//------------------------------// // The Second Patrol // Story: Taking A Stand // by ShadeJak //------------------------------// I’d decided to start my patrolling early. After lunch and Darkman I couldn’t help but feel a little restless, not to mention there was also the events from last night. I rushed across a rooftop and leaped to the next, teleporting halfway across and reappearing atop the one before me to insure I didn’t end up going down instead. Landing, I turned and looked back… admittedly I didn’t know if I was gonna make it across… but having succeeded filled me with a bit of a rush. Amethyst Star was in great shape; which made sense given she did dancing, and ponies did things more actively then humans did, so I imagine they got a lot more exercise in their daily routines. Leaning against a chimney and ‘Lyra-slouching’ against it, I stared up at the sky. “Hmmm…” I sighed aloud. I haven’t done half-bad as an amateur superhero lately, and have gotten more accustomed to wearing this body over these few days then I expected, despite a few things that took longer then others to get completely used to. I’d helped others… a filly and a pegasus couple… maybe more as time went by… In some weird way I’d accomplished more this way, become more this way… then I had when I was human. Kyle was someone just getting by with a crappy job and did a lot of stagework and performances on the side as a hobby, and a love for superhero comics and movies. Amethyst Star may have been ‘just a background pony’ but she felt like so much more to me then that now that we were sharing a body and she’d told me a little about herself. She was a unicorn who went to a school for gifted magic-users, had a life where she had all she needed, she got to do her hobby for dancing when the chance came, and was now an up-and-coming superhero. But was the last part my doing? Maybe… but it was only because I had Amethyst’s power at my disposal… or what I was able to learn, anyway. Or was this something she could have done all along if she felt a need to? It wasn’t to say I had planned on being a superhero, but who hasn’t imagined that at some point in their lives? Granted no one’s ever suddenly gained super-powers but I’d like to think if that existed the world may have been a better place. True, there were bad people who’d become supervillains, but there were good people who could become superheroes as well. Then again, people didn’t need super-powers to do good or evil, X-Men proved as much to me. It wasn’t the powers, but the soul wielding them. Yet here in my mind I wondered who between me and Amethyst was more to thank. “Funny… one of the most popular escapist fantasies has become reality for me… and I have no idea how to feel about it.” I muttered aloud with a small laugh, as if expecting an answer, even from the pony in my head. Getting up and rushing across the rooftop, I repeated my earlier actions, but paused on the rooftop when I heard noises down below. Cautiously peering over into the alleyway, I noticed a young man being dragged into an alley by three men who did not look the least bit friendly. “Messin’ around in our hood, sport?” One man said to their captive as they kept his mouth covered, forcing his head to nod and prompting chuckles from the others. “Looks like you made a huge mistake.” The gang leader said. I grimaced; in all this stress of dealing with a pony-hating group I’d forgotten all about one of Richmond’s other problems, especially with this part of town, and even the daytime wasn’t immune to it. “So! Got anything of value and we might forget we saw you. I’ll let ya talk, and if ya don’t scream ya don’t end up dead!” The man said, drawing his knife out and I looked right at it, prepared to take action. “Anything you can think of that might cost a lotta money?” I focused on the man’s knife with my magic and forced his arm so that he stabbed himself in the thigh. His friends and their captive stared agape at what they saw as the man collapsed to the ground, crying out in pain and trying to pull his knife out and their grip on their captive loosened noticably. Focusing my magic again, I engulfed one in my aura just long enough that I was able to fling him headfirst back against the nearby wall. One shouted something about a unicorn and the remaining gangster drew a knife of his own and grabbed their captive as a hostage. “Come on out, unicorn!” He yelled angrily. “You got two seconds!” Teleporting, I appeared before him. “Unhand him.” I said firmly. “Why should I? Not till I know you’ll let me go!” He said, visibly shaking at the sight of his unconscious and incapacitated friends. “The cops shoulda cracked down on your kind a long time ago!” “I can say the same for yours. Since I doubt I can take you physically magic’s about all I got going for me.” I replied coldly. I could see without his boss this guy was feeling a lot less sure of himself. “Unhand him and I let you go. You have my word.” I said softly. His boss looked at him disapprovingly in between his cries of pain as he struggled with the knife in his thigh. “I don’t trust you! Not your kind!” He said, drawing the knife back and preparing to kill his hostage. My eyes widened and panic overtook me immediately. “NO!” I cried out, and my hat suddenly flew off and a burst of magic shot out, hitting the man right in the face and knocking him over. The gang member looked terrified now, realizing he’d dropped his knife and crabwalked away from me, absolute horror on his face. “There! I don’t got him anymore! Let me go!” He pleaded. My surprise kept me from responding as the man scurried to his feet and fled as fast as he could. As realization came over me, I narrowed my eyes in disgust. I let him get away… I thought, disappointed in myself. Glaring at the gang leader, who’d just managed to make his knife budge, I approached. “You know, any medical book would tell you that you should leave it there, or you’ll only make the bleeding worse.” I said as I watched him tear up from the pain. “You want something that’ll cost a lot of money?” I asked. “How about your hospital bills!” I said viciously, hitting him in the chest and face with my hooves as hard as I could. The gang leader grunted in pain from the blows, and to finish it off, I fired a blast of magic, sending him tumbling back. Letting out a sigh of relief at the close call with the captured boy, I turned and looked over at him. His reaction was not the one I had hoped for, instead he looked scared. “Y-you’re one of those things!” He said, backing away. “S-stay away from me!” He cried out, running out of the alley and away from the scene as fast as he could. I could feel my ears droop under my hat, a mix of annoyance and disappointment came over me. “…You’re welcome…” I muttered with a sigh as I walked out of the alley to find someone to call the authorities on the ones I’d subdued. ~ “Figures…” I muttered to myself as I crossed another rooftop. “I ask for help I get the damn paparazzi…” Sure enough when I’d found a group of college students they immediately snapped photos of me. While I suppose a little publicity was good for me, it was a little low-priority right now. One even asked me to pose with the two gang members I’d trashed when I made mention of them. Thankfully one was good enough to call the police and another knew the person I’d saved enough to tell the police about as well since they’d have a witness against the attack. Mixed results, I guess. Still… his fear of me was somewhat unsettling, and made me feel all the more like I didn’t belong here on Earth anymore. One didn’t even need to be a part of that PAPA organization to express fear or hate towards our kind. …Heh, ‘our kind’… again I’m thinking of myself as a pony and not a human in a pony’s body. It caused me to pause on the rooftop I was on and look myself over for a moment, staring at my costumed forehoof, brushing the side of my masked face and feeling the muzzle underneath. Hey, for what it’s worth I think we did pretty well back there. I heard Amethyst’s voice say, which startled me for a moment as I hadn’t expected to hear it. “We, huh?” I asked. Come on, you think you were able to pull those magic stunts completely on your own? Amethyst’s voice said. “I guess we do make a good team.” I said aloud, smiling. “Still… back there, I didn’t get a thanks or anything. Even the random photo shoot didn’t water down the effect it had.” The pony in my head sighed. Don’t start sounding like Rainbow Dash on me. She teased. “Hey, I’m not acting like a glory hound or anything. It’s just… the way he reacted, I felt like I did something wrong by helping him.” I protested. He’s alive, that’s what matters. You’re the bigger superhero fan then me, and here I am being the one to remind you that! Amethyst’s voice replied. “…I guess you’re right… still bugs me a little, though.” I said. “One of the prices of being a costumed vigilante, I guess.” A moment of silence passed. “Well, better continue!” I said, trying to push those thoughts out of my mind for the time being. ~ “This can’t be good…” I muttered as I peered over the rooftop of the elementary school I’d landed on. A couple kids that I assumed were fifth graders… held back maybe twice by my guess… were cornering a scared filly. On closer inspection I recognized her right away. Mary Geller? That girl who’d become a filly, who’d been my first rescue? What was she doing here? I wondered. She seemed to be trying to fly away but she wasn’t fast enough as one of the bullies slapped her out of the sky. “You know, my dad says your kind’s trying to take over! What made you think you could come here?” The main bully asked. “I go here! I’m still the same pon—person!” She protested, catching herself. It seemed Steph and I weren’t the only ones who were experiencing personality changes. This had to have been frightening for her, she was just a filly, a helpless one against three bullies who she was clearly no match for… and judging from the other gawking students it didn’t look like they intended to do anything. “Naw, you’re just an animal now, like my folks say!” The second bully said smugly as he threw a rock at her, causing her to start crying. Okay, that does it. I thought lividly. Leaping from my perch, I flung a set of firecrackers from my belt at the bullies’ feet, and teleported before I hit the ground. The explosions drove the bullies and their spectators back, and Mary just cowered. Appearing in the smoke the explosions left behind and hoping they’d alert staff, I glared at the group of bullies. “Wanna go find something else to do?” I asked in a low, firm tone. “Hey, it’s that pony we heard about on the news!” One kid said. I ignored it and kept my attention on the bullies, who just stared at me. “Why don’t you mind your own business!” The main bully asked. “She’s off-limits. ANYONE ELSE who turns into ponies is off-limits. The last thing ANY of us need is waste like you adding to the problems we’re already dealing with!” I ordered. “We haven’t even done anything!” The second bully claimed, prompting an eyeroll from me. “Do I look like a teacher? I don’t fall for the I-Wasn’t-Doing-Anything crap you bullies love to pull whenever you’re reported like they do!” I snapped. People wondered why bullying was so bad; because no one who was supposed to do anything about it cared. That was about to change here. “I saw you hit her, and throw that rock, and I suppose you’ll tell me those bruises came from her tripping?” “I’m not scared’a you!” The main bully said. “How old are you? Probably could have been in 7th or 8th grade by now, right?” I asked. “All I need to know you’re an idiot.” I said, suddenly sending him tumbling backward with my magic. “H-hey! That’s not fair! You’re using magic against a human!” He protested. “And the bunch of you ganging up on a helpless filly IS fair?!" I demanded, my anger only getting higher. It was true, I was technically attacking a minor, but at this point I didn’t care anymore. No one was going to hurt this filly again if I could help it. I’d dealt with enough bullies growing up to not want to see it happen to anyone else! With another telekinetic shove from my magic, the bully was sent sliding across the grass again, other kids parting out of his way and Mary staring in amazement while the bully now looked absolutely terrified. “Go hang with the rest the sacks of crap.” I snapped, sending one last magical shove that pushed him into a sack of manure bags the groundskeeper had left stacked, causing one to tear and spill onto the bully and prompting a chorus of laughter from the audience of schoolkids, a few older ones even getting pictures on their phones while he started crying. Turning, I glared at the other bullies. “Unlike some others, I don’t tolerate bullies. Keep that in mind next time any of you decide to do something stupid…” I warned. The remaining bullies immediately nodded and went over to their friend, avoiding going near me as I trotted over to where Mary was. “You alright?” I asked softly as I put my forehoof on her shoulder. The filly nodded and immediately hugged me. Why do they have to be so adorable… I thought to myself as I felt my heart melt. “It’s alright, now. What’re you doing here anyway?” I asked. “My mom… decided to let me go back to school.” She said, and the tone of her voice suggested she’d not entirely been supportive of the idea. “It’s probably best to stay home and have your parents get your schoolwork for you.” I said. Suddenly her eyes just… widened; if that were even possible for a filly. “Oh my gosh… you’re her aren’t you?” She asked, staring up at me. “The one who saved me last time!” I smiled lightly under my mask. “Yeah, that’d be me.” Another hug followed. “Am I..." She looked down at herself, then back up at me. "...Am I gonna be a pony forever?” She asked, I could tell she was worried. “I don’t know…” I muttered before realizing I may have made it worse. “But look, it’s not all bad.” “Why’s that?” She asked, shifting a little as she looked downward. “Well, you’re still you where it counts.” I said, giving her a playful nudge and prompting a giggle from the filly. “Your parents care about you, and you got me watching out for you.” I said. “Thanks.” She said shyly. “It was brave of you to be willing to try going back here, even if it didn’t work out.” I explained. “What’s going on out here?” A man I assumed to be a teacher or even the vice principal demanded as he came outside and immediately noticed us. “Just me doing your job.” I replied. “Excuse me? What gives you the right to come in here and attack my students?” The man demanded. “I just saved her from a couple bullies in case you didn’t notice the bruises. I’d have thought if you had any students who became ponies you guys would have been more on alert for something like this.” I said, not caring if what I did was right by procedure and ethics or not anymore. The bully I’d subjected to a manure bag looked nervous for a moment, realizing the teacher was now glaring at him. I assumed this kid had a history and I sure hoped suspension was going to be part of the disciplinary action now that there was no way he could deny his way out of it. “I suggest you call this girl’s parents and have them take her home right away.” I said. As another teacher stepped out, the first one looked over at her and quietly ordered the filly be taken to the clinic and have her parents called before returning his attention to me. “Alright, but I don’t want to see you around here anymore. Next time I’ll have to call the police. Those are still kids, you know. Next time there might not be so much evidence in your favor.” “Agreed, just don’t give me any reason to.” I said with a nod, hopeful they’d keep an eye out for bullying if any more ponified students showed up, or if any changed while at school… I wouldn’t put it past such a possibility after all. “Well, Mary, guess this is goodbye.” I said, mussing the filly’s mane with my hoof. “Thanks so much again!” Mary replied, much happier now as she trotted over to join the two faculty members, the man giving the bully covered in manure dust a stern look that suggested this wasn’t over for him. Satisfied, I gave a wave to the filly. Ignoring the stares I got from the other kids, I quietly left, relieved things turned out marginally better this time. A sharp growl in my stomach, however, told me I should probably eat soon, so I went to find a place to change out of costume and head back to the Starbucks Steph was waiting for me at… ~ “Well, looks like ever since schools let out, the MDW Sightings page exploded.” Steph said as she clicked the mouse a few times with her hoof and looked at the ample supply of new pictures that dominated it, as well as rants, praises, and the occasional flame wars. “I look ridiculous in that pose…” I muttered, laying down on the couch and staring at one that had my cape raised and my hindquarters more visible then I would have liked. The “clop clop clop” and “dat plot” comments only annoyed me more. “Still, it means an impact’s being made here!” Steph said with a smile as she scrolled through more pictures. “Keep this up and you might make ‘local legend’ status!” She joked. “Ha-ha.” I muttered dryly, still annoyed by the creepy brony comments. Seriously! I’m a horse! What kinda human who’s still 100% human finds that attractive?! “Ohhh… hey!” Steph said, suddenly getting my attention again. “There she is!” She said, recognizing Mary in the pictures. Seeing the filly brought a smile to my face that made me practically forget about earlier. “I’ll bet she’s really thankful for you.” Steph said, giving me an affectionate nuzzle. “I just… I really don’t like bullies.” I said, my girlfriend’s gesture hard to ignore. “Well, I think me and her got one thing in common, Kyle.” She said. “What, that you’re both turned into pegasi?” I asked, cocking an eyebrow. “No, silly.” She said with an eyeroll. “That you’re our hero.” My ears drooped a little at that. "Let's just worry about dinner, okay?" I asked with a sheepish smile. "I still got another patrol tonight when it gets late. "As flattering as what she'd said was, I still wasn’t entirely sure I was ready to believe it. Not while I was still fairly green, and definitely not until I found the captain and his PAPA pals… ~ “So they brought them in, Alex?” “Yes, Chief. They did. Still on lookout for the last suspect.” The policeman named Alex replied. “I see… and they say a unicorn in a costume matching the one seen in those photos did this to them?” The police chief asked. “That’s what they said. But according to the kid we brought in for questioning, he says they were mugging him. The unicorn showed up after.” Alex replied. “Great… first these ponies think we’re supposed to go easy on them, now they think they can take the law into their hands… or should I say hooves?” The chief asked, smiling bitterly at his own joke. “Uhh, sir? With all due respect, if this unicorn didn’t step in when she did, that kid could have been seriously injured or worse.” Alex protested. “Dumb luck.” The chief said. “The last thing we need is more of these… ponies… going around doing this sort of thing and getting themselves hurt.” “Speaking of that…” Alex replied. “We still have no leads on this ‘Captain’ that those two pegasi from the other day discussed.” “We have a lot of cases to worry about, Alex. In case you haven’t noticed, we’re in Richmond.” The chief answered. “There’s been no sign of PAPA activity other then a few scrawny protestors that I doubt fit the bill of the guys that pegasus couple described.” “Still no reason not to have them investigated. They might know something.” The policeman suggested. “Remember your place, officer. If I have reason to suspect these low-class naysayers are in league with this man, I’ll have it looked into. Otherwise, do your damn job before that costumed vigilante decides to.” The police chief answered coldly. “You’re dismissed.” He said, though the officer showed reluctance in complying but the stern look from his boss prompted him from pressing the matter.