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// 9: Icarus 
// Story: Bring the Thunder 
// by Ze Guest 
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 When you think about the word adventure you think about scaling long forgotten and forbidden landscapes, epic dragon fights to save the fair princess. Protecting some village from the pirates and being praised for centuries come, right? That may be so, but let's be frank, you probably haven't thought about having to walk a billion and a half miles, having nothing to talk about accept stocks and politics. For instance, Twilight invested in a lumber company and now they're not doing to well compared to a competing company in which she had first thoughts about investing before she changed her mind. Sucks, huh?

"So, I've got that pulling my leg. Guess I made a bad mistake." Twilight said, hanging her head, she was still smiling, though.

"Oh, come on Twilight." Rarity said with a hoof around Twilight's shoulder, "You should know that everybody makes mistakes. Even eminent ponies." 

Everyone stopped to look at Rarity. She just turned to me and winked, welcome to my side, Rarity, enjoy your stay. "Rarity?! Now [iyou'er saying it, too?!" Pinkie ran up to her and looked her straight in the eyes." Are you Mad?!" 

Rarity slowly backed up looking a little uncomfortable. "It's not really a big deal. In fact it makes more sense to say that then, well, you know." 

Applejack intervened, "She's right, sugar cube, I think ya lost this one." 

Pinkie Pie looked at everyone, who was looking at her, and slowly turned her head back to Rarity. "Okay!" she said cheerfully and hopped back to the front.

I trotted up to Rarity who was lagging a little behind me. I realized that she was at least two inches taller than me, It sucks to be short. "Looks like you're on my side now, huh?" 

She snorted, "Oh really? What was your first clue?" and we laughed together without disturbing anyone else.

I looked at the sky, the sun was pretty close to setting. Then I noticed Rainbow Dash who was flying above us like she usually does to show off. "Hay Rainbow!" I shouted up to her."how much longer do you think you can take of this?"

She looked down at me, "Not enough, what about you?" she asked.

"As long as it takes me, really. It's getting dark though. How about you try using your legs, or have you already forgotten you had those?" 

Rainbow Dash swooped down and landed next to me. Her expression showed she wasn't too impressed with my remark. But I could tell by looking into her eyes, she was tired. She even started to yawn, which made me yawn, which made Rarity yawn, which made Fluttershy yawn and so on and so forth until Twilight got Astheno's attention. "Astheno, sweetie, I think it's time to turn in for the night."  Astheno landed right on my head, pretty much saying she was ready herself.

Applejack set up the tent and Rarity helped since she had magic on her side. I went trough my knapsack just in case. Food, water, binoculars,, a crudely made spear, my knife I found in Canterlot, twelve bits, my new reading glasses which Twilight paid for and keeps saying it's a gift and I don't have to pay her back, a box of matches, and some Coltbin cigars I, uh... found. I had everything except my hide blanket which was really comfortable but we all knew it wouldn't fly with Fluttershy.

Rainbow Dash nudged Fluttershy and motioned her head towards me with a smug smile on her face. I was watching this and she noticed that so she winked at me. When the tent was set up we had a quick dinner and went to bed. Fluttershy had a blanket she bought with her and looked big enough for the both of us. I could hear Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie snickering. "Oh shut up!" I told them and they listened, for now. 

I laid down next to Fluttershy. "Goodnight, Volt." she said and she turned away from me and went to sleep, and so did I.

The dust was blowing up in my face that warm day. It was a somewhat nice town, small, western and dirty. Cribbingdale had probably about five hundred citizens as it was. I ran into the place after getting lost in the desert. The ponies were nice, they greeted me, offered me food and water which I honestly needed. They didn't even know who I was and they liked me, I could live here, but it's just to hot, and having black fur doesn't help.

The sun was blazing down on me and everyone else, as I had imagined. I could hear something in the distance, sounded like ponies were coming, a lot more then one. Gunfire echoed through the town and bandits closed in. Everyone was either running inside to protect themselves, or running out with guns to protect the town. The bandits came in with shotguns on their backs or a revolver strapped to their wrist so they had a free hoof. The bandits were killing everyone they saw, stallions, mares, foals, anything that moved, really. I ran to an alley with empty boxes and water barrels and hid there, waiting for the bandits to pass.

One of them found me, though. He had a revolver pointed at my head, he didn't have the strap so he had to hold it with both hoofs, one in the trigger and the other on the side. " Well, well, well. Thought ya could get outta here alive, didn't ya?" Someone came up behind him with a knife and slit his throat, I closed my eyes, I wasn't a fan of large amounts of blood.

"Look at me," the guy who saved me said. And I did as was told. He had white fur, and a horn. Nothing too memorable about his face. He pulled the shotgun off the now dead bandit's back and handed it to me."You're gonna need that." he said.

He picked up the revolver, pulled a gun strap out of his pocket and applied the gun. He put on the hat that the bandit was wearing, looked at me, put a hoof to his mouth, indicating me to be quiet. And before my eyes, he turned into the bandit, like, for real. He looked exactly like him. A green aura covered him as he changed. "What the hell?!" I exclaimed.

Another bandit came in. "Hay Lancaster! I just killed me a stupid motherfucker!" He said in his broad western accent. The guy who changed into Lancaster looked at the bandit who looked about ten years younger then him.

"So did I." he said, trying to mimic the accent of the real Lancaster.

"Really? Who was it?" 

Lancaster pointed the gun at the other bandit and changed to his real,  Treek accent. "You." and pulled the trigger. 

"Use that shotgun and you just might get out of here alive." he told me, and ran out, waving his gun around.

I held the shotgun in my hoof and looked at it. Then I looked back out at the raging battle in the middle of the town. If I had a shotgun, I was sure as hell going to use it, I think you would too. I laid down a barrel filled with water and rolled it out. I watched as it sent someone flying. She hit the ground and looked up at me but before she could whip her gun around to shoot me, I fired and she fell right back to the ground. I poked my head out and saw a little wave of bandits coming in a "V" formation. I got another barrel and rolled it out. They stopped and watched the barrel pass by, and as they did, I ran out with my shotgun and started firing at them. It was a small group, about six ponies. They were quick to react and immediately started to fire back. 

I dove into the building I ran in front of. It was a bar. I could hear something behind the counter. I held my shotgun tight and slowly advanced towards it, trying not to trip over the cadavers on the ground. I looked over the bar and pointed my gun at a pony trying to open something. "No, no, no! I'm not one of them! There's something down here that could help us."

I climbed over the counter, not losing my guard. "What is it?" I asked. "Why can't you open it?"

"The key" he said, "I can't find the key."

I pushed the guy over and shot the lock open. He opened the door. "Rags, rags and booze,"  I said "how will this help?"

The guy pulled an oil canteen from behind the counter. He took a rag and a drink."Not just any booze," he said opening a bottle,"Rum," 

He dipped the rag in the oil and pushed half of it into the bottle so the rag stuck out of the top, struck a match and lit it. He tossed me a bottle, rag, and another oil canteen. I realized what he was doing, rum was flammable. We made a couple more and brought them to the front of the bar. Let's see if these guys were in the mood for cocktails. The bandits were still waiting for me outside. I picked up one of the bottles and tossed it. It hit one of them and he burst into flames. I threw another one, hit another guy, so on and so on. And soon enough, that got the rest running for their lives.

Me and the guy from the bar stood there, watching the bandits run away and we looked at each other. "Not bad." I said.

"Not at all." he replied. 

The guy who turned into the bandit came up behind the guy from the bar and motioned me to step aside. I did as I was told. Lancaster pulled out his gun and shot the guy in the back of the head. "What the fuck is wrong with you!?" I shouted at him. "You just killed an innocent pony!" Lancaster watched unencumbered.

"Innocent?" he pulled out a roll of paper, a wanted poster."Really?" he looked at the poster, "Wanted, dead or alive for murder, rape, and theft. Doesn't sound very innocent." he said. 

We turned in the body to the police and in return, he got twelve thousand bits, he decided to give me twenty five percent of the money since I ended up helping him. And for no particular reason, we started leaving the town. "Now, you probably wouldn't believe me if I told you," he said in his Treek accent, "but I'm not who I look like."

"Oh, really? After what you showed me, I think I will." I told him.

"My name is Icarus, I'm-" He stopped to look around and make sure no one else was around us, we were in the middle of nowhere, though, I wasn't expecting someone to just pop up.

"I'm a changeling." I stopped short and looked at him with the most confused look I knew to give.

" What?" I asked

The green aura surrounded him again. I looked away because the light was hurting my eyes. When I looked back, I saw nothing short of a changeling.

My eyes swung open and I sat up, my heart racing. It was early in the morning. I could tell that everyone was up except for Fluttershy, who I scared with my sudden movement. "Are you alright?" she asked.

I didn't answer her because I wasn't alright. I knew Icarus, that wasn't a dream, it was a memory.