Blackhorn… the Mayor Goldenscroll older son, his pride and joy, and his heir, was the one Young Stormy told the police to be the attacker of his little bro, Keeneye had his suspicions but was silent, Silverbadge however, thinking this was a bad joke, hit stormy with his hoof and placed a hoofcuffs on him, then a ring in his horn to prevent him to cast spells, the teacher was frozen from the impression, as Stormy was seeing his younger self ghost being arrested… he was not stopping in hugging the doll
" What the?! " Young Stormy was trying to free himself
" you are under arrest for the homicide attempt against your brother Mistshine Brave " Silverbadge spoke, nervous sweat was coming down his neck "
" hold on officer " Keeneye replied " I know I have my suspicious on him, but why arresting him?"
"can you see?, his own brother blood is on his coat, we already run the lab test remember " Silverbadge replied
"Let me go!, I knew he had you bough! Everypony is this town is owned by him!, I wish he died! " Young Stormy moved more
" quiet brat!, officers take him! " Silverbadge give the orders to the other officers
All the ghost disappeared, Stormy mind was no longer in one piece, he started to think he had finally lost it, and continue to cry, hugging the doll, could it be true?, he attacked his own brother?, of course not!, his mind keep telling him that… but Blackhorn name keeps ringing in his mind, that colt caused him so many problems, for starters he was a bully in that same university, just because he had the money and the power to do what he pleased, and the mayor was too busy with his fortune left by her departed wife, to see what his son was doing, after Blackhorn graduated, Stormy felt that he could resume his life again, and started to study everything related to the royal guard... still his mind didn't want to remember him, since he became what it seems to be a Candidate to run the city, in the next elections.
"…" Stormy got up, and cleaned his tears with his hoof "…. i….. I can't sit here crying… Luna must be somewhere….and my brother…. "
He came to the dry blood where Mistshine was picked up, there was a key there, as stormy picked up, it reads Gym, so this wasn't the key to the courtyard, it was for the gym, why the gym?, he checked the room, it was the kindergarten section after all, most of the place had dolls, ABC blocks and drawings, he checked the teacher desk, he found a letter, it was addressed to…. His big sister, stormy read it really quick
" Mrs. Brave, in writing in behalf of the Manehatten Institute, you see, as you may be aware, that your little brother Mistshine Brave seems to have little social problems, he don't play or interact with other ponies besides his big brother, I strongly recommend you to try your best from your end, to make this little pony to open himself up a little, as for our end, I request you for permission to place Mistshine under special treatment class, Your sincerely, Scrollheart Teacher From Manehatten Institute Kindergarten "
" Hold on…. Special treatment class?, my brother never needed special treatment, before his coma… what is going on here?... well, better check that room " Stormy thought for a second, before setting up for the special treatment classroom.
On the hallway, he rechecked the map, the Special Treatment class was on the second floor, ironically the floor he started, but it was not on the same hallway, it was on the opposite one, and It was easy to notice, since it had a different door color than the others, he walked to the opposite hallway of the third floor, and he noticed that the stairs where not blocked, so he descended to the second floor, once there, Stormy tried to open the special treatment classroom, but the door wont budge, it had some sort of riddle written on it
" For one place to another, it wanders without rest, finding the lost ones, and returning them to where they belong, with blade in hoof it wanders, far and wide, Making the loved ones get lost in the darkness " That was the riddle
The riddle wasn't hard, it was referring to Death himself, but there was a place to place something in the door, it had the shape of a scythe, the grim reaper weapon… where in Equestria will he get that weapon?, and most importantly, in a University?, he checked his map… and fortunately for him, there is a Theatre class in the first floor, there must have props for the actors there, on his side of the hallway, there must be a staircase leading towards the first floor, he checked a room in the second floor thought, but his surprise was, that the same plastic mare had jumped on him, she still had the crack on her neck and the blade of the knife in her chest, she was more aggressive, trying to beat the living daylights out of her victim with her pipe, Stormy moved his head and hit the monster again with his horn, this made her mouth bandage to fell off, and she let a powerful scream, big enough to hurt Stormy ears, he covered them with his hooves as the mare saw her chance and attacked him again, but this time, she jumped and tried to bite him, Stormy dodge her attack, and used his back hoofs to buck her in her sides, the creature let a scream of pain, but as stormy launched a second buck, the creature felt from the edge to the courtyard on the first floor, Stormy saw, that the creature was trying to get up… and without the bandage… a voice exited her mouth…. Something that made stormy froze…
"…...h…e….l….p…m…..e….." the Plastic Mare let out those words, very weakened
Stormy could not finish the monster from up there… but…. Why it is asking for help?, either way, he checked the room where the creature was, he was able to find a bandages and a red apple there, along with another foal drawing, this time, it was a Cyan suit Pony, standing in the top of a building, but with 2 dead bodies on the floor, not able to be recognized, he placed that drawing in his saddlebags, then, he got down to the first floor, from the side he was in, he was able to see the tree again, but from the back side, since the door was in the opposite side, Stormy tried to take down the furniture that was blocking his path, so he can get to the other side quickly, but even his magic blast didn't destroyed the furniture completely, it only let a hole where he can crawl through, why didn't he tried to move it before with the furniture blocking the second floor stairs?, his answer came quickly, he was feeling tired, due to the use of his magic blast and illumination spell in dark areas, he started to check the remaining rooms, on the Theatre class however, things quickly, got strange in a matter of speaking.
The Theatre looks abandoned, and the backgrounds where damaged, torn apart even, the seats for the class where smashed, as if something heavy had fallen on them, Stormy looked up, and saw the teacher office, from there was something similar to a circuit breaker, no doubt to rise, lower the curtain, etc, also he saw a Timber Wolf Costume in a broken window, it was very damaged, also, on the stage, there was a monster costume laying there, curiosity ring to his mind and tried to activate the circuit breaker via magic, but the problem was, that the teacher office was too high and the stairs leading there where broken, so his magic was not able to work on such high distances with his current state, and he couldn't climb either, but the door leading to the storage, where all the costumes and props are stored, was unlocked, he opened the door, since he didn´t have the radio with him, he could not see or detect if there was any creatures in the room, Stormy had his horn glowing in case he need to use his magic blast, he felt like a strong headache when he was near one of the lockers… he was reluctant on opening it, but he opened anyway, what felt on him was a black cloak and a skeleton inside of it, Stormy screamed in fear, thinking it was the Skeletal mare… but as he checked the costume and got himself up, it was a Death costume, with scythe and everything, he tried to pick up the scythe prop, in order to use it on the special treatment door, but when he touched the weapon, he found the reason of the headache… it had a shadow monster, the same one from the Canterlot castle, just that this time, it possessed the costume that had fallen on Stormy, the shadow attacked with the scythe, Stormy dodged and attacked with a light magic blast, the cloak was enough to repel it, as if the shadow power gave magic proof qualities to the costume, as Stormy dodged again the attack, the static grew more strong as another costume came to life, it was a timber wolf costume, that launched on Stormy back and started to bit him on his back, which it did succeed, the teeth of the costume, pierced easily the raincoat, bandage and coat from the stallion, not only the tension of the moment was getting into him, but also the pain and the psychological pressure he was having, was more that enough to make his mind completely shattered, and in a cry of pain, his horn released the same magic he used against Noirstar, the ancient and arcane magic, the moon dust magic
The Moondust formed a Spiked ball around the stallion, which tackled both, timber wolf and Death costume, a soft crack was heard on both enemies, for once, he was not unconscious, and could use his magic, he saw his window of opportunity and he launched a moondust blast, similar to the magic blast but with his moondust arcane magic, to the death costume, it was strong enough to break the costume cloak and bones, to reveal a part of the shadow, Stormy quickly shot a blast on the shadow, giving it a direct hit, the shadow screamed as it disappeared and the death costume dropped to the floor, Stormy attacked the timber wolf costume with another moondust blast, piercing the costume and leaving the shadow exposed, a second blast was enough to make it go… the stallion could feel the ancient magic in his horn and body… but it was also hurting him in a way, his mind has still not gotten used to the type of ancient magic required to control it… he could feel, like if he was dizzy and had problems to keeping himself steady, also, he didn't feel that his wounds where healed like the first time, the adrenaline rush from his magic, prevented him to feel pain, but after a while, he could feel it, he ignored it and walked normally, he tried to pick the death costume scythe, but the attack from before broke it, he searched quickly all the other lockers and the props where damaged…, strange this new type of monster was more stronger that the Armored Shadow, and yet, it was almost the same pattern, Stormy decided to call this new creature of nightmares " Shadow Performers ", due to the object they posses are costumes. The Stallion returned to the stage, where the teacher office was unreachable, he thought of something, if the moondust could form spiked balls around him, created powerful blast, and shape into thousand needles, what else he could it do?, he remembered the Pegasus wings and he could try to use his moon dust to climb to the teacher office, he felt that there is something there, he concentrated his moondust magic on his sides, and the dust started to form what it looked like wings, the same thing he had in mind, at first they seems to be cloudy wings, but finally started to took form, even matching his coat colors, making him rise to the teacher office, the wings themselves, looked and feel so real, he touch them with one hoof, and he felt them on his mind, he felt the feathers slowly catching the wing, how the wing bones and muscles where withstanding his weight, like if he was a Pegasus all along, how can this magic be at his disposal, and yet, he can't control it by normal methods?, it just happens, if Luna was with him, she could have told him what to do, since she know more or arcane and ancient magic, once he got high enough. He used the already broken window, to enter, making the timber wolf costume to felt on the ground. The wings disappeared as they came, a beautiful but tiny "explosion ", but as harmless as a rose petal, in a matter of speaking, Stormy headache for using the moondust was rising slowly… as he checked the teacher room, in one of the drawers he found a foal drawing, again, this time, it was him, he was able to recognize himself, but twice, one had the wings and horn, and little dust around him, and the other was himself… on the floor, the dust was still around his body, but he could clearly see the red pencil, simulating blood on his sides, could this be a warning?, that the moondust is very dangerous, yet, very useful magic?, or that are part of something he don't want to know, either way, he stored it on his saddlebags, and continue searching, however, he touched with his hooves a blade on the floor, it wasn't sharp, indicating it was a prop, but it was a scythe blade, he stored it on his saddlebags and checked the circuit board, there was a switch to rise the curtains, he pulled it, and the curtains rose, revealing what it looks like, a background house?, but something was off, the house looked real, even the door had a hole to place something, like a blade, Stormy noticed that it started to rain and that for some reason, the rain felt cold, but how can rain in a closed place?, maybe the fire proof mechanism was broken?, the stairs leading to the office where also fixed, he used them to go down to ground level again, and came closer to the mysterious background on the stage, his headache was getting higher… indicating his magic exhaustion, he placed the scythe blade on the door, door of the house unlocked and Stormy entered it… it was dark, but when he used the illumination spell, he jumped filled with fear, inside the house, there where nothing but bodies, bodies of ponies, hanging out in the ceiling, in the case of the Pegasus, their wings where torn apart from their bodies, the unicorns had their horns cut off, and the earth ponies where cut in half, he tried to run, but felt something holding him, as he turned around to look, he saw the corpses holding him, he started to scream as they where dragging him back to a big pile of dead bodies, he launched a magic attack to the creatures, but it passed right through them, as he was being overwhelmed by the creatures, he felt a terrible headache… he reached his magic limit, and the moondust magic disappeared, he felt all the limbs in his body, not responding, all he could do was scream… as he felt he was about to faint... as the creatures where ripping his flesh off, and their teeth's pierced his flesh and organs, he felt if he was dying…he noticed how everything started to change, and the siren was ringing
Everything was black, he couldn't move… was he dead?, did he finally fall at the hooves of the creatures?... no… he could feel his lungs taking air… he tried opening his eyes, but he still saw darkness… he still felt tired… but then.. he heard voices… he opened his eyes, it took him a while to get adjust to the light visible on what it looks like, is the stage, he saw a lot of ghost, seeing the stage, but two ghost where on the seats, next to the exit, one was Mistshine, and the other one, himself…
"whaaa… he killed them!, brother, I want to go!, please!, he will get us " Mistshine cried, full in fear
" Bro, is just a play, is not real, nopony will ever hurt you " Young Stormy hugged his little bro
" im death! " the actor playing as death, raised his scythe and nailed it on the front right next to the older Stormy still weaken body, it was a golden scythe, with illegible words on the handle
"Sweet Celestia " Stormy said to himself
"im the one you fear on your final hours!, the one that knows your sins and condemns you to redemption if you truly desire it " The actor said
Then, the actor came closer to Stormy body on the floor, he closed his eyes, already knowing he was going to finish him, and his body was still weakened, but the actor picked up a real size pony mannequin, from the exact same place stormy was, it was decorated to simulated a dead pony, stormy gave a quick look behind him, recovering a little of his strength and he found out that the pile of " dead ponies " where nothing more that mannequins for the play, and that some of them had fallen on him, trapping him, stormy felt a great relief, finding that he is not dead, but the actor playing as death, threw the mannequin to the pile, making it fall more over the weakened stallion, until, he had only his head visible, he saw how his brother ghost ran away scared by the play.
"Sorry bro, I can stand it" Mistshine said as he ran off from the stage
"Wait, bro come back! " Young stormy said, as he ran, to catch his brother
"And that concludes our play " the teacher replied from the office
With those words, and a round of applause, all the ghost disappeared, the Scythe prop used also suffered a change, it's blade disappeared and only the handle was left, and the " house " was just a cardboard background, stormy used his hoofs to get himself out of the mannequins pile, since his magic was already in dangerously low levels, after the moondust magic usage, he took from his saddlebags the red apple and eat it. Feeling a little better, he got himself out, he noticed that the scythe, used by the actor was on the floor, but it was only the handle, the stallion mind quickly processed the information, and he took the scythe blade from the stage door and combined it with the scythe handle he found, the result, a golden scythe, the one he needed, and the one the ghost actor had, as things where getting freaky, he decided to go to the special treatment room.
Once he exited the Theatre Class though, things quickly let him know, that it will be getting into problems, the whole university looked rusted and had the floor made out of what it seems to be coat, he didn't want to think that was actual pony coat, the tree in the middle of the courtyard had the bag with his items and was still green and full of life, he quickly got to the special treatment classroom, once there, he placed the golden scythe on the door, a little click was heard and the door opened without any problems, but it was so dark that he couldn't see, he had enough magic for his light spell, so he use it, he saw something on the floor, it was his brother wrench, the room itself was empty, and the floor was very soft, like those used for mental patients on mental hospitals, how is it that his brother ended up here?, the walls had a brownish color in them, and the desk for the students where broken, only Mistshine desk was untouched, he checked it, and found something he wasn't expecting, it was a police report, and a key attached to it, it reads
"Manehatten Police Department
Case File: 9723X
Officer in Charge: Officer Keeneye
Victim: Mistshine Brave
Suspect: Stormy Brave (Primary Suspect)
Blackhorn Goldenscroll (Possible Main Suspect)
Observations: a little colt was injured in Manehatten University, his name was Mistshine Brave, there are few clues that keep taking me to a single conclusion, his attacker was his own brother, Stormy Brave, somehow, I find that really hard to believe, my captain, Silverbadge, every time I ask him, he always yell angry, and I can see he is sweating, maybe Stormy is right about his testimony?, I remember he said that the mayor Goldenscroll has all the city bought, which can explain why we have so many criminals these days, as my investigation goes, one thing I know for certain, Stormy Brave is - , I must find the truth, even if it kills me…. "
Stormy was frozen in place…. Did he really do it?, attacking his brother?, he keep telling to himself. NO, I didn't do it!, as if something really terrible happened on the university and he didn't want to remember it, he read the last part of the report, there was something added with pencil at the end, seems like a note, it was not Keeneye writing
"the sentence for his crime, is death, and I will be the executioner " that was the sentence
" this…. This has to be a bad joke!, please!, this can't be true!, is all made by a nightmare!, please!, stop!, I want to wake up!, I wan to wake up! " Stormy screamed at top of his lungs
He couldn't take it anymore, he started to cry, beating himself up on the walls, trying to wake up, but even if the pain from this actions where telling him, that this was real, his mind was no longer reacting, until he felt something on his back holding him and throwing him on the floor, what his eyes saw, what the actual monster he had been fighting since he wake up, the Plastic Mare, she tried to again, kill him, just that this time, her attacks where more slow, due to her already noticeable wounds, Stormy tried to prevent her to bit him, but she kept pushing herself down, until Stormy used a magic blast, the creature got wounded, from the creature pocket, a little object felt on the ground, that Stormy noticed, the creature on the other hoof, just got up, but no longer moved, just watched her target, the stallion, a little confused by this, picked up the object, it was a key with a lipstick handle…. Stormy looked at the monster, but it was already walking outside the room, Stormy followed, and the creature was no longer there, as if she disappeared, Stormy noticed that the hallway was reshaped to go directly to the courtyard, if he tried to go to the other sides, there was a bottomless pit waiting for him, with not other choice, he followed the path to the courtyard.
Once down there, he still noticed the lock, he used the key he got from the plastic mare, and the lock and gate opened, he entered the courtyard and again, just like in the Theater, rain started falling, as Stormy reflected about the state on the school, he noticed that without his light spell, he couldn't be able to see a thing, also, the rust and metal structures where more notorious, but seems to have a coat hanging from some of the places, but the only thing normal, was the tree. Stormy started to levitate the bag with all his items, and place them all on his saddlebags, finally, he had everything back, he immediately took the Book of Harmony out, and restored the page he found, once he stored the book, he took a look to the tree, he found a little lipstick mark, and a arrow pointing towards the gym, he remember he still have the gym key, and he ran towards that place, he noticed that Redhoof ghost was entering the building, as Stormy speeded up to catch her, he noticed a little heart on the door with offensive language, it was not easy to deduce this was written by the same unknown pony that wrote that in the last sentence of the police report, since their writings where the same
" The Bitch and the Coward, together until a poison drove them apart "
" Ok… is this somepony idea of a cruel joke? " Stormy said, as he opened the door with the gym key
Stormy entered the gym, and everything was metallic inside, but there where several lanterns giving up light, he noticed the Plastic mare, just staying there, in the middle of the room, the static from his radio started to work, but it was very low, even if he was right next to the creature, Stormy, taking his steel pipe ready, get more closer to the creature, but the monster didn't move, as if she…. Or it, was waiting for him to kill it?, either way, once he was close to her, he notices that all her already made wounds where not visible anymore, as if she was cured, the knife where removed and she didn't had her rusty pipe, the only thing that didn't change, was that her bandage on her eyes, and that her clothes are torn, but her bracelet is not longer on her right hoof, her coat was still plastic, and her mouth bandage was gone, allowing the monster to make a soft noise, similar to crying, the creature lift her face, as if she wanted to say something, Stormy raised his pipe to attack her… but the Mare didn't move, he saw this, and he didn't hit her with the pipe, " what on Equestria am I doing?, im supposed to attack this creature! " Stormy said to himself, but as he lift his face to see his opponent, he felt something warm…. The mare… was hugging him… much to the stallion surprise, as other monsters at this point would already try to kill him, as Stormy broke the warm hug the creature gave to him, the Plastic Mare let a few words, it was noticeable that since she is a monster, talking is not her strong point
"Rem….em…be…r n….o…..w? " the creature said
"Hold on…" Stormy recognized that voice, coming from the creature lips " R…Redhoof?! "
That cannot be possible!, that creature was her friend Redhoof?, the mayors daughter?, how?, Stormy´s mind was running like a 100 miles per hour, trying to figure all out, but as he let the mare go, the floor under his hoof, disappeared from all of the sudden, Stormy´s horn ended up, tearing up the Plastic Mare eye bandage, Stormy, with the bandage on his horn, tried his best to remain on the gym, he wanted answers!, he grabbed the corner from the floor, but he was losing the grip, he took another look to the Plastic mare, he noticed her eyes…. There was no doubt, they where Redhoof Eyes, those kind cyan eyes where looking at him, with a saddened look, stormy lost his focus and felt on the pit, as he screamed Redhoof name one last time, everything turned into darkness, he passed out as he felt deeper.
He slowly woke up, of what it seems to be a bed… the room was filled with Spidercolt posters and a Telescope for so he could see the stars and moon at night, his eyes where getting used to the dim light coming from a lantern on the desk, but his mind was still broken…. The monster he and Luna fought…. Was his friend, Redhoof Goldenscroll, he remembered that… after his brother incident, she was the one that give him courage to prove his innocence, even after his big sister death, he remembered her so vividly, as if she never left his side, her warm smile, and her kind embrace, even with the Deep Ambition Bracelet on, she was in total control with Stormy around her, memories from his time with her flew over his mind…. But …suddenly, he felt bad…. A pressure on his heart, why he was feeling so bad?, as if he is still forgetting something?, he got himself standing again, and jumped from the bed, he took a quick look around, and levitated a Spidercolt action figure…. It was dusty and old…. And the toys closet had no additional clothes other that a little black jacket. Also the bookshelf was missing some books
" wait….this…. this jacket was mine… when I was a little colt" Stormy reflected on what his just said " This…. This is my room "
His room, his home when his family was together… he remembered it so vividly, with tears in his eyes, he touched the Spidercolt poster he had on the wall… it was one of his favorite comic heroes, his brother liked more Storm Mare, just as he was leaving, he saw something on the bed he woke up…. He took it, it was the key to his house, but he gave that key to the princess!, could have something happened to her?, Stormy grew worried and stored the key on his saddlebags, he heard a voice behind him, as he turned around, he saw himself, as a young colt, with his little bro, playing with his toys, but he also noticed that there was a box on the closet, when the ghost where gone, the box disappeared, what could be on that box?, he exited the room, his house looked very old and musty, typical signs of non usage, but the carpet on the floor, indicating the way to the stairs, was also dirty, he tried to go to his little brother room, the door was unlocked, once inside, he notices that his brother room was filled with all kinds of mechanical parts, cables, screws and circuit boards, heck, even his bed had a led lantern, his brother, despise of being very young, he was a genius in mechanics, he remembered that his bro used to study pony anatomy, and keeps telling…
" When I grow up!, I want to help ponies with my inventions!, I know I can do it! " Mistshine voice told to the wind
" jejeje, yeah, you can do it brother, I have faith in you " Stormy voice said
Those words, did not come from the stallion mouth, they came from a memory, Stormy picked up the LED Lantern, it had more power that the normal lantern, and could save stormy from using his illumination spell so often, besides, it provided more light than a normal lantern itself looks it could be placed around the user neck, like a necklace, and had a little switch to turn it on or off, Stormy place it on his neck and turn it on, it was working well, no doubt his little bro crafted very well, he also noticed that his bro had a wing prototype and a animal translator blueprints, but the blueprints itself, had both, his cutie mark, and Fluttershy cutie mark, Stormy looked at the plans in more detail, noticing how the little device would made possible understanding all animals languages, but it was strange, Mistshine didn't know about Fluttershy, until Stormy told him about the little yellow Pegasus , when he visited Ponyville the first time.
" heh… typical coming from my little brother " Stormy smiled
He exited his brother room, he wanted to check his bis sis room, but the door was locked, strange, he went to his parents room… his parents… his mom was Goldenscroll secretary in the Town Hall, dad was a police colt down, but he retired after his wife gave birth to Stormy and Mistshine. He notice that their room was neat and clean, not matching the rest of the house, but he did notices several newspaper clips on the bed, he read one that says " Night of terror!, a mask menace is free on the streets, mayor concerned " the figure appears to be a young colt with a cyan suit… hold on…. Cyan suit?, he had seen several monsters with that suit, what could it mean?, Stormy stored that specific newspaper in his saddlebags, seeing that image send shivers down his spine, the radio started to emit static, Stormy look up to the ceiling, and there was a Ceiling Filly, but this creature was wearing the cyan suit, it jumped to attack Stormy, he saw the incoming attack and dodge it, the creature tried to use their knifes to stab him on the chest, Stormy took out his pipe and attack the creature, his pipe manage to inflict heavy damage to the monster neck and torso, didn't took much time to kill it, Stormy felt uneasy having to kill another's, but it was them or him. Once the radio stop emitting static, he exited his parent's room and checked the rest of the house, he was finding several notes along the way, attached to the walls, he found 2 notes on the hallways, they said:
" I can't keep quiet anymore, I have to talk to somepony before I go mad!, tonight I will see him one more time… my last time… I discovered what happened with _ and him…. All the pain he caused him…. And I was so blind to notice the truth… I can even look at him like I used to, I don't deserve his kindness or love, I wish I could have done something…. _ please….. Forgive me… my love "
The second note said:
" I visited Ponyville today, I saw 5 little fillies there, almost the same age than me, the first one was _, she started building a cottage to live with animals, strangely enough, she is a Pegasus, I never knew Pegasus lived on the ground, I went to talk to her but she jumped and hid behind a tree, very Shy perhaps?, there was a little white bunny with her, that kept making me faces, maybe he don't like strangers others that the _ Pegasus?, anyway, I offered my help, her cottage was finished by nightfall, she offered me to stay, but I already had a place…. _ I know, not the best option, but I will be close to my first friend in Ponyville "
He stored the notes on his saddlebags, the notes themselves are a little strange, and kind of strange, but he do remember seeing Ponyville once, and on that visit, he meet new friends, he checked the living room, the kitchen and even the backyard, but there was nothing out of the ordinary, just a couple of bandages and what it seems to be another note, this one, was in the fridge, he just read it in silence:
"I meet another pony on Ponyville today, her name _ and smells like _ and anything related to sweets, she was so happy, bouncing all over the place, I think I remember her, in one of my brother birthdays, we purchased a cake from _Corner, and this pony came to deliver it, not before turning our house, upside down, with all the decorations, streamers and games, I was really happy with her, and she instantaneously recognized me, I told her everything, and her hair seems that it " _" for a moment, she let me know she will visit me everytime she can, but when I told her where do I live, she insisted on me to move to her room in _Cube_, how could I say no?"
Again, another note narrated in first person, and with names missing, why there are those names missing?, the note had a second page, it was a song, from the paper used and the ink, it was one from the Harmony book, Stormy read it, the new song was called, Prelude of Friendship, a song that allows the user to find friends, or things related to them, even if possible, teleporting near them, also, they give them a stamina boost, seems that it only works on friends really close to the user, Stormy restored the new acquired page, back to the book, just 7 pages more, why did he feel that the book needs to be complete?, and also, what is with the notes?, is he forgetting something crucial?, he had nothing else to do in his home, Luna was not there, so he went to his house front door and used the key he gave to Luna, the door opened, and the key disappeared.
He exited his house, the road itself was leading to a single way, a single building he was able to identify even in the dense fog, It was the Manehatten Town Hall, the road was metallic, and the air was heavy, like if something is telling stormy to be prepared to what he will see, Stormy started to walk, by some reason… he didn't ran, along the way, he noticed again, notes on the walls and light poles, one note was a newspaper clip, it reads:
" Manehatten tragedy, tonight, the _ was found dead on the mayor office, along her side there was seen a _ in a _ suit, according to police chief Silverbadge, the attacker was _ the so called hero of Manehatten, near the body of the mare, there was another one, that died from suffocation, it was the mayor Goldenscroll, apparently, he first was stabbed on his chest multiple times, then suffocated with his tie, there was also next to him _ and_, currently Manehatten police Department are searching for the killer, the victim was _ and died from multiple stabs on her chest, also, she had a bandage on her mouth, preventing her from screaming, in the meantime, Manehatten elections where moved to a more sooner date, the next mayor will be chosen in 3 days "
Somehow, he was felt like if he knew what was missing, and couldn't help but to tear up a bit, there was one last note, on the Town Hall Doors, it reads
" Face the truth and come to me "
Stormy entered the town hall, the building itself was empty, no static sound or monsters near, there was a stairs leading to the mayor office, but the secretary desk was right next to him… the secretary… he came closer to the desk… and notice a very old picture, he recognized his brother and sister… also, there was a Earth Pony and a Unicorn, the unicorn was his father…the earth pony…. His mom
"Mom…. Dad….. "Stormy was already tearing up, as he remembered what happened to her mom
The ghost quickly appeared on his mother desk, Stormy was able to see her, working the best she can to make sure all was neat and tidy, he noticed his mom was pregnant… probably Mistshine was still in her womb, since he is the youngest, the Mayor Goldenscroll came, or at least his ghost, seeing him, made Stormy eyes fill with anger
" Miss Brave, you can stop now" Goldenscroll asked
"y-yes Mr Mayor… " Stormy mom stopped writing reports
"Miss Brave, due to personal reasons, I must end our professional relationship, you are no longer my secretary " Goldenscroll let the Mare know the situation
"W-what?!, but…. M-mister Goldenscroll!, you cannot fire me!, you know that I have 3 kids now!, and my husband work will not cover all 5 of us! " The Mare Panicked
" do I look like I care? " Goldenscroll replied with a angry voice "you should have thought that before getting yourself pregnant again, you mule, I bet all you are after, the money that covers your pregnancy! " Goldenscroll yelled more as he hit the mare on the Face
" aah!, Mr Mayor, why, at least give me a reason " The Mare replied, fear and sadness came from her voice
"Simple, I will not provide you with more money due to pregnancy, if you can't pay, simple, eliminate that foal " Goldenscroll said as he called the guards " Guards, take her out "
The Guards came, Stormy, filled with rage, started to shoot magic bullets at them, quickly, the wrath turned into sadness, as he noticed that the attacks didn't do a thing to the ghost, he tried to hit Goldenscroll, but his hooves passed right through him, the Mare screamed, as the guards where taking her, not considering her pregnancy…. When all the ghost disappeared, Stormy cried, cursing himself for not being able to Stop it, is a miracle that his bro did came to this world, but to a price…. His mother life…. He remembered that his father was never at home due to work, and that his big sister was taking care of both, since their mother died in child birth… she chose his brother life over hers… Stormy lift his face to look at the mayor office… he was getting his answers now!, he rushed to the mayor office and busted the door opened… just to find something horrible…
The office itself was covered in blood and ashes… the bookshelf was also burned, as if a big fire had happened there, there was something in the room however, there was a corpse of a pony, beyond recognition on the desk of the mayor, and on the mayor chair, there was another corpse…. Stormy was felling bad already, there was something on one of the corpses tails, it looked like a ribbon… wait… a ribbon?, Stormy took out the pink ribbon he found at the university and compared it with the one on the corpse…. They matched…. Only one mare he knew used that color.
" No… please…. No… Redhoof! "
Stormy yelled, and cried…. The corpse corresponded to Redhoof, his friend…. He turned around, only to see what it looked like, another set of ghosts…. But this one, felt more real, since the one that was in front of him… was Goldenscroll.
"wha…. What did you do?!, security!, where are my guards!? "Goldenscroll was really angry, due to her daughter condition
"Nopony will come… " Stormy said…. Looking at him angry "because you will share her fate…. You worthless piece of trash "
He could not believe he was telling those words, but as soon as he moved towards him, he saw something else moving towards the mayor, it was himself, he recognized himself by the tail and mane… but was wearing a Cyan Suit, with a Light Blue Crescent Moon Cutie Mark, the mayor, suffering from multiple stabs by a military knife, yelled once more for help… but nopony came, the mayor…. Just only let out a curse…
"Curse…..you….. Moonlight Strike….. I will…. Make sure my son… throws…. You in jail… " Goldenscroll was letting out his final words
"heh…" Moonlight strike just laugh and took out his mask, Stormy was behind Moonlight, so he couldn't see his face " you think? "
" n-no…. w-wha…. Why… why did you do this? " Whatever Goldenscroll saw…. Made him felt a bigger sadness
" to ensure nopony will oppose me " Moonlight said, putting the mask back on
Moonlight… Stormy remembered that he used that name, after his mother death… swearing under her grave, that he will always do the right thing, but he was seeing that same moonlight ending the mayor life, although, he deserved it…Moonlight levitated the tie from Goldenscroll and started to suffocate him, ending his life, he then put the corpse on the chair, next to Redhoof, who she was still alive, she could say anything due to the mouth bandage, Moonlight just stabbed her once more and left the knife on her chest…. She died quickly… from the stabs and bloodlost
" hmph…. All that really matters in this world is strength and power, and I will achieve both… " Moonlight said " now…. How will I dispose of you? Little foal " he said looking at stormy
Moonlight was going to attack him, Stormy by instinct blocked the attack with his pipe, and it did block it, so this was real, not a simple memory, he was fighting himself, how can this be possible?, if this is true then?…. His hooves are stained with the blood of a innocent, that trusted him, and he betrayed her?, Stormy mind was made a puzzle, trying to find a answer, meanwhile, his opponent continue to attack him, seeking one goal… end his life.