Cold, calculating and efficient. That's how we liked to work, our silent professionalism brought death to battlegrounds across the globe. Known only as The Silent Hand we killed in the name of the highest bidder. For those who deal and work in such a close proximity to death can only avoid it themselves for so long. None are immortal.
My death was as dishonorable as the tactics we often employed. I remember seeing the glare of vengeance the young teen's eyes as she plunged my own dagger into my throat, stolen from my own gear. She had been the sole survivor of the political family we had been hired to execute and unfortunately she had become the object of many of the band's lusts as we celebrated another easy victory. I did not participate in the games, nor did I stop it. It was my misfortune that I was sleeping where I had been as she forged her escape whilst the men and women of the company slept.
That's the short version of how I found myself here, drifting through the abysmal see of darkness I imagined to be purgatory. As my consciousness drifted so did my thoughts. My mind never settling on a single subject, never forming a clear image, never discerning a clear sound. Time felt like molasses slowly flowing on, yet somewhat flying by faster than I could comprehend. Suddenly my brief stay in eternity of solitude was broken as the darkness began to fade away.
As my surroundings sharpened into the image of a cave with a multitude of bright lines of red radiating around myself. A burning throbbing sensation in my throat drew my attention, which I alleviated by removing the dagger that was once thrust into my throat. I held my fingers to the wound and felt the wound closing itself. 'Strange,' I thought. I felt a bit of dizziness as I felt my boots hit the ground and the triad of lights began to fade. My eyes had to adjust to the dim lighting of the cave, the forms of small equines coming into focus as my sight sharpened, A quick glance told me I was still in possession of my gear, though my rifle war not in sight. It was strange that the HUD (Heads Up Display) in my helmet wasn't up either. That thing ran off the energy created by my own movements. how long was I gone? Though it only provided info like time and direction it was unsettling to me that one of my pieces of gear was functioning, this stuff was built to survive.
My attention snapped towards one of the equines as a light red hue gathered around its... horn? The... unicorn... seemed to be struggling with something as I noticed a similar red light formed around myself. 'Is this some sort of magic?' I asked my cracking mental state. He said something at me in some foreign language that I assumed to be a curse, I had decided to to it a he due to the rigidness of his jawline. The other equines began to shout and back away as a large red sphere formed above his horn. I grunted as I dropped to the floor, barely avoiding the ball of light as it streaked by and collided into the wall behind me. Beneath my helmet, my jaw dropped at the force of the resulting explosion caused by his attack. 'He tried to kill you!' a voice yelled at me from the depths of my mind. I snapped. My vision reddened. My mind emptied. Years of combat took over as my body moved on its own accord.
As my mind cleared I grimaced at the corpses before me. Why? Had he never assaulted he would yet draw breath. I didn't want to kill him. I never wanted to kill any of them, it's always me defending myself or my squad mates. I'm just a medic. I don't derive pleasure form death... not always. His blood flowed weakly from the gash in his throat and slowly pooled into a large dark puddle in the center of the room, my gray uniform covered in the blood of these animals. I couldn't help but stare at the puddle of vital life fluid as a strange shape began to form and rise from it.
I watched both curious and terrified as the dark form rose out of the blood, darkness seeming to solidify and roll off the body of it, The body itself didn't seem to be real, constantly morphing from one shape to another. Finally it seemed to settle on a rough copy of myself as a voice that could only belong to a demon rasped out, "You must be wondering why and how you;re alive, But that doesn't matter now. Sombra summoned forth the darkest and foulest creature from the void that he could find. Little did he expect to find something that our combined magic couldn't affect."
"He wanted a weapon..." I stated.
"Yes and no. The unicorn you just slew had made a pact with me in order to gain power for his ascension, but he needed more." The demon before me chuckled madly as he continued. "You should have heard his thoughts as you slit his throat. Oh how sweetly he begged me to save him. Ah you will be rewarded human, that pony lived much longer than he should have. I was growing bored of his petty goals and antics."
"What kinda of world is this? Demons, magical unicorns and shit?" The demon's chuckles interrupted my griping as he summoned up three separate pedestals, each holding a small red pill. The demon pointed a clawed appendage at each respective pill as he spoke. "The first, will grant you the gift of flight. A real favorite among you humans. The second the ability to blend in with the natives. You're going to be spending a long time here. And the third, will make all the magic Sombra possessed ,before he met me, your own." And with that the demon made his exit.
'He didn't answer my question. Where the hell am I' I looked over the pills as I analyzed my options. Flying would be the best choice as far as movement goes, a highly valuable skill in the company. But blending in with the locals was also imperative, an entire operation can be comprised should anyone be made out. And lastly, magic... Probably the most mysterious of my choices, because what sane adult would honestly believe in magic. Honestly if I hadn't seen it myself I wouldn't believe a word the demon had said. Wait... he Sombra's magic didn't work on me, so why would these 'magic' pills of his affect me any differently.
"Because MY magic isn't bound to this world!" the demon's voice heckled in impish glee. Of course he had an explanation.
'Well,' I thought as I faced my three choices again, 'Which poison do I want' I smirked as an idea came to my mind. The demon told me to choose, so I chose. Systematically I plucked all three pills from their stands. Quickly, before he could say anything or stop me, I ingested the trio of pills.
"Predictable, typical human greed." that dark voice growled as I dropped to my hands in pain. I closed my eyes and cried out in agony as I endured what felt like the breaking and shifting of bones, vaguely I noticed a trail of magic flowing into me from Sombra's corpse. The last thing I heard over the sounds of my changing anatomy was the rumbling of the earth, not too different from the time my platoon was caught under an avalanche.
I woke some time later the sounds of clicking steel and shouting bringing me back into consciousness. Groans of effort emitted from me as I forced myself to my full height and opened my eyes against the blinding white light. Cold wing and thin air, a mountain side? I started towards the light, a movement which rewarded myself a face full of snow as I stumbled forward. I released another groan and turned my head to the side and caught sight of myself in the reflection of a large crystal, my eyes widening in surprise.
Staring back at me was the equally surprised face of the unicorn I had killed. That demon decided to turn me into a pony... not only was I a pony, but a unicorn. I looked over myself some more noticing a pair of coal grey wings that Sombra definitely didn't have. Was this part if my 'reward;? Having my humanity removed and replaced by some other's life?
Dark grey fur and mane. I couldn't argue with my favorite colors. I looked up at my horn, this too was different from Sombra's. It wasn't curved and deadly looking. In fact it look just like any unicorn horn you'd expect to see in mythological tales. The red eyes were also a bad-ass detail, as well as the two fangs Sombra had.
Slowly, I put my hooves on the ground and grit my teeth as I forced myself into a standing position, my newly acquired body protesting every movement. Shakily I made my way to the light pouring from the entrance of the cave, the gentle crunch of fresh snow a stark contrast to my raspy grunt of exertion as I fought to maintain balance. The voices outside reacted with shock as I literally tumbled out into the snow, surges of pain spewing from my mouth as I came to rest against a protruding block of ice.
I laid there motionless in the cold as the voices closed in rapidly. I hadn't been in so much pain in a very long time. "Celestia help us." I heard through my haze of agony. I groaned reluctantly as something sharp prodded me. "Prince Shining Armor!" called the dreaded poker.
"What is it?" Another voice replied as I heard him crunch his way over through the snow, abruptly stopping a distance away. "Is he alive?" Silence. "Gather the rest of the guard and prepare to move him. I want him cuffed and his magic restrained before we start to move."
My wings were bound and my hooves cuffed as I faded in and out of consciousness They draped me over the backs of tow ponies and began trekking down the mountain. The entire trip was eerily silent among the ponies despite a few member conversations about dark magic and the elements of harmony. About the sixth time I regained my sense there had been a drastic change in the environment. Cold mountains were replaced with a warm bustling city full of... well ponies. The sun helped chase away the coldness in my limbs as I managed to look around at the ponies watching us, watching me, our way through to a magnificent castle entirely made of cry. Fear and worry showed on the faces of the ponies around us as they seemed to instantly recognize me, though I imagine that they were more afraid of what kind of impression Sombra had left on them. I could help but wonder what he did before I ended his life. I watched in silence as they brought me towards what looked to be an infirmary near the castle.
A white unicorn, I assumed to be the prince, pointed his good towards a guard. "Tell my wife to meet us here. And then send word of King Sombra's return to Princess Celstia and Princess Luna, also send word to my sister and the other elements of harmony." King? So Sombra was powerful and held a prominent position in this society... That wont due. I want this second chance to be as quite as possible. But with all this royalty this could be easier said than done. I don't think they enjoyed being under King Sombra's command.
I was taken inside and bound to a bed before any nurses were allowed to tend to my body. I was silent the entire time, the occasional glare from one of the guards or even the prince warned me against speaking. I couldn't help nit notice the strange array of color that the ponies' coats were. It was almost funny.
It did not take long after I was put in the room when I saw a pony who was different from the other ponies I had seen so far. She had wings and a horn like I did. Judging by the quick embrace they shared, I figured she was the wife of the prince. The two royals shared a hushed conversation outside of earshot but they obviously were speaking about me, if their sidelong glares meant anything. Her eyes, though both angry and fearful, showed a slight sense of worry for me. Several minutes later the two were joined by a taller winged unicorn whose coat looked as though it had been through several strong storms. Her mane was something I'd never seen before, it just kept blowing in some nonexistent wind. She too began talking to the Prince. It looked like my presence was a large concern for the assembled group. Not much later they were joined by a third winged unicorn. I felt the familiar twinge of nervousness as the staff around me cleared out, leaving me with just the royalty.
The last mare to arrive approached me alone. Her mane was a deep lavender. As she neared I felt her presence cause a increase in the pressure of the air itself around me. Her eyes stared at me, emotionless but full of passionate neutrality, a thing I only saw once before, in the eyes of a young operator as he closed a contracted kill on the very one he loved. "King Sombra." Her voice was hard as steel and just a regal, but underlying it was that softness I once saw. "You should by all rights be dead. We saw the crustal heart's magic destroy you. But somehow you survived. Not only that but managed to partially ascend." She cast a quick glance to her companions before what looked like a magic shield formed a sphere around us. "Is there anything you'd like to say to me, before the others come?"
"Who are you?" I asked. At first the female before me looked at me in rage, as though she couldn't believe what I had said, then it hit her that I honestly didn't know who she was. She stepped beside the bed and placed her hoof under my chin as she looked down into my eyes, searching.
"Sombra?" she whispered faintly. Shook my head, surprised to see the loss in her eyes. She must have really loved him at one point.
During mt life as a human I was callus and cruel , but I always told the truth, so I wasn't going to start lying her. "Sombra is dead. And the demon he had formed a pact tricked me and gave me this appearance." Mostly truth," I don't know who he was or what he did, and I don't know any of you."
Thanks for reaching this point. Means a lot to me that you read all the way through. Anyways drop a comment. And for any of you who read any of my other stories, I do have stuff written for them it's just a matter of typing it up.
As always, Stay Shady~
