//------------------------------// // That's what I'm talking about! // Story: Battle of the Blanks // by HumanSVD //------------------------------// Konrad was currently in the first ruin building where the deactivated Elements of Harmony were once held. For Konrad, it was a really cool moment aside from meeting Luna for the first time. He was walking where MLP history took place, and he felt like as if he was walking inside the Alamo. He just could not help but enjoy the moment of peace, and began looking for anything of use or interest before he would have to return to situation of surviving. "Not to mention the important task of covering the cracks of the fourth wall." thought Konrad. "As much as I enjoy nagging you Konrad, you really need to take care of that bridge." Said his conscious. "Yeah your right, It would really suck ass if those Blood Hooves get across. No doubt they are fucking pissed from earlier." "I agree, because if you die it's 'game over' for me and I don't have the luxury of a save point." "Ian! What the hell are you talking about? You're starting to sound like Pinkie Pie in the damn fan fictions!" "Sorry, it was just a figure of speech, poor choice of words." "Yeah…well in any case, just a minute or two of exploring and I'll get back to work. Okay?" "Sounds good to me, don't want to let Luna get worried though. I'm sure you don't want to get her impatient." "You got that right…Luna…" "What was that Konrad?" "Nothing" Konrad just couldn't help but realize that he had Princess Luna for his first contact in the MLP world. Minus the Blood Hooves, and technically the Ruby encounter, he was quite lucky to run into her. He had no idea if the previous MLP generations were in play here, but he doubted that due to the fact that Luna said humanity was a myth. "But then again, Megan didn't have children in the first series, and no doubt that 1980's real world time could mean freaking forever in pony time, that is if G4 shares any of the previous generations. I really need to be fucking careful when I meet Celestia and the other ponies, or else who knows how they'll react." "Very good Konrad, maybe your trolling self will finally die out and harmony will fill your soul." replied his conscious. "The renegade will live on for a while Ian." Konrad then continued to search the room, and the altar. Other than what it looked like in Part two of Mare in the Moon, there wasn't really anything left look at. The roof was pretty much gone, and the glass window art was pretty much gone too. Though something caught Konrad's eye. There was a tiny bit of glass art left on one window, and it was blue… "Is that what I think it is?" thought Konrad. Curious, he walked over to the window remains and observed that it was a partial image of Princess Luna. She was styled in the same way the intro of Mare in the Moon had depicted her, and Konrad couldn't help but find it very cute. "Awww, ye old style Luna. I like." spoke Konrad while giving his own version of the Facebook like. But his observation was soon interrupted by surprise that came in the form of three knocks on the door. KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! That made Konrad jump into alert mode. ! He aimed his Makarov at the door with the bayonet in hand that he had seen many special forces teams do. He never really mastered this particular stance, but it was better than nothing considering that he was practically on another world. "Who the hell would knock on the damn door?! It's a damn ruin and only Luna and I are here." thought a puzzled Konrad. "Well, you should check shouldn't you? Don't keep your guest waiting." replied Ian. Konrad had no idea who it could possibly be, as the Blood Hooves would most likely have just opened the door since it wasn't locked. Luna was most likely still inside the main chamber and there was no way in hell she would knock on the door either. Konrad's blood was pumping in anticipation of a hostile encounter, though the knock indicated that somepony was most likely trying to be polite. Carefully, Konrad advanced towards the door slowly, just in case who or whatever decided to just walk in. On one hand he could just shoot through the door, and be done with it, or he could rick opening it and hope that the 'guest' wouldn't harm him. "No, never shoot what you can't see and only shoot when you've determined hostile intent." thought Konrad. Having made up his mind, he proceeded to advance towards the door. He then got to the door and grabbed the handle, with his knife hand. Using the knife to hook the door ring so to speak, he took a breath as the next few seconds could mean life or death. "Dear God, I pray to thee that it isn't a Blood Hoof." Prayed Konrad. Then as quick and deliberate as could be, he opened the door really fast, backed up and aimed at in the now open area outside. And what he saw surprised the hell out of him. "OOF!" It wasn't just something that landed on the floor, it was a pony! And it wasn't one that he was expecting. His eyes, and mouth immediately opened wide at the pony that fell on the floor in front of him. "OH…MY…GOD…IT'S APPLE BLOOM! OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG!" thought Konrad. "I fear you are underestimating the bronyess in you." Konrad just couldn't believe that the pony on the ground was in fact the Apple Bloom from the show. She was one of his most favorite characters, aside from Princess Luna. However, exciting that this chance encounter maybe, he realized that there was something wrong. His mind immediately began to process his observation of Apple Bloom and many questions ran through his mind. The first thing he noticed was her appearance. Her coat clearly had dirt and leaves on it as if she had done some running through the forest bushes. Her bow was slightly torn, and was coming half undone. He also noticed that she had a cut on her face that looked a lot like Twilight Sparkles from 'It's about time'. The next question popped into his mind, "Why is she here? No…don't tell me…Story of the Blanks. Goddammit! She shouldn't be here, she should have gotten away with Twilight Sparkle at the end!" "Looks like you got another to take care of, and I suggest that not appear too damn scary." Said his conscious. "What do you mean?" "Now Ah'm sorry to bother you mister…" Konrad then snapped back to reality as he realized Apple Bloom spoke to him. He was looking straight in to her Red Apple colored eyes and saw something he thought he would never see from her. It was the look of fear, and it was far worse than sad her 'Sad Bloom' face. Konrad's heart was immediately wrenching at the sight of her face, as it was something he never wanted to see, nor the be the cause of. Konrad also realized that she had never seen a human before and most likely just ran away from Sunny Town. He also realized that his own face was covered in the head scarf still, making his appearance even worse. But that wasn't the worst of it as Konrad also realized that he was pointing the Makarov and the bayonet at her face! Konrad immediately began to think of something to diffuse the situation. "Okay, speak in a calm tone and reassure her you don't mean any harm." thought Konrad. "Whatever you do don't…" "AAAAAAAHHHHHH!" "Do what you just did..." Apple Bloom immediately got back up and began to run away from Konrad. "Not again! I can't let her go out there, no matter how much she is afraid of me!" Konrad immediately began to run after her, there was simply no way he was going to let her go back out there. He felt guilty for scaring her, but it was completely unintentional. He continued to run after her and he saw her turn her head back at him, still with fear clear as day on her face. He shouted out to her in his best attempt to get her back to him. "WAIT! COME BACK!" "STAY AWAY!" It became clear to Konrad that convincing her to stop for him was pointless and he realized that he would have to do his best to catch her. Now he was really starting to regret not letting Luna accompany him, for she would have been able to help him stop Apple Bloom. He was starting to gain on her, despite her having more legs than him. He then sprinted as best as he could to make up the distance between him and her. Then Konrad noticed something ahead of Apple Bloom. On the other side of the bridge up ahead, he could see two pony shaped outlines, despite the darkness. The other feature that shouted out to Konrad however, was the two pairs of Crimson eyes that pierced the darkness of the night. "Shit! Blood Hooves! And Apple Bloom doesn't see them because she is still afraid of me!" Apple Bloom had made it to the bridge and stopped halfway when she had realized that there were Blood Hooves on the other side. The sight of the Blood Hooves was absolutely disgusting to him, just as what you'd expect from a zombie, pony or human. The one on the right had a disgusting looking tongue drooping down from its mouth. The other one looked like a normal Blood Hoof, but it reeked to high heaven, worse than an animal as a far as Konrad was concerned. All in all, they looked exactly like they had on the internet, just as he saw on Deviant Art. Were the Blood Hooves not there, he would have caught Apple Bloom for sure. Then the Blood Hooves spoke to her, and they apparently didn't notice Konrad or more likely were focused on Apple Bloom. "Come here little filly! We want to be your friend!" said the one with the tongue. "YESSS! Come to me…: said the really smelly one. "No me!" "No me more!" "What the fuck? They sound like goddamn Vorcha! Either way you're not getting Apple Bloom you freaks!" thought Konrad. He then shouted to Apple Bloom as she turned her head to him, "I'm not a monster and I'm not a Blood Hoof! Come over to me and I can protect you!" "IT'S THE HUMAN!" shouted the smelly one. "GET THE FILLY FIRST, THEN THE HUMAN! HE DOESN'T HAVE THE RED CLAW LIKE BLOOD CLOP SAID HE HAD!" shouted the one with the tongue. "Red claw? Heh so they think the Bakelite Magazine is a red claw. If this weren't very serious, I would be laughing my ass off, and apparently they don't recognize the Makarov, how fortunate for me." Konrad noticed the look of surprise on her face, no doubt she was taught that humanity was myth in school, like Unicorns and Pegasi were in his. It looked like she was trying to decide what to do. No matter what she chose to do, he was going to get her either way. "I'm not letting you die either way Apple Bloom. I care for you too much." "That's very sweet of you Konrad." To Konrad's relief, she started to make her way over to him, with the look of fear on her face towards him easing. Then all hell broke loose as Apple Bloom stepped on a plank of the rickety wooden Bridge. CRACK! The plank she step on broke away, and she fell immediately through it. Somehow she was holding on to it with her hooves, and this confused the hell out of Konrad about how she did it. In the end it didn't matter and she cried out to him, "AAHHHH! HELP ME!" "HOLD ON! I'M COMING." Shouted Konrad. He then started to make his way over to her but the Blood Hoof with the tongue had other plans. "No human! This filly is mine!" And what Konrad saw next really pissed him off. The Blood Hoof with the freakish tongue moved really quick towards Apple Bloom and somehow shot its tongue at Apple Bloom's hooves. "AAAHHHHH!" cried Apple Bloom. "RRGGGHHHH!" gurgled the Blood Hoof. That was the last straw for Konrad and rage filled his mind. "Nopony hurts Apple Bloom!" He then yelled at the Blood Hoof at the top of his lungs, "GET AWAY FROM HER YOU BITCH!" Aiming his Makarov at the Blood hooves, he expertly shot the one in the back first and then finished off the tongued Blood Hoof with rapid shots. PLOP! PLOP! PLOP! PLOP! PLOP! Everything happened very fast when Konrad shot the Blood Hooves. The stinky one in the back took two to the chest and promptly collapsed. The one that had Apple Bloom 'tongue tied' so to speak, had its head practically explode from the rounds. It was quite a mess and he would have had some of its remains hit him if he was close enough. Then he heard Apple Bloom scream, "AAAAAAHHHHH!" Konrad ran forward onto the bridge to notice that she had fallen when he shot the blood hoof. Even though he knew there was water beneath him, a fall for her would most likely knock the wind out of her, and she could possibly drown. With no time to act, he threw the bayonet back to across the ruin side of the cliff in hopes that Luna would cut it, while the scabbard was still attached to his belt. He then put the Makarov in his side pocket along with the spare magazines. With not much time left, Konrad then took a deep breath and prepared himself for what he was about to do. "Hold on Apple Bloom!" Konrad then jumped of the bridge falling straight down feet first. He had jumped off the diving board in this stance many times, but the fact that this was much higher than usual didn't make it any better. That and the fact that Apple Bloom was in danger, made it even worse. No matter how much he did jump at high heights, he never got used to it. Just the sensation of falling was unnerving, however this was easily the worst jump he ever did. He kept falling and looked down in time to see Apple Bloom hit the water, making a small yet terrible belly smack. SMACK! "NOO! Just hold on!" The moment he made that thought, he finally hit the water boots first with his arms crossed while holding his breath. He was immediately enveloped in the water and it was difficulty to see at first but then his eyes adjusted to the water. Some water had managed to get into his nose, but it didn't bother him much since he had done this many times. He began to search for Apple Bloom in the water, and immediately spotted her. She was close to him maybe about six feet away, and she was sinking. It didn't even look like she was making any effort to swim, and that scared him. "Damn, she must have hit the water really hard. Don't worry Apple Bloom, I won't let this be the end for you." He swam in the water making his way over to her, and then reached for her using his right hand. He grabbed her by her left leg and held on firm. The moment he got a good hold of her, he made his way back to the top dragging her with him. It felt like forever for Konrad as he made his way up with apple Bloom in hand. As soon as they made the surface, he made a big gasp for air. "HHHUUUUUHHH!" Then Konrad immediately, while holding onto Apple Bloom's left hoof, he made an about turn and grabbed her other hoof. He wrapped them around his neck while holding them together with his left hand and kept her head above the water. He did his best to keep both of them afloat using his legs and his right arm, which although uncomfortable, was effective in doing what he needed for both of them. He also noticed that she didn't make a gasp for air and now he was panicking for her safety. "Shit! I don't feel or hear her breathing! I've got to get on land!" Then Konrad heard a voice call out to him. It was Luna, and he could see her face a little bit, but it was her horn that stuck out the most. She was using it as a bright bluish light to see them. "KONRAD ARE THOU SAFE!? WHAT HATH HAPPENED TO THOU?!" Luna was using her Royal Canterlot voice to talk to him and he was glad that she was, as it was much better to hear her. Though he could only hope that his shouting would do the same, as he still had adrenaline running through him and he was still doing his best to keep afloat, which required most of his breathe. "I'M FINE BUT THERE WAS A FILLY THAT CAME ACROSS THE BRIDGE! SHE BECAME AFRAID OF ME AND RAN INTO BLOOD HOOVES! SHE FELL OFF THE BRIDGE WHEN I KILLED THEM AFTER THEY ATTACKED HER!" Konrad couldn't really make out her expression very well as the light was very bright. He also could tell she was trying to find the filly, as the light was moving around. He turned a little bit so she could see her on his back. When the light came back onto him, it stood still focusing its intensity on Apple Bloom. She then replied to him, still using her Royal Canterlot voice, this time the anger was radiating from her voice. "THOSE VILE BEINGS! WE WILL SHOW THEM TRUE PAIN!" "Damn, I better not get on your bad side." Realizing he had little time to chat for Apple Bloom's sake, he shouted back to her, "LUNA! I NEED YOU TO USE MY BAYONET TO CUT THE BRIDGE AND MEET ME DOWNSTREAM! WE'LL MEET UP LATER OKAY!?" "WE UNDERSTAND KONRAD! PLEASE BE SAFE FOR US, I UH MEAN ME!" "Slipping into your old talking style huh? That's cute." thought Konrad. "Konrad! You got a bigger problem right now!" said his conscious. "I'LL BE BACK 'MY' PRINCESS!" shouted Konrad as he made his way down the river. He turned around and began to swim in the direction of where his truck had meet its watery road bump. This was also a good opportunity to get to the truck and scavenge some supplies as well as kill evidence of his MLP knowledge. Luna's light was still tracking him for a minute or two before it went away, no doubt to make sure he and Apple Bloom were still swimming. Then Konrad remembered something, he had emphasized the word 'my' without even thinking about it. Now he was wondering if he really was what he had been denying all this time. "So the revelation I coming around the corner I see. I knew you would see the light." "I'm still not a brony Ian, and that was just a minor speaking error, because I was trying to-" "breathe while swimming and holding filly on your back blah blah. That excuse is very weak Konrad and you know it." "You may have a point but fuck you I'm Commander Shepard, or in this case Konrad." "You wish…brony" Konrad then continued to swim as fast as he could and unfortunately is wasn't as fast as he wanted it to be, as having to carry a filly on his back hampered things. He was tired, but he knew he couldn't give up as there was just no way he was going to let Apple Bloom die. "Just hold on Apple Bloom! Commander Konrad will take care of you." He then used his thumb to stroke her hoof emphasizing his care for her, and at the same time he swam as fast as he had ever before towards the river bank he spotted just ahead of him. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ruby was watching the whole spectacle before her, and she did her best to remain hidden while she observed. She had just made it to the opening view, and saw the two blood hooves before her dead. She recognized one of them as Fester Mane, and the other one was most likely Slick Jaw, well what was left of him anyway. She had tangled with them a few times, but always managed to outsmart them, which wasn't a difficult task at all considering they were incredibly stupid. Then Ruby noticed the human on the bridge. His head was covered just as she saw him when she found him earlier. She was glad that he was okay, but was starting to wonder where Apple Bloom was. She made sure that Apple Bloom was near where he was, which had to be at least within a 200 hooves or so and the ruins should have made it obvious to the filly that he was there. Ruby saw that Konrad on the bridge and he was holding the L shaped weapon in his hand. "Hands… I wonder what he else could do with them." Snapping out of her rather not so innocent thought, she noticed him do something that she wouldn't expect him to do. He put the weapon in one of his strange clothing pockets and just jumped right off the bridge, "Why did he just jump?! Is he trying to kill himself? Oh please survive!" She moved over a little bit near the edge to see him fall, and it was rather convenient that the foliage was dropping over the cliff to conceal her presence from anypony. She looked just in time to see him splash into the water and she was worried for his safety. He was down in the water for about a good ten to fifteen seconds and Ruby was extremely nervous that he had perished. "No! He can't be dead…he just can't…" Then Konrad appeared out of the water holding something in his arm, and it was… "Apple Bloom! What did those two blood hooves do to you?!" While Ruby was relieved that Konrad was okay, she was greatly worried about Apple Bloom as it appeared that she wasn't doing anything. "No! She can't be dead, please be okay Apple Bloom." Then Ruby was blinded by a light coming from the opposite side of the bridge. It was blue and it was coming from a… "An Alicorn! So that is the Alicorn that they were talking about." Ruby took a good look at the Alicorn, who was shining the light from her horn at Konrad. It was the first time she had ever seen a pony that had a horn and an Alicorn, since all the Sunny Towners were earth ponies. She had a dark blue coat, a somewhat odd but sparkly mane and tail that was kind of dim, and her wings looked to be in not so good shape. That and she wore a crown, which definitely meant she was royalty, a Princes maybe?Then Ruby noticed what she had…a cutie mark! "A cutie mark? She has a cutie mark like me! So it would appear that it IS normal for all ponies outside of Ponyville. I was murdered for nothing!" Ruby was feeling furious at Sunny Town and the Blood Hooves. They had murdered her, put a curse on the town, and brought other ponies into their fold just because of a mark that appeared on her flank. And now they were trying to hurt this human, who pretty much was the only one in Equestria as far as she knew, and they were trying to hurt this Alicorn and of course Apple Bloom. Ruby was more determined than ever to see them survive and hopefully, end the Sunny Town curse. Ruby then heard the Alicorn speak and she was completely unprepared how she spoke. "KONRAD ARE THOU SAFE!? WHAT HATH HAPPENED TO THOU?!" shouted the Alicorn. Ruby jumped slightly at the sheer power her voice, but did her best not to reveal herself, least the Alicorn's magic is as powerful as her voice. "That's rather intimidating I have to admit. Do they always speak like that? Wait, his name is Konrad? Odd name but…I like it." Ruby then heard the human, now known as Konrad, shout back to the Alicorn, whose voice definitely did not match the intensity of hers. "I'M FINE BUT THERE WAS A FILLY THAT CAME ACROSS THE BRIDGE! SHE BECAME AFRAID OF ME AND RAN INTO BLOOD HOOVES! SHE FELL OFF THE BRIDGE WHEN I KILLED THEM AFTER THEY ATTACKED HER!" "What did you do to her you moronic blood hooves? Doesn't matter, he blew you away, just as I knew he would." Ruby then noticed that the Alicorn had a look of shock on her face and she began to look around to try and find Apple Bloom. Apparently, the Alicorn could see Apple Bloom on his shoulder, most likely due to the angle she was facing him and the fact that Konrad was doing his best to remain afloat with Apple Bloom on his back, which appeared difficult for him. "He jumped off the bridge to help save Apple Bloom? How…good of him…it appears I chose the right one." Ruby's growing admiration of him was starting to grow now, as she realized he risked his life jumping off the bridge for a filly he had never met. But she was brought back to reality as the Alicorn responded in the same voice. This time, however, her voice gave off a very angrier tone, one that made Ruby cringe a bit. "THOSE VILE BEINGS! WE WILL SHOW THEM TRUE PAIN!" "Wow! That Alicorn is pretty scary, but not as scary as reenacting your death. Nothing will ever come that close and I doubt you could really show that much true pain sister." "LUNA! I NEED YOU TO USE MY BAYONET TO CUT THE BRIDGE AND MEET ME DOWNSTREAM! WE'LL MEET UP LATER OKAY!?" "So he wants to her to cut the bridge? Great, should I reveal myself to her or to him? And the Alicorn is Luna huh? I guess it matches the cutie mark." While Ruby was debating if it was wise to reveal herself, 'Luna' responded again. Ruby took notice of the conversation between her and Konrad. "WE UNDERSTAND KONRAD! PLEASE BE SAFE FOR US, I UH MEAN ME!" shouted Luna. "I'LL BE BACK MY PRINCESS!" replied Konrad. "So she is a Princess huh? And why did she just now refer to herself as me instead of we like earlier? And what the hay does Konrad mean by 'My' Princess? They can't possibly be…" Ruby was now starting to wonder what Konrad meant by my Princess. Did this mean that he was with her, or was it simply just a way of talking to royalty? Whatever it was, it was making her jealous. "Ruby! Stop thinking like that, you have to make sure Apple Bloom is okay and you need to see to it that they survive!" Snapping out of her thoughts, and feeling guilty for being a bit jealous, she continued to observe both 'Princess' Luna and Konrad. Konrad was swimming fast down the river while holding Apple Bloom on his back. It looked like it was taking a lot out of him, but he continued and after a minute or so it looked like he was picking up the pace. Princess Luna was merely just shining her light at Konrad, doing her best to keep an eye on them to make sure they were okay, until she broke the light contact. Ruby was now debating on what action to take next. "Should I reveal myself to her first or to Konrad? She could bring help if, no, when she escapes. If she can't get help before the cycle ends, then at least they'll be prepared for next time. On the other hoof, I really need to make sure Apple Bloom is okay, and I want to meet Konrad. His face is something I definitely want to see up close." After debating for a few more seconds, Ruby then made the decision to make contact with the Alicorn called Princess Luna. She had come to that decision sue to the fact that she trusted Konrad with keeping Apple Bloom safe, considering the noble and heroic action he took to help save her life. She had no doubts about his ability to keep Apple Bloom safe. Ruby hoped that the Princess would be understanding and not fear her due to her being a wandering spirit. "My eyes certainly don't help my cause but if I just be myself and show that I don't mean any harm, then she won't hurt me. I am after all on her side." Ruby then noticed that the Princess was now beginning to walk over to a spot across the bridge, Her bluish magic was emanating from her horn, something that Ruby still found strange yet amazing, and she noticed that the Princess was using it to lift something up. It turned out that it was Konrad's orange knife that she had seen him use when she found him earlier in the day. The Princess was going to cut the bridge! Ruby had to act now if she as going to make contact with the Princess. "I got to get her attention! I can't get stuck on this side!" Ruby then ran towards the bridge very fast, making ruffling noises along the way through the foliage. She made it to bridge and shouted to the Princess, "Wait! Don't cut the bridge! I-" Was all that Ruby got out of her before the Princess interrupted her with the same voice she spoke to Konrad. This time. however, the voice had the same angry tone to it. "FOUL SPIRIT OF THE NIGHT! THOU HAST THE SAME OTHERWORLDLY EYES AS THE BLOOD HOOVES! STAY BACK, FOR THOU SHALL NOT PASS!" "Wait! Please don't-" Then the Princess's horn glowed extremely violent and out shot a blue streak of magic heading straight for Ruby. This caught her by surprise, as it smacked straight into her, sending her off her hooves backwards. "AHH!" yelped Ruby and then an "OOF!" was made when she hit the ground. "Ouch! That really did hurt, but still not as close as being thrown into the fireplace." Ruby then got back up and shook off her disorientation. She ran back to the bridge and saw that the Princess had a look of shock on her face. Ruby couldn't not but help give off a smirk at the look on Princess Luna's face. Apparently she had never seen a ghost before, and clearly expected her magic to vaporize her. "Can't kill what is already dead 'Princess'…though that still did hurt." Ruby's smirk however did not make matters any better, for Princess Luna merely prepared to shoot another charge at her. Ruby could hear the humming coming from the Princess's horn, and saw the same blue charge build up very fast. This time Ruby was prepared and jumped out of the way as the magic bolt shot forward towards her only to hit a tree. The magic ripped and tore the bark as if it were scroll paper, and the tree collapsed backwards. "If I was alive, that would have killed me for sure. I need to get her to stop." Ruby just didn't get the chance to speak or to do anything except dodge again. Princess Luna was now becoming more frantic in her attacks and Ruby did he best to dodge them. Bolt after bolt was sent her way, and again she just jumped out of the way. Bushes and branches were getting ripped up behind her and Ruby knew that if they hit her if would hurt like pony heck. Ruby was now doing her best to speak to the Princess in hopes she would cease her assault, with magic projectiles zooming all over the place. "Wait! I-" ZOOM! "But I'm not-" ZOOM! "Please just listen to me!" ZOOM! "I only want to show you friendship!" Then Ruby realized her mistake and it was a big one. She had inadvertently used the same phrase that the Blood Hooves and Sunny Town used over the years. They spoke it nonstop and it drove her insane whenever they were droning on and on about her mark whenever they saw or caught her. "Oh pony feathers! What did I do?" Then Ruby's eyes widened as a really huge flash of blue light came straight at her from Princess Luna's horn. The magic blue hue was very intense, as well as the humming noise that accompanied it, and it was moving too fast for her to dodge. Ruby had no doubt this was going to hurt. "Oh Pony Dung!" was her last thought before the huge magic bolt made contact with her. ZOOOOOM! The pain was intense, very intense indeed as it felt like thousands of needles hitting her body all over the place. She could feel herself being violently picked up off the ground and hurled off her hooves. After what seemed like forever, she finally landed on the ground behind her, moaning in pain. "Ooohhhhhhhh. That really hurt…still a ghost though." Thought Ruby. Ruby was still a bit disoriented from the magic blast, and started to look around. After a minute or two of seeing multiple burred images, her eye sight returned to normal. Ruby noticed that she was thrown a good distance away from the bridge as it appeared to be barely within her eye sight. It would seem that Blood Clop had severely underestimated the Princess's condition, especially her magic capabilities. Ruby ran back towards the bridge, and was disappointed to find the bridge was now cut from the other side. The Princess was now nowhere to be seen, and there was now an extremely weird fog that wasn't here before she was hit by her magic, effectively covering the other side from observation. Ruby snorted in frustration and in anger at the Princess for mistaking her for a Blood Hoof or a vengeful spirit. "Pony feathers! That didn't go the way I planned it at all! I'm not liking this Princess at all, though I can't really blame her for being scared. It seems the only way I can get an audience with her is with Konrad. I guess I'll just have to find him down the river, and I hope Apple Bloom is okay." With one last look, Ruby then ran as fast, and efficiently as she could through the forest away from the pathway that led to the bridge. She was dodging branch after branch, and careful not to disrupt the foliage too much, least she cause a trail that the Blood Hooves could find. Finding Konrad and Apple Bloom wouldn't be difficult at all considering he only went down the river maybe ten minutes ago or so. And of that wasn't the case, she would find him anyway for that was her special talent, finding things. "I'll find you for sure Konrad, you are after all 'something' to me." Ruby gave a little bit of a giggle and continued to run through the forest before snorting again in frustration at the so called 'Princess Luna'. "Princess huh? You may know magic, but I'm already dead, and next time you hit like that again, I'll buck your crown off!" With her anger rising at Princess Luna, she picked up the pace to find Konrad an Apple Bloom. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Princess Luna was running as fast as she could through her old home to find Konrad and assist him. Not since she first ran into the Blood Hooves earlier, she was once again scared out of her bucking mind. This time, however, it wasn't for her safety, instead it was for her rescuer. "Please be safe my Knight." Thought Luna. "Have some faith in the man, after all he was able to take care of you." replied her conscious. She had just cleared the chamber entrance and tried to at least glide down using her wings. But her wings will still not flightworthy, and this revelation resulted in her falling straight down in the bushes below the steps as she jumped off of them. CRASH! "AAAH! Curse these singed wings of mine!" spoke Luna. After adjusting herself by rustling the leaves off, she continued to make her way towards the bridge. At first she didn't see anything ahead, as the altar room to her left was blocking her view of the bridge. She quickly turned left and then forward again to see the bridge. Before her was the bridge with the corpses of two blood hooves. One was dead on the other side of the bridge while another was slumped on the bridge with its head in many pieces of flesh and blood. Luna couldn't but help cough at the gory sight and smell emanating before. It was truly a disgusting sight for her. "I don't think I could ever get used to the sight." Thought Luna. "No sane pony ever will and remember you need to find him." Doing her best to block out the smell, she continued to look around for Konrad. Unable to find him on either side, she then noticed that there was a hole in the bridge. Fearing that he may have fallen off, she moved forward to the front of the bridge. Luna then used a simple spell of Light and began to search for Konrad in the water. At first she didn't see anything, fearing that me might have drowned. Fear and dismay started to creep up on her, "NO! NO! NO! You couldn't have died Konrad! I need you, I-" Her thought was interrupted when he suddenly came out of the water. "Oh thank goodness he is safe!" thought a relieved Luna. "See, I told you to have faith." He was gasping for air heavily, as it appeared he had been under the water for a while as far as she could tell. She aimed the light at him to get a better look, and noticed that he was barely holding himself up above the water. Luna then called out to him, "KONRAD ARE THOU SAFE!? WHAT HATH HAPPENED TO THOU?!" Luna felt a bit relieved to see that he was still alive, but was wondering what happened to him. She got her answer as he replied back as loud as he could. "I'M FINE BUT THERE WAS A FILLY THAT CAME ACROSS THE BRIDGE! SHE BECAME AFRAID OF ME AND RAN INTO BLOOD HOOVES! SHE FELL OFF THE BRIDGE WHEN I KILLED THEM AFTER THEY ATTACKED HER!" "Filly! There's a filly here? Where? Oh pray tell that she is alright!" thought Luna. "Look around Luna, he could use your light." Luna was shocked that a filly was wondering the woods, and that she had been attacked by Blood Hooves. She began to look around the water with her light spell, hoping to help find the filly for Konrad to help her. After looking around for a few seconds she returned to Konrad to tell him that she didn't see the filly, but was able to spot her with him. The angle that Luna was observing him from earlier prevented her from seeing the filly on his back. Apparently, Konrad was having trouble staying afloat due to the fact that he was keeping her weight and his above the water. Luna recognized the filly from last year's Nightmare Night celebration. She was the younger sister of the Element of Honesty, otherwise known as Apple Jack. She remembered seeing the young one near Apple Jack but failed to learn her name, due to the fact that she was also one of the young fillies who was scared of her along with the Element of Laughter, Pinkie Pie. Seeing one of her subjects being injured caused pain to her heart. "Poor filly, you were unjustly attacked by the disgusting evil creatures. I will see to it that you make it out." Anger quickly rose inside of Luna at the fact that this young filly was injured and who was no doubt scared for her life. Unable to control herself, she let unleashed her anger in the form of a shout, "THOSE VILE BEINGS! WE WILL SHOW THEM TRUE PAIN!" "Control yourself Luna. You can't help him if your too angry to think." said her conscious. "I guess your right…again." replied Luna. "Get used to it." Luna then returned to reality as Konrad replied to her with fatigue evident in his tone. "LUNA! I NEED YOU TO USE MY BAYONET TO CUT THE BRIDGE AND MEET ME DOWNSTREAM! WE'LL MEET UP LATER OKAY!?" "I don't want to be separated Konrad, but I guess it can't be helped." "Ahh, so the human interest is taking root." "I just don't want to be alone, and his company is nice…most of the time." "Sure Princess. Don't worry he'll be fine and the young one will be safe with him too. Just do what he says and it will all work out." Luna, feeling a little bit better from being reassured that he was okay, replied back to him. "WE UNDERSTAND KONRAD! PLEASE BE SAFE FOR US, I UH MEAN ME!" "Ah, slipping up on the royal voice now 'we' see." "I…guess it doesn't matter about the traditional voice when I am with him. Why is that?" If Luna need another clue for her questions she got in the form of a reply from Konrad. "I'LL BE BACK 'MY' PRINCESS!" shouted Konrad, who sounded like he was really getting fatigued. He began to turn around and swim downstream in the direction of where they most likely crossed the rover in the first place. As Luna shined her light spell at him, she noticed the young filly with her front legs around his neck, and her head resting on his shoulders peacefully. She genuinely hoped that her condition was not serious and that he would be able to get her back safe, just as he promised to get her home to Canterlot. As Luna stopped the light spell she couldn't but help wonder about something. He had said 'I'll be back 'MY' Princess', and she wondered why he had emphasized the word 'MY'. He was clearly tired but the way he shouted made it seem like there was a meaning to it. Luna wasn't quite sure if the emphasis on 'MY' was intentional or just due to him catching a breath. "Could this mean something?" thought Luna. "You tell me Luna, do want it to mean something? Well, you know my thoughts on the subject." "Yes I know but…I'm not so sure I mean…does he actually…you know…want me?" "That's something for you to find out Luna, and if I, your conscious, thought that he or it was bad news, I would have told you. I am proving myself to be right aren't I?" "Yes…but…I need to think about this." "He promised to keep you safe and now he is keeping on of your Subjects safe at the risk of his own life. That is a plus in my book and I don't think any of the other suitors would have had the guts to do what he did." Luna then stared again at the spot she had seen him last and prayed, "Please make it back to me…'my' Knight." Snapping out of her thoughts, she proceed to look for his knife on the ground and cut the bridge just as he asked her too. She was able to find it nearby thanks to the bright orange color the hilt was made out used her magic to lift the knife up off the ground and proceeded to walk towards the bridge with it. The pain in her head was still there but it was nowhere near as bad as it was earlier. Just as she was about to start cutting the bridge's ropes, something across the other side jumped out of the foliage. Luna immediately looked to see what this was and almost instantly went into alert mode at what she saw. ! Before her on the other side of the bridge was an earth pony mare that had a grey coat and light and dark striped yellow mane and tail. She had a some sort of cutie mark that was hard to make out, a magnifying glass maybe? But the feature that stuck out the most were her eyes. They had the same creepy glow that the blood hooves had but they were yellow instead of crimson. And the look on her face really rubbed Luna the wrong way, as it was a really creepy. "WHAT THE HAY?! IT'S A GHOST! AND IT MOST LIEKLY WANTS TO HARM ME LIKE THE BLOOD HOOVES! I'M NOT TAKING ANY CHANCES!" "Wait! Please don't-" "FOUL SPIRIT OF THE NIGHT! THOU HAST THE SAME OTHERWORLDLY EYES AS THE BLOOD HOOVES! STAY BACK, FOR THOU SHALL NOT PASS!" Luna then dropped the knife on the ground as she concentrated her magic into an attack spell, the very same one she had used on the Blood Hoof in the truck. The pain started to increase but it was something she could manage. When Luna had enough magic built up, she shot the spell straight at the ghost. It was a direct hit and the ghost was knocked off her hooves, but this was not the desired effect she wanted. The spell should have been enough to dissipate the spirit, but instead it merely just knocked the ghost away with her body still intact. "What?! How is that possible? She should have been reduced to nothing! Her body acts like she is alive but doesn't die? This is beyond anything I have ever seen!" Luna then noticed the ghost mare get back on her legs and was looking straight at straight her. The Yellow Eyed Mare merely just gave off a smirk just like Discord had many times, and this did not make Luna any more comfortable. This was enough for her not to trust it at all. Luna got another charge ready and shot it at there soon as the spell was complete, this time with more intensity than the last one. This time the Ghost just jumped out of the way after seeing the same spell being cast upon her. The magic bolt instead hit a tree behind her and utterly destroyed it, with the remains collapsing down. "Away with you foul spirit!" The ghost then tried to speak again towards her but Luna still wasn't going to take a chance. She kept unleashing a fury of magic bolts at her, with the pain ever increasing with each shot. Wait! I-" ZOOM! "But I'm not-" ZOOM! "Please just listen to me!" ZOOM! "I only want to show you friendship!" Upon hearing the last phrase, any doubts that Luna had concerning the ghost in front of her were gone. It was quite obvious that she was in league with the Blood Hooves and no doubt had something to do with the filly sister of Apple Jack. "You want friendship? Makes friends with this foul spirit!" Fed up with all the Blood Hooves, the separation of her and Konrad, and the injury of the filly, Luna gathered up as much magical energy from her as she possibly could. The pain in her head was pulsating greatly now, but Luna did he best to ignore it. Using all of the magic that she could must for the attack, she shot the enormous bolt right at the ghost. ZOOOOOM! Luna then ease up on her magic and looked forward to see what had become of the ghost mare. There was nothing in front of her at all, and Luna was now satisfied that she had rid the ghost of Equestria forever. Wasting no time, she used her magic to grab the knife and quickly cut the bridge ropes. Both ropes made a snap noise when they were cut. SNAP! SNAP! With the support ropes gone, the bridge then fell towards the other side of the cliff. As an extra precaution, Luna decided to cloak the space between the cliff sides to prevent the Blood Hooves from seeing it, with the hopes of one of them falling off. She used her magic which now was really becoming painful for her, but she was still able to manage to pull the spell off. Her magic bluish hue enveloped her horn and it was much dimmer now, but magical fog appeared around it and started to cover the whole space ahead. It would take a few more minutes before the whole area would be thickly covered in fog, but this was the best that Luna could manage. Had she been at full strength, it would have been much quicker. Satisfied with her work, Luna then picked up the knife with her teeth and slowly made her way back to the chamber room. "That was ridiculous! The first salvo should have been enough to destroy her, but then again I have never really went up against a ghost before." "Are you sure that Ghost meant you any harm?" "It said the same phrase as the Blood Hooves did, that is enough evidence to conclude its harmful intention." "Are you sure? You didn't even hear her out. Had Twilight Sparkle been here-" "She is not here and I'm wasn't going to risk it running around potentially harming me or Konrad and the filly." "If you say so Princess, I just hope you didn't do anything to too rash." "Unless the ghost mare comes back with Konrad, I won't trust it, and I doubt that it will come back since the spell worked. We are not discussing this any further, for my head hurts." Luna then let out a soft, "Oooooohhh…this is not pleasant…I need to lay down.", as she made her way inside the chamber. She then walked over to the throne and saw Konrad's gear nearby, while she laid down to rest. If she didn't have a headache, she would have been interested in looking at his weapons and gears to get a better understanding of how they worked. He did after all had no ability to use magic and his weapons were quite devastating, perhaps they could be of use to the royal guard even. "Ugh I'm too tired and in too much pain to think about a male's weaponry." "If its Konrad's, then yes you would." "I can see his weaponry right there and like I said I'm too tired." "Wasn't talking about the stuff over there." "What do you mean then by…" Luna's eyes widened at the hint that her conscious was insinuating, and immediately felt her face blushing at the thought of his… "Ugh! Stop that will you strange voice of mine! I've got a headache and I need to rest." "Well, you did say that you wanted to study his physique for what was it…curiosity's sake?" "This conversation is over." Thought Luna while covering her face with her hooves. Luna's head was still hurting from the excessive magic she was using earlier and if that wasn't enough of a discomfort another one came to her. Her Stomach made a loud noise that would be rather embarrassing should anypony hear her, a Princess of Equestria, make it. GGGRRRGGLLLLEE! "Please come back safe and sound with the filly for me 'my' knight…and bring some of that human food while you're at it!" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Konrad was still in the water and was doing his best to get onto the shore to his right. He still was a bit worried about the Blood Hooves being this side of the river, but it was doubt full they could find him that fast. They most likely would try to go back to the truck, and unfortunately he needed to get there took to pick up some supplies as well as destroy evidence. His immediate concern right now was to check on Apple Bloom as she hadn't moved at all since he picked her up. "Please stay strong Apple Bloom! I won't let you die." thought Konrad. "I could annoy you with the brony thing, but right now I think this your care for her is very sweet." replied Ian. "Doesn't matter if she was a pony or not! I'm still not going to let her die. I just wish I could have found another way to do that situation over again." "Sorry, the save file got corrupted, you can't do that again." "Dude?! What the hell are you talking about!? This isn't a fucking game! Thought I still don't understand how this is all possible." "Well, either way if it weren't for you, Apple Bloom would have died back there and you're getting a lot of experience points for this." "Okay, I'm just going to write off all of that as harmless references, now if you don't mind I got a filly to take care of." Konrad then spotted the rover bed ahead of him and made his way over to it while holding Apple Bloom on his back still. His boots finally made contact with the ground and he slowly rose out of the water soaking wet…again. He quickly but gently laid Apple Bloom on the ground and due to the fact that she was a pony, he had to lay her on the side. Konrad then check her for any signs of breathing. He wasn't seeing any and immediately began to use his CPR Self-Aid Buddy care training. He put his hands over where he thought her heart was and began to press it like he would to a human casualty. "Come one Apple Bloom! 1…2…3!" Konrad check again for breathing and there still was no response. "Hang in there little filly! 1…2…3!" said Konrad counting with every firm push on her heart. "Oh god don't tell me I have to do mouth to mouth or in this case mouth to muzzle!" Unfortunately for him it was something that apparently had to be done. He tilted her head a little bit upwards to open the airway and began to perform the procedure that would be rather unpleasant. Konrad then realized that it was either that or she dies, so swallowing his pride he put his mouth to her muzzle and began to breath air into her lungs. The first attempt didn't do anything and he went back to pushing on her heart again. When that didn't work, he repeated the same set again, but this time was met with a surprise. Apple Bloom, while still unconscious, spat water at his face like a renegade water fountain. "Agh, Apple Bloom's water spit! Gross! Wait a minute…she's breathing now! Good job girl I knew you had it in you!" said Konrad who was happy that he had stabilized. Apple Bloom, although breathing normally now, was still not awake. This was actually a good thing for Konrad for he now could make his was over to the truck destroy the 'Avast' songs on his IPod. Wasting no time, he gently picked up Apple Bloom and held her in the same manner that he had with Luna but with significantly less weight. Once he was certain that he had her secure on his back, he used his thumb to stroke Apple Bloom's left hoof. "You're safe now Apple Bloom, nopony is going to hurt you." Spoke Konrad in a soft tone. Konrad then doubled timed towards the truck down the river. Konrad has no idea how far he had gone, but the water in his boots were not making anything easy for him. It felt like something was holding him down, and the fact that his feet were most likely pruned beyond belief made him worry a little bit. He made a mental note to dry his feet off the next time he could get to a more secure location, which at the moment, technically was not. "Damn, I didn't think the truck was this far down." "At least you saved Apple Bloom, she is one of your favorite characters after all." "Yeah, her country accent is really cute I have to admit. Now where the hell is that damn…" As soon as Konrad thought the question, he saw the unmistakable sight of the bronco. Sure enough his blue beauty of a vehicle was still partially in the water and at the moment he wished it had towing capability in the back. He took a quick look around to make sure that nopony was nearby, specifically the Blood Hooves. When he was certain that there were no enemies nearby, he ran to the truck with Apple Bloom's head slightly bobbing on his right shoulder. He couldn't but help irony of the situation, he hated SotB and SFA, and now he was taking care of two of the big characters from those Creepy Pasta games, which just happen to be one of his favorite characters. Also, he was glad that none of the ponies he met smelled like stinky horses, as real life horses could stink pretty bad. He also liked the feel of her mane against his neck despite it being wet. As soon as he got to the truck he opened the driver's door and unlocked the rest of the vehicle. He was glad that the auto lock was still functioning, and then opened the passenger door behind the driver's door. He gently laid Apple Bloom on the passenger seat with her back against the back rest. She looked like she was a peace laying there, with her little pony belly rising and lowering while she breathed. "Now that she's okay, I need to destroy the evidence." "Shouldn't you make her just a little bit more comfortable?" "Well…sure I still got time and nopony else is nearby. I think I might have a towel in the back with my spare clothes." Konrad then made his way over to the back door of the Bronco. When Konrad got to the door he couldn't but help notice that something was off. He began to inspect the ground nearby and noticed that there were hoof prints! He immediately pulled the Makarov out and began to scan the area again. He still didn't see anything, including the trail that he came down on but there definitely were signs that a pony was here. He looked at the truck to see if there was any signs of tampering and noticed something on the back of the truck. There was a noticeable dent on license plate, and what caused that he had no solid idea, he started to guess what it could have been. "Well there are hoof marks that lead straight into it…and around it…and…oh shit." Konrad was starting to worry that a random pony may have found the car. It didn't appear to be blood hooves, as they were more interested in him and Luna. Konrad also knew the blood hooves were aware that they were on the other side, well earlier at least. "We'll apparently this is a Super Filly Adventure and Story of the Blanks dimension of MLP, and let's see, it had Luna, Apple Bloom, and Ruby who I saw earlier…hmm. Wait…that leaves Twilight Sparkle!" thought Konrad. "Very good conclusion Konrad, since you came up with that off of so little. A bit convenient I think." Replied Ian. "Well, I mean it has to be. I've met Luna, Apple Bloom, and Twilight is the only main character I can think of that was in both of the fan games. Plus, she was with Apple Bloom in Story of the Blanks, which means she must have been here." "I guess that's a decent educated guess." "Yeah, but I still can't figure out why she dented the car. Did she think it was an animal or something? Doesn't really seem like her, but I hope she is alright and got away, because if she did she will send for help and we'll get rescued! I would like to do all the work myself though." "Wow, what a glory hog you are!" "Hey, I'm Commander Konrad remember? Wait…I hope that damn Steve Magnet fa-" "Konrad…NO!" "Fine, effeminate serpent that I don't have a high opinion of." "Good." "Anyway, it would really suck if he headed off to Ponyville to yap about me being a 'ponynapper'. I ain't going to get turned to stone because of him and get put next to Discord." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Discord jumped out of the folding chair pretended to do multiple back flips in excitement. This Konrad was apparently in a potential situation to be turned into stone by the Elements of Harmony. And it was all apparently due to the fact that a serpent mistook him to be a ponynapper, one who just "happened" to have Princess Luna. "Oh I hope you do get turned to stone! If I can find another being of Chaos, I can get out of this stone prison myself and with a potential apprentice to boot! Princess Celestia will go, how did he say it 'Ape Shit'? Konrad, my future 'friend' please…continue…and speaking of which." With an snap of his fingers in his stone prison, he summoned more popcorn and chocolate milk, and ate in in his usual chaotic self. "Now this is what I'm talking about!" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "As long as you can keep both of them alive, you won't get turned to stone. Seems simple enough right?" "Yeah, except I'm the guy who pays for it if I fail, and wait a minute…I got to check to make sure she didn't take the IPod! Konrad returned to the task of finding a towel for Apple Bloom to let her dry off. He opened the back door of the Bronco and began to look for his Chem bag. The contents of the back had been greatly shuffled around like crazy with his ammo crates upright on the left side and his Chem bag had come undone with the clothes spewed about. Luckily he did indeed find not one but two towels. They were his standard military brown basic issue towels and he grabbed one and closed the door gently to not wake Apple Bloom up. He made his way back to where she was in the passenger back seat. She was still sleeping peacefully and he still could not get over the fact that the real Apple Bloom was in his car right in front of him. She was just so cute laying there in peace as Konrad gently laid the brown towel over. It there was an audience nearby, they would have had a 'DAWWW' moment. After making sure apple Bloom was okay he made his way back to the driver's seat. At first Konrad was afraid that Twilight Sparkle had somehow found the IPod, but was relieved when he saw that it was not been tampered with. Considering how smart she, was he was very glad that she didn't explore the truck any further as she most likely would somehow have found a way in. "Doesn't matter, she didn't get the evidence, not to wipe out every MLP thing and anything else that might make mankind look 'chaotic'." Konrad scrolled to his music videos and began to delete all of the songs one by one. This went for about a good minutes or two and when he finally came to the last song, it was the 'Avast your Apple Jack' and just when he was about to delete it, his thumb accidentally pressed play. To make things worse, he had left it on full blast earlier from when he was tuning his conscious out and it surprised the hell out of him. He also dropped the IPod too. It fell on the floor continuing to go full blast of Apple Jack's voice and Konrad was immediately scrambling to get it. "Dammit! How could I have forget to take the volume down!" "Karma's a bitch isn't it you trolling closet brony." "Shut the fuck up! I got to kill the vid before Apple Bloom wakes up." Konrad immediately picked up the IPod and began frantically pressing the stop button on the screen. The IPod, however, just kept going and going much to his dismay. "UUUHHH….Apple Jack?" said Apple Bloom in the back. "Damn it she's awake! Stop the 'Avast your Glitch!" As if the IPod could understand him, the music video ceased and Konrad wasted to time in killing the video for good. It was finally over for that potential mess, now all he had to do was worry about his life and Apple Bloom's. "That was close…well I guess it's time to say hello." Konrad then took a deep breath and slowly made his way to the back of the car to introduce himself to Apple Bloom. Even though he had just went through a lot of trouble to keep her alive, he couldn't but help think that talking to Apple Bloom for the first time was going to be 'Awesome'! "Oh God, I really need to stop acting like a dork. Well here goes nothing." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Apple Bloom wasn't sure if what was happening was a dream or if she was really dead. From what she remembered, she fell from the bridge and hit the water really hard. The pain from the belly flop was really bad, and she still could feel it being sore. Then she also remembered the strange dark thing reach out for her. Apple Bloom didn't know if it was a hoof of somepony or possibly the… "Human? Was that really a human? He said he'd help me…but am Ah dead?" Apple Bloom felt that she was laying down on something soft, made of cotton and it also felt like there were covers over her. "Am Ah home? Doesn't feel like home but sure is comfy. Ah don't think Ah'm dead but Ah'm just too tired to find out." Everything was still black as if she were asleep but she could hear things that didn't make any sense. Apple Bloom could hear the noises becoming more clear but they still didn't make any sense. It was like some sort of music, but it was made up of strange voices. Apple Bloom tried to move but she was still really second passing by the noise was getting louder and louder as if somepony was trying to tap on something really hard. "Now Ah wonder what that noise is. It's getting pretty loud, and wait a minute…is that…" Apple Bloom then tried to get up but her belly told her otherwise. "UUUHHH….Apple Jack?" asked Apple Bloom She could see a little bit, and it seemed that she inside something that she didn't recognize. There were seats but they looked like they weren't meant for anypony. Also, the noise had gone away and she could hear the sound of the same strange hoof steps from earlier inside the strange ruin. "No way…that wasn't a dream! Ah'm still alive and that really was a…" Before Apple Bloom could finish that thought the same thing she saw earlier that the Blood Hooves called a human walked in front of her and was standing in front of her. She could do nothing but stare in amazement as a real human was now standing at the end of the strange seat/couch thing she was laying on. Its face was now exposed, unlike earlier and the similarities that it had compared to a pony weren't that scary as she had thought before. This human looked nothing like the books she had seen in school, and instead of feeling fear, she was feeling that it genuinely meant no harm to her, just like when she first met Zecora. The human was now just looking at her smiling with its blue eyes, and it spoke to her. "Hello young filly, my name is Konrad Ford. As you probably know, I am a human, and I aim to get you home safe and sound. Trust me, you will see your family again, and if any of those Blood Hooves have a problem with it…well, let's just say you'll never see them again." Apple Bloom was starting to no longer feel fear of the human, who she believed to be a male. He extended his strange claws forward and it seem that he wanted to shake her hoof. She didn't know what to do for five seconds until she came to the conclusion, "He stopped the Blood hooves, got me out of the river and got me a towel. This human feller is friendly for sure. Now Ah know not to judge a pony by its coat Ah mean, human by its, oh whatever." Apple Bloom then decided to hand her hoof out so he could shake it. "Hi there! Mah name's Apple Bloom, and Ah'm sorry for getting scared at you earlier." Said Apple Bloom who was feeling guilty for running away. He shook her hoof and it was a very nice feeling for her. "I don't blame you Apple Bloom, I would have been scared too if I had been in your situation. Now, are you hungry by any chance?" The sound of food was making her hungry and she couldn't help but smile at the thought of food. "Why Ah sure am! You wouldn't happen to have cupcakes by any chance?" Apple Bloom then noticed Konrad make a strange face at the mention of cupcakes. If she didn't know any better, it seemed as if he didn't like them. "What's wrong? Don't you like cupcakes?" Asked Apple Bloom. "No I do it's just…that word reminded me of something that kinda of ruined them for me for a while back. And no I don't have any cupcakes, but I got pop tarts if that's okay for you." "Ah don't know what pop tarts are but Ah can sure go for some." replied Apple Bloom smiling now knowing that she didn't make him mad. "I think you'll like them, but be warned they aren't homemade. And if you're thirsty I got some water too, it might not be punch, but it should do for now." Now it was Apple Bloom's turn to cringe at the word punch. That word and the sight of Three Leaf's 'punch' would most likely make her not want to partake in it possibly for a long time to come. Then Konrad's 'claws' suddenly touched her right hoof and she felt they felt very comfortable to her, like a big brother saying 'I'm here for you'. "Are you okay Apple Bloom?" he asked her with worried look on his face. "Oh now it's just…when you said punch, it reminded me of something bad Ah saw not too long ago." Replied Apple Bloom with a down look on her face. Konrad seemed to noticed this and let go of her hoof, and then he did something she didn't expect…to laugh! "Hehehe, well I think you and I are going to get along Apple Bloom, now how about those pop tarts eh?" said Konrad with a smile while holding out his claws that were curled up. Apple Bloom could only guess that this was his version of a bro hoof, and returned the gesture that she thought he meant. When her hoof made contact, he made a noise, "BOOM! Now that's what I'm talking about!" said Konrad. Apple Bloom couldn't help but find this funny and giggled a little bit. He then said to her with the smile on his face, "Wait here Apple Bloom, I'm going to get the food in the back of the truck." "Truck?" asked Apple Bloom who was confused at what he meant. "Oh, I mean the carriage you are in. We have them all over the place where I'm from. You're in the back seat right now, and those two front seats are the front passenger and the one on the left is the driver's seat. Well…here I am boring you about this ponyless carriage, you don't want to hear about that, you want food am I right?" asked Konrad with the smile on his face still. Apple Bloom, while confused about the 'truck', simply agreed with Konrad as she was pretty hungry. "You're right about that Mister Ford." "Hey just call me Konrad, only my work buddies call me by my last name." "Uh okay Mist-Ah uh mean Konrad!" replied Apple Bloom giving off an innocent smile. He then made a strange gesture with one of his claws and said, "Eay!". He then stepped away from her view walking over to the back of the carriage, which she heard him open and rustle though some stuff in the back. Apple Bloom, although a bit confused about him, felt very safe with him. She only wished that she didn't freak out like she had when she first saw him, and felt guilty for doubting Ruby's judgment. "He may be a strange human, but he sure is friendly and Ah do feel safe him. But how they hay can a carriage move without ponies?" Apple Bloom then simply laid back on the seat with her mind thinking about humans, and how many of the other things in school were either right or wrong. So many questions filled her mind at once, "How many of them are there? Where did he come from? And how they hay can a carriage drive on its own?" Apple Bloom kept pondering and pondering while Konrad was still shuffling in the back getting a pop tart, whatever the hay that was. Then something popped into her head that she didn't even think of before. "Wait a minute! Does he have a cute mark? If not, he could be part of the Cutie Mark Crusaders! He definitely kicked the Blood Hooves' flanks and Ah'm sure he'd give us a lot of ideas to get us cutie marks. Ah hope he'll say yes when we get out of here, though Ah just hope Apple Jack or Big Macintosh won't think he is a monster or something. There are always over protective of me, just like when Apple Jack was scared of Zecora." As Apple Bloom was thinking her thoughts, Konrad appeared again and this time he had something in his hand. It was square shaped object, with a shortbread like borders and some sort of frosting in the center with very weird looking sprinkles. Whatever it was, it looked good, and Apple Bloom could feel her mouthwatering at the sight of it. He gave it to her and she quickly hoofed it away from him. She took one big bite from it and chomped on it, quickly devouring it. At first the border of the odd pastry tasted a bit bland, but she got used to the taste, as he did say it wasn't homemade. But the best part was the center of the square like treat as it tasted a lot like apples just like the one's back home. "Well, maybe not like the apples back home, but at least it reminds me of the food back home, and the frosting is really out of this world!" As Apple Bloom continued to devour the treat, she noticed Konrad display a rather surprised look on his face. Finishing the treat, she just looked at him and asked, "What's wrong Konrad?" He simply just shook his head left to right and replied with a smile, "Nothing Apple Bloom, it's just I have never seen anyone chow down on those that fast before. Would you like a another one?" Apple Bloom was very excited at the prospect of getting another piece of human food. "YES PLEASE! Ah, uh mean, yes please and thank you!" said Apple Bloom who felt a bit embarrassed at shouting to him. She simply gave him a smile and he replied, "Now that's what I want to see, all smiles and nothing else. I'll get you some more real quick, just wait here." Said Konrad as he went to the back of the truck to get more. Apple Bloom then thought to herself, "Wow, this human really is friendly and his food is delicious! Ah really want him to join the Crusaders! Heh, if Lyra was knew what Ah was experiencing, she'd be jealous!" While Apple Bloom was thinking to herself about her new human friend, another mare was stirring about in her sleep. The word 'human' was merely enough to get her attention, no matter where it was spoken. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "*Snoring*Humans…humans…*snoring*…wha..what?!", said Lyra Heartstrings as she woke up. The teal/turquoise unicorn suddenly woke up from her sleep when she felt something. She couldn't quite describe it, it was like somepony somewhere spoke the her favorite word… "Humans…I heard it… I know I heard it." Spoke Lyra in soft tone. Lyra merely just looked with her disheveled mane covering half her face around her room which contained the typical stuff that pony Mare's would have. Her string instrument was on the display case nearby, along with her desk that just happened to be covered with her own human fan art, and her own human fan fictions. Lyra didn't know why but ever since she found out what humans were in school, she became intrigued and that thought humans were well…just bucking awesome! As Lyra looked at her collection of human fan art and stories that she had made, she started wonder if she had an obsession. Her friend Bon Bon spoke to her one day about it and she Lyra had merely shrugged it off as if it were nothing but a harmless hobby. Looking back at it, she was starting to see the signs of an obsession. Lyra did many things differently from other ponies like sit like a human. She also attempted to, on many occasions, walk on her hind legs like human would and actually got decent at it after falling down multiple times. She even went through the trouble of having a custom couch made at the Quill's and Sofa's in Ponyville. It had cost her quite a large amount of bits, but she felt that it was worth it in the end. The most notable warning sign was the fact that she had used a memory spell on everypony in magic school to make them think she was a filly, just so she could sit in on the pop quiz about Human mythology. Lyra had become aware of it one day when she overheard Miss Cheerilee in market talking about her lesson plan for the colts and fillies. She had primarily done it to give them a break for the Nightmare Night celebration that was tomorrow night. When Lyra found out about it, she had gone straight to the library and had asked Twilight Sparkle for some spell books. It turned out she too had a fascination with human mythology as well, and Lyra would sometimes get into long discussions with her about the subject. During the discussion Lyra had found out the perfect spell that was right up her alley. She had found a temporary memory spell that was rather old and obscure, but with her devotion to her human hobby, it was no problem learning the spell. Now Lyra was starting to feel the gravity of her problem. As she continued to look at her fan art and fictions on her desk she thought to herself while laying in her bed like a human would. "Oh no! Bon Bon was right! I do have an obsession…maybe I should just accept the fact that they aren't real…I mean, yeah it would be cool to meet one, but what are the chances I'll actually meet one? Maybe I should just give up on the fandom, I already messed with Ponies' minds and that's not a good thing to do." Lyra then moved her mane out of her face with her left hoof and continued to look at the desk. After giving it much thought, she had finally come to a conclusion concerning her human hobby. "NAAAHHH! Humans rule! No way I'm gonna give up on this, I have a 'Persona' and I'm keeping it! And so what if other ponies aren't open to my fandom, haters gonna hate! Now to go back to sleep and wake up to work on my Nightmare Night costume. *YAWN* I wonder if a human zombie would work well as a costume…" Lyra then slowly went back to sleep, dreaming that she was human and getting swept on her feet by handsome human male while driving in some weird looking human carriage that didn't use ponies. Lyra simply spoke softly in her sleep. "That's what I'm talking about…" ===================================================================================== Sorry for the previous cliffhanger guys, I just couldn't help my self muwahahah! I hope this extra long chapter will make up for it. Writing Lyra Heartstrings as a filly in the previous chapters bothered me too much, so I came up with a rather cheap fix to it, and heavily used the human trope fans have associated her with. I also hoped I pulled off Apple Bloom's and Konrad's introduction decently, and it appears Ruby and Luna didn't get a good start now did they? Well, extra long chapter and as all ways tell me what you guys and gals think. Work on chapter 13 has about 2,000 words down, so expect it to be posted in less than a week. Cheers!