//------------------------------// // Chapter 17: Error // Story: Lost and Fallen // by Superdale33 //------------------------------// Lost and Fallen Chapter 17: Error “And that’s how I got back here,” I said, my tone hardly hiding my rage. Sitting in the same damn prison, in the same damn cell. Square one all over again, except this time, there was no getting out. The cloud material that surrounded me furthered my anger, reminding me where I was, and what had just happened. Someone had shot Fleetfoot with my revolver, and that someone was not me. A Pegasus pony did it obviously, but who specifically - and how - was what was running through my mind. Of course, it could have been Lightning Dust, but she was with Rainbow Dash, and she wouldn’t lie to me. Not after what we’ve been through. “I… can’t believe it,” I heard Spitfire mutter, and I focused on her, finding her lying on her own bed, her head sitting on top of her forelegs. My small tale was getting to her, and pretty hard as well. We didn’t know each other for very long, but we already had some connection together. It could have been that we were both locked up in the same prison, or because she didn’t hate me right away like other ponies. Either way, I thought of her as a friend to confine my plight. Hopefully, she thought of me the same way. In this world, and in this city, friends were a little hard to come by. “What’s so hard to believe?” I asked with a shrug, standing to my feet to stretch out my muscles. The small walk in Cloudsdale had barely affected my sore body. “You’re working so hard to get ponies to like you,” she explained, her eyes flickering over to me. “And then somepony frames you like that. It’s just… unfair.” The reuse of that word made me chuckle, though it was halfhearted. It was far too true to laugh at, and my mirth was hollow enough for Spitfire to hear it. I could tell because she didn’t ask about it; she already knew. The silence that followed allowed me to continue to think about the suspects who probably framed me. It couldn’t have been Flitter, that I can assure myself. She was too fragile to even attempt to shoot a gun, let alone shoot it at another of her kind. Come to think of it, who in their right mind would shoot another pony just to get me in trouble? That kind of action is unthinkable. How desperate were these ponies to resort to that? It was a human thing to do, and it sent a chill up my spine. My species was changing these ponies for the worst. If we didn’t act fast, it would degrade even further. Who knew what these ponies would do to win. Torture was my greatest fear, not because they might do it to me, but because they might do it to themselves. Their ship of kindness and compassion was sinking, and those who were becoming human were dragging those who had a shred of decency down into the depths. It was despicable. “I hope Fleetfoot is okay,” Spitfire spoke aloud, catching my attention. My curious gaze hinted that I was wondering if they had a relationship of some sort. Thankfully, Spitfire caught it and continued to explain. “We trained in the Wonderbolt Academy together. And when things went bad, we worked together to save who we could. It wasn’t until Lightning changed the Wonderbolts to the Cloudsdale Hunters did we separate.” “I’m sorry,” I mumbled, my guilt burning through my chest. Spitfire picked her head up as she faced me fully, her expression of pure confusion. “Sorry for what?” she asked quietly, as if afraid of the answer. I shook my head, putting a hand on my forehead in anguish, “If I hadn’t come up here, none of this would’ve happened. Your friend’s life wouldn’t be at stake, the Pegasi would choose to help the Resistance, and… just… everything.” Spitfire didn’t speak. I didn’t know if she was blaming me, but I kept speaking anyway. Probably so I could postpone her reply. “Why am I even here?” I asked rhetorically, closing my eyes in frustration, “I’m forcefully taken from my world and thrown into Equestria, and for what? So I could pay for my damn sins? So more people can suffer from my actions?” “No, don’t think like that,” Spitfire retorted as she pushed herself up to stand on her bed. Her expression and voice was sincere, genuinely surprising me. I thought she would have some animosity towards me after what happened to her friend. “I know things don’t go your way all the time, and… I am a bit mad that my friend is gravely injured because of you.” Ah, there it is. “But you had to have been brought here into Equestria for some reason, right?” She did know I wasn’t from the North like the other humans, so I had to wonder if she believed me that I wasn’t from this world. My eyes lingered on her before drifting to just below her. She was correct that I had to have been brought to this world for a reason, and by the looks of things, it was for these ponies. Remnants of that stone flashed through my mind, the one that resembled a sun. It was definitely a link to my arrival in Equestria, and with the knowledge that Celestia controlled the sun, it didn’t take long for me to pin her for being responsible. But Luna couldn’t detect her presence, if Luna wasn’t lying when she told me that. I was brought to Equestria months after Celestia’s ‘disappearance’, so she had to be alive. Plus, the sun was still rising and falling like it normally did - well, ‘normal’ as in a magical Alicorn was moving it. Celestia must have been concealing herself with magic, so the Baron wouldn’t use Luna to find her. It made a whole lot of sense, but that begged one important question. Where was Celestia? “Brought here for a reason,” I repeated, sitting back down on my bed, staring up at the ceiling, “I’ll just have to wait and see if that’s the case.” Spitfire smiled gently, lying back on her bed as she kept her gaze on me. “Even if you weren’t, Nolan,” she said quietly, “You saved lives. And there’s nopony who can change that.” “No,” I agreed with a nod, my brow furrowing ever so slightly, “But there are people who can ignore them.” That statement turned Spitfire’s mood around, making her frown sadly as her ears drooped. I glanced at her before looking off to the side. As hard as it was to admit, these ponies were quite adorable when their ears did that. Did it take me that long to figure that out? I mean, these ponies were already cute to begin with… I put a hand over my eyes as I shook my head. My brain had jumped from ‘little girl’ cute to ‘fall in love’ cute. Why my brain had jumped to such a conclusion was bizarre, but it wasn’t completely off either. Damn… what was this world doing to me? I shook out those thoughts; there’s no time for daydreaming about pony love - no matter how distracting it was. I needed to focus on my situation; I was in jail, and I was more than likely to stay in there if I or my friends couldn’t come up with something. However, I simply couldn’t drive the subject out. Hell, it even jumped over to how I felt about Carrot Top, or Applejack. These were ponies for crying out loud, and there I was thinking how cute they looked. Jesus fucking christ, I needed help. The soft thuds of approaching hoofsteps stopped the flow of awkward thoughts as I parted my fingers to peer past my hand. Spitfire was standing at the bars, watching the hallway with a raised brow. Then, she blinked in surprise, as she backed away. The sound of two walking ponies got louder as they came into view from my right. The first person to appear was Flitter without her uniform, her head hung low as she stared at the floor. My eyes widened a bit, but softened to understanding as a guard followed behind her. Spitfire and I watched as Flitter stopped at a cell to the left of Spitfire, and the guard stepped past her and pulled it open. Afterwhich, Flitter walked inside, and when the guard slammed the door shut, she flinched whipped around. Her eyes gazed straight ahead as her breathing became ragged. As if she was suddenly aware of where she was, her breathing became suppressed sobs as she slowly lowered herself to the ground, covering her eyes with both hooves It didn’t take a vivid imagination to know she was crying. How depressing. The guard remained uncaring as he walked off down the hallway, leaving us alone again. Spitfire moved as close as she could to Flitter’s cell, pressing her body against the wall that separated them. Her mood had already taken a dive from my grim attitude, but seeing Flitter in such a state made things worse. “Hey,” she said, giving a motherly tone that I didn’t know she had. She was looking at the wall like she could see through it, and her sorrowful expression almost made me believe she could, seeing how Flitter was feeling. “You alright?” The sobs didn’t stop, and Flitter made no move to reply. Undaunted by the response, Spitfire closed her eyes, relaxing her body as she sat on her haunches. “Nolan told me what happened,” she said, “How you were supposed to watch him and make sure he doesn’t get in trouble. Then, how someone shot Fleetfoot…” She took a shaky breath, closing her eyes tighter as if to fight off her tears. “I f-failed,” Flitter whimpered at last, her voice so low that we were lucky to catch it. Neither Spitfire nor I dared to interrupt her, waiting patiently for her to speak when she wanted to. “I was given one simple job, a-and… I couldn’t even do that.” She tightened herself into a ball, trying to be as small as possible. “I deserve to be here.” “No, you don’t,” I snapped, standing to my feet and making Flitter flinch, finally uncovering her eyes to show how red they were. Spitfire had opened her eyes as well, facing me to hear what I had to say. “Someone else shot Fleetfoot and framed me for it. You only got in trouble because you were there watching me. You know that another Pegasus was the cause of all this. Why lie to yourself?” “I don’t…” Flitter said, raising her head as she looked at her hooves, “Because I don’t want to believe another Pegasus shot a pony. It’s just… It’s not right!” “Neither is being framed for something you didn’t do,” I retorted, glaring at her slightly. She must have felt my gaze, because she was a little bit more tense than before. Spitfire turned her head between Flitter and me, her sympathy completely apparent. I didn’t want sympathy, I wanted retribution. Sighing, I swung my legs onto the bed, lying on my back as I got comfortable. I wasn’t particularly tired, but the recent events had made me want to fall asleep and forget my troubles. But my eyes remained half closed, unable to drift into slumber. My mind wasn’t even a buzz with possibilities or thoughts. It was blank, and it made me wonder why I couldn’t sleep. “Nolan,” Spitfire spoke up, and I shifted my eyes to see her in the corner of my vision. She was mostly a blodge of colors, but I could still see her. “Why don’t you play your harmonica? Lift our spirits a little?” I didn’t recall the harmonica being mine, but it wasn’t like it was anyone else's either. I closed my eyes, taking a long breath, “I don’t feel like it.” “Oh come on,” Spitfire replied, sounding like she was trying to lift the mood. I had to give her credit for trying. “Flitter, Nolan can play a harmonica like you’ve never seen.” “Really?” Flitter said, sniffling afterwards. “Spitfire,” I warned, though it may have come off as playful banter, “I’m not going to play the harmonica.” “Please?” she pleaded, “Pretty please with a cherry on top?” “No,” I grunted, furrowing my brow. “Just a small tune.” “I’m not going to-” “You know you want to.” “Spitfire-” “Just for a few min-” “I’m not playing the fucking harmonica!” I roared, sitting up as I faced Spitfire. She was hurt, both from my tone and what I had said. Her head hung lower than I had ever seen it. Frowning, she tore her gaze off of me and turned around, lying down and curling up. With a sideways glance, I saw Flitter hiding underneath the bed, her frightened eyes trained on me. I did have some regret how I had reacted, and I needed to explain my reasoning. Although, it would have probably been spoken on deaf ears. “Sorry,” I said gruffly, lying back on the bed and bringing my hands behind my head. I had been apologizing a lot lately, which meant I’ve been doing things wrong. Getting people hurt, both verbally and indirectly. It wasn’t a welcome feeling. “Playing a harmonica isn’t going to solve our problems.” “Maybe,” Spitfire agreed without budging, a tinge of a sob in her voice. “but it would have been nice.” That left me speechless, opening my eyes at the dull gray ceiling. I sagged my shoulders as my heart felt heavy. My regret was a lot worse at that point. Gritting my teeth, I silently cursed whoever had shot Fleetfoot. They sure as hell weren’t going to get away with this. But with another glance around my surroundings, I couldn’t help but feel like they already had. {~+~} The light in the jail dimmed as time went on. As I had thought, the light was mostly from the sun, but because the moon was very bright every night, it gave the room a nice white shine to it. As for the three of us, nothing had changed. No one made a peep, or even moved. My attempts at sleeping failed as I stayed up the whole time, staring dumbly at whatever caught my interest. The mood from earlier had dampened, but it still lingered like a picture hanging on the wall. Spitfire and Flitter had fallen asleep, or at least that’s what it seemed to me. They both had their heads turned away from me. It was unsettling for some reason, like I was some hideous monster to them. I wasn’t insulted by their behavior, since I had yelled at them a few hours ago. Instead of feeling offended, I felt like I was losing myself to my anger. I had behaved badly to my friends ever since the meeting regarding Cloudsdale. Shouting at Applejack, forcing my way to Cloudsdale - nearly killing Pinkie in the process - and yelling at the few ponies that hadn’t downright hated me at first sight. As much as I was changing this world, it was changing me too. Maybe Spitfire and I were both right; I was brought here for a reason, and part of it was to atone for what I had done on Earth. Not that I had done anything deserving as such. In fact, this place could have been a type of Hell for all I knew. A place just before true Hell, and my behavior reflected that change. I gave a ghost of a smirk as I shifted a little on my bed. Why was I perceiving my existence here as punishment? Or even as a religious reason? I may have hit the nail right on the head, but until I see some proof, I wasn’t going to acknowledge those thoughts. “Flitter!” A hushed sound said, breaking my thoughts as I remained still. When did someone enter the prison? “Flitter! Wake up!” The voice was toned down a bit, but it was familiar. Tilting my head, I looked over to the hallway, confirming my suspicion. Cloudchaser was facing away from me, setting her sights on Flitter, who hadn’t stirred from her name being called out. Cloudchaser didn’t have her uniform on, and based off her movements, she was frantic, stepping from hoof to hoof as if she was in a hurry. She even paced a little bit in front of Flitter’s cell, nervously checking the hallways. “Flitter, it’s me Cloudchaser,” she said, pressing her muzzle against the bars, trying to get as close as possible. “Come on, please. I don’t have much time.” I raised a brow at that, sitting up as I leaned against my hands for support. She wasn't given permission to come here, which meant two things: She was going to tell Flitter something private, or she was busting her out. Cloudchaser didn’t understand what was at stake from coming here. Then again, she might have been responsible for me being thrown back in prison. Perhaps she was trying to get Flitter out because she didn’t consider her own sister would be in the same position as myself. I had to suppress a growl at that, standing to my feet carefully. I didn’t care about what she did with her sister, but I was going to get answers out of her. Even if she wasn’t the culprit, she had to know something. Taking deliberate steps towards my cell bars - glad that the clouds concealed my activity - I slipped over to the corner of my cell, just within reach of Cloudchaser. She was oblivious to my conscious state, so I had a clear advantage. And I wasn’t going to waste it. “Flitter!” Cloudchaser hissed, raising her voice a bit. “Wake up already!” I reached my hands through the bars, keeping my movements as slow as possible. “I know you’re a heavy sleeper, but this is ridiculous!” My hand was hovering just to the side of Cloudchaser’s light purple tail. I prepped my mind for what I was going to do. I would need to act fast. “It’s like you’re ignoring…” she started before trailing off, her head lowering. Swiftly, I swung my hand, grabbing a handful of Cloudchaser’s tail. When I had a grip, I tugged hard, making Cloudchaser yelp as I dragged her closer to me. With my other arm, I wrapped it around her neck, releasing the tail and grabbing her front. I wasn’t going to choke her, but I held on tight enough that she could barely move. Cloudchaser didn’t shout out besides her initial surprise, probably so the guards wouldn’t come to investigate. With a hand against her chest, I could easily feel her heart hammering inside, even the slight shivering she had. “N-Nolan!” Flitter said, her voice at a normal level, but still sounding like she wanted to yell it out. She had her hooves pressed against her bars, looking at me desperately. A fainter sound was heard a little to the right, and a glance over showed Spitfire was awake as well. She was just as shocked as Flitter about my actions, if just a bit lesser. She was standing in the center of the cell, refusing to come closer or fall back. Besides Cloudchaser’s grunts of struggling, there was silence, no one daring to speak up. “I’m not going to hurt her,” I explained flatly, facing Flitter. She relaxed her shoulders, but she still stared at me like I was lying through my teeth. Lucky for her, that wasn’t the case. “I just want some answers.” “I have nothing to say,” Cloudchaser stated, halting her struggling as she stared straight ahead. She may have been right, but I was having my doubts. She was a suspect behind the shooting, and I was going to grill her until she told me something I wanted to hear. “Did you shoot…?” I started, momentarily forgetting the victim’s name, “Fleetfoot. Did you shoot her?” Spitfire jerked back from my question, standing straight as her ears perked up. She was curious as well, but she didn’t want to voice her opinion. Understandable, considering she didn’t want me to hurt Cloudchaser. “N-No!” Cloudchaser said in shock, shaking her head, and involuntarily, her entire body. “It wasn’t me! Honest!” Hearing her panicked voice sent a dagger through my heart. She sounded so innocent that I was prepared to release her. However, I shook it off, steeling myself. I was a police officer, I had to harden my emotions so they wouldn’t get the better of me. As much as it pained me, I tightened my grip a bit, making Cloudchaser gasp, groaning a little bit from the increased pressure. “Nolan!” Spitfire spoke up, her hesitantly completely clear in her voice, “Stop it!” I was expecting Flitter to defend her sister, but looking over to her showed she was afraid, removing her hooves from the bars. She was just as afraid when I had shouted at Cloudchaser a couple hours ago. This time, however, she was powerless. She knew that no matter how much she shouted, how much she tried to break out of her cell, it would be hopeless… Actually, she could probably break out of her cell, since she was a Pegasus. In fact, couldn’t she and Spitfire break out? And if Cloudchaser knew that, then why did she attempt her own prision break? I blinked as I realized my mind had drifted off. I would have time to ask those questions later, when I wasn’t holding a mare hostage. Remembering Cloudchaser’s answer, I leaned my head towards her ear, watching it flicker a bit with each breath I took. “If you didn’t shoot Fleetfoot,” I whispered, adding to my intimidation. It worked, since Cloudchaser remained stock still as I spoke, “then who did?” Cloudchaser was quiet for a few seconds, probably contemplating her words carefully. “I… I don’t…” she muttered. “Tell me!” I shouted in her ear, making her flinch, as she hunched her shoulders. “Lightning Dust!” she blurted, “I-I think it was Lightning Dust!” The deadpan look on my face would have been comical under lighter circumstances. Though Lightning Dust was one of my suspects, I had to wonder if she really would shoot another pony. She seemed like the type to get someone else to do her dirty work. Of course, that works with what Cloudchaser had just said. She thought Lightning was responsible. “What do you mean by that?” I questioned, releasing my hold just a bit as a form of a reward. “She asked me to…” Cloudchaser paused, as if talking about it was horrid. “She wanted me to shoot you, in the head.” “Shoot him?” Spitfire breathed, holding a hoof to her mouth, “But… Fleetfoot was the one that was shot.” That was true, but as I looked to the side, I couldn’t think very much about it. There was too much unknown, too many possibilities. I had to get more information. Turning back to Cloudchaser, who was breathing pretty hard after her outburst, I took a deep breath. “Can you tell me exactly what happened?” I asked nicely, keeping my voice soft. I had gone from bad cop to good cop, knowing I had broken her, mentally speaking. Those cop movies may be unrealistic, but they were pretty spot on when it came to that tactic. “After I left you and Flitter,” Cloudchaser said, bowing her head, “I sat on a cloud, just… thinking. Lightning came up to me, asking me for a favor. She… she wanted me to shoot you, and kill you. But after what I said about Pinkie, I couldn’t do it. I just felt so terrible. Lightning called me a coward, and flew off. A-And the next thing I know, Fleetfoot is shot, and-and Flitter is in jail, and…” She trailed off after that, sniffling as she sobbed quietly in my arms. I doubted I would get anymore out of her, which meant it was the time to act. Slowly letting her go, I brought my arms back as she sank onto the floor, covering her eyes. Her cheeks already had a few streaks of water, and I wondered if some stray tears had appeared during my interrogation. With a guilty frown, I closed my eyes. I didn’t really like playing the bad cop, but it got results. Emma was so good at it… I always wondered how she did it. Shaking off my memories, I stood to my feet, seeing that Flitter was whispering words of comfort to the distraught Cloudchaser. She even lowered her frame to lie on her sister’s level. Spitfire simply watched me as I gripped two separate bars of my cell, trying futilely to pull them apart. I wasn’t going to sit in this cell and let the shooter walk around scot free. I believed in justice, and having some asshole walk around pushed me to track him down. Unfortunately, no matter how much I pulled, the bars didn’t even budge. With each tug, I groaned as my face scrunched up in tension. The clouds refused to move, which lead me to believe that only Pegasi could manipulate them. I could only stand on clouds, not really interact with them. “Do you need help?” Spitfire asked slowly, eyeing me warily. “I’m going to hunt the Pegasus that shot Fleetfoot,” I stated plainly, not halting for a minute on pulling on the bars. “I really don’t like it when a piece of shit like that pony gets out of this without a scratch.” Flitter lifted her head towards me, her eyes full of curiosity. “Why do you want to get the pony responsible?” she questioned innocently, before mumbling something intangible. “Besides saving my sorry ass?” I snapped back, my frustration with my lack of escape seeping into my mood. Another pull of the bars proved fruitless yet again. “Back where I’m from, I upheld the law. And something like this? It doesn’t fly with me.” “Where you’re from?” Flitter repeated, and I stopped in my attempt to escape. My breathing had increased, as well as the sweat on my brow. I rested my head against the cool, cloudy bars as I closed my eyes. It wasn’t that I was getting annoyed by that question, but that it was setting on me that I couldn’t escape on my own. “Excuse me,” Spitfire said, but it sounded way too close to be coming from her cell. Opening my eyes, I saw her standing right outside my own cell, staring at me hard. I stared at her back with a form of irritated confusion. I glanced over her to see that her bars were stretched to the side, as if a muscular man had come along and pushed them away like they were made of dough. “Nolan,” Spitfire said sternly, knocking me out of my bewilderment. I remembered her request and took a couple steps back. Afterwards, Spitfire stood on her hind legs and leaned her forelegs on the bars. With ease, she pushed them aside, her stoic expression making me wonder if she was angry. With an opening created, she stepped to the side, and I squeezed through them and into the hallway. Cloudchaser cowered away from me, keeping herself as small as possible, and Flitter looked at me like I was an abusive husband before sighing. Lifting up her own forelegs, she too pushed the bars away, making me furrow my brow in annoyance. “You guys can just escape whenever you want?” I questioned, looking to Spitfire, who simply nodded, still peeved about something. “So why didn’t you do it earlier?” “And go where?” Flitter asked back as she stepped into the hallway. She looked like she was getting angry as well, stomping over to me as she spoke, “To the humans? To be slaves? To almost get raped!?” She stood just in front of me, tilting her head up to glare at me. It suddenly clicked in my mind, but the only indication that it did was heavy sigh. “So, you were almost raped, huh?” I said, my voice gravelly and downtrodden. “If it wasn’t for Cloudchaser,” Flitter went on, ignoring my question, but at the same time, answering it, “I’d just be some… some sex toy.” She said the last part with a cringe, clamping her eyes shut. These two had gone through a lot, and there I was, thinking they were safe and sound in Cloudsdale the entire time. I was really blind sometimes. Too many times I would judge these ponies from the context of where I found them, and fail to understand them fully. Kind of like what the Ponies were doing to me. Running my hand down my face, I thought of my next words carefully, glancing around at the three ponies. “So, it’s a principle thing,” I concluded quietly, worried that Flitter might think I didn’t consider what she had said. “Why neither of you tried to escape before was because you each believed you deserved it.” “Yeah,” Spitfire replied, looking over to Flitter and Cloudchaser, “I guess so. I mean, it just feels like the right thing to do.” “Well, it’s not,” I stated bluntly, making the three of them jerk back like I was spouting blasphemy. Shaking my head, I changed the topic as I turned to Cloudchaser, “And why are you here? Were you trying to get your sister out?” “No,” she snapped back, her expression full of disgust and anger, “I just wanted to apologize.” Flitter gazed at her in a new light, surprised by that statement. Cloudchaser shied away, rubbing a hoof against her foreleg. “It’s my fault she’s in here in the first place,” she explained, “She covered for me, told the other Pegasi I was just grabbing food. And it’s my fault she’s in prison. If I had stayed behind, I probably would have stopped the shooter from hurting that pony.” “Fleetfoot,” I said, correcting her term as I grew determined, “And I’m going to get the pony responsible.” Without another word, I walked down the hallway towards the exit, leaving the others behind. Spitfire quickly trotted up to my side, looking up to me with a hint of uncertainty. “And where exactly are we going?” she asked, raising a brow. I raised a brow right back, my eyes flickering over to her. “We?” I repeated, unable to stop a smirk from creeping up my face. “I can’t let you face this alone,” she said with a smirk of her own. Her uneasiness even toned down a bit. I grunted in agreement, wanting the company anyway. Even if I didn’t, she had broken me out, so it would only be considerate to let her tag along. Looking over my shoulder, I could see Cloudchaser and Flitter following me as well, trailing behind with hesitation. “So, could you answer my question now?” Spitfire asked again. Nodding, I furrowed my brow as I picked up the pace. “We’re heading straight for Lightning Dust herself,” I said grimly. Spitfire had lost her footing, but had regained herself fast enough, staring at me with wonder. I couldn’t blame her. Just saying that out loud made me anxious. {~+~} The outside was as crisp as when I had arrived in Cloudsdale, but that was just a passing thought. What really got my attention - and my concern - was the lack of guards. When there were no guards patrolling, I thought they would be hanging out at the entrance of the prison, not be absent completely. No matter where I looked, there was no indication that Pegasi were watching over this place. Add to the fact that there was a ‘hostile’ human, and my interest was through the roof. “What’s the matter?” Spitfire questioned, but I didn’t spare her a glance. There had to be guards somewhere, I just had to keep an eye out. I couldn’t let them get the drop on us, since I doubted I could fight against flying ponies with swords. “Nolan?” I gave one more sweep of the area before turning my eyes on Spitfire, who was giving me a pretty skeptical look. “Where are the guards?” I asked back with a hint of panic, gesturing both of my hands to the empty scenery. “Shouldn’t there be guards?” Spitfire gave a nod before pointing a hoof directly above us. Tilting my head back, I gazed up at the stars and moon, as well as two Pegasi silhouettes flying lazily in circles. That definitely answered my question, but how were we going to sneak past them? I can’t fight without a weapon, and their advantage of flight would be a problem. My eyes wandered to the large flight of steps to the top, as well as the narrow bridge leading to it. Going the direct route would just get myself seen, but I couldn’t come with any alternatives. Not unless… I blinked in surprise from the idea, and grimaced afterwards. Why couldn’t I come up with normal plans, and not ones that could get me killed? I broke away from the ponies and walked over to the ledge of the cloud we stood on. When I was as close as I dared venture, I tilted my torso forward to peer over the edge, seeing the ground way, way at the bottom. Yep, that drop could still kill me. “You have something on your mind?” Spitfire asked, stepped beside me. She had a lot more courage, considering she stood upon the ledge like the drop was a swimming pool. “Yeah,” I answered with a long sigh, swallowing, “You guys carry me underneath the clouds to Lightning’s place.” Spitfire jumped back in shock, and I took a few steps back away from the edge, glad to be further way from a potential death. “You can’t be serious?” she questioned, with a shake of her head, “I’m used to lifting things, sure, but a live person?!” I came to a small realization that most of my plans have been half baked, near-death, crazy ideas. It was almost cliché in a way. A tap on my leg caused me to look down to see Cloudchaser, “Um, we could…” she started, pausing a moment with a mildly guilty look, “distract them. Have them chase us.” I mulled it over a bit, agreeing that it was more sensible, but there was still some flaws to it. “What about the other guards?” I questioned, putting my hands on my hips, “They can’t be the only two.” “Actually, they are,” Spitfire revealed, unfurling her wings and stretching them out to the side. I stood their baffled once more, refusing to believe that those two guards, acting like they were sleep flying, were the only two on duty. “Every other guard Cloudsdale has are at the borders, making sure humans don’t attack us.” “Seriously?” I grumbled under my breath as I rubbed my eyes. With Pinkie’s and my arrival in this place, there were at least three Pegasi that had stopped our hot air balloon. But no sort of protection inside a large city full of immigrants? I suppose it showed that they feared humans more than whatever would come up internally. The ponies were quiet as I looked up at the sky again. They were waiting for my call, which was bizarre. I was a human, one that two of the three ponies once feared and hated, and they were waiting for my decision. My police authority must have been leaking into my leadership skills, though I never thought of myself as the leading type. With a grunt, I turned to the ponies with a nod. “Alright, we’ll go with that,” I answered, before hastily adding, “But be careful. One of you is already in trouble, and I’m not sure how far the Pegasi are willing to punish.” “They…” Flitter started, before stopping herself, releasing a breath instead, “Okay.” Cloudchaser extended her wings and launched straight into the air, hovering afterwards as Flitter did the same, though much more delicately. I could easily tell their personalities apart from their flying style alone. I watched them head upwards, flying around each other as they did. “Cloudchaser was part of the Wonderbolts Academy,” Spitfire revealed out of the blue, “And Flitter would have been admitted too, but she declined the offer.” I grunted, watching Cloudchaser and Flitter flying over the edge, the two guards giving chase, “Is that supposed to reassure me?” “It just means their fast,” Spitfire responded with a bitter undertone. She trotted up to the ledge and jumped off, disappearing a moment before shooting above me, hovering just across the bridge. I stared at her a moment before glancing back to where Cloudchaser and Flitter had fled. Why they would help me out was a bit perplexing, but I had lost my chance to argue. Facing the bridge, I started across with a jog, determined to find Lightning and deal with her, one way or another. {~+~} Cloudsdale was deserted. Not a single Pegasus could be seen in the small lanes that separated the cloud buildings. Considering the city was a place for flying ponies, there was no reason to put in walkable paths. That made things difficult for me, since I had far more trouble walking at night than in the daylight. At least during the day I could see where my feet were. In the moonlight, I could barely make out the cloud I stood upon, forcing me to walk awkwardly since my perception of the ground was off. I was thankful no guards were around. I wouldn’t be able to outrun them very well in these conditions. Spitfire lead the way, flying just ahead of me as we made our way through the city. There wasn’t many decorations, like signs or murals. It all was bland, which was sort of odd. These ponies were colored every hue of the rainbow and they couldn’t make a couple things to liven up the place? I would have asked Spitfire about it, but it wasn’t the time to ask questions like that. We needed to focus, especially when dealing with Lightning. If she really was the one behind the shooting - which was undoubtedly the case - then we needed to tread carefully. If she had the capacity to shoot a gun at her own kind, then what would stop her from doing the same to us? After a while, we broke away from the buildings to find a rounded hill, topped by a mansion. And what a mansion it was! It looked like most of the economy went into making it. The walls were flattened perfectly, like they were made of smooth marble. Compared to the other buildings we had passed by, it was a masterpiece. It had the traits of a mansion too. Double doors for the entrance, two stories high, and wide enough to hold about two rooms on either side. The four windows on front side added to that effect. All I could do was stand there in disbelief. I couldn’t even come up with a snide remark about it. That had to be the Mayor’s house. Spitfire stopped a moment to look back, looking slightly embarrassed as her eyes shifted between the mansion and myself. “Yeah…” she said, finally facing away and flying ahead, “It… yeah.” She was just as speechless as myself. And for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out why I was having trouble forming some response to the sight. Shaking my thoughts out, I ran after her, keeping my wits about. Surely Lightning would keep a guard or two either around or in her house. Or perhaps she was so arrogant to believe that nothing would get that close to her mansion. It was hard to say with her. Spitfire and I approached the entrance, and I suddenly felt exposed. A desire to find cover suddenly ran through my system, to the point where I was shaking a little bit. I tried to push it off, but it wouldn’t leave. Spitfire examined me as she tilted her head, unsure of my behavior. I shook my head, before looking to my right, along the mansion. “Look for a back entrance,” I said, gesturing the same way I was facing. “I’ll try one of the windows.” Spitfire put up no argument, giving a firm nod before soaring away and around the corner. She was a Pegasus that had to sneak past humans to find food, so finding an alternate way inside would be second nature to her. Stepping off to the right, I neared the closest window, finding it had no window pane. A quick scan of the room - which held a table with six chairs - showed no one inside. My eyes fell back on the window, steadily waving my hand through the open square with skepticism. The Pegasi couldn’t even make a glass pane for their windows? I didn’t want to waste time thinking about the reasons behind that, so I placed both hands on the sill, giving a better examination of the room. It was as dull as the rest of the town, but had a bit more elegance to it. That elegance was in the form of the furniture, which I could only describe as fancy. Both the table and chairs had curvy legs, with elaborate back rests. It fitted the theme of the mansion nicely. There was also something on the table, but it was too dark to make out. “Hey,” Spitfire whispered nearby, and I was luckily I didn’t jump out of my skin. This whole place was putting me on edge. I backed away to the left and allowed Spitfire to put her forelegs on the window sill next to my hands as she spoke. “There’s no other way in besides the windows.” “Gotcha,” I acknowledged, turning back to the room. I gave it one last sweep before climbing over the window sill, keeping my movements slow. As soon as my feet touched the ground again, I felt relief from the previous uneasiness. Years of police work had made me slightly paranoid in situations like this, and for good reason too. I glanced to the two other doors in the room before I heard a loud, annoyed groan from the room across from the window. “I’m not going away until we finish this,” a masculine voice said, a hint of finality in his tone. “No matter how long you stay quiet.” Spitfire gasped softly, swooping into the room with her wings before landing softly beside me, “It’s Soarin.” No one responded to Soarin, making me ponder if he was talking to himself. To keep myself busy, I shuffled over to the object on the table, getting a better look at it. Vera. It was Vera, my revolver. It was sitting their, with a stick through the trigger well. My gaze hardened as I reached for it. This was undeniable proof that Lightning was the culprit. But then, who would believe me? Spitfire was the only one here with me, and everyone thought she was a traitor. Most, if not all, of the Pegasi thought Pinkie was crazy, and Rainbow Dash’s trust was broken when Lightning had framed me. “Fine,” I heard the voice of Lightning hiss, drawing my attention to the door. My eyes flickered back to my revolver, picking it up as I looked it over. “You want to talk about what happened?” “That’d be for the best, yeah,” Soarin snapped back, agitated. I took out the stick from the trigger well before tossing it to the side. Despite the adventure I’ve been on, Vera was still pretty sleek, besides the small scratches around the trigger. That’d be the last time I let a pony handle my stuff. “You did what you had to do,” Lightning said quietly. “Yes, I know,” Soarin said sternly, “But I was just supposed to fire the gun at the crowd, not actually hurt someone! And one of my own teammates too!” I stopped my examination of my revolver, letting their words sink in a moment. Closing my eyes briefly, I glanced over to Spitfire, seeing her clench her eyes shut, her brow furrowing. “Soarin… Why?” she asked to herself. “I know it wasn’t intended,” Lightning agreed solemnly, “but we got a better reaction than we could have imagined. The council won’t even negotiate with Rainbow Dash about-” “I don’t care what the council wants!” Soarin yelled, “Fleetfoot was shot, and it’s my fault.” I silently slid the cylinder open, noting that there were five bullets and a used case. After the incident in the Everfree, I always kept the weapon loaded at all times, so it proved that the gun was used, and not by me. “Exactly!” Lightning shouted, matching her tone with Soarin’s. “It’s your fault! I told you to take your time with the human’s gun!” “That thing weighed a ton!” Soarin argued, causing me to give a short smirk as I held my revolver to the side as if I was showing off. “And wielding it was, what do the humans say? Oh, I don’t know, bullshit!” He was growing more sarcastic by the second, and I was growing annoyed with their continued bickering. It sounded so pointless to begin with, and since I would never get any good evidence, my frustration was increasing as well. “How hard could it be!?” Lightning screamed, “You take the grip in your mouth” - I momentarily eyed my revolver with disgust - “hold the gun up with a hoof and pull the stick back with the other hoof!” “That’s not the point!” Soarin shouted, making me wonder when they would just start throwing punches. I crept up to the side of the door, pressing myself against it. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do. Barge in the room and wave my gun around like a terrorist? There was no way anyone would believe me, especially if I came in waving a gun around. Maybe I was just there to get revenge. That thought made me freeze on the spot. It couldn’t be the reason why I was at this mansion. This was for justice, for Fleetfoot. But how would I even get justice in a world like this? “You’re right,” Lightning said, knocking me out of my musings. Spitfire trotted to the other side of the door, pressing her ears against the wall. A nostalgic feeling came over me, reminding me what to do in situations like this. Bang, breach, and clear. Except I had no flash bangs. What a thought to come to me in a time like this. “All of this is pointless,” Lightning said, hissing a bit at the end. “This argument doesn’t matter. I was afraid to tell you this, but I guess it wouldn’t matter how I said it.” “What are you saying?” Soarin asked slowly. I strained my hearing, not wanting to miss a thing. “Fleetfoot’s dead,” Lightning said monotonically. It was hard to tell if she was sincere about it, since her tone threw me off a bit. But what didn’t throw me off was Spitifire’s reaction. She was devastated, her eyes trained straight ahead towards me. Her body was rigid, refusing to move a muscle. It was like her mind was rejecting what was said, causing her to remain motionless. As for myself, I didn’t need any other reason to take down Lightning. With fury building up inside of me, I pushed myself off the wall to stand in front of the door. Bringing up my leg, I gave it a firm kick, knocking it open. Lightning and Soarin jumped from my sudden entrance, but that didn’t stop me as I waved my gun around. “Don’t fucking move!” I roared, giving a the room a quick glance. It was a typical lounge, with a few sofas and bookcases hugging the walls. The two ponies were standing in the center beside a short table. They both had looks of horror and shock, following my words to the letter. “Right,” I grunted. Just looking at them stirred up my anger. Those two, who had framed me and killed a pony, stared back at me. Their eyes looked so shallow at that moment, like they had given up their innocent lives long ago. “You two assholes,” I said, pointing between the two, “are going to pay.” “Wha-?” Lighnting said, blinking back at me, “When did you get here? You were-” “Shut the fuck up!” I shouted, using my other hand to grab the table and flip it to the side. It was lighter than I expected, and it tumbled away, leaving room for the ponies and I. “I’m sick of you. Your excuses, your attitude. And you.” I glared at Soarin, who stiffened at being addressed. “You go all day and night saying how terrible I am and you kill your own fucking kind. Just to get to me!” “It was an accident-!” He said, his voice barely containing his shaky tone. “So what if it was!?” I shouted, “Neither of you have any sort of capacity to trust anybody!” I was stalling, and I knew I was. In my head, I was trying to figure out what to do with them. At the end of the day, I would be blamed for this. Trespassing, shooting a pony, and holding two ponies hostage. There was no way anybody in this city would know I was on their side. Maybe that’s why I was doing this; I had given up hope that these Pegasi would view me differently. I had no point playing nice. “W-What are you going to do?” Lightning asked desperately, swallowing. Despite my rage, I couldn’t bring myself to hit either of them. Some part of me was holding me back, stopping me from letting my anger get the better of me. It was probably for the best. However, I still had my gun. “Remember this?” I questioned, waving the gun as I watched their eyes follow it. “The same gun you used for your fucking plans?” “You’re going to shoot us?” Lightning breathed, her eyes dampening, “You can’t-” “Who says I can’t!?” I exclaimed, “You don’t care that a Pegasus died by your own hands, no matter who pulled the trigger. At this point… you pretty much lost any right to live.” “N-No…” Lightning begged, her breathing becoming rapid, keeping her sight on my revolver. “Please…” Clenching my revolver, I brought it up to my face, giving it one last once over. How had it come to this? I wondered what Emma would think of me. Shaking off the thought, I brought it down, aiming it at Lightning, right between the eyes. Soarin was glued to the spot, frightened to take any action. “Please,” Lightning continued, clamping her eyes shut and letting the tears fall, “I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die.” I hesitated a moment, remembering when I had heard those words before. It was so long ago, when I met Carrot Top for the first time. No one wants to die, but the world pushes for it anyway. It was a horrible thing to think. And yet, I found myself pointing a gun at a pony begging for her life. “An eye for an eye…” I whispered, before pulling the trigger. The bang reverberated through my ears, and I let it envelop me. It was a reminder of what I would have to do to help these ponies and free them. And as I stared at Lightning, my revolver pointing just to the left of her head, I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to go through with it. Just like I had done by sparing her life. “Makes the whole world blind,” I whispered, lowering my revolver. Lightning clutched her chest, trying to calm herself down after nearly dying. Soarin could only look between her and myself, unable to understand what had happened. I couldn’t even discern what I was planning to do. Had it just been a ploy to teach Lightning a lesson, or was I really going to shoot her in the head? Like any other human in Equestria would? Feeling numb, I turned to the doorway that I had come through. Spitfire stood there with a hoof stretched out, like she was attempting to stop me. When I faced her, she just looked at me, lowering her hoof. She was surprised, but it was difficult to know from what. Pausing for a moment, I walked past her, dragging my feet slightly. I was despondent, not wanting to talk. I just wanted to leave Cloudsdale, and never come back. That’s what the ponies would want anyway. I passed through the dining room and through the other door, into a hallway. I continued on until I reached the front door, and I could hear voices on the other side. Lots of them. It made me halt at the double doors, both of my hands resting against each door. There were ponies waiting for me on the other side, and it wasn’t for good intentions. Bracing myself, I shoved open the doors, taking a few steps to find a large gathering of Pegasi. Most of them were civilians, being held back by a line of Guards, both on the cloud and in the sky. However, as soon as I came out, there was activity, all the guards put their attention me, drawing their swords. They were prepared to fight, but I wasn’t. Everyone else was looking at me, holding their breaths. I scanned the crowd again, and I found Rainbow Dash and Dusty near the front. They stared at me like they were looking at a different person. They were almost unreadable. I could only guess how I looked to them. My eyes spotted Pinkie Pie as well, her mane having deflated. I had to tear my gaze away from her, otherwise I would feel even worse. Of course, my eyes landed on Flitter and Cloudchaser. They weren’t under any sort of restraint, so they weren’t under arrest. However, they didn’t look all to happy with me. With a grunt, I realized that the ponies must think I had killed a pony. My head was hung low, looking at the revolver in my hand. That was probably why. With a sigh, I walked forward, unable to holster my revolver without a holder. In a way, it allowed me to pass by all the ponies. The guards made no move to kill me, no one stood in my way. From what I could see from the corner of my eyes, they just stood there, watching. Waiting. Why did I feel so hollow? So distant? I just kept walking. Where I ended up didn’t matter to me. {~+~} The sky looked beautiful during a sunrise. Especially when I was a couple miles above the ground. I was far enough away from all the Ponies to actually enjoy it without interruption. At the edge of town near the ledge of a cloud, just sitting there. My left leg was propped up, allowing my left arm to rest upon it as the sun gave the clouds an orange tinge. The stray clouds that floated between the sun and I acted as ornaments, giving a glow that made the scene even better. No matter how long I stared at that gorgeous spectacle, however, I couldn’t drop the memories of the night. After everything I had been through, I came to a conclusion that I hated Cloudsdale with a passion. And everyone in this town hated me too. My thoughts were so muddled, making me feel depressed. The flutter of wings could be heard as a Pony landed beside me, sitting on her haunches. A mere glance at her colorful mane confirmed who it was. I had a feeling she would be the one to come to me. “Rainbow,” I greeted in a low tone. “Idiot,” Rainbow muttered, and I turned my head a bit to get a better look at her. Her eyes were droopy, and her body sagged a little, but she still had the capacity to give a deadly glare at me. “You’re just… just a…” “Dumbass,” I finished, facing the sunrise again, “Yeah, I already know.” Rainbow didn’t say anything right away, letting the wind blow by us. It was soothing, cooling me off. I wasn’t sure why I was so warm, but the chilly breeze was nice. “You came to Cloudsdale,” Rainbow said, finally sorting out her thoughts, “You wanted to help, but it was-” “Pointless,” I finished again. “Yeah,” Rainbow said, faltering a moment, “And now the Pegasi… They’ve refused to help us.” That should have been expected. Yet when I closed my eyes, releasing a long sigh, my heart still felt so heavy. In a way, I had already known the Pegasi wouldn’t help us, probably about when I first entered Cloudsdale. I had to wonder if they would have helped us at all, but that didn’t mean I hadn’t ruined our chances completely. It was my fault, I was to blame. “So what now?” I asked, feeling utterly lost after the events. “You’re leaving Cloudsdale,” Rainbow stated flatly. I wasn’t even mad about that, I wanted to be gone. And I never wanted to come back again. “Pinkie and Dusty are going with you. As for me, I’m staying here, try to smooth things over.” I faced her fully, seeing the hopelessness wash over her expression. She didn’t want to do it. She didn’t want to stay here, nor did she want to stay away from her friends. From what I could tell, she was the active type, not the kind to talk all day. She took initiative, but that wasn’t going to help her here. “What about Spitfire?” I asked, “Cloudchaser? Flitter? ...Fleetfoot? Rainbow looked away from me, causing me to worry a bit. “Cloudchaser and Flitter aren’t going to be in trouble. Soarin sang like a bird, told everyone about the plan Lightning had whipped up. I’m not sure what the council plan to do with them. Fleetfoot is going to have a funeral and memorial service. She had been a Wonderbolt for a long time. As for Spitfire… she’s gone.” I raised a brow, “Gone?” “No one has seen her since you left the mansion,” Rainbow explained with a shrug. Spitfire must have been tired about all the politics and such involved with Cloudsdale. Perhaps she was heading for Las Pegasus. She’d be a good ally for sure. There was a pause in our conversation, like we couldn’t come up with something else to discuss. Then again, what else was there to say? “I miss the old days,” Rainbow revealed, staring at the sunrise, sorrowful. “I would practice all day to be a Wonderbolt, and then nap the rest of the day.” She gave a dry chuckle, “I would hurry and finish my weather duties, so I could hang out with my friends. It was good.” She bowed her head, her ears drooping. “Now look at me,” she whispered, as if holding something back, “Look at all of us. Nothing can go back to those days, when I’d challenge Applejack to a hoof wrassle, or-or help Twilight with her magic spells. Even after we get rid of the humans, it just wouldn’t be the same.” Stroking my beard with my right hand, I wished I could have seen what it was like before the humans. To see all these ponies living freely, doing whatever they did. I heard a stifled sob, followed by shaky breathing. “I want to go back,” Rainbow said, her voice full of sadness. “When I was free.” Responsibility could be seen as a prescription drug. You could do what you wanted, but you’d have to swallow the pills eventually. Eyeing the sunrise again, I realized that all of these ponies, not just the ones controlled by the humans, were trapped. These ponies had to live with the fact that humans had taken over, enslaved their kind, taken their loved ones, changed their home forever. “We can’t go back,” I said, gripping my hands as I stood to my feet. “There’s no point wanting what we once had. We have to keep moving. I keep forgetting that, but… there’s always something to remind me.” Rainbow stayed quiet as I turned to her, holding out a hand to her. Her cheeks were stained with tears as she eyed me with confusion, and I gave her a weak smile. “Come on,” I said, “I don’t think anybody should see you like this.” “Y-Yeah,” Rainbow hastily agreed, wiping her cheeks before putting her hoof in my hand. With little effort, I got her back on her hooves. Together we both walked back towards town, reminding me of the crisis I had caused. “Sorry for everything,” I said, shaking my head, “For being such a burden.” “You freed a prison full of foals and got my friends back,” Rainbow said with a wink and a smile, “I think I can let it slide.” I nodded with a chuckle, glad we were on good grounds with each other. The Pegasi could doubt my actions all they wanted, that doesn’t stop them from being true. And I wasn’t finished, not by a long shot. I had to hand it to Rainbow, she knew how to turn my emotions around. And I suppose I did the same for her. Las Pegasus was going to feel like a paradise once I got back.