//------------------------------// // 13- Equites Ex Machina // Story: Surviving in a Strange Two Legged World // by aCB //------------------------------// Fluttershy tried her best to get a good look at the figure flying above them without drawing attention to it. Luckily, the two henchponies that were leading her weren’t terribly perceptive. It was definitely too small to be a pegasus. It was about the size of a crow, but it was difficult to tell in the faint light of the stars. She tripped and fell. She needed to pay more attention to where she was going – they were on their way up a steep path carved into the side of a cliff, and she didn’t have her wings to save her if she fell. The stallions leading her along weren’t paying the least bit of attention to her, either. The mountain cold blew in her face, bringing with it a flurry of snow off the ground. The Crystal City, surrounded in its protective bubble, sparkled well below them in the distance. The sound of the wind momentarily obfuscated her hearing, and when it slowly died down, she realized in panic that the gentle sound of beating wings was gone. The sky was as clear and starry as she had ever seen it, and completely absent of her winged friend and soul source of hope. Maybe it wasn’t Ayden after all. They approached the opening of a very small cave, almost invisible until they came close to it. It was less of a cave and more of a crevice, a small slit between two large boulders. The pony holding her leash yanked harshly at it, pulling her over to him. “Get in there, and don’t get any ideas.” Fluttershy silently obeyed, shaking from fear and cold as she squeezed into the entrance. She was thankful for her slender form, as bigger ponies (such as her captors) would have a much harder time entering. She could hear groaning and heaving behind her as the other two entered. The cave itself was as small as the entrance suggested. It was hardly any bigger than her living room, and there was nothing inside save a small burlap bag that she assumed was full of food. The henchponies sat down in exhaustion on the cold stone floor, looking as weary as Fluttershy felt. “Hey, what do we got for grub anyway?” “I don’t know go ahead and check. I think Shade put that bag there not too long ago; it should still be good.” “Hey you!” the darker coated stallion addressed Fluttershy brusquely, “Bring that bag over here.” Fluttershy did as she was told, dragging the sack over to them with much effort. They dumped its contents onto the cave floor, revealing some hard biscuits and several ratty blankets. “Sombra damn it,” one of them mumbled, “Can’t Shade get anything better than this?” The other only shrugged as he doled out the blankets and bread between the two of them. They took the food and painfully took a bite, chewing with disgusted looks on their faces as apparently their mouths weren’t sufficient to moisten the unpleasant fair. Fluttershy unconsciously shivered as the frosty air worked its way through her. “Uhm, excuse me, sirs? Would you, if you don’t mind, that is, let me have a blanket?” The dark coated pony looked at his companion. “Did Shade say that Grimm wanted her alive? I don’t remember.” The other one rubbed his chin inquisitively. “I don’t know, but he did say he wanted her to talk.” He turned his attention to Fluttershy. “So how about this, pegasus – you tell us where we can find the other element things, and we’ll give you a blanket.” Fluttershy looked between them, panic beginning to set in. She was incredibly cold and hungry, but if she knew anything, it was that she would never give her friends away. “Oh, I’m really very sorry, but I can’t do that. Could you give me a blanket anyway? I mean, I’m sure that if we talked and got to know each other, we could put aside our differences and become friends. Maybe if…” She was cut off by the raucous laughter of her captors. “Yeah, that’s not going to happen. I don’t know how it works in Equestria,” the lighter colored stallion said, putting as much contempt in the last word as he could, “But here in the Crystal Empire, the only thing that matters is our devotion to our god and leader, King Sombra. Nice try, though. Let us know when you decide you’re cold enough to talk.” Fluttershy shivered again as the two turned back to their repast. She was beginning to feel very desperate now. She was in a cave in the mountains with two ponies that didn’t care if she was alive or dead, and nopony even knew that she was missing. There was only one thing to do – she had to escape on her own. She began to think as hard as she could – what would Rainbow Dash do if she were in this situation? She sure wished the headstrong mare was there right now, or even any of her other friends. They were so much braver than her. Rarity had even escaped a similar situation with diamond dogs, but Fluttershy didn't know if she had the courage to deliberately annoy her captors, or if they'd even care. Maybe if she could get out of the ropes binding her without the two Disciples seeing, she could slip out of the entrance crevice and fly away before they could squeeze out to capture her. But where would she go? She couldn’t go to the city due to the protective bubble. The train station currently was full of friendly ponies locked inside, but apparently the tracks were being destroyed as she sat there. It was far too great a distance for her to escape the Frozen North on her own without succumbing to cold and hunger. No, she was trapped. But she knew one thing for sure – she would rather die here in this cave than betray any of her friends. Ice flew through her veins at the thought. That could very well be the case. She needed a savior, an equites ex machina. “Damn it, these blankets suck!” shouted the dark coated stallion, “Why couldn’t Shade have left some firewood or something?” “I thought I heard him say he did once. Maybe he left it outside.” “I didn’t see any when we got here.” “We could have missed it. Why don’t you go out and check?” “Screw that! It’s bucking cold outside! Send the bitch.” “What, and have her run away? You’re an idiot.” “I’m still not going out there.” I’ll do it, then, if you’re going to be such a foal about it.” He angrily got up and dumped the layers of blankets on the floor. Muttering to himself, he walked over to the crevice and squeezed himself though. The other pony continued to bite off crumbly chunks of hardtack, waiting for the lighter stallion with disinterest. After a moment, a wild shout sounded from outside the cave. Both Fluttershy and the Disciple still inside rushed to the entrance, pushing through the crevice into the snowy cold outside. The stallion was standing on the edge of the cliff, staring out toward the crystal city with his jaw hanging open. Fluttershy attempted to discern what he was looking at as her eyes adjusted to the light level. When she saw it, her eyes went wide much like her captors. Surrounding the bubble that enclosed the city were hundreds of campfires and thousands of ponies – it was an army. Fluttershy almost jumped for joy despite herself. So Sly Hoof had gotten the message to Canterlot! “Holy shit, what the hell’s going on here?!” the dark stallion exclaimed. His companion could only continue to stare in shock. After a moment of silence, he continued to prod for answers. “Are those Grimm’s boys, or…” “No, you idiot!” the lighter stallion shouted in exasperation, “There aren’t that damn many Disciples! Buck, this is bad. Grimm might be able to handle that many, but we are totally screwed out here. What the hay are we going to do?” His eyes wandered around, as if the solution could be found in the snow. Suddenly, they came to rest on Fluttershy, and the smallest trace of a smile crossed his face. “New plan. From now on, this is our hostage. If those Equestrian asses don’t let us escape, we threaten to kill the filly.” “Good plan! I’ll get the…” He was interrupted by the cry of a falcon above. All three ponies looked up as a bird dived toward them. Taken by surprise, the two disciples pushed past each other to get out of the way of the dive-bombing bird. It pulled up immediately before reaching them, hovering between them and Fluttershy. “Ayden!” she cried out as relief washed over her. “It’s just a damn bird!” the lighter stallion called out as the shock of the bird’s appearance wore off. “Get her back in the cave!” He leaped toward Ayden, who quickly flew out of the way. He turned around, a look of determined menace on his face, ready to do away with the annoyance for good. As he and the falcon exchanged lunges with each other, the other stallion grabbed Fluttershy’s leash and pulled her back toward the cave. Even though she resisted, the strength of the larger stallion was too much for her, and she found herself being dragged through the snow. “Ayden!” The bird let out another cry, turning its attention toward the pony dragging her. As it attempted to dive toward him, the other Disciple intercepted it in midair. He held its wing in his mouth before dropping it to the ground and stepping on the bird with a hoof, holding it painfully in place, a triumphant smile dancing across his face. “Bucking bird,” he said, panting, “Take her inside. I’m going to crush this thing and be done with it.” “No!” The bird cried out in pain as the stallion slowly applied more pressure to its tender ribs. Just as it seemed that hope was lost, a violent wind overtook them, causing the two Disciples to look around for its cause. A bluish fire rode across the sky, approaching them with tremendous speed. Both stallions momentarily forgot their captives as they watched the fire approach ever closer. The wind picked up into a veritable hurricane as the figure landed before them on four hooves. Looking angrier and more powerful than Fluttershy had ever seen her stood Luna, Princess of the Night. She towered over them, bearing down on the two disciples with a venomous stare. Her eyes were aflame with the same color as her mane, and she was dressed in full battle armor of dazzling silver. When she opened her mouth, pure rage echoed across the mountain as she addressed the two Disciples in her most menacing royal Canterlot voice – “THOU SHALL NOT HARM MY FRIEND, BEASTS AND FOUL HEATHENS!” With an enormous eruption of power from her horn the likes of which Fluttershy had not felt before, she cast her enemies off of the side of the mountain cliff, sending them screaming through the night toward the ground below. Fluttershy could not help but hide her eyes at the display of power and justice before her, even as the flames extinguished themselves from Luna’s eyes. “Are you alright, my little pony?” she asked in as comforting a voice as she could. Overcome with emotion, Fluttershy cast herself at her savior, wrapping her front hooves around her neck and weeping softly. Luna seemed uncertain at the display of emotion, and awkwardly patted the pegasus’s back. “We are glad you are well, friend Fluttershy,” she said, “We had heard from this creature of the skies that thou didst need our assistance.” Almost as if by mention of its name, Ayden cried softly by Fluttershy’s feet. She scooped up the falcon in her hooves, checking meticulously for any irrevocable damage. She breathed a sigh of relief to see that he was not in mortal peril, but she was nonetheless filled with concern when she diagnosed a broken wing. “The poor dear,” she started sadly, “He saved me, and now he can’t even fly…” “Takest him with thee as we fly back to base camp in yonder valley,” Luna gestured down toward the city, “There you will find medical supplies for thy friend. Dodst thou feel well enough to accompany us there?” “Yes, yes I think so.” Luna used her magic to unbind Fluttershy’s wings. She spread them, and beyond feeling slightly cramped, she felt like she could make the several miles if she took it slowly. Luna nodded and took off toward the city. Fluttershy cradled the injured falcon in her hooves and deftly followed. *** Rainbow Dash blinked her eyes sleepily. Her surroundings were illuminated with a serene blue aura as the light of the full moon streamed in through the translucent tent. The ground beneath her was hard and rocky, but she was unusually warm underneath the thin silver blanket. Groaning, she lifted herself into a sitting position. Her neck and back ached more than she had ever felt before, her human bones not receiving the support they were accustomed to. As the exhaustion seeped out of her consciousness, she became aware of two things – she was alone and she was naked. Why was that again? The latter fact was a lot easier to explain. The previous night’s activities flooded back into her mind, and a smile forced its way upon her face. If she were to go back in time a week and tell past Rainbow what she would be doing with a human, she probably would have bucked herself in the face. No, not that kind of buck. Get your mind out of the gutter, Dash! She found her clothes piled in the corner of the tent and quickly pulled them on. They were uncomfortably cold, having spent the entire night outside the warming protection of the space blanket. She crawled over to the entrance to the tent, fumbled briefly with the zipper, and pulled it open. “Morning, sexy!” called Human-Dash from the firepit in front of the tent. Dark bags sat under her eyes and her hair was touseled more than usual, if that were even possible. Rainbow walked up to her lazily and dropped heavily beside her. The other girl wasted no time and wrapped her arm around her waist, pulling her closer. "What time is it?" Human-Dash looked toward the displacement of the moon. "Early morning, I think." “How long have you been up?” “Not that long. I couldn’t really sleep on those damn rocks, and your pillow was a lot more comfortable than mine.” Rainbow blushed. “Sorry about that. I guess I just can’t learn not to touch your boobs, huh?” “No sweat, champ,” Human-Dash said, kissing her on the cheek, “If you remember, I said don’t touch a girl’s boobs in public, and this is about as private as you can get. Hell, I probably wouldn’t even be wearing clothes right now if it weren’t so cold.” “You can do that? Applejack kept getting me for being naked, so I thought humans had to wear clothes all the time!” “Nah. What’s the fun in that?” the human smiled slyly, “You just have to figure out when the best time is, the time when you can make everybody’s jaw drop.” “Wait, so humans like it when other humans are naked?” “Yeah! Why wouldn’t they?” “I don’t know. Everybody kind of acted weird whenever I got naked.” “You got naked? In public?” Human-Dash laughed, “Who saw?” Rainbow thought for a minute, recounting her first day in the human world. “It was Applejack, Applebloom, and Filthy Rich, I think.” “Well, that’s easy to explain,” Human-Dash responded offhandedly, “Applebloom’s a kid, so you probably disturbed her. Filthy’s a pervy old man, so you probably blew his mind. And Applejack… I don’t know, I haven’t quite figured that girl out. You’re Applejack might be different, but the Applejack here on Earth is a prude. I’ve never seen her with a man, but when she caught me and Lightning making out she went all agro, so I don’t think she likes girls, either. I wonder what she’s going to say when she hears about us.” She looked over at Rainbow Dash expecting her to laugh with her, but she merely stared at the fire. “You’re worried she’s going to be upset,” Human-Dash interpreted. “Yeah.” “Don’t be. You’re like me, so Applejack’s like Applejack, and Applejack would never turn her back on a friend. I bet she’s out there looking for you right now, galloping around the wilderness on horseback like a cowgirl in a wild west movie.” Rainbow smiled at the thought. It was true – even if Applejack would be upset, she was still her friend, and she would come through. Then they would go back to Sweet Apple Acres, Sunset and Twilight would be there, and they would be on their way back to Equestria before she knew it. They would turn around and wave goodbye to their new human friends… “Hey, can I ask you something?” she suddenly said. “What’s up?” “Are we like… I mean, are we marefriends now?” Human-Dash smiled. “I don't know what that means, but I can guess. I don’t know, I haven’t thought about it. Do you want to be?” “I don’t know…” Rainbow replied thoughtfully, “We did just kind of—you know.” “Yeah, we did. I’m totally down for another round, if that’s what you’re asking.” “No, not right now. I’m talking about long term.” “It’ll be even better long term. I’ve been thinking about it, and I’m going to get a saddle and harness and ride you around my apartment; it’ll be awesome and kinky.” Rainbow Dash blushed. “Hey! I think I should be offended by that!” “What, you never done roleplay before?” “No!” “Whatevs. It’ll be new to me too – I’ve never had an actual pony to do that to, and putting a bit in your mouth is just icing on the cake.” “Rainbow Dash! I’m trying to be serious!” “What?” Human-Dash asked in confusion, “I am being serious.” “No, that’s not what I mean! I want to know if we’re in a serious relationship, or if that’s even possible.” “Well, as I always say when it comes to love, ‘As long as they’re both attractive, love will shine through’. And quite frankly, I don’t know how much more attractive a couple could possibly get.” “I was actually talking about the whole ‘I’m a pony, you’re a human, and we live in two different worlds’ thing.” “Oh, I haven’t thought about that,” Human-Dash responded sheepishly, “I guess, I don’t know, I could come visit you?” “Yeah, that might work. But you can only come, like, three days out of every six months, unless Sunset knows a way to keep the portal open.” “Yeah that would suck,” the human replied nonchalantly, pulling Rainbow close to her side, “But hey, it’s better than nothing. Maybe I’ll come by to see you fly.” “Yeah, and maybe you can see how not to crash.” “Hey, it’s not my fault! There was a random air current I wasn’t expecting.” Rainbow laughed. That sounded just like something she would say. She sat for a few moments in silence next to her friend, allowing herself to be warmed by the small fire in front of them. It was definitely disconcerting being lost in such a strange place in a strange world in a strange body, but at least she wasn’t alone. She was about to ask Human-Dash what they planned to do next when her stomach rumbled. The other girl smiled and got up, walking over to the tent. After a minute of scrounging through the tent, she returned and dropped the bag full of beef jerky into Rainbow’s lap. “Here you go, champ. Don’t eat too much right now; we have to make it last.” After a minute of fumbling with the plastic packaging, she got to the meat and tore off a chunk with her teeth. It wasn’t like the steak she had at Applejack’s. It wasn’t juicy, instead being hard and chewy, but it wasn’t unpleasant, and a lot better than most pony food she knew of. She chewed her breakfast in silence along with her counterpart. As she finished the salty snack, her thirst made itself known. She looked over toward Human-Dash, intending on asking about water, but the other girl was apparently ahead of her. She held up an olive canteen, which she took thankfully. After quenching her thirst, she asked the question that was on her mind. “So what’s the plan on getting out of here?” “Well, I searched through Spitfire’s emergency bag before you got up this morning, and I got good news and bad news.” “What’s the good news?” “The good news is that there’s an emergency radio in there that will broadcast our position to anyone looking for us.” “And the bad news?” Rainbow asked, not sure if she wanted to hear the answer. “I took the batteries out of it last year to put in, uh, something of mine. Don’t look at me like that! I never thought I would actually crash, alright? All we have to do is wait for somebody to spot us. It shouldn’t be more than a couple of days.” Rainbow could only shake her head.