//------------------------------// // Chapter 8: The Horse Soldiers // Story: Newborn Mare // by nanashi_jones //------------------------------// Rarity and I crept down the hall, where we found Elle of the shotgun and cigarettes. It wasn’t hard; she had a personal cloud of nasty-ass smoke hovering about her. Her shotgun was nestled in the crook of her arm. I leaned close to Rarity. “Against her head,” I whispered, indicating the floating gun. Rarity nodded and floated the weapon up to brush Elle’s temple. She froze, and a few seconds later, I stepped into her view. “Howdy,” I said. “Drop the shotgun.” Elle sneered, but held onto her gun. “Knew you were fakin’. You fuckin’ freak.” “Congrats. You get a gold star,” I said, flatly. “Put the gun down.” Elle tightened her grip. “You won’t do it,” she said in a low voice, smirking. “You’re weak.” I sighed. We didn’t have time for this. “You know, you’re right. I am weak,” I said. “But that pony right there? She really didn’t want to be here, and she hasn’t had the greatest day.” Elle’s eyes followed the tilt of my head and she saw Rarity. Rarity smiled back. Her mane was disheveled, her fur was all sticking up in odd patches, and I knew at least two of her hooves were chipped. She basically looked like a lady who wanted a strong word with the world. Elle returned her attention to me, appearing a bit more subdued. “Put down the shotgun. Please. And then step back,” I said. I made my tone clear that I wouldn’t ask again. Her face twisted, but she gave in. Elle placed her weapon on the ground and stepped away from it. “Thank you,” I said. Keeping my eyes on Elle, I lifted my head slightly. “Nate? Need you to do the hands thing and unload this.” Nate came forward. Elle’s eyes bugged out. “You fucking traitor!” she spat. “I knew we couldn’t trust you!” She stepped forward, and Rarity pushed the gun into her temple. Backing up, Elle’s eyes flashed and her voice dropped to a growl. “Just like I kept telling everybody: you can’t trust no goddamned pointy-headed Jews,” she hissed. “Don’t you know these ponies are gonna destroy us? Destroy the whole human race?! And you’re just gonna go along with it, you fuckin’ traitor!” Nate ignored her, muttered something about “microcephalic morons,” and unloaded the shotgun. I rolled my eyes. With speeches like that in her, Elle was not running for Miss America. “Excuse me, miss,” Erishy said, stepping forward. “Um, I just want to point out that we've never said we wanted to destroy anything. In fact, I haven’t heard of a pony attacking or hurting a human at all. Except… well, when captured or attacked first. But, you know, I think that’s reasonable. Don’t you?” Elle glowered back. I glanced down the hallway we’d just come, checking for company. With Erishy and Nate up front, the back of our group wasn’t protected. I only saw nervous ponies checking over their shoulders. I needed somepony else to watch the rear. Plus, we were time-crunched. But… As much as I wanted us moving, Erishy looked like she needed this. I may have thought Elle was about as useful as engine oil at an apple stand, but if Erishy thought there was a chance for her, I’d just have to wait. But we still needed rear coverage. I checked over the herd, and picked out a sturdy-looking, earth pony stallion. I waved him over. “Uh, yes? Applejack?” he said. “Hey. Need a favor. Can you keep an eye on the door for me?” I asked him. “Don’t wanna get surprised.” He nodded. “Sure.” Ducking down, he trotted through the mass of ponies to take up a position near the door. “We don’t mean any harm, we really don’t,” Erishy continued, still looking earnestly up at Elle. “We just want to help out, then get on with our lives.” Erishy smiled. “Maybe you can help us? Come with us? Give up your hate?” For a second, I thought it might work. Elle’s expression softened, and she looked genuinely thoughtful. But just as my hopes rose, Elle dashed them. Her face twisted, and Erishy backed up a step. “It’s not hate. It’s the truth,” Elle sneered. “Every human you damned ponies touch turns into a pony. They’re stripped of everything that make them human! Soon, there won’t be no humanity, just cutesy pastel freaks!” She glared defiantly, a martyr to her cause. “Just change me. Quit fucking around and make me disappear,” she snarled. We all stared at her. “What… an impressive imagination,” Nate said, to nobody in particular. “It’s like she has absolutely no idea how reality actually works.” Erishy shook her head before turning away. She looked at me sadly.  “Let’s knock her out, AJ,” she said, tone dejected. “No arguments here,” I said. I gestured Nate forward. “Sleep tight, ya moron.” Nate raised the shotgun, and swung the butt at her head. Elle dodged the blow. Twisting, she leapt on Nate, riding him to the ground. “Dammit!” I hissed, dodging flailing limbs. Nate grunted as his back slammed the floor. Bracing the shotgun between them, he tried to get space to get his wind back. Elle lunged, biting down on his cheek. Nate cried out in pain. Scowling, I raced forward, and body checked Elle. Hard. She flew off Nate, slamming into the nearby wall. Her breath left her with a woosh. Before she could recover, I leapt on top of her and hammered my head against hers. Elle jerked, and slumping, she slid into stunned unconsciousness. I shook my head a little, clearing the spots from my eyes. “Everyone okay?” I asked, turning back to the herd. Nate was sitting up, blinking dazedly.  Erishy had a handkerchief pressed to his cheek. She turned to me, and nodded. “We’re okay, darling,” Rarity said. “How are you?” “Fit as a fiddle,” I declared. “I’ll have to thank Big Mac for showin’ me that trick. Never thought I’d have to use it so much. Alright! Somepony help me-” “Applejack!” I turned. The stallion I’d put on watch was next to the door. The color was gone from his face. Then, I heard it. From deep within the compound and getting closer: the shouts of angry people. “Run,” I said. Nopony moved. The shouting grew louder. “Run!” The herd broke and ran. “Shy, with them!” I barked. “Rares you still got the keys?” She nodded. “Then, stay with me!” I grabbed Elle’s collar and dragged her towards the shouting. At the compound’s door, I tossed her into the corridor, and stood waiting. I heard Rarity come up behind me. “AJ, we need to get go-” “No!” I snapped. Turning back to the hall, I muttered, “C’mon Steph. C’mon. I don’t wanna do this without-” Stephanie wheeled around the corner, running full tilt toward us. Blood drenched her left sleeve. “Steph!” I yelled, grinning. Stephanie smiled back, pushing herself faster. Then the bastard brigade appeared. I could see men, and a few women, in black and camo, all armed. They filled the hallway, and were shoving one another out of the way in the excitement of the chase. They started firing, and my world zeroed down to just Stephanie. Ignoring the ricochets exploding around me, I stood my ground, and held the door open for her. She ran right past me, vaulted over Rarity, and skidded into the hallway behind us. I jumped back, shoving the door with my shoulder. It slammed shut with a hollow bang. “Keys, Rarity! Lock it!” Rarity quickly slid the key in the lock and snapped it shut. Her magic flared brightly as she twisted hard and broke it off. “Ooopsie!” she said. “I guess I don’t know my own strength.” She shot me a wicked smile, and I had to reciprocate. The changes in Fluttershy spooked me, but I kinda liked this new, more maverick, Rarity. We turned to Stephanie, who was catching her breath. “Sorry… I’m late,” she said. “Better late than never,” I said. “Let’s go. That door won’t hold ‘em forever.” Stephanie nodded and we followed the getaway crowd. Behind us, the mook squad beat against the door. It didn’t take long to catch up. Erishy was waving her forearms wildly, new panic in her eyes. “Let’s go! I’m not leaving unless you’re all coming, as well!” She looked back at the group, who were all doing a respectable job of hauling flank to the door out. “That’s the plan!” I replied. I was smiling fiercely. Erishy started flying, and I ran below her. Rarity and Stephanie kept pace right behind me. “They can’t be headed to the basement- we just saw a bunch head outside!” chattered the radio in Erishy’s care. Then everyone started shouting over everyone else, garbling any further communication. “Guy on the door leading out,” I said, moving to flank our group. “Rares and…” I saw Elle’s shotgun floating along in a green glow. “Whoever has that shotgun, get ready to look like action ponies.” I saw a unicorn nod, his brow settling in determination. We came up on Brian soon enough. He blinked at the sudden arrival of a mass of ponies, along with two humans, but before he could move, our guns floated in at his eyeline. Rarity moved her pistol forward till the barrel pressed against Brian’s nose. She trotted into his line of sight. “Don’t move, asshole,” she said. Brian stayed very still. And unlike Elle, very quiet. I started waving ponies through the door. “Stephanie, get up front!” I shouted. “We need you leading the way!” Hopping around the ponies, like playing hopscotch in a mine field, Stephanie made her way to the head of the herd. Once the last pony was through, I stood next to Rarity, and Erishy came to land on her other side. We looked at Brian. “On your knees,” I said. Brian, his eyes very focused on the gun, obliged. “Rares, you can move it.” Rarity moved the gun from Brian’s nose, and he slumped slightly, his gaze focusing on me. “Howdy,” I said. Then, I rammed my head forward, knocking Brian out. I rubbed at my forehead. “I keep this up, I’m gonna grow a horn of my own,” I muttered. Tilting my head toward the door, I lead our little command unit outside, where Stephanie waited with the rest of the group. “Made it-?” one pony said. “Dude, trees!” another pony exclaimed. “-the scariest thing ever!” said another. I smiled. “Where you been, young lady?” I called to Stephanie. “Got held up,” she said. “That everypony?” “We’re clear. Let’s roll.” “NO!” We whirled, and Commander Davis marched around the building, levelling his weapon at us. A group of men and women behind him all carried similar guns. “Nobody’s going anywhere,” he growled. The people behind him fanned out, and I could easily see they outnumbered us. It wouldn’t take them long to surround us and corral us back inside. I wanted to scream. Instead, as I stared at the sheer unfairness before me, a sudden memory welled up. Max once showed me Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. I enjoyed the movie, but wondered about the ending. Where did those guys find the courage to stand against an entire army? Looking at Commander Davis and his squad of armed, racist rednecks, and hearing the fear-filled noises of the herd around me, I knew the answer. I sauntered forward until I was directly between the herd and his line of fire. It didn’t matter that I was on the business end of a gun again. These ponies were under my protection. Rarity joined me on my left. Erishy landed on my other side. She whimpered a little, but I think I was the only one who heard it. “How’d you get out?” I asked, my gaze locked on him. “Back door. This place is lousy with ‘em,” Davis replied. I laughed a little. “Wish I’d known that.” He didn’t share my amusement. “Put down the guns,” he said, voice sharp. Turning my head a little, I kept my eyes on Davis. “Do as he says,” I said. The guns floated off to the side and settled on the ground. “Okay, good,” Davis said, in a more relaxed tone. “Now, everyone is going to march back inside, and we’re going to lock all the ponies up, and then deal with the agent and the doctor.” I could feel all eyes in the herd on me, waiting for my direction. I stood my ground. He wasn’t getting prisoners. He wasn’t getting hostages. He wasn’t getting anything. The silence stretched out. “I’m not going to say it again,” Davis said, his voice going hard. I stood my ground. Behind me, I caught a murmur from the crowd. Someone quietly said, “Hey does anypony else hear that?” Davis sighted on me and cocked his rifle. I could make out the grooves in the muzzle. My heart thudded rapidly in my ears. Whum, whum, whum. The sound grew until it drowned out everything else. Then, the whumming exploded as a helicopter roared into the clearing. “Aaah!” he yelped, jerking his gun up at the new threat. “Put down your weapons!” Alphonse’s familiar, resonant voice commanded. Everyone turned, as Special Agent Alphonse Beharie exited the brush surrounding the compound. May Belle rode on his shoulder, my hat tilted back from her eyes. Behind them came a whole squad of men in tactical gear. Their vests all read FBI, in bright yellow letters. The helicopter’s engine growled from above, keeping the spotlight on Davis’s men. Voices started barking orders all around us. “FBI!” “Freeze!” “Don’t move!” “Well well well,” May said, grinning ear to ear. “Looks like we arrived just in the nick of time, eh, Al?” “Looks like,” Alphonse said, training his weapon on Davis. “What’s that make us?” Alphonse smiled. “Big damn heroes.” “Ain’t. We. Just.”