3: Welcome Party (Part One)

Chapter 3: Welcome Party (Part One)

I walked forward slowly, carefully listening for any noise that would indicate life. But I quickly realized there was no point, anything to be worried about fled minutes beforehand. So I simply shrugged and walked down the path, not being subtle in the least.

“Hey, people of the living world! I won’t hurt you or anything, I just need some help!” I shouted, hoping to draw out a daring soul… Which, after several minutes of waiting, I realized was a futile effort.

‘Yeah, it is. Listen, you’re looking for a big tree. That’s where the unicorn you’re looking for lives.’ Unicorn? Are you serious? ‘Listen; suspend your disbelief for a few minutes. Keep in mind; you did shoot lightning out of your hands to defend yourself from bipedal talking dogs at the warning of the voice in your head.’ I couldn’t argue that (then again, if I did wouldn’t that make me crazier and disprove my point anyways?) I do have to ask, though. What’s to stop this unicorn from fucking my shit up if she’s as strong as you’re making her out to be? ‘Easy. She’s curious and eager to learn.’ I left it at that, opting to search the town, which creepily enough was dead silent.

Eventually, I found this tree, and calling it a tree is accurate but also inaccurate at the same time. It seemed to be a tree, but it was maybe twenty-thirty feet tall, with windows a little bigger than my head, at about groin level. Further up the tree I saw a small balcony on which was a telescope… How it would be worked by horses, don’t ask me because it hurts my head to think about.

I approached the door, which was about as high up as my shoulder, and kicked it, surprised when it swung open. Right, that’s normal I’m sure. I crouched, peering into the room and, noticing nothing out of the ordinary, (as ordinary as a horse library can get) I entered the library, shutting the door behind me.

“Hello?” I called out, to Mirror’s displeasure.

‘What are you doing!? If there’s something wrong here, you could have gotten us killed!’ Maybe, but I don’t think so. ‘You’re a moron.’ Something WAS wrong, but to tell her where I thought the wrongness was would have ended badly.

The library looked both primitive and advanced, every wall that didn’t have a door or window was covered in books, and I looked up the stairs to see even more books, and several doors which I assumed led to bedrooms. There were candles and torches, because logic doesn’t exist here apparently. Then a unicorn came walking out of what looked like a kitchen, covered in ash and soot.

“Spike, the oven is—oh dear.” She froze when she saw me, her eyes widened in fear, but there was a glint of curiosity in them as well, something that surprised me.

“Hey.” I said simply, when I felt the wrongness creeping into the back of my mind. Oh fuck this. I took a step back, watching as my hands clenched into fists, and I bared my teeth, against my will. The unicorn looked terrified, and it was my fault.

It felt amazing… “I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU, YOU WHORE!” I jumped forward, wrapping my hand around her horn and pulling her to the ground. I wrapped my other hand around her throat and held her against the floor as she struggled. I pulled her horn up, feeling the resistance, but also the frailty of the bonelike object. So easily destroyed, it would ruin her…

No, this is wrong. I can’t do this, what are you doing Mirror? ‘Avenging my people, something you’ve never been good at.’ Only the weak let their people die in the first place. That threw her off for a few seconds, enough for me to release the horse, and I used those few seconds to smash my head into the nearest wall, dazing both me and Mirror even further. Again, I threw myself into the wall and finally put my head through the wall, when I blacked out.

Because trying to be all dramatic and convince the voice in your head people don’t deserve to die is retarded. No, repeatedly slamming my head into a wall isn’t dramatic. Just shut up, seriously.

*--^--*

I opened my eyes to darkness, and a biting cold that chilled me to my very bones, and, worst of all, a pounding headache, which wasn’t helped by the pissed off bug horse lady screaming at me. Basically, the night after my first high school party.

‘What the FUCK did you do? I was so close, that whore was the whole reason my FUCKING hive was wiped out! After so long, I HAD THE CHANCE TO GIVE THEM PEACE! AND YOU RUINED IT!” She then broke down, sobbing into her hooves.

For a moment, I felt sorry for her. “I…” I paused. “I understand what you might be going through.”

That was the wrong thing to say, as she made it obvious. “Do you? How could you!?” She questioned, glaring at me. “To lose your entire family, watch what may as well be your entire race get wiped out, you understand?” There was silence for a moment.

Then I looked down at her, my eyes blurring with unshed tears finally falling. “Yeah, I kind of do.” I whispered. “Maybe even worse, if you look at it from my perspective. Imagine watching millions of people die, people you could have helped but didn’t because you were told not to. Imagine killing thousands on your own, only because you were told they deserved it. Imagine watching a group of people you spent years getting to know die around you because you weren’t fast enough, strong enough. Imagine the two people you trust most in the world turning on you for their own personal gain, no matter what it does to you, how much you might protest? There is no comparing loss, but it’s never better or worse.” I knelt, placing a hand under her chin. “But as much as you might think they want vengeance, they don’t. They only want you to be at peace, and the first step to doing that.” I moved away, stretching my arms out. “Is to let go.”

I saw the look of anger shift to one of pity mixed with grief. She stood, sniffled, and threw herself at me. For a moment, I thought she was going to attack me, but as I felt her arms around me, her head buried in my shoulder, I knew she was hurting. “I’m… I’m so sorry. I wasn’t thinking, I can’t imagine what you think, or what you feel.” (Irony therein of itself, when you think about it for a moment). “It was wrong…” We stood there for a moment, silent other than the occasional sob.

The moment turned into what felt like hours, and I decided to break the silence. “Listen, let’s not act like it’s a competition. Just, promise me something. Promise you won’t take control of me like that, and don’t hide something like that from me again. We have to be completely honest with one another, okay?” She nodded, not saying a word. “That’s good enough for me. So, do we just wait until I wake up?” Nod. “Okay… Time to meet the locals, eh?”

*--^--*

August 12th, 2015. Somewhere on the Pacific Ocean.

A little under a month after my 18th birthday, I was gone from my previous life. I had already spent a year training for the opportunity to fight for my country. Hah, what a fucking joke. The truth of the matter is I needed a reason to get away from my ever loving mother, and she was more than eager to sell me off as a mercenary of sorts. I hadn’t been training specifically to fight for this country, but I wasn’t surprised when my services were requested. Well, not any more surprised than anyone hiring someone with no experience, but I can’t complain.

I did, however, complain when they asked me to strap a bomb to my chest and walk into a Chinese embassy with an assault rifle.

“What are we, the fucking Taliban or some shit?” I demanded, stepping back to get out of arms reach of the suits standing across from me. Not because I was scared of them, but because I was scared for them. Definitely that.

“It’s an EMP, it’ll disable their communications. No explosion, no worry.” One replied, holding the explosive out for me to examine, as if there was a chance of me actually taking it.

“Yeah right, no I believe you. Sorry, I was hired to be a mercenary, not a martyr.” I turned to leave, but something made me pause. That something may or may not have been a dart hitting me in the neck. "You ass... holes..." I fell over, and then I--

--came to a few hours later, in a dumpster with a suspiciously large beeping box strapped to my chest, and a gun. The box was fairly uncomfortable, and emitting a strange white glow. Everything seemed too quiet as I moved around, and a quick examination showed that I had earplugs in, for some ominous reason. Another once over produced a pistol and a grenade, alongside a picture of a building I didn’t recognize. Finally, I found a note, and I could just make out the words “Do your job, and you’ll stay in one piece to do another.”

"…Motherfuckers."