//------------------------------// // Golden Gates // Story: What happens in Frisco... // by aegishailstorm //------------------------------// "The Government wouldn't do that, well... They did! And they couldn't care less now that it has been done!" Hey there, it's me again! The Quiet Kid! Yes, I am narrating this directly to you. Which, now that I think about it is actually a pretty bad idea. Anyway, I've got a best friend and a main character to save respectively. So... 11: 36 AM "Well William, you're welcome to stay in any room you'd like that's unoccupied. You're not a pony, but we're not too picky here. " Purple insisted. William was still partially scratching his head. He wasn't quite sure what to make of it. Part of him wanted to stay for a while and see what interesting specimens of pseudo-Equestrian fauna- Eh... 'Friends' he could make. "Sure, I'll patronize you. Let me see how you've adapted to life in this place. A few minutes wouldn't hurt." The mare smiled, and waved him along. "Oh, delightful! We've remodeled the rooms to resemble the interiors of Equestrian cottages as best as we could!" William smiled back, and nodded his head. "Sure, let's see what you've done here." The purple pegasus, flanked by several of her constituent ponies, led William up a grand staircase to the second floor, they walked past overgrown escalators and piles of flowering furniture. " How has this place stayed the way it is for so long? Do all the psychopaths outside just... Avoid it?" "Hmm.... Good question. I don't really know." William snickered. "Clueless, typical. But I can't really blame them, they seem innocently oblivious to this stuff in a way that makes me doubt they used to be human." "William glanced up at the murky skylights high above. Allowing just enough dim Bay Area sun through them to make it feel like you were really outside in nature if you looked at it from the right angle. A pair of pegasi flew through the rafters and then dove down beneath the balcony he was standing on, they turned upside down and waved to him as they passed by. "God, it's like I'm back in Equestria." "Oh, really? What's it like?" A unicorn Stallion with a fedora asked curiously. "It's awesome." William replied. " It's like Yellowstone National Park, or maybe the Black Hills up in North Dakota everywhere, the heartland is teeming with wildlife and open prairies that stretch on for miles which lead up to sparkling snowcapped mountains. The South and coastline? Just picture southern Utah and Hawaii respectively. All with well kept 17th century esque towns, villages, settlements, abandoned and inhabited castles, monsters, magic. It's everything that that cute little show that got you into this mess shows it is. And more." The pony's expression grew sorrowful. "Well, enjoy it for us, will you?" "I'll be sure to." William responded with a reassuring nod. 11: 39 AM "... And here we are!" Purple exclaimed. William glanced down the hallway at the dozen or so ornate entryways. He stepped up to an empty one and peeked inside. "Charming, but, I just have one question, are there any surveillance camera's in here from the outside world?" "No, none that we know of. Ponies aren't too shy when it comes to modesty. But we respect the wishes of those who stay here, and all outside camera work is expressly prohibited. We haven't had any known violations yet. And that's for the better, it'd be a shame to kick anypony to the curb." William nodded. "Yes, that's good and all, but... Are you sure?" He quickly followed it up with. " Because I'm pretty sure all of San Francisco is after me now. Just pretty, not entirely, because God knows how many more souls you could cram onto this little cursed peninsula." "I don't think it's that bad." An Earthpony mare gestured as she walked by him with a towel draped around her sides. "Have you stepped outside recently?" "You know what? I think you might be righ-" William held up a gloved hand and paused her midsentence. "Lemme stop ya right there Miss, it's not, 'think', it is that bad!" The earthpony cringed. " Oh well, best of luck to you! I'm off to the spa!" William facepalmed and gritted his teeth as she walked off. 11: 42 AM "How can they be this relaxed? " The Quiet Kid began to edge into the room he had first peeked into, he felt around under a lampshade, and crunched something with a closed fist. "I just found one. You should be more care-" He froze, "Why do I hear buzzing?" "That is strange." Purple added. "The walls of this place are soundproof." William's eyes went wide behind his sunglasses. "Oh shit-" The sound of glass shattering echoed down the hallway, along with the sound of several consecutive pistol shots, and ponies screaming. "Stay here and stay down!" The Quiet Kid ordered. He molted back into his armor and snatched up his semi automatic magazine fed shotgun. "William, stay safe! I hope you find your friends!" William hoped so as well. He peeked out into the corridor and ran to the balcony. There was a massive, jagged hole in the roof. concrete and rebar lay tattered on the ground some 80 feet below. Drones buzzed about, corralling ponies away from the damage. "You sons of-" He took cover behind a pillar and opened fire, ripping through oak leaves and turning drones to burning wrecks with single shots. He glanced over at a nearby pegasus stallion who had just happened to have been passing by. "You! Fly me up to that hole in the roof! I've got things I need to violently dismantle!" He slung the sling of his 20 Gauge over his shoulder, and waved emphatically at the stallion. "O-ok! But it might be a bit bumpy!" He responded. "Just get me close!" William shouted, the pegasus galloped over, and kneeled down while the Quiet Kid awkwardly slumped on top of him, 2 steady wing flaps later, and William suddenly began to recall his very real fear of falling. "This is gonna be loud! Cover your ears once I'm off!" The Quiet Kid grasped the edge of the rubble. "Closer!" He heard the sound of buzzing above him, and the pegasus probably decided that he wanted to live more then he wanted to help a complete stranger, so he just bucked William off and dove for the ground. William, now hanging on for dear life while being shot at. Manifested a ballistic shield on his back which functioned as a bullet proof umbrella while he scrambled up onto the roof, and then turned and, with two more shots, sent the Quadcopter crashing through an AC unit. The putrid sent of wildfire smoke met his nose, and he chuckled, and swapped magazines. "I'm coming for you, bud. And you too, Rainbow Dash." 11: 59 AM It had now been nearly 5 hours since the Quiet Kid had first awoken. He was exhausted, having barely sat down since he first started trying to make his way to a pier. That option was out of the question, given what he had just learned. The Golden Gate bridge was the next best option. Less than a two mile walk, now that he had acquired a map from the front lobby of the hotel. "Now, let's see..." William needed to find his friends, but they could be anywhere by now. It'd take a whole battalion of professional soldiers' weeks to sweep the city. Time that he didn't have. Which left him with either; "Try and hotwire a fancy electric car." Or, " Find some pushover drone operator and... Hehem, 'borrow' his stuff. He glanced over his shoulder. Sitting, unguarded, was a...'man' wearing a virtual reality headset alongside a pair of complex looking joysticks. "There's my target." He thought to himself. He huddled behind some bushes and donned a balaclava over his helmet and sunglasses. Crouching low to the ground, he drew a suppressed Glock 19, it took him right up until the point to where he could possibly tap the gun barrel against the drone controller's shoulder. "Wait, what am I doing? This guy's still human. And look at those squirrelly arms! I can take just one." He calmly holstered his gun in a 3:00 holster and tapped the man on the shoulder. "Hey, hey, pal!" 12: 02 PM "Do you mind?" William cracked his gloved knuckles. " I'm doing important business-" "Crack!" William grunted, threw a right hook over the man's face, knocking the virtual reality headset clean off. William caught a glimpse of what seemed to be a direct view from one of the drones which had just attacked him. "You little rat! Git!" The Drone Operator took one look at the fuming Quiet Kid and took off running without saying a word. Just as he had thought, they were so busy hiding behind their screens that the concept of throwing a few punches here and there completely alluded them. William quickly got to work muddling over the strangers' devices, trying to figure out how to access the drones. "I highly doubt this place has mutual combat laws. But what are they going to do anyway? This place isn't even in American hands anymore. And it's an Alternate Universe to my own Alternate Universe! Hell, I probably just did this world a service." "How about that headset?" William checked it, and then immediately set it down, and took off running. 3:08 PM "Huh... Eh...!" Joey rubbed his eyes open with his hooves, he was lying on his back on something soft and smooth. A bedsheet. "Ah! Why you little-!" His ears swiveled to the sound of Rainbow Dash's angry and confused voice. He glanced over, and tried to roll around, but for some reason, he couldn't move his hind legs. He was just able to arch his head and get a glimpse over at his friend. He spotted her, cuffed to the other side of the bed and fuming with rage. "Rainbow?" "Wha- Joey!? What the hay's going on here!?" As the alicorn looked around the room, his expression grew more and more worried. The last thing he could remember was himself and Rainbow being tossed into some moving van before losing consciousness. "I think we've been foalnapped!" Rainbow Dash growled, tugging at her restraints. "Well?" A voice asked from the ceiling. " Are you going to do it?" Joey raised an eyebrow, and lowered his ears in confusion. "What the buck are you talking about!? And who are you!? Oh, when I get my hooves on you buster-" A laugh echoed through the loudspeaker. "Oh, that won't be happening. I don't want to get involved, I just like to watch! Now go on!" Joey's face went red, and he rolled away from Rainbow, who did the same, the both of them turned and stared at one another, the alicorn's face went red. "What do you- No! You're disgusting!" They both shouted back. " We're friends you piece of manticore crap! Let us go!" The low chuckling continued. "No one is coming to save you, so you might as well hehe, enjoy each other's company, if you know what I mean?" The two ponies stared at one another. "No. Just. No. Not a chance." Joey said flatly. Rainbow Dash quickly nodded in agreement. "We went through the trouble of dressing you up! Do you know how hard it is to find pony sized stockings!?" The voice shouted, full of anger. " Now do it! Or I'll bring in some more willing mares and stallions for you both- Hey!" There was a loud crash below them, followed by several gunshots, and the sound of screaming and... Boots on Linoleum. About 15 seconds later, there was a knock on the door to the room they had been locked in. And an instant later, the door went flying off its hinges. Revealing one very angry looking Quiet Kid on the other side, rifle and bayonet in hand. " Rainbow, Joey! Oh thank God, I finally you two! That drone camera worked! C'mon! Let's go!" Joey held up a hoof. "Can you cut us free first Mister John Clark?" Rainbow asked begrudgingly. William sarcastically fumbled around in a pocket, and then manifested a pair of bolt cutters. "I should never have given you that copy of Rainbow Six." He grumbled to himself as he snapped the cufflinks of each hoof, the two ponies instantly bounded up and began to flex their wings upon being freed. "William!" A smile appeared on Joey's face. "Thanks for coming to save me bud!" "You're welcome." William replied with a lighthearted chuckle, "Now, what say you two we get out of this awful city and back to our home?" 8: 20 PM From there, it had been a mad dash through the Presideo region of San Fransico right up onto the Highway that led across the bay. Ahead of them stretched the massive red arches of the Golden Gate Bridge, a good quarter mile between them, and freedom. Beyond that lay the redwood hills of the American northwest and the Pacific Ocean. The evening sunset had brought new waves of fog into the bay. Cutting visibility in most parts down to just a few hundred feet at a time. "What's that sound?" Rainbow asked, hovering up just a few inches off the ground and glancing behind herself. "That sounds like people." Joey murmured. " A lot of people." The Quiet Kid raised his sidearm. "Start running." A massive crowd of people emerged from the fog behind them. Carrying everything from machetes to baseball bats and Molotov cocktails. Thousands and thousands of them. William, without thinking, picked his friend up like a limp dog and began to dead sprint across the bridge as fast as his tired legs could carry him. "I hate this place!" "Agreed! Later!" Rainbow mocked. Bolting straight to the far side and leaving William and Joey in the dust. The mob was slowly gaining ground, and Willaim began to worry that he'd be caught up in the mass of angry people. Could he take them at a quarter mile? Yes. But at close range with his best friend in the crossfire? Doubtful. These were people. Horrible people, but still people. Horrible, horrible people that would most definitely stab him and all of his friends to death and film it for fun. All of a sudden, a blinding white flash illuminated the entire length of bridgeway. The mob stopped and gazed in awe at the scene forming. Joey slid out of his friend's arms and looked up. "Road flare?" "William." A soft female voice said. " What are you doing here? What's going on?" A figure formed in the light, setting itself down on the pavement. It was a pegasus, with soft yellow fur, and a mane with hues of blue, pink, and orange. There was just something about her that felt trustworthy. That concerned William, what could be so dangerous about this little pegasus mare to halt a charging mob in it's tracks? "Joey eyed the creature curiously." "You look familiar." "Hello Joey." The mare said calmly. The alicorn shirked back. "Why does she know my name? That's usually a bad sign!" "... And you... Stranger." She pointed off at Rainbow Dash, who huffed and crossed her hooves. The mare laughed. "My name is Golden Gates, I've enjoyed watching you corral your friends around this once great city. But, you do not belong here." "Yes, yes, I know- But before we go, can I just-" He pulled out a trail camera, and pulled Joey and Golden Gates in for a group photo with the burning city in the background. "That one's a keeper." He turned back to the mob, who kept their distance. "You suck-" He was back in Ponyville, in the morning air with the sun just beginning to crest over the mountains in the East. Standing upright and by Joey, who tugged his pant leg with a hoof. "Hey bud, you alright? You sorta zoned out there for a second." William scratched his head, and removed his cap. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." He reached into his pocket, and found a little slip of paper with in. William pulled it out and unfolded it. It was the crumpled photo he had just taken a moment ago. "Wha- How?" "Are you feeling alright?" Joey asked his friend. William looked back at the rising sun, then over at the distant towers of Canterlot, then, at Twilight's crystalline castle, and finally, back to the humble cobble streets and cottages of Ponyville. "Yeah bud, I'm fine. Just fine." To this day, I still don't know who Golden Gates was, or how that photo got to my pocket. I still have a deep and unshakable feeling of unease around bright colors. I still prefer Ponyville to Manehatten and Las Pegasus. And Rainbow Dash still doesn't and will never like mares!