//------------------------------// // What I've Learned // Story: When The Mare Comes Around // by nanashi_jones //------------------------------// “Bad-ass right? Total bad-ass?” I chuckled and ruffled May’s mane. “Yep. Total bad-ass,” I said. I sat on the bumper of an ambulance wrapped up in an orange panic blanket, watching the activity of police, emergency medics, and the CIA. I’d been hustled down there after SWAT broke into the hotel room to find me on the phone with the 911 operator, Jim’s body blocking the door, and William Trenton in a heap of bloody legs and tears. May, being the rambunctious and sneaky thing she was, had run up with the team. While they were all still staring at the scene, she burst through the lot of them to wrap me in the biggest hug this side of Pinkie Pie. “How’s Sweetie in all this?” I asked. May grinned up at me. “I had to explain a bunch of stuff, but she’s really, really glad you’re not dead.” I laughed. “Me too.” “And what did you leeeeearn?” May jostled, poking me with a hoof. “Try not to do danged-fool things alone,” I said, laughing. “And to always count on my friends.” “Sweet,” May said. “If you write a letter to Celestia, I totally wanna read it first.” “Sure thing, squirt,” I said, ruffling her mane again. Rarity was gonna kill me for how much I was mussing her sister’s hair, but I couldn’t help it. I was a ruffler and I was damn glad to see the filly. “Miss Apple?” Looking up, I saw an official woman in a black suit and white blouse before us, hands on hips, smile in place. CIA agent Stephanie Chase was in her mid-thirties, tall and fit, with blond hair and blue eyes that complimented her friendly smile. She looked like the last person to be in the black suit and tie of a bunch of professional sneaks. Maybe that’s why they’d hired her. “You can call me Rae Jay if you want, Steph,” I said. “I mean, now that you’re our handler and all.” Stephanie nodded. “Rae Jay it is,” she said, smiling. “How can I help, Steph?” I said. “Well, we’re almost wrapped up here. Trenton’s going to the hospital, where he’ll have a police guard, and he’s up on a whole mess of charges. Like, a ridiculous number of charges. He’d be up on at least half of them even if he hadn’t shot that P.I.” “Jim Matthews,” I said. She nodded. “Yeah.” Giving me a curious look, she said, “He really was going to cut you loose?” “Yep,” I said, nodding. She sighed, shaking her head. “Yeah,” I said. We lapsed briefly into silence. “Anyway…” Stephanie said. “Once I’m done liaisoning with the locals, we’ll get you in a detail and transported to New York. And just so you know, a little birdy told me Gilda, Shining Armor, Cadance, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Apple Bloom are already en route.” I sat up, almost losing the blanket. “Really?” I said, my voice bursting with hope. “Bloom’s gonna be there?” Stephanie nodded. “Sweeeeeeeeeet doggy!” I hooted jubilantly, leaping up and punching the air. I dropped onto the ground and wrapped Stephanie’s legs in as powerful a hug as I could without hurting her. “Ma’am, you just made my day,” I said, looking up at her. Smiling through a blush, Stephanie said, “Heh. You, ah, you just made mine. I’m a big Applejack fan.” “Really? Well, shoot. I suppose I need to get you an autograph before we part ways.” “Awesome,” Stephanie said, squealing a little. She pulled her professional face back on, but not fully. “Okay. I’m going to wrap things up and we can get going. Good?” I released her. “Works for me.” I practically pranced back to the bumper. May was shaking her head at me. “Seriously, Rachel, you’re a nut.” “Oh, I ain’t Rachel,” I said with a grin. I hopped back up and pulled the blanket back around me. Sherlock was right, it’s pretty comforting. “Oh, right, sorry. You said AJ.” “Nope.” May blinked. “Wait. You didn’t- You mean you two…?” I nodded. “And…?” “I’m fine. Call me Rae Jay if you want.” May stared at me. “Dude,” she said, sitting back. “Yep.” “Dude!” “Yep.” “Dude!” “Lovin’ your vocabulary there,” I said. May laughed. “This is so messed up.” “What’s messed up is that I got kidnapped in the first place,” I said. “There were three of you and one of him. What happened back at the Tavern?” “Oh,” May said, her expression falling. “That… That was pretty bad.” “Talk to me,” I said. So, May filled me in. After I got knocked out, Jay and Ann started making a beeline for Jim. He’d just shown his weapon was only a tranq gun, so Jay was ready to turn him inside out a couple of times. May said even if the tranqs were full of rhino sedative, Jay was probably big enough to beat Jim stupid before they affected the giant bouncer. Unfortunately, Jim also had a spare firearm, which he pulled out as the humans advanced. May had gone over to Sam to pull the dart out of her side and to check her breathing. “She didn’t look too good, but everyone else was looking somewhere else,” May said. “So no one really noticed when this crusty, old, biker dude came up behind the private eye.” Ethan was a regular who had gotten tossed outside during the brawl. When he came to, he found Jim standing over my body while pointing a gun at Jay and Ann. He decided to be a hero and when he grabbed Jim, he got shot for his troubles. “Ann was the first to get to him. The P.I. kept his gun on Jay, and I’m pretty sure Jay was going to just fucking take getting shot and beat the guy stupid. But then Ann was like, ‘I need help,’ and the private eye was all, ‘You got two choices dude,’ and it was a mess.” Jay called an ambulance and helped Ann try to slow Ethan’s bleeding. While they were busy, Jim hauled me to his car and tossed me in the back seat. May ran out to try and slow him, but he pointed his gun at her. “I backed the fuck off. I’m not-” May shook her head. “I don’t ever want a gun pointed at me again.” I nodded. “It’s not the best experience. I’ll agree to that.” May looked at me. I looked at her. We snorted, laughing a bit. Once the chuckles passed, she explained that Jim got in his car, drove off, and she ran behind him for as long as she could. “I must’ve called him thirteen shades of fuck,” May said. She glanced at me, then down. Her voice dropping, she added, “I thought- I thought I lost you.” She went back to the tavern and didn’t have to wait long for the emergency services to arrive. Once they got Ethan loaded up and focused on Sam, May said, “Applejack was kidnapped” and the whole team froze. In a breath, they went from just handling a weird bar brawl to making all kinds of phone calls. Sam got rushed to a nearby vet to have her system pumped, May had to stay put and play twenty questions with local officials, and half an hour later, she met Stephanie. “Fellow brony, and a girl, and a badass spy person?” May said. “She’s like, the perfection of cool. No offense.” I snorted. “I ain’t Dash. None taken.” May grinned. “But yeah, soon as she showed up, she did this Sherlock thing and bam! Found the guy’s car! She tried to be all- you should stay in the car, and I was like, ‘Do I look like I’m gonna stay in the car?’ And she was like, ‘Good point” and let me follow. So. Cool.” Unfortunately, Jim’s car was a bust. They found it abandoned a few miles away from the tavern. Stephanie called up her computer gurus to start triangulating on Jim’s cell and track any credit card activity when my 911 call came in. Apparently, saying you’re Applejack on an emergency line, when every governmental acronym and their meemaw is looking for six certain ponies, really ups the ante for response. “I got to ride with goddamn SWAT and CIA to a fucking Big Damn Heroes rescue. I will be talking about this for years,” May said, puffing her chest in pride. “Then we got here and Stephanie tried that ‘no really, wait here’ noise again, and, well, you know the rest.” She shrugged, swinging her tiny hooves back and forth over the edge of the ambulance’s bumper. “I’m really, really glad you’re not dead,” she said, watching her hooves. “Me too,” I said, pulling the blanket closer around me. “Me too.” A cozy silence settled around us. “Oh, hey. Almost forgot,” May said. She dropped down and worked her way through the crowd to a black sedan. She poked a guy in a very slick suit and shades. When he looked down, she pointed at the car. He nodded and opened the door. Hopping up, she scrambled into the back seat and disappeared. A minute later, she emerged. Liana drooping over her head. “Ta-da,” she called. I laughed. She hopped down from the back seat and came over. I lifted the hat from her head and looked it over. It looked fine to me, so I slid it back on. Between my hat and my Element, I felt like a whole pony again. “Your bag’s in the back too,” May said. “Figured you’d want that first.” “Much obliged,” I said, tilting the hat at her. Stephanie appeared next and smiled when she saw me in a Stetson. “Well, this just got all kinds of fan perfect,” she said with a chuckle. “Okay, we’re done here so if you two-” “Where the hell is she!” We turned. Coming through the throng of officials was a man in his middle fifties in an expensive-looking, navy blue suit. His handsome features were pretty familiar too. His gaze swept the area till he locked on our group. Pointing at me, he came storming my way. “You,” he growled. Before he could get too close, Stephanie stepped between us and the easy-going gal I’d been talking to was replaced by a woman who was all business. “I’m sorry, sir, and you are?” “Bruce Trenton, you bitch. Now, get out of my way or I’ll have your badge!” She cocked her head at him, sizing him up. She then settled her stance and folded her arms. “I doubt that Mr. Trenton,” she said. Land sakes. I thought I did a cold tone when I was Rachel, but I didn’t have anything on Stephanie’s ice. Daddy Trenton glared at her. “That… that thing is alleging all kinds of hell at my family. If she thinks for a second that-” “She has alleged nothing, Mr. Trenton,” Stephanie said, in that same cold, imposing tone. “Your son was arrested on the abundance of evidence surrounding him.” “Abundance of- Oh that’s rich. That’s real rich. You think you can smear campaign me? Do you know who I am?” “I am aware of your status, sir,” Stephanie replied. “Damn straight you are. Who’s your boss? Think you can pull this bullshit on me? C’mon.” Daddy Trenton pulled out a phone. Like his suit, it looked mighty expensive. “I’ll have you busted down to patrol in an afternoon.” Stephanie glanced over her shoulder at me and she smirked. I laughed in response. For all that this was serious, she didn’t seem the least bit worried. “My boss is Director of Intelligence Morrell. Michael J. Morrell.” Daddy Trenton froze, mid key. He looked back at her, his face a bit paler now. “You’re CIA,” he said. “Yes, Mr. Trenton. I am. And your son is in a world of trouble. Specifically, based on the evidence we gathered coupled with a confession obtained through judicious means, he is being charged with the following…” She raised her hand up and started ticking off fingers. “Possession of illegal narcotics, operating a vehicle under the influence, attempted manslaughter, failure to report an accident, obstruction of justice by means of destroying evidence at the scene of a crime, criminal conspiracy in actus reus, coercion, blackmail... and murder.” The last she said with a glare I was sure would strip the tan off Daddy Trenton. Not that he had much tan now. He was pale as paper. “And that’s just what I’ve heard from the local officials,” Stephanie said. “Now Miss Apple, and her friend Miss Belle, are considered to be under federal protection. And that protection goes back to when they first transformed, so I know our lawyers are going to want a crack at your son too.” Daddy Trenton blinked. His eyes drifted to May and I. We waved, smiling. “I recommend that you go to your son, Mr. Trenton. He’s going to need his family. And a damn good lawyer.” Daddy Trenton hovered there, phone still in hand. He then took two breaths, straightened, tucked the pricey-looking thing into his jacket’s pocket, and scowled at Stephanie. “I’ll remember this,” he said, puffing up like an angry tomcat. “I’ll bet you will. Now leave before I have you removed.” He scowled, turned his eyes to me, but Stephanie snapped her fingers in front of his face. “No, sir. Leave, sir.” He turned and stormed off. “Nice guy,” I said, drolly. “Not really,” Stephanie said. “Whatta jack-off,” May said. Stephanie and I chuckled. “Well, before I was so rudely interrupted…” She gestured to the black sedan May had gotten Liana out of. I slid off the bumper and hoofed the blanket to an EMT, who smiled at me. Walking just beside me, May said, “So that was that Asshole’s dad? Who’d he think he was?” “Bruce Trenton,” Stephanie said. “Lawyer, politician, entrepreneur. He ran for mayor five years ago. Would’ve won if it wasn’t for his temper. Scared a few people as I heard.” “Can’t imagine why,” I said, rolling my eyes. Stephanie stopped at the sedan, hand on the car door’s handle. “Don’t worry about him,” she said, looking back at me. “He’s just an egotistical blowhard. He didn’t even show up until it hit the eleven o’clock that his son was implicated in everything that happened.” She shook her head, saddened. “Well, he can show himself away from me, as far as I’m concerned,” I said. “I just wanna see my sister and friends again.” “That’s what I’m here for,” Stephanie said. “Well that and…” She opened the door. And I was tackled by a too-skinny dog with a bandage. “SAM!” I crowed, laughing and crying as my dog licked me all over. “Whoa, Sam!” May said, hopping in on the reunion. She rubbed Sam all over. “She wasn’t in here when I got Rae’s hat- what happened?” May asked, looking to Stephanie. “The local vet got to her quick enough and were able to treat her,” Stephanie said. “Once she was all cleared to go, animal control brought her to me. I loaded her in the car while you two were talking, since I figured a happy dog reunion was in order.” “I’m a fan!” I laughed, still getting covered in slobbery kisses. Stephanie smiled. We eventually were able to get Sam off of me and loaded everyone into the sedan. Inside, we met our official, CIA designated driver: Alphonse. He was a heavyset black guy, who was just as cheerful and kind as Stephanie. Once we made introductions, he put a light up on the car and made some noise through an attached speaker, easing us out of the clutch of activity and police tape. In the back seat, Sam pressed up against one side of me while May held up the other. Our bags lay on the floorboard right behind Stephanie’s seat. Among them was my trusty old red pack with the mouse on it. When I talked to Max next, I’d have to tell him he made a good pick for his niece. As we hit the highway, I lifted my head up one last time to look back at the Days Inn. How long ago was it this all started? Only four days? Land sakes. Five days ago, I’d been a girl crunching numbers at her nine-to-five and a regular farmer, just bucking trees and earning her keep. Four days ago, I turned into two minds in one body and a whole mess of trouble. I was lucky I’d made it out as intact as I did. I looked at May, then Sam, grateful for their presence. I’d started this off trying to do everything myself. Even if that self had two minds. Because really both of them got it into their heads they had to do this alone. AJ may have reminded Rachel of the friends she’d made along the way, but when it got to go time, both of them opted to do it themselves. That wouldn’t happen again. I’d learned my lesson: family and friends would be by my side in times of good as well as bad. I’d especially need them if I was going to get through the next leg of this whole adventure. Smiling slightly, I bent down and pulled up the backpack Max got me. Unzipping it with my teeth, I pulled out the little cell phone Jared had handed to me. I dialed memorized numbers and leaned back, adjusting the hat that Carrie gave me. May gave me a curious look that I just answered with a broad smile. After two rings I got an answer. “Hello, Shelton residence.” “Hi, Mom,” I said.