How the Tables Turn

Mistress’s snakelike eyes watched the carnage from atop the chandelier. She had cast the same illusion spell that she used to disguise herself to make it look as if she wasn’t there. She kept a particularly close eye on Phoenix and Ashes, the two who had ruined the beautiful system she had created over the years. She was slightly unsettled at how easily he had brought down Red Glare, and completely irked at ‘Kicker’, who had to rub salt in the wound. She still had plans for them.

Because Red Glare was far from being the best guard they had.

“BLOOD LUST!”

The guard in question, a crimson pegasus mare, was in the middle of a fight when the call reached her ears. She instantly recognized Mistress’s voice and knew she had to end the fight quickly.

“Oh well. It was fun while it lasted, but duty calls.”

The ‘citizen’ she spoke to chuckled, thinking the pegasus to be nothing more than a big talker.

“You think I’m joking, don’t you?” Before he had a chance to answer the question, she lifted her front hooves off the ground and pushed off with her hind legs, sending her spiraling into a perfect backflip. Her hind hooves connected with his chest, and with a flap of her wings to increase the momentum, she sent him into the air. She landed steadily and, without even sparing an upward glance, extended a long-bladed wing and smirked.

The stallion’s full weight came down on the blade, which pierced straight through his heart. He screamed for a moment, blood running down his chest and from his mouth, before his eyes rolled up into his head and he fell silent. Blood Lust carried the weight without a second thought, bringing it slowly, menacingly, to the ground as the other ponies around her backed away in fear. His body finally hit the ground, and she took off without any trouble. She flew up to where the voice had come from, and saw nothing. However, she heard the voice again when she approached the chandelier.

“I’m right here.”

The spell faded away to reveal a green Pegasus with golden eyes and black hair.

Blood Lust chuckled. “Still not showing your face, huh?”

“Of course not. I can’t risk being killed. Who else will rebuild such a beautiful empire that could live up to mine? An empire where the cruel can be themselves without fearing judgment.”

“Who is that, anyway? You said you can only take the bodies of those you’ve seen face to face, and I haven’t seen any green pegasi around.”

“This is an adult version of what one of my subjects looked like at birth.”

“Which subject?”

Mistress only chuckled. “One of the ones I’m sending you to head off.” She pointed a hoof at Phoenix and his group just as they made their way into the hallway. Blood Lust nodded and took off for the hallway in question, darting after new targets. Maybe she could even take these ones slow. Draw it out, have fun with it. Cause pain. The usual for when she aims to kill. She smiled playfully as she planned out the next of her little fights.

The group sped down the hallway, watching the doors that flew by. Cloud Kicker led the group towards the place they had entered from. They reached a turn and took it, speeding towards Mistress’s office. When they reached it, they slowed down, and Kicker reached for the handle, only to have her hoof blocked by a crimson one. She turned to see the twisted smile on the face of a crimson-coated pegasus mare.

“Hey, yellow. Just a question. Are you Kicker, or is Kicker one of your friends here?”

Cloud Kicker’s face contorted with rage.

“I don’t know who you are or what you want, but piss off. I’m busy.”

Blood chuckled. “Well, that’s fine then. Don’t tell me. I’d rather find out the hard way anyway.” She caught Kicker’s hoof reaching for the door handle again and twisted it around. Kicker smirked and gave her hoof a swift pull, overbalancing Blood and nearly putting her on her face. She wobbled on her front hooves for a moment before coming back to the ground on all fours. She cast Kicker an irked glare. “So that’s how you want this to go down, huh? Sounds like fun.”

Phoenix maneuvered around Kicker and stood between the two of them. “You’re not hurting anypony. Especially not any of us.”

“Oh, come on, Phoenix. You gotta admit a little dance sounds like fun.”

“No, Blood. I don’t.” Phoenix stood and spoke with such firmness, every muscle in his body rigid and stoic, even Cloud Kicker was impressed, and she had spent years at West Hoof preparing her posture.

Blood smiled softly. “Oh well. Her loss. You’d make a fight more fun anyway.” With that, the two of them took fighting stances.

Cloudchaser flew over the onslaught, observing every battle that took place, prepared to assist anypony who was outnumbered. It appeared, however, that they had no problems in the numbers game. The problem was that the guards were healthier than the ponies, having had training enough to stop them should this exact situation arise.

Something up above caught Cloudchaser’s eye. A unicorn stood perched on the chandelier, seemingly inside the flame, and was talking to a crimson pegasus. After a moment, the red pony took off for a hallway. Cloudchaser’s face twisted into confusion, and she followed the mare’s path.