//------------------------------// // XII: Choices // Story: The Color of Apples // by Jet Howitzer //------------------------------// (Let me know of any mistakes I made. Pardon the brevity.) It was nearly midnight, and you and Sunburst were across the street from the warehouse, crouched down in a small alleyway. From what you could see there was little worth noting about Dock 17. You hadn’t seen anyone go near the building in almost an hour, so you began to doubt what the stallion had told you. You let out a frustrated snort as you turned away from looking at the building, and you then stomped a hoof in frustration. We spent three hours getting here, and finding this place, and for what? Just as you were about to tell Sunburst that it was time to leave she suddenly stiffened. You quickly moved to see what was going on, and you had to do a double, and then a triple take to make sure you weren’t imagining things. There, standing in the light illuminating one of the entrances was the red unicorn from before. But more than that was the massive hulk of a pony behind him. And, there, on his back, was Applejack. It took every ounce of self control you had to stop yourself from sprinting over there right now, and taking back Applejack. The two ponies stood at the door for a moment, and then they entered. The door closed after them, but not before a pony quickly stuck their head out to see if they were being watched. Luckily you were too far to be noticed, so the pony closed the door. “Sunburst…” “I saw. That was her?” “Yes.” You quickly stood, and then you felt a hoof on your shoulder, and you turned to look back at Sunburst. “The frontal approach won’t work here, bro. I’ll give you a lift to the roof, and then we can, if you’ll pardon the pun, get the drop on them.” You pondered her plan for a moment, before all the pieces began to arrange themselves in your mind. “Instead of you carrying me, I’ll find a way up on my own. I want you flying around, looking for anyponies that might spot me, or give away what I’m doing. A lone pegasus is nothing worth noting, but a pegasus carrying an earth pony? That’s suspicious.” You looked back over at the warehouse, and then you knew what needed to be done, although you loathed using your sister for this. “Go and fly a quick lap around the building, and see if there’s any easy way up to the roof. I’ll wait here while you do it.” She gave a quick nod before she took flight, silently powering her way through the air. In her absence you suddenly felt vulnerable. You backed up along the alleyway a short distance, until you were well away from the street. Several tense minutes passed, and then you heard a sharp crack. You rushed to the entrance to the alleyway, and you began scanning the skies, hoping to find some trace of your sister. “No, no… Dammit, Sunburst, where are you?” Several more minutes passed, and there was still no sign of Sunburst. “There’s no way it should take this long.” And yet you continued to wait, the tense minutes seeming to drag into infinity. “Fuck it, I’m going in.” And, with your declaration of intent, you followed it to the letter. With grace and elegance you leapt over the crate you had been using as cover, and you made your way to the side front of the warehouse without spotting anypony. You began making your way along the front of the building, towards the northern side of the building. You made sure to stick to the shadows. It only took a few moments for you to get to the side of the building, and you cautiously snuck a glance around the side. Thankfully, there was nopony in your field of vision, so you moved around the corner. There was a large stack of crates taking up most of the space next to the building, but there was a small path leading around the outside edge, so you moved over to it, and you peeked around the corner. Again, it was deserted, so you began moving along the crates. After walking for a few seconds you reached the end of the pile, and you peeked around the corner, but then you quickly recoiled, praying to Celestia that you didn’t get spotted. Standing around the corner were two earth ponies. That wasn’t what really got you going, though. They were standing over the motionless body of your sister. You took several deep breaths to calm yourself, and then you backtracked a bit, and then you climbed up the pile of crates till you stood atop the large pile. You moved over to the edge as quickly, and quietly, as you could. The two ponies were smoking, and drinking what you could only assume was beer. You steadied yourself, and then you leapt from the pile of crates. Gravity quickly asserted it’s hold on you, and you plummeted towards the unsuspecting stallions below. The feeling of your hooves connecting with the heads of the two ponies sent tremors running up your arms, but you were too hyped up on adrenaline to notice. You quickly leapt from the prone forms, and you waited for one to make a move to stand, but they both remained down. As your adrenal high passed, you pushed both stallions away from your sister, and then you crouched down, checking for a pulse, or some sign of life. Her breathing was faint, but present. “Sunburst… Sunburst, answer me!” You raised your head as Sunburst let out a weak cough. “Oh, thank Celestia.” “It’ll take more than a gunshot wound to take me down, bro. But a crash landing too? That’s pushing it.” She finished with a coughing fit, but there was no blood, which you knew was a very good sign. As her coughing finally slowed, and stopped, she closed her eyes. “I’m just going to rest, for a few minutes.” “No, sis, keep your eyes open, damn it! Sis? Sunburst!” She didn’t respond to you, and you had to bite your tongue to keep from screaming. You looked from the building to your sister over and over, weighing the options, and trying to pick the right course of action. Your sister, or your marefriend? Your future, or your past? You stood, having made your decision. You could only hope that it was the right one. (Fear not, the brevity of this chapter will be made up for in the coming chapters. Besides, this is the best cliffhanger ever!)