You arrive at Twilight's house just about half an hour before six, and head inside. You see the others sitting at the table, laughing and talking. They wave you over, and you take a seat at the table, noticing that there is enough room for everyone this time. They hurl a barrage of questions at you about your flight, and the job and house.
After about half an hour you go out for some dinner at a local restaurant. The food is good, and the company better. You do get more than a few looks from them all, but you shrug it off. The meal is fantastic, and before you know it you are done, and leaving the restaurant.
You wave to the others and say goodnight, before you realize that you never furnished your home. With a sigh you turn around to ask for a place to stay the night, only to find that everyone, except for Rainbow left. She’s standing there with a blush on her cheeks, and looking at you.
“Hey, Rainbow. While I do have a house, I have no furnishings, so, if it isn’t too much of a problem, could I spend the night with you?” As soon as you finish you realize exactly what you said, and you hastily correct yourself. “I mean in a separate room! Not that I wouldn’t want to spend time with you, but it’s still a bit early for that.”
Her blush deepens a bit, before she responds. “Sure, you can stay with me for the night. But don’t try any funny business.” She takes a few steps closer, close enough that you can smell her distinctly fruity scent clearly, before continuing. “If anyone is going to try any funny business, it’s going to be me.” She gives a wink before turning and taking flight.
You stand there, slack-jawed for a moment, before you take off. You are in no rush, and arrive at Rainbow’s house just a few minutes later. As you enter her house you notice that it is quite large. It’s also well decorated, with just the right amount of knick-knacks, and furniture. She’s sitting on the couch in the living room, and in her hooves she has the latest issue of Daring-Do.
Unsure of what exactly to do you decide to take a seat on the recliner. You lean back, and just take a moment to relax. You look around the room, and see some trophies on a small rack. There’s also a book case with only one shelf full, and all those books are from the Daring-Do series.
“Well, Rainbow, you certainly are well read. How many volumes of Daring-Do do you have?”
She doesn’t respond at first, and you wait. After a moment she turns the page of her book, and then puts it down while looking over at you.
“I have them all. Or at least all the ones that have come out. There are twelve so far, and I’m still reading the twelfth. Number thirteen comes out in about a month, and I can’t wait to get my hooves on it!”
You think back to the conversation at dinner, and recall one of the small mishaps Rainbow has had. Apparently she wound up in the hospital for a few days, and she took up reading while there. A silence descends upon the room, and you notice that Rainbow doesn’t pick up her book again. You mentally prepare yourself for the conversation that you know is coming up.
“So what do you think of the others?” She asks innocently. “I saw them looking at you, and I can tell that they all like you. I mean, who wouldn’t? But we all know that we like you, but none of us know who you like.”
While she doesn’t end with a question you can see the question hidden beneath it. She wants to know who you like, and the others likely want to know as well. Subtlety isn’t Rainbow’s strong suit, that’s for sure. With a sigh you sit up, and look at her.
“I’d give you an answer Rainbow, if I had one. I’ll admit I’ve taken a liking to you,” She blushed quite a bit at this, but you continued. “But I don’t want to rule out any of the others just yet. I know this is probably hard on all of you, but I don’t want to rush into anything. If possible I want to spend some time with all of you over the next week, and get to know all of you. I don’t know who I’ll start with, but I suppose that I should pick randomly, to avoid favoritism.”
Rainbow looks over to you, after having looked away during your short speech. “I already know that I like you a lot. But if you only like me as a friend I’ll be okay with that. I don’t want to force you to do anything that you might regret later.” Her voice lacks its characteristic tone, and instead makes you feel the sadness in her voice. “I’m gonna head to bed. Since you can fly now, I’ll wake you up in time for weather duty. G’night.”
She slowly made her way upstairs, and to her room. You put your head in your hooves, as you slowly shake your head. You have six beautiful mares after your heart, and one has just confessed those feelings, outright, and even said that she’s okay with it if you decide that she isn’t the one. Either she’s more cunning than you initially thought, or she’s being sincere.
You slowly make your way to the guest room and sit in front of the mirror in the room. You look at yourself, and wonder just what it is that makes them all like you so much. Your eyes look back at you, and you think you see a small sparkle. With a sigh you shake your head, and crawl into bed.
As you lie down your mind begins racing, once more, with fewer this time. One that aspect that stands out amongst all the names is the surname Runner. It occurs in most of the names that run through your head, but there are no recurring first names. You finally start to drift off to sleep, and once more you fall asleep with names rolling through your mind.
Your name search is suddenly interrupted by a loud rumbling. The world around you melts, and reshapes, until you find yourself falling into a metal room. You flail about for a moment, before finding yourself standing amongst a group of others…
“The jungle looks pretty thick down there. You sure a hot drop is a good idea?” James was always second guessing the sergeant. You glance over to him, and see, despite his apprehension, he still has his characteristic grin on his face.
“We got orders from the Brass. They give the orders; we follow ‘em. That’s how it goes. Jenkins! You’re first on the jump. Wait for the green, then haul ass.”
Sarge is being his usual cheerful self. Third in line, and green as grass. The light blinks yellow twice, then burns a brilliant green. The first two throw themselves from the plane, and you leap right after them, James right on your tail.
You land amongst the trees, and consider yourself lucky to have not gotten tangled in the trees. A few minutes later you find yourself clutching your rifle tightly to your chest. You slowly creep along the ground until you get to the small village. About a dozen small huts surround a single concrete building. You spot James moving in, and move to follow him.
A gunfight breaks out, and you lose track of space and time, simply floating in a daze. As you watch yourself fight in the battle, you hear voices.
“So, you come from a war? Combat bred into your very being. Ready to kill at a moment.” You recognize it as the voice from the blackness. It sends shivers down your spine to hear. “No. It’s better than that. An unwilling killer. You’ll certainly do for my plans.”
As the voice lowers into a low murmur you hear a second regal voice. “What are you doing in this pony’s dreams? Dreams are my domain.”
The first voice quickly responds, “This is no dream, but a memory. You have as much power as I do here. We simply observe. Observe, and learn.”
“Can he hear us? Is he aware of what’s taking place?”
“Oh shit… Not anymo-“
And the voices cut out. During that brief exchange you, and your team, made your way inside the building. You look around, and notice that the fighting is all done, and you’re rounding up survivors.
A few minutes later, and you are dismayed to see that of everyone who lived here, an estimated forty people, there are only three survivors. A man, his wife, and his child are the only ones still alive from the village.
“Sarge, these are the only ones who are still alive from the village. What should we do with em?” James jumps right in, looking for direction.
“Hold on a sec.” He rummages through his pocket before pulling out an envelope. He opens up the envelope, and his face goes rigid. His previous scowl is replaced by mechanical indifference. “They need to be killed. There is a strict no survivor policy.” He points to you, James, and Jenkins. “Take care of them. God save us all…” He slowly turned and walked out of the room, leaving the six of you in the room.
“Guys.” You start. “Are we really going to do this? We’re people, not machines! We don’t have to do this!”
They just look at you for a moment, before pulling out their pistols.
Jenkins was always the quiet one, so you listened carefully as he spoke. “It sucks, I know. But if its us, or them, then I’ve made my choice.” You swear you see some tears in his eyes, but he just turns, and shoots the child first. Then he turns, and you know you saw him crying. He slowly walks out.
James is also crying. He doesn’t even look the woman in the eyes as he shoots. Then, he follows Jenkins' path, and leaves the room.
It’s just you, and the man now. You turn to look at him, and see a despair so deep in his eyes that you start crying. You grab your pistol, and start crying in earnest.
The man looks at you, and speaks in broken English. “You are monster. Kill wife and child. Now me. What you gain? What purpose served?”
You sit across from the man, and look him in the eye. His eyes widen when he sees your tears. It only lasts a moment before the despair returns.
With shaking hands you raise the pistol, and aim down the sights. Your finger tightens on the trigger, slowly.
“I’m so sorry."
Bang...
(Yep. That's how this one's gonna end. Enjoy that brief glimpse into your old life.)