Colgate Takes Acid

by Scott Grimm


WEE - Part 4

Colgate Takes Acid - Part 4

Octavia could feel her heart throb inside of her chest as she gasped for air. Typically physical activity wouldn't make her wheeze like this, but the extended amount of sprinting was starting to take its toll on the mare.

For the past couple of minutes Octavia had been chasing down the miniscule flash of Vinyl's electric blue tail that always seemed to slip out of sight after each corner she would turn. The lights from buildings hung off of the walls illuminating her path, yet she still had to squint to see where she was heading. Everywhere in front of her, cardboard, bags of garbage, homeless and even occasional drunk, staggering around in a drunken stupor. Each obstacle set in her path, she maneuvered around with some difficulty. She hated admitting it to herself, but even still early in her twenties, she was no spry filly.

Craning her head back she could better hear the thundering hoofsteps of the cops in hot pursuit of her. Once Octavia had reached the entrance of the alleyway, a fit far too small for any car to squeeze through in, they proceeded to chase her on hoof and had been close on her tail the entire time. Octavia could even begin to see a large silhouette on one of the walls at the last corner she had just went by. Their shadows striking fear into Octavia.

She took a gulp at the sight and turned her head around to see her path ahead. As she got a quick glance of her path, she could feel her hoof slip across the ground forcing Octavia to stumble to the ground. Groaning a bit, she could feel the new wet presence on her coat that came from the puddle that had forced her slip up. Struggling up to all fours, Octavia began her run again, this time with a obvious limp in her hind legs.

She could feel her legs giving way under the weight of her body as she was reaching the next turn of the alleyway. She slowed her pace a bit in order to make the sharpest turn she could make without injuring herself more so from the force of her sprint. Just as she was slowed to a decent pace, she felt a something tug on her mane, ripping her body forward as her hair stayed in the same place, motionless in the air, surrounded by a blue aura. There was a moments pause before the blue aura quickly sucked her up into a cardboard box that laid next to her.

Her vision went black. She could hear a low pitched hiss, telling her to be quiet, Octavia obliged considering there was a hoof covering her mouth now.

That didn't stop her from crying aloud. "Help! I'm being abducte-". She was cut off from the hoof being replaced on her mouth, this time firmer than before.

"Do you want to get caught? No? Then shut up!" The familiar voice scolded her in a hushed tone.

This time she remained quiet and still as she could hear the policecolts quickly approaching them. Octavia's heart was racing, she knew she was going to be found. There is no way that she was going to get away. But just as quickly as they had come, they were gone, heading down the same path Octavia would have taken moments before. The mare breathed a sigh of relief as she removed the hoof that was muzzling her mouth.

A small dim light began to illuminate the damp, dark occupied box. Octavia looked up and could see Vinyl with a large grin across her face.

"You cheesed it." Vinyl said as she climbed out of the box. Octavia didn't understand her but joined her on the outside anyways.

Shaking off a can that had engulfed her hoof, and removing an old rotten banana peel from her hindquarter Octavia replied,"What else was I suppose to do? Not like I can say 'Oh no officers, I didn't mean to jump out of a moving vehicle, and try to escape.' Somehow I don't think that would have gone over too well." Octavia cracked her neck a few times before a thought occurred in her mind. "Hey Vinyl, how the hell did you get out of your cuffs?" She asked as she pointed towards her hooves.

Following Octavia's gaze to her hooves, Vinyl looked at the too before scuffing one on the ground. "Oh that? Psh, can't really arrest a unicorn with just hoofcuffs now can ya?"

Octavia could feel another mental jab to the brain when she heard the simplistic response that was somehow to complicated for her to figure out. In the end though she just chalked it up 'being too in the moment' to really think about what was happening.

Shrugging off the spare adrenaline she still retained from her chase from just moments ago, Octavia regained her regular breathing patterns. With closed eyes she let loose a deep breath and took a momentary still pause before looking at Vinyl. With eyes now reopened she looked at her partner in crime. As if a bolt of lightning striking the ground at the midnight hour, Octavia jolted her right arm at Vinyl, striking her square in the shoulder. Fierce anger burned within her eyes.

"What in the world was that for?!" Vinyl wailed at Octavia as she hissed a bit at the pain.

"What do you think?!"

"I don't know, you've been in a pissy mood all night so far."

"Pissy?! You think that's how I am right now!?" Octavia let loose another flurry onto Vinyl. Most of her punches missing their intended target and just hitting wherever they pleased. "Do you think I'm suppose to act excited about this?" She questioned once her rage had subsided enough for her to create a coherent sentence. "I mean, did it ever once occur to you that maybe jail for a couple of days might had been preferable to running away from the law? Again? Not only did we just run from them, we're technically escapees. And oh no we couldn't just end it there, nu uh." Octavia shook her hoof in the air a bit. "No, you had to egg them on too! They're so going to add harassing a police officer to the charges once they've caught our flanks."

"I think you're making apples out of oranges." Vinyl replied.

Octavia only squinted at her. Her mouth slightly open, positioned to say something but couldn't quite find the words to say to that. "What? Ho- What does that even mean?"

"It means that you're seeing this situation totally different then what it should be." She finally replied.

"No I think you misused an analogy." Octavia replied flatly.

"Not even. Let's look at the facts. Yes we're fugitives. Yes we have two really irritated police colts after us. Yes you got caught with a baggy of drugs."

"We got caught, and they were yours to begin with. I was just trying to fix the situation." Octavia quickly interjected.

"Whatever. Anyways. Our friend might be out somewhere in town, quite possibly having the most psychodelic experience of her young life with no one to guide her through it. And she may even somehow stumble home and we'd be busted by Roseluck the next time we see her."

"Ya know, this isn't really helping. Not. One. Bit"

"Not yet, because that's what you see. What I see is a golden opportunity to solve all of this."

Octavia's ears perked up at Vinyl's claim. "And just how do you plan on doing that?"

"Well, let's assume just for one second that the police colts really are mad at us and completely hellbent on capturing us again. If they weren't able to capture us to begin with, or keep us contained at least, then what would they do? They'd have to call for back up, and who do you think they'd call? The only other police colt that was with them over at the club. The one who was chasing after Colgate."

"I really don't see the point in all of this..."

"Shh." Vinyl quieted Octavia by slowly raising her hoof to Octavia's mouth and tapping it gently. "Shh." Vinyl added in another quick hushing to verify she'd be quiet. Octavia looked on at Vinyl with a un-amused expression and half lidded eyes. "The point is, if he hasn't caught Colgate yet, then he'll be dropping that to come after us. I mean who's on their priority list here? The fugitives that made idiots out of them, of the mare that's a little induced right now."

Octavia raised a hoof to respond but quickly lowered it back down afterwards. "That-That's actually well thought out."

"See? You gotta look at the world through a half full glass, not half empty."

"Okay so if you're so clever, then how are we going to go through the streets to find Colgate without being caught with a bigger squad after us than before?"

"Who said anything about finding Colgate?" Vinyl replied, clueless.

"Vinyl!" Octavia jabbed her again.

"Ow, jeesh relax. It was just a joke." Vinyl raised a hoof to her chin and began to ponder. "I need a minute to think..."

***

The air was crisp, cool and chilled the bones of one stallion by the name of Quake Marble who rolled down the street of his fair city of where he had been born. His hair was a light green, almost a lime if you'd like. While the rest of his body was a deep red that he always felt was the worst possible luck to have such clashing colors. His face was not rugged, but showed a great deal of years, with bags under his eyes, wrinkles just now starting to from on his foreheads and his eyes quite plainly displaying crows feet.
Quake Marble ran the local roller ring, a popular hangout for all the youngsters of the town to enjoy after school and during the weekend. It was a mild means of making a living and he had always been more than content with it. Throughout his childhood and into his adulthood he had always held a stiff upper lip. Through marriage, fatherhood and every other endeavor he has been challenged with he had always taken it in strive.

Recently Quake had had an accident while doing the daily round at the roller ring. While testing out the recently cleaned ring for himself before letting the eagerly awaiting customers outside to come in, a malfunction occurred with his skates causing him to loose control and veer into the wall of the ring, instantly breaking one of his legs. After a quick reset of his bones and a newly applied cast added to the wounded limb, he was ready to go on with his life as normal, if you don't count the addition of the wheelchair.

For the past week Quake Marble had learned how difficult life could be with a wheelchair, even if it was only temporary. Feeling restless in his house from sitting around all day, he decided to take a stroll around his neighborhood to clear his mind and get some fresh air.

The light ahead of him flickered on and off as he continued to stroll himself along the sidewalk, not really paying any attention to anything in general, just enjoying the night he had been blessed with. He turned his head to see what was ahead of him for the next couple of feet. Light were the only thing ahead of him. One of lights bulbs were appearing to be going out. Quickly flickering on and off. Not paying much mind to the light, Quake turned his focus else where. For a moment the light went completely black for a before coming back on. When they were fully on again, there stood a lone blue mare with a white streak through her mane and tail. Her head hung downwards as she stood up on her hind legs. Her forelegs slouched at her sides, ridden with mud. Her mane was thick with twigs and leaves. Quake caught the mare out of the corner of his eye and quickly gave it his full attention. He slowed down from his roll earning him a squeak from his old hospital issued wheelchair.

"H-Hello?" He asked, now completely stopped. The mare did not respond. He decided to call out again. "Are you okay?" There was still no response.

Quake Marble gripped his wheelchair with one of his hooves, ready to start moving away just as the light from the streetlight faded again. Quake's eyes widened as he searched frantically in the dark where the mare had stood just moments before. When the streetlight decided to come back online, the mare was standing just a few feet from him. Instantly he jerked the wheels on his wheelchair, pushing himself back only a foot or so.

"Don't come any closer!" Startled, confused and a bit nervous at the mares actions he demanded that of her, in hopes that she'd listen.

The blue mare muttered something under her breath, inaudible to anyone except her. Her head still hung down as she spoke.

"What?"

"Tally ho..." Colgate stated as she raised her head, letting it lean to a side as she smiled at the stallion.

"Wh-What?"

Without another moments notice, the mare lunged forward, landing on Quake Marbles wheelchair, propelling him down the sidewalk at a great speed. The sidewalk he had been strolling on just second before slowly began to slope further downwards until it was a continuous downhill path for as far as the eye could see.

Quake Marble's eyes bolted out of his sockets as he jerked his head backwards, seeing his life flashing before his eyes. The silence that the night had once held a minute ago had disappeared, quickly being replaced with a scream. However, the screams by Mr. Quake Marble were whispers in comparison to the ear deafening scream of Colgate riding her heart out on the wheelchair shouting.

"Weeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!"