Warm Welcome (18+)

//Loooore. New character. Based back when he first became a pony, and when he first arrived in the city he’d eventually learn to call his home. Screams of agony and pain echoed all around, with horrific images of slaughter flashing through his mind. He heard the vicious snarls and growls, followed by the hollering and cries as teeth tore through flesh and bone. The images and sounds only got clearer and more intense, until they were like a drum beating within his head, sending vibrations throughout that shook his body to its core. The sound that seemed to drown out and overpower the rest was a long, loud howl. Suddenly, he snapped out of his nightmare and was brought back to reality as a hoof struck his midsection. Immediately, Max curled in on himself defensively and released a gasp as the wind was driven straight from him. He gasped and struggled to catch his breath, while his dark green eyes focused on the stallion looming over him. An elderly, heavy set stallion with greying hair and glasses rested upon the bridge of his nose. His face, that was now developing deep wrinkles was in the expression of a deep scowl, and before Max could even get a handle on what was going on, he heard the stallions raspy voice bark out. “Get fuckin’ moving, you bum! Don’t want you laying around outside my store all night.” Thrusting his hoof forward towards Max on the floor, he shook it violently as warning. “I won’t ask you again, boy. Scram!” Leaving Max be, the stallion stormed off and back into his shop, cussing and muttering obscenities under his breath the whole time. A faint chime of a bell being heard as the door was shoved open, which immediately triggered Max’s memory which seemed to be a tad foggy from having just woken up. He hadn’t slept a wink in days, so he decided to crash under the awning of a nearby shop to avoid the brewing storm overhead. The idea was to get a few hours of shut eye and wake up when the storm passed, but judging by the downpour he woke up to, that didn’t quite work his way. This was the first few days of living life as a pony, and it was brutal. He didn’t know his place in the world anymore, and everything was so different. There was expectations within society that he just didn’t understand yet, and that left him just trying to survive in a large city filled with ponies of all kinds. Letting out a grunt, Max shifted and sat himself up, resting his back against the wall of the shop. He looked out towards the empty, dark streets ahead of him, listening to the sounds of rain smashing against the concrete. His green eyes shifted and eyed down the bright, colourful signs of nearby shops, blinking a few times to adjust to the brightness shining in his eyes. Slowly, Max picked himself up and began to stagger away from the shop. He stepped out into the rain, which took just a matter of a few seconds to begin soaking his fur and mane. He groaned quietly to himself, a soft and weak sigh leaving him. What the hell was he going to do now? He had no money, no where to go, and his stomach was empty and beginning to growl. Max just wandered aimlessly through the storm, unsure where to go or what to do in this world that was so new to him. Where the hell would he even start? To others, he was just some homeless lowlife. They wouldn’t even spare him a passing glance, as if he didn’t even exist. In search of some form of cover from the rain, Max found himself wandering through the back alleys of the streets, navigating his way through the darkness, just praying his luck would turn up. He’d take a right turn down and pathway and begin trotting forward, stepping in a puddle that sent gentle ripples throughout the small pool of water on the ground. Up ahead, there was a gentle and warm orange light. Upon getting a closer look, he’d realize it was a flame on the inside of a large, old barrel drum. Huddled around it were numerous other shadowy figures in the shapes of ponies. Max stopped himself from getting any closer, and just stared them down, weighing his options. Avoid these strangers and keep searching, or risk it and see if he could huddle up to. Maybe they were friendly, right? Whatever the risk, Max would take it if it meant a warm spot to sleep. Slowly, he began to walk closer towards the little group, which consisted of both mares and stallions. He could hear talking and laughing among themselves as they lit up a cigarette using the flames inside the barrel before they began to pass it around along with a bottle. Right away, everything within him told him to back off, but Max ignored those red flags and got closer out of sheer desperation, until he finally froze like a statue upon being noticed by the group, who all stopped and turned to look towards the stallion. Confused and curious glances were shared all around, a few chuckles being heard here and there, too. They eyed the stallion down from a mere few steps away, taking note of how rough he appeared to be. He was a filthy mess, and seemed to have been on the road for a while now. “You lost, crackhead? Had one too many?” The voice came out in a snarl, followed by quiet laughs of amusement from the others gathered around. Max was silent, unsure what to say or do for a moment before he’d finally croak out, lifting a hoof to gesture towards the fire. “Just looking for a warm place to stay, that’s all.” He set his hoof back down into a wet puddle, which reminded him of how damn cold he was and made him even more determined to get out of this mess he found himself in. “Fuck off and keep looking, then.” The group was no longer sharing laughs or smiles, instead they now stared daggers towards Max, who stood there without another word, too busy questioning when fate would finally cut him a break. Apparently, that time wasn’t right now. Stepping forward from the group, a smoking stallion reached outwards towards the stranger and shoved Max back hard, but it didn’t exactly do much thanks to the height and weight Max had over the other stallions lanky figure. Max’s green eyes hardened with intensity, and without even considering the consequences of the next move he’d make, he thrust himself forward and shoved the stallion back with much more force. The stallion tumbled backwards and reeled into the heavy barrel drum, crashing into it and toppling it over to send pieces of fiery wood and papers scattering out across the soaked ground. Within a second flat, the others had stepped forward like a group of mindless drones rushing to protect their leader. They were on top of Max in seconds flat, forming a circle around him and trapping him in completely, leaving him stepping back and forth and spinning around to watch his back constantly, but they didn’t give him much of a chance before they started to beat him down into the ground. Punches and kicks struck Max from all angles, which dropped him to the ground in seconds. He fought and struggled back as much as he could, but every time he’d throw a punch, he’d get hit by another in the back of the head, which caused him to finally give in and collapse to the ground, his teeth grit and a quiet groan leaving his lips. The group finally slowed down and eased up, giving one or two more kicks to Max’s face and midsection to really make sure he stayed down. They poured the remains of the near empty bottle down over his head, before one would finally ask. “Think he’s got any shit on him?” Another shook his head, scoffing. “Look at him. Think a guy like this has cash?” Max didn’t have a single damn thing. He had only just arrived to the city a mere day ago, and since then he’s been outside the whole time, just trying to make by and get what he can to eat and drink. They all stared down at his motionless body, unsure what to do with him now. “We leave him like this, the fucker will report us to the pigs and we’ll have heat on us by in no time...” Silence. The group of ponies looked around at each other, a look of understanding on all their faces now. Being given a simple nod, one of the stallions reached down and gripped Max’s dark brown and now beer soaked mane. He pulled up on it hard, earning a wince of pain from Max who slowly lifted himself up, struggling just to do so. As soon as Max was up, he felt an arm wrap around his throat and begin to squeeze tightly, cutting off his airway and leaving him unable to breathe. He struggled and fought with what little energy he had. Blood poured from his nose and little split open cuts he had along his face as he gripped at the arm choking him, trying to pry it away just slightly so he could gasp for air. Nothing. His face began to darken and turn purple as his fighting grew weak, and just before his eyes began to shut, he spotted the shimmer of steel in the pale moonlight. The rest of the group stood around, watching the violent scene, expectedly waiting for the stallion to die. A mare stepped forward with a switch blade in hoof, it’s blade sharpened to a fine, piercing point. She stared down at Max, then shifted her gaze to his chest, picking her target. She kept focused on the spot, right in the middle of his chest, before she reeled back and thrust the blade straight through fur and flesh, and deep into his body. The moment the blade pierced his body, Max’s eyes shot open, those green eyes shining brightly and now looking like they belong in the skull of a beast. His lips curled into a snarl, showing off the fangs that grew within his mouth, each sharp to the touch and more then capable of ripping chunks of flesh out. He lunged forward, his jaws opening as his teeth sunk down around the mares arm. Instinctively, she yanked her arm away without even thinking of what to do, which was the worst thing she could’ve done. Max’s jaws were locked, and when she ripped away, he took a whole piece of her arm with it. Her scream pierced the air and echoed through Max’s mind, but it was drowned out by the all too familiar metallic taste of warm blood hitting his tongue. Lifting a hoof, which now had numerous razor-like claws extending from it, Max slashed and clawed up at the stallions face who was previously choking him. His claws sunk into his face and dragged down, slicing it to ribbons and causing him to release Max from his hold. The moment Max was released, he let out a fierce growl and lashed out at those too close, his claws ripping through flesh and clothing like a hot knife through butter. Within seconds, blood was beginning to drip on the ground, tinting the puddles of water with that crimson colour. The group of ponies had no idea what was happening. One moment, they had this stallion dead to rights. The next? He had fangs, claws and beastly eyes. It was as if it was ripped straight from a horror movie, but to them, it was really real. Immediately, the group huddled close and began to flee, completely abandoning the stallion who lay clutching his shredded up face on the ground, trembling in fear. Max watched his attackers flee and let out a ferocious roar that boomed across the city, causing the stallion on the floor to cry out and flinch, which only reminded Max he was still there. Max whirled around, staring fiercely down at the stallion. He snarled quietly and stepped over, the stallion slowly looking up towards Max to take in the sight. He didn’t even know what the hell he was looking at. Lifting a hoof, Max pointed it at the stallion, his lips curled to show those blood stained fangs. “Your jacket. Give it to me. Now.” The stallion paused for a second, surprised he was even still breathing. He didn’t hesitate to shrug the jacket off and hurl it towards Max, fearing to make the green eyed beast even angrier. Max caught the jacket and slipped it on over his frame. He yanked the hood up and over his head, casting shadows over his face and concealing it mostly except for his eyes, which slowly began to lose their beastly qualities and shift into their normal appearance. “Get the hell outta here!” Max’s angered yell echoed, which lit a fire under the bloodied stallion and encouraged him to get to his hooves and run off down the alley, in the direction of his friends. Max stared him down the whole time, watching him until he was out of sight which finally left him all alone. Slowly, his green eyes shifted down towards the tipped over barrel drum. It’s contents that were previously on fire were now extinguished by the flames. Letting out a sigh, he closed his eyes and lifted a hoof to rub his temple, before he placed it back down and turned to begin walking in the opposite direction, hopefully away from anymore trouble and where he could find himself some half decent shelter. What a warm welcome home.