You made it?!? How did you ever make such an amazing piece? I thought they took millions of years to make!"
"They do, I just have a way to speed the process via magic." As she was about to speak again he stopped her by merely saying "Years of practice" defeated. "I don't think I can help you much over here...Do you know of anywhere else that may need help?
The white unicorn stopped her coddling of the gem to think... "Our organizer Twilight Sparkle may have something for you to do, she should be at town hall by now".
"Thank you, I'm sorry I couldn't be of any futher assitance...erm, what did you say your name was?"
"Oh think nothing of it, and my Name is Rarity"
He sighed, eager to be of some use somewhere without making a scene. Smiling he looked at her and said "My name is Arcanian, nice to meet you Rarity".
He turned to leave, Rarity greatful for the cloak watched him go. Curiously she took a peek to where his cutie mark should be...and yet. nothing? "Oh well, I should be getting back to work anyway".
Things are going surprisingly fast Twilight Sparkle thought as she looked over her check sheet. She looked to Spike and asked "Can you think of any reason why the Plowing is halfway done, the birds have already been brought back, and why Pinkie's lunch lull has fallen off completley?"
Spike looked up at her and shrugged "I guess everyone was especially enthusiastic about finishing early this year".
As Twilight was about to give her retort a small yellow pegauses walked up to her and very quielty greeted her with a weak "Hello Twilight..." She looked close to crying.
"What's wrong Fluttershy?" Twilight asked
"Th-the bell system was broken...it seems some of the children took to playing with it and now I can't make use of it..."
"Ah, well in that case let's just wake them up like you did up untill last year."
"W-we can't. Y-y-you assigned all my helpers elsewhere since the bells were a one pony job. And now if we don't hurry the animals are going to drown in their sleep!" The pony was seconds from bursting into tears.
A soothing voice came from behind her "Calm down, I'm sure whatever the problem is I can help."
Fluttershy looked behind herself and saw a dark green colt standing there offering her a comforting smile. "*sniff* o-ok."
"Now then, what seems to be the problem?" The colt asked her gently.
"W-we need to wake up the animals from their hibernation now, or else they will drown when the cloud team clears the clouds." She still seemed worried. But she wasn't going to cry now.
Keeping up his smile he reached into his saddlebags and retrived a small whistle. It seemed to be in the shape of a bird. He took a deep breath and blew into it hard. But no noise emitted from the object. "They should be here any second." He stated confidently. As if on cue a flock of Phoenix appeared above him. "You all know the situation, I need you to take care of it. Ray, you're in charge of the birds. Ra, you've got snakes." He continued to hand out orders and once he finished he nodded to them. They dashed away at speeds that would impress even Rainbow Dash.
Twilight having remained silent during all this, her jaw dropped, threatening to dislocate itself. She snapped back to reality and looked to him with worry in her voice stating "I'm sorry but we can't use magic, I need you to ca-"
"Not magic" He stated interupting her. "Just years spent training them"
"Impressive!" Twilight stated. It was no small feat to even aquire a single egg. But to get an enite flock and train them. "You may want to go make sure they don't miss anything Fluttershy."
The yellow pony was still in shock at the flock of majestic birds. Twilight's words seemed to snap her back into reality however. "Um, yes I suppose I should" With that she flew after where she saw the Phoenix flock go.
"You must be Twilight Sparkle then!" The colt said.
"Um, yeah. That's me, anywho what's your name?"
"Arcanian, I was told I could come to you about where I should go to help out. I already visited Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity."
Realization dawned over Twilight's face. "Well that explains why we're going to be done atleast 4 hours ahead of schedule. How did you manage to help them exaclty?"
As he went through his day of helping each of her friends greatly, she quickly took into consideration that all of this was just an elaborate lie. But these doubts were quickly dismissed as each of her friends come from their different jobs to tell her how they had finished early thanks to him. "So I've never seen you around here before Arcanian. Where do you live?" the question sparked from Twilight.
"I live deep within the Everfree Forest, I came to town to get some supplies. But I seem to have visited on a bad day for that... I'll have to spend the night here. Do any of you know any where that I may rest tonight?"
Pinkie spoke out the second he finished. "OOH! Oh! Come stay with me for tonight! We can stay up late! and You can show me how you make that great food! And We can have a party!!!"
Rarity spoke up after pinkie finished "Oh please. I'm certain I can provide a better resting place than you can Pinkie. And besides, I just NEED to know his trick with the gems!"
Rainbow Dash immediatley retorted with "No way! He needs to show me how he can start with all that speed! It's been awhile since I've had a good race anyway! And besides, I have a MANSION!"
Applejack snorted and with a huff had her say "But with his knowledge we could have apple trees all ready to go tonight and harvest tommorow morning! Plus we have plenty of spare guest rooms for when the family visits!"
Fluttershy weakly added "B-but he could show me how to trian animals so well. Oh it would make my job ever so much easier."
The green colt smiled at all the attention from these mares. Glad he had outgrown lust for most women long ago. "Well, acctually...I passed a library on my way here. It appeared to have rooms as well. I don't suppose any of you know the owner of it?"
It was Twilight's turn to smile and have her say "Well, I'd be happy to have you as my guest at the library for tonight."
"Thank you very much Twilight, remind me to pay you back when we get there." He noticed however that the other five mares were all a bit saddend at the news. Well, I suppose a few days more couldn't hurt... "For tonight I'll stay in the Library, but if you all still want my help over the coming days I suppose I could stay a few days extra" Upon the words escaping his lips he saw them perk up once more. But it was rather shortlived as they heard crashing and clanking behind them.
Running to the source of the noise, the ponies saw it and instantly their blood went cold. It was a raiding Gryphon party, so far no casualties were in their wake. But plenty of ponies were injured by the group. Twilight felt a nudge on her shoulder. The green colt had brought her attention to a peice of paper he had dropped in front of her. "When I tell you to, I need you to read that paper out loud to me, point me in the direction of the gryphons, and once I have...*Taken care* of them, I need you to read the other side of the paper to me. Understand?"
Twilight gave a short nod and looked at the paper. Twisted Fate, your princess requires your services. There were no runes or anything. It did not appear magical in any way.
The green colt yelled up to the gryphons "Excuse me friends, I'm going to have to ask you to leave before I am required to hurt you!"
The gryphons gave a mocking laugh and the leader replied with a "Bring it on pipsqueak!"
The colt's smile faded entirely as he told Twilight "Read it, now..."
The purple unicorn gulped nervously and said as clearly as she could "Twisted Fate, your pricess requires your services."
His body tensed, his eyes seemed to fade into orbs of pure white, and a mark appeared on his flank. It appeared to be a small kitchen knife dripping with a red fluid. His voice gained a coldness and edge to it that would make anypony shiver with fear "Where are my Princess' enemies?"
Twilight nearly froze feeling his gaze fall on her, she managed to point to the warband of gryphons though. A smile spread across his face "All of them?" he asked.
"Y-yes" Twilight managed. She didn't know what he was going to do. But it doesn't appear to be reasoning with them.
An ear-shattering yell cracked from the voice of the colt "The Princess has sentenced you all to death! I will be the one carrying out the sentence!"
Twilight froze in fear, death was usually a punishment reserved only to those who threatened treason. And even then they usually got banishment instead. Nobody ever took pleasure in the issuing, recieving, or delivering of such a punishment. And yet...here was a colt who just a bit earlier was comforting Fluttershy, now smiling at the thought of killing these gryphons.
"Under what charges are me and my folk condemmed to death? Celestia is a whimp when it comes to actual punishments." The lead gryphon was a brute but she was no fool. Although she was rather skeptical that this little unicorn could do any real damage to her. Then she saw it. She looked directly at his eyes. There was no emotion, no care, just a blank uncaring stare that seemed to have an icy feel to it.
The green colt seemed to give off an aura of anger around him as he yelled back to her "Attacking a city directly under the protection of the Princess is treason! And being gryphonfolk has earned you no leaniency." As he finshed he pulled out of his bag what looked like a wooden shaft with a groove cut down the middle. At the end of the shaft was another wooden plank with two cords extending from either side to a small bit of wood. Down the groove he retrieved what looked like a small arrow. "Are you familiar with this work of art gryphon?"
The gryphon tired of all the talking didn't bother to answer his question. "ATTACK!" She yelled at the top of her lungs.
"It's called a cross-bow" He finished as he hit a button that all at once realeased the tension on the small arrow and propelled it forward at a terrifying speed. Catching one of the five gryphons in the chest. It had no effect at first. But the gryphons friends were surprised to see their friend drop out of the sky a moment later. Unmoving. Before they had time to react another arrow was already upon a second gryphon. " Two down! Three to go!" He yelled at them. By now all three of them had stopped to look at the two gryphons on the ground, blood pooling around them. Before they could snap their attention back to their adversary he let loose another arrow. This one caught a gryphon in the eye, protruding from the other side of her head. She fell to the ground spamsms working their way through her body. Before long she grew still as well. Finally the two gryphons reached their taget. As soon as they landed however the last gryphon lackey was taken out by a series of hooves to the throat and forehead. As she fell to the ground he finished her off by stomping his hoof directly on her head. Resulting in a satisfying Crunch. The lead gryphon managed to take hold of a filly on her descent. And now held her claw to the filly's throat in a threatening manner.
"Ha!" The gryphon stated proudly" Let's see you make a move now that I ha-"
"COWARD!" The green colt roared.
Caught off-guard the gryphon let her grip on the child loosen a bit. In that one moment the colt grabbed an arrow from his pack and took it in his mouth. Stabbing the gryphon in her throat and cutting downward all the way down to the middle of her stomach. He grabbed the filly with his teeth and tossed her to Twilight. She was caught with relative ease. With that he started laughing...no, cackeling... It was horrific. Everypony within earshot was instantly struck with unparralleld fear.
"Twisted Fate, your job is complete. Well done." A smooth voice that came from behind Twilight said. Twilight instantly recognized the voice of her mentor and princess, Princess Celestia.
The mark on his flank faded, his pupils re-emerged from the white orbs, the aura of anger and fear around him faltered then faded completely, and slowly the terrifying cackel turned into a small laugh, and then small sobs escaped him. "Oh god...I-I-I'm sorry everypony..." A few tears escaped him before he recomposed himself. "H-hello Princess. It has been far too long. I assume you are here to end my life?"
"Why would she ever do that?!" Twilight asked confused and obviously shaken.
A smile crept across the Princess' lips. "No my friend. You have served your time, and now I wish to welcome you home and thank you for protecting my subjects." Friend, she thought. It has been too long since she has called anypony her friend. "I am truly greatful you have finally returned Twisted Fate."
The green colt stood before the princess. Silent, tears openly flowing from his eyes, smiling.
"Wait, who's Twisted Fate?" the question popped out of Rainbow Dash.
Celestia looked at her subjects, and then to Twilight. "Bring your friends to the library. I think it's time I taught you girls a bit of history. It all started 350 years ago..."
"57...57 executioners have killed themselves" Celestia was choking back tears. She couldn't kill anypony. This she knew. She loved all of her subjects, but some of them just couldn't stay in this world anymore. The problem was that she would get executioners who would be ready and willing to kill soon enough. But returning to their normal lives afterwards was nearly impossible. The current record held was to kill 24 ponies without killing themselves. And there were still 3 ponies left on deathrow today. She was currently in her bedroom. She didn't want anypony to see her cry, but that appeared to be a luxery she could not afford. A small green colt wandered into her room. He looked young enough to have just started attending magic pre-school. He had a small horn in the middle of his forehead, barely visible due to his head being mostly covered by a dark brown hat. She instatly recognized the boy. He was the son of her latest and most recently desceased executioner.
"Princess Celestia" The young green colt gasped. "Why are you crying? Is it about my dad?"
The princess tried her hardest to stop crying. But the question only succeeded in bringing forth a new wave of tears. "Yes little one...I'm afraid he's..."
"Dead, I know." The young colt stated. "He told me before he died to be strong and carry out his remaining duties. To become the new Royal executioner."
The princess managed to stop crying and gave him a small smile. "I think you're a little young to be carrying out such a task."
He looked at her and took a peice of paper out of his saddlebag. Handing it to the princess. "My dad said you would say that. So he wrote this before he...left. Please read it out loud. I wanna know what my dad's last thoughts were." His eyes started to shine a bit more. I must be strong, he thought.
Celestia took the note. Wondering what the last message the desceased would want her to see. " She began to read aloud.
"Dear Princess Celestia,
I can not keep this up, each life I take wears down my soul. I'm sorry that I have failed you. But where I may fail, my son shall succeed. Twisted Fate is still very impressionable and wants only to be loyal to his princess. I have been training him to be able to do my job without the remorse I feel."
The princess stopped reading aloud and kept on in her head. Attempting to make it look as though she were just re-reading it.
However, in doing this I have created two personalities. One is the boy you see before you now. Kind, sweet, and wanting his hardest to help you how he can. The other personality however is a being that feels no remorse, and possibly even takes joy in killing. I have managed through much magic to switch between the personalities with 2 phrases that I have attached to the bottom of this letter. My family needs my income to survive. So please tell my wife that he is acting as a servant, she wouldn't be able to handle the truth. I have left three ponies on deathrow to demonstrate my son's abilities. You can't keep losing guards like me. Just try it, and see if he doesn't break the record. A quick note though, you MUST remember to change him back to his current state. If not the results could be disasterous.
Best Reguards,
Golden Dart.
Princess Celestia looked at the note at the bottom of the page. "Follow me" she told Twisted Fate.
They arrived at the southern end of the castle ground. Infront of what seemed to be a shed, the princess opened the doors and revealed the shed was concealing a staircase leading down below the castle. This revealed to lead into a seemingly endless cavern walled with diamonds. "Wow! It's beautiful!" Twisted Fate gasped.
The Princess smiled down at him, she was having second thoughts about asking him to do this. But she had faith in his father, and while what he did to the child was unforgivable...she couldn't just let this all go to waste. They arrived after quite a bit of walking to another door. This one however lead into a hallway lined with weapons rather than diamonds. "Pick whichever ones you like best" The Princess whispered.
Looking up and down the aisle Twisted Fate pondered his choices. I don't want to be to greedy. But they are all soo cool! I bet I could get away with taking 2 just fine.Slowly he walked up and down the aisle inspecting each weapon. Finally he decided upon 2 weapons that lay at the back of the hallway. "Can I have these two?" he asked the princess.
"The cross-bow and bladed hooves huh?" The cross-bow would be the shortest, quickest, and easiest way to kill somepony. But the bladed hooves however, they were normaly only used for climbing walls. "Sure, let's go try them out hrm?" At the end of the hallway was yet another door. This one however lead to a very small room. Inside were two royal guards and between them were the remaining prisoners on deathrow. "You two may leave." She told the guards.
They both looked at her questioningly but knew better than to ask questions. They retreated from the room leaving only the prisoners, Princess Celestia, and a small green colt.
The pricess looked down at the colt and asked "Do you already know what to say?"
He looked up at her and nodded. "Each of you have been sentenced to death. I as the royal executioner will carry out said sentence. Take your final prayers and accept death...Say it Princess."
The prisoners started laughing. A dark brown colt spoke up "This pipsqueak? The royal executioner? Give me a break, he can barely come up to my knees. Much less my throat."
Ignoring the prisoner the princess exhaled and stated "Twisted Fate, your pricess requires your services."
"It shall be done my princess." The voice that stated this was not the gentle one speaking the prisoner's last rights a few seconds ago. It had an edge and felt cold, sending shivers up the Princess' spine. The biggest change however was to the child's eyes. His pupils seemed to dissapear leaving only white orbs. "We shall now begin." He pulled out the cross-bow and started to load it.
The prisoner stopped laughing and spoke up "This kid's got some serious weapons. If we take em' we can probably excape this hell hole!" Just as the three of them rose a loud THRUM!! Echoed through the room. The prisoner grabbed at his neck trying to pry out the bolt that had embedded itself there. It only resulted in the blood escaping faster due to panicking. He slumped onto the floor unmoving.
As the two remaining prisoners stared at the body on the floor. Twisted Fate was finishing putting on the bladed hooves. He looked at the prisoner on the body's left. "Next" he said grinning.
The prisoner looked back at the kid. He must have gotten a lucky shot, I can take him. But before the prisoner could take one step toward Twisted Fate the colt was already upon him.
Twisted Fate cut at the prisoner's knee caps. Nearly severing all four legs. The cry of pain was loud and for Twisted Fate it was the sweetest sound he ever heard. He took one bladed hoof and stabbed into his victim's underside. Cutting up from the base of his stomach to the bottom of his chest. And finished him off with a kick to the newly made cut, releasing any and all organs onto the floor followed by the body.
The last prisoner threw a punch at Twisted Fate, narrowly missing him. Twisted looked up at his attacker and stared him directly in the eyes. The prisoner froze, unable to move or breath. His eye's filling with immediate terror as he finally recognized the danger that stood before him. And all too slowly he realized he wasn't breathing, he was beginning to grow lightheaded. He tried to break the stare but he was too weak to do anything but stand still.
"Now you die." The green colt stated coldly. With one quick motion he brought the bladed hood up into his victim's neck and started to saw. Blood was spurting from the wound onto Twisted Fate's coat. The neck's soft flesh was easily cut through by the sharp blade untill the neck was completely severed. He looked back at Princess Celestia "It is finished Princess."
He waited patiently for the Princess to finish vomiting. Afterwards she very meekly stated "Twisted Fate, your job is complete. Well done."
His pupils re-emerged, his smile faded, and finally when he spoke up...his voice was kind once more "D-did I do good princess?"
The princess was still in shock at how well the boy killed. And how quickly his personality changed back to normal. He didn't seem to terribly depressed, perhaps he will have use after all. "Yes, yes you did. Now then, let's clean you up and send you home. You've had a very...big day.
As the years passed the green colt grew. And as he grew so did his alter ego's lust for blood. Each execution became bloodier and his skill with each weapon grew. Over the next 10 years he was schooled at Princess Celestia's school for gifted unicorns, his work at the palace payed for him family's living conditions and soon enough it was time for him to move out. Thanks to a generous offer from the princess however, he is able to move into a wing of the castle that remained unused.
As for Celestia, Twisted Fate was the best thing to ever happen to her. While his daker side made her shudder with terror, it did give her an executioner who was the current record holder at 289 kills. And his lighter side was like a friend to her, since she banished Luna to the moon 660 years ago she hasn't had any real friends. But here was a young colt who instead of agreeing with her at every turn argued some points and brought with him an opinion she desperately wanted. He was everything the servant's could never be.
These good times however were short lived. The Gryphon empire had declared war on Canterlot.
Twisted Fate looked over the battlefield, it had been five years since the war started and no progress had yet been made. The land was covered in a thick ice, bodies littered the ground, most of them ponies. The gryphons definately had a strict physical advantage. Being larger than most ponies by almost two times, and with the strength of a fully grown worker colt or perhaps stronger. And above all the average foot soldier had the flying skill of an ace in the Wonder Bolt Corps. The only real advantage the ponies had to level out the playing field was magic. But the gryphons would target the unicorns as soon as they popped out.
A small blue colt charged towards Twisted Fate yelling "General Fate! Important message from the front!"
Twisted Fate was still getting used to his title, he had pleaded to help at the front lines and Princess Celestia finnaly gave him leave to do so. He knew the effect having Royalty on the battlefield would help. Having just gotten here a week ago and immediately being put in a command position took away the ability to stand on the field with the rest of his men. He looked at the messanger expectantly "Yes soldier?"
The blue colt swallowed hard "Captain Sparks says the weather is getting colder, the men are dying from hypothermia. He wants to know if you can ask Celestia to keep the sun out through the night."
Twisted Fate sighed, these ponies don't even begin to consider what problems that may cause. "Tell him and his men to sing songs through the night, and not to speak ill of anything. If that doesn't work I'll send word to Celestia." Windigoes were the first thing Celestia warned him of. It's assumed to be just an old mare's tale, but Twisted Fate knew better. Without the hate from the ponies the windigoes will be forced to feed purely from the Gryphons. A smirk crossed his face. "Using love as a weapon, Celestia would be proud."
A few months passed, it seems Twisted Fate's presance was enough to turn the tide of battle. The ice retreated all the way to the gryphon's camp weakening them severly, songs at night could be heared through each camp. It seemed to remind the soldiers what they were fighting for. And studying extensively into medical and protection magic, Twisted Fate could offer a shield for the unicorns while mending any treatable wounds.
But still...
Thousands were dying weekly, even daily at some points. There was one way to take care of this and Twisted Fate knew it. He waited untill most ponies were asleep and teleported to a nearby cave. Ensuring nopony else was around he cast a silencing shield on the entrance to the cave. "I don't want anypony to hear this..." He had one spell left to cast. His horn glowed, for a few moments nothing happened. But quickly enough a small spot in front of him started to glow too. The glow took shape, gaining legs, a torso, a neck, and finaly a head.
The chilly voice greeted him slowly "It's been far too long..." It looked just like him. Except... it, unlike him had a cutie mark. A bloodied dagger. It's eyes were orbs of pure white. And it had a terrifying aura about it.
Twisted Fate spoke up "Yet not long enough. Look, I'm here to cut you a deal."
It looked at him smiling "Oh? And what exactly is it you are offering?"
Twisted Fate swallowed, he was uncomfortable with this deal. But atleast less would die this way. "Tens of thousands of lives. I need you to eradicate the Gryphon army. In return I want nopony injured by your deeds, and we change back when I say. Deal?"
It was smiling ear to ear. "Well that sounds just fine to me, on one condition."
Twisted Fate knew this was coming "And what condition is that?"
It looked at him seriously "Allow me to address the soldiers, I know exactly what they wish to hear. As much as I can do by myself, I will need numbers."
This stirred many thoughts in Twisted Fate's mind. First and foremost, it knew it wasn't invincible. But that also meant it could think for itself, rather than just being a mindless killer. "I see, just be sure they think it's still me. If they learn this little... secret of ours, it could be disasterous. Once we leave the cave, you will take over. Good luck...Twisted Fate."
It smiled even wider at him. "Much thanks, you won't be dissapointed."
They both walked out of the cave, as soon as they passed the soundless barrier only one emerged. His grim voice filling the air "I suppose it's time to make... preparations." He started walking to a much larger cave nearby. " An ursa major should make a rather reliable ally."
The call had been sent out, all troops were to report to the front lines battle ready. Over the next ten minutes the area would be flooded by a sea of golden armor and various fur colored ponies. Twisted Fate looked over his troops from the hill he was using as a vantage point. He needed to give them a reason to kill. They had plenty reason to fight, but he saw too much mercy on the battlefield. It was time to end all that, today they would win the war.
As the last of the soldiers filed into the group Twisted Fate nodded towards the group of pegasi to his left. They wore the blue and yellow suits marking them as Wonderbolt Corps. They quickly flew into the air leaving smoke trails in their wake gaining the attention of all soldiers. And quickly flying into the crowd, as to listen to their commander as well. With the attention of all his troops Twisted Fate spoke up. He would have to yell at the top of his lungs for his voice to carry through to every soldier. It was time to begin the end of this war.
He cleared his throat and began "Troops!" all attention snapped to him. "This war has gone on long enough! It is time we end this!" Murmurs could be heard throughout the crowd. "I have seen much on the battlefield, and let me ask you. Have the gryphons shown you any mercy? I have watched countless gryphons escape in a moment of hesitation and it is time to end this! What you don't seem to understand is that we just want the war to end! They want us to suffer! They would not hesitate to kill you, or your families given the chance!" Anger started to ripple through the crowd. It was working. His horn glowed a bright pink and shot a narrow beam into the sky. Then, as suddenly as it went out of sight. It started to retract, in it's tow was a large blue horse that seemed to leave a trail of ice in it's wake. "A windigo, they follow me around everywhere. Feeding off of my hatred, I think it's time they gave back a bit." He took an axe from nearby and as soon as the horse landed, it's head was seperated from it's body. "We need to end this war today! For our homes! For our families! For Celestia!" And with that he held the head of the windigo to the sun. Good, homes, families, and celestia should put them right at the edge. It's time to send them over. The head evaporated into a mist which descended upon the entire army. All sound was drowned out by the soldiers angrily chanting "For Celestia!" thousands of voices screaming the words. With that Twisted Fate took his cross-bow and sword and magically enhancing his voice to be heard over the chanting, he charged forward towards the gryphon camps "Charge!!!"
General Whitefeather looked awoke to a low rumbling. "The ponies must be using weather as a weapon again. No matter, it did not affect us before. It certainly won't now." The rumbling got louder. The louder it got, the less it sounded like thunder. A scout burst into the tent fear was plastered accross his face.
It took him a moment to regain his ability to speak. When he did he sounded shaky and terrified "General! The ponies...they...they are attacking!" This was nothing new, the ponies attacks would be reppelled by the front line infantry.
The general spoke calmly "I'm sure we can handle it effectively, calm down."
The scout took no such chance. He quickly replied "You don't understand sir! It appears the entire army is attacking!" No sooner had he said it before a loud crash could be heard outside. Followed by a monsterous roar.
The general finaly registered the severity of the problem, but the hoofbeats were still too far off for them to be here already. "What the devil was that noise?!?"
The scout shifted nervously before managing "That's the other things sir... They appear to have recruited a rather large er...bear to hit us from behind..."
Twisted Fate watched as hell rained down upon the enemy. From the front the gryphon's had to deal with the sea of rage filled ponies. From within they had a dragon sized celestial bear killing masses with every strike. And behind them was a special ops team ready to kill any gryphon who would try to retreat. Twisted Fate would join into the glorious bloodshed. But he knew he would have to conserve his body's strength for what was coming. His plan was all coming together perfectly. But for his plan to come to fruition he would have to show himself as leadership. He looked to his troops, "Forward! Push them back! Show no mercy!" He spotted General Whitefeather. They locked eyes. Twisted Fate closed his eyes, his horn began to glow. He spoke softly to himself "I know you can hear me brother. It is your turn to take over. I've started all the dirty work, I don't even want a kill out of this. I want you to kill him." His horn stopped glowing. And with that his pupils reappeared into his eyes. The aura of ice stopped hovering about him.
He spoke up, his voice less cold and murderous. More quiet and compassionate, "So be it." He looked back up to Whitefeather. He spoke loudly so that the general may hear him "General Whitefeather! I challenge you to one on one combat to the death. Let us end this pointless war here and now!"
Whitefeather was confused. If the battle had continued at this rate, the gryphons would have no chance of recovery and would lose the war anyway. A unicorn fighting a gryphon in one on one combat was a death wish. Then it hit him like a ton of bricks. He smiled and yelled back "I accept! Let us end all this meaningless bloodshed!"
Twisted Fate started readying a spell in his mind. But before he could even bring it to his horn Whitefeather was on him. Whitefeather swung his heavy mace into the pony's ribs. Twisted Fate watched as the large silver ball came up into him. A second later he heard it, what he thought at first was a crash was acctually the sound of his ribs being shattered. And a second after that he felt it. It was like a thousand hooves all smacking him in the same spot at the same time. It was agonizing. Pain however was a good thing he knew. It meant he was still alive and he could feel only two of his ribs had been broken. He cast a quick healing spell to stop the internal bleeding. And just barely managed to roll out of the way of another swing. In a moment of confusion Twisted Fate managed to cast a spell. The gryphon's wings suddenly burst into a massive flame. The gryphon shreiked in pain. Twisted Fate stood up. His horn glowing once more. Whitefeather began floating into the air, surrounded by a pink aura. Twisted fate pulled out and readied his crossbow. He aimed right at the defenseless gryphon's heart...and nothing. "I-I-I can't do it..." he was beggining to lower the crossbow when a voice shrieked throughout his mind.
KIIIILLLL HIMMMM!!!
It startled Twisted Fate into activating the crossbow. In less than a moment the arrow had struck the General in the heart. A few seconds later, he lay on the ground. Completely still.
Twisted Fate looked over the six young mares as their princess explained to them the most important years of his life. They were all fairly easy to read save Twilight. Miss Dash looked to be fascinated with the telling of the wars and battles. The yellow one looked distraught, probably about how young he had taken to killing. The Orange mare looked confused, unable to keep up with the story. And the white one was busy staring at the Princess' crown, her mouth was wide open, so either she had never seen the crown before or she did indeed listen to the story as well. The pink one had her left hoof raised above her head. Twisted Fate sighed and asked her, "Yes miss Pie?"
Pinkie had a quizical look about her and stated "Oh! you can call me Pinkie!"
Twisted Fate sighed even louder, "Alright then Pinkie, what is your question?"
Pinkie instantly perked up and asked, "When can I get started on your welcome party silly?"
It was Celestia who answered her this time, "Perhaps you should give him a day or two to get settled in first, hrm?"
Pinkie instantly took on a look of depression, "Oh...ok."
Celestia was about to continue her story, but stopped suddenly. "Oh my, it appears I must return to the Castle and lower the sun. Would you care to join me Fate?"
Before Fate could get a word out Twilight was up and distressed by the looks of it, "B-but princess! He said he would stay with me for tonight. And he already promised to stay for the whole week!" Twilight stopped, she just disrespected her teacher... "Oh! oh I'm sorry princess, It's selfish of me to try and keep him here."
Celestia was about to respond but was cut off by the laughter bursting from Fate, "You really have put the fear of god into em' haven't you Tia?"
Twilight looked terrified, "You can't just say that to Princess Celestia! You greatly underestimate her power!"
Fate managed to stop laughing, but still kept the smile plastered across his face, "And you greatly overestimate her cruelty! When's the last time she handed out a serious punishment for anything short of treason? And besides, I did say I would stay her for the week." He looked over at Celestia, "I'll think about my living arrangments for the next week Tia, Who knows? Maybe I could find a house here?" He looked back to Twilight "Does your offer still stand?"
Twilight nodded and looked to Celestia " I'm certain nobody would mind a few visits from the Princess throughout that week however"
Celestia smiled and started for the door, "I'm afraid I can't make it back for quite some time." She stopped, a shadow seemed to cross her face as she took on a rather serious look. She looked to Fate, "Black Magic has been outlawed since your incident. Remember this, and do not teach it to my student." And with that Celestia left, seeming to disappear into the sunset.
The room was quiet for a few moments, Applejack was the first to speak, "Well, I best be off then. I'll see y'all tommorow."
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy followed Applejack out. Rainbow adding a simple "See ya later Twi."
Rarity looked at Fate, "Stop by the shop tommorow dearie, I'd love to see how you make all those gems!" and with that she left as well.
Pinkie Pie hopped out of the room seeming to sing to herself "Two days, Two days!"
And with that, all that was left was the two ponies, and a certain dragon who managed to stay out of all conversation untill everypony else left.
Spike looked up at the Green Colt, not too far though. He seemed to be no bigger than Twilight. And with no cutie mark he had an air of mystery about him, "Hi there, we never got introduced did we? I'm Spike."
Fate looked down at the dragon, " Hello Spike, and how old are you?"
Spike, quite proudly proclaimed, "I am 8 years old!"
Fate frowned, (poor little guy) he thought, (I should befriend him. He's going to need a friend to comfort him when all his others pass.) "That's great sport. Say, could you go get my saddlebags for me? I have a small gift for each of you."
Spike ran over to the saddlebags sitting in the corner and brought them back to Fate, "They're pretty heavy...What's in em?"
Fate immediately reached down into the bags, "Many of things, mostly provisions for my journey back. But I suppose I won't be making any such journey anymore. Ah, here it is!" Fate continued to pull a fire ruby out of his saddlebag, "I had planned on using this in case I needed money. But I have plenty, would you like it Spike?"
Spike was quite litterally drooling over the gem, "You mean I can have it?" Spike took it from the Colt's hoof. A took a quick taste of it. "It's aged to perfection!" Spike ran off to his room leaving the two remaining alone.
Fate reached into his bags once more. This time he recovered what seemed to be a rectangular object covered in cloth, "I managed to come by this awhile back. And I'm willing to bet you don't have it yet."
Twilight looked skeptical, "Don't be so sure. This library contains most every book from the last hundred years. It also gets regular shipments of new books that have come out recently."
Fate smiled, "Please tell me then, do you own this one?" He took the cloth off of the object. It revealed a book whoose cover seemed to be one of Twilight's cutie mark. But the small stars appeared to be slowly circling the big one. "Star-Swirl took pride in his first editions, making them magic like this."
Twilight's jaw dropped, "N-no, I don't believe I own that one..." After a few moments of staring Twilight managed close her jaw. She could not however contain her giddiness at the new book. "Where did you get it? What is it about? Can I see it?"
Fate wasn't expecting such a strong reaction (She must really enjoy reading), "In that order? I recieved it from him, it is his studies on teleportation magic, and of course! It is yours now after all."
Twilight began bounding around the room seemingly unable to contain her joy, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"
Fate sighed as his horn began to glow. Twilight was stopped in her tracks and levitated into the air just in front of him. "There is one condition however."
Twilight took on a look of worry, "What's the condition?"
Fate stopped levitating her, "I just need a rundown of all the events I've missed in the past lets say... 50 years?"
Twilight's smile returned rather quickly, "Well, if that's all."
The next couple of hours were spent explaining everything from the repeal of the death penalty 50 years ago all the way through Nightmare Moon, Discord, and the Changling Queen. Up to today. The second Winter wrap up Twilight has taken part in since she arrived in Ponyville. Fate stopped her to ask a question every now and again, but all in all let her tell her story with little to no interruption. Once she finshed it was decided that sleep was a wise option. Arrangements were made for Fate in the guest room down in the basement.
Twilight fell asleep quickly and easily. This was no surprise, it was late, and there were only good thoughts in her innocent mind.
A few rooms away however, Fate lay awake. His body was drenched in sweat. It was the third time he had tried to sleep, and the third time he failed as well. He sighed softly, "I suppose I could go for a walk."
Standing up Fate put on his hat and started for the door. He left the house as quietly as possible as to not wake up the two inhabitants.
The streets of the town were mostly empty, with the few ponies here and there on the graveyard shift.
After a few hours of roaming he decided to find a tree to lean against and stare up at the stars.
A smooth and elegant voice appeared behind him. "So you're the famous Twisted Fate."
Fate found himself looking up at a dark blue alicorn with a mane like the night sky. "And you must be Luna."
Luna looked a bit shocked and more than a bit insulted, "Why do you not bow to your princess?"
Fate gave a sigh and a half-hearted bow, "I'm sorry princess, I'm not much for socializing tonight."
Luna studied him and with a concerned look asked him, "What's wrong?"
Fate stared at the sky, "How many have you killed Princess Luna? Not mercy killings, real killings."
Luna looked up to the sky as well, "I can't say that I've killed anypony. I don't see how this could bother you, you have lived for over 300 years and killed thousands with ease."
Fate sighed, "No, he has killed thousands. I have killed three... And I regret each one of those killings. I haven't been able to sleep a wink since."
Luna looked at him smiling, "Why do you allow yourself to live then? There were 53 before you who all felt the same way you feel now."
Fate smiled back, "Actually I disapprove of suicide more than anything. Think how devastated your sister would be had I killed myself."
Luna stood up, "I suppose I should be going then. The sun will be up in about 30 minutes." Luna's horn glowed as she touched it to Fate's head. "Sleep well Twisted Fate, you deserve it more than anypony else I know."
Fate's eyes became very heavy. He allowed them to close, letting the sweet embrace of sleep take him.
Fate awoke several hours later, it appeared to be about noon. What's more...there appeared to be six gigantic eyes boring into the depths of his soul. He groaned, "Can I help you?"
The eyes jumped backwards revealing 3 startled fillies. The white one spoke, "See! I told you he's not dead!"
The orange one went on the defensive "I never said he was dead!"
The yellow one was still staring at him, "Hullo sir! Ma name is Applebloom. What's yours?"
Before he could respond the Orange one was yelling at her, "Weren't you paying attention at all Applebloom? That's Arcanian! The guy who fought off those Gryphons yesterday!" She looked to Fate "I'm Scootaloo by the way"
He tried to respond but the white one was too quick, "My sister told me his name is Twisted Fate! By the way, she wanted to let you know that she will be busy this morning. Oh! and my name is Sweetie Bell!"
Fate waited a moment to see if he could speak. They were all silent. He gave a soft sigh, "Hello girls, my name is indeed Twisted Fate. You can just call me Fate for short though." He looked at Sweetie Bell, "I take it your sister is Rarity then?" Sweetie Bell nodded. He looked to Applebloom, "And you are Applejack's sister I take it." She nodded as well. He looked to Scootaloo who appeared to be staring at his flank.
Scootaloo looked from his flank to his face and asked him, "Where's your cutie mark?"
He smiled and stated, "I don't have one. It's a long story that I won't bore you with."
The three filly's eyes grew wide. Smiles erupted across their faces. The three of them shouted, "YOU SHOULD JOIN US! THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!!!"
Fate took a moment to stop the ringing in his ears. (A club about getting cutie marks huh? Well I have nothing better to do.) "Well, I don't see why not."
Scootaloo perked up immediatly, "So Fate! What do you want to do?"
Fate thought about it for a minute, "Well, I do need to collect some coal for later. And there seemed to be a surplus in the everfree forest."
Applebloom smiled at him, "Ma sister says the everfree forest is dangerous. But we should be fine with you there!"
Scootaloo looked over to a wagon conected to a scooter just a bit away, "Alright, let's get going then. Hop in the wagon and we'll be off."
Fate watched Sweetie Bell and Applebloom get into the wagon. Scootaloo got on the scooter signaling for Fate to climb in. Fate shook his head, "I think I'll hoof it. Don't worry, I'm sure I can keep up."
Scootaloo gave a wicked smile, "Let's make it a race then!' and with that sped off toward the forest.
Fate watched them disappear into the distance, "Well, I suppose if it's a race..." He raised his flank in the air and lowered his front half. "5...4...3...2...1..Go!" He instantly dashed forward, he was careful not to cause a sonic boom. (I'd rather not attract Rainbow Dash)
A moment later he was at the edge to the forest. Deciding the other three wouldn't arrive for a few minutes he decided to stop off at the little cottage just east of him, "Who who make a home at the edge of such a dangerous forest?" he asked himself as he knocked on the wooden door.
To his surprise Fluttershy answered the door, she looked exausted. "Oh, hello." she managed half-heartedly.
Fate looked at her with concern, "Didn't get much sleep? What's wrong?" as if on cue a small yellow ball with wings floated past him. Understanding dawned on him immediately, "Ah, parasprites. May I come in?"
Fluttershy nodded and led him inside. He could see the house swarming with the pests. In a corner there were a pile of makeshift instuments. He smiled to her, "There is an easier way you know." He trotted over to a pile of pots, they appeared to be aranged as drums. He took a medium sized pot and brought it to the nearby fireplace. He pulled water and a strange brown dust from his pack. Mixing them both in and placing them over the fire.
Fluttershy however was more curious about the solution he offered, "What did you have in mind?" she asked.
Fate kept at his task and replied, "Later, first we need to get some energy in you." With that he withdrew two cups from his bags. Dipping each cup into the now brown liquid with his teeth he inhaled the aroma deeply.
He set one cup in front of Fluttershy, she eyed it suspiciously. "What is it?" She asked.
Fate sipped at his cup, "It's called coffee. I don't imagine you grow the beans for it much here, do you?"
Fluttershy shook her head. She lowered her head to the cup and took a small sip. It was bitter, but it seemed to lighten the load on her eyelids. She grew accustomed to the tase rather quickly. Before too long the cup was empty, "It's good!" She walked past Fate, bumping his left side a bit.
Fate fell over in a fit of pain, the burning in his side was unbearable, "Argh!!" he cried out.
Fluttershy gasped and looked down at the pained pony, "Oh my goodness! Are you ok?!?" She brought a hoof to Fate's side, it was immediately swatted away.
Fate spoke in a pained hushed tone, "Don't. I need to do this myself." He brought a hoof to his left side and began to massage the area, he was re-setting the bone. Tears were openly streaming down his cheeks, after a few minutes of painful grunts and barely controlled sobs he stood up.
Fluttershy felt aweful for bringing this pain upon him, "I-I-I'm s-s-so sorry..." Tears were forming in her eyes.
Fate wiped the remaining moisture from his face, he gave her a weak smile, "It's ok, you didn't know."
Fluttershy only let a few tears slip, she wiped them away and asked, "What happened? I barely touched you..."
Fate sighed, "It's a sort of curse I suppose. With all my speed and power I lost my magic. And for endless youth I took a steep penalty. Any injury I endure will remain. And as you witnessed I have a few broken ribs. Enough of that though!" His tone changed for the better and a smile crossed his face, "We need to take care of those pests of yours!"
Fate grabbed a parasprite from the air, he whispered into it and let it fly away, "Polka is the form of music used normally to attract these pests away. However Vocals work just as well." He brought Fluttershy outside, the sprites were massed in front of the house. Just as ponies would mass at a concert.
Fluttershy looked to Fate expectantly, he looked back at her confused. There was an akward silence for a few moments before Fate spoke, "I'm no singer, don't expect anything from me."
Fluttershy looked down, "What should I sing then?" she seemed rather nervous.
Fate shrugged, "Anything upbeat will work. You don't even need words. Just hum loud enough and they'll follow. We'll lead them deep enough into the forest so they won't come back."
Just as Fate finished his sentence an orange blur came into view. It was followed by white and yellow.
