//------------------------------// // Chapter3: Safety // Story: The Missionary // by Radon18 //------------------------------//         Chapter 3 “Dialogue”         “Words in a foreign language.”         “Quoting in thought” ***         I took a breath as quietly as I could. I looked up, and there on top of the roof directly above my head was the pony with the spear. I nearly gasped in surprise but controlled myself. Slowly, I placed a hand over my mouth to muffle my breathing and waited. I could see his head turning this way and that, searching for me. If I moved now, if I made a single sound, I knew it would be over. How had he even gotten on top of the roof anyway? I didn't have to wait long for my answer, he pushed off the roof with a pair of feathery wings I hadn't noticed and flew off towards the center of town. “They can fly! Why can they fly!? This isn't fair at all!” My mind was racing and I was horribly confused. It just didn't make sense, even if they did have wings, they were too small, they had no tail feathers to steer with and to top it all off, the one carrying the spear must have been carrying an extra twenty pounds of armor. I took deep breath to try and calm down and pushed my panic out of my mind. “Okay, they can fly, yeah this is no problem, I'll just keep one eye on the sky.” I looked around, scanning the roof tops and above... nothing. I contemplated going for one of the small weapon stashes that I had hidden around the town inside of electrical junction boxes or mail boxes, places like that. The knowledge that I wasn't far from a firearm brought me some comfort but there was already a gun waiting for me in my truck. It would take too long and make too much noise to find a stash now. I decided to just knuckle down until I could make it to my destination and dodged to the next street, making sure to stick to the shadows. Finally, right in front of me stood the three white garage doors and sandy brick of the fire station. I quickly stood up and ran for the human-sized door to the left of them. I heard a loud thump behind me. I didn't turn around and look, I knew what was there. I pushed myself faster, sprinting for the safety of the steel door. The tip of the pony’s spear appeared in my peripheral vision and instantly I knew what it was doing, so I jumped. I flew into the air and he skidded below me, not expecting for me to jump out of the way; he ended up kissing the pavement. My feet came down awkwardly on either side of his body and I took off running for the door again. He almost managed to trip me up by lashing out with his front hooves but a quick hop carried me out of his reach. Reaching the door, I grabbed the handle and twisted, throwing it open and practically hurling myself through it in haste. Something made me take one last look behind me as the door shut, rebounding from being smashed against the wall outside. I saw the other two armored ponies land in the street just behind their spear wielding comrade, he himself already back on his feet... err... hooves. I met his eyes just before the door slammed. I shook my head trying not to think of the hatred I saw in the pony's eyes and hoped that what I saw was just the frustration that I had gotten away from him. The thought of being hated by anyone really made me uncomfortable. Shaking that thought out my head as well I quickly stood and locked the deadbolt and headed into the garage. The garage was a fairly simple one, large enough to accommodate two fire engines and an EMS van. I had parked the two fire engines a few streets away in a parking lot of what was once some kind of medical specialist’s office, covered in a tarp and emptied of water to keep them from corroding. Inside the large space was a bunch of tools I used to maintain the small collection of utility vehicles I used most often. The closest to me was a telephone company bucket-truck I had used when I built my windmill. Next was a very large tow truck I only rarely used when there was a vehicle stuck somewhere. The last vehicle was my target - my 1989 Ford Bronco II, modified nicely for off-road, with a suspension upgrade and off road tires. Strangely, I hadn't found a lot of dirt or mud on it when I had first discovered it. I credited to it being freshly washed, or having belonged to one of those guys who overcompensated for something with overly macho trucks. Moving as quickly as I could, I made my way to the Bronco. I checked it over once, making sure the tires weren't flat, that it had fuel and was ready to go. After that was done, I tossed my small duffle bag into the seat, hopped in, and fired it up. I breathed a sigh of relief; my hands were still shaking with all of the adrenaline in my system. I was finally glad to find myself inside the steel fortress of the Bronco and it helped me to shake off any lingering fear. I pressed the button on the garage door opener and hoped those flying pony things knew to get out of my way. *** “-AND YOU PUT YOUR ENTIRE TEAM AT RISK WHILE DISOBEYING A DIRECT ORDER FROM CELESTIA HERSELF!” Spitfire gasped, inhaling a lung full of sweet air. She had spent the last few minutes chewing the saddle off of her idiotic squad mate. “I should report you for this. Seriously Soarin, what the hay were you thinking?” Soarin at least had the decency to look sorry for putting them in danger. “I'm sorry, I just thought I could end this whole thing quickly. The creature didn't look tough at all and I figured I could take it out easy.” “Just don't do anything stupid and we’ll talk about this-” Spitfire was interrupted by a loud humming sound quickly followed by screeching metal. The three ponies turned around and looked up in confusion as one of the sections of white wall lifted up into the sand-colored brick. For a moment they thought nothing more was going to happen, until they heard a loud roar. The roar was followed by a blue and white box flying out of the giant doorway. “UP!” Spitfire screamed and the three Wonderbolts launched themselves into the sky well before the box had reached them. “What the hay is that!?” Soarin shouted over the fading roar. “No idea, but it’s headed towards Ponyville. Soarin, go to the Ponyville garrison and warn them about whatever this is. If it is headed to the town we have to be ready for it. Fleet, you check out the building, make sure this isn't just a distraction. I'll keep an eye on that thing,” Spitfire ordered. The three nodded to one another, then took flight. *** I raced down one of the main thoroughfares of my little town. It felt like it had been forever since I had cut loose behind the wheel of something and the adrenaline high I was riding made it all the more exhilarating. I had pushed the lingering feelings of fear out of my mind for now, finally able to relax and enjoy my drive. A small grin tugged at the corner of my mouth as fond memories of occasional, irresponsible joyriding bubbled to the fore of my mind. I remembered the streets back when they were filled with other vehicles going about their commute and how much fun it used to be to dodge between lanes, going almost ninety with the radio blaring. But reality couldn’t help but drag my mood down as I kept my eyes on the empty road in front of me. Empty cars lined the road; it was almost like driving in the very early morning when no one was awake yet, except for the knowledge that no one but me would ever drive one of them again. I didn't expect the flying pony creatures to be able to keep up with me at all, let alone actually catch up, but there in one of my side mirrors was the fire-haired member of the trio. This baffled me to the point where my knowledge of physics curled up into a little ball in the corner of my mind and wept. I pushed my foot down on the gas pedal a little harder and concentrated. I had already gone nearly two miles, any moment now I would be reaching the border, the place where it stopped being my world and started being theirs. I already saw the first sign; a car in the road. I had rarely visited the edges of my town once the traps and defenses were finished, so I had neglected to clean the place as thoroughly as I had the middle of town. When I passed the first pile of crumpled clothing, I slowed down and checked for the fiery headed pony in my mirrors. To my surprise I found her staring at me through one of the windows. She looked like she was scrutinizing me, looking for weaknesses. How she had the capability to do this while flying at about thirty miles an hour I will never know. I tried to ignore the pony outside of the window and focused on the road ahead. The side streets, yards and driveways were dotted with piles of clothing, every single one a monument to a spot where a person once stood. I shook the thought from my mind, it was hard enough remembering all the ones from the center of town. I didn't want to see another of those piles for as long as I lived. I finally came to a hastily constructed gate. The gate I had built all those weeks ago to keep out the monsters and demons I knew to roam in the forest. I slowed the vehicle to a creep and nudged the gate. It broke the latch and the gate swung wide, if there hadn't been a flying pony somewhere around me, I would stop and fix it but I didn't have that luxury. I was safe in the steel of my vehicle, and one little pony couldn't do much so long as I stayed inside. In front of me stretched the dark forest, I could see tops of trees extending towards the horizon. If there was anywhere I could lose my pursuers it was there, then maybe I could double back and return to my town, or maybe I could make for the city on the mountain. Only human hands could build something like that. I took a breath and pressed my foot down on the pedal again, quickly finding myself at the razor’s edge of my world. It was a bizarre place, the ground suddenly split, a cliff of stone gave the impression the entire town sat on a raised dais. The trees changed suddenly from healthy California trees into the dark, sickly, gnarled trees of this evil place. My town, my world, was a literal island of God’s creation in a sea of evil. I slowly drove down a ramp I had constructed by collapsing part of the dais with an excavator. The ramp was covered by slabs of metal I had pulled off of shipping containers to give the whole thing stability. I looked in the rear view mirror, at the homes that sat at the edge of my world. They were sliced in half, like some kind of sick cross section or doll house. It was yet another thing I tried not to think about. The tires of my Bronco finally touched the soft mossy ground of the forest. The abrupt change in the truck’s ride was yet another glaring contrast to the grass-covered earth only a few dozen feet away. I tried scanning my mirrors for the fiery pony but I couldn't see her, she had either wisely left me alone and given up or she was above the trees, reluctant to enter the forest. I pressed down harder on the gas pedal and made my way further into the dark forest. I hoped that I wouldn't have to spend long inside it and would find other people quickly, or circle back and return to my town. * * * The driving was bumpy and uncomfortable and I had nearly gotten stuck in the forest’s soft ground several times. Clouds had gathered in only a few hours and raindrops now fell all around me. But the most annoying thing of all was that damned pony. I could see her above the trees; the stupid thing hadn't given up! I sighed and contemplated listening to a CD. “No... no, better not.” I didn't want to be that much easier to follow. I had to push the engine a little harder to climb over a cluster of roots. I was jarred in my seat as my front tires tipped over them. I smiled, in front of me was a wide, clean dirt path. This would make everything so much easier! *** Twilight Sparkle was out shopping for groceries, checking her list for any ingredients she may have missed. Salad ingredients, baking supplies, vegetables, milk, fruits, everything seemed to be in order, and look at that, fifteen seconds ahead of schedule! Twilight smiled brightly. Being ahead of schedule always improved her mood, almost as much as spending time with her friends. Speaking of her friends, she looked around, hoping to see one of them. She was ahead of schedule and a short chat would make her day that much better. Sadly, she didn't see any of them in the market. At that moment, at the edge of her vision, an armored pegasus landed and quickly ran into the building the Ponyville garrison had been using. That was strange. Ever since the whole changeling incident the town had an entire century of Equestrian regulars, but there had never been any kind of incident that had gotten any of them so flustered. Well, Twilight didn't have the time to check on it now, she had a schedule to keep. She made a mental note to ask her mentor about it though she doubted it was anything serious; Princess Celestia would tell her if anything major was wrong. She checked “grocery shopping” off her list and trotted away, still perusing her parchment. *** It loved everything, why was this so wonderful? It could move about in its black expanse like a fish through water. Every so often a new part would form. They were all the same as it was when it was new. It devoured each and every one of them easily. They were delicious. It swam about and ate the new ones. It was happy. Then it felt the ‘other’ leave. It hadn't even known the other was there until that moment, but it felt like a part of it was torn away. Nothing felt as it had. It wasn't happy anymore. A/N I know i promised to end the chase in this chapter and i didn't quite make it.... yeah.... Sorry for the rough grammar and stuff this time guys, LW is out on a trip and won't be back for a little while. But i promised you all weekly updates so here you are. I’ll probably ask him to retroedit this chapter once he is back just to have a consistent quality. Thank you to Admari for prereading this week. Anyway I hope you all enjoy this latest chapter and don't you worry all the good stuff is just around the bend.