September 23rd, 2012 12:00 A.M.
With a flash, we found ourselves at the edge of forest, away from the blanks. Some distance away, I could see Fluttershy’s cottage in the distance.
“Go! We’re almost there!”
We finally got out of Everfree with the skin still on our backs. Now I understand exactly why nobody goes in there; the ‘blanks’ will straight up murder anybody.
I caught my breath, nearly collapsing on the field as everyone behind me caught up. I had never run so fast in my life. As everyone came together, I took a look at the sky, the moon just a few miles above our heads, followed by another earthquake. We needed to get back to town. We had so little time left, but no time to rest. I turned around and examined my group, and to nobody's surprise, they were battered, beaten, scared and tired, and I’m sure I looked like hell myself. One look went back towards Ponyville, it still being in its run-down and damaged state. Still, it was home to them, and we still needed a place to recuperate.
“We’re almost there, everyone… Just a bit further. Ohh, Christ my leg is burning...” I tried to reassure them mostly, but some of it was for myself, too.
I felt so weak, but I trudged on towards the town, dragging my feet as the sword held me up like a walking stick. I must’ve looked like a zombie, I swear. A short walk in, and the earth shook again, nearly bringing me to my knees. I righted myself and continued, just coming up to the first buildings of Ponyville. It wasn’t a pretty sight, seeing all of the damage still unrepaired. As we moved slowly, we spotted some ponies milling about, looking downtrodden and hopeless from their situation. Several were just staring at the moon in anguish, all looking tear-ridden. Still, some seemed to notice us, and I began to hear gasps and mutterings of our names, their eyes widening at the sight of us. As we rounded the corner, we were stopped in our tracks as we laid our eyes upon a rather large group of creatures in the distance, slowly approaching us.
I drew my weapon, ready for a fight. If we had to kill…
So be it.
I approached the shadowy figures in the distance, only to be taken aback and immediately relieved at what I saw: Cup and the children. Granny Smith. Flam. The immigrants and prostitutes from Carousel Boutique. The children we had saved from the Rainbow Factory and their parents. The Belles. The animals we had freed from Fluttershy’s shed, and all the wrongfully accused Big Mac and I had saved from the dungeon. I couldn’t count exactly how many were there, but... It had to be at least a good two hundred.
“What the hell are you all doing here?” I asked, feeling both shocked and wary of them.
“We all have our reasons.” Flam spoke up amongst the crowd. “The first and foremost being? You saved a lot of the creatures here; be it from a life of servitude or death. The rest of us? We have a vendetta against the one you’re after. Cup lost her husband. I lost... my brother. Granny Smith had lost her grandson to a vile life. The Belle family lost their daughter. If it’s not a debt we owe you, human, it’s revenge on that demon.”
It took me a moment to process what had been said. They’re willing to look past my actions and help me fight BEN… It didn’t make any sense to me. I guess I had no reason to complain if they were going to help, because I’m going to need all of the help I can get to defeat that fucking demon of a bastard.
“Well, let’s not waste any more time. We only have a few hours before this moon falls. We may have the tools to stop him, but he’s to bring Equestria spiraling into war this very night; he has the support of the Changelings, and God knows what else. We need to rally the citizens together. Would you all be willing to stand by me and bring as many as you can to the cause?”
“Yes, sir!” I could hear most of them say aloud, ready to fight the demon that stood between us and ending this nightmare. Despite the comfort that brought me, something tugged at the back of my skull…
“Wait… how the hell did you guys GET here?”
“Took a train from Canterlot, why?” Bon Bon piped up.
“Was that a coal train? Electric? Gas?” I began to run the numbers through my head as I started to think of a way to get back with enough time to spare.
“Coal. We don’t have anything else at the moment, if there is better technology.” Flam put in, looking at me as if I should know this as fact.
“And you guys came from Canterlot. That thing is going to get, at max, fifty in speed. We’re going to need something that can break ninety, and perhaps, a lot of them.” What the hell could accomplish that in this world?
“What do you mean, ‘ninety’?” Cup Cake asked, cocking her head to the side quizzically.
“Miles per hour. It’s eight-ish right now, and if we want to get back to Canterlot at a reasonable time, about midnight, we’ll need a faster vehicle."
“Perhaps I could help with your dilemma?” A familiar voice echoed throughout the woodland border. Not five seconds later, a bright flash overwhelmed our vision, followed by the appearance of Discord. His arrival somewhat calmed my nerves, but it made everyone else panic and scream as they began to scatter.
I drew my pistol, wasting a round as I fired it off to the side.
“EVERYBODY, CALM THE FUCK DOWN! NOW!” I shouted, unable to deal with the sudden mass levels of panic and noise. I need order, right now.
Immediately, the army before me fell silent at my booming voice - the world understood my authority when it came to the dire situations we were put in - when the human speaks, you shut your mouth.
“Listen! I may not like Discord either, but he, like us, holds a grudge against BEN. I have been through Hell and back, and right now, we don’t have much choice other than to trust the powers of an otherworldly beast if we hope to pull some miracle transportation out of our asses.”
I looked over to Discord, uttering a quick ‘no offense’.
“None, taken. I assume you’re talking about those ‘car’ things you have back home?” the Draconequus asked me, looking square into my eye. I simply nodded.
“Yes sir. Do you have any?” A glimmer of hope sparkled in my only eye.
“Do I have any? Of course not. However, they’re more than easy to obtain when you’re the God of Chaos.” He flashed a grin and a wink. I rolled my one eye in annoyance. “Be back in a jiffy!”
In another flash of light, Discord disappeared. And about ten minutes more, came back with an even brighter flash, appearing with what we asked for. “Tadaaaah!” He shouted in triumph.
I saw rows upon rows of cars. Lots and lots of…
Wait…
“BEETLES!?” I shot, slamming my robotic fist in the side of the nearest one’s gas tank, denting the vehicle.
As the coupe’s alarm blared into the night, Discord flinched back at the outburst, unsure of what he did wrong. “Out of every single possible vehicle on planet Earth, you chose Volkswagen. Fucking. Beetles!? These things aren’t racers! What the hell is wrong with you!?” I was almost livid, how could we rely on these things for our fucking survival? For once, instead of having a rather playful innocent expression, he actually looked confused and slightly hurt.
“I’m sorry, I don’t know the difference between X and Y car! I’m not from you-”
“JADUSABLE!” A demonic voice ripped through the skies, nearly destroying our eardrums in the process.
Immediately, a black mist with red, glowing orbs quickly sped out of the forest. Discord turned to the voice a second too late, only to be struck through his own torso, splitting the God of Chaos in half. His face was one I would never forget in that very moment. The mist overwhelmed his body in seconds as the others screamed and began to scatter. The fucker was going to be on us in mere seconds.
“FUCK! GO! GET IN THE GODDAMN CARS! GO, GO, GO!”
I couldn’t spare any more time to mourn over the loss of another ally. He did his part, now it’s time for ours.
WIthout question, I grabbed the kids in my party and threw them into the nearest one, breaking open the window. I tore the door off the driver’s seat of it, the grown ponies in my personal team dogpiling into the back. I turned the key, already in the ignition, and popped the E-brake. slamming the automatic transmission into overdrive. BEN began zipping through the armada of cars, each one left behind him an explosive, charred pile. Needless to say, some didn’t make it.
Taking a second to glance in the sideview mirror, I saw something that just about blew my mind right then and there. Something stopped the mist dead in its tracks for a few seconds. As I stared, I saw the mist writhe and twist. Finally, I caught a glimpse of what was stopping him. It was Discord, or rather, his upper half’s claws dug in tight somehow to the mist. How he was holding onto pure mist was beyond me, but he was Discord. The crazy bastard still had some fight left in him it seemed, as a shit ton of pink clouds swarmed the mist, encasing it all in literal pink. I almost wanted to laugh at the amount of bullshit that Discord wanted to pull even in his dying breath. BEN’s screams of frustration was music to my ears by this point.
I felt soft hooves latch onto my shoulders. “PUNCH IT, NICK, PUNCH IT!” Pinkie screamed.
Her voice caused me to refocus on the road ahead.
“I’M ON IT, SISTER!”
I slammed my foot on the pedal, and we took off, causing Pinkie to let out a yelp as she fell back into her seat. Like it or not, Discord was likely done, and I wasn’t going to waste the few extra seconds that he was giving us by barely hanging in there. Soon enough, two voices erupted in the skies behind us, one of pure agony, and one of pure anger. Suddenly, the first voice was cut short.
“AND YOU CALLED YOURSELF A GOD! FUCKING WORTHLESS!” BEN’s voice boomed. I didn’t bother to look back as I sped away. I began to feel the air chill once again as the Skull Kid’s laugh filled the air again.
That laugh can burn in the hottest pits of Hell. I never want to hear it again if we get out of this.
“OH JADUSABLE!” A demented sing-song voice was heard from behind me. “YOU AND YOUR LITTLE PONIES WOULDN’T BE TRYING TO RUN NOW, WOULD YOU?”
My heart beat against my chest rapidly as my car fired out of the emptiness of the town, leaving most everyone behind. A few others had crammed into the cars in a panic, chasing off after me. Fortunately, it wasn’t that hard for the ponies to grasp a concept of a car. That, I was thankful for.
But out of the two hundred or so that Discord gave us, I could only see about forty or so chasing after me, their engines screaming into the night. And BEN? Well, he was still chasing them, this time, firing massive, dark orbs of energy towards the vehicles. I kept my eyes in the rearview, only to see two cars get completely obliterated, a deafening roar of screams (and burning flesh) overtaking the sound of the engine.
“NICK, LOOK OUT!”
As I turned my gaze back to the windshield, I saw we we were headed straight for a house in the middle of town. Immediately, I slammed the wheel to the right, fishtailing the vehicle and sending the others flying.
“PUT YOUR GODDAMN SEAT BELTS ON!” I bellowed, unwilling to watch another friend die to sheer foul luck.
A few more minutes of panicked driving, and it became clear that BEN was trying to target one specific car, as his form - the black mist, blew through the side of the house I narrowly avoided.
Mine.
I pushed harder on the gas, the car taking a jump over a sizable park hill, and landing on (and crushing) a bench.
“Nick, darling, he’s gaining!” Rarity shouted.
“I KNOW THAT, LET ME DRIVE!” I really did not want to listen to her voice right now.
Immediately, I looked back behind me to notice a ball of energy headed straight for the back of my car, and I swung to the left, headed for the Ponyville train station.
“Nick, what’s this!?” Pinkie asked, looking to the center of the car near the radio, and passing me something that was dangling from it by a loose wire.
Well I’ll be. A CB radio. Perhaps Discord thought of more than I first took him for. Rest your soul, brother.
With my spare hand, I flipped on the radio, hoping the others still following behind me had one as well. I took an immediate turn at the train station, this time, driving ON the tracks.
“This is Nick Brownford! Can anyone back there hear me!? Vinyl? Granny Smith? Someone!?”
I was surprised to hear a response some moments later, the name and voice of a pony I recognized.
“This is Octavia. Are you doing okay up there?” How in the hell was she so calm right now?!
“Lady, what’s it look like to you!? I asked, swerving to dodge another energy blast. “Can any of you guys do me a solid and get this guy off me!? Who’s your driver!?”
“Um… Bulk Biceps, why... “
“GIVE HIM THE RADIO! NOW!” I was not in the mood for civilized talk.
A much more gruff voice answered, “Biceps here, what do you need?”
“Get up next to me and have any unicorns in your car fire at him with magic! I don’t care if they think they’re capable or not, make sure they do!” Anything to slow that fucker down.
“YEEAAH! I’m on it!”
As the distant rumbling of an accelerating car brewed up behind us, I looked to Twilight. “You and Rarity unroll the back windows and lay down suppressing fire! Now!”
“We’re on it!” Through my rearview mirror, I saw the two unicorns lean out just enough for their head to poke out, and begin their volley of magic.
Remembering that there were several other cars who were more than likely just driving blindly behind us, I gave them a little guidance. “Calling all vehicles, we are driving down the railway system, and climbing the mountain to Canterlot! I repeat, we are driving down the railway system and climbing the mountain! Lose him in the train tunnels!”
A plethora of replies came over the airwaves as I sped down the bumbling tracks, BEN still chasing after us and firing at my car with no success.
“Spike, what’s the situation in Canterlot!?” Another set of screams were silenced by an explosion behind us. Damn it all. “Send a letter to the Princess, telling her we’re on our way and in combat!”
“There was a message for you we got some time after you disappeared! She said that the ponies that met up with us are the only support you’re going to get unless you reach Canterlot!”
“What about the rest of Equestria? Has it been evacuated!?” I asked, the car kicking into its highest gear again.
“Brownford!? Brownford, do you hear me? It’s Biceps!”
“Yes sir, loud and clear!”
“We’re coming up on your left! Fall back and pull over to his right side, so we can sandwich him in!” As good a plan as any.
“On it! Spike, what about Canterlot?”
“Everything from the Griffon Empire to Yakyakistan has been evacuated to the capital city.” Wait, the fuck?
“The fuck is Yakyakistan?!”
“I don’t have time to give you an elementary school history lesson, okay!? Just drive. I’ll write up a letter to Celestia on the way!”
I slipped the car into a lower gear, hitting the brakes and pulling up on BEN’s side. His glowing, deathly red eyes locked with mine as I took a look out the window.
“I’m going to kill you, boy! Just you wait! You’ve caused me too much trouble! I WAS tempted to leave you alive, but you simply are too much of a threat to let go of now!” The demon responded, looking somewhat past me, as if to stare at my sword.
“Shoot him, damn it! Shoot him, Rarity!”
Before the unicorns in my car could get off a shot, Ben immediately flew upwards, only to reappear to the right side of my car. Immediately, he flew towards me.
“SURPRIIISE!” Oh he-
BEN slammed into me with unrelenting force, causing the door to crumple and the locks to break. It made me lose control of the vehicle, and I ended up slamming into Bicep’s car. This wouldn’t have been so bad, if we weren’t en route for a tunnel. I ended up going through it, but Bicep’s car hit the side, full speed. They were obliterated on the spot.
I stared ahead for a few seconds, the explosion seared in my mind. “YOU CHEAP FUCK!” I pounded the dashboard, feeling enraged. More deaths that were on me. “Spike, get me a car count!”
Immediately the dragon grabbed the radio, screaming panicked messages. “Who all’s there!? Anypony else behind us!?”
“We’re here.” I could hear the voice of Vinyl Scratch come up over the radio. “I’m right behind you. My car has about ten ponies crammed into it, and a few animals! We’re on our way!”
I was about to question how they managed to pack a Beetle so tightly, then I remembered that everyone here was nearly three feet shorter than me.
“How many cars are with you!?”
“Bon-Bon! Take a vehicle check!” Her voice faded back slightly as if facing someone else.
Silence fell over the radios for a while, before Vinyl’s voice kicked back on.
“Got about thirty-two, rough guess, behind me. I’ll call them up and get a body count!”
As we sped deeper and deeper down into the depths of the approaching mountain, BEN disappeared for a moment, deciding not to chase us.
I took a deep breath and released, the adrenaline still kicking. We had a moment of reprieve, if nothing else. It had dawned on me earlier that the deeper we go into this proverbial fatal rabbit hole, the higher the risks become. My friends and the remaining ponies behind me are literally in the middle of it. I was scared, not just for my own life, but more for them. I’d just watched Biceps and his crew die in a split second, and all they were trying to do was to distract BEN for me. I then remembered who else was with Biceps. Octavia.
“Fuck!” I slammed the wheel with my fist, breathing heavily. It only hurt more as I heard Vinyl’s voice over the radio, talking to the others behind us. She didn’t see it. She didn’t know.
I glanced up at the rearview mirror to see the faces of ponies who are not only tired and beaten, but concerned. Twilight spoke up.
“Nick?” Her voice sounded strained, likely from the shouting.
I glared hard at the road ahead of me, trying my hardest to not lock eyes with any of the ponies I took the liberty to call ‘friend’ in here. I felt like utter shit. “If... we don’t make it out of this, I want you guys to know that I’m legitimately sorry for all the deaths I’ve caused. I know I’ve got a very nasty, violent side to me, and I’m sorry if that’s brought about unnecessary death. I understand that I can be a monster, but I truly didn’t want any of this when I came here.” I was shaking.
“Nick... “ Twilight began as she ducked back into the car, after making sure BEN was truly gone for the time being. She looked conflicted as she leaned forward and placed her hoof on my shoulder.
I removed the hoof softly, “No. Twilight, I mean this. I wish I could go back so none of this ever happened. I wish I could do things over again. I wish I could make a peaceful solution to this whole thing, but the farther we go into the madness, the more impossible that becomes.” My grip on the steering wheel tightened.
“I don’t blame you. None of us do. We know you aren’t the man that we thought you were. At least… now we do. After that moment you had, we understood that this is all you CAN do.” Hearing those words helped, if only a tiny bit.
“Yeah, dude. I know we haven’t seen eye-to-eye much at all during all of this, but even I can see that this shit is way outta anypony’s hooves right now.” Dash spoke up, offering her own two bits. The others, the foals, dragons and grown ponies, all nodded in unison. Have to admit, wasn’t expecting that.
I exhaled softly, closing my eyes for a second as I ran my human hand through my greasy, unkempt hair. “Maybe you don’t blame me…” I stopped, punching the gas again. My teeth clenched.
“...but I blame me, and I will until I die.” I felt more hooves on my shoulders as they all seemed to at least somewhat understand the weight I carried. I heard a few sniffles before my neck had been surrounded by small orange hooves. “I believe in you, Dad. We all do.” I wrapped my human hand around of one her hooves and squeezed gently. Even with all of the support, it only seemed to slightly dull the pain. Still, it was enough.
As we neared the end of the tunnel, the shadowy mass met us at the end, two massive hands forming on its sides. It extended them outward like it was about to clap, ready to crush our vehicle the moment we came through. As Pinkie sat back in her seat, I flipped on the radio quickly. “Shit! Everyone who’s still behind me, head’s up, he’s cutting us off!”
“NICK, DO SOMETHING!” Fluttershy cried, covering her eyes.
For a moment, I took a breath, remembering the most fun lesson my father taught me.
Combat driving.
“HEADS DOWN! NOW!”
We all ducked to the floor, the kids screaming in horror as the darkened masses closed in on the car, taking the roof clean off and turning the Volkswagen into an impromptu convertible.
“Holy shit! Did you see that!?” Dash shouted, practically in shock.
“Wanna play some Beetle Adventure Racing, Nick!?” the demon screamed at me, picking back up in its chase.
“Damn it, this thing isn’t going fast enough! It’s clocking out at a hundred-two!”
I looked to the front of the car, then the engine. The windshield was mostly intact, the side mirrors still in place, and unscathed. I had an idea.
“Twilight! Tear the hood off the engine! The metal plate at the front! Now!”
The unicorn summoned some magic, only to be stopped, as she screamed in a panic - and a blue Beetle got sent hurtling towards us. It missed us barely as it scraped by, taking our left mirror with them. Time seemed to slow down as I stared in shock at the ponies in the car thrashing about. In the blink of an eye, they were gone as the car was already lit in flames. I looked back to see the haunted creature holding a second car above it in a demonic, oversized hand. The ponies inside screamed, bailing out of the car.
“Buck this, man, this isn’t what I signed up for!” Spike cried, trying to shove his small frame into the center console.
Twilight summoned another spell, ripping the hood off the car after a few unsuccessful attempts. For a moment, she held it there, obscuring my vision for a moment, then threw it at BEN. Fat lotta good that did.
“Alright! Twilight. I know you can’t see it very well, but do you see the top of the ENGINE, nothing else?”
“Yeah, I can see it, why?” The mare asked, panicking as the second car went flying overtop of us. I swerved to dodge the debris in front of us, sending Fluttershy face first into the back of the driver’s seat.
“Do you see that box at the top, with screws in it? Rip it off. Inside there is the governor chip. It’s a green circuit board. Tear it out!”
Twilight groaned in frustration, “I can’t see it!”
“I’ve got this!” Dash reassured me, grabbing the unicorn and flying upwards, overtop of the orange beetle below her, and gently losing some altitude.
“Alright, guys! Rip it out, NOW! Once you’re done, go do the same for the cars behind us!”
Soon, the little computer chip that held me at a hundred-two found itself flying behind us, and instantly, my car smashing into high gear - topping at one-sixty.
“EAT MY DUST, BITCH!”