//------------------------------// // Chapter 131 - Forward // Story: Quest For Harmony // by destinedjagold //------------------------------// Rentelbud City was under chaos. The whole city was now surrounded by a thick layer of black crystal walls that completely blocked any ground exits. On the northern part of the city, the remaining people were in panic, and were also too difficult to control. Chinook helicopters flew above the crystal walls, and landing on small vacant spaces provided by the police and military people. Crowd control was difficult. Each one feared for their lives, and tried to cut in line to be first to get inside a helicopter, in hopes that they'll be flown to safety; away from the chaotic city. The military were driven there, where the evacuation was taking place. They had no other ways to run, and now, they needed to fight off the marching crystal horses that kept on approaching them. They were running low on ammo, and there were still a huge number of people that were needed to be evacuated. A lone helicopter flew away from a massive mansion on the western part of the city. The said mansion was being invaded by crystal-coated horses, absentmindedly walking in and out, with purposes unknown. A grim-looking middle-aged man looked down on his beloved mansion, as the chopper he was on continued to soar up in the sky. He closed his eyes with a sigh, and slightly shook his head. No, he thought, there were far too many things that needed his attention. His mansion was a small price that he needed to pay for everything that he had done. Looking ahead, where the chopper was heading, he locked his eyes on the mist-covered island south from the city. He ignored the blue dragon that was busy with something on the southern-part of the city. He prayed that the dragon won't become a hindrance to his plans. “Rainbow Dash” “Awwwww yeahhhhh!” I howled as I tossed one of my front hooves in the air! “This is so AWESOME!!! Yea—whoa!—ahem... YEAH!!!” Oh, great Hurricane! Xilfer is awesome! He's got moves! Well, technically, this weird machine-thing has the moves, but still, Xilfer's doing the controls! And damn, is this thing sick! And fast! Too bad I couldn't actually feel the cold air on my face directly. Not with this stupid mask on me, but anyway, the rest of my body can! It felt almost like flying! And damn how I missed flying! “Whoa...!” I tightened my hold as Xilfer made a quick turn to dodge that emerging spike-thing. Seriously, what the hay's going on!? No! Deal with that later! Right now, enjoy the fun! “X-Xilfer...” I heard Jay's faint and worried voice behind me. Sheesh, I can't believe he and Xilfer are brothers. I mean, what the hay? Xilfer's cooler and awesomer than Jay! No offense to him. “Xilfer...!” What's he so worried about any...oh, a boring road block's up ahead? Xilfer isn't slowing down... What the hay? This is fun and all, but I don't wanna turn into a pancake by slamming into a thick road block! “XILFER!!!” Is the mask covering his ears or something!? I'm totally panicking here now! I was about to smack his head when he suddenly made a turn, and up ahead was a weird metal-vehicle thing that looked like a ramp. Uh... “You're not seriously going to—!” “Just shut up and hold on tight!” Damn! Awesome, cool, and a quick-thinker! Hot-damn, this dude's over a hundred-an'-twenty percent cool! “Ahhh!!!” Jay shouted his lungs out as I howled in excitement! There was a rough bump when Xilfer ran on the ramp, but we completely brushed it off after the air suddenly changed it's angle while rushing passed us. The entire metal-vehicle thing literally felt like it was flying in mid-air! The speed, the air that ran passed us and whistled in our ears, dang, it felt like everything went slow-mo! We flew past the pile of metal blockade, but behind those was a taller crystal wall block, and I think the adrenaline I had was completely gone, now that I doubted that we'd get over those things. Despite the loud whistling air on my ear, I heard a metal flick up ahead... “Hey Jay,” it came from Xilfer, and I saw one of his fingers flipped open a metal-cover thingy and pressed a button from it. “I hope you're a fan of Burn Out.” His voice sounded really confident. I liked that. I really liked that. “What do you me-EEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!??????” Jay screamed after an explosion of sorts erupted from behind us, and sent us flying forward in speed that only I could achieve! “AAAWWWW YEEEEAAAAAHHHH!!!” I howled, my voice mixing with Jay's terrified screams! But mine was louder! Before I knew it, we were already meters away from the tall blockade, and gravity is already starting to do it's job on pulling us back down towards the black-mist covered bridge down below. “Aw shit! Shit!” Jay cursed. “We're gonna die!” “Stop being a pussy!” Xilfer growled while the three of us were already falling back down diagonally. Aw yeah, I'm scared a bit, but I'm excited to see what else does Xilfer has in store! Unfortunately, Xilfer isn't doing anything, and it's starting to make me feel panicky as well... I gulped as the flat ground was getting closer... “Y-you've done this before, right!?” And no, I didn't squeaked that last word out! “No,” was Xilfer's simple answer. Well, Jay's right... We're going to die... Suddenly, Xilfer pulled up, as if trying to level the front and rear parts of this metal thing evenly. What good would that do!? Just before we hit the ground, I wrapped my hooves around his neck as I shut my eyes. There was a loud smacking sound as my hind hooves slipped and my butt slammed on the chair-like thing. Before I yelped, I felt the rush of air running from ahead of us, and suddenly, it stopped. I heard a painful cough as two pairs of hands grabbed my hooves. “You're choking me...!” Xilfer wheezed as I shot my eyes open. “Oh my gosh, I'm sorry!” I yelped as I let go. He coughed some more as another heavy object landed behind us. It was another machine-vehicle thing. “Yo, Xilfer!” the guy on the other vehicle called. “Invite me the next time you'll be doing this!” His face was covered by his mask, but I could tell how large his grin was. I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I turned to see Jay's masked face. Wow, his hand feels really really cold! I think he wanted to say something, but maybe he's still too nervous to actually say anything yet. He was shivering, and I doubt that it was caused by the cold air and rain. I smirked at him. “Too much for ya to handle, Jay?” “Shut...up... Rainbow...” he replied lamely, and it made me chuckle in triumph! Aw yeah! I quickly turned back to Xilfer. “Sorry for strangling you dude, but damn! That was awesome! You're awesome!” I punched his shoulder playfully. He brought a hand on where I punched him, and despite his face was covered by his mask, I could tell he was smiling while looking at me... And it made me feel kinda warm inside... Eh? “Hey bro...” he said, turning to Jay, “pushing everything else aside for a while... Is it normal for me to suddenly just understood what this pony just said to me?” Wha? Oh? H-he understood me? I grinned. “Well, if you really can understand me now, then I'm gonna say it again! You. Are. Awe—” A loud explosion erupted from behind us. We turned and saw the large blockade exploded and sent large chunks of debris flying around. The red bright fire brightened the area, and soon, the blue dragon flew through the broken wall. Its shiny blue body was reflecting the fire, and it was not a nice thing to look at the moment. “Looks like that thing won't give up, huh?” Xilfer's friend said while he opened the metal part where he sat on the vehicle-thing. He pulled a weird metal thing that resembled nothing that I have ever seen before. “A-a grenade gun!?” Jay exclaimed, before sharply turning to Xilfer. “Gas masks, these motor bikes, and then a grenade gun!? Seriously!? Where the heck are you getting these things!?” “Aim and fire,” Xilfer calmly said, and completely ignoring Jay's question. What's a grenade gun, anyway? Xilfer's friend pointed the metal thing at the dragon that was slowly flapping its wings and hovering towards us. Seconds later, the flapping noise of its wings was accompanied by sets of marching hooves. Thanks to the light from the fire, we saw the shiny blue ponies marching on the bridge, and were heading towards us, tailing the dragon. “Geez,” Xilfer's friend groaned, “things are getting pretty, huh?” Those ponies don't sound like ponies at all... I mean, they look like ponies, but with crystal bodies instead. But I could, somehow, hear their quiet whispers. I dunno, but they don't really sound like ponies at all! “T-they're not ponies...” I whispered. “What?” I heard Xilfer's voice. I turned to him and furrowed my brow. “They're not ponies! They may look like one, but I can feel that they're not!” I can't tell if Xilfer was staring at me in disbelief or he thought I'm nuts, or maybe he didn't understand what I just said. Suddenly, he sighed. “Not ponies, huh?” “Small update, but they're getting closer, not to mention that dragon...” Jay said. “Break their path!” Xilfer shouted. “You got it,” and with a nod, his friend aimed the metal thing on the ground meters in front of the ponies. With a click, a bright reddish-yellow light lit from the metal-thing, followed by a loud whistling noise, and then another explosion. I looked back, and the black mist was now mixed with black smoke. The dragon yelped and flapped its wings harder, making it soar higher and higher. Suddenly, something exploded again right below us, making me jump. “Let's get going!” Xilfer said and then the vehicle-thing we were on started moving forward in a very fast speed.