Bondsby soulwinds
Chapters
New beginnings
“You’re sending me where?” Twilight could only stare at her mentor, mouth agape as her mind processed the new information. She threw herself at Celestia's hooves and begun to frantically pleed with the princess, “Oh Princess whatever it is I did to warrant this punishment please have mercy on me! Learning magic is my life! Please don’t send me away!" Twilight’s mind whirled as she struggled to think of something she had done to warrant Celestia displeasure. As a memory about her most recent piece of work, Twilight face contorted in horror, "This is about that book report, isn’t it! Oh no no no no no! I knew I should have chosen 'Battle Magic: Everything you’ll need to become a royal magus' rather than 'Magic 101'. I’ll get started on my corrections right away!”
Celestia sighed; she should have known Twilight would jump to conclusions. Sure, she loved the little filly like her own daughter but sometimes her overactive imagination was a real handful. Especially when she heard some of the more...malicious rumours surrounding the Princess. A week ago, Twilight had entered into the restricted section of the library despite the princess putting in place wards to keep her out. While Celestia was pround of her student's power, Twilight had immediately prostrated herself before the Princess and begged her not to, in her own words, 'banish her, or throw her in prison, or banish her and throw her in prison in the place that she was banished to'.
“Twilight, you’ll always be my faithful student. Though it is true I’m enrolling you in the Manehattan Institution because of the book report.” Seeing Twilight’s face fall, Celestia hurriedly continued, “It’s not that it was badly done my faithful student. It’s simply you mentioned an interesting theory. You hypothesized that magical ability is not consistent even within a single individual as the amount of magic a pony is capable of projecting is proportional to their ability to be in touch with their emotions. Therefore, I'm sending you out of your comfort zone. The Manehattan Institute is one of the better academies in Equestria and Manehattan is one of the more social places in Equestria. You will definetely be able to get in touch with your emotions there. Consider this a control experiment, when you return, your magical advancement will be compared to some of your peers.”
Twilight had been given just two hours to pack before she found herself on a chariot to Manehattan. As she sat in the chariot, she became acutely aware that the last time she had interacted with a pony her age was a whole year ago before she had left the school for gifted unicorns to be hoof-trained by Celestia. She fervently wished that Spike was with her. Just the day before had he fallen ill with a particularly nasty illness known as dragon flu, the nurse said that he would be unfit to travel for at least another few weeks. As the chariot pulled into the school’s driveway, Twilight braced herself for the new life she would be starting here.
It was a rather unremarkable office. The floor was not tiled and there was a simple grey carpet in the middle of the room. An unremarkable Ivory table rested on top of the carpet, an unremarkable colt was sitting on a cushion on the other side of the table, and unremarkable bare grey walls surrounded him.
He turned to the lavender filly that had entered his office and regarded her with disinterested eyes. When she stood before him, the table between them, he spoke, “Welcome to Manehattan Institute. Twilight Sparkle, is that correct? My name is Shimmering Dawn and I’m the principal of this school. I understand that you will be studying here until the end of the year and thus, the Princess has arranged for you to stay at the Dormitory at the centre of campus.” The dark grey colt stood before the lavender filly. Reaching into his drawer, he took out a pair of spectacles and slid it across the table “Here is a pair of Digital Interface Spectacles(DIS). They will allow you to access your homework, schedule and keep in contact with the teachers and your peers. It is crucial that you do not lose it, as the various facilities, such as the doors ,require them to activate.” Pausing, he clapped his hooves, the door to the office opened, and an orange unicorn entered the room. “The student council president, Mrs. Goodwill, will now to show you to your dorm.”
Wordlessly, Mrs. Goodwill led Twilight out of the office and to her dorm. Twilight tried multiple times to start a conversation with the other unicorn but the silence was too oppressive for her to break. When Twilight first saw the dorm, she felt that it was more of a luxury hotel than a dormitory. The building was blue and white, the two colours found on the school emblem, and was three stories high. A posh green garden surrounded the dormitory and behind the dormitory, a pool with clear, glistening water was just barely visible from the main gate. After Twilight checked into the dormitory, Goodwill spoke to her, “You feel... Forget I said anything, just don’t let me catch you causing trouble.” Just like that, Goodwill walked up the stairs and vanished from sight, leaving a completely befuddled Twilight behind.
She would have bothered more about the strange behaviour of the orange mare but at the moment, she was too exhausted to care about anything other than sleeping. Finding her room, she opened the door and threw herself on the bed. She was asleep before her head touched the pillow.
Celestia looked out at the night sky, lamenting her decision. For all the times she had called twilight her faithful student, guilt pricked at her conscience, she was after all keeping a large secret from the young pony. I need you to find the other elements of harmony. In truth, I only made you my protégé because I could sense the element in you. As far as I am concerned, after the elements free Luna, your life is of no concern of mine. Celestia turned to look at her desk. In the bottom drawer was a letter, penned three years ago, on the day Twilight entered her life. It was a letter she intended to send Twilight after Luna was released from the Nightmare. In the letter, Celestia did not hold back as she wrote that Twilight was a fool for believing that she ever mattered to the Sun Goddess, how everything she had ever studied, everything she had ever accomplished was all according her wishes. Three years ago, she would have meant every word and relished in the fact that the mortal pony was such a willing puppet. Now...She wasn’t so sure anymore.
A certain Draconquus spirit floated into the ivory tower that was Twilight’s not so humble abode. Floating around the room, he mulled over what he had heard that afternoon. Celestia was sending Twilight to Manehattan. He knew that Celestia rarely let Twilight wander far from her, after all, if Twilight died her plan to save dear Luna would be invalid. He was curious, why had she allowed Twilight to venture to Manehattan of all places, the furthest Equestrian city from Canterlot. Eventually, his thoughts strayed to his 'private' time with the little filly.
A certain Draconquus spirit floated into the ivory tower that was Twilight’s not so humble abode. Floating around the room, he mulled over what he had heard that afternoon. Celestia was sending Twilight to Manehattan. He knew that Celestia rarely let Twilight wander far from her, after all, if Twilight died her plan to save dear Luna would be invalid. He was curious, why had she allowed Twilight to venture to Manehattan of all places, the furthest Equestrian city from Canterlot. Eventually, his thoughts strayed to his 'private' time with the little filly.
To anypony concerned, he was her imaginary friend. He had appeared before her the first time in an attempt to traumatise Celestia’s new chess piece. In her panic, she had toppled a couple of bookshelves from the royal library on him. To his surprise, he had actually felt pain from his astral projection. From then, he had taken a personal interest in her. Her magic was extremely chaotic, breaking all the rules set by prior mages. Astral projections couldn’t be hurt. She did it. Magical energy cannot be focused to levels required for spells without a horn. Well, he had taken away her horn once and goaded her into trying to catch him. She tried to seize him with magic but wound up blasting him out of the training hall. She was an interesting filly, one who didn’t really bother at all about his mismatched appearance. Casting his mind’s eye on Twilight sleeping form, he continued his silent vigil.
You who have a will
Days passed by and soon Twilight was entering her fifth and final month in Manehattan. In these past five months, she had experienced what it was like to be a normal adolescent teen. She had come to know others staying at the dormitory and even went clubbing. Six ponies in total stayed at dormitory Eos. Beside herself, there was, Eli Goodwill, the heir to the very successful Goodwill Corps, Dusk Norn, the captian of the school's Royal Guard Cadet Corps(RGCC), Soarin' Heights, a stunt flyer that the wonderbolts had their eye on, Morgan (Trixie) Fey, an aspiring showmare, and Neon Nihilus, a rich orphan from Las Neighgas.
It was a Friday night and Dusk was depressed. There had been a test on Pre-equestrian history earlier in the day and he had a sinking feeling that he had flunked it. The only question he felt he had gotten right was the one that asked about the name of the leader of the creator alicorns. After all, Everypony knew about Eos, the ruler of the eternal paradise. It also helped that he stayed at the dorm named after him. He smiled at the memory of the first lecture of the year, he had entered the room fully ready to be bored to tears. At first, it wasn’t so bad, the professor simply read off notes that had been pre-prepared. The purple unicorn that stayed at his dorm had asked what happened to Eos and why Celestia was on the throne is she wasn’t part of the original twelve. The professor had responded in a very lengthy and roundabout way for over twenty minutes now that had bored him to tears. Personally, he believed the entire lecture could be shorted to a few words. “Eos decided that Equestria could survive on its own and left to tend to his own kingdom and Celestia had stayed to watch over and protect Equestria from the Griffins and Dragons that had terrorised ponies in the early days.”
Sighing, he cast another wistful glance at the mailbox that belonged to the dormitory alpha. He had ordered a new sword to be made and the forger had assured him that it would come this week. He saw the mail truck come and saw them drop of a package in the mailbox. In a few seconds, he had run from his room to the mailbox. Opening it, he found, the package he had been waiting for, a soul blade, a weapon made of pure magnite, which shape and ability was dependant on the one who imprinted on it. Swords made like this were extremely expensive and hard to get but fortunately, he had won this as a gift in the town raffle. He never remembered entering it but who was he to question fate? It was indeed as if fate had delivered it into his hooves. Picking up the sword, he remembered why he had picked up sword fighting in the first place. As Dusk was lost in the memories of him, the sword, which he held, changed from a brilliant white colour to an eerie blood red and began to pulse with electricity. Sighing, he turned to look through the rest of the mail. He was in a seriously bad mood now. He had remembered his father, the heartless prick. His gaze fell upon a flier that was on top of the pile of mail.
Come one come all! The Doppelganger nightclub welcomes you to celebrate its anniversary! All drinks will be free from 11pm to 1am. Bring a friend and get ready to Party! Tonight we will be having special guests from Equestria’s number one radio show. Miss Octavia Philharmonia and Miss Vinyl Scratch will be playing tunes from their newest album.
Dusk stared at the paper, before tucking it into the pocket of the blazer that was part of the uniform. For the first time that day, he smiled to himself. Why not? He would rustle up the gang and go to the party.
Across the street, in the cafeteria, a lone pony observed as Dusk tucked the piece of paper into his pocket and threw the rest of the junk mail away, the pony smiled. It was all going according to plan. The seeds of potential would begin to sprout and the soon the mortals of Equestria would be able to escape from their dark heritage. The sun’s dying rays fell on his mane, revealing a black mass with streaks of unearthly white. As he turned to leave, the wind blew and his cloak fluttered revealing his flank. On it was a single tarot card. A flash of light illuminated the area and the pony was gone, leaving only whispers in the wind.
And so it begins...
I'm yourself, You're myself
Celestia was out on her perch for the tenth time that day; her mind was abuzz with activity after reading a letter from her student. Twilight Sparkle, the bearer of the Element of Magic had made some friends. What attracted her attention the most however, was the number of close friends she had. Five ponies. Five elements without their bearers. Could it be? Could the elements of harmony have finally united? She was no fool; she knew a storm was brewing in Manehattan. For months now, she had sensed a fellow alicorn there. Unfortunately, the magic signature was familiar to her. She now knew that Aura Light, a denizen of the velvet realm had appeared in Equestria, and it was not good news at all. His presence signified that equinity would soon have to face an ordeal. There was only one ordeal in the entire history of the world that would warrant Aura’s presence. A Nightmare was approaching. If Twilight was in danger, Celestia knew the first thing she would do was run to Canterlot, to Celestia. If she did that, then regardless of the decisions of the other five, the elements of Harmony would not activate and thus would not be able to destroy the Nightmare. She needed a reason to blockade the whole of Manehattan, to force Twilight to face her destiny and to confirm if her friends were the other elements of Harmony.
It was the worst day ever! Nopony wanted to go with him! Eli wouldn’t be caught dead in an ‘uncivilised watering hole’ using her own words. Trixie had to prepare for a test on Monday. Neon was busy doing something. Even Soarin’, his usual drinking buddy, did not wish to go as he already had a hangover. He had managed to drag Twilight along but the she had brought a book to read. How the hay did a pony study at a nightclub anyway?
Either way, he found himself sitting at the bar while Twilight cantered up the stairs and disappeared into the rooftop garden. The entire nightclub was filled with wonderful music being played by a white unicorn and a gray earth pony, the special guest promised by the club. Deciding to at least convince Twilight to have some fun before starting to party himself, he ordered some non-alcoholic drinks and started up the stairs intent on getting Twilight to at least enjoy herself a bit before she got started on her studies. As he stepped onto the rooftop garden, he felt a sudden chill run over his spine. As he looked around, he quickly found Twilight lying near the edge of the building, using the railings to prop up the book in front of her.
When he walked next to her, Twilight finally noticed that she was not alone on the rooftop. As she turned to look at him, Dusk offered her one of the drinks, which she took before gingerly sipping at the beverage. Dusk sat down next to her and started drinking as well. As they looked down at the busy street below, they continued to drink in silence. Finally, Twilight spoke, “What are you doing up here? Shouldn’t you be downstairs getting so drunk that I have to cart you back to the dormitory?”
Dusk smiled at her, before replying, “You know, you say that you’ve gone clubbing before but you always just find a nice little corner before sitting down and reading, even Eli loosened up especially once that high class bar opened up. I’m not going down there unless you come with me.” Dusk saw her turn to look wistfully at her book and so continued, “There some things that cannot be learnt in books you know, let’s go down there and enjoy ourselves.”
A certain pony watched on as the two ponies chatted on the rooftop. His cutie mark was that of a tarot card. Looking from above, a pattern that resembled a magic circle made of steel and trees was easily seen. Checking his watch, he found that it was 11:50. Only one thought ran through his mind. Soon.
GONG! GONG! GONG!
The chime of the bell tower interrupted their conversation. Something was wrong with the magic in the air. On the third gong, the moon turned a ghostly green. On the six gong, the sky turned blood red. On the ninth, all the sounds coming from the party just below them stopped. On the twelfth, a voice spoke from behind them.
“I am a shadow, the true self.” Twilight and Dusk swerved around only to see a yellow-eyed Dusk Norn covered in a dark aura. “I am you, and you are me...”
Dusk shuddered and stepped back. After taking a moment to gather his courage, he snarled at the shadow, “What are you talking about? Who are you!” Twilight was lost in the exchange, sending out her magic, she tried to figure out what spell was causing this occurrence.
“Everypony left me... I'm so lonely. Mom... Dad...Starlight...Why did you all go? Why's everypony leaving me behind by myself? Twilight's leaving at the end of the month. Trixie and Neon are going to Las Neighgas after they graduate. Eli was never particularly close to me in the first place... Even my brother... He's going to leave me and become a wonderbolt! “The Dusk look-a-like broke out into a maniacal laughter that petered out into sobs. It looked so pathetic, cowered into a ball that Twilight, caution ignored, moved to try and console the pony. Barely had she taken a step forward did he start laughing again."Then again... I'm going to be a Royal Guard so I'm don't need them! I'm going to a great protector of peace!" The pony lifted his eyes up and stared at Twilight and Dusk, face twisted in an eerie grin. “Did you really believe that? Protecting Equestria? Mantaining peace? What a joke! My reasons for wanting to join the Royal Guard are not so noble... I simply want to join so I can legally kill others. It feels so good knowing that I control the fates of other ponies!"
Twilight hastily revised her plan and stepped back, watching in horror as Dusk drew his sword and faced his double. “Shut up... Shut UP! YOU’RE NOT ME!” This was met with scathing laughter from the shadow as it was engulfed with a pillar of thick black fog. When it cleared, a pitch-dark gargantuan figure stood before them. It was covered in chains that was attached to shackles and weights that clanked noisily even as he breathed.
The thing smiled and lunged forward at the two ponies.
Awakening
“Eli, are you sure this is the place?” Neon asked, worry evident in his voice. He and Eli were standing in front of a nightclub named ‘doppelganger’, the exact same nightclub that Dusk had invited him to earlier that day.
“I’ve already double checked. I’m sorry Neon but it seems that Dusk is involved in these cases, one way or another.” Eli sighed, “So... Which do you think? Victim or murderer?”
A brief silence passed between them as Neon pondered the question. His face grim with determination, he responded, “I do know one thing. If he dragged Twilight into this, he better hope he’s the former, for his sake.”
Eli was about to respond when she sensed movement in the dark before them. She turned to face the newcomers, her rapier drawn and ready to fight. Neon saw her movement and readied his scythe. Both weapons were made of auracite, the hardest material known to ponykind. A white unicorn with a wild electric blue mane and shades together with a gray earth pony with a dark gray mane emerged from the nightclub before them. The earth pony had a cello with her and the blue gleam given off by the strings gave them away as auracite strings. The unicorn was surrounded by multiple floating record disks that were giving off a similar gleam. Four ponies stared at each other, eyeing each other up. A moment of tense silence passed between them. The silence was then shattered with a yell of “DJ-PON3 IN DA HOUSE!” followed by the sounds of battle.
****
Things were not looking good. Twilight was unconscious; Dusk was fighting a losing battle and the only ponies could save them was currently fighting for their lives a few meters away in another dimension. Dusk was rapidly losing ground to the shadow, each step back bringing him that much closer to Twilight. Discord shifted to look at the persona battle occurring outside the pub. The two ponies from twilight’s dorm were outclassed in terms of power but the unicorn’s persona allowed her to foresee the future attacks and avoid them. This resulted in an endurance battle and Discord knew that regardless of the victor, the battle would conclude too late to matter. Twilight only had one chance. He had to awaken her persona. A risky gambit would no doubt ensnare her in the chaos of the ‘reverse’ incidents of Manehattan. However, considering the grand scheme of things, it was a no-brainer. In the event that her persona awoke, even if dragged into the mess that was unfolding in Manehattan, she still possessed a small chance to survive. Alternatively, not making her awake would result in one thing. Her death.
***
Twilight awoke in a room with Discord. His eyes expressed urgency but she found herself strangely immobile. he was frantically gesturing at her; she couldn’t hear him very well it was as if his voice was muffled. WAKE UP! Twilight entered the waking world with a jolt as the sudden loud cry roused her from her stupor. The cry had come from a signed and bleeding Dusk who lay prone before his shadow. As time slowed to a halt, she heard a saw a card floating down to her. Acting instinctively, she slugged the card with her magic and immediately, the card exploded and a thick blue aura enveloped her. She could feel the soreness from her injuries vanish as magic surged within her, filling her with a sense of euphoria. She almost failed to notice a dark-robed humanoid figure emerge from the fog over her. In his left hand sat a leather-bound book and on his head was a crown made from glowing brimstone. Its voice sounded as if it came from nowhere and everywhere at the same time, resounding in her mind.
Thou art I and I am thou
From the sea of thy soul I cometh,
I am Lucifuge, Prince of Hell
Twilight had sensed two things. That this being before her was extremely powerful and that it was waiting for her command. “Protect us!” Twilight ordered and her persona wasted no time in following her order. The tall figure raised his hand and pointed and fire engulfed the shadow, setting it aflame. An unearthly scream filled the air as the shadow flailed about trying to extinguish the inferno that was putting him through so much pain. Twilight stood stunned as the true extent of the figure’s power became apparent. Discord had once again come through for her. She smiled; he was just like her guardian angel.
A sudden pain erupted in her head and she doubled over, clutching at it in an attempt to relieve some of the pain. Her scream was echoed by her persona and as she looked up, she saw a draconquus tear its way out of Lucifuge. Its limbs were manacled and its teeth bloody. It let out a fearsome roar and charged at the still smouldering shadow, tearing into it with claws and fangs. The shadow tried to fight back but the draconquus tore his chains apart too. It ended in a matter of seconds, as the shadow exploded into a cloud of black fog, a pony that looked like Dusk fell out too. Twilight collapsed in exhaustion and the persona faded away. Dusk stood up and faced his shadow eyeing it with distaste.
“Life hasn't been fair to us, has it? Misery follows us everywhere. I even caused Starlight, who was kind enough to adopt two homeless ponies off the streets, to die. Maybe if I didn't exist, Soarin' would still be living happily with her...You're right I suppose... I like being in control but... I can't change the past... The only thing I can do now is to make Equestria a safer place. I will become a get rid of the trash on the streets so people like Soarin'...Like Starlight... won't ever have to get hurt again,” Dusk stared at his double, determination burning in his eyes, daring the shadow to challenge him.
Two ponies faced each other on the half-destroyed rooftop. One smiled and a blue fog enveloped both of them. The one who had smiled faded away and a tarot card appeared and floated to the remaining pony. The card touched him lightly before it and the blue fog entered the body of the pony. One pony smiled in content and collapsed
The day after
All chapters are pre-read by Ice
***
Twilight found herself with a blue stallion in a large ascending elevator. His white-streaked black mane fluttered about in the cooling breeze that drifted through the walls of caged elevator. He spoke, his voice smooth and calming, “Welcome. My name is Glimmer Hope, you have been called to the velvet realm and I am here to act as your guide. Mrs...? ”
The stallion was staring at her, his expression unreadable. Twilight shifted uncomfortably under his gaze before realising that he was still waiting for her to introduce herself. “Twilight, Twilight Sparkle.”
He flinched visibly, but before she could question his reaction, the elevator came to a halt and the doors flung open, leading the way to a village that was bathed in a light blue glow. Twilight looked up into the sky and saw neither the sun nor the moon but rather, a constellation of 21 stars circling a particularly bright one in the middle.
The stallion nudged her, compelling her to continue to the town. Seeing her curiosity, Glimmer Hope elaborated on the constellation above them, “It’s known as the Orbis Amicitia, the circle of friends, the new power you hold was gained by tapping into its magic. Although...you should know that the power you have awakened to is but a mere fraction of that of a single star. Would you like to know more?”
All thoughts about the strangeness of the situation left Twilight’s mind at the prospect of new insight into a new kind of magic. The stallion smiled and led Twilight down the road to the town.
***
“Interesting... so both of them have gained personas... ” Eli stood in the hospital room that held Twilight and Dusk. Neither had moved since being carted into said room in during the early hours of the morning. She had already sent Neon back to class under strict instructions not to divulge any word on Dusk’s status to Soarin’. Eli needed to be the first pony to talk to them after their ordeal. Before the previous day, neither of them had any potential. Such would normally mean that they were unable to awaken their personas but here they stood (“lay” Eli corrected herself) with their personas in defiance to the rules that had been confirmed by a series of experiments years ago. She settled down to wait...
***
The first thing that came to Dusk’s mind when he awoke was how sore he was. It was near identical to how he had felt a decade ago on the first day of his father’s training camp. This was not how he wanted to wake up especially after that nightmare. He snuggled closer into his bed, finding it oddly comfortable today. Now if only these bed sheets would stop ensnaring him.
Letting out a muffled groan, he cracked open his eyes, only to snap them shut after experiencing the agony of having his retinas seared. Dusk lay in bed, cursing Soarin’s pranks once again. The stupid colt knew that he was extremely light sensitive when he woke up. Dusk tried to roll over but found himself restrained by the stupid bed sheets. As he lay there suffering as the light threatened to shine through his closed eyelids, he slowly began to piece together the events of last night. Dear Celestia... what happened last night? He remembered as far as going to that bar for drinks and then... he shook his head to rid it of any lingering memories, “That couldn’t possibly be real, ignore that. Did I get drunk and pass out?”
A mechanical beeping from his right caused him some confusion. Nothing in his room beeped and certainly not in such a dull manner. In fact, this beeping was reminiscent of a heart monitor. Dusk’s eyes shot open and sure enough, he was in a pure white room entangled in ‘bed sheets’ that had turned out to be bandages. “No need to panic, I just got caught in a bar fight.”
“I’m glad to see that you’re awake.” Eli spoke her voice emotionless and controlled as ever. “I do however have some questions for you.” She moved over to his bedside and started to fiddle with the bandages that had Dusk wrapped up.
“I’m sorry, I don’t know what I did when I was drunk but please forgive me,I’ll never do it again, just please don’t do anything to me!” Dusk whimpered in fear as he felt the bandages constricting around his prone form. His whimpering increased tenfold when he saw Eli’s rapier resting against a hospital chair not five feet away.
Suddenly, the pressure lifted and the bandages were removed from Dusk’s body. Eli ran her hoof across his smooth chest where just earlier that morning a gaping wound lay. “Amazing... is this earth pony magic at work or is it due to your new power? Regardless, what do you mean drunk? I already check the toxicology report, it is impossible for you to be drunk if you have not consumed alcohol for over a week.”
“Then...that wasn’t a dream?” Dusk gulped, memories of monstrous shadows came unbidden into his mind once again. His eyes rolled into his sockets and he collapsed back into the bed with a sound thump.
***
The archery range of the Manehattan Institution was a place for ponies from the archery club to practice for oncoming tournaments. As such, a dull, slow repetitive thudding sound was often heard by anypony in the vicinity. However, the thudding sounds that resounded from the range today were continuous, pausing ever minute for the archer to gather his arrows.
Soarin’ was having a rotten day. His idiot brother had not returned to the dorm at all the previous night and had been missing for almost a day, even worse was that Twilight was supposedly with him and she was missing too. All signs pointed that something had happened to them, something bad. Something drastic, something like the ‘reverse’ killings. Another flurry of arrows thudded against the target boards that now resembled little more than Swiss cheese as Soarin’s thoughts strayed yet again. He was no fool. Dusk had been going out at night with the hopes of finding the ‘reverse’ killer and enacting revenge for their mother. Starlight was no slouch in terms of magic but even she had been defeated. Dusk was just an earth and stood no chance to win by himself if he ever went up against the killer. As a pegasus, Soarin’ would be able to fly away if things got hairy, a benefit that Dusk did not have. It would be too dangerous for him.
As Soarin’ prepared another volley, a single image filled his mind. He released,turned around and walked off, leaving the ten targets to fall apart as his arrows tore through them.