Snippy shook himself awake, ropes around his body preventing any movements. He was being dragged, but what it was by he had no idea. It was the dead of night; the stars in the sky clearer than they’d ever been in a long time. A full moon hung above him, the brightest it had been in years. Captain was most likely dragging him back to base, wherever it was this time. He had the funniest dream, something about ponies kicking him in the face and Pilot being hit right in the groin. Weird dreams were pretty common for Snippy nowadays, but that one was-
“Drop ‘em off here Twilight?”
Snippy jolted at the sound of the unfamiliar voice. Then that’s when it hit him.
Damn, it wasn't a dream.
Snippy groaned loudly, not from pain, but from frustration that he was still with the ponies. The orange one who kicked him in the face earlier, was dragging him along the ground, beside her, the Captain and that smug coffee cup he held. Beside him was another pony, purple this time and a horn sticking out of its head and an abnormal lump on its back. Beside it Pilot was....floating? He giggled childishly as he floated, making sounds like he were an airplane soaring through the air. Then Engie appeared, keeping his distance from the Captain, but remaining close enough to the group for Snippy to see him walking behind and grunting and muttering something about the Captain.
“Yep,” The purple unicorn, who Snippy assumed to be Twilight, answered her orange companion. They weren’t supposed to be talking. It wasn't right. “The Ponyville Motel. I've already had Spike set up rooms for these...guys.”
Snippy turned his head to the purple unicorn and the lump on her back. It shifted again into the form of a head, a torso and arms and legs. A freaking dragon. Like, fairy tales stuff. It was a legitimate dragon.
“Do I have to see that receptionist again?” It asked with a young, annoyed voice.
Great, I’m high too. Snippy thought. He’s never seen a purple dragon or pony before. The only reason he was seeing it now could either be caused by Captain’s influence or he took some drug without knowing it. Whatever it was, he didn’t like it. Being dragged by his feet was one thing, but seeing something like that was another. Snippy didn’t like where this was going. Especially if the unicorn was levitating Pilot almost effortlessly.
“Great,” The orange pony groaned. “We taking the stairs?”
“Unfortunately,” Twilight responded. “Can you carry him?”
“Nah, he’s too heavy. Maybe uh... Engie can lend a hoo—hand, sorry.”
Engie grabbed Snippy and slung him over his shoulder, hauling him up the stairs, still muttering something as he did so. Snippy wiggled around, letting Engie know that he was awake, only to receive a railing to the face as Engie turned to enter the motel room.
“Dick,” Snippy grunted under his breath. Engie threw him on the soft, plush, and comfortable bed before he took out a knife to cut away the ropes. By the time he was free of his bindings, Snippy began to stretch, groaning loudly as he did so. It had felt like an eternity since he last stretched.
“Do you guys think you can handle staying in here for tonight?” Twilight asked, giving the four an exhausted glare.
“Probably,” Engie replied.
“Yeah,” Pilot responded.
“No!” Captain’s voice raised, startling the two ponies.
Twilight slammed a face into her hoof. “And why not?”
“I need my coffee of course!”
“Doesn’t that thing kinda refill on it’s own?” Snippy asked.
“Don’t question your leader Snippy,” Captain said, giving him a blank, yet intimidating stare through his mask. “If your leader demands more coffee, then I shall acquire more coffee! Though I prefer this one in a different cup. I don’t want to mix your horse coffee with my superior coffee.”
The Captain waved his black mug around like he’d won the trophy to some kind of contest. Meanwhile, Twilight’s eyes were twitching, visibly becoming angry with The Captain and his antics. Applejack shared the same aggravation, knowing it was going to be a long time before The Captain would be leaving soon.
“Spike, can you go downstairs and-”
“Get him coffee, I got it,” The dragon responded, obviously aggravated, though whether it was because of how late it was or of Captain’s behavior was up for speculation. Snippy was pretty sure it was both, knowing how the Captain normally behaved. Snippy was surprised he’d survived this long knowing that he’d placed his trust in some guy who was practically insane.
“Just ignore the receptionist lad.” Captain said as Spike walked down the steps. “If she gives you a problem, I shall flay her alive with my coffee!”
“But I don’t have it anymore,” Pilot told him, his cheery expression becoming one of pure sadness.
Applejack yawned loudly and patted Twilight on the back. “I hope ya don’t mind, but I got t’get back home. Think you can handle it from here?”
“Celestia, I hope so,” Twilight sighed, flexing her wings. “Hopefully The Princesses know what to do.”
Stalky crept through the bushes, his eyes fixed on the yellow pony walking home, accompanied by the bigger red stallion from the farm. The two laughed as they walked, the yellow pony leaning against the red one. Stalky narrowed his eyes when the hut full of animals appeared, all of which looked as though they were defending the home from an incoming attack.
Which in reality, they soon would be.
Stalky was no stranger to animals in the barren city in which The Captain was found, but no matter how different these animals were from them, they were still that: animals. And Stalky would have no problem taking them out. At the moment, the animals were all parading that their master had returned, a few weary of the guest she’d brought with her. But nevertheless, they all greeted the duo with the animal equivalents of hugs and kisses. Stalky approached closer, trying not to make too much noise, his boots lightly cracking the twigs and crushing the leaves beneath him while the animals made all their noise. Once they all ceased, so did Stalky’s movements.
“I really appreciate you walking me home Big Mac,” The yellow pony said, twirling a few strands of her mane with a hoof.
“It was no problem Fluttershy,” He responded simply. “Have a good night.”
“You too,” She cooed. Just the sound of her voice made Stalky sick and full of anger. She needed to be taken out of the picture. Her head would be on a silver platter for Captain by the time he was through with her. She’d beg for mercy after all of it and Stalky would just stand there over her broken body, triumphant and proud of the deed that has yet to be done. All for the glory of The Captain and Capteinia.
As Big Mac began to walk down the path back to the farm, Fluttershy started on her way back to the cottage. Stalky took another step forward as soon as Fluttershy shut her door, letting all the animals follow her inside, leaving the bear to stand guard right outside the door. It curled up in a brown ball, closing its eyes and fell asleep. The consistent raising and lowering of its body and light snoring signalled to Stalky that it was asleep. And now it was time to make his move.
Swiftly, Stalky crawled through the bushes and slithered through the woodland floor. He peeked his head back up and stared back at the bear. It was still asleep. Thankfully.
Again, Stalky got down on the ground and began to crawl again. He stopped abruptly when a he crushed a branch under his weight, the snap echoing for only a few seconds. Again, he peeked his head up, releasing a long breath that was cut short when he noticed something wrong. The pink mist from his mask stopped forming from his broken filter.
It was gone.
It moved around somewhere, but wherever it had gone, it was away from the cottage. It was an open run to the door. All he had to do was run as fast as he could through the waters surrounding the cottage, and he'd just burst the door open. It was literally that simple.
But then there was a growl. Not the growl of a small animal that would undoubtedly run away if Stalky tried anything funny, but a low growl from a monster that would tear him to shreds with but a single swift motion. And it was directly beside him.
Slowly, Stalky turned his head to the left, eye to eye with the bear that was safeguarding the door just seconds ago.
“Uh-oh,” Stalky muttered before the bear grabbed him by the leg with its powerful jaws and flung him in the air, Stalky flying like a rag doll thrown by a child. He landed on the path to the cottage, another straight run presenting itself to him. But there was the problem of the bear who just snarled its teeth and gave Stalky a look that said “Stay the hell away from the house.”
But Stalky was no fool. He knew he could easily outwit the bear. All it would take was a little risk.
Taking a deep breath, Stalky stood up and sprinted like his life depended on it. Most likely because it was. He ran down the path like a mad man, determined to get to the cottage, the bear beginning to charge at him with the same kind of determination. It’s eyes were full of primal anger, as were Stalky’s. Time slowed the moment just before they met on the path. Stalky’s fist rose up, eager to knock the bear’s teeth in. The bear, on the other hand, opened its mouth, the teeth ready to dig into Stalky’s flesh and rip apart his whole arm. Stalky’s scream of anger could be heard for miles, as could the bear’s snarls and growls.
When time began to return to its normal pace, Stalky instantly swung his fist around, turning away from the bear, and sprinted away, his arms waving in the air as he screamed in terror. The bear tilted its head in confusion, unsure of whether or not to chase down the screaming man with the pink goggles and pink mist following him.
Damn! Stalky thought, diving into the bushes when he was out of the bear’s view. A direct approach will not be as easy as I thought it would be. I’ll have to take a more sneaky approach. And I have the perfect idea!
Fluttershy was sitting on her couch in the living room of her cottage when she heard screaming outside. It didn’t sound like anybody she knew, but whoever it was obviously needed help.
Using her wings to boost herself off the couch, Fluttershy rushed to the door, moving faster after she heard the growl of a bear. She swung the door open and was met with the brown grizzly bear that had refused to come inside earlier. Not that it really could. She peered past it, but saw nobody. Maybe it was a thief and the bear scared him off? Or maybe the screams came from town?
“Did you scare someone off Mr. Bear?” Fluttershy asked like she were talking to a young cub. It shook its head happily, doing the bears equivalent of a smile. Fluttershy felt bad about having scared someone off though, but late at night you could never be too sure who or what roamed around. Fluttershy knew better than to ask the bear who it was it scared away though. It wasn't like the bear would give her an actual response. All she’d get was a growl.
At least it was keeping a lookout. Especially after the incident earlier with that...Captain and the other...Things. Whatever they were. And that other one that got into a fight with the birds and got attacked by the squirrels. Fluttershy felt horrible when it didn’t allow her to apologize for the inconvenience. She felt even more so when the raven continued to peck at his metal helmet.
“Hopefully, Twilight would be able to send them back home,” Fluttershy said aloud, giving the bear a goodnight kiss and shutting the door. “Wherever it is.”
It was about seven in the morning when The Captain stumbled out of the bathroom and dropped his searing hot coffee onto Pilot’s lap, who screamed bloody murder as soon as the searing hot liquid landed on him, waking both Engie and Snippy from their slumber. Engie groaned in frustration as did Snippy, the two raising themselves from the small bed they had to share.
When The Captain stood up and grabbed his mug again, he acted like nothing had even happened, throwing a towel at Pilot, who was whimpering. The four stood around, Snippy and Engie stretching while Pilot wiped the coffee from his clothes. Captain just stood around watching everybody before opening the door and descending the steps.
The ponies in town had already began walking around, though most were too tired to notice Captain, Snippy, Engie and Pilot exiting the motel or were too busy talking amongst each other to even notice.
“God,” Engie muttered. “Look at all of them.”
“There’s so many.” Snippy noted, watching as a blue unicorn levitated a box full of potatoes to a stand where other produce had been placed. Another one, pink walked around with baskets full of flowers hung from her sides, like a saddle with two baskets on the sides.
“Ponies!” Pilot yelled, jumping up in the air, catching the attention of all the ponies in the area who just stopped and watched in horror and confusion as Pilot flew across the air, his arms spread out like he was pretending to be a plane. Below him, a cyan pegasus with a rainbow mane stared at him, its life practically flashing before its eyes before it darted out of the way, moving at the speed of light.
Pilot landed with a hard thud on the dirt ground, face first. The cyan pegasus stared at Pilot, almost like it was disgusted at the sight of him. When he got up, she let out a yelp and hit him in the head, though not too hard.
“Ouchie,” Pilot said, rubbing his head and staring eye to eye with the mildly terrified pony. “Rainbows!”
“What?” Was all the pegasus said before Pilot wrapped his arms around her, a look of confusion and disgust spreading on the rainbow maned pegasus’ face. Pilot rubbed his face on her chest, holding the pony tightly, gaining strange glares of all kinds from the surrounding ponies.
“Get the heck off me!” She yelled, kicking Pilot away. She turned to run away, but slammed her face against The Captain, who pushed her back in Pilot’s direction.
“Do you not know who I am?” Captain sounded mildly irritated. “I am the Captain! Your new leader!”
“Ah!” The ponies around the five gasped when Pilot gripped onto the pegasus who took flight, taking Pilot with her.
“Let go of me!” Her cries fell on deaf ears, Pilot giggling like a child. She flew in circles, did flips and tried to throw Pilot off, but he wouldn’t let go.
“What is going on here!?” Twilight’s voice boomed. Her horn lit up, a purple aura surrounding Pilot, yanking him off of the pegasus. “I told you four not to come out of the motel without my say so!”
“So?” The Captain said. “You have no authority over me!”
“I am a princess!” Twilight screamed, the rainbow pony appearing beside her. “I have more authority over you than anybody in this town! Rainbow Dash, are you okay?”
“I’m fine, but my main concern is...those things,” Rainbow responded. “What the heck are those?”
Twilight paused for a moment, gesturing for the four men to follow her. “I don’t know. All I want is for them to leave!”
“That’s not fair,” Engie cut in. “You haven’t even talked to anyone besides The Captain.”
“Because I am the most entertaining out of all of us! Is this not true Twily?”
Twilight remained silent. Instead she groaned in frustration as she led them to an unknown destination. Ponies gave them all strange glances, some even going as far as to run away from them. Twilight’s reassuring smile didn’t help them so much either. Rainbow kept a close eye on Pilot, who kept reaching down to pet her mane, only to have his hand swatted away by her hoof.
Before long, a tree protruding from the ground, bigger than anything Snippy, Pilot, Engie and The Captain had ever seen, began to appear in the distance. Spike was seen from the balcony, placing a claw on his face when he saw Twilight and her new ‘friends’ approaching. He prayed that Twilight would stay level headed, at least until Princess Celestia and Luna figured out what to do with them. Deep down, Spike hoped that they’d banish them to the moon, where they only had each other’s company.
Twilight opened the door, but before letting the group in she glared at each of them. “Do not touch anything. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes.” They all said in unison. Twilight kept a close eye on all of them when they did walk in, making sure they kept their hands to themselves.
“So before you guys ended up leaving the motel, I was going to—” Twilight paused. “Where did Captain go?”
A thud from upstairs made Twilight grit her teeth in agitation. Princess Celestia, why must you test me this way?
Spike appeared from the stairs. “What was that?”
“He’s not up there?” Twilight asked. Spike shook his head.
“He left just a second ago,” Pilot said, aiming a finger towards the door. “He told me not to tell anyone.”
“I claim this land!” Captain screamed, making the group rush outside. He stood atop the tree, hanging onto a stray branch as he swayed with the wind. The group stared at him, their mouths agape and their hands on their faces at the sight of Captain’s latest stunt. “My loyal minions! I shall call it: New Capteinia!”
Twilight grit her teeth. “This is going to be a long week.”