The first thing I heard that morning was a knock on the door.

"Octavia, who is it?"

"I'm not sure, but she really seems impatient."

"Open it then, if it's not the police it can't hurt us."

Octavia opened the door, only to get the question if I was there.

they know my name? Who is this?

She let the anonymous pony in, entirely unaware of yesterday's happenings. Before me, more like standing on the other end of the couch I slept on, was the mare from yesterday. This time she was dressed formally, with an unfamiliar uniform.

"How's the town treated you?"

"Fair enough, only seen a few ponies die so far so it seems pretty alright."

"Is their death a good thing or a bad thing?"

"I'm not sure, depends on who it is really. How'd you know I was here anyway?"

"A little birdie told me that you were somewhere here..."

She has spies, they must have followed me last night. Perfect.

"I assume you're here to see if I've decided to go along right?"

"No."

What was she here for then?

"Interesting. What's it about?"

Her eyes changed a bit, it was subtle but noticeable, just enough to be seen. Her eyes went from being a normal mares to looking something like a cats eyes, a long narrow oval in a sea of black.

"You wouldn't happen to be in contact with Twilight would you?"

My blood ran cold, something was up.

"Excuse me?"

"You were talking to her last night were you not?"

"How would you know this?"

"That's an easy question." She got in my face.

She was so close I could feel her breath on my nose, gently rolling down my chest.

"I see everything."

"Well you clearly don't, because I'm not in touch with Twilight."

She didn't cringe like I expected but instead smiled.

"Lies."

"What?"

Her face was curled into a maniacal smile, something straight out of a nightmare. My blood ran cold as those eyes, those feline eyes, pierced my skull. I was frozen.

"You, like me, have something to hide. You were talking to Twilight last night, you even referred to her by name. I'm just trying to crush the next lie you had that you were talking to Octavia, she had left a few minutes before you used that gem."

I was silent, this bitch was fucked in the head. She just wasn't right.

"What's it to you?"

"Oh I'm sure you know."

"So is that all then?" I was desperate to end this while I was ahead.

"Oh not in the least! We wanted to say that we gladly accept your proposal to join."

I proposed to join?

"I'm sorry I have no idea what you're talking about. I didn't agr-"

"We don't care. You're with us whether you like it or not. That's how it works around here. You ARE the death bringer, I'm sure you know what's good for you right?"

"I know I said that but how do you know I'm not lying?"

"Oh you remember your friend?"

"Which one?"

"The gas station of course!"

"I don't know an-"

You're shitting me.

"He said you were coming, so we had an example. Capishe?"

I was speechless.

"Well by the way, we brought food for our new guest turned member! Here you go!"

It was a bunch of muffins, they didn't look half bad.

"A member of our group baked these! I thought you'd like to give them a try! One of them is mine though!"

I looked through them, one of them was literally the most depressing half-assed muffin I've ever seen. It looked like it was literally waiting to die.

"Well that's all! I'll be out now!"

She left as quickly as she came. The room was silent, Octavia was the one to break it.

"That bitch is crazy..."

"You don't say. She's a henchpony of Starlight it looks like, and I don't think she's in it for a good reason."

"Are any of those ponies in for a good reason? You've gotta be joking."

"Well I'd be lying if I said I was, it's natural for ponies to want to do good, at least for most ponies. Filthy probably thought he was doing something right for his family, making a better world for his daughter so that she wouldn't need to do what he had to do. Fancy probably was pressured in by his co-workers. I think that because one of his own guys, Hoity Toity, was in for the power. By looking at this one in every three are in for the worse. The ponies I've killed to get to them simply were doing their job and they knew that dying was a possibility in their line of work, they just wanted to make ends meat."

"And where does that put you?"

The silence was deafening.

"It makes me the median. I'm only here to bring justice, and sometimes good ponies do bad things. Just like the evil ones, they get the same punishment."

I couldn't believe myself, I'd never felt so empty.

"Yo Octavia, want the depressing muffin? It kinda wants to die."

Octavia giggled, it was the first time in weeks we'd ever been light hearted with each-other.

"Pass it over."

I slid the box across the table. Something wasn't right, time seemed to slow down as she took that bite. There was a metallic flash from the muffin. It was too late.

She screamed in pain, the razor stabbing into her gums, splitting them in half. Blood sprayed all over the floor, I grabbed her and ran out the door with her on my back. Blood left a trail going all the way down the town until I reached the infirmary. I ran through the tent doors, a military doctor immediately recognized the urgency and pulled her to another room, a tear streamed down Octavia's cheek as they pulled her away from me. It all happened so fast.

"You must be 'Cloud Dasher' are you not?"

I spun around, in the tent's doorway stood a pony in a uniform, five stars bored across his chest and a full lapel rack on his chest. He was well built, and well toned as well. He was in his middle years, probably fifty to sixty years old. It showed in his brown-grey eyes, and his fur was ruffled with patches where less fur grew, as if retreating from a foreign evil. I knew better, those were battle wounds. He received skin grafts.

His face was pelted in two colors, the pale-brown fur (similar to that of my own) and another of a dark leather brown. The rest of his fur was as I saw, or at least could see due to his green military dress uniform.

"Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Fifth Level Lieutenant Brigade, Iron Brigade. I run the 75th Equestrian Royal Marines and Tank-killer brigade. You were a veteran, I'm sure you remember the wars in Yakyakistan where I lead the fronts."

"Your name was familiar, you were the one that lead the charge on the Yakistani capitol no?"

"That's the one, you're not mistaken."

"That's a relief. How'd you know me."

"It's hard not to know about 'The Death Bringer', or in the east they like to call you the 'Lone Soldier' and 'The Last Fighter'. I must say if we were in any other circumstance I'd execute you and your friend, but things have changed. You are in touch with twilight through the communication gem are you not?"

"How does everypony know about that!"

"Beats me how anypony else would but I am too, and she told me about you. You and your friend... what's her name again?"

"Octavia."

"Oh yes that's right Octavia yea. Have been given full legal immunity, she wouldn't release why but I'm assuming you're taking full advantage of it. Killing members of my brigade certainly was a feat that I'd normally punish with death or life of imprisonment but she talked me out of it."

"What do you want?"

"I want your help. I'd first like to ask though..." A pony handed him a field report, which was freshly typed "How did she get a shaving razor in her skull?"

"Muffins."

"Oh I see, care to illuminate?"

"I would not, but I'd like to point out that you're awfully kind for somepony that's asking how my friend nearly died."

"There's speculation that she's more then a friend but I'm leaving that decision up to you."

My face flushed, this guy really did his homework.

"Well whatever what are you here for?"

"Oh that's a simple question. I'm looking to see if you would like to help us purge the city of scum?"

"Scum as in?"

"Unruly policeponies, such as the ones that killed your temporary neighbor."

Are they implying that wasn't them?

"Those ponies were bribed, we nabbed em off the streets a few hours after that incident. They're also trying to build a Democratic Republic of Equestria."

"So they're with them?"

"It'd appear so, are you in to help?"

"It's part of my job, I'm here to crush Starlight I might as well crush her friends too. I know where to start."

It was 11:00 PM on the dot, Octavia was still recovering. They had to sedate her, and if this goes wrong I won't be back when she wakes up. From when I was here last there were 6 ponies all-in-all. That probably changed since last time, that or they think I'm their puppet. I pulled my knife and rounded the corner to the alleyway, thee were two ponies with AKs on each side, they stopped me.

"What's your name?"

Before they anticipated it I stabbed one of them through the artery and out the other side of his neck. Blood sprayed from the artery that shouldn't be touched all over his friends face, I punched him in the gut, then when he was bent over I swung my leg up into his jaw, he fell over. I opened his unconscious jaw and set it up with mouth open against the curb, it was is if he was gently biting it. He was only out for a second but when he woke up he realized it.

"NO!" He screamed for his life.

I stomped down on his head. His jaw bent all the way down to his adamsapple and his neck bent all the way back, he was still alive but blood spurred from his now open esophagus, all over the concrete. The other two heard the curbstomping and opened fire on full auto, I dropped to the floor, knowing all the shots would go above my head, I was conveniently next to the previous body with my knife. They approached cautiously, until they were right at my head, they put the barrel against me.

I stabbed upwards into his groin and pulled out quickly, smashing the window breaker against his head. His skull cracked, I heard the safety click go to full auto behind me. Spinning around I kicked his weapon into the darkness and threw a hook to his face. He fell like a sack of apples. I stabbed him a few times for good measure. The false wall opened, and there stood a pony with the shotgun that the mare was carrying earlier.

I ran towards him and wrapped one arm around the shotgun, ensuring it couldn't be used during the fight. The buck fired a shot out of fear, which missed because of my grab. I swung my body weight towards the real wall and slammed him against it, then I punched him in the throat with my free arm. He collapsed in a fit of tears, and I stabbed him a few times in the lungs to make sure he wouldn't regain his breath.

I rounded the corner into the office, which was empty. There was less guards then I anticipated. I drew my knife, and as soon as I entered the armory a hellfire of rounds flew through the door. No doubt it was that mare who was working for starlight.

"Hey listen! It's just me! You're guys overreacted out there and I needed to set it straight!"

"Like hell!" She opened another burst into the room, figuring she was using a drum magazine (as it would be senseless to waste that ammunition otherwise) I reached for the nearest thing I could, which was the chair, and threw it in. She opened fire and got tunnel visioned on what had come through that in the split second I had I decked her to the ground. She was thrashing the whole way, trying to get my off her.

"That razor was a dirty trick!" I shouted, she was strong enough to keep me from using my knife.

"You shouldn't be resisting us! Starlight said you'd come to your senses!"

"Come to my senses? Don't bullshit me you should know what happens when you fuck with me!"

I pushed the knife further down towards her as I used my leg to push something over from close behind me. I felt it gently, a handgun. It was small but she wasn't wearing any body armor so it'd work. She resisted well, and even rolled over hard enough to get on top of me. She slammed my hand down in the process and I dropped the knife.

She let go to punch me, and I threw a slap to her face to push her off, which worked.

We both saw the handgun at the same time, a small Makarov. Time stopped for a second, and then the race was on. She ran for the weapon, but I clothslined her, which left her on the ground coughing. I picked the small handgun up and approached her. Instead of killing her, there was things I needed.

I slammed the grip of the pistol against her arm, breaking it instantly.

"Where are the rest of this group!" I shouted.

"What are you talking about!" She said through sobs.

"Don't bullshit me mare! You know damn well that there were six ponies here last time I came! There's four now! Where are the other two!"

"They're at a bar I swear!"

"Which one! Give me a location or I'll blow your brains out right here you dumb bitch!"

She whimpered as she gave me a response.

"It was where we found you!"

"Good enough, how many more are there!"

"What!"

I slammed the grip against her skull, which bled down her face.

"How many others are in this town!"

"I don't know!"

"Bullshit!" I slammed it against her head again, which painted the once soft pink face a dark red.

"I really don't!"

"You have to know something!"

I lifted the handgun, then she screamed.

"Fine! I'll tell you just get off me!"

I did as she said, keeping the piece pointed at her center mass. She stood up shakily, she was dizzy from the blood loss.

"There are other alleyways like this one... all over town... I don't know where all of them are but one is close to your motel..."

She fell to the ground, unable to stand up straight.

"Good enough."

"Will you let me live?"

"Do you not remember?"

"Remember what?"

"I am death. I know no mercy. Among other things I am a professional, it is not me that kills but my will to live that does alongside justice."

"What do you mean?"

"I am death, destroyer of worlds."

I shot her in the head, blowing her brains across the desk she leaned against.

"Blows your mind huh?"

I walked outside, the Lieutenant was there with an ambulance, one of the thugs in a stretcher on an oxygen tank.

"Well no wonder they call you the death bringer."

"My work isn't done."

"Excuse me?"

I walked to the ambulance, and the pony's eyes filled with terror. I stared him down, for a few seconds, he wasn't a threat anymore.

"Let me talk to him when he can talk."

"The stab wounds he got were mostly absorbed by the ribs, he'll be good to talk in a few days, best case scenario tomorrow morning."

I looked at my watch, it was 11:40. Guess I'll check back in a few days. I walked away and back to the motel to get some rest.

Author's Notes:

Revenge is a bitch eh? So are muffins. Fucking hate those things I swear. No Octavia's were harmed in the making of this chapter

I think