Striving for Perfection

"A great political idea is what I call an ideology that presupposes a certain future. A great political idea is most often a radical movement based on something. Most often based on human needs, but there are exceptions.

"Among the most famous great political ideas, I single out three. Liberalism, fascism, and communism. The first one is based on the natural human need for freedom and proclaims human freedom as the highest value. The second is based on social Darwinism, which assumes that society works according to the laws of nature, that is, according to the rules of natural selection and the survival of the fittest. By the way, social Darwinism is considered an anti-scientific theory, but at the time of the creation of fascism it was taken seriously. Fascism regards the state and the nation as the highest value. Communism is based on the banal desire for a just society with the help of collective property.

"The first was distorted beyond recognition, the second was destroyed by its own ambitions, the third could not withstand the pressure of the whole world." I said giving a detailed answer to the Rising question. It all started with Rising asking me about Princess Luna. After that, a very long discussion on the topic of politics.

He listened very attentively, as if he was really trying to grasp every word. Although judging by the tension on his face, it's not easy for him. But he's trying, which is commendable. I was so focused on the conversation that I didn't notice how my head ached from trying to give objective information. Not to say that fascism is nonsense created to try to justify its insignificance was very difficult.

"How you both fucked me up! Can we talk about something interesting?" Flying asked, actively whining and interrupting our conversation.

I sighed, trying to remove the urge to beat Flying and turned to him, "If everything is so bad, then you can just go to the hotel."

"I do not know where the hotel is." Said Flying after a long thought.

"In that case, I can't help you." I said before taking a slice of pizza in my hands and taking a bite out of it.

"You're doing it wrong." Flying said, focusing on me.

"What?" I asked after chewing a piece of pizza.

"The dough should be on the bottom and the cheese on top." Clarified Flying as if trying to recover from the shock.

I took my pizza and began to examine it. The cheese has been frozen for a long time so that it does not drain even though it is upside down. Tasteless, dry dough is on top so as not to come into contact with the tongue and not spoil the taste. I always wait for the pizza to freeze so that it can be eaten properly.

"I always eat like this." I said, taking another bite of pizza.

"Also tell me that you eat food cold." Said Flying as if expecting a no answer.

"I really like cold pizza and food directly from the refrigerator. Unfortunately, the conditions do not always allow me to eat cold food." I said with a shrug.

"And which one of us is weird?" Flying asked as if he was waiting for a definite answer.

"Did I call you weird? I don't recall anything like that." I said, scratching my head with my finger.

"Um, maybe you're not. But I'm still not weird!" Flying shouted as if trying to prove something.

"Calm down, I'm not going to hurt you morally yet." I said, finishing my pizza. After finishing the pizza, I wiped my hands on my trousers.

After this little dialogue, silence reigned in the room. Rising is sitting on a chair and rubbing his temples with his hooves trying to process all the information that I gave him. Flying is trying to come to terms with the idea that someone might like cold food. The Minotaur is sitting on a chair in shackles and is still unconscious. I'm sitting on the table with one foot on the other and trying to stay conscious. After today's running around, this is not the easiest task. The lamp blinks every few minutes and plunges the room into darkness for a couple of seconds. The walls of the room carefully clean to a shine, as if trying to hide what was happening here. Well, this room will have another secret that needs to be hidden.

Suddenly Flying's ear twitched, and he straightened up as if looking for the source. After a short search, he focused on the chains in which the Minotaur was chained and narrowed his eyes at him.

"Is something wrong?" I asked, tilting my head to the side.

"She was moving." Flying said while keeping his gaze on the Minotaur.

I carefully got to my feet, trying not to make a lot of sound and headed towards the Minotaur on the way picking up a device that can be used to pull teeth. In fact, these are just pliers, but with a modified shape to make it easier to pull out a tooth. I crept closer to the Minotaur and cautiously opened her mouth. As a first step, I began to slowly guide the instrument towards the minotaurs' fang. Suddenly, a sigh came from the depths of the throat.

I quickly pulled my hands out of the Minotaur's mouth before she could bite my fingers. She opened her eyes wide and looked at me with hatred as if I had done something terrible. I put the instrument on the table and leaned my hand on the table.

"Well, my sleeping beauty has woken up so I can move on to the fun part. Let's start with a simple one. What's your name?" I asked, turning to the Minotaur and getting right to the point.

"Speed Arrow." She answered as if she had long ago learned what to say.

Like a shot, I immediately shortened the distance and struck the Minotaur right in the jaw. Since I was holding back, she didn't get seriously injured, but she still felt the blow. I grabbed her by the hair on her head so that she was looking right at me.

"I know that these are called signs. Don't try to fool me, you fool! Now I will repeat my question. What's your name?" I asked, continuing to pull the Minotaur by the hair.

She looked at me with a challenge, as if she would not cooperate for anything in the world. In response, I abruptly lowered her head so that her head collided with the table with a loud bang. I noticed that after the first blow, a little blood came out of her nose. I pulled her hair so that she returned to her original position. When I was done with that, I let go of her hair and went to the tooth extraction tool. Taking the instrument in my hands, I decided to have a little chat with the winner of the world lottery.

"You know, you're actually almost my type. Tall, good build, large breast size, not a bright ass. You just need to put on your glasses and read a couple of political books and you'll be my automatic favorite. It's even a bit of a pity that the circumstances have turned out this way." I said before I tried to open the minotaurs' mouth. Unfortunately, she immediately started twitching and biting, not letting me get closer.

"Oh, so you want to fight? Very well then I'll call for backup. -"I turned to the thestrals sitting in the room. "-Why are you sitting there as if you had nothing to do with it? Hold her!"

"No, it's too much for me." Flying said while continuing to sit in his corner.

Rising sat on a chair and looked alternately at me and at Flying. He swallowed a lump in his throat and got up from his chair heading towards me and on the way said "I'll help you Mr. Sir Boss."

"Great, now listen to me. You need to get behind her somehow so that you can keep her jaw open while I work. Can you handle it?" I asked Rising after a short briefing.

"Yes sir!" Said Rising trying to make a confident look. In fact, this is the scariest moment in his life.

I nodded and let him stand behind the minotaur. Standing up from behind, he began to look for a place where he could grab onto. At first, he tried to stand on his hind hooves, but realizing the instability, he returned to the starting position. Then he tried to stretch one hoof to the minotaurs' mouth, but realizing that there was not enough length, he stopped and began trying to come up with something sensible. After a few seconds of reflection, he decided to use his wings. At first, the Minotaur resisted, but thanks to my help, Rising was able to realize his idea. He pressed the left wing to the lower half of the jaw and the right wing to the upper jaw. He nodded, signaling to me that I could get started. I put the tool to the fang and squeezed it so hard that there was a quiet click. I haven't even started pulling out the tooth and it's already cracked. I started pulling with all my might and along with the cries of the minotaur, the tooth began to give in. Suddenly the counterweight disappeared and the tooth was finally pulled out.

I brought the instrument closer to my eyes to get a better look at the trophy. The Minotaurs fang turned out to be an unhealthy yellow color and full of cracks. In addition, along with the tooth, a small nerve was hanging from it. I carefully put the tooth on the table. Putting the instrument on the table, I looked at the Minotaur. She still holds herself quite proud, but her eyes are a little watery. The body is already suffering.

Seeing this, I decided to increase the intensity of the passions. I gestured to Rising that he could rest, to which he breathed a sigh of relief. Looking around the torture arsenal, I saw a very interesting tool. The tool has the shape of an iron, thick stick, which at the end has a branch to the side at an angle of ninety degrees.

The tire iron is what I'm going to call you. Will you help me today? Of course you will help!

I took the tire iron and began to twist it in my hand with excitement. Grabbing the tire iron as it would be convenient for me, I smiled rapaciously at the Minotaur and began to slowly approach her. Having shortened the distance, I took the tire iron far back like a golf club and got ready to hit. Together with the exhalation, I struck a blow on the knee of the Minotaur. The knee on the Minotaurs' leg cracked, and the tire iron rang like a bell. The Minotaur screamed as loudly as her throat would allow, but I didn't even raise an eyebrow at it. The Minotaur began to take quick and short breaths trying to cope with stress.

I didn't let her rest for a long time and stretched out my hand to the biggest knife. I grabbed a large cleaver by the wooden handle and grabbed the Minotaur by one of his hands so that it was located on the table. I raised the cleaver high above my head and delivered a crushing blow. The bones in the fingers of the Minotaur cracked under the force of the blow, blood vessels burst and began to spill blood, the skin died long ago in a deliberately lost battle. My blow completely severed the middle, index and ring fingers from the hand, but the thumb and little finger remained intact. The Minotaur hunched over and began to whimper softly. I put my entire arsenal on the table and squatted down so that I could look into the eyes of the Minotaur.

"Initially, I wanted to just break your arm and be done with it, but you resist so much that it's impossible. How about a deal? You answer my questions and I'll let you go. Maybe I'll even bind up your wounds." I said, looking at the Minotaur with complacency and a tiny drop of pity.

"You're a monster." With difficulty, the Minotaur squeezed out between breaths.

"Is it yes or no? I can't think of you while talking."

"Maybe I've only been working with the guys for a couple of weeks, but I... I wouldn't betray them for anything!" The Minotaur said, giving me a look filled with determination.

I grinned and stood up on two legs again. I took a rag and a water bottle to destroy the Minotaur. I went up to the Minotaur and while I was performing the actions, I spoke.

"In a few weeks you have become attached to certain people and perceive them as relatives, the most important thing. I am convinced that my life is the most important thing in the world, but at the same time I realize that other people deep down think the same." I said before knocking over the chair the Minotaur was sitting on so that I could cover her with a rag in the future.

"Therefore, I believe that in order for my inner desire for justice to be satisfied, I must create an ideal future where everyone can be themselves without facing condemnation. Do you understand? I do good for essentially selfish purposes. I am an arrogant egoist and there are many like me. We are united by one simple thing. Pure and genuine individualism. " I said, putting a rag on the minotaurs' face and getting ready to pour water on it.

"With your thinking that assumes family and friends as a value, you oppress us. By your actions, you show that one group of people deserves all the best and the other does not deserve anything. Let's talk about the circumstances. If I was sitting in a corner right now and mourning the loss of a loved one, you call me a monster or no? That is, it's all about minor details? If so, then all people are equal and they are distinguished from each other only by short-term circumstances. If not, then I have an additional question. How are you better than me? The fact that you put people in joint dependence while I want to establish mutually beneficial relationships where no one depends on anyone? So, being a manipulator is better than being a decent person? " I asked before opening a bottle of water and starting to pour it on the minotaur.

She started to twitch, but my foot on her chest stopped her. She started to gulp air as if she was suffocating. I began to closely monitor the amount of water in the bottle. I began to feel the tension building in the room. Rising is shaking in his chair as if he is about to faint. Flying is still sitting in the corner and looking at all this with condemnation. Wheezing and inhaling become louder and fill the whole room. At any second, there will be one less living being in the room.

The water in the bottle ran out, so I was forced to throw it away. I took a rag and put it on the table. When I finished with the rag, I looked at the face of the Minotaur. Blood smears on her face, she is breathing trying to grab all the available air. I hovered over her and continued the one-sided conversation.

"I'm offering you a choice. Option number one: you tell me the right information and then I'll let you go. Option number two: you continue to resist and then I will keep you here and torture you until your friends come here and die. Option number three: you take the monster's hand and become my property. I'll teach you how to be me. A creature capable of anything. Become perfection. What will you choose? " I asked, holding out my hand to the Minotaur.

"My name is. . . My name is Marelyn. " She said with difficulty between breaths. Her voice went from bold and confident to pathetic and quiet.

"Great, Marelyn, now tell me. Where is your base located?" I said, taking off one of her handcuffs and showing her the map.

Silently, without resisting, she stretched out her hand to the map and pointed to a point. A point in the mountains in the north of Equestria. I clenched my teeth imperceptibly in annoyance.

It's far away and it's very cold there. Besides, there's a chance she's lying to me.

I looked at Marelyn. Blood smeared on the face, there were traces of tears under the eyes, the right knee is crushed, a thin strip of blood flows from the mouth caused by the removal of a tooth. There is literally no emotion in her eyes. No fear, no anger, no sadness. Only humility and indifference.

I don't think she's capable of lying in this state.

I put the map on the table and taking Marelyn's severed finger as a pencil marked the place where the base is located. Far to the north in the mountains. Putting the map in my pocket, I turned to the thestrals in the room and said clapping my hands.

"We finished very well with the most difficult part and can make a big leap forward. Tomorrow. " I said looking at Flying and Rising. Flying closed his eyes trying to calm down and left the room with a sigh. Rising, still shaking, got up from his chair and left the room. I went to the door but decided to take one last look at Marilyn. She is still lying on the floor in chains and looking at the ceiling.

I left the room, slamming the door behind me. There were two thestrals waiting for me in front of her. I nodded silently, making it clear that I could go. I started walking out of the police station and the thestrals were on either side of me. Flying was on the right and kept an impressive distance. Rising was on the left and on the contrary tried to be closer as if I should calm him down like a child. On the way to the exit, we turned off the lights and closed the open doors. As a result, we got to the exit of the police station and opened the door and got out onto the street.

The cold winter air helped me relax a little and let me think fully. I raised my head up and saw a bright moon that was almost over the horizon. Looking at the moon, I started to feel like I was being judged right now. My hands began to shake with tension, my throat was dry, a little sweat was pouring from my forehead, a lump formed in my throat. A nervous breakdown can happen at any moment.

Calm down, it's just collateral damage. Shaking in the hands is nothing more than just cold. Throat is dry because of the lack of water. Sweat is caused by temperature changes. There's a lump in your throat because you don't swallow. Pull yourself together, Daniel! If you want to fall and cry, then hold on to the thirty-first of December.

I clenched my hands into fists and swallowed before speeding up my gait. Rising has accelerated its course enough to match me and keep up. Flying, on the contrary, continues to keep its distance. The wind rose sharply, which made me close my eyes. I put my hand to my eyes to block the wind and felt something strange next to my leg. It's as if something has clung to her and is holding on. When the wind calmed down, I lowered my head down and saw Rising caught on my leg. Noticing my look, he let go of my leg with an awkward smile and retreated a few steps. Having finished with this, I continued to walk further towards the hotel.

Making our way through the snow and periodic winds, we reached the cherished hotel. When I stood in front of the Hotel, Flying for the first time in a long time, he raised my voice.

"You found yourself a nice place." Said Flying whistling.

I looked up and for the first time noticed the design of the hotel. Two large lamps on the sides of the sign create the effect of warmth. As the only safe place in a huge, snow-covered world. An island of tranquility.

"Sometimes you say something useful. One point to Flying." I said before entering the hotel.

Once in the lobby, I immediately pulled out a hundred bits from the bags of money and put them on the table. While I was laying out the money, Flying again intervened in the conversation.

"Of course I understand everything. BUT HOW MUCH MONEY TO PAY FOR A HOTEL ROOM!?" Said Flying after seeing how much money I pay for one night in a hotel.

"This is the first hotel I found. Besides, I'm not going to stay here for a long time, so I'm not sorry to spend so much money." I replied, looking at Flying like a child.

"Maybe if you don't mind the money, you can buy me a drink?" Flying asked, hinting at a drink.

"Everything will be on the thirty-first of December. I won't give you a dime until then. " I said Flying looking at him like a child who asks for a chocolate bar.

He sighed and muttered to himself, "Crazy nerd. "

"I prefer genius. " I said, turning around and heading to my room.

The Thestrals followed me, one on each side. When I got to my room, I put the key in the lock and opened the door. As soon as the door opened, Flying immediately ran into the room and began to inspect it like a dog that was launched into a new house. Rising continued to stand next to me as if waiting for the command. I took off my coat with the last of my strength and hung it on the closet door. Having sorted out my coat, I fell back on the bed and got ready for bed.

Unfortunately, Flying came out of the depths of the room with another batch of whining.

"Where will I sleep?" He asked as if I had to think it through.

I raised my head from under the blanket and answered him, "I'm not in a position to make a decision right now. Come up with something together with Rising. Both of you are of legal age after all. "

I covered myself completely under the blanket, but unfortunately a conversation between two thestrals reached me.

"I won't sleep on the floor. " Said Flying as if it wasn't up for discussion.

"I want to be near the captain. " Said Rising as if embarrassed by it.

"Ugh. " Flying said with disgust.

"What? No! Not the way you thought I'm just scared after today." Rising replied even more confused.

My tired mind was already starting to shut down, so I didn't hear the rest of the dialogue. Before I finally fell asleep, I was able to realize one sad fact.

These idiots will be with me.