//------------------------------// // La La // Story: Not\e/worthy // by YarnWeaver //------------------------------// Not\e/worthy Part of the PonyEarthVerse By: YarnWeaver Chapter 11: La La Day 08 - Sunday, ??:?? "Oh, I can hardly wait to see you, my friends!" "Grrmmm...ponies are the enemy of society..." Sigh... How did I get roped into this? The Free Masons and Shriners are supposed to be organizations dedicated to fostering brotherhood and community, about coming together to help our fellow members when they're in a bind and staying true to eachother. But this...? Our chapter really hasn't been the same since our last Master Mason, Mr. Timothy Johnson, passed away. He was a legend. His successor to the Master Mason title, Wilbur Denton? Not so much. Don't get me wrong, the two of them seemed like they were good friends, but after the funeral...it was almost like a switch flipped in Wilbur. It wasn't long before he was requiring all Free Masons to join his...other group. That's why I got out. I got as far away from Santa Fe as I could bear. I couldn't bring myself to leave Texas, though. I was born here, raised here. That's why I settled for Texarkana. I kept telling myself I could just cross the border anytime I chose, but I kept putting it off. Then the Pony Earth Incident began. At least that's what the news came to call it. For about a week or so, nothing changed. I did start seeing a few more of my neighbors become ponies each day, but there wasn't anyone connected to me who changed, so my daily routine, by and large, stayed the same. That is, until Saturday night rolled around. That's when the call came in. An old Mason friend of mine from the time before Wilbur took over had phoned me at close to 7 p.m., informed me that a van was making a stop in town, told me to offer shelter and aid to those in it and reminded me of my retained status. She was calling on me not for a favor as a friend but for my duty as a fellow Mason. I tried to object, but she said they were already on their way. She said that a new friend of hers would be calling in periodically to check their status, and that if I wasn't being the most helpful I could be...well, she left the consequences up to my imagination. And, Heaven help me, I agreed. They came up to my hotel room not long after that with more than a dozen suitcases and other assorted pieces of luggage. Among them was a large kennel. The cage door was covered with a blinder, but I could vaguely see the outline of something moving in there. While I was eying the animal in the kennel, one of the guys raided my hotel fridge and pulled out the remains of a three-day-old bag of salad mix and half a cucumber. Then he came back over and jostled up the kennel a bit before opening both the blinder and the cage door, tossing the vegetables in and locking it right back up. For the briefest of moments, I caught a glimpse of exactly what it was that they were transporting. It was a small, blue pony with a darker blue mane and yellow eyes. I was immediately reminded of all the people I'd seen around town who were humans one day and ponies the next. I made the connection...and almost vomited right there. "Hey! Don't go gettin' any bright ideas, bub! When we leave, we're takin' that thing with us." I looked up at him, nearly sick, and took in the sight of him. Though, through my bleary eyes, I couldn't make out the details of his face. I did, however, see his shirt. Black. Red letters on the chest. P.A.P.A. They only stayed the one night, and come Sunday morning, they were gone. Well, most of them. They were two guys, a thin, lanky, kinda homely looking one named Greg, and a much larger, much tougher one Greg identified as Chet. They stayed, along with the bulk of the suitcases. Way too many for just two guys. It was then that I finally made the decision. I was going to flee the state to get away from them while they slept in. I was making a good pace, and I was almost across the border into the other half of Texarkana, when a giant mirror just plopped right down in the center of town from out of nowhere! There wasn't any time to react, and my Ford Contour slammed right into it! Fortunately enough for me, I was wearing my seatbelt, and the airbag deployed. Unfortunately, I blacked out shortly afterward. When I finally came to, it was already evening. I was back in my hotel room and there were ol' Greg and Chet again. They were on the phone with their boss, but that didn't last long. They turned to me when they were done, and Greg had this sickening smile on his face. "There, there, my friend, you really worried us with that little stunt you pulled. You're really quite lucky that you weren't injured in that crash! Otherwise you wouldn't be able to help us with our luggage." He gestured to the myriad of suitcases in the living area. Oh, no. They're not seriously going to make me... "Oh, and I'm so sorry, my friend, but it seems Chet and I accidentally ruined your key card getting you back into your room. I'm afraid you won't be able to access the elevators without it. Such a shame, really. Oh, well. I guess you'll just have to make do with the stairs!" They are. Then Chet just grabbed me by the arm and yanked me out of the bed, stood me up on my feet and pointed to the bags. "Move." So here I am with Greg and Chet, an eternity later, on the roof of the hotel, unloading the contents of those suitcases. Greg pulled out an odd device and gave it to me. "Now, my friend, this is the GPS tracker we'll be using to corner our quarry. Do be a good lad and get it up and running while we get our little money-maker put together." I really shouldn't have asked. I really, truly shouldn't have asked, but I did anyway. "Um...what do you mean by "money-maker"?" Chet didn't even turn away from his work as the pieces he was pulling out of the suitcases were starting to look like some kind of mounting structure. "This thing cleans up, we all get paid." Day 08 - Sunday, 9:16 P.M. "You see, we are Apple Pie!" "Ugh, can we please watch something else?" I rolled my eyes at Jack's comment. "Well, yeah, we can. But we're not just watching it for entertainment, you know. Besides, it's my laptop. I can easily just decide not to use it at all. Y'all are the ones behind, not me." "I think Jack's got a point, though, Barty. There's definitely other things we could be spending our time on." Mom yawned. Everyone else froze. We all knew what falling asleep meant now, and while she, James and I have all been up for about the same amount of time, the two of us brothers were far more accustomed to it. Of course Mom also picked up on all our worrying. "D-Damon, Honey, I'm..." Then he just launched himself up into her arms! "Shhh...Jennifer, it's okay. I'm right here." She hugged him close. "But what if you don't recognize me after this? I d-don't think I could..." He put his forelegs around her shoulders and rubbed her back as he returned her hug. "You know I'll always come back to you. Remember everything God's brought us through? Remember this?" Of course! He pointed to the thin chained, golden charm necklace she was wearing. On it were two gold charms in the shape of hearts, one was carved with their initials: DM and JJ, and the other was a frame with a cross in the middle. "Remember when we lost it all those years ago? Remember all the time we spent looking for it all those times we moved?" He pulled himself up to face her. "Remember how God restored it to us..." Mom nodded and finished his sentence. "...through time and space. Y-Yes." "He has a plan for us; to prosper us and not to harm us. Even now in these uncertain times, His Hand is still working to our benefit. If we put our trust not in ourselves or even in eachother, but in Him, then even if you do change, it won't matter because He never will." And as long as she's wearing that charm necklace, we'll definitely be able to recognize her! It's perfect! Mom finally started to smile again. "And besides, no matter what you look like, you'll always be my Tiger Lily." Aaand then came the tears. "A-And you'll always b-be my Honey Bear!" Not a dry eye in the room, I tell ya'. Once they'd cried and hugged themselves out, Dad pulled away. "Now, -sniffle- I think some prayer is in order." I, for one, agree. We all gathered around Mom and laid our hands on her; yes, even Jack, though I don't think he really had any idea what he was doing. "Father, we come to You in a time of uncertainty. Only You know what lies ahead, and within Your Path, there can be no doubt. We come into Your Presence boldly, knowing that You reward those who diligently seek You." "Yes, Father." Mom cried. "Father, we lift up Jenniffer in our prayers tonight. Keep Your Daughter safe this night, while she sleeps, Father. Let nothing come to harm her, and if she may indeed become a part of these changes people are going through, Father, let it be for Your Purpose, and may she use that circumstance to follow Your Will, just as she would were it not to be." "Lead her as You lead us all, Father." James added. "Once again, Father, we pray for our continued safety as well as Daniel's, wherever he may be, and in whatever situation he may find himself. Guide him, Father. Guide him back to us." "And let him find allies, friends even, that he can trust and that will help him in any way he may need." I put in as well. "Yes, Father, and let him be of help to those he finds as well. Help him to grow as a man and to grow in You." Dad paused. Jack, likely feeling the need to contribute something as well, voiced his own request. "Uh...if you're really out there, Danny needs help. I don't know what you can do, or even who you are, but if you can help him, then do it." Well! I'm impressed! I didn't think he had it in- "And get him a girlfriend while You're at it." Oh geez! We all cracked up at that, and Mom even let out a joyful, "Halleluiah!" "Yes, Father! All this and more! Every blessing You have for us, we pray, let them loose! Even what we dare not ask in our wildest dreams, if it is within Your Will, then let Your Will be done!" "In Your Holy Name we pray. Amen." And with that, we all let out our remaining emotional tension with a big family group hug. Mom even pulled Jack into it. Though I imagine it wasn't that hard, given how small he is now and how soft his fur must be. After that, we all said 'Good night' to Mom, turned out the lights inside the RV, and ventured out into the city. 9:25 P.M. That was...different. I'm not sure how else to describe it. I really wasn't expecting anything. I just felt like I needed to say something back there. Like there was a void that needed to be filled, if only just so there wouldn't be silence. Then I just blurted that last part out like I was talking to a real person! Why did I do that? Everyone else seemed to like what I had to say, at least. That's something. Meh. Anyways, on to more important things. The four of us had been walking up the side of the freeway for a few minutes, passing the time with some idle chat and groaning at more of Mr. Michaels's terrible puns. By the time we'd gotten more-or-less into the actual vicinity of the city, I'd had just about enough of- -zeee- Wha!? -eeee- Okay, I take it back! The puns were nowhere near as bad as this! It was this low buzzing sound. No matter what I did, it wouldn't go away! I tried to drone it out, it stayed there; I tried just stopping everything else, it stayed there; I tried to cover up my ears, it got louder! And on top of all of that, ever since I started hearing it, my new wings started acting up. Twitching, flexing, itching, it was just so aggravating! -eeee- It just kept boring into my brain! It was demanding my attention. It refused to be ignored, and all my efforts to either deal with it or block it out only made it worse! -eeee- "AAAUUUGH!!" I heard the others shouting something at me, but I'm just too distracted by this painful buzzing to figure out what they're saying. -eeee- Alright! THAT'S IT! Where's it coming from?! Something in my mind clicked, and I could almost see the buzzing in the air! -EEEE- My teeth ground together, and I could feel every muscle in my body tense up. Okay, whatever you are, I don't care what I have to do, I'm finding out what's causing this noise and putting a stop to it! ??:?? "HRRRRK! There. I'm done." "Excellent work, my friend! Now, let's fire it up!" "Hey! You!" I gulped as Chet turned away from his work on what now looked like a pivot-able, base-mounted rocket launcher. "M-Me?" "Yeah, you! That tracker working yet!?" "Yes, absolutely!" Greg chimed in from his position hunched over the controls to the weapon's systems, "We need the position from that handy GPS tracker to adjust for our money-maker's bearing and pitch, my friend! So please, do read off those coordinates for us!" The device rattles in my unsteady hands. My voice catches in my throat. Oh, please! Somebody, anybody! I don't want to do this! Help me! 9:34 P.M. -KRA-POW!- "JACK!" Without so much as a word, he just...launched himself off of the sidewalk and into the air! Then, of all the things that could happen, Barty started running off after him! "Wait! Barty!" He didn't stop or even slow down! He just called back to us as he ran. "Don't worry! I've still got my phone on me! Try to find out what's going on with that mirror! Call me if you find out anything! See ya'!" I don't believe this! "Barty!!" Suddenly, I felt Dad's hoof on my leg. "James, don't bother chasing him! Think about what you're doing! I need you here! You're my only way of keeping in contact with anyone!" I... "You're right. I...we need to focus on what we're doing here." "That, and Barty's in much better shape than you. You wouldn't have stood a chance." "DAD!" "What?! It's the truth! If you wanna do something about it, start by losing some weight!" "Not what I meant, Dad!" "I'll even help you! C'mon! Last one to the mirror's a smelly hunk of Limburgher!" He...he just started running! After what he just said... I don't have much choice but to chase after him, I'm the one with the phone after all. Doesn't mean I have to like it. "Daaaaad!" ??:?? I made up my mind. I'm not going to let these two thugs get what they're after. I hid the GPS tracker behind me and slowly backed away from them, shaking my head. Greg sighed at that, then he got up and...Good Lord! That's not how a smile's supposed to look! "My friend, don't you think you're a little too deep into this to be trying to back out now?" Chet cracked his knuckles. Oh, God... Oh, God! Oh, please, God, I know we haven't really been on speaking terms lately, but I promise to come clean about this whole thing to the authorities if you please just help me! Then Chet started walking towards me as Greg just stood there and watched. I shut my eyes in anticipation of the worst. -wheeen!- "Hey. What's that sound?" My eyelids flew back open to reveal to me that Chet had stopped and was looking somewhere off to my right. -wheeen!- I followed his gaze, and at first I saw nothing. Then, I noticed a tiny speck of color moving against the night sky. Greg's expression quickly dropped from smug and victorious, to confused and fearful. "What...in the world...?" Then we heard it's terrible yell! "YAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!" By the time I could make out the creature's eyes...and its teeth, it was too late. "YAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!" "AAAAAHHH!!" It plowed right into me! In my fear, I lost my grip on the GPS tracker, and it was sent flying into the air as well. But that didn't matter to me. I was busy screaming my lungs out! I flailed around on the rooftop trying desperately to get that tracker back! "NOOO! My paycheck!" Eventually, it plopped right into my waiting clutches! "Whew! That was close! However, I wasn't quite paying as much attention to my surroundings as I should have. "Whuh?!" In my haste, I'd stepped onto a slightly more sensitive section of the edge of the hotel's roof. It gave way beneath me. "Gahack! Oh, thank heavens, I caught the ledge! Chet! Get over here and pull me up!" -...- "Chet?!" "...Pony..." "What?!" "Ponies are the enemy...PONIES ARE THE ENEMY OF SOCIETY!!" "CHET, I DON'T CARE IF THE PONY'S TRYING TO GUN YOU DOWN ITSELF! GET OVER HERE AND PULL ME UP BEFORE I-" -Click!- "Wha? NO! Oh, shit! I turned it off!" ??:??