I sat on the edge of a bed, staring. I'd slept, I was well rested and cleaned. I could only wait for the next call, the next time I had to fight. I would have to wait for the heavy ripple of Jamie's music, the screams of Zeus, something to send me off and into war. I didn't know what to do with myself. I was happy to know I wasn't exactly alone in the world, but the violence inflicted by me compared to the little princess couldn't stack up.

And now here I was, locked away from the violence my muscles craved. Here I was under lock and key by magic horse people. Here I was naked and alone in a lavish room. I needed mud, I needed to lay down in a hole and fear for my life, I needed the noise. Without it, everything felt too quiet. My muscles burned, my skin itched, I needed to move.

I stood up and shook my arms out. I had already calmed down enough for the day. It was night, time to kill. I paced around the large white room with my head in my hands. Nothing smelled, nothing changed, no color or flash. My leg started to twitch, beating my foot against the floor like crazy. "Come on, it's time." I hopped in place. "Come on!"

A spotted something grey poke into the room. A flash of silver joined in as the door swung open. "What's wrong?" A strange guard in purple walked in, using a spear like a walking stick.

I turned to him in a flash. "You, give me that." I extended my hand towards the spear. "Hand it over."

The guard took a step back. "Um, no--"

I stormed up to him. "You're either gonna stab me or I'm gonna take that from you."

The pony backed against the door and reared up onto two legs, the spear pointed towards my shoulder. "Back up!"

I shook my head and walked past the spear, letting it rest between my arm and my ribs. "You didn't stab me." I wrapped my arm around the spear and yanked it out of his hooves. "You just got disarmed." I stepped back and turned the spear around, pointing the tip at the pony's belly. "And your aim is off."

The pony slammed his back against the now closed door. "Hey, hey! Hel--"

I pressed the spear against the underside of his chin. "Don't scream." I tapped the underside of his chin with the flat end of the spear. "Should stab the stomach, under the ribs." I took a step back and pointed the spear up. "They don't train you very well, do they?"

The pony slowly dropped down to four legs. "I need that--"

"Answer the question." I swallowed hard. My resting hours were done, spent chatting and sleeping. "You don't even know how to use this thing." I looked the spear over. "It's a fucking sharp stick with a pointy bit on the end. It's not even a good one." I looked over to the solid bed. "Spears, pointless thing. Should be using a short pike or a bill." I jammed the end of the spear between the bedpost and the footboard. "Picked up a few books from some museum we raided, learned a lot." I pulled until a loud crack rang out. The spear lost about a foot in length and felt a bit more top heavy.

I looked back to the guard pony, his helmet since removed. His ears were odd, fuzzier. "I don't think they're going to be happy you snapped that."

"Bite me." I took the now short spear and held it like a rifle. I swung the back end downward, using it like a bayonet. "I don't even know how they expect you to use a spear, hooves and all." I stabbed the air with the spear. "They don't even teach this anymore. They really should."

The pony walked away from where I was practicing. "What exactly are you doing?"

I looked to the guard as he picked up the splintered back end of the spear. "Inferior equipment, inferior training. You're a shame, you know that?" I tossed the spear down and walked to the door, the pony's helmet sitting right outside. I grabbed it and looked it over. "Thin, what exactly is this supposed to stop?" I shook it, a loud rattle dug into my skin. "It rattles. It's gaudy." I walked over to him and forced it onto his head. "There's nothing to keep it on your head and-" I yanked it off by the metal spine that ran along the top. "This is going to get you killed."

I turned to the door. "I need tools."

The pony shook his head and picked up his shattered equipment. "Shouldn't you be asleep?"

"Shouldn't you be an actual soldier?" I turned to him. "Shouldn't you be someone capable of stopping me from leaving? Because right now there's nothing stopping me from killing you and walking out of here, besides my unfathomable kindness." I tossed the spear at him, making sure to keep the point away from his face. The handle bounced off his chest and onto the floor. "You were supposed to catch it."

The guard backed up and shook his head. "How?"

I shrugged. "Teeth?" I rubbed my shoulder. "Do you even know how to properly hold that thing?"

The guard shrugged. "I haven't really had to use it."

I tapped my foot on the floor. "I'm gonna hammer you into a fucking solider, you fucking slug." I walked up to him and slapped him until he faced the door. "I need a track, something to run on."

"I don't--"

"Is there one on the castle grounds?"

The pony tried to turn to face me, receiving a quick slap to keep him on track. "Yes but--"

"Then take me to it. If you're going to pretend to guard me, you're going to work for your pay!" I took a deep breath. "My name is Able, and you can call me Woodpecker." I walked him out into the hall and turned him towards the way down stairs. "Get me to your field! Now!" Next Chapter: Run Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 44 Minutes