I pressed the throttle forward and began to fly with ever increasing speed. I watched as the tree canopy passed beneath helo and the clouds gave way to the winds that my rotors were throwing out. I didn’t see this guide Twilight told me about. I continued to head on a northwest heading toward the original crash site. I turned my head to my right and was met with a steady wind from the hole in the window. The wind wasn’t an unwelcomed guest at this point due to the inside of the helo being somewhere in the 90s.
The trees continued to thin out until I saw the crater beneath me. I pulled the joystick back and felt the remaining momentum dissipate as the helo leaned backwards. I hovered over the impact crater and looked down. I could see where I had initially landed and the makeshift grave for Ivan. I lowered my altitude to around 200ft and waited.
Not far from the horizon, I could see a rainbow approach me. I waited for a minute as the rainbow continued to get closer and closer until it was no more than 50ft from the helo’s nose. The rainbow suddenly stopped and dissipated until I could see the rainbow maned pony form earlier. I watched as she struggled with the wind of the helo and flapped her wings with ever increasing diligence. She motioned with a hoove to follow. I dipped the nose of the helo as if it was a nod.
Dash turned with her back facing me and shot me a look as she prepared herself. It was one of the “Try to keep up” looks. She immediately took off as a rainbow followed in her trail. I pushed the joystick forward and maxed out speed at 200mph. She continued to get farther and farther away until all I could see was a trail of rainbows. ‘How the fuck does she do that?’ I asked myself, but soon realized that I am asking that in a world where unicorns and pegasui exist.
I watched the ground below the helicopter become more and more tame as I assumed the settlement was ahead. I watched as a town that looked like it was out of a fairy tale came into view. I could see what looked like a tree farm or something of that nature passed under me. I looked at the dashboard for a moment and saw that I had around 60% power remaining. I turned my attention to the horizon and saw that the sun was almost gone. I had lost Dash by this point, but the message was clear; we had arrived.
I circled the town once and tried to find a clear landing zone. If I chose a bad one, I could risk damaging the rotor blades severely or breaking off the tail. I watched as brightly colored houses and businesses passed under the helo. From what I could tell, the houses seemed to be tailor made to each of the owners specifically. I passed house that looked like it was made out of candy for instance.
I figured finding a landing zone in town was pointless, probably due to no one ever thought something the size of my helicopter would try to land in it. I jerked the joystick to the right and started to make my way to the farm I had found earlier. I moved away from the town and noticed that the sun was now down at this point. I flipped the external light switch and watched as the various indicator lights and headlight came to life. The farm was not in view and I could see a fence surrounding a few barns and a small farm house. The house looked like a scaled down version of an old style American ranch house. I hovered over the center of the farm and searched for a suitable landing zone. After a few moments, I found a clear area near the back end of the land. I pushed the joystick forward and noticed a small red figure emerge from a nearby barn. As I turned my attention to the landing zone, I could see that the zone was surrounded by trees on all sides. I carefully positioned my helo over the area and lowered the throttle slightly. I felt the helo continue to lower slowly into the area. The trees began to lose branches and leaves and the wind picked up on the ground. The wheels finally made contact with the ground with the familiar thud, meaning I had made a safe landing. I dropped the throttle and hit the kill switch. The rotors slowly came to a stop and I walked into the passenger cabin. I grabbed my rifle and pulled back the charging rod. I pulled my handgun out and pulled back the slide. I returned the handgun to the holster at my side and grabbed as much ammo as I could carry. I felt like I was ready for anything.
I left my helmet on and slid the cabin door open. I watched as the tree began to return to their normal state and the moon rise overhead. I readied my rifle and jumped to the ground. My boots connected with soft, brown dirt. I turned on the flashlight on my rifle and clicked the safety off. I turned as slid the door closed and locked it. I raised my rifle and decided the make my way to the farm house I saw. I walked cautiously as it was almost impossible to navigate in the darkness.
I heard a bush rustle behind me and I raised my rifle at it. The flashlight revealed a small figure in the bush, maybe no bigger than a baby german shepard.
“I’ve had a bad day so let’s make this simple; come out and you will not be harmed.” I said with as much authority I could muster.
I saw the figure cower in the bush for a moment before I heard “Help!”
Out of nowhere, I heard heavy footsteps approaching rapidly. I turned to find out what it was and felt something connect with my midriff. I was pushed back a few feet and landed on my back. I saw a little pony with white fur, red hair, and a bow run away from me, yelling all the while. I turned my attention to my attacker and saw the red figure from earlier standing over me. I try to say something but felt a hoove connect with my nose, breaking it. That small amount of pain ran through me. Whatever had attacked me, had unleashed my anger.
I tossed my rifle to the side and said “Is this how you treat all your guests?!”
The figure seemed confused for a moment before I landed a blow to its face. The figure stumbled back, allowing me to get to my feet. I could see that the figure was that of the ponies form earlier. It had red fur and a picture of a green apple on his backside. I ran a few combat scenarios in my head and figured that shooting it wouldn’t go down well with the locals. The red pony kicked some dirt with his front right hoove. He charged me with great speed. I jumped to the side, barely avoiding him. He turned and tried again. As he ran toward me, I found my chance. I sidestepped and grabbed his head as he passed. He gave a suppressed gasp and I tackled him to the ground. I repeatedly punched him until I heard footsteps running towards me. I looked up and found a familiar shade of orange approach me. I climbed to my feet and collected my rifle. I brought it to the red pony and leveled it with his head.
“Stand down motherfucker!” I commanded with my remaining strength.
I heard a gasp from Applejack “What did you do to ma’ brother?!”
I looked down at the beaten pony and saw that he had been bruised and bloodied, but nothing that couldn’t heal in time. I took the flashlight off the rifle, slung the rifle on my back and took off my helmet and put it under my arm.
I raised my flashlight to my face revealing my broken nose and bloody face “He charged me and broke my nose. I retaliated ma’am.”
“I understand,” she began “you looked like you were going to attack Applebloom.”
“Applebloom? You mean that little pony that ran off when I looked at her?”
“Tha’ be her. Let’s go get ya nose fixed.”
I raised my hand, signaling the ‘no, wait.’ response. I got a strange look from Applejack and I raised my hands to my nose. I placed my hands on each side and jerked it into place with a loud crack, followed by pain.
I let out a small yelp and said “That won’t be necessary. I need to meet Twilight first.”
She gave me a strange look followed by a nod of compliance. I unslung my rifle and slid my flashlight back on it. I began to walk toward her and stopped by the red pony and flipped him off. He gave me a strange look, obviously not getting the gesture.
-outskirts of the town-
I had been walking side by side with Applejack in sullen silence for the past 20mins. I could feel blood running on my face from my fight earlier and my nose throbbing in pain. The moon was in full swing by the time I reached the center of town. Applejack signaled me to follow her. She led me through a small courtyard.
While standing in the courtyard, Applejack pointed to a tree house and said “There’s her place. I need to head back to ma’ farm. Can you making it from here?”
I nodded in response and she walked off into the night. I unslung my rifle and rested it in front of me. My nose by this point had begun to swell and become discolored, causing me an immense amount of pain. I grunted and mentally told myself that I was just going to shoot first and ask questions later.
I made it to the door and I rested my rifle on my shoulder, freeing one of my hands. I pounded on the door a few times and waited. No response. My head had begun to pound at this point and I wasn’t having it. I dropped my rifle into my hands and beat it into the door. I noticed a light come on in the upstairs window, followed by what sounded like footsteps. I rested my rifle into my hands again and waited.
The door opened to reveal a recently awoken Twilight “You know what time it is?” she said obviously not realizing who it was.
“I thought you’d be more excited to see me.” I said trying to cover up the displeasure in my voice.
Twilight suddenly recognized my voice and her eyes light up. She looked and me and immediately jumped back.
“What happened to you?!” she said worryingly.
“The welcoming party was a little on the rough side.” I said with a sarcastic overtone “Don’t worry, I returned the favor.”
Twilight immediately motioned for me to come inside and sit on the floor. Blood had soaked into my flight suit at this point and I began to leave a blood drops in the floor. She came back to me with a damp rag and I snatched it. I pressed the damp rag to my face and was relieved almost instantaneously. I rubbed my face into the rag and brought it away from my face. The rag was almost completely bloodied. I brought my attention to my surroundings and saw shelves upon shelves of books. I took my rifle from my lap and set it against a wall.
“What happened?” she asked again in a stern voice.
“Why do you want to know?” I shot back.
“Because I care, that’s why.”
I dropped the rag into my lap and looked her dead in the eye. In all my life, no one cared where I lived or died, why would they suddenly start now? I ran through possible things to say to her and came up with nothing.
I sighed and said “Long or short version?”
“The short will do.” She said
“I landed on Applejack’s farm around sun down,” I began “I walked through her crops before I heard something rustling in the bushes. I went to check on it and was attack by some big red fucker. He broke my nose, so I fought back full force. He didn’t die but he won’t be working anytime soon.”
Twilight seemed to be sympathetic to my story and put a hoove on my shoulder. I pushed it off.
“I don’t need sympathy. That red pony is lucky I didn’t end him.”
She gave me a sad look as if she had lost a battle. I turned and grabbed my rifle. I pulled back the charging handle and retrieved the bullet in the chamber. I held it out in my hand. Twilight’s horn glowed for a moment and the bullet left my hand.
“What’s this?” she asked quizzically.
“That was the bullet that almost ended your friend’s life. That is your token from me. I do not like debt; no one does anything for free. You hold on to that and you can redeem it for a favor later.”
I got back to my feet and slung my rifle onto my shoulder, now one bullet lighter. I turned and walked to the door.
“I’m heading back to my helicopter for some shut eye. You need me, just knock.”
I opened the door and walked out of it. I stopped a few feet from it and looked back. I could see Twilight standing at the door. I shook my head and told myself to keep moving.