Author's Note

Welcome back; another chapter means more story to the story. So let's get back to it.

''Tomorrow belongs to those who can hear it coming.''

-David Bowie.

Come Forth

The rain sprinkled with haste, blanketing the once silent earth with mud. Ahead lay a seemingly never-ending slope leading down to a dip in the foundation of the small village a bit of a distance away. Every so often, the cackling sounds of thunder and lightning were the only sounds for miles. Three figures, two Equine in nature whilst the other was draconic in stature overlooked the ridge with their gear, eyeing what they would hope to be their prize.

''So, how many do you think we can get?'' a gruff voice called signs of fatigue present.

''Depends on how many were stupid enough to get caught in the line of fire,'' a female voice muttered, a slight tinge of pride accompanying it. ''We need the numbers to be better than the last time, you know.''

''Don't remind me,'' the third voice replied with a tongue of anger, hacking some of his spit in an off direction. ''We only lost that order because we didn't account for them being-''

''-Actually intelligent for once?'' the Unicorn cut off the dragon who snarled, stepping forward as he adjusted his armor.

''Lucky. I would have wrung the lot of them and left their bodies to dry in the sun, were it up to me.''

''Which is exactly why it is not; otherwise we wouldn't have a livelihood to come back to every week,'' the other Earth Pony replied with a click of his tongue. He knew if he left anything remotely to his. . .partner without any kind of supervision, they would end up doing more burying and traveling, and the rain often made for longer trips with the lingering possibility of their cargo slipping on the roads and being damaged or worse;

Escape.

''Anyways, we can all agree that we need to head down there. From the looks of it, any defense they had was wiped out completely, so we should be able to get a good haul for the hike over here.''

''True,'' the Earth Pony checked the harness that carried the cart with a reinforced cage, complete with chain cuffs and neck restraints. The aged contraption had seen better days, caked with mud, water, and broken wood littered with dried blood. He really should make a note to clean it out, but every time the thought came and he attempted to do so, it ended up right back in its deplorable state. ''Fanout; non-lethal techniques. That means you, Garble.''

Garble rolled his eyes, sniffing the air and narrowing his eyes at the nearest shack they could clearly see from this distance. ''Yea, yea, I got it. Just don't come crawling to me if they end up making things harder for themselves than just laying down and letting me put them in their place.''

''I mean it; keep your shit together this time.''

Garble groaned and poked a claw to his 'boss.' He wouldn't openly admit it, but Garble only followed this pony because he was strong; strength was everything in this world. His methods were slow going and often made him think if what he planned would actually work until they did, leaving Garble to shut his yap every single time. A few tussles here and there about certain arguments made him reconsider taking him head-on.

That would be a death sentence. But he would have his chance.

''Garble, can you please try and not piss the big guy off? You know he can kick your ass in 3 seconds, six different ways to Sunday, so why tempt him?'' Garble growled at his other partner if he could even call it that. It was more akin to an annoyance that he would have stamped out long ago, if not for her talent. And her know-it-all attitude was the one thing that drove him over the edge every single time.

Garble stared her down, noticing her cold and calculating stare back that wanted, rather begged him to do something so she could have the excuse to put him down. She would do all too quickly, and none would be the wiser until the last second. He was determined to not lose this battle of wits; it would be disrespectful to him as a dragon to accept defeat this easily, and from a namby-pamby pony, no less.

''Your move. . .'' her eyes appeared as hollow as the never-ending abyss of the different ways she would be able to inflict pain onto him. They thrummed to life, reaching out, almost whispering a taunt to him; try it.

''Alright, alright; fuck it! You win this one, just stop with the eyes!'' Garble turned away, covering a claw to his eyes until he felt her murderous gaze dissipate slowly. ''Damn it, Trixie, can we just get this over with?''

''Gladly. Big Mac?'' Trixie looked to Big Macintosh, who merely huffed a small breath out, the wheat head stick in his mouth managing not to fall out as he looked at his two employees. Even into his old age, Big Mac still stood as a giant to most, only rivaled by Bulk Biceps, but he was no longer of the living, making Big Mac the new titan among pony folk.

Unhooking the cart from his back, Big Mac stepped with caution, wincing a bit here and there as he had to bend his joints; standing for too long sure did make them ache with uncertainty and straight-up pain. His pale red body resembled an old sock left out in the water and his mane greyed in some areas, making consider if he should just have it cut to avoid him having the deal with the natural process of it falling it. He sighed, securing a few of his bolas. ''Trixie, take the left, Garble, the right. I'll go down the middle, and we meet up in the village square. Watch your backs, slow is smooth-'' Trixie and Garble interrupted him.

''And smooth is fast, we get it.'' the pair sounded at the same time. Contrary to what the other may think, they did manage to have a few of the same thoughts, at least when it concerned Big Mac's tried and trued advice.

''As long as you both know,'' Big Mac walked forward slowly, paying attention to every little thing he could. Even with all of the experience between the three of them, there always existed a chance for something to go wrong. For one of these animals to attack back and to leave a scar. . .

And for him to lose another member of his small family.

The village was nearly decimated, no doubt for a Pegasus overhead strike, leaving the majority of the few defenses left completely inoperable, as well catching some unsuspecting Humans by surprise by not giving them even an inch to breath. From the reports, there would be a few choice products here for them to pick out.

It was always a game of cat and mouse with Humans; most were either took weak to fight back or so headstrong to come charging with all abandon.

A lot of skulls were crushed underneath his hooves because of that fact.

Garble and Trixie were certainly a godsend. They each looked out for each other, even when times were at their utter worst, they still managed to come out on top. He had been doing this too long by himself even since they took her from him, took his joy and reason for living, now he only continued on to honor her memory. . .and to get revenge, one Human at a time.

Big Mac looked left and right, keeping his head on a swivel as he held a bola in his mouth, slowing his breathing as the rain continued to come down by the bucketfulls, causing him to blink his eyes quicker than what he would have liked to keep the water out. The squishing of his horseshoes into the wet mud made his charge slow and more cautious.

He cast his attention to Trixie as she slowly came upon a house with one it’s walls caved in, a few of the bricks that barely managed to keep the foundation steady laying on the ground as dust. The roof long collapsed in on itself, resembling jagged spear of metal and wood.

Garble took to stalking forward, his claws extended for the chance to grab his prey and to break them into pieces. The borderline sadistic grin on his face told Big Mac what he wanted to do.

Another clap of thunder and lighting followed, the sound long doing little to startle the three, only causing them to focus even more as times like this-

“-Ah!” Trixie saw the attack coming, using her magic to suspend the knife that came nowhere near close to meeting its target, the unamused look on Trixie’s face doing little to be changed by the panicked anger of the Human girl who grit her teeth, blood pooling from a head wound that got into one of her eyes, causing it to shut as mud caked her clothes that looked to resemble sewn together potato sacks. “You no. . .kill me!!!!”

“You’re right,” Trixie agreed, increasing her magical grip on the girls wrist, prompting her to drop the knife in pain, rubbing her wrist only to be forced to the ground with her neck being surrounded by Trixie’s magic, drowning her face in the mud as a pair of handcuffs found themselves on her wrists and legs. “I won’t kill you; you’re possibly too valuable for that.”

The girl writhed and screamed as she fought to turn over, spitting out the mud that got in her nose and mouth, breathing heavily as she missed her chance to kill. To be free. To. . .do something.

The tussle alerted another of her comrades as Garble lurched forward, capturing a male in his grip, sending him through a downed wall with a shout of pain. Clawing at his captor only made his grip all the tighter as he was hoisted in the air to dangle hopelessly. “Tell me why I shouldn’t take off your arm for trying to step to me!”

“Mmmph. . .” Garble narrowed his eyes at the male who continued to claw weakly, settling for him to rush his up against the wall again, dazing him. Going to work quickly, another pair of handcuffs came out as his tails held his prey still. “N-No.~”

Big Mac set his hoof down, knowing he wouldn’t have to move to either of them, they were skilled enough, but being cautious never hurt any pony. The house in front of him appeared to be the least damaged, mostly hit by debris, but standing overall. Pushing the door open as Trixie and Garble finished restaining their targets, Big Mac began inching forward slowly, figuring this a good a time as any to announce himself.

''If any of you Humans are in here, come out now, and you won't be treated too roughly.'' Big Mac said, listening for any sound to pop out at him, and when he heard none, he pushed again. ''Again, if any Humans are in this here house, come out where I can see your hands, and you won't be harmed too badly; if my partners or I find you when you could have come clean, you're only making it all the worse for yourself,'' another distant thump from his left sounded, followed by a muffled shout; Trixie. He would have to get a bit rough. ''I told what would happen if you. . .'' Big Mac paused as he rounded the corner into the living area, spying something amongst the overturned furniture.

''M-Mommy? Daddy?'' a small girl called out, clutching a tattered and unsightly plushie that resembled a baby chick. The clothes she wore, if they could even be considered such a thing were non-existent, a long dirty shirt appearing like a heavy blanket as she tripped over it, struggling to stand back up, the sound of Big Mac's voice making her continue forward, not knowing what laid in front of her not because she was not old enough to comprehend.

''Celestia help me; why did she have to be blind?'' Big Mac's voice drew down to a whisper, the feeling of dread washing over him as the situation appeared all kinds of messed up to the old stallion, no matter how he sliced it. Adults he could deal with easily enough, numbers more than what he had, and even if they possessed weapons, he would be able to find a way out and around it.

But children always plucked at his strings.

''Daddy.~'' the little girl said, managing to crawl over to Big Mac while he was in thought, clutching onto his foreleg in a nurturing manner, the slight rise of excitement in her voice as she rubbed against his leg relentlessly.

The urge to punt this child came to him because she was Human, but her being young also counteracted that as well. He was. . .unsure what came next.

“Yo, Macintosh! You find any in there?” Garble shouted as he walked over to nearby window, unable to see much besides the top of his body look back at him with a mouth a bit agape. “Whoa, you good?”

Big Mac huffed a bit, caught off guard by the emotion he had not felt in ages. It threatened to consume him if he didn’t get it under control. They had a job to do. “Yeeup.” Garble laughed at his iconic one word quips. He must have found it funny because of the very ambitious tone he left behind each time he uttered those words. “How are the prisoners?”

“Contained now, finally. The female kept screaming and spitting at Tri-mix, and the male kept saying this word over and over again; Nona.”

Big Mac widened his eyes, not enough to where his partner would notice, but he made the connection instantly; those Humans were this little girl’s parents.

And they wanted to protect her. Big Mac understood that cause a mile away, but it didn’t make his job all the more easier, or their suffering all the less relatable.

“Well, we should head-“

“-Uh, guys!? Something’s heading this way.” Trixie called her, her tone a bit panicked. Trixie never was a easy scare, so this could have only been something worth the feeling.

Looking at Nona, who playfully tapped Big Mac’s hoof as Garble rushed to the center of the village to his partner, Big Mac made a choice. He hoped it wouldn’t be one he would regret. “Stay here, sweetie, I’ll be right back.”

“Okay, Daddy!” Nona replied, settling for sitting on her butt and dragging her chicken plushie across the ground. How she thought he was her dad, he wanted to know, but that could come later.

Big Mac bolted out of the room and towards the front doors, turning on a dime as he charged into the rain once more, the mud squishing and splashing everywhere as he spied Garble touch bases with Trixie who stood at the ready with her horn ignited.

Between the flashes of lighting, a distant shape could be seen, but only just. It appeared as black as night, with the only identifier being two white blotches. The shape, definitely Human in stature ran forward wildly, flailing its arms every which way as it let out a screech that sounded over weather, causing everyone’s ears to curl backwards.

“What the hell is that thing?” Garble crouched down low, keeping his entire eye on the thing that charged at them.

“I don’t know, but if it gets any closer, and I’m gonna blast it to Canterlot and back,” Trixie readied herself as she dug into the ground in the hopes of gaining more traction. “Big Mac, what’s your plan?”

Standing in between the both of them, Big Mac figured they would have seconds before the creature would be upon them from how fast it appeared to be going. He would have to act fast.

“Garble, you can’t fly when it’s wet, so stick to your fire if you can overcome the rain, but don’t overheat. Trixie, give that things everything you got when we give you the window.”

“And what are you going to do?” Trixie asked, making sure her hat was secure on her head.

“What I do best,” Big Mac replied simply, charging akin to a steam locomotive, his gaze focused and head cocked downward. He would ram the living daylights out of the thing, no creature could withstand the force of his attacks, not even Iron Will.

The creature noticed what had Big Mac was doing, seemingly running faster and baring its long tongue as it seemed to laugh in joy. The sky began to dance a show of lighting, the pair’s advances towards the other appearing like stopped moments in time before they finally connected.

And Big Mac felt pain.

“Ooof!” Big Mac was hoisted up after managing to impact and push the creature back, the cold, slimy grip began to seep over his face before he was slammed to the ground, sending mud flying every which direction, the shockwave it made afterwards spreading out and knocking down loose rock brick.

“Big Mac!” Garble ran forward, his claws out as he zig-zagged, aiming for the thing’s legs to immobilize it. The creature saw the attacking coming and hoisted Big Mac up again, launching him to the dragon who barely managed to slide
underneath the behemoth Big Mac as he soared into a nearby house, breaking down the wall with ease.

Garble struck, his left claw instantly latching on. He expected it to go through and possibly tear some tendons, but it stopped short as if it was in some kind of heavy duty glue. “What the-“ Garble was cut off by the creature speaking, though in a broken and pained voice.

“Try again.” Garble was plucked out of the creature, as he was given a slash of his own across his chest by the it’s claws that looked sharper than razors. His scales barely protected him as they were sliced through like butter, leaving his skin underneath cut lightly.

Garble groaned and opened his maw, breathing a stream of fire. The rain hissed against it, creating steams as the rest instantly irritated the creature, causing him to drop the dragon as it screeched and hollered. Garble fell to the ground, his chest aching and his head down as pain flooded his senses.

“Take this!” Trixie used her spell, sending a magical blast forward, the effect doing nothing at all besides dissipating on impact. “What? It didn’t work? Garble, watch out!”

The footsteps came too quick, followed by another, more animalistic screech that trailed behind the mangled and broken support beam that laid on the ground, smacking the wind out of him as a slimy appendage latched onto its head.

“F-Fuck!~” Garble coughed and was thrown to the wind towards the same house as Big Mac, the splintering of wood against his back adding to the pain. Ok. . .I’m hurt now.”

Big Mac fought to get up, pushing the debris off of him as anger filled his thoughts. He already was hurting, and this did not make it any better. They were cold, wet, broke, and he was having having a miniature crisis the entire time. He looked to see the creature go after Trixie, her dodging and leaping away doing little to deter it as her spells proved non-effective. “Well, then. Let’s dance.” Big Mac charged forward again, diving in and delivering a forward buck that did little to faze the creature beside the growl of protest he heard from it.

“Rah!” Big Mac continued his assault, the creature taking exaggerated jumps and ducking to avoid Big Mac’s hooves until he caught one at the end of him overextending, the pause of anger replaced by genuine fear. This abomination was relentless, fast, and attacked far better than the Humans although the style was far more primal. It was a dance of chaos, in a way.

SMACK! Trixie was cut off from the attack she attempted by a rock crashing into her skull, courtesy of the creature as she fell to the ground and stayed there. Big Mac growled and tried to free himself, only for the creature to screech again and use that same rock against his head, the impact feeling as if his brain was shot out of his body as he fell the ground.

His head swam with pain, and he could only watch as the creature moved forward, in the direction of the house that held Nona. He was able to figure out what it wanted. “N-No! Stay back!” Big Mac’s pleas fell on deaf ears as the creature kept waking forward, hunched over and spit dripping from its mouth as stalked around the front, venturing inside of the house.

It stopped and looked around, singling it’s gaze on what it knew was here.

“Daddy?” Nona asked, stumbling forward and falling on her face as she clutched her chicken plushie in a death grip.

The creature lolled its tongue out of its mouth, it’s spit covering the already wet and damaged carpet. It slowly knelt down and rubbed a slimy hand on top of Nona’s dirty, brown hair.

And then her screams ended as quick as they started.

Big Mac could only growl and shout at him
and his teammates being hurt, the job going south because of the creature, and the internal turmoil that brewed in him.

Until there was silence.