“Yo-you do?” Vinyl asked out of pure shock, fresh tears seeped into her eyes as a quivering smile dawned on her face. Kickback remained there, holding her in a desperate embrace.

“You mean so much to me, Vinyl, you all have done so much for me, I can never repay you…” he answered, still with his eyes closed as he rested his head on her shoulder “…All this time, I’ve never truly realised it, I’ve just hated myself for so long, hating all that I am, I never really thought about how other ponies saw me”

“Rea-”

“I always considered you my friend, Vinyl but I never really took that to heart though”

“Oh, Kickback, it’s okay”

“I should’ve seen it, I should’ve understood sooner what I was feeling, I care about you, I really do…I care about all of you, especially you, Dash and AJ, I don’t think Lyra can look at me the same way again”

“Heh, yeah, you’re a bit of a mare-magnet, eh?” she joked with a teary grin, in a choked up tone. The scarlet stallion eased himself off her to look her in the eyes.

“I guess so…not something I want to be…but I suppose I have a knack for being what I don’t want” he said as he turned his head away for a brief second, noticing that it was rather late. He looked back at they bar to find that the noise had died down, as did the music and lights. The crimson colt turned back to the unicorn with a calm smile, that one he always wore.

“Wanna head to my hotel?” the DJ said as she slid over closer to him, her eyes, half lidded and her mouth formed into a grin.

“Alright…” his tone was unsure despite how he kept his smirk. In the darkness, the faint white of the mare’s coat and the light streak in the stallion’s mane were the most visible, bouncing up and down in the night. Kickback and Vinyl stopped at a moderately sized, two storied building, the clothed colt opened the door for the DJ to step inside, a gesture, happily accepted. Vinyl trotted up a flight of stairs with Kickback in tow, she had a constant grin along with the occasionally giggle she’d make. She turned into the hallway at the top of the stairs, Kickback looked to his left as he stepped up one last time to see the mare, giving him a seductive look as she opened a door at the end of the hall. He chuckled before following, he turned into the room…and paused. There she was, lying there on a large mattress on her back, forelegs, seductively resting on her chest as she looked at the red stallion. Her iconic goggles rested upon the nightstand…that wasn’t a nightstand, that was a speaker next to the bed. Kickback just stared back at her body in awe, unaware of how much time he was taking to respond. She giggled at the look on his unhooded face before getting up and sitting at the far end of the bed, his large green eyes refocused at the action.

“Well? I know that you haven’t done something like this in a long time…and the memories of that might be bad…I don’t wanna push you into something you don’t wanna do” her tone was considerate, caring, sympathetic. Hearing those words made a brief image of a blond maned mare pop up in his mind’s eye, he grimaced at the sight of blood. Of course, the death of Karen had been a long time ago and this was different, this was Vinyl Scratch, a mare, Kickback truly cared for. After a moment, he turned, he could swear that the mare was about to call out to him, thinking that he was leaving. However to her surprise and comfort, he placed a singular hoof on the door before gently pushing it. The door creaked as it slowly closed, the clicking sound indicating is closure. The scarlet stallion turned back around and smirked, Vinyl grinned with anticipation.  

“You do know what you’re asking for, right?” he asked, quizzical and unsure of the unicorn’s EXACT thoughts were.

“Uh-huh” she breathed out, slowly easing herself closer to him on the mattress.

“I’m not a real stallion, remember?”

“Yeah, that’s just makes it a bit kinky…” she said with a giggle.

“What?”

“Well, you can shape shift, right?” her tone was surprisingly calm and coherent despite what she was saying, Kickback nearly grimaced at her sentence but kept his composure.

“Yeah…?”

“Can you…change form…anywhere?” she spoke with a curious smile, looking over his body from head to hoof. Kickback’s eyes widened as his pupils dilated with shock, immediately recognizing what the white mare had just said.

“I- uhhh” he stuttered, not quite sure of how to respond. Vinyl giggled with amusement at the stallion’s never before seen dumbfounded expression. Without letting him think another second, the unicorn lunged forward, grabbing the still clothed colt by the shoulders before forcefully pulling him towards her. He yelped quietly at the action as he was quickly positioned under the small form of Vinyl Scratch through some fast maneuver she pulled. The viral pony’s green orbs gazed up to see beautiful red ones staring back at him from above. A look of sultry intent glistening from within.

“Tonight…” she said, leaning forward into the scarlet colt’s left ear, her heavy breathing accompanying her words with a complimenting tone. “…Tonight…be my stallion, Kickback”

A room on the second floor of an apartment’s building glowed yellow in the night through the window. Faint moving shadows could be seen through glass.

On the other side of the street, a lone, grey figure stood atop a small bakery, gazing up at the illuminated window with a smirk. The figure was draped in a dark jacket, the collar concealing his face from either side. The figure was a pony, a stallion to be more specific and it was this colt who began chuckling in a sinister tone in the darkness of the late evening.

“Have fun, Kickback…” the voice of the figure spoke with an evil cackle. With that, it turned, it’s coat waving with the motion before it disappeared into the night.

The morning after was what one would expect. Vinyl Scratch’s eyes fluttered open as she groaned through her closed mouth in a happy sigh. She rummaged around only to feel a warmth beneath her. Her front hooves rested upon a strong, red chest. She followed the build up to the slumbering face of the one and only Kickback. His mane lay lazily over his closed eyes that would normally present those large green eyes Vinyl had come accustomed to. His muzzle was formed into a groggy frown as he inhaled and exhaled deeply, causing his naked chest to inflate and deflate with each breath. The memories of the previous night rushed her senses in an instant, she smiled at the thoughts. Vinyl looked around the room to see the stallion’s trademark hoodie and jacket to be lazily thrown onto the floor, causing a few more images to flow in her mind. The unicorn looked back up at what she had referred to as ‘her stallion’ and grinned compassionately, eyes half lidded. The sudden movement made Kickback’s conscious return to him, his eyes shot open, quickly. Vinyl shot back slightly at his reflex, something she saw made her uneasy. As his eyes quickly opened, a flash of a shade of red shined in his irises. His teeth was gritted as his gaze focused at the far wall. After a moment, he looked down at the white unicorn, of whom looked somewhat unsure…or frightened.

“Morning” she greeted in a suspicious tone.

“G’morning” he replied before immediately rising up from his position. Vinyl frowned, still confused at the stallion’s sudden change of mood.

“You okay?” she asked, concerned. Kickback didn’t answer as he trotted about the room, collecting his clothing in his hooves. Once he picked up his jacket, he paused, not looking at them but rather at the ground with a thoughtful look.

“What is it?” she inquired. She almost instantly got an answer. Kickback’s body quickly became enveloped in a swarm of black and red, catching the mare off guard. When the haze cleared, the stallion’s signature hood and jacket were draped proudly on his body, still with the original ensemble in his right hoof. Wordlessly, he dropped them onto the floor without care. The stallion rose his head to see the mare looking at him in confusion.

“Sorry, yeah, I’m fine” he said although not sounding like he meant it.

“O-…kay, so when are we going?” she said, rising off the bed and stepping closer towards the hooded colt.

“Going?” he asked as he turned to face her.

“Yeah, last night was my last gig…I thought you’d be coming back to Ponyville with me…” she stated with a hopeful tone. Kickback took a deep breath after hearing her speak and closed his eyes for a brief second before staring into her gorgeous red eyes once more.

“It’s-…it’s personal…you should go, don’t let me keep you” he said as he began to walk towards the door.

“I’m staying here” she said abruptly, causing Kickback to turn in surprise.

“What?”

“I’m not leaving unless you come with me” her tone was stern, nothing like he’d seen from her before.

“Vinyl that’s not-”

“Nope, I’m staying here until we can BOTH go” at that, Kickback felt a slight smirk coming across his muzzle at the mare’s arrogance.

“Okay Vinyl, I’ll see ya later” the scarlet stallion nodded before turning back to the door. He put a hoof to the knob and swung it open; he shared one more glance with the unicorn before turning into the hallway.    

“I still…have to do something, Vinyl…I can’t go back, just yet” he replied.

“W-what? But I thought-”

“Vinyl, this is something I have to do, I’m sorry but…things can’t be the way they used to be”

“What do you mean?”

“The idea was to keep it a secret…it’s not anymore…for everything to go back to how they were…it juts can’t happen, Vinyl”

“What are you saying? You’re…never coming back?” her tone was one of sheer heartbreak.

“No just, there’s still some stuff I have to do here, okay?”

“What stuff?” at that, Kickback fell silent, a faint sound caught his attention. The stallion remained quiet as his eyes drifted suspiciously around the room.

“Kickbac-”

“Shhh, listen” he whispered, cutting her off. Out of curiosity, the unicorn complied despite being utterly confused, she didn’t hear anything. Kickback however seemed completely focused and a slight bit concerned, his ears flicked back and forth, trying to get a better hearing on the noise that tortured his senses.

A thud…another thud…and another…oh shi-

The scarlet stallion’s thoughts were immediately cut off by a loud crash. Kickback’s body was propelled into the door, knocking it off it’s hinges and landing flat on the wall in the hallway. The red colt groaned in pain before the sound of screaming caught his ears, his green eyes shot open at the noise. He found that his body was practically engraved into the wall, his hooves spread wide, lodged into the vertical surface. The door laid there on the ground, accompanied by remnants of debris from the wall and furniture that occupied the room it belonged to. Kickback turned his gaze back to within the room, what he saw horrified him.

There, standing over the white unicorn, of whom was scathed by the explosion, stood a stallion. A grey colt with a crimson mane and tail, his eyes were narrowed in a shade of dark cyan. A sinister grin spread across his muzzle as he stared down at her grovelling form. Kickback’s eyes flashed red as they widened with shock, anger and fear.

“GRIMLOCK!!!” he screamed as he tried to break free of the concrete that partially buried him. The second viral pony kept his gaze fixed on the mare as he slowly stepped towards her, that same malicious smirk on his face. Kickback grunted in anger as he jolted himself free, he staggered a bit as he tried to regain his composure, small pieces of debris flying off with him. The hooded colt’s vision lifted to see his rival violently lift the unicorn on to his shoulder with his mutated three-fingered hand. Vinyl seemed conscious but far too weak to defend herself.

“Kickback…” she let out with a groan. The hooded stallion stared death into the blue eyes of the grey colt, of whom was smiling.

“You should’ve known, Kickback…if you’re not with me, you’re against me…don’t keep me waiting” he said, his eyes twinkling with terror before just like that, he was gone. Grimlock quickly bolted through the gaping hole in the wall, leaving the scarlet stallion dumbfounded.

“VINYL!!” he screamed before giving chase. Kickback quickly ran up to the hole only to see that the stallion and mare were nowhere to be seen, he was gone and Vinyl was with her. “ARGHHHHHHH!!!” he yelled in rage, the volume of his voice causing a loud echo.

“Finally, that took FOREVER” Rainbow Dash whined as she hovered above her friends, stretching her leg and wing muscles.

“C’mon girls” Twilight said, gesturing for them to follow her with a wave of her hoof.

“Alright” AJ said, more enthusiastically than she had intended. The six mares began to trot through the streets of Hoofington, they got a few steps in before a loud crash caught their attention, the sound seemed to be coming from above.

“What was that?” Pinkie questioned.

“I don’t know” Twilight answered, each of their gazes focusing on the dust smoking off the side of a two story tall building. It wasn’t long before they heard a loud yet familiar voice cry out in anger. Every mare’s eyes widened at the sound

“Is that-” Dash started although the sight was enough to cut her off. What she saw, completely shocked her, she could only imagine the same look on her friends.

There, leaping down from the mist was a cloaked figure. His jacket flowing in the wind as he descended to a smaller rooftop. Applejack’s jaw dropped at the sight, the sight of his concealed red face, the flicker of crimson in his eyes and the iconic nature of his suit, there was little doubt of who this pony was. Immediately, a name popped into everypony’s heads.

“I-is t-t-that h-him…?” Fluttershy asked in her usual timid voice.

“Kickback!” Rainbow cried out before instantly dashing off towards him.

The hooded stallion landed with a thud upon a smaller business building, his breathing was heavy, his teeth were gritted, his eyes shined bright crimson as he looked down, slowly raising up form his crouched position.

“Grimlock…” he growled, raising his head up to look in the direction of the fleeing grey colt.

“Kickback!” that voice…that familiar voice. The hooded stallion’s eyes softened and widened, his teeth loosened, his eyes dimming to green once more as he looked to his right. He paused to stare at the image. There, hovering a few feet away form him was a cyan pegasus, her rainbow mane and tail being an all too familiar sight. The rainbow lightning bolt adorned on her flank, those magenta eyes capped with the pleading look on her face. Kickback knew this mare, it was Rainbow Dash.

“Dash..?” he managed, stunned beyond belief, he subconsciously raised a hoof up to his face before grasping the end of his hood and slowly sliding it off his head. Rainbow was just as speechless, the sight of his revealed black and white mane, the confused look in his dark green eyes. It was all enough to make her heart stop in shock. Wordlessly, she dropped to the high surface, looking him dead in the eye as she hesitantly walked closer to him, the other five mares still down below on the street, watching the scene play out. Kickback kept her gaze to the best of his ability, before he knew it, the cyan mare had stepped directly in front of him, their  front hooves barely a metre apart. Bright irises stared blankly into the abyss of dark ones.

After a long moment, a teary smile crossed the mare’s expression, Kickback could feel the same look being plastered on his face. Dash lunged forward, hooves wide to embrace the scarlet stallion. He caught her and returned ht hug, she sobbed happily as she rested her head on his jacketed shoulder, eyes clenched.

“Rainbow?!” Applejack called from below, the sudden movement caused the pegasus to step out of her friends’ fields of vision.

“Applejack…” Kickback uttered, still holding the cyan mare, trying to fight back a single tear. Rainbow pulled back at the sound of his voice, looking him straight in the eyes despite her tears with a quivering grin on her muzzle. His right foreleg wrapped around her torso as she stabled her front body completely on his shoulders, wings outstretched.

“Hey, Dash…” he greeted, quietly and calm.

“H-hey, k-Kickback…” she replied, trying to keep her cool but quivered nonetheless. He continued to smile at her as she did to him before he nodded with a slight chuckle, closing his eyes for a brief moment. The sound of cackling lightning along with a bursting noise caused his eyes to widened with surprise. Now on the rooftop were all six elements of harmony, Twilight in the centre as remnants of magic dispersed into the atmosphere. Kickback’s gaze drifted to each mare, all having their own looks, all of uncertainty, especially the purple unicorn’s with a hint of suspicion. He locked eyes with the orange earthpony among them, she held his gaze even as a slight blush crept across her cheeks, she stared wide eyed. Rainbow looked back at her friends before returning to all-fours, looking rather awkward.

“Kickback…” Applejack uttered, almost a reply as to what he said earlier. At the sound of her accented voice, he smiled, despite being in a complete rage not even a minute ago, the sight of his dear friends made it…fade away almost. She returned the look to the best of her ability, her beautiful emerald eyes became foggy. He turned his attention back to the others only to find that not everypony had the same look. Rarity was uneasy, to say the least, barely giving him a direct look. Fluttershy a far more understandable stance, she hid behind her flowing, pink mane like a brick wall, trying to shield herself from the intimidating stallion…however ‘intimidating’ might be putting it mildly. Pinkie seemed unusually awkward, she wore a unsure grin, being how she is, never being one to stop smiling if she could help it but Kickback knew that even Pinkie must have a few bad thoughts.

Now Twilight, that very lavender coloured unicorn mare gave Kickback one of the most suspicious and threatening looks he had ever seen on a pony…or other. She seemed mad almost, like she had something in store for him, something unpleasant. Her amethyst eyes narrowed angrily, glaring at the pony that she didn’t consider one of her species. Out of all them, Twilight was the one to take the most meaning of his story, she agreed with his plighted phrase that accustomed himself with: Monster. Sure, Celestia’s prodigy believes in love and tolerance, tries to make friends whenever she can, Tartarus, she even forgave the GAP Trixie. Although, she was indeed just a fraud, trying to make a living off lies, Kickback wasn’t even a natural being, he was a virus, to the best of her knowledge, that’s what she though of him as. A sentient virus. When you’ve broken the trust of somepony that represents the magic of friendship, can you be trusted at all?

Next Chapter: Carnage Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 5 Minutes