It’s a warm, crystal-clear day. Summer days are usually like this. It almost feels like the day is giving you a warm and loving embrace. For many, it’s suffocating, but to me, it fills me with peace like a mother’s embrace to her child. It feels natural. I never thought, though, that this day is anything but peaceful on account of the Dulani chasing me.
I’m trying to escape on my hoverboard, but their sky cruiser can go anywhere I can. At least my hoverboard is more agile than a car. I sharply turn a corner and head into a nose dive. The wind tears at my raven blue mane and brings a watery veil over my emerald eyes.
My mother said not to mess with the Dulani; that a thirteen year old colt has nothing to do with types like them. But what do I care what happens to me. After losing my home and my family to those twisted fiends, I couldn’t help it but to seek out vengeance.
I quickly align my board to the ground that came too close, too fast while I was in my nose dive. There wasn’t the humming of the sky cruiser behind me anymore. Maybe I lost them. I took no chances and keep my pace toward the outskirts of Den City.
Again, the day’s warmth reminds me of my mother. I refuse to cry. I can’t cry anymore anyways. I am completely void of tears. I only hope that what I did to the Dulani hurt them as much as they hurt me… But Sarah was right. It didn’t fill the void. In fact, I feel worse.
The sun is setting. The last of its light is already fading over the city’s skyscrapers. I reach the abandoned houses just outside the city limit. These buildings were left behind after a poisonous fog settled on the ground. Even after it was cleaned out, ponies didn’t come back. Hardly anypony comes down to the ground anymore.
The fog might be gone, but its effects on the surrounding wildlife still lingers. Strange creatures roam the ground. Most are harmless to ponies though, even terrified of them. But there are a few that pose a significant threat to pony life. I slow down. I don’t think I am being followed anymore.
The last of the sun light dips under the cityscape. The area around me holds on to a shade of grey. Everything just looks grey. Not a very lively place if you ask me. A house nearby looks like a good place to spend the night. It’s small and hidden among other bigger houses.
I slowly board through the lawn. With a small kick-flip, I grab my hoverboard with my mouth and place it on my back. The door is slightly ajar. A cool wind cuts through the day's warmth. I head inside to escape the incoming darkness and lie on a nearby couch. A ring of dust flies out when I throw myself onto the couch. I cough and sneeze out the contaminates from my lungs. By now, Sarah is probably looking for me. I hope she isn’t too mad. I had to do it. I just had to.
And if they think I’m done, they are dead wrong. Today was only the beginning. I unhook my saddle bag, set it on the floor and unzip it. Inside is a single item: a jeweled egg. It nearly cost me my life to get it, but I got it. The Dulani must really be mad now. A few bad business deals in the past week left them desperate for money, taxes aren’t enough to supply the ongoing project the Dulani are currently trying to complete. I can't believe the government is actually helping them complete it.
But I don’t care. So what if the world is dying. We’re all already dead on the inside. The city is degrading. There’s hardly anyone honest anymore. It seems all that died when my parents were taken away from me. I still refuse to cry. I zip up my backpack and lie back on the couch to try and get some shut eye before getting up early tomorrow.
If Sarah hasn’t found me by then, phase two of my plan will go into play. That night seems to last forever. Every passing second drags on. I can’t sleep. It’s the fifth night I have to spend without my parents. My mind is racing with memories they gave me. I feel like I’m floating in a sea of clouds, bobbing up and down among my thoughts. A sudden clicking sound brings me back to the ground.
A rat scurries along the floor, curious of my presence. It scurries away once it notices me noticing it. I trace the cracks on the ceiling again. I’ve memorized its pattern a dozen times now. It’s mundane, but it helps pass the time. The last thought I have is of my mom giving me a ride to school.
If I had known that it was the last time I would ever see her again, I would have given her the biggest hug I can give. She hugs me so much; I think she deserves some in return too. The sun hasn’t come out yet, but I already know I overslept. The city is buzzing with activity. The Dulani are still looking for their precious egg.
With their attention on the streets, no one will see me when I head into their northern corporate building and take the boss’s daughter. I take a small bite of a granola bar I saved in my jacket pocket and take off. I stay close to the ground so I don’t attract attention to myself.
The target isn’t too far off from here. Above me, dozens of sky cruisers pass me. The city is slowly waking up. The Dulani has to be among the cruisers. I reach my destination. The glass building is surrounded be an electric fence to keep out wildlife, but not an earth pony with a hoverboard. I smash a window pane to get in. No pony is on the ground floor as expected.
Now the hard part: heading to the top floor to the cryogenic chamber of the boss’s daughter. I don’t know why he froze her, but I know that she is his entire world. Well, mister boss man, you’ll soon know how it feels to have your world collapse around you.
I take the stairs to the top floor, since there are no cameras and it’s a cinch with my hoverboard. All I have to do is hope no one decides to take the stairs instead of the elevators. I reach floor 59 with no problem. Floors 83 through 108, easy. Now I reach the populated floors. My destination is merely 50 floors away and I can already hear hoofsteps just behind the walls.
I pick up some speed. My hoverboard can hum really loudly if I go too fast, but I need to get in and out as quickly as I can. Top floor, and no one seems to know I’m here yet. I turn off my board and head in. A huge vault door greets me. Luckily I know how to open it. Only a Dulani can open it and, thanks to my father, I am part Dulani. I focus hard on the power I hold within. Slowly, I bring it out in the form of a bright light and focus a beam of it into the little scanner.
Now to find the right combination of frequencies. Being a locksmith’s son finally comes in handy. Those long afternoons helping out dad in the shop weren’t a total waste of my time. A click announces my success and the vault door opens. Cold air rushes out towards me. There in the center of the room is the boss’s daughter lying in cryogenic sleep.
She’s actually very pretty. If she wasn’t the daughter of my now life-long enemy, I would reconsider putting her through turmoil. I head over next to her. She’s in a black box with a similar lock like the vault. I open it with ease. Her violet mane waves in the wind caused when the vacuum seal of her box was broken.
Since I’m too small to carry her all the way down stairs, I carefully pick her up and put her on my hoverboard. Now the real hard part: getting out of here without getting caught or waking my hostage. If the stories I heard about her are anywhere near the truth, then she is a powerful Dulani.
I’ll stand no chance against her if she wakes up. I just have to get her to the house where I left the egg. I can use that to drain her power and temporarily keep her from using it. I lock the box and vault before heading back down the stairs. I have to walk my board down flights of stairs, since I doubt it can carry us both down safely. My heart stops when a nearby door opens.
A unicorn in a nice suit stares directly into my eyes. He glances at my hostage then back at me. His jaw drops to the floor and he takes off. I can’t chase him and he’s bound to alert security. I have no choice now. I get on my hoverboard and jump between the spirals of stairs.
Around floor 132 the alarm goes off and a powerful voice sounds off through unseen speakers. “ALERT, ALERT, THE PRINCESS IS OFF HER THRONE.” This alarm repeats over and over. Sarah is going to have my head if I don’t get out of here safely.
She already had to save me once, and that was just from a bully at school. If she has to go through all of the Dulani to get to me, she’ll flip her lid. Floor 115 whooshes pass me, almost there. The whole building suddenly shakes. Something tells me the boss knows of his missing daughter. Oh, this is going to hurt, but I have no choice. I urge my board downward on top of gravity’s helping hand.
The stairs turn to a blur and the ground floor happily approaches. Right before I hit it, I pull up with the full force the propulsion system of my board can send out at a time, but it wasn’t enough. We hit the ground and bounce off. The boss’s daughter lands with a plop next to my board. I hit my head on the rail of the stairs. Luckily, I don’t black out, but there’s a strong taste of iron in my mouth and the sound of a waterfall in my ears.
I look at my hostage. She begins to stir. It’s all over if she wakes up. I hold my breath. The whole world stops, except for her. She slowly stands up. She looks around after brushing off her white dress. Our eyes meet. If I could hold my breath twice, this would be the time. Her eyes, white as snow, seem to be looking through me.
She-she’s blind! She continues to take in her surroundings. I don’t know what to do. If I alert her to my presence, she could attack me. The siren doesn’t seem to reach all the way down here, so it stays relatively quiet. I couldn’t hold my breath any longer and I gasp for air.
She “looks” in my direction and smiles. A blast of light dazzles me and a sudden burst of who knows what flings me back. I crash into the wall behind me after taking out the railing of the stairs. I can’t see. A bright light is taking up everything and all I hear is giggling, such a whimsical laughter from someone simply having fun.
Another blast hits me. I feel my coat literally burning off. I still refuse to cry. Even though I failed to avenge my parents, I will not cry. I faint from the pain all around me. My body couldn’t handle it anymore, so it put me to sleep.
* * *
“Dad, can I go now?”
“Aw, come on, son. You’re almost done.”
“But this is boring.”
“Just finish polishing the rest of the locks and I’ll show you how to break the combination of any lock, okay?”
“Fine… but I don’t see how this is gonna help me some day.”
“Well, what is it that you want to do one day son?”
“I want to go to space with the rocket that the Dulani are making to go back home.”
“Maybe one day, son, but I can guarantee you there will be locks in space too.”
“Gee dad, why are you so obsessed over locks?”
“It’s been a family trade ever since the Dulani first landed here. You can say it runs in the blood.”
“Are you gonna go with the Dulani if they ever finish their rocket, dad?”
“Come on, kido, you and your mom are my life now. I will never leave you. Now hurry with those locks...”
Dad, you promised you will never leave. Where are you now?
* * *
My body hurts. It feels stiff. I try to open my eyes, but all I see is darkness. Am I dead? I hear snoring in the background. I usually hate it when she snores, but, right now, it’s a blessing to hear… Sarah. I sure do hope she isn’t too mad at me.
That night was the best sleep I ever had. Sure I have second and third degree burns all over my body and I am more mummy than me, but that doesn’t stop me from enjoying that night before Sarah punishes me for the trouble I caused.
“Rise and shine, kido.” Sarah pulls open some curtains to reveal pure sunlight.
I groan in a combination of pain and laziness.
“Hey, get up. We have to talk.”
I sigh and struggle to get up. It hurts to move. A hoof meets my face and knocks me back down.
“What the hell were you thinking?! Not only do you steal their egg, you have the guts to take their princess?! You know how much trouble I had to get through to find you? Not only that, when I do find you, YOU are getting beat up by the princess. There’s a reason her father put her to sleep. She is what’s gonna power their ship. It’s stupid, thinking you could take on something that can power a rocket made to travel light-years in a matter of seconds.”
“I had a plan.”
“Yeah, I saw it written out on a piece of toilet paper. You’re one stupid, kid. Just like your father…” A tear begins to fall from Sarah’s cheek.
“Sarah…”
She forces a small chuckle. “Your father always did say look on the lighter side. So stupid…”
I look into Sarah’s soulful blue eyes. “Are you mad at me?”
“I'm furious! But... You’re alive and, no matter how twisted this world gets, I’ll never leave you. And that’s a promise I intend to keep.”