//------------------------------// // Chapter 9 - Arguments In The Alleyway // Story: Lukas: A New Generation // by MyAwesomePony //------------------------------// Sirens were blaring as we were racing down the streets of Zephyr Heights. As you already know by now, the ponies were way faster than me, so it was difficult for me to not fall behind. "Guys, wait up!" I called out to them, but they were too focused on escaping to take notice of me. Suddenly, Izzy stopped after noticing that I was starting to fall behind, she then ran over towards me and proceeded to throw me onto her back as she sped over to catch up with the others. "Thanks, Izzy." I said, out of breath. "No human left behind, Lukas." Izzy replied as I laughed weakly. "Quick, this way!" Zipp called out to us as we all followed her into a nearby alleyway. As we came to a stop, I finally allowed myself a moment to catch my breath as I climbed off Izzy's back. I was starting to get tired of trying to match the ponies' unbelievable speeds. "Okay. I think we lost 'em." Hitch said as he too was trying to catch his breath. I then looked down and saw that a rat with wings was hugging Hitch's hoof, he really was a magnet to animals. "Hitch, what are you even doing here?" Sunny asked. "Arresting you." Hitch replied as he shook the rat off his hoof. "And saving you. So, you know, a little of both actually. You're welcome!" "Oh-ho-ho, gee, thanks." Zipp said sarcastically. "But we don't need any saving, okay?" "And you are?" Hitch asked, obviously not recognizing her. "Her mom is the queen!" Izzy replied abruptly. "Wait a minute. So that means... you're a princess?" Hitch deducted. "Huh. Look at that. The sheriff just became a detective." Zipp said with a smug grin. "What?" Hitch asked, confused. Just then, the sound of a news jingle caught our attention, we all looked over towards the screen to see Dazzle, the news reporter from earlier. On the left, there was a picture of Pipp hanging from her wires while looking at the camera with a shocked expression. "Breaking story – Zephyr Heights is in turmoil tonight after the shocking revelation that the royals cannot fly." The news report then showed various interviews from different Pegasi, some were fans of Pipp, or as they called themselves "Pippsqueaks" while some Pegasi were outraged by the discovery, one Pegasus even blamed the unicorns and the Earth ponies for this since they quote on quote "ruin everything" Dazzle then continued. "This just in – Queen Haven has been arrested for being a phony pony full of baloney." Zipp gasped at this as the news showed footage of Queen Haven being escorted out of the castle by Zoom and Thunder, while numerous Pegasi took pictures of her. "No comment! And no photos!" She paused for a moment. "Okay, one photo." She then struck a pose as someone took her photo. Hitch then turned to us, demanding answers. "Anypony care to explain?" "Whoa, Hitch. Don't try and make it sound like this was our fault!" I responded. "But it was your fault!" Hitch emphasized. "But we had to get the Pegasus crystal from Queen Haven's crown." I protested. "Which may sound bad, but trust me, it's for a good reason." "Oh really." Hitch retorted. "And, pray tell, what may this "good reason" be?" "Well, it's kind of hard to explain, but basically, we need the crystals from all the different tribes, because we think it will bring everyone back together again and also bring me back to my timeline." Hitch laughed at this, obviously not believing anything I had said. "You really expect me to believe that?. Before I could retort however, Sunny walked up to me, coming to my defense. "Lukas is right, Hitch, look." She then began to rummage around in her saddlebag for the crystal, but suddenly, she realized something. "Oh, no, no, no, no! It's not here!" "What?" I exclaimed. "Seriously?!" Zipp asked with a mixture of confusion and anger. "On the bright side, we had so much fun losing it." Izzy added, trying to remain positive. "We have to go back!" Sunny cried out. "But it could be anywhere!" Zipp protested. Suddenly, we all heard what sounded like an empty can clattering on the ground, which made us all look over towards the end of the alleyway to see Pipp slowly approaching us with a stern look on her face, how she managed to get herself down without getting arrested was beyond me. "Somepony seriously needs to explain why this thing was so important that you had to ruin my whole show over it!" Pipp then pulled out the Pegasus crystal as Zipp ran up to her. "Trust me. It was." Zipp answered as she went to grab the crystal out of Pipp's hoof, but Pipp pulled her hoof back in anger. "You left me hanging there! In the spotlight! Now everypony knows we can't fly." "Look Pipp, I'm sorry that your performance got ruined, but we can make it up to you." I assured her. "How!?" Pipp asked me angrily. "I was adored by so many, and you took it all away! How could you possibly make up for that!?" I was just about to answer, when Pipp suddenly pulled out her phone from her wing and looked at it. "A warrant is out for the arrest of the princesses." I heard Dazzle say formally. "Pipp! Zipp! Save yourselves!" Queen Haven exclaimed. "What?! This is not happening! This is so not happening!" Pipp said frantically. "Pipp! Forget about all that. We think we can bring back magic, but we need that crystal." Zipp pleaded. "Have you lost your mind?" Pipp asked honestly. "No we haven't, Pipp." I replied. "Just trust us on this. If we don't get magic back soon, I might be stuck in this timeline forever." Finally giving in, Pipp reluctantly agreed to help us. "Ugh! Fine! I know a way out. Come on." Pipp then led us out of the alleyway as I heard Hitch from behind us call out; "What? Wait! You can't just... But I'm a sheriff!" "Sorry, Hitch." I said to him." But I'm pretty sure Pipp knows her way around Zephyr Heights better than you do." Hitch only groaned in response. To Be Continued...