Dark Pony Brotherhood

A New Brother

Lucien had spent the next few hours preparing and waiting for the Apple family to go to sleep.

It was a few hours into the night, so he supposed they were. He put on a saddlebag and put the makeshift dagger he had made inside it and took the blanket he had been useing and threw it over his shoulders as a makeshift cloak to hide himself as best he could.

He snuck out of the barn, and peeked out, but just before he began his way to Manehattan he saw the house door open, and a red stallion leaving and heading for the road, going at a brisk pace.

‘Big Macintosh? Could he be heading to Manehattan as well?’ he wondered, pursuing after him, doing his best to keep a distance. Luckily it seemed that Macintosh was too focused on where he was going to notice him following behind. At the pace they were going, they had made it to Manehattan in an hour.

Lucien ducked behind an alley way and began stalking behind Big Macintosh. He felt some excitement as he did, the thrill of tracking someone was a familiar feeling, and welcome. He wished he could reach into the saddlebag for the wooden dagger he had made, but it wasn’t meant for Big Macintosh. Besides, it would seemed that they had a similar goal in mind.

That thought brought another feeling of excitement.

……

Big Macintosh asked a few ponies out in the streets if they’ve seen a pony with a thieves mask cutie mark. He was having trouble hiding his anger.

Somepony had broken their property, stole they’re hard earned money and worst of all, hurt his little sister. Any of those things would be enough to enrage the normally calm pony, but all three.

He wasn’t sure what he was going to do.

Finally a pony told him he saw ponies matching the description by the riverside.

Macintosh headed there immediately, and though he had the feeling he was being followed, he ignored it. If whoever it was got in the way, he’d deal with them. Right now he just wanted to deal with the Pony with the Thieves mask cutie mark.

It didn’t take long to find them, the leader of the thieves was standing near the river’s edge, three of his thugs around him, and they were laughing. There didn’t seem to be any other ponies around.

Big Macintosh approached them, getting their attention. The leader smirked, “Are we lost?” he asked with a chuckle.

Macintosh’s only answer was, “Nnope,” before he rushed and slammed a hoof into the nearest of the thugs, sending him reeling and falling into the river, and then, turning and bucking his back hooves into the face of another, snapping his neck with a audible crack, he was sent sprawling and was dead in an instant.

The large stallion turned to the two robbers that were left, the leader hung back as his last remaining goon swung out with a hoof, catching Big Macintosh in the cheek. But the large stallion shrugged it off, and punched back, knocking him to the ground.

…..

Lucien was watching from the shadows with some delight as he saw the Farm Pony fight the thugs.

He felt his heart flutter when he heard the snapping of the pony’s neck as he was thrown to the ground dead, and again as Macintosh shrugged off the blow and returned it. A large grin came to the dark pony’s face as he watched the red pony stomp on the throat of the one he had just knocked down, before he turned his attention fully to their leader.

He then heard hoof beats of a single pony coming down the alleyway just around the corner, likely heading to help the gang ponies.

Lucien quickly turned the corner and grabbed the pony that was coming down the alleyway, and slammed them against the wall. He found himself looking into the eyes of the pony that had stomped on him earlier that day.

His grin grew bigger, and he pulled the wooden dagger from his saddlebag with a curved hoof. It was clumsy, nowhere near as articulate as with a hand, but he was able to force it into the neck of the pony before he could even scream out. He wasn’t dead, just bleeding and with a hole in his neck, unable to breathe properly, making gurgling noises as he tried to crawl away.

Lucien took the handle of the wooden dagger into his teeth, being much more able to grasp it, he held down the pony, and finished the job, cutting his throat again, the blood spilling all over the alleyway.

He looked down at his handy work, and felt himself shiver from the sensation of taking a life once again. He dropped the wooden dagger, the edge having been broken, and went back to his spot to watch Big Macintosh, only to see it was over, with the Red Pony, only a little bruised, standing on top of the leader of the thieves.

……

“Where’d ya put it?” asked the stallion.

“Fuck you,” cursed the thief. This earned him a stomp on his chest.

“Ah’ll ask ya again, where’d ya put those bits you stole from mah sister?” he asked, grinding his hoof into the thief’s chest.

The thief growled in pain, “Alright, alright, it’s under that stone over there,” he said.

Big Macintosh looked to where he pointed, and went over there, to see if it was true. He turned over the stone to find a hollowed out spot, a bag full of bits was inside. The red stallion lifted it out, and set it aside, and then turned back to the bandit leader. He made his way quickly, and stomped on him again, crushing in his chest.

The farm pony started to calm down after killing the leader, and breathed deeply. He stared at the pony corpses, and then moved to push the bodies into the river. Once that was done, he went to pick the bag of bits again, and ran off into the night, wanting to get as far away from the scene as he could.

……

Lucien smirked as he watched Macintosh act.

It was all on instinct and anger, but he handled the fight so well, and killed them without hesitation. Strong, efficient, and protective of family. He was a great candidate for joining the brotherhood. Now if he could only convince him. He would also need a test to find out if he was committed to it. If only he left one of the ponies alive.

He smirked to himself, remembering the one he knocked in the river. He left the body in the alleyway, there was too much blood to hide what happened.

It was a long shot, but he went and trotted along the river, tossing the wooden dagger into it as he went along, hoping to find the surviving member of the gang.

Luckily he found a pony struggling against the current, trying to get on shore about ten minutes from the edge of the city. It was still dark, nopony would see.

He went over to the struggling pony, who saw him, “P-please, help me,” he begged his his gasping breath. He hadn’t recognized the dark pony.

Lucien smiled, “Of course,” he said, going to him and hooking his hoof with his, and pulling him onto solid ground. The pony gasped for breath, finally out of the water.

“Thanks *gasp* I don’t think I *wheeze* would have lasted any longer,” he rasped.

Lucien just chuckled, “It’s quite alright, after all, you’ll be helping me more than you can think,” he said.

The pony looked to Lucien before the dark pony’s hoof struck him, knocking him out cold.

The lone Dark Brother pulled his victim onto his back, and started to trot back in the direction of Ponyville. He wouldn’t be able to give Big Macintosh a proper test of being an assassin. But this pony would more than suffice as a test of true ruthlessness.

It was a fair journey, but he brought his captive all the way to the small pond that he had found on his first day of life in this world. He let him fall off his back. Lucien was fortunate that the pony was light.

He was exhausted, but there was no time to rest. The pony had to be tied up before he awakened.

Lucien set to work tearing his cloak and then carefully hog tying the unconscious bandit, and using the rest of the material to cover his head, and tying it around the neck so he couldn’t see.

He looked at his handiwork.

It wasn’t great, but it would suffice, the pony would only be here for a day or two. And it seemed he finished none too soon.

The pony began to stir, but soon found himself unable to move. His breathing became rapid when he realized he couldn’t see either.

“Calm down,” Lucien said, his darker voice leaking through, the excitement of the situation getting to him. “You’re going to be here for a little while.”

“W-who are you?” the pony panicked. “W-where am I?” he asked pleadingly.

“Nowhere important,” Lucien said, starting to walk away, “Get some rest, I’ll bring you food in the morning,” he told him. “Then I’ll explain things,” he half lied, but he would explain a couple things.

“But if you run, I’ll find you, and send you to meet your friends in the river I fished you out of.”

The pony stiffened, “P-please, d-don’t hurt me,” he begged.

A sick grin spread on the dark pony’s features. He heard that kind of begging from all forms of victims. Thieves, soldiers, even Princes. When faced with death, especially blindfolded and tied up, few could keep their ground.

“Just stay here, and I won’t,” he said. He supposed it wasn’t quite a lie. He walked off, keeping his eye on his victim. Satisfied that the pony was frozen to his spot in fear, being bound certainly helped with that though, he started to gallop.

He then went off to the farm. There was one last thing to take care of this night.

He arrived at the farmhouse and listened inside and heard nothing.

He snuck in carefully.

It was dark, but his eyes were used to the night by now. He made his way to where he had learned the red pony’s room was.

His hoof falls were silent, and while he wasn’t used to moving stealthily in such a body, it was no great difference than if he had tried to sneak around with armored boots.

He made it to the door and listened, and heard steady breathing, a smile spread on his face again, and he made his way in.

He found the red stallion sleeping his bed, the moonlight from the window spilling over him, while Lucien was in the darker half of the room, invisible to all who were in the light.

How perfect it was.

He noticed that Big Macintosh had a weak bruise just under his eye from the fight that was only a few hours ago, the bag of bits on the nightstand. He was likely to show his sister in the morning, but leave out the part of killing the fools that had taken it.

He looked at the Stallion, watching him as he slept, and found he was actually breathing steadily, and was having a sound sleep. His grin returned. This was better than he could possibly have hoped for.

Whether this Pony realized it or not, he was a natural killer. Now Lucien just had to bring it out of him and into the open for him to see.

He stood there, studying the potential Brother for another hour, when the Pony began to stir.

…..

Big Macintosh was getting a great sleep, though his muscles were still burning from those thugs he killed earlier. He had been surprised by himself on his way home.

He had thought that if he had ever killed Somepony, that he would feel horrible with himself afterwards. But he didn’t. He felt nothing for those lives he took that night. They deserved it maybe? He couldn’t bring himself to care about the matter beyond being curious with himself, though he had attributed that to being tired.

His sleep however was disturbed, as he felt a pair of eyes on him. He tossed in bed for a moment, and opened his eyes sleepily, trying to locate the source of his disturbance.

“You sleep well for a murderer,” came a dark voice he didn't recognize from the corner of his room nearest to the door.

“That’s good, you’ll need a clear conscience for what I’m about to propose.”

Big Macintosh looked to where the voice was coming from. But it was too dark, and all he could make out was the dark shape of a pony. “Who are ya?” he asked suspiciously, ready to move if he had to.

The shadow just chuckled, “I’m many things right now, but most prevalent, I’m an admirer of your work, and I’m a Speaker for the Dark Brotherhood,” it said.

The Red Stallion raised an eyebrow, “What’s the Dark Brotherhood?” he asked.

“That my friend is a question that I’m sure few will ask after a few years,” came the reply. “What it is, is a Family, who serve Sithis, our Dread Father,” he told him.

“They do not yet exist in this land, with the exception of myself, at least for the moment,” he told him. “What we also are is a group of assassins, very good assassins, who will kill anyone for the right price, with the exception of our Brothers and Sisters of course,” he finished, giving him a brief explanation.

Big Macintosh tensed when he heard the word ‘Assassins.’ It wasn’t a word that was often thrown around in Equestria, but he still knew what it meant, he got ready to fight, when the shadow began to speak again.

“Calm yourself, you aren’t a target,” it said with another chuckle. “Quite the opposite in fact, I’m inviting you to join in the family, to become part of the Dark Brotherhood,” the shadow said.

This left the red farm pony stunned, and unable to form an answer.

He could almost see the grin of the shadow, “You need not answer now. There is a small pond directly south of the farm and into the woods, about a ten minute trot.” The figure turned to leave. “Meet me there, tomorrow night at midnight, I will explain things further, and tell you your initiation, come alone, and tell no one of this.” With that, the shadow had quietly disappeared without a trace.

Big Macintosh got up to try and follow it, but it was gone. He was left alone with his thoughts, and considering the proposal of the mysterious shadow.

……

Lucien smiled to himself as he made his way to the barn silently and stealthily.

It couldn’t have gone better. Macintosh’s reactions were exactly what he wanted them to be. He was sure the Stallion would join with a little more coaxing. He was almost too tired to go to sleep, but the night had been long, and he needed to rest for the next one to come.

He didn’t even mind the cold of the night that hit him for lack of a blanket.

…….

The next morning was full of mixed emotions,

Applejack had gotten over her misfortunes, and when Macintosh showed her the bag of bits that had been stolen, and she scolded him for putting himself in danger, but then gave him a strong hug in thanks, unable to stay truly mad at him.

Lucien noted that he had left out the part where he killed the pony that did it and most of his gang. Lucien had finished breakfast and asked to be excused while he went to town to get his ribs checked out.

The Apple family made no fuss and understood, while Applejack had gotten a pretty bad beating, it was mostly scrapes. If Lucien really had a broken rib it could develop into something much worse if he wasn’t careful.

The Dark Pony walked through town towards where Nurse Redheart had told him the clinic was when he had met her at the party.

It wasn’t difficult to find, a large red cross was on the side of the small tent canvas. It seemed to be well kept, if the outside was any judge. Being just a tent it was obvious that they didn’t have the funds for a proper building.

He went inside to find that it was clean and sanitary despite the circumstances.

There was nopony inside other than Nurse Redheart and a male pony whom he assumed was the doctor. They had no patients and seemed to be in a somewhat uncomfortable chat, that was until Lucien walked in. Redheart smiled to him, but noticed his scrapes and bruises, “What happened?” she asked him as she guided him to one of the cots for the check up.

“I got into a fight in Manehattan, I think I may have a cracked rib, everything else is alright though,” he said.

“I’m sure you can handle this, Redheart, I’m going into town for some supplies,” the Doctor said, excusing himself as he left.

Nurse Redheart furrowed her brow, which the dark pony noticed, suspecting some dislike between her and the doctor. She began to check Lucien, prodding at his chest to feel where his ribs were, being careful in case one of them was indeed broken.

He winced when she prodded one in particular, “That’s the one,” he said.

She nodded and began to feel it a bit more carefully but more completely, “It may be cracked, but I think it’s just bruises, we don’t have the equipment to check it better, but It’s defiantly not broken, I’d say keep yourself from doing any hard work for the next week or so to keep it from getting a full break, just to be safe,” she instructed him.

He nodded, “Thank you Redheart, I’ll try not to push myself too hard,” he told her.

She smiled to him, “You take care now, the rest of your bruises and scrapes will probably heal up fine in time, but don’t get into anymore fights,” she told him.

Lucien chuckled to her, “I’ll do my best,” he said, getting up, and leaving, his thoughts on tonight.

………

The day had past with little event, other than Lucien explaining that he had to go slow with work for a little while. He also took a moment to sneak off with some rope and an apple.

He went to the pond, to find that the pony was still there, sleeping in the shade. He had laughed to himself about how such a creature would deserve to be killed, too scared to run for its life in any small way it could.

He had retied him, too quickly for the poor pony to react. He left the hood on, which would keep him getting his bearing on where he was.

It wasn’t too long till nightfall now.

……..

Big Macintosh couldn’t sleep that night.

He lay in bed, still turning around what he should do in his head.

It was almost midnight now.

Should he go? Should he try to forget about it? Why would assassins want him to join them? Was he that good at killing?

It had been frighteningly easy for him to do it to those thugs.

Was it because they hurt his family? Stole from his farm?

He could have just beat them to a pulp and left it at that. But he killed them without hesitation.

He got up from the bed and exited his room. He looked to the door of his sisters. First Applejack, and then Applebloom.

Was he a killer? Would a killer love his family as much as he does? If he wasn’t a killer than what was he?

His head was wracked with these questions.

He left the house and headed south of the farm, the direction the Agent of the Dark Brotherhood had told him to go.

He hoped he would get answers.