The Fool of Hearts

Chapter 2
Dark Sacrament

Arcane Arts backed up slowly as she kept an eye on the strange dancing creature that she had inadvertently dragged back with her from the void. This 'Cicero' as he described himself in the third person seemed to be deranged, and most likely psychotic. Arcane only hoped he would not get violent before she could get the guards to come and save her friends and herself. Arcane cast her eyes behind her as she backed up and looked pleadingly to her colleagues. Ambrosia shook her head signalling she was not going to do anything, but Sigel made a throaty gulping noise as he stepped forward and stood slightly in front of Arcane Arts.

"Uh, e-excuse me..." The stallion said attempting to get Cicero's attention as calmly as possible.

"Hmm?" Cicero made a high pitched questioning hum as he eyed the slightly larger pony with a beard.

Cicero stopped his dance, and ceased clapping his hands as he stared at the pony. Something about the pony sparked a memory in Cicero. With the blonde beard and the larger statue this pony had he almost seemed like a Nord. Cicero despised the Nords, all of them treated Cicero with prejudice without even getting to know him. One particular farmer in Skyrim even had the audacity to tell the guards Cicero had committed a crime he had not so that he would be taken off of his farm. All Cicero had even wanted in the first place was help so that he could get his wagon wheel fixed to be on his way.

"You remind Cicero of someone he does not like..." Cicero said with an eerie look in his eye as he reached for the blade that was sheathed at his hip.

The three ponies all saw the look on the madman's face, none of them had ever seen the look before, but like a primal instinct they knew it was not good. They also all saw him reach for something on his hip, something that when pulled out gleamed in the low light of the room. The dagger glinted ominously as the jester twirled it in his fingers, poising his body to be ready for a strike. Sigel froze up with fear, the air abandoning him as his mouth worked wordlessly as it attempted in vain to beg for mercy. Cicero leaped at the stallion as he let out a deranged bark of laughter.

"Cicero stop!" Arcane Arts screamed at the top of her lungs, finding the courage at the final moment.

Cicero was kneeling over Sigel, elbow pulled back and ready to stab the pony in the face, his other hand gripping the blonde mane and pulling it back. Cicero looked up at Arcane Arts, his anger had vanished at the order of his new matron. Cicero returned the dagger to his belt and let go of the stallion's mane as he stood up, allowing Sigel to get off of his back and jump behind Arcane Arts.

"Please Cicero, do not hurt them, they work with me." Arcane said with a trembling voice.

Cicero considered this for a moment, his golden eyes taking in the two other ponies and weighing them up. The jester crossed his arms in thought as he looked at them, the three ponies meanwhile shared glances but did not dare to speak, lest they warrant another attack in the madman's eyes.

"So, they work with you hmm? Well, the question is will they continue to work with you. Sithis sent me with a reason, he always sends his children for a reason. My reason is to guide you and keep you safe. Keeping you safe will be difficult if your once partners turn on you because they are not loyal to Sithis..." Cicero said as he glared daggers at the other two ponies.

"Why would they turn against me? I haven't done anything wrong..." Arcane said as she looked at her colleagues.

"Oh sure, for now they are fine. But the moment you start sending souls to Sithis your old friends, your old family... They do not always understand. That is why the brotherhood exists, the dark brotherhood becomes your new family, your new friends. Friends that understand what it means to serve the dark lord." Cicero said, his voice taking on a somber tone.

"What do you mean send souls to Sithis?" Ambrosia spoke up in a cautious tone.

"When we take away a life, their soul is sent into the void. The void is the dread lord, and he is very hungry." Cicero said with a murderous grin.

"You want Arcane to kill other ponies?!" Sigel exclaimed, eyes wide at the incredulity of what Cicero said.

"Well, she need not if she want not... She is to be the new matron, so she is the one who gives orders. Humble Cicero lives to serve, and will shirk his keeping duties if ordered by the night mother." Cicero said with a shrug.

"Keeping duties?" Arcane asked suspiciously.

"Why yes, Cicero is the Keeper. I once watched over the body of our matron and made sure it came to no harm. I kept the night mother safe, and guarded her for many years before she chose a new listener. Then... Well... Our family had some, shall we say issues. I was killed defending the Night Mother's honor." Cicero said, crossing his arms again and looking down at the ground as memories of the listener hunting him down and slaying him.

"You... Died?" Arcane asked in wonder.

"Yes, but like you will one day, I lived on in the void. Sithis kept me nice and safe for when I would be needed again. But as the new mother of this world you will hear the dread lord's voice and be able to enact his will. He will tell you of anyone who is looking to have someone else killed. And then you will send me or another assassin to do the job. After you die, you will choose a listener to commune with from the void, and they will relay your orders." Cicero happily explained to his new matron.

Arcane thought over this for a moment. The implication that the void was now a part of her scared her a little bit. But at the same time, the thought that the void did not want her harmed, and had instead meant to protect her was a comforting thought. Arcane was not sure if she should believe the words of a creature that was so surely deranged. Arcane feared her own sanity for even considering the words, the void must have changed something in her.

"Listen Arcane, I'm sorry. But I have to get out of here, I'm freaking out..." Ambrosia said with a slight whine to her voice.

As Ambrosia bolted for the door Cicero did not even look at her, he had eyes only for Arcane Arts, who stood there, frozen. Arcane could hear a deep, rumbling voice inside of her head. The voice warned her 'Do not allow the one called Ambrosia to live, but do not have her killed in your place of residence. Send Cicero to kill her in an alleyway, under the cover of night.' Arcane Arts raised her eyes to meet Cicero's.

"Sithis said... Kill her, but not here. Do it in an alley where it will be away from my property." Arcane said to Cicero.

Sigel gasped, and stared wide eyed at his colleague. Only now did Sigel even consider that Arcane could even think of going along with the jester's ravings of a dark lord and murder. Cicero however clapped his hands together and squealed in delight as he began doing acrobatic flips in joy. The crazed jester then ran to the window and opened it before jumping out into the night. Sigel rushed to look out the window, but somehow Cicero had already disappeared from sight.

"How could you?" Sigel said as he turned to look Arcane Arts in the eye.

"He talked to me..." Arcane said in a dreamy tone as she stared at the ceiling.

"What? Who talked to you?" Sigel pushed on, his fear beginning to turn into anger that Arcane had just ordered the death of Ambrosia.

"Sithis spoke, and I relayed his will. Ambrosia would have hindered the growth of what has started here. Will you also be a problem Sigel, or will you submit to the dark lord?" Arcane said in a serious tone, her crimson eyes locking onto Sigel's.

"I-I..." Sigel began, his mouth working but his voice not finding the right words.

"Y-yes..." Sigel said in a defeated tone. He felt the strength of the hands of the jester. Even with his magic Sigel was no use against the 'Keeper' as Cicero called himself. Sigel had no other option if he wanted to live.

"Then hail Sithis..." Arcane said in an unusually cruel voice as she stared out the window into the night.

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Cicero crept in the shadows, leaping from roof to roof as he followed his prey. It had been so, so long since his last contract. His last kill seemed ages ago, so long had it been since he murdered the farmer that wrongfully accused him and had him thrown in jail for a crime he did not commit.

Cicero caught up to his prey easily, his agile limbs carrying him much faster than the ponies running. Cicero leapt down onto Ambrosia, his right foot connecting with her back as he landed, snapping her spine. Ambrosia cried out in pain and fear as Cicero dragged her into nearest alley.

"Now now, don't be so afraid. You are with Cicero now, and Cicero will take good care of you..." Cicero said in a loving voice as he caressed the side of the mare's face with his black dagger.

"P-please..." Ambrosia said with tears in her eyes as the dagger began to cut her cheek, easily parting the skin as it passed over her face.

Cicero smiled as he drew is elbow back and grabbed the mare's hair, pulling her head back and exposing her throat. Cicero giggled as he considered the many possible ways this could end, all of them involved his ebony dagger plunging into the ponies flesh.

"See what happens when we threaten the Night Mother? if you had been willing to serve the dark lord you would have lived..." Cicero said in a scolding voice one would use for a child that had been caught with a hand in the cookie jar.

Before Ambrosia could beg once more for mercy, Cicero pulled her hair once more, bringing her face forward as he stabbed her in the eye. The mare screamed a bloody wail into the night as the jester then began to continuously assault the mare with his blade, plunging his knife into her as one would a needle into a pincushion. Cicero made quick work of her, and then set to sending the message to the populace. He eviscerated the still warm body of the mare and set to work on 'decorating' the alley.

Just as Cicero finished he heard some voices toward the end of the alleyway. Cicero crept into the shadows and scaled the wall, making his way to the roof. Cicero then peered into the empty streets of the town and spotted what he was looking for. The jester then made his way, jumping from roof to roof as he sang to himself with a dreamy smile on his face.

"If I chance to see a cat, I'll feed its corpse to my pet rat!" Cicero sang as he approached a fountain in a market square.

Cicero jumped into the fountain and rinsed the blood off of his hands, boots, and clothes. He then washed his face and double checked himself in his reflection. Content with the lack of blood on himself Cicero then jumped out of the fountain and returned his gloves to his hands. Cicero looked around to make sure there were no witnesses, and then shook himself of some of the water before continuing down the shadowy streets for the house where his matron waited.

As Cicero climbed into the window he had departed from he strode over to the fire and sat in front of it to dry himself off. The Keeper then looked up to where Arcane Arts and the pony that looked like a Nord watched him. Cicero smiled at his matron as he shivered from the chilly air that reminded him of his brief time in Skyrim.

"So, is the task done?" Arcane asked eagerly.

"Yes, indeed it is the traitor is dead. I painted the alleyway a crimson red." Cicero sang happily and a merry tone that sent chills up Sigel's spine.

"And I see you washed the blood off of yourself. So there is no way they can trace this back to us?" Arcane asked eagerly.

"Cicero made sure to clean himself up nice and good, no blood was left on him after leaving the message!" Cicero said happily.

"Message...?" Arcane said warily.

"Why yes, how else are we going to get the word out that the dark brotherhood is now open for business here?" Cicero asked.

Arcane Arts began to have a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. The look in the mad jester's eyes told her she did not want to ask about what the message entailed or what Cicero used to create the message. She had a fairly good idea as it was, and the idea that played through her head made her nearly want to vomit.

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"Captain Shining armor, it's good that you came, though it is unfortunate that we need to ask you to oversee this investigation..." A Canterlot guard said to his captain.

"I heard there was a murder, what else can you tell me? Have we any leads, or clues as to who did it?" Shining asked the guard with a hint of worry in his voice. It had been years since the last murder to ever occur in Equestria, and now one happens in Canterlot?

"It is a real mess in there, but there was a message written on the wall, sir... But its pretty bad..." The guard said in a queasy tone.

Shining Armor looked at his soldier and began to worry, if something could faze his men, it had to be bad. Shining slowly trotted down the alley, and illuminated his horn to view the crime scene. Shining Armor immediately let the glow die as he rushed out of the alley and vomited. The captain of the guard grabbed a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the bile off of his face. He then returned the cloth and took another one out to cover his face. As Shining held the cloth over his nose with his magic he returned to the scene and once again illuminated his horn.

The body of the mare was hanging on the wall in the back of the alley, suspended on an old sign post from a store that once took residence in the alley. The store closed, and the entrance was bricked off so the rest of the building could make use of it as new rooms, but the post the sign once hung from remained. The new sign was the most horrifying scene Shining had ever seen. The mare was hung using her own intestines that were tied in a noose around the mare's neck and wrapped around the post. The mare's eyes were jabbed in by something sharp, and her tongue was cut out and lay on the ground. The wall next to the body had a message written in blood.

The message was signed with a bloody print. The print however was one that Shining had never seen before, an unknown creature must have committed this. Shining sighed at the revelation that a pony did not do this. But then he shivered at the thought of what could have.

"Sweet Mother, Sweet Mother, send your child unto me, for the sins of the unworthy must be baptized in blood and fear... What could have done such a thing?" Shining muttered under his breath.

Shining was about to leave when he took one final look back at the print, he would need to have some of the forensics unicorns have a look at it and see if they can find out what kind of creature they are looking for.