It seemed that all I do is drive now. I remember the days of cruising through Youngstown in my old Ford. This was a piece of garbage. The clutch was hard to operate, the body was rusting out, the tires were bald, and the engine block got so hot you could cook off of it. But you know what? She was mine. My very first car and your first is always special to you. Not like the Hummer I was now driving. I had stolen this one so something about it just felt hollow to me. Maybe it is a personal thing, but what do I know?
The rain let up a small amount but still kept up. The windshield wipers moved back and forth across the window, clearing most of the rain. All eyes were on me in the cabin. Dallas, Atlanta, and Field’s eyes seemed to burn into the back of my skull. I had to lead and could not let what just happened cloud my vision but damn it was hard. I wanted to shut down and disappear but I couldn’t do that to my crew. They counted on me. I had already let Alex down and couldn’t lose another. I would die before that. I took a deep breath before running my hands over the faded leather of the steering wheel and slowly sat back in my seat. Dallas shifted in his seat and faced me. I kept my eyes looking out the window for a moment, locked on the lights of Canterlot that sat in the distance like a beacon. I slowly turned to Dallas and looked him in the eyes. They were not eyes of anger or fear. They were ones of sympathy.
“Are you ok?” Dallas asked as he reached over with a hoof and set it on my shoulder “What happened?”
I remained silent for a moment before slowly reaching over my shoulder and pulled my AR around into my lap. The AR and 226 now sat in my lap like weights that kept me grounded.
“It isn’t important what happened.” I proclaimed, dodging the question “Just know that we have to move. No one got hurt.”
“Come on Captain,” Atlanta called from the backseat with Field still nestled in his side, watching me “We’re here for ya. You don’t just run like you’re bolting from some mare’s house after a one night stand for nothing.”
“Drop it.” I snarled as I set the AR against the dashboard and holstered my Sig again “It doesn’t concern you.”
“Jeez Ryan, what the hay happened to you?” Atlanta asked in a rhetorical sense.
I dropped the H2 back into drive and pulled back onto the road. The cab was silent again as Atlanta set his head against the window and Field leaned against him, never taking her eyes off of me. Dallas gave a concerned look before sighing and reaching over to the radio. I looked over and stayed his hoof.
“Not… not right now. I need some quiet.” I said, almost pleading in a way.
Dallas nodded before curling up in his seat and looked away. I looked back out towards the window before flicking on my headlights and flood lights, illuminating the road like it was a stage. Canterlot sat on the side of the mountain, prominently displayed like a crown jewel. It was lit up like Youngstown was if you were overlooking it from Route 11. It was a sight I hadn’t seen in many years. It stirred something inside of me. It wasn’t sorrow like before, no, this was rage. I wanted nothing but to see the Castle burned to the ground. The feeling was almost sickening. I took one of my hands off of the steering wheel and rubbed my forehead. I tried to force the thought out of my mind. Just had to think of something else. Something better.
I thought back to some of the better times of my life. I remembered going to parties with Alex, spending the holidays with my mother and sisters, my time with Dash at the Gala all those years ago. I felt a small bit better like there was a flame in my soul, holding back the darkness. I switched routes at the fork in the road that led towards Canterlot. I had to drop off Field and then double back and head around Canterlot eastward towards the Zebra territory. I was so close now and I couldn’t deviate.
The way Canterlot was placed, it had three ways in. There was the possibility of air travel but I didn’t have wings so it was out of the question. Then there was a set of train tracks that cut through the mountains but I didn’t have a way to them unless I rode back to Ponyville and followed the tracks. Then there was a road that cut through Canterlot from east to west. I was going to drive up most of the trail and stop. Let Atlanta out to take Field to the train station and send her home somehow. Enough money could get anything done and I didn’t have a shortage of that.
-
I pulled the H2 up on onto the road and parked it. The rain had stopped and my window was open. The air still smelled of fresh rain. I dropped the truck into park and looked back at Atlanta. Field was out cold on the backseat, opposite of Atlanta. I motioned Atlanta to come closer to me before he stepped and leaned and ear closer to me.
“Listen up.” I whispered to him “You are to take Field into Canterlot and put her on a train back to where she lives. I don’t care how you do it, just get it done.”
Atlanta looked back and Field who was curled up and snoring lightly. He seemed to get wistful for a moment before looking back at me and nodded.
“I’m going to whip around Canterlot and wait on the eastbound road.” I explained before motioning for him to wake up Field.
Atlanta reached over and softly shook Field. Field’s eyes fluttered open before she curled up from all the eyes staring at her. Atlanta crept closer before clearing his throat quietly.
“Hey, I’m going to take you into town.” He said lightly as Field looked to me for conformation.
I gave a nod “We’re shipping you home, kiddo. Your dad is worried.” I tried to say as friendly as possible, finding it kind of hard.
Field looked between us before shaking her head in defiance. She clutched the seatbelt and wrapped it around her before looking into my eyes. I sighed before turning around and seeing the sun rising far off in the sky. It was weaker than the desert sun, that was for sure. I opened my door as the engine continued to rumble under the hood. I left the door open as I walked over to Field’s and opened it up. She looked at me with sad and fearful eyes. I reached down into my pocket and slipped on my sunglasses before looking at her again.
“You gotta go home. This isn’t a place for you.” I said, hurting a bit inside for some odd reason.
Field shook her head again before holding the seatbelt tighter. I rolled my eyes before grabbing hold of her and tried pulling her away from the truck. She gave a muffled crying sound as she held the seatbelt tightly with earth pony strength that always seemed to surprise me. I jerked again and she started crying, showing she didn’t want to leave. I gave another jerk before she finally let go. Field was now full on crying as she continued to try and jump off of me and back into the Hummer. I held her close as she looked up at me with wavering eyes. I looked down at her through my sunglasses like they blocked some of the sorrow. She slammed her eyes shut before clutching onto my weapons harness. I held her with one hand as I closed the door and pulled a large bag of bits out of my coat. I tossed them over to Atlanta who stepped out from the other side of the Hummer and walked over. He started to remove his armor and set it on the ground to blend in before he looked up at me.
I glanced down at Field again, who was soaking my shirt with tears. I pulled her free of me and set her down on Atlanta’s back. She looked back at me before holding her hooves out with teary eyes, hoping for me to pick her up again. I closed my eyes and looked away.
“I’ll meet you on the other road by noon.” Atlanta said before I felt the flap of his wings.
I opened my eyes and they were gone. Just like that. I had once again sent someone away that needed me. I buried my regret before picking up Atlanta’s armor and set in the back seat before slamming the door as hard as I could. Dallas looked over at me and nodded like I had done the right thing. That was me… always doing the right thing. Makes me wonder why I hadn’t eaten my own bullet a long time ago.
-
I had pulled around the town and had parked the truck under some tree cover. It was hidden from the sky and road fairly well if you didn’t know what you were looking for. The day wore on, making me wish I had my hat. At that thought, I wondered how long it would be before a search party started looking in the immediate area. I ran my hand through my greasy, dirty hair before checking my old watch. It was almost 11:30. He only had a half an hour before I had to either come looking or start moving. I leaned against the spare tire of the Hummer with my 1911 in my free hand and a line of sight on the road ahead. Had to keep an eye out just in case.
-
I waited till 2pm before walking around to the driver’s side door and pulled it open to see Dallas. Dallas was sitting in his seat, playing with the radio. He turned to me, expecting news.
“Atlanta is late. I’m gonna have to look for him.” I said with a huff “He’d do the same for us.”
“How are you going to do that?” Dallas asked me as he looked me over “It is midday and they all know what you look like.”
He had a point. I couldn’t even go after Atlanta and I sure as hell wasn’t going to send Dallas in as well. Atlanta must have either lost Field or have been captured. I know the Royal Guard didn’t have the balls to kill him. I mumbled a curse and punched the door out of spite.
“Well?” Dallas asked me as he turned off the radio.
“We have to wait.” I answered as I rested my forehead against the Hummer.
-
It was now almost 11pm. I waited for hours for the sun to go down and now was the time to move. I made Dallas wait with the Hummer and had walked up and into Canterlot. Was easy enough sneaking into the city by hopping a fence. I didn’t need a rifle in this close of range. I held my 1911 in my left hand as I walked into an alley way. The streets were quiet and mostly empty. Oil lanterns lined the streets, casting an orange-ish glow over the cobblestone streets. Stores were all closed up for the night and a few guards patrolled the streets. They wore their standard gold armor and carried pikes. Usually they were unarmed so I assumed their heard I was coming.
I pressed up against the wall and crept over towards the street. I peeked out from the corner like a rat and looked for guards on the street. Two sat on each end of the street, making my job that much harder. I had to find a way around. The alley I was in only gave me the option to go back where I came from and forwards into the street, giving me away. I didn’t want to kill any guard. Griffons were fair game but if it came down to it, I would open fire. I looked down at my feet and saw a brick sitting there. Just what I needed. I grabbed the brick with my free hand and looked back out around the corner. The guards stood there and the pair to my left started walking down the street.
I watched for a while before the first pair passed, moving towards the second pair at the end of the street. I prepared my arm and aimed upwards. I reared back and threw the brick as hard as I could over the building I hid next to and hopefully past the guards so it would gain their attention in another direction. I waited for a thud and heard one sound far off.
“What was that?” I heard a voice ask “The locals should know we have a curfew in place.”
“Go check it out.” A feminine voice say in return.
“I have to do everything. You go.” The first voice returned.
“Quit arguing.” A third voice said.
I braced myself before taking a deep breath and ran out from the alleyway. I sprinted towards a break in the buildings I felt eyes snap to me as I dove into the alley and pressed against the wall opposing the guards.
“Somepony is playing with us.” The feminine voice said as I heard wings flap.
Shit. I looked around before noticing there was no escape. The other end of the alley was blocked by another building, leaving no way out. I clutched my pistol in my hands before hearing something break on the other side of the street. I looked over and saw… Field? She stood over a broken lantern. She looked over at me with her large purple eyes. I was confused at first before one of the guards ran up to her. Time to move.
“What are you doing out at this time of night?” the guard asked as he looked down at her.
I took the time to turn back to the wall that blocked my way. The wall was maybe six or seven feet tall, just within climbing height. I took a running start and jumped. My hands grasped the top of the wall and I used all of my strength to climb up. After roughly a minute of this, I was almost atop before I looked back to check on Field. She was still quiet, watching the guard as he attempted to usher her over to the other guards. She shook her head and took off in the other direction.
“Hey! Get back here!” The guard called out before running after her and another guard followed behind.
I vaulted the wall and landed on the other end. My knees wavered at the impact, showing the wear on my body. I grimaced and brought myself together once more. I looked out of the alley and on the far end of the well-lit street was the side of the castle. One of the basement windows as open and the curtain flapping out of it. Jackpot. I moved towards the end of the alley and looked out. Around ten guards stood at the entrance with eyes locked forward. These were probably the worst guards on the planet or maybe I was just used to the extremity of griffon training. I just walked over to the window and hopped in.
The inside of the room was dark and damp with a musty smell to it. I couldn’t see much beyond where the street lanterns came in through the window. I looked down at my 1911 and switched on the under-barrel light. The LED light illuminated the room, showing nothing in it. It was just a blank stone room. Maybe it was future storage? Perhaps a cell? I pushed the notion out of my head and moved towards the door and tried to open it. I gave a few solid jerks before figuring out it was locked. Who were they trying to keep out? I took the handgun and pressed the silencer against the lock. I had already been discovered in Ponyville, what damage could I possibly do here?
I fired a few shots into the lock, giving metallic thumps. I pushed the door open with ease, thanking the malleable metal these ponies seemed to favor. The room turned into a long hallway with a single lantern lit in the center. Hay protruded from under the doors that lined the halls in a few spots. Seemed I was in a cell block already. Looks like I do have some luck left in the reserve tank.
“Atlanta?” I whispered through the hall.
Nothing came back to me. Maybe he got out? But why was Field running around? Did he get captured or is he still looking for Field? I doubt the second one but maybe he has a bigger heart than I give him credit for. Going to get him killed but what could I do? I picked the direction to the left and walked over to the next door and knocked.
“Atlanta?” I asked in a more normal tone before my voice echoed through the basement.
I listened for a long time but still nothing came. It was like whatever was in this basement was cleared out recently. I flashed my light over the edge of the hallway and something ran past. It was bigger than Atlanta for sure. Seems to me like it wanted me to fall but that could just be my paranoid brain talking. Whatever it was, I wasn’t followed. I turned around and walked the other way, keeping an eye over my shoulder in case it came after me. After a minute of this, I looked forward and Luna sat at the other end of the hallway with my light shining in her eyes.
“Fuck.” I mumbled as I switched the laser on and kept the gun trained on her.
I was hoping the light had kept her from knowing it was me. She took a step forward as did I. The room I had come in from was damn near in between us. I was going to have to make a break for it if anything.
“We knew you were coming.” She said in a way that made my heart stop in fear.
This couldn’t be the night of my capture. I wasn’t going to be taken alive at the very least. They were going to have to kill me.
“First you go to Ponyville and Twilight Sparkle talked to you.” Luna said from the other end of the hallway as I stepped forward, keeping the distance of me and her to the door the same “It only made sense you would come here.”
“Where is Atlanta?” I asked with hostility as my finger tightened on the trigger.
“We have him. He is safe.” Luna said calmly before raising a hoof at me “Put the weapon down.”
“I’ll do that about the same time as you tear your horn off.” I said “Been hit with one too many magic bolts over the years.”
“We would do no such thing. We are here because we saw your dream.” Luna as she took another step and I matched it.
“Dream?” I asked before thinking back and remembered the sensation of being thrown through that window “More like coke-induced nightmare.”
“We don’t want you to run. We are ready this time.” Luna tried to reason “Celestia was wrong.”
“Don’t you mention that name!” I snarled as I tightened my grip on the gun farther “I owe her a bullet.”