CHAPTER 32b
"Oh... I hurt all over..." I had the feeling that I couldn't just groan, so I thought my complaints about the intense pain shooting through me.
"Shadow... Please wake up..." I slowly opened my eyes, and my senses kicked in, as did my memory. I remembered where I was, what happened, and who was carrying me. "Don't say a word... I'm just about to keep moving, I had to stop and rest... You're pretty heavy." I chuckled a bit, but it made my ribs hurt, so I stopped. When she stood back up, she walked out of the small room we were in... And right into a gangster. I closed my eyes, and tried to act dead the best I could.
"Hey... What're you doin' with that guy? Is he dead? What'd you do?" He sounded pretty irritated.
"Great, the escape is over before it even starts..."
"Oh... Well- You see... Al went a bit too far, and he asked me to take out the trash. You know how he is..." Everything went quiet. The guard must have been thinking or something.
"Yeah, that sounds like Al. Alright then, get him out of here before he starts stinking." I heard hoofsteps, which gradually got quieter. When everything was quiet again, I opened my eyes, and let out the breath I didn't know I was holding.
"Good job, Hot. You're pretty good at the whole 'escape' thing." I could just barely see her smile out of the corner of my eye.
"Thanks... Ngh..." I looked down and saw her legs trembling. I must be a bit heavy for her.
"Hang on, lemme see if I can stand..." I rolled off of her, and as soon as I landed on my legs, it sent white-hot pain through them, but I managed to stay up. I flexed my muscles, and the nails slid out. I started bleeding again, but it wasn't as painful to stand. "Oh man... This isn't fun at all... Alright, Hot, lead on." She didn't move. She just kept staring at my hind legs, which were bleeding pretty badly. "We can deal with my injuries later. Right now, I have to get back to Ponyville. My marefriend is probably worried sick by now." Hot snapped out of her little trance, and nodded.
"OK. We're in an old apartment building, right? Well, we're on the third floor right now. We have a few options. We could find the fire escape, take the old elevator, or try the stairs. I say we go for the stairs. They'd never expect us to walk out the front door." I shook my head, and chuckled.
"You see, that's just it. You're thinking like they know we're escapees. They don't know we're escaping, they think you're dumping a body, so the smart thing to do would be to take the fire escape. It's a quick way out, I doubt anypony'll see us, and it gives us quick access to the alleyways, which we can use to get out of... Where are we, anyways?"
"Manehattan." I facehoofed.
"Of course I have to be in Manehattan... Right back where all of this started. Well... Come on, lets find that fire escape." Hot nodded, and trotted out ahead of me. She knew her way around the building, so it only made sense to let her take the lead.
"Back in Manehattan... Why don't you just strike me with lightning, next? That's the only way this is getting any worse..."
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(Third Person)
"... So I've finally decided! I'll just call it a chimicherrychonga!" Twilight rolled her eyes, and Rainbow Dash licked her lips.
"Man, I'm hungry... I could go for a chimicherrywhateveryoucallit... Anything really." Rainbow's stomach let out a loud growl, and she covered it with her hooves, blushing. Everypony laughed.
"So, Pinkie, wherever is Shadow? We've been together for an hour or so now." Rarity pursed her lips, and put a hoof on her chin, wondering where he could be.
"That's just it... He left this morning, but I haven't seen him since. I've actually been worried out of my mind this whole time..." Pinks hung her head, and felt tears coming on. "What if he's not coming back...?"
"Now that's just a load a' horesapples, Sugarcube! He'd never leave ya' like that! Ah' do wonder where he is, though..." Applejack rubbed the back of her head with her hoof.
Suddenly, Pinks jumped out of her seat, and had multiple spasms and twitches. Everypony knew by then that it was her famous "Pinkie Sense" acting up again.
"Oh my... Is something going to fall on somepony?" Fluttershy let out a small squeal, and ducked under the table.
"No... I've never had a mix like that before... Shaking tail, flailing hooves, itchy eyes... What does it mea-" Images flashed in front of her face. Shadow's capture, his beating, the nails... And the escape plan. Pinks' eyes went wide, and she looked at everypony else with an expression of pure seriousness. "Girls... Shadow is in trouble."
"What!? But he's been gone for hours! How come your Pinkie Sense didn't act up before?" Twilight never admitted it, but she still questioned Pinks' Pinkie Sense constantly, although she did heed its warnings.
"He must be really far away... It usually only takes a while if it's happening really far away. I think I know where he is. Come on! We'll take my balloon!"
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(First Person)
"I told you we should have just taken the stairs!" I heard hoofsteps all over the place. One of the guards had seen me when I stumbled over due to a pain in my leg.
"Sorry! I didn't think my leg was gonna just give out like that! We need to find a window that leads to the fire escape! Why is it so well hidden?!" I looked around frantically. It was only a matter of time before they decided to check the corner we were huddled in.
"Listen, Weaver, just calm down... I'm sure we'll find a way out of here. We just need to keep level heads..." I took a few deep breaths, and made my mind stop racing.
"... Alright... So what do you suggest we do? I doubt they'll be searching the other end of the floor for us for much longer."
"I don't really know. I say we just-"
"Hey! It's them!" Not good. The thug rushed at us, but I spun around and bucked him in the forehead. He was out like a light, but I was in all kinds of pain.
"Oh man that hurts..."
"Are you all right, Weaver?" I waved my hoof dismissively at Hot.
"Yeah, I'm good- Ohhh..." My back legs felt numb. I could still stand on them, but it would make walking a pain.
"Weaver... We need to get you out of here. Come on, follow me. I'll act like I captured you or something." I shook my head.
"No, that's not gonna work. They may be stupid, but I doubt they'll fall for that." I suddenly remembered something. "Wait... Hang on, take my hoof." Hot cocked her eyebrow.
"What? What'll that accompli-" I grabbed her hoof, and closed my eyes, concentrating as hard as I could on darkness... On shadows. When I opened my eyes, Hot and I were invisible, as I had expected.
"Just like when Pinkamena was looking for me in Twilight's basement." Hot looked like she was about to lose it, but I tightened my grip on her hoof.
"Listen... You need to stay calm. I don't know how, but I have this... Power. We're invisible. Now stay quiet, and we can walk out of here." Hot nodded, and calmed herself. We trotted out around the corner, and we say at least a dozen gangsters heading out way. If we would have followed Hot's plan, we would have been killed. They phased right through us, and we kept on out way down the hallway, to the stairs.
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(Third Person)
"Pinkie, how the heck do you even know where he is?!" Rainbow Dash had to yell through the reins she had in her mouth. She was pulling the hot air balloon as fast as she could go.
"I just know, OK? I can't explain it... There! Right there! That old apartment complex!" Rainbow pulled in low, but stopped when she saw the front door open, and close. Nopony came out.
"That's... Really weird..." Rainbow scratched her head in confusion.
"Wait... Dashie, land. Now." When the balloon touched down, Shadow and some mare appeared seemingly out of thin air. "Shadow!" Pinks practically threw herself at him, and he grabbed her, while the strange mare stood off to the side. "How did you do that? You were invisible!"
"I dunno... It's just something I can do. Maybe it has something to do with when Twilight turned me into a unicorn..." Twilight nodded her head.
"Yes, there has been proof of lasting effects, like the ability to use spells after the transformation, although it is quite rare." I chuckled a bit.
"I guess I'm lucky, then. Still no Cutie Mark to be found. Oh well... Lets go home." We all climbed into the balloon, but Hot just stood back, staring at us sullenly. I smiled at her, and motioned to the basket. "Coming?"
"What...? You really mean it?" She looked like she was going to start crying. I just nodded my head, and she climbed into the basket. Everypony was silent, and Applejack was looking Hot over, mane to tail.
"Er... Who're you, exactly?" AJ nudged her hat upwards, out of her eyes.
"My name is Hot Coffee. I helped Shadow escape." Everypony in the basket gasped, and I nodded again.
"You... You helped him escape...?" Pinks' eyes began to well up with tears, and Hot just looked away, rubbing the back of her head.
"Well... Yeah. Sorta. I guess." Pinks pulled Hot into a hug. It wasn't one of those Pinkie Bear Hugs that she normally gives, but the kind she gives me, or the Cakes. It was a real hug.
"You saved his life... Thank you so much... You have no idea how much this means to me..." I felt a smile creeping across my face. I knew I meant a lot to Pinks, but whenever I heard her say it, it filled me with happiness. It felt good knowing I made somepony as happy as I made her. It made me feel like I had a purpose.
"So... What do I do when we get back to wherever it is we're going?" Hot cocked her eyebrow at me. I hadn't thought it through that much.
"Uh... Well..." Twilight clapped her hooves together.
"Wait! I heard Pony Joe is looking for help at the coffee shop! I bet you'd fit right in there!" I stared at Twilight for a second, then back to Hot, then back to Twilight.
"Hot Coffee, Pony Joe... It's as if this were all meant to happen..."
Yep, still not over yet. MORE MUST HAPPEN. I really don't wanna end this story. It's too much fun to write!