//------------------------------// // Run Bullet, Run // Story: Taking Pen from Paper // by Suke //------------------------------// The ten o’clock train into Ponyville arrived precisely on time, as it always did. In Equestria, trains had a real knack for keeping on time. It’s what they were built for, along with the obvious purpose of transporting cargo and passengers. Were the trains alive, they’d pride themselves on their timeliness. On this fine day, many a pony had planned outings to the quaint town of Ponyville. However, one passenger who disembarked at this time was not here for some leisurely outing. This pony, of the earth variety, was on a mission; a mission of love. He rearranged his faux leather jacket and stepped off the train. Reaching the steps off of the platform, the stallion stood there, taking in the sun and the sights, standing proud. Today was his day. He could feel it in his dark green fur. A grin spread over his muzzle. The gentle wind blew into his brown mane and tail. He needed to get a mane cut, as it had grown below his chin, but the stallion didn’t have time for that. His tail was nearly long enough to touch the ground, but that bothered him less. The pony began to give himself a pep talk, “You can do this, you know you can… You’re Speeding Bullet, fastest earth pony to ever live. How can a mare like her not want to hang with you? It’s a sure thing. If somepony were to bet against you, they’d be an id—” A thick Haytalian accent interrupted, “Oi, Speedy Gonzales!” Slightly startled, Bullet looked behind him to see a disgruntled Guido pony. “My name’s not—” “I don’t care what your name is! You’re blocking the way! Move it!” Bullet realised the stallion was right, with other ponies further back, waiting to get on their way. “Oh, terribly sorry, sir!” He moved out of the way, smiling as he watched the others pass by. One of them randomly muttered, “Damn Brit.” Bullet’s smile drooped. His accent was a big giveaway, but still, he disliked being reminded of his home. He was not homesick. No, far from it. He was glad to be miles from the Isle of Britannia. It had been, and still was, a hellhole. Britannia was a protectorate of Equestria, with its own government and laws. It was a fairly recent addition, in fact. Unlike most pony-dominant nations, Britannia was still thick with racial inequality. Thanks to Equestria’s involvement, it had been dumbed down, but it was still very much present in their society. Pegasi were scarce in Britannia. Unicorns were high class, and earth ponies were their former slaves, their lives hardly improved since being freed long ago. But for Speeding Bullet, this was only the foundation of his problems. As he walked through Ponyville, Bullet couldn’t help but think back over his miserable life. His family was a long, long, long line of distinguished unicorns, quite possibly being Britannian royalty at one point, before democracy took over. When his parents saw they’d had an earth pony colt, one can only imagine the horror on their faces. The first thing they did was check whether they were both really his parents. Had it turned out he was the illegitimate love-child of his mother’s, Bullet’s life may have been more bearable, but no. It turned out both unicorns had a rare, regressive version of the earth pony gene. As much as they hated his existence, Bullet’s parents couldn’t rightly ditch him and pretend he never happened. Their friends would ask questions. So, they kept him, and made his life a living hell, as if it were his fault he was born. His race meant his family and their friends looked down on him, and his family meant his fellow earth ponies despised him. Nopony would associate with him, except for one pony in particular: his older brother, Rugged Past. A unicorn like the rest of the family, he cared not for his brother’s race, seeing only a sibling in need of a friend. Sadly, as they got older, Rugged grew tired of the nationwide intolerance, and went abroad. They kept in contact for a short time, but eventually, Rugged’s letters stopped coming. Speeding suspected his parents had a hoof in that. Now, Speeding had done the same, albeit he had fled. Not looking where he was really going, Bullet’s head collided with a tree. Not just any tree, though. The Library Tree, famous home of Princess Twilight Sparkle. Gathering his thoughts, the stallion walked round to the front door and knocked precisely three times. A voice, presumably Twilight’s, welcomed from inside, “You can come in.” Bullet entered the building, finding the princess reading a book while sitting on a bean-bag. The earth pony bowed. “Your Highness.” The mare looked up from her book and smiled awkwardly. “Oh, don’t worry about formalities here, erm… I’m sorry, I don’t think we’ve met.” “The name’s Speeding Bullet, ma’am. You can call me Speed, or Bullet.” “Just call me Twilight. May I ask where that accent is from?” “Britannia, ma’am, and I’m sorry, but this is how I treat most mares. A habit from my upbringing.” “Strange to meet a Britannian earth pony who’s so…” “High strung?” “I was going to say Rarity.” Speed raised a confused eyebrow at this, but it dropped back down when he remembered why he was here. He opened his mouth to begin his enquiries, but Twilight spoke first. “So what brings a Britannian to little old Ponyville? I’d heard you were a mostly reclusive nation.” “They are,” Speed said with such distaste. “I’m actually here to ask about a friend of yours. You wouldn’t happen to know where Rainbow Dash is, would you?” Twilight’s face made no effort to hide her curiosity piquing. She gave the earth pony before her a quick once over. “I would. What do you need her for? Maybe I can help you in her stead.” “I’m probably her biggest fan ever! She was my idol during my later years in Britannia! Have you ever heard of the Derby Derby?” With a light laugh, the princess lifted up her book, the title reading ‘The History of Britannia’s Derby Derby’. “Huh,” said Bullet. “That’s convenient. What date does it go up to?” “It was published a few years back. I’ve heard they’ll be updating it soon, as apparently there’s a big new star on the… track… You’re the star, aren’t you?” “In the flesh,” he answered, standing with pride. “I’d overheard something about it from a Britannian Ambassador. Did you really break the sound barrier?” “Yes indeed. A few days earlier, I’d heard of Rainbow Dash’s Sonic Rainboom when saving the Wonderbolts, and thought that I needed to keep up with her. Sure enough, at the next race, boom goes the sound barrier and thank my lucky stars I slowed before hitting that wall.” The pair of ponies laughed together. When Twilight caught her breath, she sighed, satisfied. “Well, Rainbow is currently at Sugarcube Corner, but—” “Thanks!” Speeding Bullet zipped out of the library before Twilight could finish. This wasn’t going to end well. She knew a crush when she saw one. After taking the time to carefully put her book back on its shelf, the princess made to follow, but two large unicorn stallions in suits came through the door. Their coats were pure white, and their manes and tails striped black and grey. Twilight started to explain, “I’m sorry, but I need to—” “This is rather important, Your Highness,” interrupted one of the suits, his accent Britannian, like Bullet’s. ‘What is it with Britannians and cutting me off?’ thought the mare. Sounding a little more frustrated than she’d liked, Twilight enquired, “What is it?” “We’re looking for this pony,” explained the same stallion, his partner holding up a picture of Speeding Bullet. “He disappeared from his home in Fetlock, and his parents are so very upset. They’re desperate to see their dear son again.” “Oh, well, he just left. I think he’s headed to Sugarcube Corner. I was about to head that way myself.” “We’ll take it from here, Your Highness.” With that, the suited unicorns teleported away. Twilight stood staring at where they’d been a second ago, lost in thought. Being a princess, she knew all too well about the racial issues Britannia were having, so it seemed peculiar a pair of Britannian unicorns would be searching for an earth pony. And then there was Bullet’s own upper class accent, and the short conversation they shared. It didn’t make much sense, and this worried the mare, and she decided not to leave it to the unicorns. ‘How could she?’ Dirt plowed ahead of his hooves as Speed continued to slide awkwardly along the road. His tears streamed endlessly. He was heart broken. Moments earlier, the stallion had been running through Ponyville, searching for the fabled Sugarcube Corner, a sweet shop built to look like it was made of said sweets. It hadn’t taken long to locate it. He had seen his hero and the object of his desire through a window. He had picked up speed, planning to ‘Sonic Blast’ right outside the shop to grab her attention. She would come out, admire his awesome speed and instantly want him. As his view of the mare had changed, he noticed her standing up instead of sitting, seemingly gasping at something out of view. As the angle of view had changed further, and she begun to nod, something else had come into view. This something was what broke his heart. It had been a wedding band. Somepony had proposed to Rainbow Dash, and she had said yes. This had not been the cause for Speed’s current predicament of skidding along a dirt road with his face, body stuck up in the air. That had only destroyed his chances of ever being happy. Back at the point when his happiness was forever moved out of reach, two familiar-looking suited unicorns with slicked back manes had teleported in front of him, and one of them had tripped him up, intentionally. Seeing as he had been nearly at the speed of sound, he had quite the momentum. Presently, he was finally slowing down to a stop. The hearty laughter of the two unicorns were still within earshot. He knew who they were. Bish and Bash, two of the three unicorns his parents hired to do their dirty work, including, it seemed, making Speed’s life a misery, wherever he may roam. “Tartarus be damned!” screamed the earth pony. “How did they even find me!?” A purple flash of light told Speed of somepony else arriving, probably to help Bish and Bash ruin his life further. “Oh no! What happened, Speed?” Recognising Twilight’s voice, Bullet got to his hooves and pointed back at the stallions, who had stopped laughing upon seeing the princess. They vanished in another flash of teleportation magic. Speed cursed again, “Bollocks.” Twilight’s magic enveloped him and in yet another flash of magical light, he and Twilight were elsewhere in Ponyville. More specifically, Ponyville’s park, right by the pond. “I am so sorry, Speed. I didn’t know they’d hurt you! They said your parents were looking for you.” Speed moved to the pond to wash off the dirt. “It’s alright. Can’t expect an Equestrian to consider the possibility that ponies could be racist pricks.” Twilight tried to speak again, but Bullet continued, “Nor can I expect somepony to figure out that I wanted to court Rainbow Dash before I galloped off like a naive foal. Is he nice, her fiancé?” Twilight became ecstatic. “She said yes!? That’s so wonderful!” “I’ll take that as a yes.” With all the dirt he could find washed off, Speeding Bullet grumpily stared at his reflection as the water settled. “Oh, sorry, really. I did work it out, but those brutes held me up with questions about you, and then it was too late.” He took his eyes away from his reflection to look back at Twilight and say, “As unnecessary as your apologies are, I accept them. Thank you for helping me get away from Bish and Bash, too.” “That’s their names?” “Yeah. They’re triplets. Bish is the diplomat, with a silver tongue, and Bash is the main muscle. They may look the same, but that guy has freaky muscle density.” Twilight turned her head a little in confusion, wondering aloud, “You said triplets.” “That I did. Bosh is the third, and some consider him the worst. He’s the magic expert, specialising in stea—” “Specialising in what, sorry? You just stopped—… You okay, Speed? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” While describing Bosh, Speeding Bullet had returned to his reflection, only to find a mare staring back at him. It was to Cliff Jumper’s surprise that she awoke once more, most certainly not dead. A sound the mare recognised to be of somepony operating a shovel was nearby. Maybe her grave was being dug. She’d best make the gravedigger aware of her revival. Eyes opened to see stars beginning to appear, darkness slowly pushing away the amber light of a setting sun. The ‘gravedigger’ stopped shovelling and approached. Cliff turned her head to see Zavine, also alive and well. Behind him was a hole that, even from where Cliff lay, looked very much like a grave. “I see you are back with us. Sleep well?” “What happened?” Cliff enquired, rolling over and lifting herself up. “Ironically, the forces that meant to stop our approach saved our lives. You may have noticed that they induced the Multiversal Madness. Due to your previous interactions with The Book, your life rewound. However, my alternate self did truly die when the blast passed through the door, but being in your local vicinity and suffering from a minor form of the madness, his memories came with you and were passed onto me.” After a good stretch, Cliff sat down. “How was it ironic? They didn’t intend to kill me.” “It is ironic because you now live to fight another day.” The mare examined the Zavine’s handiwork from where she sat. “And the grave?” Zavine went behind Cliff, hefting something up. “That is for dear Hayley.” Back in view once more, Zavine trotted to the grave with a deceased baby dragoness on his back. She had an evident stab wound in her head. “And why is she dead?” Tossing the body into the hole, Zavine replied, “She brought us here.” There was no more speaking for a good minute while Zavine went to work burying Hayley. “Could you just explain it all in one go rather than have me squeeze it out of you with a tonne of questions?” “Hayley here had a gift. Her breath teleports anything it touches. Not dissimilar to that of Spike, that dragon you met in Ponyville in your own reality. However, she did not need a connection to another being to pull it off. She only needs to have an image in her head; that, and she has to tag along with whatever or whoever she sends.” “But it puts a great strain on her body?” “No. I killed her so that she couldn’t go back and tell anypony where we went.” Cliff had guessed this is what truly happened, but she wanted to believe otherwise. “But she’s so young.” “Was, and that added to the likelihood of her giving us away. It had to be done. Besides, she was just a Character, borne of The Writer’s corrupt mind.” Glaring, Cliff growled, “A mercy killing, huh?” “Exactly.” With a few light pats of the shovel, the grave was finished. Cliff got up and took the tool from Zavine’s hooves. Stabbing it into the dirt at one end of the grave, she held out a hoof to the zebra. “Knife.” Without a word, Zavine handed the requested item. Cliff then went on to carve ‘Hayley’ into the shaft. “You didn’t want to lug the shovel around with you, did you?” “Not at all.” With that, the pair of equines began to walk. There was nothing but grassy knolls in all directions, or so they thought, until the sound of waves reached their ears, and they found themselves on a short beach, the distance between soil and water averaging about three feet. As they admired the sunset coming to an end, Zavine spoke up, “You are going to have to find The Book.” “You’re kidding, right?” “I am afraid not.” Zavine turned left and began to walk alongside the shoreline. “The only way you are going to succeed here is if you have the Multiversal Madness on your side. When Cannon Ninja—” Trotting to catch up, Cliff stifled a laugh. “Its name was actually Cannon Ninja? He just announces his name when he kills ponies?” “Yes. When Cannon Ninja killed you, you managed to escape thanks to the infliction. However, you are once more free of the infliction, and you cannot rely on receiving it upon another direct confrontation.” “But isn’t The Writer, well, writing in it, right now?” “The Writer was ‘writing in it’ while you were gathering its ashes. Its contents are infinite, and as such, The Writer’s job is never done.” “But if that’s the case—” “That does not matter. All you need to know is that The Writer uses a tool that links their pen to The Book, making it possible to add to it, wherever it may be. For a long while, the residents of Canakanory kept it secure. It was their possession of the item that would somehow assist them with The Writer’s removal, which is why you need to find it.” “I’m going to guess that some bugger went and looted it ages ago, right?” “Sort of. Many citizens would come and go over the many years. A large group left as the town began to lose its life. They found that their vitality returned once far enough away. They planned to have The Book leave with one of the more responsible townsfolk who intended to leave, but some jealous relative took it with them instead. Their destination was unknown, and I never heard back from those who went out in an attempt to track them.” Cliff let out an exasperated sigh. “Well, this is gonna be fun.” The mare bumped into Zavine, who had stopped in his tracks, looking out at the calm waters. “Why’d we stop?” “It is here that I must leave you, Princess.” Cliff let the misused title slide, what with the sudden announcement of Zavine’s departure. “What!?” Zavine did not turn to face the mare. “Do not worry. I trust you to build your own ka-tet who will assist you in your travels.” “Ka-tet? What are you talking about? Why do you have to go?” “There is another Character who can use the scars Hayley leaves behind when she jumps locations. He will have been angered by his dear sister’s murder. He will want to kill me.” Everything Zavine said just proved to confuse poor Cliff. She noticed a weird shimmering to Zavine’s right. “You’re going to sacrifice yourself for me!?” “This is not for you… I cannot die…” He waited for Cliff to exclaim another ‘What!?’, but nothing came. She was lost for words. From how he spoke of the better days in Canakanory, she’d figured he was unaging, but completely immortal? Also, if this wasn’t because of the book, and he’s from this reality, then… “Have you figured it out yet? I too am one of The Writer’s Characters. I am the first. I was made at the very beginning, hence my simplicity. I am Zavine, The Caretaker, and my life is bound to that of The Writer’s. I can only die when they do. Not before. Not after.” The zebra spun on the spot, tears running down his cheeks. “Please, Princess! Won’t you let me die!?” Right at that moment, an incredibly large, clawed dragon hand burst through Hayley’s scar and grabbed Zavine. It grabbed so tight, his bones cracked audibly. Blood trickled down the claws’ scales. “Zavine!” Clearly in great pain, Zavine wheezed, “Go, Princess… find The Book… gather ka-tet… save… all…” The claws pulled Zavine back through the scar. Cliff dived at them, but both zebra and dragon hand vanished, along with the scar. In their place, Cliff just landed face first in the seawater. Coughing and spluttering, she withdrew her face from the salty brine. The mare cursed loudly, “Dammit! Lost my only guide, don’t know what a ka-tet is, and now my reflection’s gone weird!… Hang on a sec…” It was true, her reflection had gone weird. Instead of her face with longish hair (the colour indiscernible in the night light), a stallion’s face looked back, his mane a little short of shoulder length and slightly windswept. Weirder still was that she could see a reflection at all. The massive body of water before her had gone deathly still. “What the hell is going on here?” Something peculiar was indeed going on, but this was only the start. “Miss Twilight, tell me you’re seeing this too,” Bullet said warily, pointing to the mare in the water. Twilight looked to where he was pointing. “Erm, have you never seen your reflection before?” “What? Of course I have! This ain’t my reflection! To start with, that’s a mare!” “Calm down, Speed. Describe her to me.” “Her coat’s a lighter shade of than mine, as is her mane, which is also longer and smoother, with blue streaks here and there. I think I can just make out a rucksack on her back too. What’s going on here?” “I don’t know. I’ve never heard of this happening before.” A hoof came to rest on his shoulder. “What are you doing, Miss Twilight?” “That’s not me, Speed.” Judging from the concern in Twilight’s voice, Speed had a good idea of who the hoof belonged to. He twisted his neck to see Bosh grinning down at him. “Oh, bloomin’ ‘eck.” Bosh teleported the pair of them away, leaving Twilight by herself with no idea what to do. “So, lads, how’s the family business? Those hot cross buns selling nicely? The sister enjoying her new pastry shop? You know, I was going to pop into that Sugarcube Corner place to see if they were up to snuff, but I seriously doubt it. Your sister’s one hell of a patissier. Best of the b—” “Shut up, soiler!” Bash roared into his face. Bish, Bash and Bosh had Speeding Bullet sat in the middle of some unknown basement with a single light bulb dangling from the ceiling. Slowly, they paced in a big circle around him, equally spaced out. “Don’t let him get to you, brother Bash,” Bosh advised. “They wanted him back alive, remember?” Bash just grumbled and returned to his spot among the pacing ponies. “As I was saying, she’s the best of the best. And not just in cooking either. You guys remember that time we slept together? Bloody good in the bed, too. Hooey, what a way to lose a virginity, eh? She did this one thing when—” “HER FRIENDS DARED HER!!!” Bash broke one of Speed’s legs, causing him to howl in pain. Bosh scolded his brother, “BASH!” Bish spoke up, “Calm down, brother Bosh. They said we could use force should he resist capture, and you know how they feel about him. Where’s the harm in a little pain?” “Oh, hardy har har,” Bullet said sarcastically. “I hope you bite that silver tongue of yours one day.” Bash hit him so hard in the stomach that he slid back a couple metres. He began to cough up some blood. “Brother Bish, let’s go make the arrangements for our trip back.” “Good idea, brother Bosh. I’m sure brother Bash and the soiler want to be left alone. Just be sure to leave his other legs intact. I know none of us want to carry him.” The three brothers shared mocking grins between one another before Bish and Bosh went upstairs. Bash then went to work on beating Speeding Bullet to a pulp. For a while, Cliff Jumper’s reflection returned to normal, but the water remained absolutely still, so the mare waited and waited. To get more comfortable, the rucksack was taken off and put to one side. After an hour, the stallion returned, looking like he’d taken on a professional boxer. “That can’t be good,” she said, nopony around to hear her. “Maybe I should try and help him… I wonder.” Gently, Cliff placed her hoof on the water’s surface. There were no ripples. Putting the hoof through, she felt not water, but warm air, like somepony’s breath. She couldn’t believe it! She was reaching through to the stallion. Without a second thought, she went all the way, her entire body crossing the threshold. The next day, the triplets began preparations to leave. Bullet was escorted out of the basement and to the bathroom. They had made sure there was nothing of use for an escape before letting him in. Speed didn’t need the loo like he had told them, but he wanted to see his reflection again. Lo and behold, in the bathroom mirror, the mare stared back. She frowned at him. He frowned back. She reached a hoof towards him, face now curious. He too was curious, so he just watched. The hoof came through. The mare’s face switched to determination. In seconds, a whole mare came through the mirror. Speed just gawked at her, still unable to believe what had happened. The mare picked herself up from the floor and faced Speed. “So, now that I’m here, what on Luna’s Moon happened to you?” Speed just shushed the mare, making gestures to the door in warning. Bash’s voice came through the door, “What’s going on in there, soiler?” Keeping the need for quiet in mind, the mare mouthed, ‘SOILER!?’ Speed mouthed back, ‘Unicorn. Big. Bad.’ “Soiler! Answer me!” The mare watched Speed begin to have a meltdown, unable to think of anything. Rolling her eyes, she but on her best male voice. “I just hurt my balls. Sorry mate.” The closeness to Bullet’s real voice was uncanny. Even still, he didn’t talk like that. Bash was bound to get suspicious. “Stupid soiler. Just hurry up. We’re about ready to go out here.” Apparently not. The mare smiled smugly at Speed. He mouthed, ‘Thank you. I’m Speeding Bullet.’ She replied, ‘You’re welcome. Call me Glyph Humper.’ Bullet gave the mare a funny look. From outside, Bish called to Bash, “Fetch the soiler, brother Bash. He’s likely done by now, and we need to head out.” And so, Bullet recommenced meltdown. Glyph inaudibly sighed and took a fighting pose at the door. The stallion tried to tell her not to fight these guys, but the door opened wide, and Glyph lunged for Bash. In a single move, she went over his head, grabbing it, swung around and used her momentum to throw Bash into a wall in the living room. The place was apparently going to be demolished soon, so it was abandoned. Bish witnessed Glyph’s Bash-tossing. “What the— Brother Bash! Who are you, soiler!?” “Didn’t your mother ever tell you that’s racist, jackass!?” Glyph roared back. Bish just spat at the mare, produced a knife and charged. Pulling out her own knife, Glyph smirked. “Bad move, shithead.” She placed the knife in her mouth and dodged out the way of Bish’s vertical slash, then immediately went forward, the knife cutting Bish along his side. Once Glyph had gone all the way, she spun round and leapt up onto the now anguished unicorn’s back. Next, the blade was back in a forehoof and slitting his throat. Collapsing to the floor, Bish clawed away at his throat, unable to help himself. There wasn’t time to breathe for the earth ponies, though, as Bosh appeared out of thin air, an energy blast already charged up. Glyph had her knife knocked from her hoof. In response, she pounced. Getting hold of Bosh’s horn, she pulled him downwards, and when the body refused, the two strongly opposing forces caused the horn to break off. More cries of pain assaulted Speed’s ears as he helplessly watched Glyph Humper take on his parents’ best goons all by herself. The element of surprise was likely a major table-turner. The horn was relocated to Bosh’s eye, and he stumbled, crashing through what little remained of the old window, either fainting or dying out in the street. Needless to say, other ponies became aware of Bosh and screamed. “We need to get out of here!” Bullet ordered. “Go through the mirror!” “Seriously!?” “Just do i— gak!” Bash had come back to his senses and pinned Glyph up against a wall, by the neck. “YOU KILLED MY BROTHERS! NOW I KILL YOU!” Glyph’s face was already turning as blue as the streaks in her mane. Bullet had to do something, but what could he do? Maybe ram the unicorn at top speed? But a high speed start already strained the body, and one of his legs was broken and held straight by two boards. But Glyph came from wherever she came from to save him! He had to help! Preparing for the consequential pain his actions would incur on his own body, Speeding Bullet moved into a good position. Focusing, he took off at high speed, ramming Bash. The last of the triplets turned into a crash dummy, limply smacking against another wall. He was still breathing, but the sheer force of the impact had knocked him out cold. Glyph fell to the floor and gasped. Speed smiled before becoming very aware of the searing pain in his leg. The boards had broken and come loose, and some bone was visible. He then cursed with words that would have made even Iron Will cry. “Now that’s Britannian spirit,” Glyph commented. She found her hoofing and helped Speed limp back into the bathroom. A quick test showed that the mirror was still linked to wherever Glyph came from, and she gave Speed the required assistance to get him through it before going through herself.