Equestria Broken :: MLP Fanfiction

Equestria Broken - Three : The Commission

Three : The Commission

"We can't see past our own sad stories and wonder what we're missing, we can't see past our own sad stories and forget how to listen" Patrick Park - Here We Are

Clout sat atop the fallen bell in the clouded evening dusk, observing the blue shard in his hoof. The last of the sun's rays glistened off of the gem piece just as they had shown against his own hide. He turned it this way and that, observing the way it sparkled and wondered what it was about the stones that felt so familiar to him. He couldn't place it precisely but he had a feeling that it was somehow important, not just to him but too... Well, he wasn't sure.

He twitched an ear and hopped off the bell, the old floor beneath giving a creak. The stallion placed the shard back into the box on the end table before walking to the railing where he had left his boots and mask to dry. It had only been a half hour or so since he went to the nearby river to clean his gear and they weren't nearly dry yet. It didn't help that the cool night air and approaching rainstorm did nothing to help dry his clothes.

Leaving the items, Clout made his way down the rope ladder and trotted to the lower floors. As he exited the cathedral, he felt Thief climb up his back leg and make her way to his head.

"Hey Thief," he said with a smile as he tried to look up at her, "I'm gunna go see if the apples are ripe yet. I'm sure they are with all the work it took to keep those pesky beetles away."

The rodent twitched her whiskers at him as she sniffed the air.

He cantered down the slope of the mountain side and passed the empty buildings of his city. As the stallion moved around a vacant house, he was almost hit by a falling piece of pottery. Looking up, he saw three raccoons making their way into the cottage. Off in the distance he could hear cats yowling at each other and hissing. The songs of the wild dogs began to bellow low and long. Clout gave a thin smile. Though he hated the mongrels, he loved the music they made.

He heard another familiar sound, the noise of claws on stone. It was a bit off as the creature sounded like it was limping. He slowed his pace a bit as he rounded a corner to see what made the uneven gate. It was a black dog, big and wounded. It whined as it hobbled along. There were several fresh marks on its face and limbs, one eye was mauled so bad it was missing from the socket and half of its right ear was missing. The large wound on the back of its neck still bled some and dripped to the ground. This dog was the same one that had been attacked by the others earlier that morning.

The crystal pony folded his ears and moved closer to the building he was hiding behind. He watched as the dog wobbled before collapsing onto the ground, giving a yelp in pain. It shook and whined as it tried to lick its wounded leg but every movement sent a shockwave of new pain through its battered body.

He watched the beast for a moment more before looking around. There were no other dogs in the vicinity, no vultures and no other creatures waiting for the animal to die. The mutt was still struggling on the ground with its wounds as Clout slowly walked forward. This road was a bit narrower than he would have liked but he needed to use it to get to his destination. He tried to give the wounded animal a wide berth but when he stepped close, the dog looked up at him. It folded its ears and began to growl.

The pony stared down at the hound.

"Hang tight girl," Clout whispered to his passenger.

The frightened animal lashed out at him. As the dog's teeth came near, he lept passed, kicking it in the jaw with his hind hooves. The mutt yelped once more, tried to stand and stumbled back before falling again. Its cries of pain echoed through the darkened streets.