When I open my eyes, all I can see is blurs and confusion, and then...
“Applejack?”
I’m laying on my side and I can see Nate sitting up in front of me, an orange pony that is intensely familiar to me leaning over my side protectively.
A grin quickly takes hold of her as her eyes water, from relief or from something else I cannot tell.
“‘Shy?”
“When did you get here?” I giggle a little. “Also, where did the scary men with guns decide to get off to? Did you kick them all for me?”
With a laugh she wraps her forelegs around me and twirls, managing to lift me up and spin a full rotation before setting me back down on my hooves. Her grip on me is as familiar as Pinkie’s laugh, something concrete I can remember and hold onto, and it doesn’t really matter where I am, or the aches and bumps. We’re going to be okay.
She lets go of me, still smiling, as I catch my balance.
“Dang, it’s good to see ya. 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?”
We stop, and look down the hall where the strange voice had come from. Six men just came around the corner. Armed and scowling at us, I freeze.
I look at them, almost confused, but the reality of the situation dawning on me. I must still be in the compound. Concrete walls, angry men, guns...
“RUN!”
It takes a second for me to turn, my hooves scraping the concrete and wings flailing. A steady orange hoof guides me, pulls me along.
“Don’t leave without the doctor!” I insist as he follows us, a scrambling tumbling trio. Running straight away from the half dozen who are now shouting after us, I can hear the ratcheting of slides, and bolts being loaded. Applejack surges ahead of us as a guide.
“Follow me!”
I don’t hesitate on that instruction, following her as best I can, my wings pumping to add a tiny bit of speed. AJ is shouting, but I can’t focus on her, the roar of adrenaline in my ears. We reach a split in the hallway, and AJ bounds off the wall to change directions to the side. Nate passes me and a moment later he is around the corner. My hooves beat out a trio of notes that become my tempo. For a bit I am scared the guards will start to fire, that I’ll be ripped to shreds, but then I hear a voice that I somehow recognize. As I round the corner, she shouts.
“Down!”
Halfway through a galloping motion, I am flying but for one hoof, my wings spread, no way to catch myself or do this gracefully...
I let the element of kindness take the impact, my wings pumping back for one more push as I slide into the wall and rebound from it, rolling to a stop, dazed. I can see AJ and some white-coated unicorn, and they’re reaching out for me. I crawl towards her and am soon in the midst of the herd, safe.
Safe until the gunshots ring out. I can’t help but look as the agent crouching protectively in front of us fires a shot into the first man who had been chasing us. He falls without a word, his pistol rattling across the ground, the shock in his eyes bitter, confused.
The second one is still looking at his friend in shock when the impact hits him, dead center just as the first one did, he spins slightly as he falls, as though trying to raise his rifle but failing to find the willpower. Another clatter and thud.
The third shot misses the man it was aimed for, and he ducks back behind the corner. My ears are ringing, my heart is pounding. I have never hated guns more than in this moment. But thank Celestia we’ve got one on our side.
“My name is Stephanie Chase. I am with the CIA.” The agent stood, and went from being taller then me to towering over us. It felt like meeting Luna for the first time, all over again.
I can hear the dying men whimper, maybe even sob.
“My team is converging on the premises as we speak. Put down your weapons, surrender and you will remain unharmed.”
“Oh, now you negotiate,” AJ mutters, and I have trouble telling if she is making a joke or genuinely upset at the death we’ve become a part of.
“Fuck you, lady!”
I groan inwardly and raise my hooves to cover my ears, but they still feel the needle sharp pain of being downrange of a rifle when it is discharged, three shots and I quickly look over the herd. None lost. Thank the stars.
The world is quiet as I look over these gathered ponies, they look weak, sick, they look like they hurt... They look like I feel. I am not alone.
“Are you okay?” I whisper, from one to another, slipping through the herd as I look them over, they look up to me as though I am an angel. They stand a bit straighter, they stop shaking just a little. There are so many of them...
AJ taps my back. “Come on y’all,” she whispers. “Real quiet like. Follow me.”
Two more shots behind us, from Stephanie. I can make out a few words but I’m not worried about them right now. The herd is hurt, they need help.
AJ leads me up to the front of the group, and gestures back at them. “Make sure they follow, we’re going to get out of this,” she murmurs, and we trot down the hall carefully. I whisper my thanks to celestia that AJ is leading, as I would be scared out of my mind to be the first rounding each corner.
I’m still terrified. But as we lead the herd through the hallways, I can’t stop staring at a white coated unicorn bringing up the rear of the group. She sounds like Rarity, she has Rarity’s cutie mark, but she just looks... different.
I turn away from her, back to following AJ, but at that moment I decide that she is still my friend. They are all still my friends, and I won’t let anything stop me from bringing them together again.