I can’t tear my gaze away from that mare across from me. Not after that bombshell she just dropped. I mean, I figured the “entertainer” thing Theo had told me he was before shit went down was complete crap after figuring out what he was, but… The truth?
…
I think I would rather have believed the lie.
“You looked stunned, Mr. Snap. Having trouble believing it?” She intones with a quirked eyebrow.
No. Quite the contrary…
“... It all makes sense now…” I finally manage to mutter, five minutes after she blew my mind.
And not in that way you sick buckers. Get your minds outta the gutters!
“Come again?” She tilts her head slightly, a small smirk on her muzzle. Is she enjoying watching me squirm like this?
“It all makes sense now,” I say again, louder. “I… I just don’t want it to.”
Seriously…
“You regretting your decision to save him now?” I finally manage to tear my gaze from her in order to try and think this question over, closing my eyes.
Do I feel regret?
…
“No… I can’t say that I do.”
I open my eyes, finding she’s looking at me confusedly. Probably didn’t give the answer she was expecting.
“Y-you… Don’t regret saving his life? Knowing what he is? What he does?” Eeyup, completely derailed her whole planned course of action. She seems like she’s done this several times now, knows what buttons to push and all… But I don’t think she’s ever had somepony react quite like this.
“No.” I let my gaze wander her features. Her poofy burgundy mane, her leafy green coat, those black rimmed glasses that obscure her aquamarine eyes which stare back at me with a mixture of curiosity and puzzlement. All in all she’s a decent looking mare, even if she’s older than me by at least twenty years. She can’t hide the bags under her eyes from me, or those stress lines on her face… But why is a mare as worn as her involved in something so…
...
I can’t even think of a word for what this business must be like.
“Pray tell, why not?”
I narrow my eyes slightly, just to make it clear that I know that-
“I know you’re not feeding me the whole story.”
Yes, that. Thanks for interrupting, mouth.
Oh, that look on her face. So flat. From curious to serious in the matter of one line. She doesn’t like it, the fact I can read ponies. See through her attempt at deception. I’ve stepped too far away from the norm, set off some alarm bells. She thinks I know too much. Funny thing is, it isn’t much more than she just told me with that reaction, a fact I find myself cracking a smirk over. Time to push her buttons a little more then, eh?
“Ah, so there is more to it after all,” I let my tone ooze just a bit of smugness, just to let her know that I know how to play this game too. She’s made it pretty clear I’m not going to be able to go back home after everything is said and done, what with faking my death and all, so I figure I don’t have much left to lose, “Good, because I’d doubt you’d be telling me all this otherwise.”
“Telling you all what?” Now her eyes have narrowed, wanting to know how much I’ve managed to piece together.
“That the stallion I just saved hunts down and kills guys like us for a living,” I reply rather casually, tilting my head one way and cocking an eyebrow, “Why would you bother telling me if that were just it? Because you think I’d be able to help track him down or something? Naw, if he wanted me dead he probably would’ve smashed my head in like he tried to earlier. So obviously he’s got some kind of agenda, and from the looks of things you’re in on it.”
She narrows her eyes a bit more, leaning forward in her seat, forelegs resting on the table to aid in this endeavor. Probably hit the nail on the head with that.
“Criminal organizations don’t use methods like this for interrogation, they’re more about either using fear or awe, most of the time both, to get what they want out of their captives. This, coupled with the data files on my family and your more professional air suggests that this is some kind of bureaucratic operation.
“However, then your implied prior interaction with Theo makes things a little more fuzzy. He’s not just some killer of… unique folk such as myself: If that were the case I figure there’d probably be a lot more civilian deaths printed about in the papers, especially from electrical causes. This means his bloodlust or rage or whatever the heck it is that drives him is being directed at targets that would likely get swept under the rug, that the public would never hear about.”
I redirect my wandering eyes to stare right back at the mystery mare across from me, the two of having a rather bad habit of just idly roaming my surroundings but not really telling me anything while I’m busy thinking, especially aloud.
“Meaning he’s killing guys who hang around in the underbelly of society, doing things they’d be likely lynched for anyway if they were caught, but doing them better because of their… condition... And I don’t honestly think that’s such a bad thing.”
She stares at me for a while, soaking in all I was able to speculate on without moving, making it impossible to read her. An impressive feat considering I’m pretty confident that I had been correct in just about all of my assumptions, actually. However, as the silence lapses longer I notice a particular look in her eye, almost like she wants me to continue, to finish the thought...
“Which just leaves the question,” I continue after a it becomes clear she doesn’t seem to have anything to say just yet, “Where do I fit in all of this? Why bother with this interrogation? Why not just kill me instead? Especially if I know too much, which based on that look you’re giving me I’d say I do.”
...
Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like she’s about to answer my questions any time soon: She’s busy thinking, her eyes tracing my features… Looking for something.
…
And once she’s found it, I can tell she has based on the slight twitch of her mouth, she simply gets up and walks out of the room. Which of course leaves me completely alone.
And quickly growing bored.
Normally that wouldn’t be a problem, I know quite a few way to pass the time, but… Well, lets just say I’m not exactly in the mood to sing and my hooves are currently tied to the chair I’m on, so that makes the various distractions I carry around with me everywhere null and void as well…
So I settle on letting my gaze wander again, hoping they find something I can do while I wait for the mare to come back and either continue the interview or just kill me. Preferably the first option.
…
Hang on… Eeyup, peepers found something for me alright: the rope that binds me.
What’s so special about it?
Well, it happens to be glowing, for one. Er… Not quite glowing, more like a shimmer or a shine than that. It’s also blue, which of course isn’t normal for rope. At least, I don’t remember it being a normal color for rope. Aren’t they either brown or yellow or something? Bah, doesn’t matter: Shimmering negates any doubts that this isn’t normal rope. Shimmering means it’s probably got some kind of enchantment on it. Added strength, maybe?
I run my nose over the bindings, just to try and get a better idea of what I’m dealing with. It feels… Silken… And isn’t silk rope like the strongest kind of non-magical rope out there? I’m not too sure, but I remember learning somewhere that silk ropes are strooooooooooooooohgoddesses!
No. No! I do not want to remember that! Bad brain! Get yer thoughts outta the dungeon! Now! Now!
Shivering off that little incident, I can now safely affirm that silk ropes indeed are strong as buck. Meaning that if this rope is similar to silk, it wouldn’t need strength enchantments, so that rules that idea out… Got anything else brain?
…
Y’know with my death looming ahead of me like this, you’d think that Blinky would be at least pestering me at this point, right? Whispering the fact he could get me out of here into my ear over and over and over again? But no, he’s still silent. Why is that?
…
Oh.
…
Well, there’s a valid theory. I mean, short of being unconscious, I’ve always been able to at least feel Blinky, even when he wasn’t talking at me. Now its like he’s not even there…
Looks like I finally found his kryptonite.
…
Now to decide whether or not I like having a part of my mind unavaila-
“Oh! Hello there, didn’t hear you come in.”
I need may to pay a little more attention to my surroundings when I’m going off on internal monologues, this is starting to become a problem...
…
Anyway, this isn’t the same mare that I had been talking to before. Not unless she can drastically change her appearance anyway, shave a decade or so off her face and whatnot. No, this mare’s mane was long, straight and a much lighter green than the other mare’s coat. Also this one’s coat happened to be a pale yellow, and he eyes a sort of tangerine color. She’s also wearing a red flower behind one of her ears for some reason, as well as a rather bored looking expression.
“Finally done examining that rope?”
“Pretty much, was just trying to keep myself busy till somepony else came in.” Despite my calm outward expression, a nervous chuckle escapes me, “And as you’re not the mare that was interrogating me, I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say I failed whatever test she was giving.”
“No, though that was Theo’s hope,” The mare rolls her eyes before continuing, “No, I’m here because there’s something we want to learn: What is flashing like for you? Does it burn?”
…
Did she just purposely word it like that so she could rhyme? I let my amusement at this show in the form of a quirked eyebrow and a slight smirk.
“Burn?” I chuckle a little at the thought, flashing only hurting as bad as a burn? “Mam, if it were that easy I probably wouldn’t have been actively avoided flashing for so long... Heck, I might’ve used it for convenience rather than as a last resort... No, flashing is the utmost in self-torture for me. Its letting myself go through the pain of getting butchered by a dragon or torn apart by a timberwolf so I can live to die some other day. Why else would I do my damndest to not trigger it for the better part of ten years?”
She stares at me for a few moments, probably trying to figure out if I’m exaggerating it at all. Funny thing is, that description is kinda downplaying it, honestly.
“But you flashed six times that day, right? Four to save Sparky and twice in the fight?”
“Actually, it was once in the fight, once to get away from Theo shortly after the fight, then four times to get take out Gustave and give Sparky his hammer back,” I correct automatically, not even thinking about the position I’m in, “And there was a respite that separated the first two from the last four, which is probably the only reason I was able to pull that off in the first place.”
“You have a limit, then?”
“I… Guess?” I admit with a shrug, “That was the most I’ve ever flashed in such a short period of time. Heck, I bet it was the most I’ve ever flashed in a single month, honestly.”
She stares at me a moment before sliding a blank piece of paper out of one of my parent’s files and proceeding to look around for something to write with. “Damnit, where did I put my pen..?”
I find myself tilting my head a few seconds later, unable to comprehend how she’s managed to rhyme every sentence she’s said thus far. She doesn’t seem to notice my confusion, however, instead electing to continue her search for a writing utensil. It takes her a full minute to remember that her flower accessory also doubles as a pen. Why somepony thought it was a good idea to combine an artificial flower and one of those new ballpoint pen things into one object is beyond me though.
Once she’s all set she looks back up at me, “Now was there anything that let you know your limit was near? Or did you just keep on flashing without fear?”
Again with the rhymes? Must be some kind of game she plays with herself or something.
“Uh… Yeah..” I let out a puff of air, thinking back to the last couple jumps before Theo knocked me out, “It gets more tiring to flash the more I do it: I could barely stand right before I blacked out… And for whatever reason I lose my ability to see color. Like, his face was a dark gray after that last one… Any idea why?”
“No,” She admits around her mouthful of flower-pen, “Bu ‘en a’en-” Realizing its hard to understand what she’s saying with that thing in her mouth, she finishes whatever notes she was taking and spits it out. “But then again, why would I know?”
I start to try and point out that they’ve got a term for ponies like me already, but she cuts me off.
“Because you happen to be the first of us to play by this set of rules. To pass up learning them would make us fools. And yes, before you ask, I’ll answer you in rhyme: Other flashers find their limit in time. Every five minutes they may make one flash, and such a limit keeps them from being rash. Because if they were to use it up and then find themselves caught, their existence would soon become naught…” A strange sort of smile forms on her muzzle as she regards me with an expression I just can’t read. “You, on the other hoof…” The smile grows into a grin, and I can’t help but worry just what it’s for, “You can afford to be a little more aloof.”
…
Is… Is she..?
Eeyup, she just crawled up onto the table just so she could look down at me, and that look just gotten a tad more readable. Okay, maybe more than a tad: She’s appraising me… And liking what she sees.
This is why I wish I didn’t look almost like a genderbent, less athletic Spitfire most days.
Thankfully it doesn’t look like she’s about to pounce at my helpless form, I’m pretty sure she can’t do that while she’s lounging on the table… Wait, how’d she go from sitting to lying that fast..? Nevermind, got more important things to worry about: I’m on her radar now.
“Not to say you’re the type to be that cold,” She continues, deciding that she try and take a stab at being ‘friendly’ with an admittedly attractive smirk manifesting on her muzzle, “No you look like you’d be a little more-”
POP!
“When I agreed to letting you come in here posing as me that didn’t give you permission to hit on him as me, Pearl.”
...
Wat..?
…
Sorry, just let me reassess what just happened alright?
…
Nope, still confusing.
So, the mare that was about to start hitting on me? Yeah, now there’s two of her in here. Literally two of them. The first one, y’know, the one that was on the table didn’t even get to finish her line before a second one, whom literally came from nowhere with just a flash of light and a p-
…
Oh. So that’s what flashing’s like when you’re not the one doing it… Neat.
…
And suddenly it all makes sense, the first mare was wearing a disguise of some kind to look like the second mare, whom is the genuine article. Why and how? I’ve got no clue, but at least its something, right?
“Oh come on Garden, you and I both need you need to get laid,” the first mare, apparently called ‘Pearl’ based on what the second said, whined. And I do mean whined, kinda like a small filly who hasn’t gotten their way.
“I don’t need anything of the sort, thankyouverymuch,” the second mare, ‘Garden’ by what the first said, sighed. It wasn’t annoyed kind of sigh though, more of a tired one. Seems her double has been trying to do this for a while now or something. “The only thing I need right now is for you to get out of here before the boss gets back. I really don’t need her docking my pay because you decided to have some fun with the new guy.”
“Garden, you and I both know that there’s more to life than getting paid,” Peal replies, throwing another suggestive look my way for good measure… Before bursting into a fit of giggles at my not so stubble attempt to scoot away from her.
“Oh, I like this one,” She grins, sitting up in the process, “Hopefully I get a mission with him, that’ll definitely be fun.”
“If it keeps you from pushing Theo’s buttons, go ahead and rib on him then,” Garden comments noncommittally, glancing at the door. “I swear he gets even more reckless out in the field every time one of your bigger pranks goes right.”
“Don’t worry, Sparky’s not gonna get off the hook just because I’ve got a new playmate,” Pearl’s grin becomes mischievous at the thought of the blue guy, “By now he should know just to laugh at his fate.”
Trying to tell these two apart is kinda like trying to tell a pair of identical twins apart: May have the same bodies and voices, but on the inside they happen to be quite different. Thankfully Pearl’s tendency to rhyme makes the task a buckton easier. Also helps that she hasn’t moved from her perch atop the table.
“Is the kid at least going to keep you from nicking his hammer every other week?”
“Eh, one a month will probably be the best I can manage.”
“Then go ahead, mess with the new guy. Just get out of here, she’s gonna be back any minute now.”
“Fair enough, leaving now would probably be to our advantage.”
How the buck does she rhyme so fluidly?
Anyway, the pair of them turn towards the door to take their leave, but before they can even take a step for it the first mare that was in here returns. Talk about timing, eh?
“Apologies for leaving like thaaaaaaa- What are you two doing in here?!”
“Since you and Theo decided to leave, I decided the interview should be left to me.”
“And that’s a problem beca-”
Garden jabs a hoof in Pearl’s direction, eyebrows raised.
“Oh, right. Didn’t want her tarnishing your record?”
“Obviously.”
“Fair enough…” The burgundy mare sighs again, bringing a hoof to her temple, “You both do know that he still hasn’t been cleared yet though, right?”
“Like you’d pass up on a Flasher that doesn’t have a time limit?”
“We still don’t know exactly what his catch is though, now do we? It could be that he’s able to do it whenever without any limit other than his own morals,” She throws a glance my way, looking mildly worried, “And we can’t exactly trust morals, now can we?”
“Actually,” Pearl interjects, now sporting a light pink coat and matching light blue mane. I… I’ve got no clue how she managed to do that, go from a carbon copy of Garden to her own thing within a hoof-full of seconds, but she did. Kinda makes her look like she’s made of cotton candy or something… Anyway, with her back turned to me the look of surprise in my eye goes unappreciated, which is something I’m glad for.
“From what he told me his ability might be endurance based, kind of like some of the Stormers and Scorchers we’ve cased. He hasn’t done much at all, essentially only when backed up to a wall. However, were he to use it more…” She let the statement hang in the air, though if she continued she’d probably end it with the word ‘score,’ that’s definitely what my brain supplied for the lack of rhyme it had grown accustomed to.
The others, however, stare at Pearl, letting the information sink in for a minute or two.
“You mean to tell me that you don’t think he’s got a cap, in other words?” The first mare, whom irritatingly enough I still haven’t gotten a name for, asks.
“No, right now his cap is four,” Pearl giggles, glancing back at me, “But he was on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion before Theo knocked him out. And that should remind you of a certain pony, without a doubt.” Surprisingly, Burgundy (that’s what I’m calling her until I get a proper name) shifts in what appears to be discomfort.
“That certain pony happens to be one of the biggests assets the Foundation has nowadays, aren’t they?” Garden adds, looking almost thoughtful behind that mask of indifference she seems to wear.
Burgundy looks between the two of them, from the desk-perched Pearl to the ground-bound Garden and back again. “Are you two seriously playing that card right now?”
“Yes,” They reply in what seems to be some kind of rehearsed response. Just what’s going on here?
“Why?”
Garden happens to answer alone this time, shrugging just to show how little she cares, “A Multi-Flasher or whatever the heck we’re gonna call him would be useful to have around, especially after what happened with Clean and Tide.”
Despite the fact none of them are directly facing me, I can feel a sort of regretful mood descend upon the other mares… And given their line of work, I think I can figure what happened… Hope it was quick, for their sakes.
After a minute or so of what I can only assume is mourning, Burgundy speaks up again.
“Alright, cut him loose Pearl.”
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I walk into the bosses office. The same office I always enter when I get a mission or get chewed out personally. Today it looks like it is the former. Garden was already in the room staring blankly at opposite wall. I do wonder what goes through her head sometimes. She just always keeps to herself, only speaking up when she feels the need to.
Miss Cabbage Patch was busy sifting through papers as I walked in. I wonder what we were dealing with today? Perhaps another Scorcher like Gustave. Well, whatever it was, It wouldn’t stand much of a chance against Garden and I.
The boss lowered her papers to finally acknowledge my presence. “Ah, so good of you to join us Mr… I see Pearl found the magic marker again.”
It took me a second before I realized that I never did wash that off. To my left I heard the giggle of a certain annoyance. Yep, there she was. Oh how I wish I could knock her down a peg or two. Oh how I wish-
“Hey Sparky. I like the new stache.”
My attention is drawn to the yellow stallion sitting next to her.
“YOU!!” Was what I was able to get out as I charged the wretch, only to be stopped by Pearl tackling me to the ground.
“Now now Theo, you be nice to Mr. Snap. He has already been through a lot of crap.”
“Get off! The wretch escaped! Can’t you see-”
“Enough!”
Both Pearl and I turn our attention to our rather annoyed boss sitting behind her desk.
“Theo! He passed his interrogation! He is now one of your associates.”
“Are you bucking serious?! Are you just ignoring the fact that he can flash multiple times?!”
“So long as he uses his power to help us, I believe that his ability to break the rules will prove to be an asset to us.”
As much as I don’t like it, if the boss believes him to be safe, then I have to too. She’s always been great at passing judgement on other ponies: so it’s not too hard to figure out how she rose to her position. In any case, Ginger is safe so long as the boss says. He better hopes he doesn’t give her a reason to reconsider.
“Fine! I’ll treat him the same way I do Garden and Pearl... Speaking of which. Pearl, get the buck off me!”
Thankfully, she let me return to my hooves so that I could receive our assignment.
“Alright Theo. You and Garden are to investigate various dragon attacks that have been happening as of late.”
“Wait. Since when do we deal with dragons?”
“Normally we don’t, but there is something odd about these occurrences.”
“Odd how?” Garden finally chimed in, even after all the ruckus that happened not to long ago.
“Well for starters, whenever the dragons attacked major cities, there is almost no damage done to the buildings. Any damage that has been done is caused by the ponies trying to hit it with bullets and artillery.”
“Okay, so the dragon is very careful. I still don’t see what this has to do with beings of chaos.”
“Of course you don’t my blue friend. But you will soon comprehend.”
“Shut up Pearl.”
“Next is that the dragon always attacks near jewelry stores. All of which seem to be cleared out by the time the dragon leaves.” The gears in my head suddenly clicked.
“Ah, I see now. We are dealing with an illusionist then.”
“Who is using their power to stage a dragon attack while they go on their crime spree.”
“Correct Garden. So you two are to take out the target how you see fit.”
“So since Theo is going, you mean dispose of the body?”
“(Sigh) Yes.”
“Alright, where is the target and what do they look like?”
“The target seems to be following the railroads as they go from town to town. Following their patterns, their next heist will be Vanhoover.”
“Woo! Vanhoover has some of the best drinks around! I’m gonna have some fun tonight!”
“You are to take out the target then return home! Not go drinking like you normally do!” She really put some emphasis on that part. Maybe I should listen to her this time around… Naw.
“So what does this target look like?”
“Ah, yes right. While we have no definitive proof, we believe it to be this mare. She has been spotted at every dragon attack since we started monitoring them.”
She placed a picture of said mare on the table for Garden and I to examine. She was roughly twenty something with a brown mane and coat. Not to bad looking if I had to say so myself. Shame she had to die. I made sure my hammer was still on my back as I place a hoof on Garden’s shoulder.
“Alright Garden, get us out of here.” Before she flashed us away, I was sure to give Gingersnap one last glare. Just to let him know how bucked he was if he didn’t live up to our bosses expectations.
Now Vanhoover is roughly thirty miles away from base, and the maximum distance that Garden can flash is roughly one mile. Meaning that it would take about two and a half hours for her to flash us all the way there. Luckily, our base is within a mile of a bullet train that was set up about six years ago. It really cuts down travel time. We go through the same routine when arriving there. She ports us behind a dumpster, we walk to the security gate, I short circuit the security gate, then we both climb onto the train. Although I did stop in the bathroom first to wash off Pearl’s latest prank. Within a half hour, we make it to Vanhoover.
It’s good to be back in Vanhoover. The tall buildings, the open port, the many fine folks just going about their own business. Oh, and that one bar I got thrown out of last time I was here. Good times, good times.
“So Garden. Where in Vanhoover would we find the most well stocked bank in the city.”
She shrugged and pointed towards a bit of smoke rising off in the distance.
“Probably that way.”
One flash later found us in an alleyway next to a giant green claw. I believe we found our dragon. We exit into the main street to see ponies running away in panic and the local precinct trying to halt the beast’s advances. Who ever this illusionist was certainly knew what they were doing. Having the dragon respond to the shots as if it was being hit. Moving slowly forward so that it’s foes have time to retreat from it. Spitting flames into the air to seemingly increase the danger.
While I was busy galking at the beast, Garden was actually doing our job. After about five minutes of waiting, she gave me a quick nudge of the shoulder. She pointed to the bank across the street that had already been evacuated. Evacuated except for one mare walking out of it with a giant sack on her back. She was a perfect match to the photo we were shown earlier. I extracted my hammer from my back, ready to charge in and slay the wretch where she walked. I was stopped by Garden pulling on my tail.
“Remember the last time you tried to charge an illusionist?” She said with a mild hint of annoyance.
“(Sigh) Yes, I remember. I’ll follow the book this time around. Do you got the tracker?”
She nodded and held up a gold collar that she extracted from her bag.
“Good. Then you do your part and I’ll do the rest.”
Without responding, she quickly flashed across the street and snapped the collar around the mare’s neck before she had time to react. The moment it was on her, I flew as fast as I could towards her.
“Hey! Watch where you’re going you stupid bi- Oh Shit!”
With a quick jump, she avoided me smashing her into the building by the skin of her teeth.
“Vile wretch! Your existence on this planet has run it’s course! Now it is time to say goodbye!” I move to strike again and she quickly drops her sack and runs into the alley next to the bank. During this time, the dragon vanished from existence, leaving a lot of incredibly confused ponies behind.
As Garden and I gave chase down the alley, I pulled the compass out of my shirt pocket. The compass is simply a small, free spinning needle that is magically synced with the tracker on the target’s neck. Wherever the wretch goes, the needle will follow.
We zig zagged around the backstreets for a while to keep up with the target, following the compass whenever we lost her. Eventually, we turned around corner and found several copies of the wretch waiting for us. She gave a quick wave to us and had all her clones dash down several different alleyways away from us. A quick look at the compass told us which path to take to continue the chase.
She tried this trick several more times, looking more and more scared as we continued to correctly guess which way she was going. Several turns later, we come across a brick wall resting in the middle of the alley. Knowing that this was an obvious illusion, the two of us went right through it. The target was still on the run ahead of us. Around another corner was another fake wall. Behind that fake wall was another one. Then another, and another, and anoth-
WHAM!
...Th-That… Last one… Wasn’t fake.
I fell to the ground in gratuitous amounts of pain. As I fell, I saw the target start running to opposite way away from us. When Garden helped me to my hooves, we both took a look at the compass. It seemed that she was running back to where we found her to begin with. Probably to retrieve her lost booty.
After resting for a minute to gather my bearings, we both started heading back to the bank. Sure enough, we managed to catch her right as soon as she hoisted her bag onto her back. With a look of fear she immediately dropped it again and ran back into the bank. We gave chase and watched her close the vault door behind her. She probably assumed that was something that we just couldn’t get past. Well I certainly couldn’t get past it, I would just end up breaking my hammer. Garden on the other hoof-
POP
Is quite adept at getting in restricted areas. The moment we got in the vault, the wretch looked at us with more fear than ever, knowing that she just cornered herself.
“H-H-How? H-How did you do that?”
“You mean us appearing in a bright flash? You’re the one who can spawn imaginary dragons out of thin air, yet you ask how we did that?”
Her eyes went wide as she comprehended what I was getting at. She was outwardly panicking at this point.
“What do you want? Are you cops? I promise to put all the money back!”
“I guess you can say we are cops yes. But we are both also judge, jury, and executioner.”
I turned my attention to my partner.
“Tell me Garden. What is this mare guilty of?”
“Being a freak of magic and using her abilities for her own selfish gains.”
“Correct. Now that we have gone through all the evidence, I shall sentence thee to death.”
I started to approach the now crying mare.
“Please! I’m nothing more than a petty thief! I’ve never done anything to deserve this! I’ve never hurt anypony!”
I stop in my tracks and glare at her for a moment.
“Never? You claim that you never hurt anypony?” She responded with a rapid nod. I then smashed my hammer into the ground before her, causing her to jump. “BULL! BUCKING! SHIT!” I think my shouting alone was almost enough to slay her. Her pupils shrunk to pinpricks as I moved over to the side of the room. “I can think of a million examples in this very room about how you have hurt others.”
I pointed at one of the drop boxes that she had cleared out earlier.
“This box probably belonged to a parent trying to raise their young foal! Guess they get to do it from the streets!”
I pointed at another empty box.
“This one probably belonged to an elderly mare who needed the money to buy her medication! Well sorry grandma, no meds for you!”
I pointed at several more boxes.
“Chemotherapy! College loans! Transplant! New home! Charity! Birthday gifts! All gone! All bucking gone! And all because some mare decided that she had the power to take it!” She was bawling into her hooves at this point. “Your kind is all alike! All of them! You think that just because you have these abilities, that you can live above others! That all the other ponies around you are nothing but ants to be stepped on!”
I grasped my weapon tighter, causing the stored energy to begin dancing across my flesh. The mare noticed this and hoped she could use it to save herself.
“Wait! Y-You’re one of us too! Surely you can relate!”
I gritted my teeth and had the sparks jump faster.
“Here is something you need to know. I am a freak like you. But I hate this power. I hated it ever since I discovered it. This power, as well as the powers of others have destroyed everything in my life!” I started to approach her again. “It’s not just my life! Countless lives have been ruined because of us! Families have been destroyed! Homes have fallen! Harmony disrupted!” I stop in front of her, my hammer in position to finish the job. I speak one last sentence in a low voice.
“And all because we choose to use it for that.”
I smashed my weapon into the cowering mare. The blow more than likely killed her instantly. Garden, still maintaining her air of indifference approached the mangled body and held her ear to her side. With a quick nod, she let me know that she was indeed dead. I wiped the blood off my maul and turned to my partner.
“Hey Garden. Mind reporting to the boss for me? I gotta go do some reconnaissance.”