The Chronicles Of ARTIMUS: Book One

by AlkapwnZ

Chapter 10: The Contact.

Fluttershy has done a lot of things she never thought she would do. What she did to escape the Buffalo topped them ALL.

When the buffalo woman had shouted, the whole camp came to life; warriors rushed out of their respective huts, searching for the prisoners, buffalo women and children who were still outside rushing back into their homes, and warriors already outside were charging towards the group.

Fluttershy's heart rate doubled as she turned and ran back to her friends, who fled to the edge of the small hill the camp rested on. Suddenly, Buffalo hunters galloped up from behind the hill's slope, blocking their path. Rainbow veered to the right, while Twister ran backwards. Applejack stopped, confused as to who to follow. Buffalo charged into her, pinning her down before she could do anything. Fluttershy burst into the air, her wings extending to their full wingspan as she flew over a buffalo's head.

Fluttershy scanned the area from the sky, searching for her friends. Twilight had gotten her bearings, and was trying to avoid the buffalo pursuing her as she attempted to follow Twister. The crippled pegasus was running around, under, and over the buffalo that stepped into his path in that same earth-pony style parkour. Rainbow Dash had burst into flight like Fluttershy, but instead of doing the sensible thing and try to help her friends, she was sky-bombing the buffalo on the ground beneath her.

Fluttershy turned her head, and saw that Applejack was still having trouble with her foes pinning her down. She struggle, trying to buck them while pinned, but to no avail. Fluttershy froze with fear at the thought of attacking those warriors, but they were hurting her friend! Fluttershy gulped, and charged into the buffalo who was primarily pinning the cowfilly.

Fluttershy's strength surprised her, as the buffalo she struck flew across the clearing and crashed into one of the huts. The yellow pegasus squeaked as she pulled herself higher into the sky when more buffalo tried to attack her.

Looking from the sky again, Fluttershy could see that the chaos ensuing across the camp hadn't diminished; Twister was surrounded by buffalo on all sides, giving each a defiant glare that dared them to make the first move. Twilight had built up a protective forcefield, but she didn't seem to put as much power behind it as her previous uses of it. Perhaps she didn't think the buffalo could break it as easily?

Fluttershy was pulled out of these thoughts when Rainbow Dash suddenly charged into her side, knocking her back down to earth. Fluttershy sputtered, spitting the gritty sand that had gotten in her mouth as she crashed. She turned to her blue friend, shocked at what she had done. "W-why did you do that?" Fluttershy didn't like to be too commanding, but this really caught her off guard. Rainbow turned to her, giving her a frustrated scowl. "The buffalo almost nailed you with a stone!"

A stone? Fluttershy turned, and saw that there was a pair of buffalo using a strange kind of weapon. The first buffalo's horns were huge and wide apart, and they had strings of some kind tied between them. The second was putting stones between the string, and pulled the stone back and released it, sending the stone flying into the air. Fluttershy hadn't seen any buffalo like this before, but maybe that was what knocked her out of the sky when they were ambushed?

Rainbow had jumped back into the sky, dodging the stones being flung at her as she flew towards the buffalo pair. Fluttershy didn't want to risk getting hit again, so she remained on the ground as she looked around the clearing for her friends. Buffalo were charging towards her, however, and Fluttershy leaped to the side, narrowly avoiding the buffalo's tackle. The timid pegasus squealed and ran off, not knowing where she was supposed to go.

Fluttershy took a turn around one of the huts, and found Applejack was fighting off several of the buffalo attempting to pin her again. Fluttershy continued on, searching for the others. Suddenly, Fluttershy turned back when she heard the cowfilly cry out; two buffalo had gotten her again, and were ruthlessly beating her to try and knock her out.

Fluttershy felt anger rise up in her, something that didn't happen often. Those buffalo were unnecessarily hurting her friend! Before she knew what she was doing, Fluttershy charged into one of the buffalo, knocking him to the ground and forcing his head to kiss the dirt; she was in a flutterrage.

Applejack had already struck out at the one buffalo trying to hold her down still, and was running back towards the group. Fluttershy was about to turn back to follow, but remembered the buffalo and hissed into his ear. "NEVER. DO. THAT. AGAIN." The buffalo's eyes widened at each word, and when Fluttershy released him, he ran off crying.

Fluttershy suddenly felt guilty, but quickly forgot about it when she leaped to the side, avoiding another buffalo trying to pin her. Fluttershy burst into the air, hoping that Rainbow had taken care of those buffalo with the strange catapult. She scanned the camp again, searching for her friends.

Fluttershy saw that the catapult buffalo were out cold, courtesy of Rainbow Dash, and the cyan pegasus was now fighting next to Twister, both of them surrounded by the buffalo. Twister didn't look the least bit tired; in fact, he looked more energetic than ever! His eyes were wide as he fought against the buffalo, manipulating their joints by twisting their legs and forcing them down. Was that excitement...or bloodthirst? Fluttershy forgot about this when she turned to look at Rainbow Dash. The rainbow-maned pegasus was simply leaping from side to side, striking out at the buffalo as they got too close.

Fluttershy's attention turned to Twilight, when she saw a flash of purple light in the corner of her eye. Fluttershy saw that the lavender unicorn was now going on the offensive; she cast several combat spells to knock the incoming warriors away as she plowed through to join Twister and Rainbow Dash. Next to her, Applejack was galloping along with; The cowfilly must have rejoined the unicorn when Fluttershy wasn't looking.

Fluttershy reluctantly flew down to join her friends, frightened by all the action around her. When she flew down to the ground, she burst into a gallop to try and keep up with the pair. Twilight was taking care of most of the enemies; her magic shot out from her full front range of attack. Applejack galloped a little ways behind her, leaping over the occasional unconscious buffalo. Fluttershy quickly came up behind her friends, desperate not to lose them again.

After a few minutes of this, Twilight finally stopped when she reached Twister and set up another shield. This force field protected all of her friends now; Rainbow, Twister, and Applejack had all fallen into it. The buffalo stoped charging, pausing to look at the shield in confusion. It was an odd moment of peace.

Buffalo quickly gathered around the shield, and Fluttershy could see sweat beading down Twilight's brow. All that offensive magic had taken it's toll, and this shield being as wide as it was didn't seem to help that. The ponies tensed; it was just a matter of time before the shield fell and the chaos would continue. Twister suddenly stepped towards Twilight, and he spoke in an urgent whisper Fluttershy could barely hear.

"When I say 'go', focus your power on the area around you. Release the shield in a non-lethal explosion." Twilight nodded, and she continued to focus on her magic. Twister stepped towards Rainbow, Applejack, and Fluttershyas he spoke to them. "When I say 'go', charge towards the horizon. The buffalo can't follow us all the way, and we'll be safe once we reach Appleloosa. Got it?" Rainbow and Applejack reluctantly nodded, but Fluttershy whimpered and drew away from the scarred pegasus.

That rage he showed, that anger he took out on that black pegasus...that was something she hadn't seen in Twister before. It had frightened her more than Nightmare Moon in the fight at the Everfree, and THAT was saying something. Twister looked at Fluttershy expectantly, and she was scared to answer. The dull yellow pegasus's face fell, and he turned back to face the outside.

Fluttershy felt guilty for making him feel like that, but after seeing that anger...she couldn't look at Twister the same way again. The crippled pegasus's head suddenly shot up, and he shouted "GO!!!"

So much chaos ensued after Twister shouted that one word, that even Discord himself couldn't have made things crazier.(He likely would'v just grabbed popcorn.) First, like it was planned, Twilight had released the shield, and it was released in the form of powerful energy that radiated across the whole camp. Buffalo flew back, the force of the energy knocking them out as they plummeted back to the earth. Buffalo further out were knocked back as well, but they didn't fly into the air as the buffalo closer to the group had.

Then the team charged. Fluttershy could see now, with all the buffalo out of the way, a small light at the horizon that marked Appleloosa. It would be a long gallop, but they had a chance. Twister had grabbed Twilight again as she fell over in exhaustion, leaving him far behind in comparison to the others.

Fluttershy strained herself into her fastest pace, giving a small leap into the air to fly. She turned to look at Rainbow Dash, who had burst into flight, her wings extending to full wingspan as she cut through the desert air. Applejack was galloping at her fastest gallop yet, her pace not slowing as she dashed across the sands.

Fluttershy craned her head to look back at Twister, surprised to find he was slowly catching up. Twilight lay on his back, exhausted from using so much magic. Looking back at the camp, Fluttershy found that the unconscious buffalo were stirring, and the warriors who were still conscious giving chase to the ponies.

Just at the edge of the camp, Fluttershy swore she could see the silhouette of a pegasus, simply watching the chaos unfold. She was shaken from these thoughts when Twister shouted at her. "KEEP GOING!" Fluttershy realized she had briefly paused when she saw the pegasus, and she turned back to Appleloosa and strained her wings to their limit.

They were so close, yet so far. Fluttershy could slowly see Appleloosa more clearly on the horizon, close enough to see it's roads. Yet, there was something odd about the town....

Fluttershy gasped when she heard a loud horn echo across the San Palomino Desert. Looking to her left, Fluttershy could see a train was speeding towards the Appleloosa train station, with no hint at slowing down. Fluttershy realized the group was going to have to cross the train tracks, and if they waited for the train to pass, surely the buffalo would capture them before they could cross.\

Twister suddenly shouted, "DON'T SLOW DOWN! WE HAVE TO KEEP GOING!!" Fluttershy turned to look at the crippled pegasus, and realized he had already come up just a few yards behind Applejack, and was ahead of Fluttershy. His grayscale mane streamed back as the wind hit his face, and Fluttershy wondered how he could look so calm, so collected, even in all this chaos. He seemed so sure of himself, so ready for what was to come....

Fluttershy was shaken from her thoughts again when a loud train horn reminded her of their predicament. She didn't think she could go any faster, but Fluttershy strained her wings more, feeling the sweat beading down her brow. The train was close to crossing, and Rainbow Dash soared across the tracks. Applejack soon followed her example, leaping across the tracks and collapsing on the ground in exhaustion.

Twister suddenly turned his head, biting onto Twilight's mane as he unceremoniously swung the lavender unicorn across the tracks before crossing over himself. The crippled pegasus didn't even stop to take a breath when he shouted back at Fluttershy. "HURRY!!!"

Fluttershy tried to speed herself up, but her wings were strained to their limit. She saw that the train was only a few dozen yards away from crossing, and Fluttershy gulped as she forced herself to fly higher.

Closing her eyes to keep herself from looking down she could feel the air under her blast by as the train passed. Fluttershy couldn't find the strength to flap her wings anymore, and she plummeted down to the earth. Her consciousness slipped away from her as she lay on the ground, and she swore she could see the edge of a grayscale mane in the corner of her eye, and the sound of Twister's voice as her eyes closed against her will.

Fluttershy groaned when she woke up, her head aching as if a mad dragon bucked it in. Shaking herself, she opened her eyes and found herself in a small room. As her vision cleared up, Fluttershy got a better view of the room; the bed she lay in was small and somewhat dirty, as if it hadn't been washed in awhile. To her left, Fluttershy could see a door, and to her right, a window who's blinds were closed. She couldn't tell if it was night or day, but judging from the heat of the small, airless room, it was probably day.

Stepping out of her bed, Fluttershy heard the floorboards creak as she placed her hooves down. Fluttershy stretched, realizing her wings ached more than her head. They burned whenever she tried to move them, and Fluttershy realized they were more sore than they were from her training with Rainbow Dash.

Fluttershy pushed the small door open, wincing as it creaked. Peeking though the small opening, she saw that the hallway was just as small as her room, and doors just like hers lined up and down the hall. Pushing the door open wider, Fluttershy realized she could hear the muffled sound of ponies downstairs, glasses clinking together as they laughed.

Where in the name of Celestia am I? Fluttershy wondered as she stepped into the hall. Looking down her right side, Fluttershy saw stairs leading down to the room below, and she reluctantly walked down. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, the first thing that she noticed was the sharp, unappealing smell of alcohol.

As Fluttershy observed her environment, she realized she was in a saloon. Several ponies laughed as they drank the night away, and mares in aprons walked around the room serving drinks. Fluttershy could feel the panic rising in her chest. How did I get here? Where am I? Where is everypony? She whipped her head around, looking desperately for a familiar face.

Fluttershy moved back towards the stairs, frightened by the presence of these drunkards. Before she could reach the stairway, Fluttershy gasped in fright when a hoof swung around her neck, and she shut her eyes in fear. She only heard laughing however, and as she looked back in confusion, Fluttershy realized it was none other than Rainbow Dash.

"You should'v seen the look on your face!" The cyan pegasus laughed as if it was the funniest thing in Equestria, and Fluttershy half-heartedly laughed along. She didn't like being scared, but in a place like this, Fluttershy was relieved to see her friend.

"Alrigh', 'nuff of that, now." Applejack came up from behind Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy whipped her head around, wondering how good of a look she really gave the saloon. Applejack chuckled, and she stepped up to the yellow pegasus. "Don'cha worry none, you're safe here. Ya'll oughta come wit me, now; Twister's gettin' antsy." The cowfilly turned around, and Fluttershy followed her. Rainbow Dash trotted along, still chuckling to herself.

The three ponies stepped out of the saloon, and Fluttershy realized she was in Appleloosa. Like her hunch told her in the room, it was daytime. Fluttershy gave a closer look, and gasped when she saw the changes the town had gone through since her last visit.

Appleloosa was a town built along a single, main road, but the road had gone through several modifications; the road was paved with gray stone bricks, like the roads of Canterlot, and the road had brand new sidewalks marking the border between the road and buildings. The town was even bigger now; new buildings taller than the original ones had been built up, and they reminded Fluttershy of the sky-scrapers in Manehatten, even though these weren't even CLOSE to their height.

"Wha...what happened to Appleloosa?" Fluttershy gaped in awe at the new buildings, their glass reflecting the suns rays into her eyes. She looked away, blinking away the small spots temporarily blinding her. Applejack scowled, and the cowfilly's voice was in a low growl as she spoke. "Ah'm not rightly sure; Braeburn's got a LOT of explainin' ta do." The orange mare was obviously displeased by the changes to Appleloosa, but Fluttershy didn't understand why; the changes made the town look amazing.

"THERE you are!" Fluttershy jumped at the familiar gruff voice, and looking back, she saw that Twister and Twilight were walking back towards them. Fluttershy hid behind Rainbow Dash; she was still afraid of the scarred pegasus, after seeing how he attacked that black pegasus...

"Care ta explain now?" Applejack glared at Twister, and Fluttershy relaxed when he sat down, tipping up his safari hat. "Well....she's awake now, so you deserve your explanation. But not here....let's go someplave private." The dull yellow pegasus turned around, his mangled grayscale mane whipping back as he did so. Fluttershy reluctantly followed the group, and after awhile, Twister stopped in front of one of the newer buildings. "This way..." Twister tipped his head towards one of the alleyways, and Fluttershy reluctantly followed her friends into the narrow path.

After making sure there was nopony else there, Twister turned back to the mares, and he opened his mouth to speak. "Look, on my way to the Everfree, I stopped here, in Appleloosa, and at the buffalo tribe." Applejack lifted an eyebrow, "And lemme guess; somepony tried ta kill ya, but'cha killed 'em first?" Twister winced, and he muttered. "..well...kinda." Applejack raised both eyebrows in surprise, and Fluttershy realized she was being sarcastic.

"Y'see..when I was traveling through the San Palomino Desert, I was attacked by a couple of thugs hired to kill me. I had to abandon my food and water, and after I lost them, I found myself stranded; no food, no water, no chance." Twister grimaced as he spoke, and Fluttershy realized it wasn't likely a pleasant memory.

Twister lost his grimace when he continued his speech. "I eventually couldn't go on, and I collapsed. I thought I was a dead stallion...then Thunderhooves appeared. He found me, and took me back to the camp. He nursed me back to health, and he showed me a few survival skills in the desert. I already knew about them, of course, but it didn't hurt to go over them again." Twister chuckled, and Fluttershy was surprised to hear this. Thunderhooves and Twister were friends? Then why did he imprison him?

Fluttershy would'v asked these questions herself, but Rainbow Dash beat her to it. "Why did you steal the Sunstone, then?" She glared at Twister, giving him the usual accusing stare. Twister sighed, and he said, "I don't even know what it IS. I don't know why he thinks I took it..." "Did you really kill three warriors?" Twilight suddenly piped up, and Twister turned to look at the lavender unicorn. "Well..yeah. But I didn't want to!" He shouted this last part when Rainbow stepped towards him.

He killed three buffalo? Why? Fluttershy stepped back a few feet, finding herself more and more scared of Twister as she learned more about him. "Then why did you do it?" Rainbow Dash snapped at him, and Twister looked down in defeat. "I...I didn't want to. They jumped to conclusions; I was apparently in a place I wasn't supposed to be in, and they attacked me. I...was forced to kill them. They refused to listen to reason. It was strange...it was as if they became somepony else entirely." Twister stared at the ground as he spoke. Recalling this event couldn't be pleasant for him.

"I had to run. All the other buffalo attacked me, not caring to listen. I had to leave the camp, and I had hoped to never go back..." Twister shook himself, forcing an attitude change. "We don't need to worry about that anymore, though. I can handle them. It's not your problem. Right now, let's just focus on finding my contact."

Twister walked past the four mares, leaving the narrow alleyway. Fluttershy's friends followed, and she reluctantly fell behind them in a small trot. Now that they were looking for Twister's contact, everything would be alright. Right? They would finally get to go home now, so why did Fluttershy feel disappointed?

The group traveled across the main road, and Fluttershy was shocked by what was happening around her; ponies were stepping in and out of small, black carriages, but they weren't pulled by any stallions. Fluttershy leaped back when light suddenly shot from the front of the carriage, and it released a roaring sound that sounded like the growl of sleeping manticore.

Fluttershy turned to her friends, and they were showing an equal amount of surprise at what they had just seen. Twilight suddenly ran up to the carriage, her eye wide with curiosity. "What is this? How interesting.." The purple unicorn was examining the strange contraption from wheel to seat, but she jumped when a pony in the front called out to her. "HEY! Get away from my car!" He threw something at Twilight, and the unicorn caught it with her magic.

"HEY! That wasn't called for!" Twilight shouted back at the pony, and he grunted. Suddenly, the growling carriage..what did he call it? A 'car'? The car suddenly pulled out, and it moved down the main road on it's own, with no ponies pulling it. How did it do that?

Fluttershy was frightened by how the rude pony had acted, and only frightened more by the strange carriage. How did it move on it's own? How did anypony stand that loud noise it made? The carriage's actions all scared Fluttershy, but she was shaken from these thoughts when Twister spoke up. "Might not want to get near a car when it's pulling out. Just a suggestion." He smirked at Twilight, and before anypony could ask him what that...THING was, he had walked into a building.

Fluttershy followed her friends in,and she could hear Twilight muttering to herself. As she walked into the building, she found the floor was paved with smooth, white marble. Looking up from her mane, Fluttershy was surprised by how clean the room looked in comparison to the town; the walls were clean with white paint, and a fancy gold chandelier hung from it's mirror ceiling. You'd think this building was in Canterlot, rather than Appleloosa.

Fluttershy looked at a pony sitting in the middle of the wide room, and she felt relief wash over her when she saw Braeburn. She remembered Applejack's cousin from her last visit to Appleloosa;the cowcolt had been one of the few ponies willing to be diplomatic over the disagreement between the farmers in Appleloosa and the buffalo tribe.

Fluttershy gasped and hid behind Applejack, her heart leaping into her throat. Braeburn was talking to a griffin, and they seemed to be in a pretty heated debate. The last griffin she met wasn't exactly the friendliest in equestria...

Twister's eyes suddenly widened, and he called out to the griffin. "HEY!" Twister had a wide grin spreading on his face, and Fluttershy was thoroughly surprised; she had never seen Twister smile like that in the short time she had known him. Is that griffin his contact? Fluttershy forced herself to calm down. She shouldn't judge the griffin just because of what the first griffin she met had acted like.

The griffin turned, and Fluttershy had a better view of his face; the griffin's body was patterned with black and white feather's, and his head was covered completely with black feathers. Below his waist was the lion body every griffin had, and it was a shining gold. His lion tail whipped around, and Fluttershy noticed that, unlike Gilda (The first griffin she had met) this griffin had thick, gold mane around his neck. It somehow reminded Fluttershy of the sun.

The griffin smiled, and he spread his front eagle legs out in a hug. "Twister! I..." The griffin suddenly dropped his smile when he had a better look at Twister. "Dude...what happened to you?!" The griffin's eyes were wide, and Twister suddenly looked down his right flank, at his scars from the gorgon attack. "Oh...long story." Twister grinned sheepishly at the griffin, and then asked, "What're you doing in Appleloosa?" The griffin groaned. "LONGER story."

Rainbow suddenly cleared her throat, and she stepped up to Twister. "Care to introduce us to your friend?" Twister facehoofed. "Ah, that's right; Girls, this is my friend, Leo." Rainbow nodded at him, and she gave Leo a reluctant hoofshake. "Nice to meet you!" The griffin's voice was loud and deep, and it echoed in the large room. Fluttershy was scared to introduce herself to the griffin. She wasn't used to total strangers...

Leo's face fell as he realized what Twister's scars meant. "Oh...dude, I'm sorry 'bout-" Twister cut his friend off. "Don't worry about it. I'm fine." Twister turned back to the mares, and he spoke apologetically. "Sorry; I have to talk with Leo in private. Wait here." Twister and Leo left the room, and Fluttershy shuffled her hooves nervously when Braeburn walked up to the group.

"Howdy! Didn't think Ah'd see ya'll here so soon!" The cowcolt grinned widely, and AJ hugged her cousin. "Good ta see ya, Braeburn. Could'ja explain what exactly happened ta Appleloosa?" Applejack obviously didn't look pleased by all of these changes.

Braeburn's face darkened, and he sighed. "A few months ago, a couple o' stallions in these fancy suits strolled inta town. They was talkin' 'bout 'new technology' and 'the new era of Equestria'. They made the sheriff sign a contract, and they brought in a whole bunch o' fancy black carriages and trains that moved on their own. They don' need any ponies to pull them; they jus' need somepony in the front to control it. Ah don' know how they work, but Ah don' think it's magic." Twilight suddenly piped up. "Why are you upset? Carriages that move on their own; wouldn't that speed up the farming process?"

Braeburn turned to the lavender unicorn, his expression showing mixed emotions Fluttershy couldn't pinpoint. "Well..yes, they did speed things up, but they replaced the ponies who made a livin' pullin' carriages. If nopony needs 'em ta do that...." Fluttershy realized what he was talking about. The new technology helped some ponies jobs, but they replaced other ponies jobs. "So, because of these new machines, ponies are losing their jobs?" Twilight looked mournful, and Fluttershy suddenly understood Braeburn's dislike of the changes.

"....How much longer till their done talking?" Rainbow Dash suddenly spoke up, and Fluttershy started wondering that as well. Fluttershy forgot this when the doors behind her opened up, and three colts stepped into the building. Braeburn scowled, and Fluttershy hid behind Applejack as she looked back at them. The colts all looked earily similar; they had pale, snow-white fur covering them, and they had shaved their mane's off. They wore black, silk suits with red ties, and they wore shady glasses that hid all emotion in them.

"Whaddya want?" Braeburn stepped in front of the mares, and the colt in the middle spoke in a bored, monotone speech pattern. "We're here to speak with Mr. Do." Fluttershy felt her blood run cold; Twister's real name was Dashing Do. Were these ponies his enemies?

"Never heard o' 'em." Braeburn snarled, and Fluttershy felt the urge to scream for Twister. But she knew doing so would only make these colts attack. The colt in the middle sat down and put his right hoof into his suit jacket. "We saw Mr. Do walk into this building. We will speak with him. We are willing to use force to do so."

Braeburn scowled, and he growled. "Ah toldja, Ah never heard o' 'em! Now leave us alone." The colt nodded to his companions, and he pulled his hoof out of his jacket, and Fluttershy saw that he had a strange contraption attached to it. It was silver, and shone in the light of the room. It had strange grooves going up and down it, and a hole she couldn't see into was on the edge of each groove.

"We gave you the chance to cooperate. You leave us no choice but to use force." Fluttershy screamed as the colt pointed the contraption at Braeburn, and a loud bang pounded into her ears.

Blood spurted out of Braeburn's chest, and Fluttershy watched in horror as the cowcolt collapsed.

--Sorry this chapter took so long guys! I've had a lot of trouble so far trying to figure out what to do in it, and I'm glad I finally did. Don't worry; I'm NOT killing off Braeburn. That's all I'm revealing. Thanks for reading! I'll try to get Chapter 11 up soon to make up for it!--