The one who hunts in the mist
"boys and girls of every age wouldn't you like to see something strange come with us and you will see, this our town of halloween..."
October 687, Canterlot dungeons
Splish...splish...splish the slow dripping of old water hitting the murky and often dangerous puddles of the of the Canterlot dungeons was silent except maybe for the odd scream of one of it's deranged inhabitants. Of corse, everypony knew Canterlot had a dungeon, every major city had one. Anypony accused of the dark unmentionables of the world at this time was shipped down, never to be seen again. Nopony cared, it was just less filth and corruption on the streets. There were many ways to be sentenced to a life in that hell-hole; and the guards were all to happy to enforce it.
These we're dark times for all who weren't born into nobility. The streets of the villages surrounding the great outer walls of Canterlot ran with filth, open sewage, leftovers. But now, all it flowed with was blood, as this is the story of Equestria's single most deadly force.
A lone figure draped in heavy black cloaks sloughed down the muck clogged streets of the slums. It was still morning and fog lay around he world like a leaden blanket. The figure stopped, turned left and kept going. A the only pony awake was a lone serf, returning home after a night at the bar. The cloaked pony stood in the middle of the narrow street.
"Oi! Wadd'a ye think ur doin'" the buck slurred drunkenly. No reply came "ah said move ya lazy bum!" still no response. He took a brave step forward and puffed out his chest to the cloaked figure, who was still hidden under the large black hood. The mist moved in and enveloped the stranger. Who promptly disappeared in the pea soup of fog.
THUD, "uuugh!" there was a pause "No! No No NONONONONONONO!" a metallic scraping sound rung through the air "AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHuGUGHGGHaghguhhghggh" the blood curdling scream ended in a wet gurgling noise.
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Chapter two:
"Pumpkin scream in the dead of night, this is Halloween, everybody make a scene. Trick or treat 'till the neighbors die of fright! It's our town everybody SCREAM in this town of halloween!"
In the grand halls of the castle guards and servents alike both seemed on edge. A white coated stallion covered in gleaming golden armor and with a mighty javelin at his side entered the throne room and bowed to the great white Alicorn in front of him. "your majesty," he voiced, hesitantly
"you may proceed" came the polished reply
"I believe to have found the cause of the unrest in the serf towns and manor towns"
The princess raised an eyebrow "interesting, proceede"
"all the surrounding villages and manors are a-buzz of somepony they're calling the 'reaper'" at almost 750 years old, little surprised the princess these days, this however had her attention.
"there have been more than 25 reported murders of peasants and manor-town residents alike." he paused, not wanting to go into any more detail "they are all the same, around midnight to early dawn, townsponies report hearing screams, and when they go to investigate, there is just a body, no tracks. Not even a hoof print. They all share some of the same details Brutally filleted with strips of flesh down the sides missing as well as the Cutie-Mark on both sides" the princess was shocked. The guard had a worried look on his face, like he had the gut feeling that he'd gone too far. She waved a hoof in the direction of the door "thank you, you may go" without a moments hesitation, the stallion put his helmet back on and backed out of the large double doors. '25' she thought to her self '25 brutal, seemingly random murders with no apparent intent...' this deeply worried the princess "CAPTAIN" she shouted her magic broadcasting her voice throughout the entire castle. The captain of her royal guard came bursting through the doors, he skidded to a halt and knelt down in a rudimentary bow "you requested of me, your highness?" he blurted as he gasped for air.
"yes, what do you know of this 'reaper pony'?" the brown buck paled dramatically at the name. "nothing of my own two eyes ma'dam. But, according to the locals, nopony sees him or hears him, he is like a ghost. Here one minute gone the next. No tracks, no witnesses no markings nothing."
"Mmmmm, Captain, send a squad to be posted in every village, close enough to still be within sprinting distance. Catch him" he backed away slowly and respectfully "NOW!!!" this caught him off guard, causing his helm to topple to the ground, he telekinetically scooped it up and dashed toward the gaurd house.
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"I am the one hiding under your bed. Teeth ground sharp and eyes glowing red. I am the one hiding under yours stairs. Fingers like snakes and spiders in my hair..."
Damn! Guards. There was no sound as a black cloaked pony walked just above the ground. Damn it! Guards on every bucking corner! A stone was flicked down a mud filled street. All three Guards snapped to the general direction spears drawn and ready.
"What was that" was the summed up response "SHOW YOUR SELF!" one demanded. Ooh! A game of hide and seek! Lovely! A shroud of mist enveloped the stranger once more he glided just in front of the spooked guards "YOU THERE! IN THE COLAK! STOP IN THE NAME OF TH...." he stopped mid sentence as the cloak disappeared into the gloom. No hoof steps, just a floating cloak. "what in the name of... What is it!?! Do you need another bathroom break corporal?"
"huh? wazhappinin" awaking from a day dream with a start.
"if it wasn't you" he did a 180 on his hooves. Only to see another cloaked figure at the other end of the street. "I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE PLAYING AT BOY, BUT YOU BETTER GIVE IT UP!" the figure stood there unmoved " he raised his spear in a blue telekinetic sheath and brandished it threateningly " last war..." once again, the figure vanashed into the mist "damn these shifts are going to drive me bat-shit crazy!" another tap on the shoulder this time, when he turned around, he was face to face with the hooded deamon. "boo." all three of the guards screamed in unison jumping 5 ft in the air and dropping their weapons. A swift stamp of the hooves to the end of the sharp metal rods launching them into the air, while the trio had landed and was running away full tilt, screaming all the while. When the spears returned to ear level, you could hear a flapping cloak and a series of pings as three bronze projectiles shot down the street at speeds only lightning could reach, impaling each target in the crook of the shoulder, pinning them down. The night hunter dissapeared and re-materialized out of the fog in front of the terrified soldiers. However, like the 30 odd before them, these didn't scream, only slightly as a silvery object was drawn from the folds of the robe. Slith, gurgle gurgle, shhck the blade cut through their throats and silenced their moans. Shouts could be heard in the distance "Darn, looks like I'll have to save you for later" cloak-pony said in almost a lazy fation as he skinned a few strips of meat from the fresh kills. Two midnight purple orbs could be seen glowing above a gleaming white grin that dripped red with blood from his fallen comrades flesh. "Please, spare me!" he begged
"now why in Celestia's mane would I do that?" he inquired "so you can hunt me down again? No, i think not" the knife slipped between the fallen stallions ribs, blood flowing free once more. He twisted the cruel curved blade. An agonizing scream once again alerted the nearby units who had fanned out by now and were closing in. "looks like this meal is to go" a godly force ripped his whole side off, leaving the ribs clean of meat. The reaper studied his handiwork a golden rid whizzed past his ear. "oh look, your friends are here, good-by" the mist thickened to he point where you couldn't see your snout in front of your face. There was a crazed laugh of someone who had fallen off his mind. Then the ebbing moans of the butchered guard as he was rushed back into the safety of the castle walls.
