//------------------------------//
// 5.Dick Another Day 
// Story: The Continuing Adventures of Detective Richard Pound 
// by Cinor 
//------------------------------//


Richard Pound
In:
Dick Another Day
By: Green Draft

Two years is a long time. Time for forgive; time to forget. I had forgiven Twilight for taking Sunny’s memories. It had been for the best. She’d had only the best intentions. Ponyville stayed the same as it always had. The… creatures from space are all but forgotten. No one knows why they attacked, and no one cares anymore.
Twilight was making dinner. I was trying to find a book that Sunny would like. He didn’t like reading, and I think Rainbow Dash was a fault there.
“How about some science fiction?” I asked him. He pouted.
“No way, Dad. That’s for eggheads,” he proclaimed. I sighed; this was going to be tough.
“Come on. Read a damn book,” I said.
“Richard!” called Twilight from the kitchen.
“Sorry,” I called back. I turned back to Sunny. He was turning into a strapping young pegasi. He could fly, but not very well. Perhaps lessons with Fluttershy would be better, more his level.
“Dad, I don’t like reading. It’s boring,” he said.
“It’s not boring,” I told him. “Your mother is the librarian. It’s reading that gives us the nice tree house.”
“Also the money from the princess,” he said all-knowingly. How did he know these things? Darn kids.
I lowered my voice, “reading made me the way I am today, smart. Now I’m going to get into trouble unless you read a book, which means you get in trouble too. So pick one out.” He sighed. Turning to the book case. After a minute he picked one out. I took a look. Daring Doo, huh. 
“This looks interesting. It’s got a pretty mare on the cover,” he said. Oh god, he’s thinking about mares. That’s Twilight job, I decided.
I nudged him to the couch, “well ok then. You just get reading that and I’ll get you when it’s time for dinner.” He took a short leap to the couch, gliding down with his wings. I trotted to the kitchen, feeling slightly jealous of the wings.
“Got him to read,” I declared successfully. 
“Good for you,” said Twilight, hovering a steaming pot to the table. “I think maybe we should have a talk with Rainbow Dash.”
“The egghead thing?” I asked.
“Yes, the egghead thing. You know, reading would do her good too.” I had slight doubts that she could read, but that was mean. She could probably read.
I took a seat at the table, leaning back. “Man, things have been really boring.” 
“I know, Dick. But there isn’t much crime in Equestria anymore,” she said. I knew that, and that was good. Crime was bad when you’re raising a son.
“His birthday is coming up you know,” I said. This had been a sticky spot for us. We didn’t exactly know his birthday, so we made it the day we had adopted him. We guessed him to be around six now. He would attend Cheerilee’s class next year. That would be something.
“I know,” she said.
“I asked Pinkie to throw a party. Seven’s a big number.” She merely nodded.

 

Chapter II

“Happy birthday, Sunny!” cried the assembled room. Everypony was here. Pinkie pie had thrown a solid party again this year. She had made his favorite cake, chocolate. He had assembled a moderate stack of presents.
Sunny ran up to Twilight and I, hugging both of us. “Thank you, mom and dad,” he said.
“Who wants to play pin the tail on the pony?” asked Pinkie Pie. Sunny ran off excitedly.
“Hey, Richard, uh, I was wondering if I could give Sunny a pet. I’ve got a really nice kitten, if you don’t mind,” said Fluttershy. Sunny having a pet? That wouldn’t be so bad. We could use a cat around here too.
“Sure thing, Fluttershy. You want me to bring him around after?” I asked.
“Oh, sure. That’d be wonderful.” She smiled, fluttering off to get a glass of punch.
“Fluttershy wants to give Sunny a cat?” asked Twilight. “That’s a big responsibility.” I gave her a quick nuzzle.
“It’ll be fine. Cats are no trouble at all,” I assured her.
“Whatever you say, smartypants.” She walked off. Rainbow Dash came up to me next. How many ponies was I going to be talking to?
“Hey, Dick. I’ve been watching Sunny’s flying,” she said.
“Yeah, he’s doing well isn’t he?” I asked. Her mouth gave a strange slant.
“Not so much. He might not be ready for the flight test,” she said.
“What? That’s not for years. I’m sure you can teach him well. Like Scootaloo right?” I asked.
“Oh yeah, I can teach him well.” She hurried off, a trait they all seemed to have gotten today.
Seven years old… at least that’s what we thought. How could we not know? We didn’t even know his damn age. We were his parents. We are now at least. It saddened me, saddened me to think that he had been abandoned at such an age. Why would they do that? He was a perfect child, next to no trouble now.
Now that he didn’t remember. That thought hurt me too. I hadn’t brought it up in over a year, and never in front of Sunny. It would devastate him, crush him. The jewelers had been cleaned out and auctioned off to someponies from out of town. They ran a grocery store in there now. We had bought from there once or twice. We didn’t risk bringing him back, in case his memories rush back.
I looked at him now, trying to pin a fake tinsel tail on the back of a pony on the wall. He was blindfolded. Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, and Scootaloo tried to tell him the directions. He was having none of it. He was destined to be a free spirit, like his dad. I didn’t want that. He should try and be something better than me, better than I could ever be. What I had become, a hero, a knight, was nothing compared to what I had done, what had happened.
“Hey, Dick. What’s up?” I awoke from thought. Next to me stood Roseluck. I remembered her, from the very first case in Ponyville.
“Hey, Roseluck. Nothing much,” I said dismissively. Normally I liked talking to her, but not today, at least now. She had flowers in her mouth.  She put them in a vase on the nearest table. They clashed slightly current display. It should be happy, yet I wasn’t.
Twilight had been right. There wasn’t crime in Equestria anymore. There was nothing to do anymore. My life had become boring, stagnant. Things weren’t the same, and I wished they had been. Nothing could compare to the days when my life had been in danger. Twilight would never see it that way. She wanted me home safe and sound. I took a step outside, standing away from the music and festivities.
I spotted a strange pony walking alone through the streets. Hugh Jelly, I thought, what a freak. He always gave me the chills, nopony was that strange. I tried to keep Sunny away from him, fearful of what contact might bring.
The night was cloudy… no, it wasn’t. A large cluster of clouds hung in the middle of the sky over Canterlot. It dwarfed Canterlot. Something didn’t feel right about it. I yelled for Rainbow Dash, surely she’d know more. She came outside as fast as she could.
“What’s the matter, Richard?” she asked. She looked at the huge cloud too.
“That rubs me the wrong way. Know anything?” I asked. She shook her head.
“Last I heard the sky was supposed to be clear,” she said. “Must be something wrong in Canterlot.” That gave me the slightest tingle of hope. That could mean something to do. “I’m sure it’s nothing though.” She glanced inside. “Oh, they’re cutting the cake, come on.” 

Sunny dozed sweetly amongst the wrapping paper. No one had the heart to wake him up. The last of the guests had left as Twilight levitated him to his bed. I sat on the edge of the bed, gazing through the window towards Canterlot. My attention rapt on the cloud. Glowing lights shimmered across the surface. The cloud seemed to disperse, revealing gray shapes arranged in inexplicable ways. It wasn’t natural, that’s for sure. 
“What are you?” I asked slowly, uselessly. What appeared to be the underbelly opened up, revealing a cylinder. The cylinder descended pointing into the heart of Canterlot.
With a flash of light, Canterlot was gone.
 

Chapter III

“No!” I screamed, leaping from the bed and down the stairs. I nearly collided into Twilight as she tried to ascend them.
“Dick, what’s the matter?” she asked. I didn’t have time to explain.
“Get me to Canterlot, take Sunny somewhere safe. Hurry!” I said frantically.
“Dick, it’s late,” she said.
“There’s no time! You have to trust me, please.” She was worried, unsure of my sanity. I was too. Was that true? I didn’t have long to think. Twilight horn glowed with potent magical energies. I felt the bonds of reality slip away; I was in two places at once for just a fraction of a second, and then there was fire. Lot of fire.

Canterlot was on fire. There were no signs of life. I looked up into the sky. The strange ship was still there. Buildings were destroyed, even more than the meteors. I looked to the castle, it looked unscathed. I ran there, hoping to find a sign of life.
Upon closer inspection the castle was surrounded in a magical shield. I passed through with ease. I thought that it probably did more to deflect the ships weapons. There were no guards at the gates, that wasn’t a good sign. Perhaps the shield had done nothing against the monstrous power. I hurried into the castle. It was there I found life. Hundreds of ponies sat in the castle, many with hooves over their heads, shaking from fear. The princesses would be in the throne room.
They were, but Celestia was deep in concentration, her horn glowing wickedly. I trotted up to Luna.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“Richard, you’re always here when trouble starts. I’m starting to think you cause it,” she said, a tone of sorrow.
“I don’t cause, I just stop it,” I said nonchalantly. She huffed.
“We think it was aliens from years ago. They came back with force,” she said. “Celestia’s doing her best to keep up the shield before a second attack. We have to fight back.”
“But how?”
“We are sending all the pegasi we can muster. I know I can’t stop you from joining them. Hurry to the gardens, they are grouping there.”

“Ok mares and stallions. We don’t know what we are fighting,” said the general. He stood at the front of maybe a hundred pegasi. Only half of them were guards. Stewards were bringing out chariots with siege weapons mounted on the back. “Teams one and two are tasked with getting in.” I guess I knew which team I was going to go with. “The rest will take the chariots and fight whatever they bring out. Any questions?” I walked up to him as he stood off the box he used as a stage.
“I need to get in there,” I said. He laughed.
“You don’t have wings. You ain’t going in there.”
“I’ll use the chariot, I’ll take care of it from there,” I assured him. He laughed again.
“Whatever. You know, yeah, that’s fine,” he said. He found a weak looking pegasi, “here, go with Breeze here. He’ll be taking a ballista chariot.” He addressed the crowd fully, “Line up for flight!” The pegasi scrambled to get into lines and harnesses for the chariots. I took my spot in the chariot behind Breeze. He gave me a weak nod. He had a running nose.
The chariot had a ballista mounted in the front, with several racks of bolts under it. It looked easy enough to operate. Just point and click right? The cart jolted, the pegasi were taking off. I closed the back, hoping I wouldn’t fall out until the right time. 
The pegasi tore off into the sky, staying in loose formations. The raiding parties consisted of all the guards. The civilians were left to the outside. The guards started flying to the open bay around the belly of the strange ship. Why hadn’t they used meteors like last time? A strange rumbling from the ship bought my attention. Smaller ships, like planes burst out, flying to intercept the guards. Our team flew to intercept the planes. I loaded up a rack of bolts and pulled back the piston. I took aim at the closest plane.
Phchunk!
The bolt missed by ten feet. I pulled back the piston again, but the plane had moved on. Cracking noises came from the planes. They were shooting back. I saw one of the chariots incinerate from the laser blasts.
I yelled to Breeze, “Don’t get in front of those things!” I think he nodded. Another plane was banking next to us. I took another shot. It cracked the glass near the cockpit. It veered off course, fearing a second shot. A chariot pulled up next to us.
“Shoot for the glass,” the mare at the weapon yelled. I tried to thank her, but she was gone a second later. Her chariot hit by one of the planes.
“Take us closer to the ship!” I screamed at Breeze. Our course changed, pointing towards the ship. I turned the weapon around spotting the ship that had shot our neighbors. It was charging for another shot.
“Take this you son of a bitch!” I screamed. I fired a shot through the glass. The glass shattered, revealing one of the creatures. This one was different from the ones before. It had a bolt in its head. The ship was losing altitude, crashing violently into the city below. Breeze was flying around the cylinder, up into the belly. I wondered how many guards had made it.
 

Chapter IV

The bay we landed in looked deserted; no sign of the creatures or ponies. It made me feel sad.
“Breeze, do you want to come with me?” I asked him. He shook his head. He stomped a hoof on the ground. I guess he couldn’t talk.
“Fair enough. I’ll be back as soon as I stop this,” I told him. I looked around, finding a door leading to a long empty hallway. It was a cold, gray like the rest of the ship. I could hear the blaring sirens down farther in the ship. I hoped everypony was safe, but I couldn’t hope for the impossible. The hallway was lined with doors every twenty or so feet. The end of the hallway was a t-junction.
I heard the sound of footsteps clacking as one of the doors slides open. Thinking quickly I duck into the room opposite the gun bay. The room is dark, I feel around for a light source. With a click the lights turn on, revealing crates. I can still hear the creatures walking by. There must be tens of them. I hear the door of the gun bay slide open. They’ve found Breeze! I hear the ballista fire once, and then a cacophony of laser fire.
Breeze was gone, I knew that to true. The sound of the creatures walking faded away. They must have moved on. I decided it would be best to check inside one of the crates. To see what they’ve been transporting. It opens with the press of a button. Inside if a bunch of vials containing different liquids. Strange markings label them, Fu, Io, Ag, and many others. What the hell were these?
No time for that. I had to get to the bottom of this. Something must be driving this ship. Something must be responsible for all those deaths. I closed the crate and left the small room. Back in the hallway, there were two ways to go, left and right. The creatures had gone left. That meant I was going right. Running into those things here would be disastrous. It took three of us to take them out years ago, and I bet they had gotten stronger.
The hallway was bleak, uniform doors passed beside me. Buzzing lights illuminated the small, cramped hallways. It felt weird, walking so far above the ground. Perhaps we were a thousand feet up. I’d never been so high up in my life.
The floor shook, throwing me off my feet. The report of an explosion rocks the ship. Sirens begin to scream, closer this time. I get back up; there is work to be done. I walked up to stranger doors, double doors. They open to an elevator, I step inside. The interface for choosing a floor locked me out, sending me to the bridge as I apply my hoof to the panel.
“This can’t be good,” I mutter. The elevator stops after what seems like ten minutes. The doors slide open and I’m greeted by the barrels of two laser rifles. A third creature grabs me by my middle and carries me to the captain’s chair.
The captain is different. He isn’t silver and iron all over. He is white, tan; a short mane, no, hair covers his head. I recognize this for what he is. He’s human.
“Well, well, well,” he says, trying not to laugh as he looks at me. “Look what we’ve got here. A pony!” the assembled crew laughs, forcedly. “What do you think you’re doing here little thing? You should be under our big guns.” He speaks in my language.
“Well, you know how it is. Gotta stop bastard humans from having all the fun,” he drops the smile.
“You know what I am?” he asks.
“Obviously. You know, I’d think I’d prefer Los Angeles to this shitty ship you got here. I’d rather get mugged too.” The crew is stunned. How would a foreigner know of L.A.?
“Where are you from?” asks the captain. Perhaps he is scared of us, or maybe just me.
“I’m from L.A. 1954. You know, the atom bomb, Soviet Union, all the good stuff. But I said, Hell, why not change scenery? So here I am, living life.”
“Well then, we got a fellow Earthling here guys. He may look cute, but he’s got quite the edge,” joked the captain. “Now perhaps you can help us, fellow man. Help up clear out the ponies so we can gut this forsaken planet.”
“Gut it? Why? Fucked up Earth too bad? I left it a goddamned utopia.”
“A lot has changed since 1954, uh, pony-man. Originally I was going to have them kill you, but now that I see you used to be one of us, let’s share formalities. I’m Captain Johnson. You are?”
“Richard,” I told him.
“Alright, Dick. Now the Earth isn’t too pretty, overpopulation and all that took a toll on Mother Earth. We need to expand. This looked like a nice place, too many ponies however. They have to go.” The ponies had to go? This was their land, their world. If anything the humans should go.
“Why should you get it? You ruined the planet you had!” I screamed at him. 
“Maybe you don’t understand, Dick, but might makes us right. So maybe you should go too,” he said. He turned to one of the silver humans. “Take him to the brig.” A silver one picked me up, taking me to the elevator.
 

Chapter V

The creature stood alone in the elevator, left arm around my middle, right arm hanging uselessly. It really was easier with four legs, always something to do with them. The elevator started to descend; the brig was at the bottom of the ship, near the gun bay. I couldn’t let the humans do this! I started shifting my weight, forcing the human to wobble.
“Stop it,” he garbled through his mask. He leaned back enough so that he was close to the back wall. I gave it a strong kick, throwing us against the front of the elevator. His head cracked against the door, leaving a small splatter of blood. His arm had been enough to hold me back from a similar fate. I picked his hand up, using it to touch the elevators panel, stopping out descent. I had to stop the ship somehow. I read the different floors the elevator stopped at.
Medical, Weaponry, Bridge, Engineering, Dormitories, Brig…  
“I think engineering should work, that might be the engines,” I said foolishly. How am I going to shut this thing down? A tall order. No, I have to free the guards first before I can take this thing out. I pushed his finger against the button for the Brig, feeling the elevator begin to shift again.

The brig was nearly empty. The only defining feature was the cell in the back, but the cell was devoid of pony life. A solitary human sat at the back, he looked haggard and dirty, like Bastion had been. I approached the cell.
“What are you in for?” I asked. He looked up, surprised to see me.
“You… you’re one of those things; those ponies,” he muttered.
“Yes, I am. Why are you in here? Shouldn’t you be destroying this perfect world?” He gave a small laugh.
“No, that’s their thing. They wanted to do it. I was thrown in here for insubordination. You can probably guess why.”
“Where are all the pegasi?” I asked.
“They wouldn’t throw them in here. Why bother? Just shoot at them and they disappear. Less trouble that way.” He finally looked me in the eye. “They called you wild beasts, but I didn’t believe that. I saw the structures, the lives!” He fell into a fit of coughing.
“You see, my little friend. When we came years ago, it was to scout for resources. This planet, this land, is thick with gems and wood and oil. Everything our dying civilization need.”
“The humans are dying?” I asked, shocked. He nodded slowly.
“The captain won’t admit. Many others won’t either. The human race left Earth a long time ago. It was nearly destroyed by us, nuclear war and all that.”
“That’s awful,” I said coldly. I no longer felt connection to these people.
“Not really. We needed it; we had to get out of there. We were stagnating, not just as people, but as a civilization. We took to the stars, to find new homes.” He looked to the side, remembering his history. “No one let us in,” a long pause, “we had been watched for a long time. Other creatures saw us a threat, not only to them, but to ourselves.”
“Why here though? We are peaceful! We don’t want to fight,” I told him. He shrugged it off.
“Yeah, but neither do we. That’s why we came here. Slash and burn, take all of the good things. Perhaps we even start a colony here. It’s just what we do.”
“But you didn’t want this?” I asked.
“Nope. Call me whatever you want, but I think humanity’s time is up.”
“Will you help me stop them? Get them from Equestria?” I asked frantically. He smiled briefly.
“Sorry, kid.” He raised his arm, wrapped around it was three sticks of dynamite. “But I can’t leave the room.”
“Must have been some crime,” I muttered.
“The worst,” he explained, “heresy.” I brought my face closer to the bars.
“What can I do? To shut them down?” He thought deeply.
“You can turn off the engines, overload them, maybe.”
“Are they on the engineering level? I asked.
“Where else would they be?” he said.
 

Chapter VI

So there I was, shooting lasers at a control panel. The room was filled with billowing smoke and the sound of sirens. Panels melted under the heat of laser fire. An explosion filled the room with violent light and sound. An automatic voice cried over the P.A. system
Engine Failure. 0 vertical lift. Time to impact surface… 4 minutes.
4 minutes wasn’t long at all. I had to get back to the elevator. The body of the guard was still there, blood had scabbed over the floor and door. I used him to press the button for the gun bay.

The approaching ground reminded me of one thing. That I was stuck up here. I looked to the chariot that had brought Breeze and I here. The poor stallion had died. Died because I felt it was my job to stop this, again. I had stopped it, at least I hoped I had. Breeze, I knew nothing about him but his name. Who was he? What did he do daily? Did he struggle with alcoholism? Was he kind to all the mares? I had gotten him killed.
Time to impact… 1 minute.
1 minute. That was all I had left now. The ground sped by, plenty of forests. I hoped Twilight would understand. Understand that this was who I am. I can’t sit idly when somepony’s getting repressed. What would she think?  I wondered. 
30 seconds.
Time was slowing down. My life flashed before my eyes. My first time in Ponyville. Oh god, what a fool I had been to think this a dream. It had been a dream in one way, that it was perfect. Meeting Pinkie Pie that first day. She had been so kind to a total stranger. Twilight letting me stay for free. That I failed at even the simplest jobs that Applejack had.
20 seconds.
The Lunar Revolution. All those things. The molotovs. I had brought them into Equestria; thankfully they had died that day. Xavier, he had been tricked into serving Bastion, and I had burned him, scarring him for life.
10 seconds.
The ground was so close now. The Princess tricking me… what did that even amount to anymore? My life had become better by leagues since her treachery. I had a wife and a son. 
5 seconds.
Poor Sunny, I thought. It brought a song to mind. Whenever I thought of him. When we had first brought him home, he had been so sad.
“ You Are My Sunshine -My only sunshine. -You make me happy
4
When skies are grey.
3
You'll never know, dear,
2
How much I love you.
1
Please don't take my sunshine away.”