//------------------------------// // Introduction: Rescue Me // Story: The Theory of Dove And Grenade // by TLC //------------------------------// Boom. I wake up on the ground. "Agh!" My side! Wha...there's blood. Ugh. I stand up, reluctantly and look around at my surroundings. The building was on fire and ponies were lying about on the floor around me. That wasn't the bomb. That wasn't ours. Then it hit me. "Summer!" I shouted. No reply. I try to regain my balance and make an attempt to walk over to a door way. "Summer, where are you?!" I called out. Where is she? I tried to push all paranoid thoughts out of my head about assuming the worst. She's not dead, she can't be. I saw a window in the distance and my way over. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The buildings. The skyscrapers. They were all on fire and falling apart...Mom...Ugh! Not now! I gotta find Summer. I turn from the window and was suddenly thrown back towards it, breaking the glass. "Ugh!!" The glass dug into the back of my neck and back, staining the glass with fresh blood. The pony who held to the window raised a hoof. It impacted with my cheek and I swore I saw a tooth fly out. "You stupid motherbucker!!" He screamed at me. "You have no idea what you've caused!!" I looked back into his eyes. They read murder, anger, and no remorse for whom they where looking at. "I didn't do anything! All this was your plan, remember?!" I spat blood as I talked. "There was no real threat! You wanted to find and kill all of them?!...." I looked back out the bloody window behind me. "Well good job, numb nuts. You annihilated a whole city." I was not making this pony anymore happier. He scraped my body against the window as he threw me across the room, landing on a desk and breaking it in half. The pain shot through my body and I screamed out. I needed to get out of here. I'm going to die. "I didn't want! I needed!! It was by order of the boss to eradicate all projects! All of them! Even your little bitch!" The pony screamed at me. "She was the piece we needed, but she ran!" He walked over and kicked me in the ribs. I coughed out blood as his leg made impact. "For your spineless, brainless, hide. Well guess what?!" He lifted a piece of wood from the side of the table and lifted it above my head. "WHERE IS SHE NOW?!!" *CRASH* *thud* You see, the thing about living here is not its' advantages. It's its' struggles, survival. This city is basically hanging by a thread made of jelly, and can turn out to be one of the most dangerous places in Equestria. Your sanity and your protection relies on how quick you can think on your hooves when the situation calls for it. That situation could be anything, anything at all. A bank robbery, a chance to make it with that special somepony, or even the situation of near death. Learning this skill takes years of practice, or you're just born with it. Many a pony walk this concrete jungle for many different reasons. Some are here for its' beautiful looks from a distance, or its' lively night life. Others for its' spotlights so that they could become famous in the big city. Foals, if you ask me. But back to the matter at hoof. The skill to think on your hooves, anypony can have it. I was unlucky to be born without it. My father used to tell me that all I needed was the motivation. The one thing in my life that meant the most to me, and to do what ever it takes for it. 'Because if something that brings you happiness is important enough, it's worth dying for.' He worked in an organization to take down the bad guys and save the day. With pay. But that's not at all relevant. This little tale is about how I manage to wind up on the wrong side. How I manage to risk my life and well-being for somepony I wished left me in that alley to die. To be stabbed to death and never have to deal with the abyss of shit I'm currently in. I never wanted this, but now...I'm not so sure what I want anymore. I thought I knew exactly what I wanted, who I wanted to be, where I wanted to end up. But why am I telling you all this right now? Let me start from the beginning... ~*~\~^~/~*~ "Steam?" The substitute called out. Everypony in class wasn't even paying attention to him. Poor guy. "Is Misty here?" He asked, then wrote down something on the page he was reading from. "Hail?" "Here." I said. My name is Hail Showers. I'm a 9th grade pegasus here at Manehattan High, and unbeknownst to me, today is the start of my terrible journey. "Right, yes. Rose?" The substitute continued. "Here!" A heavenly voice called from the back of the class. I turn to see no other then the most beautiful face in the room, belonging to nopony else but Rose Thorn. Her name suited her well, smell and beautiful like a rose, but stings and cuts like a thorn. Her tan coat was nothing compared to her luscious red flowing mane. Many a time I've tried to ask her out, or even talk to her. All attempts ending in utter failure. She looked at me with a gaze that could turn a cockatrice to stone, her eye lids closed half way and her lips moving to form a slight grimace. "Boo." She said coldly. I quickly turn away, my heart ached. She was of course way above me in high school popularity, with her being in The Group and me being...well, nowhere. I don't sit at lunch with anypony, I don't talk to anypony. My place at school is as follows. One; Do work. And Two; Go home. That's about as much as I can handle from this educational prison, surrounded by ponies who either don't notice me or dislike me enough to ignore me. "Hey, twig." A deep voice said from the side of my desk. I look to see somepony I try to avoid on a daily bases. He was a dark blue pegasus with dark gold mane. "You trying to get with Darkstar's filly?" I looked at him with all the hatred I could conjure at that moment. "No." "Yes, he was." Rose said. "He was hitting on me, Saint." Let me clarify something with you. I liked this filly, have know idea why, but I did. But please also note that I would never have the guts to even say anything to her and everpony knew this. So why was I being badgered by a crony and this lying succubus? "Tsk, tsk. I'm gonna have to tell him, twig." Saint said, shaking his head. He, his friends, and mostly everypony else at this school called me twig. Based on how short and fragile I am. I can't help how tall I'm not, but if I was, I would be tall enough to stomp Darkstar and Saint into the ground. Making them nothing but pancakes in the pavement. However, I ignored them. Nopony should be scared of these two. Or Darkstar, who isn't even here today. *Sigh*...I'm so glad the school day's almost over... ~*~\~^~/~*~ "Alright, class. Good day!" The sub waved to us as we exited the class. I took my backpack and headed out the door in a hurry. Not today. I did not plan to get my flank kicked by some thugs. Speed walking past the office, I see the double door school entrance, and ran towards it. No sign of them. Yet. If I can just make it to the stop sign down the street by my house, I'll be home free. The sidewalk was crowed by all the students trying to get out of here. Most of them on their phones or pPods'. I bobbed and weaved through the waves of ponies, using my backpack as a small battering ram of homework and books. Every now and again through the madness, the crowd would push back. But eventually I made it to the cross walk. When the coast was clear and there were no carriages, I ran across the street. I kept running after that. I wasn't afraid of these kids, but they weren't smart. Plus, they're twice my size. If they really wanted to, they could break me. As if I were the twig the called me so much! There it was. The stop sign. I swear to the princesses that I saw it being highlighted by some mysterious light. My heart was beating at one-fifty-five beats per millisecond, my breath was short, and my legs were wobbly. 'Dammit!' I thought. 'If only my wings weren't so pathetic! I can make. I can make it! I can-' *Thud* My thoughts were interrupted when I was hit square in the face and tossed in an alley. It was blurry, I couldn't see anything. All I could hear was this high pitch ringing. Then, I was jerked up and forced against the alley wall. When I gained back my vision and hearing, I had the displeasure of seeing two ponies. Who also had the company of two other ponies. "Sup, twiggy bitch." Darkstar said. His red eyes staring into my dark greys. He was a black earth pony with spiked white mane and wore a black jacket with his initials on the sleeves. He pulled a hoof back and shot it straight into my side. "Agh!" I screamed. The hoof made impact with my abdomen and it felt like a rib snapped. He still stared at me. "I hear you was hittin' on my Rose." He growled. "What you got to say? Before I brake my hoof off in yo flank." His grip on me grew tighter. His stupid followers took a step closer, as if to join in on the beating. "I didn't hit on anypony, Darkstar! Ugh!" I plead before a hoof to the stomach again cut me off. "Bullshit!" Darkstar yelled. "Saint told me all about it. I don't need little foals like you thinkin' you can try and run my shit. I think it's time you learned a lesson, right guys?" He called back to his 'friends'. I saw them all take out, what I believed to be, knives and clubs. I don't know what came over me in that moment. Suddenly, I felt like there was nothing to lose. With some of the pain subsiding, I looked him straight in the eyes and spoke. "Buck you! I wouldn't hit on your fillyfriend with a stick that had the cure for hepatitis!" I'm dead. His eyes widened, and then fell short as he growled. Darkstar punched me again. And again. And, again. Then, with me still in his grasp, he threw me against a dumpster. I felt one of my folded wings pop on impact. The sharp pain in my stomach grew with every minute, I coughed into my hooves. Each one making the pain worst. When I brought my hooves to my eyes, they were covered with blood. Darkstar laughed when he looked down at me. One of his friends gave him a knife, then the next thing I know, it's in my side. He jerked the knife into me and twisted it. I screamed at the top of my lungs and swore at him. I was going to be dead in a matter of minutes...or I was. A loud thud was heard behind Darkstar's goons. We turned to see a lone pony standing in the entry way of the alley. She wore a bright yellow and black leather jacket with a hood, her face was protected by big lashes of dark pink mane. She took couple of steps forward, pulling something out of her jacket pocket. "Who the buck are you?" One of Darkstar's goons said. In a matter of seconds, the mysterious mare leaped at him, throwing a hoof into his face. He crashed down on the ground. And didn't get up. The rest of Darkstar's crew ran towards her with their weapons, Darkstar himself stayed behind. I don't remember all of what happened next, but I did see bodies fly past us and hit the wall next to the dumpster. When turned to see one, he was bleeding out of his chest. It's all still fuzzy, but I do recall seeing the mare walking towards us. Darkstar let go of the knife and ran away. With him gone, she put put something back in her jacket and came to my side. The knife was still in my side, and blood flew free from around it. "Stay with me, kid!" She said. I saw her eyes, they were a bright yellow. And I think they were glowing. The last thing remember before passing out, was her taking the knife out, wrapping something around the wound, picking me up and walking out of the alley...