Vaas Montenegro Learns the Magic of Friendship

Vaas grinned at the memory of the day. The autumn wind made him shiver, bringing him back to reality. His armor offered little warmth, but he needed to be ready to depart at a moment's notice. Princess Celestia had warned him that he would be leaving within the day, meaning he needed to wear his armor at nearly all times to be ready. For some reason it had never occurred to him to put a warmer undershirt on.

He surveyed the shining blade of Arsewiper with satisfaction. The blade was honed to a razor edge, and the way the steel gleamed in the sunlight made him proud of the care he'd put into it. Surely, when the time came for battle, it would not fail him.

The urgent clip-clop of hooves on stone told Vaas that the time had come. He turned his head and saw a white stallion emerge from a corridor. The messenger's timing could not have been better. Tucking the oilcloth inside his belt, Vaas stood and faced the winded stallion. "What is it?" he demanded, as if he didn't already know the answer.

"Human... Erm, sir... Um..." he gasped, cowering under Vaas's gaze. "It's... It's um... Time to leave."

Vaas smiled. "Then what the hell are you waiting for?" he said, putting as much venom in his voice as possible. He was scaring the poor stallion shitless, and he loved it. "Get Pipsqueak and tell him we're getting ready to leave." The stallion stood for a moment, unsure of what to say. "Now, you dimwitted motherfucker!" he roared.

The stallion bolted in a panic. Vaas threw back his head and laughed. Being an asshole was hard when there was nothing to be asshole-ish about, so Vaas had to enjoy the small moments when he could terrify those around him. It reminded him of who he really was, and of home.

"Someday," he muttered.

He followed after the stallion down the corridor, and soon found himself back in the castle. There, he found Pipsqueak waiting for him.

"'Ello, sir!" the colt said. "Got your things all packed an' ready, all in your quarters, sir!"

"Thanks, kid," Vaas said. Truthfully, he was gonna miss the little bastard. He ruffled Pipsqueak's mane, and turned to walk away.

"Can I go with you, sir?"

Vaas sighed and hung his head. He'd been afraid Pipsqueak would ask this. He wanted to say "No," but something about the longing look in the colt's eyes made him bite his tongue. After a moment he finally answered. "Sure, kid. Go get your stuff ready. I'll see if I can smuggle a dagger out of the armory for you." He winked, and walked away, sighing again as he heard Pipsqueak run off. He hoped he hadn't just made a huge mistake.

***

True to his word, Vaas managed to procure a gilded dagger for Pipsqueak. It was exquisitely ornate, almost to the point that it didn't look battle-ready, but several assaults on the practice dummies proved otherwise, leaving the targets a mess of torn straw and fabric.

Finally, packed and ready, rucksack over shoulder, Vaas exited his quarters and began the descent to the courtyard. He still didn't know how he was going to handle traveling with the six individuals whose best friend he murdered; he didn't regret what he did and he certainly wasn't afraid of the ponies, but he knew the journey would be... Awkward, to say the least.

Pipsqueak met him in the hallway leading out of his room. Neither spoke, but, after making sure the coast was clear, Vaas gave him the dagger, telling him in a whisper to keep it in his cloak. "I don't want to see that out unless we're under attack, got it?" Pipsqueak nodded, and they continued on their way.

No words were spoken in the courtyard by anyone but Celestia, who briefed them on their mission and went over the finer details. None of the ponies would look at him, save for his squire, and that suited Vaas just fine. All of them were armored in steel plating similar to Vaas's own armor, the only difference being a lighter set for the two Pegasi.

A cold silence hung in the air after Celestia finished speaking.

"Jesus Christ," Vaas finally said. "If we're gonna do this, we might as well try to get along."

"You murdered Twilight," the orange earth pony- Applejack- said simply.

And that was the end of that.

"Well, I guess there's no point in standing around," Vaas said, rolling his eyes and shifting his rucksack on his shoulder. "I suppose we'll be off. Don't wait up, honey." he shot a look at Celestia, who stared back stoically.

He started past her, but she held her foreleg in front of him and leaned in to whisper in his ear, "Remember, do whatever it takes to kill Mephistopheles. I don't care if you lose all of them along the way. Just... Save us." There was undoubtedly desperation in her voice.

She lowered her leg, and he walked past, exiting the courtyard through a stone archway at the far end. The soft clapping of hooves on stone behind him told him that the five mares were following. He heard hushed utterances of farewells to the Princess, and then silence one again.

He didn't really like having these ponies behind him with potentially malicious intent, but Vaas doubted they'd permit him to travel at the back. He looked down at Pipsqueak, who looked positively jubilant. "Where exactly are we going, sir?" the colt asked.

"Hell, kid," Vaas said. "We're going to hell."

"What in the-" said Applejack from behind him. Vaas turned, and saw that the six of them were staring wide-eyed at Pipsqueak, as if noticing him for the first time. He could be rather inconspicuous at times. Applejack's jaw moved wordlessly for a few seconds, before she finally managed, "What in the hay is he doing here?"

"He's my squire," Vaas said simply.

"You bastard," Rainbow Dash said. "You dragged him along with you? For what, a meat shield, I'm guessing?"

"He asked to come. Now easy on the hostility, bitch. It's not gonna get us anywhere except at each others' throats."

That shut her up.

"However is the poor little dear supposed to protect himself?" Rarity asked. "Heaven knows what we'll encounter out here in the wilds."

They weren't even twenty paces from the gates yet.

"Pip," Vaas said. "Show her."

Pipsqueak beamed, and lifted his cloak, exposing the dagger underneath. He unsheathed the blade, and flipped it upwards, catching the hilt between his teeth, eyes fierce. He wasn't the most intimidating thing in the world, but Vaas didn't doubt his resolve.

Rarity raised an eyebrow, but said nothing else.

And so they walked.

***

Vaas was never one to appreciate scenery... But even he had to admit, this took the cake as far as the most stunning thing he'd ever seen, beside his sister. They'd been walking without so much as a word to each other, just as they had been doing for the past few hours. The sun was beginning to set. The mountain path upon which they walked was rocky and and sparse of any sort of foliage. To describe it as depressingly dreary would be an understatement. But then, they made a sharp turn to the left, and Vaas's breath caught in his chest.

There was a scene in Jurassic Park, one of Vaas's favorite movies, in which the people look out over the prehistoric valley and see the wonders of the new world in which they find themselves, the sun glimmering off of the water, fantastic and wonderful creatures grazing on the plains... That was what came to mind as Vaas took in the world ahead of him. The sun was just beginning to sing behind the mountains on the horizon; the landscape was painted with a bloodred light. Lakes of enormous size sparkled with thousands of crimson diamonds, and creatures the likes of which Vaas had never imagined roamed across the crimson grass. White stags with enormous antlers and legs like twigs danced across the plain, as their fawns ran behind them, trying to keep up. Does drank from the water, sometimes looking up to watch their families play. Overhead soared birds of all colors and sizes, some chased by creatures with the body of lions, but with the wings and beaks of eagles. They laughed as they took turns dive-bombing the birds. "Griffins," Dash said from behind him. "I hate Griffins."

Vaas looked to his right and saw one of the fawns being chased across the grassland by a pack of wolves. The beasts' eyes glowed green, and their bodies looked for all the world to be made of wood. It was hard to tell from their high vantage point, however. Vaas watched, frozen in anticipation, as the fawn tripped up slightly, giving the wolves the opportunity they needed. The lead wolf leaped forward, teeth sinking into one of the fawn's back legs. It yelped in pain, and fell. One of the older stags ran forward to save its offspring, but the wolves formed a circle around the dying animal, snarling at the stag, which had no choice but to watch as the wolves tore into its young, whose cries soon ended abruptly. The snarling of the feasting predators was occasionally accompanied by the wet ripping noise of torn flesh. It filled Vaas's head with memories of his own previous hunts... Many of which were not for game of the animal sort.

Suddenly, there was a rustling in the trees on the far side of the plain, and the earth shook slightly. The wolves all looked up, and then at each other, before bolting back the way they came, leaving the steaming carcass unattended. The deer all backed away nervously, huddling together in a group. The earth shook again, harder this time, sending ripples across the water. Vaas's eyes widened. "That's... That's an impact tremor, is what that is," he said. "I'm fairly alarmed here." And then the trees exploded, and out of the forest thundered what appeared to be an enormous goddamn dinosaur... No. It had wings. It was a dragon. Another fucking dragon, this one the size of a Tyrannosaurus rex.

The deer scattered in a panic. The dragon reared its head and roared, flames spewing from both its nostrils. It then ran on all fours in pursuit of the deer, not going after any specific target, until one stag split off from the group. The dragon seized its chance and increased its speed of pursuit. Within seconds, the beast was only behind by a good ten feet, and closing fast. The dragon drew a shuddering breath that could be heard from Vaas's vantage point, and an orange light glowed in its underbelly, spreading upward through its chest and neck. Then it opened its mouth, so much that the jaw appeared to unhinge like a snake's, and blue flame shot from the beast's throat, rocketing forward and consuming the deer. The prey was dead within seconds, the flesh all but melting off the bones, and before it even had time to fall, the monster had snatched it up in its immense jaws and swallowed it, still flaming, whole. Without slowing, the dragon raised its batlike wings and launched into the sky. It soared over Vaas's head and over the mountain, and was gone.

Aye, the world was beautiful. And, Vaas understood, deadly as well.

The group was silent for a moment, as they all processed what they'd all just witnessed. Fluttershy looked to be on the verge of tears. It was Dash who spoke first. "The Griffins we saw... We need to watch out for them. Outside of civilization, Griffins like to form raiding parties and attack travelers, taking whatever they might have on them."

Everyone turned to look at her.

"How on earth do you know that?" Rarity asked.

"Well... Er..." Dash hesitated, eyes scanning the ground. "Twilight told me," she said quickly. "She was reading a book about them, and told me that."

If there was one thing that could be said about Rainbow Dash, it was that she had a shitty poker face. No one said a word. No one needed to.

"Fine!" Dash said, exasperated. "You all remember Gilda, right?" No, Vaas didn't, but he didn't expect an explanation there. "Well... She told me that before she went to Flight Camp with me, some of her family had taken her on a few raids, far outside of town. She said that it was fun, and one of the most 'extreme' things you could do. And, well, you know me... Not one to pass up extreme things, haha..." she dragged her front hoof across the dirt, not making eye contact. "I may have taken part in a few tiny little raids with Gilda before I really settled down in Ponyville," Dash said, as quickly as possible. Although there were some wide eyes, no one really seemed as surprised as Fluttershy, who began to tear up again.

"You... You didn't..." she began, he voice breaking. "You didn't hurt anyone, did you?"

"No! No, of course not!" Dash said weakly, her poker face getting shittier by the second. "Well... Okay... Maybe a couple ponies! And only because they tried to fight back! But that was years ago- I'm changed now, I am! You all know me! I'm not a murderer!" Dash didn't seem to be talking to the group anymore. She was staring at the ground, shaking. Vaas got the feeling that she was trying to convince herself of the fact, not the rest of them. Vaas knew the feeling. He himself experienced doubts sometimes, felt twinges of that pesky concept called morality.

Vaas took a step forward. "When was your last kill?" he asked, genuinely curious. "Don't lie, you have the worst fucking poker face of anyone I've ever seen."

Dash stopped shaking, and looked Vaas dead in the eye. "Over ten years ago."

She said it with such conviction, such certainty, in such a clearly practiced manner, that Vaas almost felt inclined to believe her. But it seemed to do the trick for the rest of the group. Fluttershy's sobs stopped, although there were still tears falling from her eyes. The rest of them just stared at her, sometimes glancing at each other, their mouths thin lines of grim judgment. Vaas nodded, although he made it clear with his questioning eyes and slightly raised eyebrows that he wasn't buying her bullshit for a second. It had never shown before, but this new, raw Rainbow Dash definitely had the visceral look of someone with a fair amount of blood on their hands. Or hooves, as it were.

Taking in one more time the valley that stretched out before them, now darkened after the setting of the sun, the only light coming from the moon shining overhead. A full moon... A hunter's moon.

***

The night was quiet, but for the crackling of the fire.

The light of the fire illuminated the inside of Vaas's tent, making it difficult to sleep. The fact that the silhouette of Rainbow Dash was also visible, just sitting by the fire, motionless, staring into the flames, didn't help much either. Vaas wasn't afraid of her... Although this newfound knowledge of her did perturb him a bit. He didn't expect to find a serial killer among these typically overly-cheery ponies. Although, when he thought about it, it did make sense that one would conceal herself among unassuming folks such as these.

Suddenly, a new silhouette appeared. Another Pegasus... Fluttershy. Dash did not move, not even when the other mare spoke. "I need to talk to you."

Dash was silent for a moment. "Is everyone else asleep?"

"Yes."

Vaas turned to look at his squire, who was snoring softly on his sleeping mat, on the other side of the tent.

"Good..." Dash said. "What is it?"

It was Fluttershy's turn to be silent now. After a moment, she spoke. "You know how good I am at seeing through lies, Dash."

Even in silhouette form, it was easy to see how tense Dash's body became. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"When was the last time you killed somepony, Rainbow Dash?"

"I told you. Over ten years ago."

Fluttershy's voice was soft, but terrible. "Don't bullshit me, Rainbow. I'm not buying it for one second."

Rainbow Dash's form began to shake. Whether it was silent sobs or nervous convulsions, Vaas could not tell. "Last week," she said, her voice steady. So, she wasn't crying. "Remember that donkey that Pinkie couldn't get to smile?..."

"You didn't," Fluttershy said. "Please tell me you didn't."

"I got him to smile. He's got a great big grin right across his throat. Now he'll always be smiling. Same with his wife."

"Dash..." Fluttershy began. "This... This isn't you. What happened to you?"

"Have you ever ended a life before, Flutters?" Dash asked, as casually as if she were asking for the time.

Vaas saw Fluttershy shake her head, no.

"It's so... Exhilarating. It's better than flying, I'm not even kidding. Seeing the desperation on their faces, seeing how the body reacts to pain, watching the light leave their eyes... It's like a drug, Flutters. I got addicted during my time with Gilda. I don't even think she knows. She never seemed to enjoy it like I did. You should try it sometime."

When Fluttershy spoke, the disgust in her voice was apparent. "You have to tell the others. You can't keep this to yourself. Either you tell them... Or I will."

Dash chuckled mirthlessly. "I just can't do that, Flutters."

There was a moment's silence. Then, Fluttershy drew a deep breath, as if to cry out...

There was a flicker of motion, barely even noticeable in silhouette form, as Dash twisted her neck around, grabbed her dagger with her mouth and unsheathed it from its scabbard on her shoulder, and slashed it across Fluttershy's throat. Fluttershy's cry was stifled in her throat, and emerged as an agonized rasp. Blood sprayed all over the form of Rainbow Dash, until Fluttershy's corpse fell to the ground, and the blood began pulsing upward like a grotesque fountain.

Vaas bolted upright, grabbed his sword, and exited the tent... Only to find Rainbow Dash waiting for him. Before he could react, or even cry out, she had him pinned down on his back, one hoof on his wrist, and the other foreleg pressed against his throat, preventing him from making any noise. His sword fell from his hand, and hit the dirt noiselessly. Dash still held the dagger in her mouth. Her eyes were wide and shining, and in them, Vaas could see a mixture of emotions; hatred, anticipation, sadness... Ecstasy. The same emotions he himself felt during many of his kills. They were not unalike, himself and the homicidal Pegasus standing over him. The realization made accepting the fact that he was about to die that much easier, knowing that at least he was being taken out by an equal. He grinned up at her, staring into her beautiful rose-red eyes, waiting for the cold kiss of the steel against his throat.

But it did not come. Dash's eyes widened, and she dropped the dagger from her mouth. It landed in the soil, inches away from Vaas's neck. She coughed, and blood poured from her throat, splattering Vaas's face and chest. She released her grip on his throat and wrist, and took a step backwards, blood still pouring from her mouth and nostrils like a waterfall. Vaas gasped for breath, careful not to inhale any of Dash's blood, and raised his head to look at her. Protruding from Dash's neck was an exquisitely ornate dagger, which was torn from its place by none other than Pipsqueak, eyes filled with the same fierce determination he had displayed not twelve hours before. Dash raised her hoof to prod at the hole in her neck, which was now also spewing blood, and raised her eyes one more time to look at Vaas. In those eyes he saw a plea for help, and... An apology. She raised her hoof, trying to reach Vaas, for what, Vaas wasn't certain. And then she fell, her lifeblood pulsing from her neck in the same way that her friend's was, still.

All of this happened within half of a minute.

Vaas's breathing was rapid and shallow, eyes wide and staring at Pipsqueak, who only now seemed to comprehend what he'd done. Neither said a word.

The night was quiet, but for the crackling of the fire.