//------------------------------// // Chapter 6: The Big Stampede // Story: Newborn Mare // by nanashi_jones //------------------------------// I squinted at Franklin, then at Erishy. As far as I could tell, they were both asleep. Sure, they were in a Vulcan Mind-meld pose, but their eyes were closed and breathing steady. Now I just have to hold down the fort till Steph gets back, I thought. So far, no one had shown up. I wasn’t exactly counting on that luck holding, so I knew I would need a good story. I glanced at the catatonic pair next to me. Thinking over my options, I realized I would need a really good story. Time stretched out. I moved as quietly as I could from one end of the hallway to the other. The door handle across from me never jiggled, so it looked like the boys in there were sitting tight, too. Lucky, lucky girl, I thought. Can’t keep counting on it, you need a plan. I looked at Franklin and Erishy again. A plan that explains the Amazing Kreskin routine we have going on here. Nothing came to mind, and it became clear that all I could do was watch the hall, then Erishy, then Franklin. As the minutes ticked by, the hall remained unchanged, but Erishy and Franklin were no longer doing the peaceful Vulcan Mind-meld thing. Franklin’s face was pale, and he had broken out in a cold sweat. Erishy’s mouth had turned down, and she looked like she was about to whimper. But their eyes remained serenely closed, which made the whole thing creepier. I didn’t like just standing guard when it looked like they could use help. But what could I do? They were in psychic, Professor-X-slash-Spock land, and I was out here, keeping an eye on the dust. I was helpless. No! No, I wasn’t! Granny didn’t raise a quitter. There had to be something... I had an aunt who once fell into a coma for a spell. She told me that folk talking to her helped out. I wasn’t sure how Vulcan Mind-melds related to comas, but I figured this situation was similar enough it was worth a shot. After confirming the hall was still clear, I sat between Franklin and Erishy. I placed a hoof on Franklin’s knee and draped the other across Erishy’s neck, right where her Element was. “Don’t know what’s goin’ on in there,” I said, my voice low. “But you said you’d take care of my friend doc- I mean, Nate. You said you were gonna help and I believe ya.” I rubbed his knee supportively. “Don’t give up. I’m rootin’ for ya out here.” Facing Erishy, I said, “You’re not alone ‘Shy. The doc here may be doing the head work, but I’m doin’ the hoofwork like always. I ain’t gonna leave ya. Not when I just found ya. That’s a promise.” My Element briefly warmed, like a reassuring hug at my neck, and… well, maybe I imagined it, but I thought I felt Erishy’s Element warm in response. That was as close as I got to any reaction, so I gave them one last pat for support and resumed my patrol. As I checked one end of the hallway for what felt like the thousandth time, I heard the crack of someone popping their back. Turning, I saw Nate stretching. He looked at Erishy, his expression fully relieved, and gave her a quick hug. He saw me staring and waved me over. “It worked? She’s okay?” I said, trotting to Erishy’s side quickly. I was trying to keep my voice low, but a giddy feeling rushed up through me, making it hard. Erishy slowly opened her eyes. She looked at Nate, then me. She blinked. “Applejack?” she whispered, squinting. “‘Shy?” I said, a wide grin plastered all over my face. I could feel tears at the corners of my eyes. Erishy giggled a little bit. “When did you get here? Also, where did the scary men with guns go? Did you kick them all for me?” I couldn’t help it. I laughed and swooped Erishy into a bear of a hug, spinning her around once before plopping her back on her rump. “Dang, it’s good to see ya,” I proclaimed. “I mean- Yeah, yeah. Just got here. And much as I’d like to take credit, we got some help on this one.” “What the hell is going on?” came a voice. I turned. Of course. Of course they choose now to show up! At the other end of the hallway was a collection of six men. Six men, who were armed, and a little angry at us for sitting in the middle of their base like we were having a picnic. “RUN!” I yelled. Erishy scrambled first, almost falling over before getting to her hooves. I steadied her and she darted for the other end of the hallway. “Don’t leave without the doctor!” she yelped, looking back. She didn’t have to worry. Nate wasn’t as nimble as we were, but adrenaline makes everyone a sprinter. He caught up with Erishy and matched her speed, pretty quick. Once they were moving, I hauled tail to the front of the group. The shouts and the sound of guns being cocked behind us made for good incentive. “Follow me!” I yelled, and headed for the room marked “Pony Prisoners.” I didn’t want to slow down, so I took the corners using an old rodeo trick: bouncing off the walls to help make turns. I trusted Erishy could keep up. I’d seen the girl haul when she was spooked, and the running guards behind us were plenty spookifying. “Shouldn’t be much farther!” I yelled. I tapped off another wall, except I didn’t touch back down. Instead I crashed straight into Stephanie. “Wuurng!” Stephanie grunted, as we went down in a tangle. “Steph!” I said, rolling off the agent quickly. I’d taken worse tumbles in the South Orchard, and in my backyard as a kid. “We got guards on our tail!” Then, I blinked as I saw a herd of ponies filling the hall behind her. I blinked again when I spotted a familiar unicorn at the back of that herd. “Rarity?!” I exclaimed. At least, I thought it was Rarity. The white coat and triple gem cutie mark were the same, but her mane was pulled back in a tail with gold highlights in her usual royal purple. And her eyes! She looked like David Bowie from Labyrinth with that mismatched blue and green. I stared at her warily. Then, she turned, and saw me. Smiling, she tossed her head back. “Hello, darling! It’s been ages, it really has,” she called. “We will have to catch up after we get out of this terribly unbalanced situation.” Yep, that was Rarity all right. Rarity’s horn glowed and a half dome of blue-green light appeared, floating over the group to get between us and our pursuers. Stephanie stayed outside it. She took a steadying breath, then rose to her knees, drawing her weapon as she moved. Nate and Erishy came around the corner, and Stephanie raised her gun. “Down!” she barked. Nate and Erishy dropped to the ground, sliding, and Rarity floated her shield up. The collected ponies acted as a friendly crash mat when the pair bumped into them. “Whoa. It’s Fluttershy,” a voice in the herd said. The first man chasing us rounded the corner. Stephanie fired. Down he went. So did the second. The third man jerked back, and Stephanie’s shot dug into the concrete wall. No… more… guns, I thought, my ears flat against my skull, my whole body tense. Especially… indoors. Despite the ringing in my ears, I could hear that everyone had gone quiet. Then, Stephanie moved from her knees to her feet. “My name is Stephanie Chase. I am with the CIA,” Stephanie announced. “My team is converging on the premises as we speak. Put down your weapons, surrender, and you will remain unharmed.” “Oh, now you negotiate,” I said, sarcastically, shaking the tension out of my legs. “Fuck you lady!” A rifle appeared around the corner and fired off three bullets. The first hit the floor, the second hit the ceiling, and the third dug into the opposite wall. If I was going to be involved in any more firefights, I was tying my ears down on my head and stuffing them with cotton. I didn’t care how stupid I looked- this noise was ridiculous! As I dug a hoof in my ear to clear out the second bout of ringing, I very distinctly heard a not-that-quiet, quiet voice say, “Gimme your clip.” “What? No! I only got two bullets!” another not-that-quiet, quiet voice answered. The two men on the ground groaned, blood seeping from their chests. I would like to point out that in my life I have maced a mugger, fought Nightmare Moon, beat Discord, and gone a few rounds with an entire squad of the changeling army. I was a little insulted to find out that these were the bad guys I was up against. “Come on, I got close,” said the first voice. As I stood there with my jaw open, amazed at humanity, and not in a good way, Stephanie looked at me. She jerked her head. I raised my eyebrow in silent question. “Screw you! Look at Dan and Dave!” said the second voice. Stephanie jerked her head more emphatically back down the hall, and my eyes widened as I understood. Nodding my comprehension, I picked my way through the herd. I smiled, patting Rarity reassuringly. “Come on y’all,” I whispered. “Real quiet like. Follow me.” Rarity moved to the rear as quietly as I had taken the front. Erishy and Nate waded in to join us. “You’re both idiots, I’m calling backup,” said a third voice. Stephanie fired two more shots at the corner. “Surrender now!” she said, sounding like Robocop. She made a shooing motion at us. “As a federal agent I… can assure you that surrendering now would be… good.” I shot Stephanie a look that said, “Really? You’re going with that?” She glanced back at me, rolling her eyes and shrugging. No wonder she hadn’t negotiated before- she kind of stunk at it. I motioned with my head for the herd to follow me. “You’re no federal agent!” said the second voice. “Really?” Stephanie retorted. “You think I wear bulletproof vests with ‘CIA’ on them for fun?” Silently, I lead everyone, minus Stephanie, down the hall in the other direction. “You have two men down,” Stephanie said, still going. “I’m a good shot, but I’m conserving ammo. If someone doesn’t help them soon, they’re going to die very painfully. You want that on your heads?” As we turned the corner, Stephanie’s voice died away. Once we were in the clear, I got a good look at the herd I was leading. I saw ponies who were tired, worn down, clearly missing a few meals, and more who looked in worse shape. I spotted one unicorn draped over an earth pony’s back. I asked Erishy and Nate to help any ponies having trouble walking. Rarity volunteered to stay as the rear guard, her shield prepared. I reiterated that everypony was to keep as quiet as possible while we walked. As the herd crept along, I made sure even my breathing was quiet. After seeing that the average mook in this place was dumber than a bag of hammers, I wanted to be extra cautious. If there was one thing Rachel’s dad drilled into her it was that a man who knew what he was doing with a gun was dangerous. The idiot who didn’t was worse. You didn’t know where the idiot was gonna put the bullet. Not that I let on how nervous I was. I had to keep it together. Erishy and Rarity were with me, and that was a comfort, but I was the one making the calls. So, that meant a brave front was in order. I smiled as confidently as I could, and tried to look like I knew what I was doing. The progress was slow, but we made it within sight of the compound’s entrance without so much as a peep from the morons running the joint. I halted everyone ten yards from the main door. We were out of sight, just around the corner of the greasy kid who stood guard. “Okay,” I said, turning to face my ragtag group of rescuees-in-progress. I kept my voice low. “Things’re about to get extra strength hairy here. How’re we holding up?” “I’m okay,” Erishy whispered. “Most of our ponies here seem okay too. Only one needs medical attention urgently, and she’s being carried.” The look she gave me was determined, even though I could see her wings shuffle nervously. “Well, I could go for a snack, dear. Or a full spa day. Are there more government agents outside?” Rarity asked, as she shifted nervously from hoof to hoof. In all the excitement, some of her mane had escaped its tie, and she tossed her head trying to get it out of her eyes. “We got a guy out there,” I replied. “He’s, um, he’s keepin’ an eye on your sister while waitin’ for the the cavalry.” I looked back at the main door. “We only gotta get past three more guards if we’re gonna get out of here.” A slow smile spread on my face. “And I got an idea how to get past the first door.” Beckoning Rarity, Erishy, and Nate to me, I said, “This is gonna be a trick and we’ll have to be ready. Nate, we’re gonna need your jacket...”