//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1 
// Story: The Deadline 
// by Smileyface1010 
//------------------------------//

	I sat on a cloud in my favorite spot above Ponyville, right above Town Square. From here, I could see the ponies walk by below, going through the routine of their everyday lives. But this time, my eyes were closed. I was lost in thought, only focusing on the afternoon sun shining down on me.

For the first time in a while, I thought about the past. A few years ago, I didn't have a cutie mark. I couldn't fly. Now, I had both. 


*****


It wasn't long after the Equestria Games that I learned to fly. I literally spent every spare second I had trying to, with help from Rainbow Dash. And then, one day, it just happened. I only flew a few feet, but still. I flew. I had never felt as proud in my whole life at that moment. Not to mention that Rainbow was beaming just as much as I was.

I eventually flew longer and longer distances, until flying was like a second nature to me. Rainbow told me that her "training was complete," but I was welcome to hang out with her anytime. I still did, just not as much. 

I then started applying the same stunts I learned on my scooter in the air. There were many crash landings at first, but eventually I got the hang of it. Even Rainbow Dash was impressed when I showed some of them to her. Said I had a real talent. But who knew that that would be my special talent? Who knew that I would be the first of the Crusaders to get a mark?


*****


"Hey!"

"GAH!!" The voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I spun around, my eyes filled with anger, then relief once I saw the pony that scared me. "Oh... thank Celestia, it's only you, Rumble."

Like I said, I was the first of the Cutie Mark Crusaders to get a mark. And ever since then, me and them have been pretty distant from each other. They got their cutie marks too, eventually, but we were still distant. I want to call them friends still, but things are just... different.

Rumble got his mark around the same time I got mine. We pretty much became friends right after that. People say we're dating, but we deny it. It's not wrong to have a colt as a friend and nothing more, is it?

The bluish-grey pegasus laughed. "You must've been pretty deep in thought, huh?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah...wait, what are you doing here? I thought you were on cloud duty today."

Rumble smirked. "Already done. Doesn't take long to make partly cloudy skies with these babies," he said, flexing his wings. "Hold on, I'll be right back." Before I could speak, the colt zoomed off, returning literally seconds later with a small cloud. He placed the cloud next to mine, laying down with a sigh. "So, what's up?" he asked. "Whatcha thinking about in that brain of yours?"

I shrugged. "Nothing much," I replied, which was partially a lie. I didn't want to tell him that I was thinking about the times before I met him. I don't know, it just seemed awkward. Instead, I looked at him, confidence in my eyes. "Hey," I said with a smirk. "Wanna race?"

Immediately, the same smirk appeared on Rumble's face. "Sure," he said, sitting upright. "Where to?"

I thought for a moment and looked around. We could race to another cloud, but we might destroy it if we do. Town Hall was an option. No, Mayor Mare was having a meeting there today. She wouldn't want us flying into the roof. I turned towards the Everfree Forest. I could see Fluttershy's house from there. And then I saw the tree. It was a smallish tree, right between town and the forest. I pointed toward it. "There," I said.

Rumble looked where I was pointing. "Alright. On three?"

"Yep!" We both stood up, flexed our wings, and got in a starting position. "One?"

"Two?"

"Three!" I shouted, and we both sped off. I pumped my wings as hard as I could, but Rumble was faster. He beat me to the tree a good half second before I did.

Rumble let out a fake yawn. "What took you so long?"

"Oh, shut up," I said, giving him a playful shove. We laughed for a moment before a scream cut us off. We looked at each other, concerned.

"The hell was that?" Rumble asked. 

"I don't know. I think it came from the forest," I said, looking in that direction. I couldn't see much, though. The forest was practically always dark.

Rumble looked in that direction too. "Maybe we should go check it out?"

I shrugged. "Alright."

Rumble nodded and we took off from the tree, flying side by side above the forest. We scanned below, looking for anything interesting, but the Everfree seemed the same as it usually was.

Another scream erupted. It was louder, which meant we were close.

"Down there!" I heard Rumble shout. He flew down towards the forest floor, with me close behind. And then I saw it.

A silver coated unicorn was wandering around the forest floor, muttering something to himself. I almost gasped. His blue (at least I think it was blue, it had a reddish tint to is) mane was a huge mess, and it seemed like it was falling out. His eyes were bloodshot. His entire body was shaking.

Rumble and I shot another glance at each other before turning back to the stallion. "Hey, buddy!" The grey pegasus shouted. "Something wrong?"

The unicorn's head slowly turned toward us, his eyes settling on Rumble. I heard something that sounded like a growl.

"Helloo?" Rumble asked again. "You alri-"

Before Rumble could finish, the stallion lunged at him. He landed flat on his back, with the unicorn's hooves pinning him down. This time, the unicorn made a hissing sound. I was too shocked to move.

"Hey! Get off me, man!" Rumble squirmed underneath him, but the unicorn's grip stayed strong. 

"Beware the Deadline!" the stallion shouted. "Beware! Beware the Deadline! Bewaaaaare!!!" His voice was raspy, as if he'd been screaming a lot.

I jumped back in surprise, but Rumble only groaned. He shot me a glance as if saying, The hell is wrong with this guy? He says stuff like that a lot. Then it dawned on me that I should try to help. But just as I took a step forward, the colt reared his back legs, the ones that weren't being pinned down, and bucked the guy right in the crotch. He let out a howl and flew a good two feet away from Rumble, who was already standing and dusting himself off.

"You know, you could've helped me," he said.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. It was just surprising," The stallion was curled up in a ball, still trembling. Rumble was staring at him hard.

"What?" I asked.

He didn't look up. "This guy... he seems... somewhat familiar. I just can't put my hoof on it," he said. I looked at the unicorn. He didn't look familiar at first glance, but then...

"Silver Coin?!" I exclaimed. 

Rumble looked up at me. "What?" 

"Remember when the playground got redone at Ponyville Elementary? There was a lot of workers there, and this one unicorn with a clipboard, just watching. I went up to him and asked what he was doing, and he told me he was the supervisor. He even told me his name. Silver Coin!"

Rumble's gaze went back to the guy. "Oh yeah..." he said. And then his expression changed to something I didn't recognize. He looked at me again. "Wasn't he in charge of that tunnel?"

This time, I looked at Rumble, confused. "What tunnel?" I immediately shook my head, understanding. "Oh, right! That one that was supposed to run underneath the forest? The Everfree Express or something like that?"

Rumble nodded. "Yeah, that one. Didn't it close down or something?"

"Yep. I heard it was for budget cuts."

Rumble gave me a look I've never seen him give me before. A completely serious look. "And did you ever see any of the workers after they shut it down?"

I thought about it for a moment. "Nope. I  thought they all went to work in another city or something." I could tell the colt was onto something.

"Right. After the way this guy's been acting, something tells me that's not it. What if... what if they're trapped inside the tunnel?"

A chill went through my body. Maybe the tunnel didn't close just for budget cuts. I wasn't sure what to say, so I just looked at him. Usually, I was the smart one.

"Let's go check it out," he said.

My eyes widened in surprise. "What? Are you crazy? We could get hurt! Or killed! Or worse!"

"Or we could save the town," Rumble suggested.

I just looked at him in confusion.

"Think about it," he said. "This guy... uh, Silver Coin, escaped the tunnel. And as far as we know, he went completely insane. What if the other workers escape? We need to go down there and kick their butts before they do,"

I sighed. "But can't we have somepony else go down there and-"

"Nope," Rumble interjected. A small smile appeared on his face. "I've always wanted to do something worth remembering. Let's go. You and me."

This was crazy. But Rumble had a point. Even if we did go back to town and get some stronger ponies to help us, the workers could escape while we were gone. "Alright," I said after a moment. "Let's go." 

"Alright! Oh, wait, hold on a sec. I gotta do one last thing." He trotted over to the unicorn and gave him a look of disgust. Then, he kicked the guy right in the face. The guy howled, then went unconscious. Rumble looked back at me with a smirk. "That should keep him out for a while,"

"You're crazy," I said, smiling a little now. I pointed to some trampled bushes nearby. "Looks like he came from that way."

Rumble nodded. "Let's go then," he said, trotting off in that direction. I stayed close by his side.


*****


We walked in silence for a good ten minutes before I felt my foot hit something hard. Metal. "Gah!" I screamed as I tripped over it, landing on my stomach.

Rumble looked back and chuckled. "Well, at least I'm not the only clutz around here," he said, offering me a hoof. I took it and stood up, turning back toward the thing I tripped over. It was a metal hatch, the initials EE engraved on it. It was pretty hard to see with the overgrown grass covering it.

"EE?" I said. "For Everfree Express?" 

"Probably," He opened the hatch. A high pitched creak sounded, and I winced. A set of metal stairs led downward. The tunnel.

"After you," Rumble said.

This was my last chance to back out. I could die in there. But like Rumble, I wanted to do something important. And this was my chance. Slowly, I walked down the stairs. I heard Rumble's hoofsteps behind me.

It was a long staircase, but we eventually made it to the bottom. A creepy white mist hung in the air, making me cough. We were in a large open area, the walls and ceiling made of metal. I noticed something a few feet in front of me, and walked over to it. Rumble followed.

It was a sign. There was a bare spot on the wall above it where it should be hanging, but it was on the ground. I squinted and read the words Everfree Express.

"Whoa..." I heard Rumble say behind me.

I was about to ask what when I noticed it. I couldn't read the sign well because it was covered with different words. The Deadline, it read. Written in dark red. Blood.

"Yep, I'm outta here," I stated, turning around on my heel towards the staircase. But just as I did, a loud metal clang sounded, so loud that it echoed. Rumble and I looked at each other, then ran up the stairs as fast as we could.

The hatch was closed. Rumble pushed against it, but it wouldn't budge. "Shit..." I heard him mutter.

Shit was right. We were trapped.