//------------------------------// // A Stolen Lyra: Chapter Six // Story: The Ardman Files // by The_Pariah //------------------------------// C1: Chapter Six Rich Disk was not happy. Not only had Octavia, his main bargaining chip, escaped, but somepony had ordered pizza. Striding towards the unfortunate mobster, smoke began to rise from his mane. It was a widely accepted fact that if a pony got angry enough, quickly enough, their mane and tail would catch fire. All Rich required was a spark. "Why in Equestria would you order pizza? I'm trying to torture somepony down there and keep it a secret and you go and order pizza!" The mobster stared at the ground. "I was hungry. We don't have that much food and um... well..." "I don't care how hungry you are, I can't have-" A knock at the door interrupted his tirade. "Look," he hissed, "go get your pizza, but consider yourself warned." The mobster nodded, before grinning and running off to get his pizza. Rich sighed and turned around; he still had some more torturing to do. ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• I boarded the train and slid into a seat, relaxing as the scenery raced by and Ponyville faded into the distance. "So, where are we off to then?" a familiar voice said, breaking the silence. My eyes shot open and my head spun round, to be greeted by Vinyl sitting next to me, grinning. "What? What are you doing here?" "I'm coming with you." She grinned even wider. "No, you're not. Once this train reaches Canterlot, you are taking the first one back to Ponyville." She pouted at me. "Please Ardman, let me come with you." Her sunglasses slipped down her snout and I caught a snatch of red fire burning, before her eyes were hidden again by the purple shades. "I want to hurt this bastard for what he did to Tavi." I raised an eyebrow. "As much as I agree with the sentiment, and I really do, I can't let you do that." I watched as the sun began to drop behind the horizon and the last fading rays of light raced past. "Few ponies are allowed to operate above the law, and neither you nor I are one of them." "But- but you said you killed ponies! How can you say that and then say that few ponies are allowed to operate above the law?" she scoffed. The darkness glimmered in my eyes. "I said few are allowed to. That doesn't mean I can't." ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Rich grinned as the poker began to glow red hot. Quickly, he walked round the corner to face the chained pony before him, who was currently asleep, even hanging awkwardly from the ceiling. A small jab from the poker brought her around and tore a scream from her throat. Grinning, he jabbed her again. "Oh, we’re going to have such fun together..." ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• As the train pulled to a stop, I looked over at Vinyl. "You not going to let up, are you?" She shook her head. "Nnnnope." "I'm sorry?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Inside joke, never mind. The point is, I will not stop following you till I get revenge on him." Standing, I shook myself. "Fine, come on then." Sighing, I flipped my saddlebag onto my back, before gesturing for her to go first. She grinned. "Why, thank you!" ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• I walked into my apartment, Vinyl close behind, before slamming the door closed and sliding the bolt home. Sighing, I let the weight of the saddlebags slide off my back and onto the ground. Lifting them slowly, I placed them on their rack, before opening my bedroom door and gesturing for her to enter. She smiled slyly and walked in. "So, what is it you want to show me?" she said, grinning coyly. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Miss Scratch. I'm here to show you what I plan to do tomorrow." I walked over to a chest that sat in the corner of the room. Lifting the lid, I pulled out an ornate sword hilt, intricate details carved into the near-black steel. "What is that?" she asked, eyes fixed on the hilt. "A relic from the past, made by somepony ancient. It is called the Dusk Blade, and I also have the Dawn and Noon Blades in there as well." I spun the hilt slowly in the air, suspended in my magic. "Well, it's not much of a blade, is it?" She raised an eyebrow. My eyes slid closed as I reached into the bottomless pit of magic that was the sword hilt. Concentrating, I forced the magic to take the shape of a simple single-edged blade. A gasp from Vinyl confirmed that the blade had in fact come into existence. I opened my eyes and my jaw dropped. Instead of the simple blade I had imagined, a huge, wickedly-curved scimitar extended from the hilt. "I-I don't understand. It's never taken this form before." Vinyl stared at the dark-metal blade that had erupted from the hilt. "How did you do that?" she asked, her mouth agape. I stared at the blade. Along the spine a single sentence shone in a low, dark red, etched into the metal: Even in darkness there is light. Shaking my head, I looked at Vinyl. "Well Miss Scratch, I'm not sure how it came to be this shape, but I made the blade by focusing the magic in the hilt into the sword you see before you." Vinyl stared at the sword a little longer, before looking at me. "So what now?" I gestured to the bed. "You are going to get some rest. I am going to have a look around Canterlot." She nodded. "And tomorrow we take on Rich Disk?" "Yes." Vinyl nodded and slid into bed as I walked outside. I almost felt bad about lying to her, especially about the full story of the swords, but I wasn't going to let her get involved in my work. As the door swung shut, I descended the steps of the hotel. The sword slid quietly back into the hilt, and I manipulated the hilt into the shape of a necklace, which I placed around my neck. I walked out into the silent streets of Canterlot, and walked to the train station. Less than an hour later I was onboard the train to Ponyville once again, and headed to face Rich Disk in a battle that would ultimately determine my future.