Chapter 3
“Thanks for the smoothie...” The blue unicorn mumbled while juggling the straw held between her lips with her tongue. Every so often she slurped loudly at what was left of the cherry-flavored hay smoothie—with extra hay—even though what remained was mostly foam.
It was pure luck that all it took to make up for Dinky's full-speed tackle was a smoothie and a chance to hit back. Dinky didn't mind of course, since it was Pip who was currently nursing his sore gut that was grimacing. He also had to pay for the everypony's smoothies.
After a short round of introductions, it came to be known that the blue mare who had taken care of the two humans earlier was-
“You're quite welcome, Trixie.” Dinky flashed a chipper smile toward the other unicorn. Pip, though he was appreciative as well, was a bit preoccupied with the pain in his gut. “Er...Pipsqueak, too.” she spoke for the white and brown colt still reeling about.
“So...Dinky...Pipsqueak...what can I do ya for?” taking a final meaningless slurp, the silver maned pony leaned back on the bench outside of the cafe they had gone to after “run-in”.
As Dinky began from the near beginning of her own crash with Pip, the colt tried to take his mind off of his sore pain. Within the crowds of ponies—unicorn and earth pony—walking around here and there, were humans. The two-legged foreigners who, within the span of a decade of arriving, had unarguably become the ruling group in Equestria. Yet there existed surprisingly enough, a mish-mosh of diversity. Men and women. Rich and poor. Young and old. Although in terms of height, human children on average dwarfed the size of fillies and colts.
Despite the frequent occurrences of human discrimination, there were in fact kind humans that had no need to antagonize the native ponies and other magical creatures. One example of this was the human cafe owner who took pity on Pip's situation and charged for just his smoothie, citing “ladies drink free” with a smirk. At the same time while rarer, are instances of anti-human terror attacks that spring up all over Equestria.
Watching the pedestrian traffic on this Trottingham side road, Pip began to recover with every delicious slurp of his hay smoothie. While department stores, shopping districts and malls and bright television advertisements lined down the major highways and streets, where cars and trucks polluted the air with noise and the smell of exhaust, only small shops and grocery stores could be found where he and the girls currently sat. Just a few blocks from where they were, Pip spotted a high speed train blazing down the tracks high above the streets, that connected the various parts of the greater Equestrian metropolitan area.
He watched as an earth pony mother and her two foals walked casually down the sidewalk and a woman and the human male accompanying her crossed paths, each not concerned with the others' presence. While innocuous enough, the colt could sense the tension of the otherwise harmless moment.
With a final drawn out slurp of his smoothie, Pip glanced skyward and remarked at the clear blue expanse speckled with clouds. His mind went over the thought that it had been maybe a few days ago that he last remembered seeing a pony of the winged variety. Pegasi were a rare sight nowadays since they could remain relatively undisturbed by human instigation in cities like Cloudsdale and Los Pegasus. To attain that autonomy and avoid the same sort of oppression that earth ponies and unicorns go through, the pegasi had agreed to tend to Equestria's weather.
Unlike the uncertainty and harsh life in the cities, being a pegasus seemed like a cakewalk by comparison.
“I have a...friend...who's been taken by a group of human slavers...” This drew Pipsqueak back into the girls' conversation.
'Slavers...?'
Trixie sighed and scratched her chin with her hoof. “A pony isn't just 'taken' by slavers, kid...”
Pip had to agree. There had been 'slavers' since before the humans arrived. Griffons, Diamond Dogs, and even other ponies participated in the act of catching or selling members of their own or other societies. But it was frowned upon nonetheless. Nor was slavery a permanent thing. After a set number of years of labor, or being able to pay for their release, a pony or other creature could be as free as anypony else.
But under human control, the slave trade had become a regulated industry with rules and laws. A slave was now a legitimate status, with a contract and everything. However at the same time, one was not simply 'taken' by slavers anymore. A pony would either be sold to pay off somepony else's or their own debt. Those who were imprisoned for criminal acts had to perform service.
There had to be something more to this than what Dinky was willing to say.
“Isn't there anything else you can tell us?” Pip asked.
The filly's ears drooped and Dinky looked at everywhere except toward Pip. “I'm sorry...it's...complicated...”
Pip wasn't sure if he should push it. While the stories about ponies being taken against their will when humans had first arrived was unfortunately common, more recently along with the restrictive laws placed against ponykind there were also a number of things that protected them from humans.
And while those laws could be and were broken from time to time, the dangers faced by ponies had dramatically dropped. Especially with the existence of the town watch in every city and the creation of the Equestrian Guard.
“Right, right...” Trixie propped her head on the back of the bench and stared at the sky. “So you've been saying this whole time about a plan?”
“I...uh...” Dinky looked between the two ponies before continuing. “...was going to fight off the humans to get onto the ship...and rescue my...friend...”
“...that was your plan?” Pip worried at the lack of any planning in Dinky's plan.
“At least I knew that I couldn't do it alone.” the girl scrunched her eyebrows at the criticism. “That's why Trixie, I need your help.”
“Just because I'm a unicorn doesn't mean your plan's gotten any better, though...and who said I'd be a part of it anyways?”
“Well, yeah that's true, but to be honest, it's not like you'll be useless like Pipsqueak over here either!” Dinky gushed. Feeling a glare needling her, she turned toward the white and brown pony in question before turning her attention back to the other unicorn. “Which is exactly why I think it'll have a better chance of success if you do it!”
“Wait you're going to insult me in front of my face and not even follow it up with a 'no offense'!?” Pip raised his voice in amazement.
“Silly, silly, Pipsqueak. It's because I'm a girl. A cute one at that. Cute girls can get away with being mean, you know.” Whipping her blonde mane around in a playful manner, Dinky chuckled at the look on Pip's unamused face. “Come on, don't be upset. You gotta have tougher skin than that.” She punched his shoulder with her forehoof.
“I'm not upset.” He muttered while rubbing his shoulder.
“Right...”
“And it's not like you're that cute...”
“What? You think you can do better, Pipsqueak?” her lips pursed in became a thin line of a smile. “Oh, this I have to see!”
–
Finding the spot where the slavers recruited unwitting or indigent ponies was easy enough. Behind a grocery store frequent by many ponies in the hard-to-get-by neighborhood of Trottingham, three ponies had rendezvoused and sharpened their plan.
“I can't believe I'm seeing this...” Dinky grimaced.
Before the two unicorn girls stood a “filly”. Fashionably dressed in a chic pairing of a white skirt and brown halter top, and with a vibrant blue bow tying the brown tail, “her” slim yet tall frame could have been quite the example of cute that all fillies should strive for.
If only it wasn't Pipsqueak. If only if she were ignorant of the true identity of this adorable-looking pony, Dinky groaned internally...
“Well...how do I look?” the colt asked obliviously of the two female ponies looking at him with blank stares. His doe-eyed pleading only made the visual all the more impressive to Dinky that she hadn't lost herself to insanity by now.
'Why...why is he cuter looking than me...?' the gray unicorn's eye twitched.
The older blue mare's face however, refused to show any sort of emotion. Rather, she let her thoughts be known in as plain a way as possible. “It's kind of sad how girly you look.”
“Wait what? Isn't that a good thing? That way Dinky doesn't have to put herself into danger!”
“Still sad...” Trixie spoke candidly. “...but as long as it makes you happy, you're definitely passable as a girl. Now let's get this over with, I've got a soap opera that I want to watch.”
“Didn't you say you had nothing to do with us? What are you even doing here?”
“It's not like I'm being paid fifty bits, anyways. Plus this looks amusing enough.”
“What? Why are you paying her watch me make an ass out of myself? Where's my money?”
“Because I have no confidence that you'll succeed, Pipsqueak.” Dinky said with a straight face. “Alright, Pippy. You know the plan. Now get going!” ”
“Oh...okay...” Pipsqueak replied quietly. His shoulders slumped from the crumbling of his confidence in being helpful and the colt emerged from their hiding spot behind the dumpsters. A wayward can rolled under his hoof, and upon stepping on it, Pip yelped and caught the attention of the humans standing guard within the alleyway.
Nearly falling onto his haunches, the disguised colt awkwardly found his footing and approached the humans who had took notice of him.
There were some humans wearing uniforms with logos on them. Uniforms that, upon closer inspection, looked exactly like that of the gang that confronted Pipsqueak and Dinky in the diner.
“Hey...I mean...” Pip cleared his throat, “Hi...boys..”
–
Dinky facehoofed as the falsetto that “Pippy” adopted for his character was like a nail on a chalkboard.
Trixie snickered at the sight. “You sure know how to pick 'em, kid!”
“Please shut up...”
–
Warily approaching the two humans, Pip realized that neither of them were present at the diner. While they were still intimidating, he felt a bit calmer by the fact that they were less likely to recognize him, much less realize he wasn't a filly. Most humans weren't exactly perceptive about ponies.
The two humans exchanged glances before the one closest to Pip looked at the disguised pony.
“Beat it. Don't care where you heard about us, but we got a quota. And you have to at least be a unicorn. Come back when we're looking for earth ponies.” Pip froze, not realizing what to do should he ever not be able to board the ship.
“So I guess I can come along?”
Pip's face scrunched up. He tightened his jaw so his teeth were grinding against one another. He froze in the hopes that, by not moving, he wouldn't be noticed. The two humans' eyebrows furrowed and the one had drooped his cheeks so his face resembled that of a basset hound.
The three of them watched as, with slow, deliberate steps, a second pony had approached.
“Oh, like, hi, boys!” A familiar-looking blue unicorn cantered toward them, swaying her flank with every step and stopped just a few feet from one of the humans.
The unseemly looseness of her clothes created folds at the shoulders that revealed much of her chest, as the cloth dragged against the ground with every step. A painfully plastic smile was stretched on the unicorn's face as she took different postures until she was somehow pressing herself against the human standing opposite from Pip and the other one.
“I'm like, so ready for the whole slave thing. If you catch my drift.” The human took a step back from the pony.
Pip's mind raced over this unpredicted situation. 'WHAT IS SHE DOING HERE? DRESSED LIKE THAT, NO LESS!?'
“I can put on quite the show...” Trixie said in a husky voice. She drew her face close, brushing her silver tail against the man.
“Uh...no thanks...ever...” the human sneered, almost queasily so, at Trixie's advances and took another step backward.
“Oh, don't be like that!” Trixie took a step forward after him.
“Quit it.” The man took several steps back. "Get away!"
“I love a good chase!”
“Oh! Sister! There...you are!” what could be better described as a terrified gaze rather than a smile was adorning the gray unicorn's face. “I don't think you should...go...” the small pony continued in that mechanical manner. “I'll go...?”
As the blue unicorn continued pursuing her prey, Pip snuck closer to the recent arrival, taking advantage of the distraction Trixie was providing.
“Dinky, what are you doing?” Pip hissed.
“Changing the plan.” she whispered back.
It didn't take long for the second human to step in and grab at Trixie's tail. As she swung side to side like a pendulum, held up to the human's eyes, Trixie flashed an upside down smile. “Hey. What's cookin', good lookin'?”
The man visibly shuttered and dropped the pony onto her face. Ignoring Trixie, he looked at the gray pony that just arrived. “Sheesh, all of you are coming out of the woodwork...Fine. We'll discuss it first.” nodding his head to the other thug, the two walked away from the ponies. The human who had been targeted by Trixie seemed more than eager to break away from the unicorn.
After some discussion, the more authoritative human returned to the three of them. “We just needed one more unicorn. You'll do.” the gang member pointed at Dinky. “Get in the shuttle”.
“What?” Dinky and Pip simultaneously balked.
“I said you're coming.” the human made sure his finger was decidedly pointing at Dinky. He turned and the other human followed him to the nearby vehicle.
“Oh! Uh...” Dinky and Pip exchanged glances. “...right...”
Pip could only watch as the pony got into the black and red vehicle. The humans were keeping their eyes on him and Trixie, wary at any movement they made.
Getting into the rear seat, Dinky nodded through the window. 'You did a good job distracting those guys, Pip. I'll make sure to thank you!” Dinky promised as she left with the humans, the vehicle's fans screeching to life and sending blasts of air to roar throughout the alleyway.
-
As soon as the flying vehicle had ascended well into the sky, Pip turned his attention to the mare now sitting on her haunches after making a face plant just moments ago. “What was all that for?” He clamored for an explanation.
“I couldn't help it.” Trixie sighed. “After seeing how much attention you were getting...my show-mare instincts took over and I just had to be the center of the show...”
“Your instincts are disgusting...” Pip frowned at her behavior.
“You're disgusting.” She quickly countered as though that were a logical argument.
Instead of responding, Pip sighed and shook his head, sitting onto the ground and gazing upward at where the shuttle had flown off. He had since thrown the clothes for his disguise in a pile, not caring for the articles after they had served their use. “What am I going to do...?”
Dinky had just offered herself into slavery to find her friend. They weren't even sure where she would be taken. And now Pip wasn't sure what to do from here. How was he supposed to accomplish anything alone?
“Say...You just said that you're a showmare, right?” Pip looked at the mare as the gears in his head began to turn. “Does that mean you do requests?”
“I don't think this is the appropriate time, kid!” Trixie mumbled while tending to her nose. It had gotten slightly red for her fall. “Besides, don't you have your fillyfriend for that kind of stuff!?”
“Wha!? GEEZ STOP ASSUMING THAT KIND OF STUFF ABOUT ME!! And what do you mean by 'fillyfriend?' I don't...uh...” With a mid-stride gulp, Pipsqueak decided not to have any regrets even if it was embarrassing. “...I...don't have anypony like that!”
“Huh, well that's a surprise then...I thought you and the gal...”
“Who, Dinky? No...she's just a friend.”
“Oh.”
Without a word, Trixie stood up and began walking out of the alleyway.
“Hey! Where are you going?” Pip barely held back his anger. Was she just going to abandon Dinky like that?
“What are you talking about?” Trixie muttered without turning around. “You wanna save your friend, don't you?”
“O-of course!”
–
And so after stealing a police car and much searching, Trixie and Pip managed to find and crash into the human slavers' airship.
“...Wait, that's it? How lazy can the writer be to simply state it like that?”
“You should be glad that we skipped to this part.” Trixie shook her head and stepped carefully over the pieces of broken wood and metal that was strewn all over the floor. “Didn't you see how there were barely any new comments when chapter 2 was posted? Some new people decided to track this story, sure, but not everyone fav-ed or even bothered to rate the story. Your whole thing with Dinky was starting to drag on too much which is why we had to get to the exciting part of as quick as possible.”
“Even if that's true, please don't just casually break the story's flow for our readers...”
“Well, if you think about it,” the unicorn shrugged, “You're the one who pointed out that-”
“Alright, I learned my lesson...” Pip resigned to defeat again. “I just hope this doesn't become a pattern or anything...”
“Hey! It's that damn blue bitch of a horse that attacked us in the diner!”
As the roaring wind that flowed through the recently “renovated” space, tussling and whipping their manes and tails violently, Pip finally took note of the six humans glaring angrily toward his direction. The damage from crashing through the wall of the zeppelin had created a mess of debris that stretched inward a good ten feet, about half the floorspace.
If one were to look out, the vast expanse cityscape of the Equestrian metropolis was in plain view miles below. The puffy clouds zoomed lazily past the impromptu-made window.
The man who had screamed was bearded and tall, wearing a large white bandage that wrapped around his face over the nose. The other men, all intimidating in their own right—with tattoos, piercings, crazy haircuts, shaved heads—had all revealed weapons both blunt and sharp. Their matching though personally individualized jackets whipped about from the wind as well.
The fact that the one thug who he had an earlier run-in with would also be involved with saving Dinky was something that the universe would make happen, Pip figured.
But most interestingly was that in the middle of this gang of thugs was a well dressed man. He had no visible piercings, tattoos or a crazy haircut. In fact he looked quite opulent in the bright colors that fur linings on his coat.
The humans raised their guns and aimed at the two ponies, having superiority in both numbers and firepower.
Trixie stepped in front of Pip before he could even react.
“Stay back, foolish humans!” Her voice easily boomed over the roar of the wind. From behind the mare, Pip was unable to see what was causing the thugs to hesitate from firing, much less explain why they were even taking a step back. It wasn't long before Trixie continued, bolstered by this change in events. “Heh.”
Brushing a silver lock from her face, the pony smiled. She was in her element. “Be amazed, my audience, as you shall witness a spectacle like no other! Perfectly performed for your perusal are feats of amazing and awesome splendor! For I am the Great! The POWERFUL!”
Even Pipsqueak couldn't help but shudder in anticipation, feeling something akin to a balloon swelling with pride in Equestriankind. If he had ever felt confident in surviving a perilous situation now was the-”
“...PRINCESS CELESTIA!”
A pathetic wheeze of deflation came to mind as that balloon was popped.
“We're going to die, aren't we?” Pip struggled against the instinct to jump out of the airship. He had a better chance of surviving a fall from a few miles above the ground than a hail of bullets, right?
What greeted them was not gunfire, but laughter. “So, you're saying that you're Princess Celestia?” Peeking from behind Trixie, Pip saw the lips of the well-dressed man curl into a smile.
'Oh no!' Pip gulped.
The man shook his head. “...I don't think so...”
'I knew it!” Pip clenched his eyes shut in preparation for the imminent end.
“I mean, if that's really case...” his breath was caught in his throat. “...where's your crown?”
Even the roar of the wind had gone mute. Pipsqueak felt obliged to tumble to the floor in shock.
'THAT'S WHAT HE HAS A PROBLEM WITH!?'
“A princess isn't defined by what she wears, you ignorant dolt.” Trixie postured strongly atop the debris from their earlier crash. “Her claim to the throne is from her noble lineage!”
Pipsqueak was awed. Looking toward the blue mare, he managed to find his breath once more. Such a daft proposition could actually work. This mare definitely acted in a haughty manner, and while completely removed from Princess Celestia's personality, her words rang strongly as though she were royalty.
“Besides, I left my crown at the dry cleaners.”
“GIVE IT BACK! GIVE ME BACK THE RESPECT I ALMOST HAD FOR YOU!”
As everyone in the room ignored Pipsqueak's outburst, as the man moved his hand to stroke his chin. “Oh, that's understandable. Crowns and the like do often get messy after so much use.”
'What?'
“Yeah! And there are those who always ask 'Well why don't you just get a bunch of crowns then?' but they don't understand how ridiculous a suggestion that is.” Trixie nodded her head in agreement.
The man followed suit and nodded as well.
“If that were the case, wouldn't that mean one should have a crown for every occasion? A crown for sleeping, a crown for driving around town, a crown for buying a new crown; that would be not only a waste of money, but so unfashionable!”
“They don't understand that you have one crown for special events, and another for everyday things!”
“Totally!” Trixie rolled her eyes to exaggerate her point.
“HOLD ON, WHY ARE YOU BOTH TALKING ABOUT CROWNS LIKE YOU'RE REALLY ROYALTY, HUH!?”
“What, didn't you know?” The man arched an eyebrow and sent Pipsqueak an incredulous look. “I am royalty.”
“ROYALTY MY ASS! YOU'RE MORE LIKE A PRINCE-TURNED-INTO-SOMETHING-BY-A-CURSE!”
“It's...it's that noticeable...?” The man's lip quivered for a moment and a small tear ran down his cheek.
“D-don't tell me...”
“Hey! Stupid commoner! Don't be so insensitive you little brat!” Pipsqueak's head snapped back as a hoof shot out at his chin and sent him back a good foot away before hitting the floor.
“There, there...just ignore him, okay?” Trixie was at the man's side, comforting him with soft strokes of his head with her hoof. “He's just a peasant who doesn't know his place...”
“WHY AM I A PEASANT NOW!? WASN'T I JUST A COMMONER BEFORE!? WHAT'S WITH THE DEMOTION!?”
“Oh, Celestia!” The man babbled, teary eyed and nose runny with snot. “I knew you'd understand!”
Looking at the strange sight from where he sat, Pip could think of only one way to respond. “...what?”
–
They had since moved to another room, as the thugs were sent elsewhere on the ship, so the ponies and the gang leader were left alone.
Pip and Trixie were seated on plush silk pillows on one side of a low table while the man was sitting cross legged on the other side.
As Pip was too confused to comprehend what had just happened on what was supposed to be a rescue mission, Trixie spoke first. “Well, so this curse...what a terrible fate...”
The man sniffed. “Indeed, Celestia...” The melodramatic manner in which his tale was told aside, the fact remained that this human was apparently a prince...who had had a run-in with a creature when he first arrived in Equestria. “So in order to break the curse...I need to be kissed by a young boy...”
Pip felt a shiver run down his spine at the predatory gleam aimed at him.
“...”
He dabbed his eyes with a flowery silk handkerchief. “It can't be just any boy, mind you...” he sent a second glance. “...even after the reward I set, every boy who's tried has yet to break me out of this curse...”
“So, uh...how much is this reward of yours?” Trixie tried to hide the interest laced in her voice, but Pip felt depressed at how obvious it was in the mare's tone.
“Well as a small token of appreciation, even if they don't manage to break my curse, I'd give whoever was willing enough just a paltry five million bits.”
“You hear that, knave!?” Trixie slammed her hooves against the table before shaking them wildly about in excitement. “Get to smoochin' so I can have that $5 mil!”
Pipsqueak smiled. “That's quite a small amount for a princess to get riled up about, Celestia.”
“DON'T YOU BACKTALK ME, AMOEBA! THAT'S PRINCESS CELESTIA TO YOU!”
“You've been so helpful, Celestia, even if we don't know each other, you're willing to do so much for a stranger.”
'What are you talking about? She's not doing anything! It's my innocence that's on the line here!'
“It's a bit embarrassing, but if you could be so kind as to leave me and this gallant young colt alone with some privacy?”
One of the sliding doors opened, revealing a pair of thugs that had apparently been waiting in the hallway.
'Wait, what?'
“Oh, no problem at all, Frog Prince!”
Trixie smiled as she got to her hooves.
'What?'
Pip watched in dismay as the blue mare casually walked outside the door, flanked by the two thugs before disappearing from sight as the door slid shut.
“Heheh....who would believe that that pony is Princess Celestia?” the man's voice took a darker tone. Before he could turn back to face the man he was left alone with, Pipsqueak was pinned down and trembled at the man smiling wildly atop of him.
“Unlike most humans, I love ponies. So you have nothing to fear.” The man began saying ominously. “I was misunderstood back home, which was why I came here, to Equestria. Unlike back there, no one's been judging me for what I like here. Everyone is just so much more open minded here! Did you know? My philosophy is to 'Love and Tolerate'. And if you think about it, there are so many kinds of love in this world...why can't people simply tolerate my brand of love and let me be? I'm not hurting anyone! I'm not judging anyone else for what they like!”
“Listen pal, but...” Pip squirmed under the greater weight of the human, shaking as he drew closer and closer with a hungry look in his eyes. “...did you know? There's a process you know? Steps before we get this far? I'm not judging you, but I gotta get to know you before we get to this point, right?”
“Shhh...” Pip cringed at the feeling of the man's finger against his lips. “Our ship's just set out of port. You'll learn to love the trip...” Revealing a toothy smile, the man dragged his hand down Pip's shivering form.
“IS THIS WHAT WAS MEANT BY THE 'CROSSOVER' TAG!? THAT THE WRITER WANTED TO CROSS THE POINT OF NO RETURN!? THERE'S NOTHING NICE ABOUT THIS BOAT AT ALL!”
The groan of metal halted the prince's advance as well as prompted both him and the pony being pinned to the ground to glance at the door that Trixie had just exited through. Cracks appeared in the wall around it, before exploding to the sound of pained cries. After the dust settled, several of the thugs that had been in the hallway were lying unconscious on the ground, amidst the rubble of what was the wall between the room and the hallway. “I'm sure there are some ponies that enjoy being ganged up like that, but I'm just not that kind of gal.”
“So I was right! You're not a princess and you really did come here to steal my appetizer!”
Trixie blinked at the sight of a grown human male pinning a colt on the ground below him. “Appetizer? More like uncooked pasta.”
“No. More like al dente noodles.” The man rebutted.
“That scrawny thing is more like the food sampling at a grocery store. And you're actually just a creep.”
“He is like a succulent morsel offered to the audience at a cooking show. And I'm not a creep. I am a prince.”
“A cheap and creepy prince that goes to grocery stores just to eat free samples.”
“ENOUGH WITH THE WITTY BANTER AND RESCUE ME ALREADY, DAMN IT!”
The sound of several footsteps caught Trixie's attention. However delayed, more of the thugs were on their way responding to the blast of the wall's demolition. Down the hallway, the first few humans founded the corner armed with handguns and bats.
“Fine then!” Seeing a couple of them raising the barrels of their guns at her direction, she jumped into the room and closed the distance between herself and the prince. “For my first trick! A CURB STOMPING!” Reaching her hoof into the air, Trixie slammed it downwards toward the human atop Pip, eliciting a high shrilly scream. By the time the humans thugs had reached the breach in the wall, smoke quickly filled the corridor, and despite their superior numbers and firepower, the men were all reluctant to fire blindly out of fear of hitting each other.
“Hey boss! You ok!?”
“Don't shoot!”
“Where's that bitch!?”
Several fleshy thuds rang out within the smoke, as a few of the thugs crumpled to the ground. As confusion took hold, at the skin of the smoky cloud two ponies bounded down the hallway at full speed, rounding the corner just as shots whizzed by at their direction.
“THIS IS YOUR IDEA OF A 'CURB STOMPING', YOU CRAZY MARE!?” Pip flinched at the sound of gunfire while rushing down the corridor in a panic.
“No, this is all a part of my plan, you see?” Trixie stated with confidence as she galloped. “I call it the 'Run and Gun'!”
“Oh,” Pip noted, suddenly assuaged by what she said. “you mean like guerrilla warfa-”
“If I see a gun...I'M GONNA RUN!!”
“HOW IS IT POSSIBLE THAT YOU KEEP SURPRISING ME WITH WAYS TO LOSE RESPECT FOR YOU!? IS THIS YOUR SPECIAL TALENT!? IS THAT WAND CUTIE MARK WAVING AWAY THE TRUST PONIES PUT IN YOU!?”
–
Elsewhere on the ship, a metal door squeaked as it swung slowly open. The tip of a horn first poked out, followed by the wavy locks of blonde hair of a pony looking up and down the hallway for any patrolling guards. “What a shoddy lock...” Dinky smiled as she returned her picks to within her pink bow. “And they're running a pretty shoddy operation to not even check me for things like lock picks!”
'But lucky nonetheless', she thought as she moved her hooves quickly to begin running. 'That's an advantage of being a cute, innocent-looking pony'.
Quick thumps against the metal hallway floor rang out as Dinky hastily opened every door she came across.
Several times she fumbled with the doorknobs, switching between using her hooves and her mouth. Whichever was deemed quickest at the moment.
For better or worse, each room that was unlocked was empty of anyone. Supplies, clothes, boxes, nothing at all. While each door potentially presented the danger of being caught, each room she failed to find anyone in added a new layer of anxiety as she slammed the door and moved to the next in line.
In the middle of the hallway, at an approximately equidistant from span from each end, Dinky heard movement from within. The filly pressed her ears against the door to try to discern what was going on, but could only hear muffled speech. With a quick steadying breath, the unicorn forced her way in, ready for whatever was-
“MOM!” Dinky's anxiety flushed away at the sight of the pony sitting in the middle of the room. Her anxiety now interrupted at the moment, Dinky charged into the room just as the mare turned in time to embrace her.
“Oh, hey there, Muffin!” The gray coated, blond-maned pegasus welcomed the filly while wearing a goofy smile. Receiving the other pony's tackle, the pegasus affectionately combed her hoof through the filly's own blonde mane.“What brings you here?”
Dinky reluctantly broke out of the hug to lend an incredulous glare that lacked any particular notice of her mother's misaligned eyes. “I'm here to save you, duh! What are you doing here?”
“Me? Well I've been having a lot of fun with all of these girls.” The cheery response reminded Dinky how removed her mother sometimes was from the concept of urgency when it came to dangerous situations. However, as the mare extended her hoof, Dinky was only now made aware to the many humans also present in the room. “We did each others' hair, traded cooking recipes, told stories...
About twelve to thirteen in all, the women were dressed in all manner of fine clothes in a number of styles that the young filly didn't even recognize. She could at least tell how fantastic the materials used were. “Girls, this is my daughter, Dinky, who I was telling you about! Isn't she just the sweetest thing?” Suddenly tugged closer, the filly fell onto her rump and her cheeks became flushed with red at being nuzzled. It was strange to be showed off to all of these strangers, as she was both enjoying her mother's pride and feeling embarrassment while being shifted about so everyone in the room had a chance to see her.
“Muffin, I've been telling them all about your great baking an-”
“Fine, you can tell me later.” Dinky cut off the mare with a huffy sigh. “But right now we have to get out of here.” There were times she desperately wished her mother could read the mood. Getting to her hooves, Dinky was determined not to be caught up in her mother's pace any further. Especially as said mare turned to the women and shrugged her shoulders stating “children, huh?”
“I'm serious mom, we gotta get off of this ship!”
--
“Alright...” Pipsqueak gasped. They had been probably been all around the ship by now, and his lungs were starting to burn and his breathing ragged. “Any...other...ideas?”
“Just keep running! I'll come...up with something!”
Pip nodded, faltering more and more behind the unicorn as they continued galloping. Looking ahead, he noticed how they were approaching a leftward T-intersection. Even amidst their own hooves pounding rapidly against the wooden floor, Pip could hear the loud stampede of feet coming from ahead.
Just as they reached the intersection, the blonde hairs of a pony's mane nearly preceded a high-speed collision. Just barely maneuvering out of each others' way, what had been two ponies running for their lives suddenly multiplied to four and several women in dresses.
“Dinky!?” Pip exclaimed
“Pipsqueak!?” Dinky returned the sentiment
“Derpy!” a second gray pony stuck her head between the two while wearing a wide smile on her face.
“Mom!” Dinky cried out in embarrassment.
“Mom!?” Pip cried out in confusion. “Why didn't you tell us...you were rescuing...your mom instead of your 'friend'!?”
“It's...complicated!” Dinky responded in gasps. Obviously exhaustion was beginning to set in the small pony.
“Fine! Never mind!” Pip gave up. He looked ahead, unsure of what to do now that they had found both Dinky and the pony she had been looking for. “Where are we running to?”
“How should I know? You're the one in front of us!”
“Yeah, but Trixie's in front of me!”
“So ask her then!”
“Fine! I will!”
“Good! You better!”
Hoping to Celestia that the mare had come up with an idea, Pip tried his best to call out without losing his pace. “Trixie!”
“What's up!?” she called back in a casual manner.
Pip was too tired to devote energy to complain. “Where are we going!?”
“No idea!” She replied simply over her shoulder.
“Oh!” While still running, Pip turned toward Dinky who was now slightly behind him. “She said 'no id-”
“I heard!”
Rounding the corner, the ponies and women found themselves at a dead end. The hallway had ended, and in the center of the room they were in was an immense metal sphere connected to the ceiling and walls by several tubes and pipes.
“I've had enough of this running around in circles!” The prince, panting heavily, announced as he and several dozen thugs appeared to seal off escape at the only obvious exit to the room.
“You and me both, mister. I'm pretty tired about all of this.” Trixie had once again stepped ahead of Pip as well as the other ponies and women. Her entire body expanded and contrasted with every heavy breath she took.
“Keh...it is tiring isn't it? To think that you ponies, with all of your magic and how you once ruled this country, are so pathetic without your precious princesses? Your lame attempt at playing the hero has failed.”
“I was never trying to be a hero in the first place.” Trixie for the first time in Pip's recollection, said in a quiet manner. Somehow, he could feel the sad smile that adorned her face through her voice. “I've already failed to protect...lost enough of my friends...to know I'm not a hero...that I'm powerless to save everyone...to hell with being a hero...to hell with saving the world...Instead, I'll spend all of my power on protecting those near me. Even if it's only those who I see in front of me that are in trouble, I'll do anything to protect them.”
“Keh, such a weak thing to say.” the man raised his gun. “Something to expect from a pony, a race that's subservient to us humans...humans that can't fly without machines, or even use magic. And yet we took your country. Doesn't that mean that we're the stronger ones? What can you possibly do against me, much less humanity, you stupid talking horse?”
“You can have the country, then...even before humans arrived we've had to learn how to live with all kinds of species. Diamond Dogs, Griffons, Buffalo, Deer...and there's been bad eggs in every group.” Trixie smiled. “So because of that...I've come up with you could call a 'philosophy'...” She flashed her teeth in a manner despite the gun pointed at her. A manic gleam appeared in her eyes despite being outnumbered by this prince and his retinue of ten-something human thugs.
Trixie spun around to face the center of the room, turning her back toward the prince and his gun. Letting out his own snarling grin, he began pulling his finger back on the trigger, only to have a hand smack at his gun. “What are you doing, fool!?” he shrieked with wide eyes.
“The hell, man? I may be just a thug, but I ain't stupid enough to fire at the ship's engine!” The gangster growled at his employer. With that everyone in the room watched in dismay as the blue pony climbed up the metal feature in the center of the room.
“F-fine! Stop her yourselves, already!” The prince exclaimed in a panic. “What am I paying you dopes for!?”
“You've got to crack a few bad eggs...!” Trixie shouted from atop the whirring, rumbling metal spheroid. “...for the omelet to be worth eating!”
“G-get those other horses as hostages! Stop her before-”
“TIME FOR THE FINALE, FILLIES AND GENTS! I HOPE YOU LIKE FIREWORKS!” Leaning onto her forehooves, Trixie's back legs lifted into the air, as though she were about to do a forehoofstand. With a simple shifting of her weight, the blue pony smashed down onto the engine, letting out a terrible clang that echoed throughout the whole room.
No one moved, as though at the precipice of a mountain prone to rock slides. The soft sizzling of the engine in the middle of the room gave way to sparks of light shoot about in arcs and spectacular short bursts. It wasn't long before a spark caught onto part of the wooden frame that decorated the otherwise metallic room. A sudden shake of the entire ship threw several people to the ground, and just as quickly the shaking stopped.
“No way!”
“WHAT!?”
The silence that followed drowned out the rest of the humans' exclamations
Looking down at his hooves, Pip felt the floor sinking while he stayed in place. Then not a moment later, he felt the familiar pull begin to drag him along with the ceiling and walls and everyone else in the room.
“Hey, where'd all the gravity go?” Trixie gasped, sounding as nauseated as she looked. Her floating form was a bit greener than Pip last remembered.
“What did you think would happen when you break the engine on an airship!” The colt felt the chill rush up his spine and the familiar tingling of excitement wash over his body whenever he went on a roller-coaster. “We'll start to CRAAAAASH!”
–
“How are we supposed to explain this?” the officer sighed as the tail end of the zeppelin jutted out of the water just a few meters from the dock. Next to him, his partner stayed silent for a moment. The smoldering flames from within luckily could not ignite the inert helium, although the dark column of smoke was a terrifying sight to behold.
“Beats me.” he brown stallion finally replied.
The two ponies shrugged and looked toward the three or four ambulances brought over for this incident. The constant flash of the rotating red lights had attracted a good number of gawkers, all of whom had to be held back by other town watch ponies who arrived later.
Apparently a “prince” and a number of his “court” had been dragged unconscious from the ocean by some local fisherponies, not to mention a number of ponies and humans claiming that they were held against their will. It took only a moment to learn from dispatch that the so-called “prince” was simply a rich human, who had hired a local gang when he started up his business in Equestria. All of which involved illegal activities.
“Mom!” Dinky rushed toward the gray mare. The pegasus wrapped her hooves around the filly in a heartwarming embrace.
“Glad to see you in one piece, kiddo.”
“Yeah. Same here.”
“Hold on a moment, Muffin.” Dinky grinned and watched the pegasus trot toward the group of women draped in blankets that had been speaking with the four-legged town watch on the scene taking notes on the incident.
“So everyone is safe and sound.” Trixie approached Dinky, rubbing a tense part of her shoulder. Dinky smiled at the thought and nodded in agreement. “Aren't you happy? Now you and your coltfriend here can finally be happy together and do it.”
“Don't say something so gross!” The younger unicorn screeched. She turned her face away, utterly concentrated on keeping her blush from being seen.
“Hey, girls, what's up?” Pip cantered toward the unicorns after speaking with one of the town guard about the whole affair.
“N-NOTHING!” Dinky blurted out in response. Unaware of Pip's baffled expression, the unicorn rushed to catch up with her mom and the human women a few meters away.
“Was it something I said?” Pip aimed a pleading look to the mare who watched as Dinky tripped on her way to the other group.
“Was there ever any doubt?” Trixie grinned, sauntering away with a grin on her face.
“Wait, what?”
--
“So what do we do now?” One of the human women asked with concern about their situation. While not the oldest, she was considered one of the more senior...employees of the flying airship at the time. While they had first come to Equestria to perform their service for the humans present in Equestria, it had been apparent that expanding to offer the local ponies to work was a natural progression.
The gray pegasus then, was the first pony to arrive on the ship. Having no previous exposure to the once considered mythical creatures, the women were surprised by their new friend's personality and character.
“We don't have any way of getting home...” another of the girls let out a heavy sigh.
“Hey, I've got an idea, girls!” the gray pegasus pony chirped with excitement as her wings fluttered for a moment. “Let's all head over to my place and have Dinky bake us some treats! She's really good at it!”
It wasn't that much of a stretch then, for the humans to look to Derpy as a source of comfort, in this foreign land so far away from their homes.
The women all looked around to each other in silence for a moment, before shrugging and agreeing with nods to the suggestion since they really had nothing better to do.
“Can she make salads? I'm trying to watch my figure.” One of the women tried asking as the group followed their pony friend.
Dinky shook her head and smiled at her mom's usual antics. Amidst the activity of the town watch holding back the ponies and humans attracted by the crash, she looked once more toward the direction of a certain white and brown colored pony and a blue coated unicorn where the latter was being accosted by uniformed town watch.
--
“Ma'am, there have been some reports that a pony fitting your description stole a police cruiser. And it just so happens that exact cruiser was last tracked to that airship crash you just happened to escape from.”
“'Ma'am'!? Who's a ma'am? Are you saying I'm old!?”
“No, I don't...” the officer sighed and softly rubbed his eyes with his hoof. “But I'm supposed to call you that because of proto-”
“Because you think I'm old, right? I'm right! How old do you think I am? And if you say I'm old I'm gonna whop you!”
“Stop trying to change the subject! I never said anything about you being old! Will you listen to what I'm trying to say here!?”
“I'm not deaf!”
“I never said you were!”
“Stop screaming!”
“Not until you shut up!
“THAT'S IT! BRING IT!”
“IT'S ALREADY BEEN BROUGHT!”
Dinky could only shake her head at the sight. After gathering her senses (and courage) she had returned to where her foalhood friend was watching the ruckus unfold.
“You know, even if she's a bit strange, she's a pretty brave pony...” Dinky paused and took note of the colt standing next to her.
"A brave pony that's fifty bits richer..."
"Will you get over that already?" Though he was a bit smaller than others his age, she knew she'd have trouble finding anypony with a bigger heart. “...maybe you could learn a thing or two from her about being more dependable!” She smiled despite herself from that thought, even chuckling a bit. While Pip continued watching the heated argument between Trixie and the pony officer, Dinky leaned her face closer, focusing intently at his cheek.
“Hmmm? Did you say something, Dinky?” Pip asked breaking away from the distraction as he turned to face the gray pony and saw her flinch backwards in surprise.
“I-I said that I'll see you around, okay, Pip?” she quickly said in a shaky voice before rushing down the pier after the group led by her mom.
Pip smiled as he watched his friend rejoin the other group. “Yeah.” Taking a deep breath, he cantered back toward the bickering adults before kicks started flying. He thought back to Dinky's suggestion. “...maybe I can.”
--
Author's Note: Would you believe that the first three chapters were all supposed to be one?
Thank you for reading and tracking this story, I hope you enjoy what I upload. I hope you're willing to suggest stuff. Or criticize to show you actually read the story. I hope my computer would stop having BSOD-syndrome.
Onward to the next chapter!