Author's Note

So, I made an blog post stating I was gonna focus on Dogs of War instead of this...

I lied, sorry!

Ideas for this story are coming much quicker, and since this one is gonna be quite shorter than Dogs of War, I figured I'd go ahead and post this up.

Hope ya enjoy it! feel free to comment any errors or just whatever floats your goat, seeing yall's comments really does make this more interesting on my part.

Chapter 5: Fall Back

"That was quite the spectacle, wasn't it?" An overly hippy pony said with a chuckle as the group of new staff members began to settle into the teacher's lounge.

Choosing to lean against a wall rather than sit down in a chair, Louis turned his gaze to the afro-wearing pony and shook his head, put off by the stallion and his happy-go-lucky attitude towards the pep rally.

"Sure, if you enjoy a thousand eyes staring at you. Why couldn't we have just been hired and that be the end of it?" The Butcher grumbled, getting a laugh from one of the two griffons on the other side of the room.

"For beings like you and I, having ponies see us ahead of time keeps the complaints and fear reports down to a minimum." Tweedle, if Louis' memory served correctly from the auditorium, answered as he poured himself a mug of coffee. "Ponies are extra skittish around us predators, and it takes a lot to even begin to gain their trust."

"Well said, brother! It took us almost two years to get through the EEA school board, they almost shut us down just because we weren't ponies!" Dee chirped, rummaging through a chip bag with the title Ponitos on its front.

Baul Plart, the resource officer that was currently seated on a levitating rock, pointed a hoof at the Butcher as he eyed the odd figure from head to whatever those shoes of his were hiding.

"How'd you like the recruitment process, bud? Have any similar issues on your end?" He asked the big guy, not sure how he liked the way the custodian was looking at him...almost as if he was gonna be his next meal.

Shrugging, Louis got off the wall and made his way towards the exit, stopping with his hand on the doorknob as he turned to the wacky collection of teachers.

"No, but that's thanks to some high reaching friends of mine...now if you'll excuse me i've got to go, custodian stuff to do." He said with a smirk as he walked out of the room, closing the door with a loud thud, not noticing the odd looks from the griffons on his exit.

"Well, that could've been worse." Louis admitted to himself as he began to walk the empty halls of the school, class was in session after all. "Those griffon brothers though...they seemed tender enough, I wonder how chewy a leg or arm would be off of one of them." The Butcher whispered as he turned a hallway, his mouth salivating slightly at the thought. "Too bad those ponies seemed a bit frail compared to the ones I've been given before, still haven't managed to make a nice gumbo from anything I've been given lately."

Turning into a staff bathroom, Louis made his way over to a urinal and began to relieve himself just as a slight buzzing sound began to fill the nearly silent room. groaning to himself, a smile couldnt help but fall on his face as he spoke up.

"Really? Becoming a peeping Tom now, huh?" Louis asked aloud, concluding his business and turning to Delilah, who was watching him with those glowing purple eyes of hers, that seemed to be almost on level with his own.

Did...she get taller? Louis thought with a raised eyebrow before shaking his head. No, I'm just tired thats all...thanks to this little bug of course.

Turning away from the smiling ling and approaching the sink, Louis began to wash his hands, keeping his eyes on her through the mirror.

"So, how'd the heist go?" The Butcher asked first, prompting a snort from the changeling as she pulled out one of the gemstones they needed, it shining an eerie green in the light of the bathroom.

"The poor fool thought I was just a maid, so he let me clean his chambers, and the next thing he knows he's conked out and one gem short of a hoard!" Delilah exclaimed before cackling loudly, prompting Louis to put a hand over her muzzle.

"Shhh! Someone will hear you!" He exclaimed in a harsh whisper, causing the changeling in his grasp to roll her eyes and pull herself away.

"Relax, who's gonna be out right now anyway? Class is in session for at least another thirty minutes!" Delilah whispered back, barely trying to hide back her happiness at her success as she gave Louis a half-lidded stare. "Now, how about you give me a quick pick-me-up before I go?"

{In the hallway outside the bathroom}

"It's just like Babs said, someone was bound to have seen her, and will say something when they see the posters!"

Fall Back, jumping back from the small ladder he got his hooves on, looked at the poster of his little sister with a bittersweet smile.

"Don't worry sis, I won't rest until I found out who-" Getting interrupted by a loud, maniacal laugh coming from somewhere nearby, Fall Back nearly hit the roof as his wings propelled him upwards.

"What was that laugh?" The pegasus whispered to himself as he noticed the staff bathroom door was open...when it was rarely unlocked in the first place.

Hovering over to the door, Fall Back could make out a voice echoing off of the walls of the bathroom.

"-one will hear you!" A male voice spoke up, its deep tone made Fall Back shiver slightly at its vibrato.

"Relax, who's gonna be out right now anyway? Class is in session for at least another thirty minutes!" A female voice replied to the male one, sounding eerily skittish and sounding like a crackling fireplace. Some other stuff was said, but Fall Back was currently suffering from mental whiplash in his head.

Ewww, Don't tell me I'm listening to some teachers making out in the bathroom...gross!!! Fall Back thought with a grimace, just about to turn and leave before his ears perked up at what was said next.

"We both know you're eager to return to the base anyway, Butcher." The female voice purred before letting out what sounded like a mewl at the same time a grunt from the male sounded off.

"And why is that?" The male voice growled as a loud thud could be heard, as if someone was slammed into the wall of the bathroom suddenly and with great force, causing Fall Back to float back a couple of feet.

"I've~Oh, just like that~heard from some of the changeling guards that you've been~mmm, Right there~having fun with your new guest." The female voice cooed in between gasps, making Fall Back put his ear almost inside the bathroom to listen in on what they were talking about, meanwhile having to shift in place a bit due to...discomfort.

"Guest? You mean that little brat that was brought to me?" The male voice replied as another thud sound was heard, along with a just as loud moan from the female.

"What was her name again? ~Oh Faust I'm getting close~" The mare asked before her voice dropped to a whisper, the last part unrecognizable by the eavesdropping colt, who was contemplating whether or not to scram before he heard more of their debauchery in action.

"Spring something...Sweet Jesus your tight today, huh?" The male voice growled before continuing. "I carved her first name on her back yesterday and was considering doing the last name on her stomach, but it's got more letters so it might need to be abbreviated." The male said with a huff. "Geez, how much more can you take Delilah?"

But the colt hadn't heard that last bit, for his whole world had begun to spin as he slowly hovered away from the bathroom.

"Spring? But that has to mean...They took my sister! The ponies behind my sisters' disappearance are BUCKING in the teacher's bathroom!" Fall Back whispered harshly as he quickly descended to the ground, accidentally knocking over the ladder he had set up and sending it into a locker nearby, causing a loud crash to echo through the hall and making the lovemaking in the bathroom stop cold.

There's no way they didn't hear that...

Eyes wide, the pegasus got to his hooves quickly as he looked for a place to hide from the couple in the bathroom. He was just about to bolt when he saw one of the lockers nearby open ever so slightly.

Thank goodness the lockers here are huge. The colt thought to himself as he quickly climbed into the locker and closed it behind him, just in time to hear someone exit the bathroom, whoever it was hoofsteps echoing in the quiet hall.

"I told you someone might hear, look at the little ladder over there." The male voice spoke up as a scoff could be heard from his partner...didn't he call her Delilah earlier?

"As if that's my fault, how was I supposed to know someone would be out and about?" The "Delilah" mare asked as Fall Back heard what sounded like buzzing. "But if we were heard then someone knows about-"

"Shhhhh...I think they might still be here." The male stated firmly as the hoofsteps got louder as the guy moved past Fall Backs' hiding spot ad he heard some sort of crackling sound and a flash of light illuminating the dark locker.

"You came here with information about my target, right?" The male asked his partner, to which Fall Back could only assume she nodded since no audible response came afterward from her. "Then go get the gem for me, I'll look for our peeping tom."

Another flash of light went off as the sound of hooves hitting the ground and retreating followed, along with the return of the heavy hoofsteps, each one sounding like heavy boots slamming to the ground.

"C'mon out, little fella. I only want to ask you a couple of questions about..." The voice trailed off as the hoofsteps went over to the other side of the hall. "So, I'm going to assume you're related to Spring, aren't ya? There wasn't a ladder or this poster when I went in the bathroom, so I have to assume you came by to put it up after I went in."

More hoofsteps followed as the kidnapper got closer to Fall Backs' hiding spot, continuing his speech while something screeched against the lockers, each clang and step causing Fall Backs' heart level to spike.

"You must really miss her, huh? Well don't worry, I can bring you straight TO HER!"

The locker swung open as a fleshy appendage reached in and grabbed the colt, throwing him across the hall and into the other lockers with a bang.

Letting out a cry of pain, Fall Back slumped to the ground as he looked at his attacker, only for his eyes to widen as he recognized the thing as the custodian that had been shown off at the pep rally, his shock turning to fear as the giant male loomed over him with a wicked grin.

"Why so surprised? Thought I was a pony or something, you little shit?" Louis asked as he hoisted the colt up by his wings, gripping them with one of those fleshy talons and a scarily large knife in the other. "Now what am I gonna-"

"Hey! What are you doing?!?"

Dropping the colt, Louis turned towards the new voices, only to sigh as the two griffons from the lounge came towards him.

"What's it look like, I'm disciplining a child." Louis barked sarcastically as Tweedle shook his head, a snarl coming from his beak as he stared down at the man in front of him.

"I've seen your type before, back in Griffonia. You waltz into pony cities and get good with the locals, then snatch up the innocent and weak and cook them for supper. You give predators like us who are trying to live a normal life a bad name." Tweedle spat as Dee nodded, cracking his neck as he did so.

"Many of our kind share that hungry look in your eyes and we saw it before back in the lounge when you were eyeing that pony up...you're a dangerous fella, too dangerous to be around kids like him." Dee said as he unfurled his talons and squawked at the colt. "Get out of here, colt! We'll handle things from here."

But Fall Back couldn't move, not that he didn't want to, but he found himself glued to the spot as he watches one of the athletic directors charge at the custodian.

Louis sidestepped the charge and sweep his cleaver low, catching the griffon's ankle and removing the paw from his body, dropping the bird to the ground as he howled in pain.

Getting back to a standing position, Louis was met with a haymaker from the standing griffon, who grabbed the man by his shoulder and sliced his paw through his chest, shredding the shirt the man was wearing and leaving several claw marks on his barren flesh.

Pinning the arm holding the cleaver to the lockers, Dee delivered a punch to the ribcage of the man as he held the attacker in place.

"Your gonna pay for what you did to my brother, freak. And then I'm going to make sure your gonna rot in a prison cell until your execution day."

Looking up at the griffon, Louis let out a wheezing laugh, getting a raised brow from Dee as the man shook his head.

"The only one rotting today will be you, chicken boy."

The griffon could only squawk in surprise as a flash went off in both of the man's hands. Swinging his free hand up, now with the cleaver in its grasp, Louis' smile got bigger as he heard the sweet sound of steel splitting flesh wide open as Dee's left arm was promptly amputated.

"Those screams are music to my ears." The Butcher muttered with joy, licking the blood off of the cleaver as the griffon released the man, falling over in wailing agony as he craddled his now armless side.

Fall Back was left both stunned and terrified. He had never seen someone so carelessly hurt others in his life, and to the point of cutting off legs?!? The pegasus couldn't help but throw up a bit as he watched the man walk over to Tweedle, who was slowly trying to stand, and grab the bird by his wings while raising his cleaver high.

Looking straight into the small pupils of the griffon, Fall Back could only watch, frozen in terror as the bird mouthed one word to him before the cleaver came down on his neck.

RUN

Suddenly, as if all his prey instincts had kicked in right that minute, Fall Back kicked to his hooves and began galloping away at full speed, his pace quickening as he heard those heavy footsteps close behind him.

"Damn it, you little shit! Slow down!" Louis hissed, holding his chest with his open hand as he chased after the pegasus, jumping over the dead griffon and barely managing not to stumble on the land.

{A couple of hallways away}

Why is it that every time Mrs. Honeypot begins a lesson she has to go on and on about her life on the farm? Babs Seed grumbled mentally as she walked over to a water fountain and began to drink from it. Can't she just teach the maths like any other pony?

Just as Babs was about to go for a second serving of water, her ears began to pick up what sounded like yelling from a couple of halls down. A scream that sounded eerily familiar to Babs Seed.

"Is that...no, it can't be?" Babs questioned as she peaked her head around the corner of the hallway, only to pull back just as a cleaver went flying past where her head just was, disappearing in a flash of light just before it could hit the wall nearby.

"BABS, RUN!" Fall Backs' voice of all ponies called out as the pegasus turned the corner and took to the air, flying above Babs as he flew off down the hall.

"Huh, what do you mean by..." She began to call out, only to stop as the custodian from the pep rally before came running past, cleaver in hand as he and Babs made eye contact, her mind exploding with the image of the person Babs had bumped into the day prior.

That's where I've seen him before, back on the street that day! Babs gasped, and couldn't help but press herself against the wall as he shot past, chasing after her friend as they made their way to the front of the school.

"Wait, he's going to hurt Fall!" Babs yelled as she took off after them, silently thanking her mother for convincing her to join track a few years back when she first joined the school.

"Hang on, I'm coming!" Babs yelled as she went into a full gallop, following after the pair as she heard Fall Back scream out in pain up ahead.

"GOTCHA, YOU LITTLE RUNT!"

Turning the corner, Babs found herself in the front entrance of the school and left face-to-face with the custodian, who now had his knee on Fall Backs' back as he pulled his cleaver out of his right wing.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Babs yelled, gaining the attention of the custodian as he looked up and smiled at her, while Fall Back looked on in terror.

"Babs, no! Get out of here, he's going to-AGH!" The Pegasus was silenced by the custodian tugging on the cleaver slightly.

"Hello there, kidd-wait I remember you!" The custodian stated, pointing an appendage at Babs. "Your the brat who didn't watch where she was going on the road."

Just as she went to say something back, Babs began to hear several hoofsteps behind her as teachers and some other staff came upon the scene, only to either gasp in shock or get angry at the custodian and what he was doing to Fall Back.

"What do you think you're doing? Get off that poor colt now!" Babs teacher, Honeypot, exclaimed as the principal made his way to the front, his face slightly green as he pointed a hoof at the man in front of him.

"We hired you on good pretenses with the EEA, and this is how you repay them and us? Attacking two faculty members and a student?" Clapping his hooves, a rather burly resource officer teleported in next to the principal in a flash of light. "Apprehend the violent subject, would you please?"

Babs watched as the big unicorn strode over to the custodian, stopping right in front of him and Fall Back before turning to the crowd.

"Nah." The burly stallion stated before being enveloped in a green flame, leaving behind a changeling with a necklace around her neck. "I don't think I will."

Turning to the man in front of her, Delilah frowned.

"Time to go, Stud. We need to go into hiding ASAP." She said as Babs' eyes widened, her hooves almost moving on their own as she charged forward.

"Babs, get back here!" Honeypot called out, but to no avail, as Babs Seed tried to tackle the changeling mare, only to barely miss them as they teleported away.

"NO!" Babs yelled out as she got up and turned to where her friend had just been, tears coming to her eyes as the principal walked over and pulled her into a hug.

"There there, Babs. You did all you could in that situation." He told her before turning to one of his staff. "Plart, get me my enchanted writing paper...the princess needs to hear of this."