Lost and Fallen
Chapter 19: Worry
The street was empty as far as I could tell, but I dared not risk stepping out. Instead, Applejack walked out as she scanned the area while I stayed just beside the door, out of sight. Apple Bloom sat by my feet, staring out the door as if she was on watch. I had to appreciate the work she was putting in, even if it didn’t contribute much.
After Applejack and I had walked out of her room, she and Apple Bloom had shared a brief apology with each other. It was rather heart warming, even if it lasted just a couple of seconds. They probably would have talked with each other more, if the problem on my hands wasn’t so precarious.
For whatever reason, the fog that had once shrouded my movements had been lifted, letting the sunshine light up the city. As beautiful as it was, it punctuated the fact that I was in a bad position. I was supposed to hide out in the shack until the Buffalo and Zebra ambassadors left, and if I was caught, it could be a repeat of events of Cloudsdale. Applejack explained the significance of the fog, and it was similar to what I had predicted: a way to cover the migration of two different species to Las Pegasus.
Since Rainbow Dash had filled her in some time ago, AJ went further on to say that the Humans had no idea Las Pegasus existed, all thanks to the fog they would form in emergencies. It was hard to believe until I gave it some thought. Humans would send scouts to find other Pony cities to invade, and it was hard to find a city that they couldn’t see. And if a particular group of scouts did get close, Pegasi would lead them away as distractions. It sounded delicate to maintain, but it seemed to have been successful.
If the fog was lifting, then either negotiations had started or all the ambassadors and their escorts were all accounted for inside Las Pegasus. I didn’t know which was worse, but both guesses were pretty similar anyway.
Applejack stuck her head through the door frame, her face grim, though showing nothing worth getting worked over. “Coast is clear,” she whispered, “I think all them Buffalos and Zebras are chattin’ with Twilight and Cadance.”
“Even the company they brought?” I asked, remembering Little Strongheart. She was willing to keep my secret, but she couldn’t have been the ambassador for the Buffalo. She sounded too young, and honestly, she didn’t look like any Buffalo I had seen.
“As far as I can tell,” Applejack said with a shake of her head, “I ain’t even seen a Pony out there. Everypony might be learnin’ about the ambassadors or somethin’ like that.”
I gave a sigh as Applejack walked back out, with Apple Bloom scampering after her. The tension was already high with me being in the same city as two foreign species, but that I was in a compromising situation didn’t help in the least. I just couldn’t win in this world, and it irked me to no end. Turning to the door, I hesitantly peeked outside, seeing Applejack and Apple Bloom both on alert. The way they acted around each other definitely proved that they were family, that was for sure.
Briskly exiting the doorway, I kept up my own vigilance, looking down both directions of the street as if watching for traffic. Just as Applejack had said, not a soul was in sight. It was unnerving, considering the few times I had seen it empty had not been very good for my overall well being. Rubbing my chest, I could still remember when I had crashed through a brick wall. I didn’t think Buffalo or Zebras had magic, but I was sure they had other things up their sleeves. If they actually had sleeves, anyway.
“Come on,” I said with a wave, “Let’s head back to my shack.” Grunting to myself in grim amusement, I added, “With my impeccable bad luck, I’m sure I’ll be spotted before the sun sets.”
“Now don’t ya jinx it,” Applejack scolded, pointing a hoof at me, “Ya hear?”
“Right,” I said as I walked down the street. Applejack and Apple Bloom trailed along, and all of us kept a keen eye out. I took a deep breath, trying to calm down a bit; it wouldn’t help if I was jumpy. “It’s just that the worst shit gets thrown my way. I swear whatever god you worship has it out for me.”
“God?” Applejack questioned, stepped beside me as she raised her brow, “We ain’t got no gods.”
I balked at her as I attempted to make sense of her statement, and failed. Since when did any sentient species never have some sort of god? Admittedly, I only knew of the Humans as being sentient, but even still, nearly every group of Humans had some sort of religion. The ponies not having any bothered me more than it should.
Then again, the Ponies had it pretty easy with Celestia around. No violence, no war; a true utopia. Religion was something to explain the phenomena that affected our world, but with magic in Equestria, there was really no need for it. Celestia controlled the sun, Luna controlled the moon, and everything must have settled into place from that balance. Having no religion also meant no wars over who was right and wrong.
“What’s a god?” Apple Bloom asked, genuinely confused as she walked in between Applejack and I. “I hear ya say it when ya get angry, but I don’t know what it means.”
I chuckled dryly, “It’s a little hard to explain. A god is basically some powerful deity that has some control over the world.”
Apple Bloom gasped in excitement, giving a small hop as if she had figured out a difficult math problem. “Like Celestia!” she exclaimed, before being quickly hushed by Applejack, who twisted her head around to see if anyone heard.
As for myself, I had to suppress a laugh. Celestia as a goddess… what a joke. She can control the sun, sure, but that’s as far as she could go, as far as I could tell. If she really was a goddess, then I doubt the Humans would have ever been able to conquer Equestria. Hell, they probably wouldn’t even be able to think about it before Celestia kicked their asses. In my opinion, a god was someone invincible, untouchable, unreachable. To have a god down with mortals would mean they were in disguise, if Greek mythology taught me anything. But considering Celestia was openly moving the sun, then she was, at best, a very powerful magic user.
Of course, what did I know? I couldn’t step into a brand new world and expect to know how everything ran. However, after all this inner monologue about religion, I had to wonder if the Humans in this world had religions. That was something I could predict without too much thought.
“Nolan!” a voice shouted in my ear, causing me to flinch as my heart stopped for half a second. Backing away quickly, I faced the person responsible only to see Derpy hovering at head level with brown saddle bags on. A large smile was on her face as she gasped sharply. “I finally found you! You’re a good hider.”
“Yeah,” I said, rubbing my ear tenderly, “And why were you looking for me?”
“To give you these,” she said, reaching her head inside of her saddle bags. She pulled out a piece of paper and a bottle of ink, along with a quill to write. She held them in her hooves, a proud smile on her face as she presented them to me. “Fluttershy said you wanted to write a letter to Rainbow Dash.”
My face lit up at the mention of a letter, a small smile emerging. I had to remember to thank Fluttershy when I got the chance. Getting my knife back would be easier than I thought it would. I reached over and collected the items, and as I examined the quill and ink, I realized I had never written with such ancient utensils. It would be interesting to see if I could write with them, and if Rainbow could decipher it if it turned out bad.
“Thanks, Derpy,” I said with a nod, “I just need Rainbow to grab something for me back in Cloudsdale.”
“That makes sense,” Derpy replied with a nod of her own, “I still can’t wait to hear what you guys did. I’m sure you saved even more lives!”
My jaw locked up as I tore my eyes away from Derpy. Applejack and Apple Bloom were smiling just as much as her, showing that they were excited to hear about the tale as well. I really didn’t want to explain that I had fucked it up six ways to Sunday, but I doubt I would get any choice in the matter. After all, Dusty and Pinkie were there too, and the latter was terrible at keeping her mouth shut. In the end, however, everyone deserved to know what had transpired up in Cloudsdale. They had a right to know.
“Oh, by the way, Nolan,” Derpy said, ignoring my distant expression, “Why were you sneaking around earlier?”
“Sneaking around?” I asked back, taken completely off guard with the question, before I realized what she meant, “Oh, I’m just making sure the Buffalo and Zebras don’t see me. Make sure to keep it a secret, alright?”
It sounded redundant to keep it a secret, but Derpy had a tendency to blurt out things she shouldn’t. And with the stakes this high, I had to make sure she had gotten the message, word for word.
“Sure,” Derpy said before holding up a hoof next her mouth, her eyes shifty as she whispered, “I can be a really good secret agent too.” She rubbed her chin afterwards, contemplating something, “I have to wonder why you were all the way by the doctor place. It’s pretty far away from where Fluttershy said you landed.”
“Doctor place?” Applejack questioned, “Ya mean the clinic?”
Derpy nodded enthusiastically, and Applejack faced me with a mixture of confusion and worry. As for myself, I was trying to understand what Derpy meant. There was no way I was near the clinic, which I recall was near the entrance of the Sanctuary. And if I wasn’t there then that meant…
“Shit,” I muttered, my heart dropping as I stepped closer to Derpy, “Who did you see by the clinic?”
“You, of course,” Derpy replied with a smile, ignoring my worried look, “You were being all sneaky. You even hid from me! I thought it was weird that you weren’t wearing all your bulky clothing, so I was going to ask about it, but you got away.”
“Fuck…” I said, my breathing becoming shaky as I dropped the writing supplies, “Shit, shit, shit, shit!”
I stomped a foot, clutching my head as I gazed over to Applejack, who wasn’t as anxious as I was, but wasn’t too far away from it.
“Did ya ever…” Applejack started, not wanting to hear the answer, and truth be told, neither did I. “Go the clinic recently, Sugarcube?”
I swallowed the lump that had quickly formed in my throat, shaking my head. “I never even left the shack,” I answered. Apple Bloom covered her mouth, her eyes wide as she must have came to the same conclusion I had.
“If you were at the shack where I found ya...” Apple Bloom whispered.
Applejack looked at Apple Bloom before slowly turning to me. The fear in her eyes was as good as any to show that all of us were on the same page. “Horsefeathers,” Applejack breathed, “We have another Human here.”
My face grew dark, pondering how a Human was able to infiltrate Las Pegasus in the first place. The Ponies’ system of security must have made a slip or something, especially with all the foreigners coming in. However, it wasn’t the time to figure out how the Human got in, but where the fuck he was, and if he was going to do something drastic.
“Damnit,” I cursed, covering my eyes. We were already in a critical moment of the Pony Resistance, and a Human just had to sneak in and fuck up everything we needed. “Damnit!”
There wasn’t any time for sulking, we had a Human that was very likely to kill someone if we didn’t act fast. And as far as I knew, the three of us were the only ones to know that a Human was here. I would have counted Derpy, but by the way she tilted her head, I doubt she even came close to what we had figured out.
“Applejack, Apple Bloom,” I ordered, knocking them out of their horrid thoughts, “Tell Twilight the situation, but keep it on the down low. We don’t need a mass panic.”
“But we need everypony to know,” Apple Bloom argued, “Wouldn’t it be easier?”
I shook my head, “If we tell any other Ponies, they’ll start searching for this Human, and the Buffalo and Zebras will eventually learn about it. Right now, they can’t know, otherwise they might connect this Human with me, and refuse to help us.”
Applejack stared at me after my long winded explanation. Her mouth was slightly open as if she had figured something else out, and she quickly closed it as her eyes hardened. “The Pegasi aren’t helping us, are they,” Applejack said, stating it as fact, one that was far too true.
Never had I felt so on the spot before, more so than first entering Las Pegasus or with everyone down right hating me. “Now isn’t the time to talk about that,” I said, though the tone of my voice was less than frantic, as if confirming it without saying it. And Applejack took it as such as she closed her eyes in silent remorse. I didn’t know if she blamed me for it, but I didn’t want to waste any more time than we already had with the Human walking around. We needed to take action.
“Listen,” I emphasised as the three Ponies put their full attention on me. “Just go fill Twilight in about the other Human. Derpy’ll lead me to where he was before.”
“We’re on it,” Apple Bloom said as she stood up straight, saluting. Applejack was still distracted by the small revelation, merely giving Apple Bloom a sideways glance. However, she turned her eyes back to me with determination.
“We’ll get it done, partner,” she said with a tip of her hat. Afterwards, the two of them raced down the street. Derpy and I watched them for a moment before I turned to her, holding up my hand to keep her focused on me. She faced me, still lost about what was happening, and I had to feel sorry for her. Applejack had blatantly said the problem, yet Derpy could only stare at me.
Her name, her eyes, her personality; I didn’t want to believe it was true, but she had some sort of mental disability, no matter how small. Despite this, Derpy still was strong in her own bubbly way… Heh, maybe that’s why her Cutie Mark was three bubbles. Keeping happiness close even in dark times. Kind of like Pinkie, but Derpy seemed to pull it off with her own flair.
I shook my head, driving those thoughts away. I was supposed to be hurrying along, not contemplating a mare’s purpose in life. Even still, Derpy acted more as a foal than most Ponies I had met, and in a way, I wanted to preserve that innocence. Of course, the same could be said for all Ponies, but Derpy was unique. Maybe I was just pitying her, and I had to berate myself for thinking like that. I was sure Derpy already had enough people pitying and judging her.
“Take me to where you last saw the human,” I requested. Derpy brought her head back as if she was mildly startled by such a question.
“The Human?” she questioned with a smile, “You talk like there’s another Human…”
Her face lit up in recognition before it settled into shame, her head hanging low. All I could do was frown at her realization. She didn’t like that it took this long to figure out, and no doubt she felt even worse knowing she had let a random Human slip by. A smirk grew on my face as I jerked a thumb off to the side.
“Come on,” I said with confidence, “Let’s go save some lives.”
Derpy perked up at that line, giving a grand smile as she clapped her hooves together. Satisfied I had cheered her up, I briskly headed down a nearby alley, hoping to go through a shortcut to get to the clinic. Derpy flew just above, and in a way, she was more observant than she had been before. Having two eyes looking two different directions was probably disorienting, but I was sure it had its advantages too.
{~+~}
Reaching the clinic, I stopped a moment at the wall just next to the entrance. I leaned against it to catch my breath while Derpy watched. With all my anxiety, panic, and exercise, I found myself slightly winded, and I needed to be ready when I found the other Human. I had no idea what sort of weaponry he had, but I wasn't going to be a fool and enter a fight tired.
As I caught my breath, I took a glance around the area, glad that no Buffalo and Zebra were walking about. Despite saying earlier that I had terrible luck, I found that no one had spotted me yet, not even through a window. Or perhaps they did and the two species were waiting for their chance to strike. I took a hasty look over my shoulder, suddenly feeling paranoid. I needed to catch this guy before someone stabbed me in the back.
“So you saw him somewhere around here?” I questioned, stepping away from the wall and shifting towards the nearest alley. At that point, the shadows were on my side, even if they were limited since the sun was at its highest point in the sky.
“Somewhere,” Derpy agreed, tapping her chin, “He stood just at the corner of the building.”
Nodding, I continued over to the corner, which was actually near a shaded alley way. Definitely useful if I needed to hide. “What was he doing exactly?” I inquired, taking note of the entrance of the Sanctuary. The few spots of dirt held small prints of hooves, hundreds of them. It showed where the Buffalos and Zebras entered. A closer look revealed no human prints; neither feet nor shoes. Either the person was smart to avoid making tracks, or just plain lucky. I hope it was the latter, it would show he wasn’t observant, and I could get the jump on him if I was careful.
Hearing no response from Derpy, I turned back to her to see her tapping one hoof on the other, like she was counting her fingers. I shook my head in amusement; it seemed Humans and Ponies weren’t as different as we all liked to believe. Derpy tapped her hoof one last time with finality, flying over and into the alley. I peeked inside, seeing Derpy land in front of a window and narrow her eyes at it.
“Here,” she stated, tracing her hoof into the ground like she was drawing an ‘X’.
Making my way over to where she had indicated, I scanned the area, taking note of everything out of the ordinary. The path was made of pavement, with nary a pile of sand or dirt, unlike the street. It was also barren of any sort of objects, such as trash cans or fire escapes. Just as I reached where Derpy stood nearby, I noticed a poster nearby. It was the same as many of the other posters I had seen in Las Pegasus, but what was strange was that it had been written on. And by the looks of the handwriting, it was rushed and written in a fit of rage.
The picture of Celestia, first off, had been violated. Her face had been overlaid by a blot of ink, which had dripped down the paper to make it seem like she was a horrific monster. The words ‘Stand against the Humans!’ had been left alone, though a subtitle was added on the bottom. It was fairly small, and I questioned how a Human was able to pull it off with such limited options of writing. ‘Except for one fucker!’. I would have been flattered if I wasn’t in a dire circumstance.
Breaking away from the poster, I turned to the window that sat just across from it. I had a clear view of the inside, though there wasn’t much to see but a few hospital beds. Derpy hovered to my side, our heads nearly touching as we looked over the room.
“The Human was looking into here,” she said, “I wasn’t sure what he was staring at though.”
Movement in the far side of the room caught my attention. It was on top of a bed, in which the sheets were shuffling around like the occupant was stuck. An image flashed before my eyes, reminding me of a dream I would rather forget. Pushing the memory back, a small filly emerged from the blankets. She was a Unicorn with a coat similar to Applejack’s, and a mane that was lightish red. Her eyes were heavy as she gave a small sneeze, which was muted by the window. Afterwards, she lied back down, bringing the covers over.
“Not to offend the cute little filly that reminds me of my little muffin,” Derpy said with a brief smile at the mention of her daughter, “But why was a Human looking at the filly?”
I narrowed my eyes, “Maybe not the filly herself, but what she represents to him.”
Derpy scratched her head, “Unicorns?”
I had to give her credit for the guess, but combining the poster behind me with the filly in the room, I had a feeling why this Human was here. “Appleloosa,” I said stepping away from the window, “This Human is getting revenge for what I did at Appleloosa.”
“Nolan!” a mare snapped, causing Derpy and I to jump as we gazed at the source. It was the nurse of the clinic, though her name escaped me. I couldn’t blame myself either, having met so many Ponies. “What are you doing back here?!”
“Saving lives!” Derpy instantly blurted. The nurse rolled her eyes as if she was disappointed.
“Searching for someone,” I clarified, “You wouldn’t happen to see where I went the last time I was here, would you?”
“No,” the nurse snarled, “I was too busy chasing you off. Why were you looking at foals through a window anyway?”
Considering I had no excuse for that without spilling the secret of another Human in Las Pegasus, I just stared at her, hoping it would accomplish something. However, she just stared back, her anger growing. If Derpy didn’t step in and defend me, I didn’t think the nurse would let this slide. However, Derpy just looked between us like we were about to enter into an all out brawl.
“Angel?” someone questioned as a stallion leaned his head to look down the alley. “What are you doing back here?”
That Pony I recognized right off the bat. Good ol’ Doctor Styles. Coming to represent me again, hopefully. As his eyes flicked between the nurse - Angel - and I, Doctor Styles slowly stepped closer, though not without caution. I opened my mouth to explain what Angel had said to me, but I stopped myself, remembering a more dire situation was still on our hands. Breaking away from my spot, I strolled in the opposite direction, gesturing for Derpy to follow.
“Sorry, Doc,” I apologized, “We’re in a bit of a rush.”
Turning down the alley way, I made to move on, but was stopped by a yell of both surprise and fear just ahead. Rushing forward, I rested a hand against the building as I gazed down the road. Many Zebras stood around, staring upon a Human who was just as shocked to see them. He hadn’t expected to be spotted, but by the looks of it, he was just behind a couple of fruit barrels, and the closest Zebra - most likely the one who spotted him - backed away with his body low.
“B-Binadamu!” he cried out, as if his previous shout hadn’t reached anybody, “Binadamu katika patakatifu!”
“Great,” I said, grinding my teeth. I was hoping to take the other Human out before either of us were spotted, but since that plan was out the window, I had to expose myself as well. I couldn’t lose him; he just might hurt someone if I did.
The Human soon caught sight of me as I stood out in the open. The Zebras were unaware of of my presence, but the Human glared at me as if it was all my fault to begin with.
“You!?” He hissed before glancing around at the many Zebras. They all remained unmoving, and I wasn't even sure if they had even met a Human, let alone knew what to do with a bad one. Taking quick note of his outfit, I saw he had on the clothing that reminded me of Appleloosa; the tan coloring and dusty appearance gave it away. He had a growing brown beard that matched his wiry hair. And in some way, he was familiar. Considering I had gone through Equestria, meeting quite a few Humans along the way, it sort of startled me how much I recognized him.
He turned to look down the road before whipping back to me, repeating it a second time. His legs were warily backing away from everyone as well. “Don’t run,” I whispered, bracing my legs. “For the love of god…”
Considering he had no reason to listen to me, even if he could hear me, he bolted down the road, almost leaving the area before I inwardly cursed, tearing after him. I passed by the Zebras, who all jumped from suddenly having another Human breeze by like a bullet. I didn’t bother looking back, but I had a feeling once I caught the Human, things were going to get ugly with the foreigners.
Keeping my eyes on him was no trouble. There was no one to confuse him with, and he wasn’t as fast as he wanted to be. He suddenly veered down an alleyway and I followed suit, almost wanted a bit more of a challenge. When we made it back into the open road again, my heart nearly jumped when we passed by more Zebras and Ponies. I wasn’t exactly sure why it bothered me so much that we were passing other foreigners. Their fellow species would have quickly filled them in on finding two Humans zipping around the city. However, considering they were with Princess Cadance and Shining Armor, it almost made me sick with worry. Things were going to get real ugly later on.
The Human pushed by them like they weren’t there. Being a bit more polite, I juked and dodged around them, quickly apologizing when I bumped into someone. As I neared the baffled Cadance and Shining Armor, with the Human getting through them without so much as a grunt, they set their eyes on me.
“Nolan?” Cadance questioned, with a raised brow.
“What is going-?” Shining Armor started.
“Can’t talk now!” I bellowed, barely giving them a second glance as I continued the chase. The Human had his head down, and his strides were shorter. I was wearing him out.
He turned to another corner, and as I did the same, I saw a lot of Ponies, mixed with Buffalos and Zebras, completely blocking the street. Nearly everyone I knew was amongst the crowd, from Carrot Top to Twilight Sparkle. I smirked, believing I had him cornered. However, the worst occurred when he pulled out his revolver. With my eyes wide, I reached for my own, but found my waist barren of my gun. I had left it in the shack.
“Son of a-!” I exclaimed before the crack of a pistol was fired off. I looked ahead, but found the Human was pointing it at the sky, and everyone parted, allowing him passage. Unfortunately, a couple Ponies filled the gap back in, watching the Human flee. They didn’t really react to a Human running rampant, just confusion and headscratching. They must have mixed up the Human as myself. Picking up a bit more speed, I vaulted over one pony who yelped in surprise. Luckily, he was a rather small Pony, so it wasn’t too much effort, and the rest of the way through was fairly open.
“Nolan!” I heard Carrot Top call, along with a few of my other friends as well.
“Busy!” I shouted over my shoulder before seeing the Human crash into an ajar door. It was just across the street in a three-way intersection. So he was going to lose me in a building, huh? Fat chance. Running after him, I got through the doorway only to find a table in my way. At my speed, it was a miracle that I was able to leap over it while still maintaining my run. The Human pushed over a chair, which I easily circumvented. He was growing desperate.
The Human got back outside, and what greeted him, as well as myself, was a wall of brown fur from the Buffalo. They were much more similar to the Buffalo I had seen on Earth, and their thick backs were a testament to that. They weren’t aware of our loud entrance, or were slow to react to it. Either way, the Human knew that there was no way to force his way through, and I knew I had him. I was just a couple feet away, but he still had a revolver in his hands, and as he raised his arms to aim, I knew I had to do something before one of the Buffalo died.
With a final burst of energy, I leapt forward and wrapped my arms around him. He lost balance immediately as we both fell to the pavement, with me on top of him. Though the revolver was thrown out of his hands from the impact, that didn’t stop him from retrieving a knife from his belt. I was unable to pull up my arms before he shoved the knife into my arm, above the elbow.
“Fuck!” I said before bringing my other arm back and socking him in the nose. He took the hit before retaliating with a kick that knocked me off of him. I shuffled back to my feet, clenching the stab wound as my arm fell limp. He nimbly held the knife, his other hand held up to brace for another attack. Unfortunately for him, the Buffalos had finally noticed our little fight, and the biggest one stood out from the rest. This Buffalo had a native american headdress, and as he scraped a hoof along the dirt, I knew he was about to charge, especially with the burst of air that came out of his nose.
I didn’t know Buffalos as much as I would like in this world, but seeing a large, mad, horned species charge was definitely something to be avoided. And with the Human’s back to them, he wouldn’t be able to do that.
The Buffalo charged, his stomps alerting the Human, but it was too late. Just as he turned around, the Buffalo hit him square in the back, knocking him to the side. I was able to move out of the way with relative ease, since the Buffalo couldn’t steer very well it seemed. As quick as I could, I ran over to the Human, who was slowly rising from that hit - something I had to give him credit for. I reached over and snatched the knife from his hands before slamming the base of the handle into the back of his head.
With his prone form, I released a long breath as I eased my muscles. The soreness finally reached me as I wobbled a bit from the exertion. This guy may not have been as physically fit to sprint, but at least he didn’t have ten pounds worth of armor on.
“What is the meaning of this!?” someone bellowed behind me, and I associated the voice with the Buffalo that had knocked the Human over earlier. Warily, I looked back, seeing a very pissed off Buffalo just about to charge again. His eyes were boring into my drooping ones as I tried not to fall down. My legs felt like they were about to give away at any moment.
“I demand to know why one Human is attacking another!” He shouted, turning down the street. Following his gaze showed that the multiple groups I had passed were catching up, having ran after us. The large Buffalo had his sights set on Twilight specifically, who was trotted briskly over to stand out from the other ponies.
“It was something we were meaning to discuss!” She explained, her face pleading for everyone to hear. “That Human there is friendly!”
“Friendly!?” the Buffalo scoffed, “Bah! My ancestors would have killed him in seconds; you are lucky I am more tame.”
My arm had gone numb, and the bleeding wasn’t becoming any easier to hold back. The pain was something else too, like the knife had hit bone. I grimaced as I released my hold a moment, a wave of pain shooting up my arm. I hadn’t felt something like that since I had fallen through a window back in Ponyville. At least with that venture, it was easy to recuperate. I lifted up the knife, looking at the blade that was coated in my blood. A lot of my blood.
“Humans are frail,” the large Buffalo declared, pointing a hoof at me, “They rely on weapons that can be used from afar. It is a coward's choice. A true warrior gets up close for battle!”
Little Strongheart broke away from the crowd of gathering Ponies, Zebras, and Buffalos. She streaked across the rather barren area around myself, the other Human, and the large Buffalo. She stopped to the left of him, which was actually pretty brave, since the large Buffalo was about to go on another rampage.
“Chief!” she whispered, though her words could easily be heard by everyone. “Please listen. The Princess speaks the truth! Not too long ago, I-”
“Not now, little one,” the Chief said, gently pushing Little Strongheart aside. I was expecting him to release some of his fury, but he had a soft spot for her. “These Humans the Ponies spoke of are supposedly dangerous. However, I have taken one out without a problem.”
Something was growing in me. A feeling I would never associate with a situation like this. Yet, as I heard the Chief speak, I found a smile emerging on my lips.
“And how could any Human be friendly!?” the Chief stated rhetorically, looking around. He was really causing a scene, and it just made me bite my lip to stop my smile from getting any bigger. “Are they not the ones who invaded Equestria? Everypony’s homeland?”
“Chief,” Little Strongheart stated flatly, “You do realize we were at odds with the Ponies once before, right?”
The mild shock on the Chief was quickly wiped away as he shook his head, acting like it had never occurred. But I had still seen it, and a hand covered my mouth, keeping my small convulsions from erupting. The feeling was still growing too.
“Of course, I knew that!” the Chief announced, his eyes shifting around to see if anyone dared contradict him. “But with these Humans, they have nearly taken the country. They are at focus right now, not us.”
Twilight was nervous as she looked between me and the Chief, “We’re… not really questioning who’s in focus. I mean, this Human is a… Human, but he’s different.”
“Different how?” The Chief questioned, a brow raising, “Are his feet abnormally large? Or perhaps he has a speaking impairment that I am unaware of? Or maybe this one is so dumb he can’t even understand the words coming out of my mouth?”
My shoulders were hunched up, and the feeling inside of me was reaching its peak. I could barely hide my mouth as I closed my eyes, trying to calm down. I didn't think anything would stop it though, not without release.
“Really,” the Chief stated with a lazy gesture to myself, “How in the world is this Human different?”
The feeling that had been growing, I knew exactly what it was, and I was tempted to stop it before it got out of hand. But after what the Chief said, I couldn’t hold it any longer.
The feeling was mirth.
I burst out laughing, clutching my stomach as my wound hurt with each guffaw. It was a hysterical scene, not just from what I heard and saw, but how I laughed as well. I sounded like a maniac, finally reaching his ultimate goal. The source was almost completely obvious too, I didn’t have to worry if I had lost my mind. Just seeing and hearing someone doubt, question, and threaten me literally a minute after I saved him from another Human was too comical to let pass.
My knees buckled as I fell to the ground, pounding a fist against the dirt as I tried to get some relief from my laughter. But as I raised my head, I could only laugh harder at the bewildered and scared expressions everyone shared. And when I mean everyone, I fucking mean everyone. The Chief, Twilight, all her friends, the other Buffalos, the Zebras, the Ponies; everyone! It was too much, and I could only laugh harder at them. I tipped over to the side, finally taking long breaths from my reaction. With each breath came a quiet chuckle, as the humor still hadn’t completely left my system. It wasn’t for another minute before I stopped with a wide grin on my face.
“Wow,” I said at last, “You guys…” I swallowed, my throat dry as I squeezed out the last few words. “You guys are… I can’t even describe it.”
“N-Nolan?” Twilight breathed, and I tilted my head up at her, catching sight of her frightened face. “Are you alright?”
“Oh yeah,” I said, nodding before glancing at my wound, “But I think the blood loss is catching up with me.”
The statement was too true, since I hadn’t been keeping pressure on it. With three limbs being weighed down like someone had been sitting on them, it was difficult to get back to my feet, but I managed as I stumbled slightly. I faced the Chief, my overzealous smile falling to a fond one.
“But hey,” I said with a shrug, “I’m only the Human that saved your ass.” I gestured to the other Human, my arms shaking. “Since he was willing to kill you without a second thought. Why take my word for it when all the Ponies here can vouch for me?”
Another chuckle escaped my lips. I hadn’t even considered the fact on how wrong the Chief was with his declarations. And the chase, oh my god, the chase! I went after the Human for a reason, and it sure as hell wasn’t to play tag!
“What’s wrong with ya, Sugarcube?” Applejack questioned, stepping away.
“Everything!” I stated, waved my arm out, “And nothing…”
I trailed off as I tumbled back onto the ground. Dark spots filled my vision until they overtook it. I was unconscious before I could utter a thank you to everyone for listening.
{~+~}
Groaning, I came out of my slumber with a ache that was splitting my head open. I brought a hand up, rubbing it out as much as I could, but found no relief. It was persistent, and as I opened my eyes, it only got worse. Even still, I gazed around, finding my vision blurry as I made out the familiar white walls and ceiling that was the clinic. Considering I had no recollection of ever entering the building, let alone lying down inside, I was more than confused, and it didn’t help my headache.
“You’re awake,” the voice of Carrot Top said, more out of surprise than stating the obvious, “Hold on.”
I blinked several times, and I was able to catch a glimpse of her stepping through a door and disappearing behind it. I tried to remember the last thing I was doing. Laughing; I knew there was a lot of that. What was strange was that it felt both forced and natural, like my mind was already thinking it, but my brain couldn’t stop myself from expressing it.
The door opened again, and with my sight much clearer, I could easily see Doctor Styles make his way over to me. A hoof was on my forehead before I knew he was standing beside my bed. I grasped the sheets, finding comfort from the coolness in his hoof, even if specks of dirt were on it.
“Still pretty warm,” Doctor Styles murmured, “Nurse, can you fetch another bucket of water and towels?”
“Of course,” the nurse said. I had no idea she was even in the room. How disoriented was I?
“Wazz…” I tried to speak, but my speech was slurred.
“Ah ah,” Doctor Styles stopped, bringing back his cold hoof, much to my dismay. “The effects of the drug is still in your bloodstream.”
“Drug?” I wheezed out, my throat still dry. I remembered that when I was laughing. And my arm was still hurting, even in the clinic.
Doctor Styles nodded, before holding up a clipboard that I swear came out of nowhere. He traced a hoof down it as he spoke, his eyes narrowed as he read. “The knife was coated with a type of drug that brought out the inner feelings of others. The Zebras were able to help me identify it. Sort of peculiar, if you ask me, though I know you can’t in your condition.”
Why a Human, who snuck into a city full of Ponies, would use a poisoned knife was beyond me. Of course, in my state of mind, such thoughts were nothing but static and fuzz. However, the most concerning element that stuck with me was what happened to the Human.
As if reading my mind, Doctor Styles moved the clipboard away as he gave a smirk. “Nice work with the Human. Twilight has him sealed up in jail. He won’t be hurting anypony anytime soon. Even the Chief was impressed, well, after his rant, that is.”
“Doctor,” Angel scolded, coming back in with a silver bucket at her hooves. Her face showed she was anything but pleased, and Doctor Styles knew this as he smiled uneasily. “Please stop antagonizing the patient. He can learn about the other Human later.”
“Right,” I said pushing myself up. My shirt and armor were gone, showing my bare chest. It didn’t bother me, especially when I saw my bandaged arm. It was necessary for them to be taken off. I wasn’t even sure why I had to explain that to myself. My headache was always the answer.
“Uh, you need rest,” Doctor Styles stated, though he wasn’t very forceful about it. The more I moved, the better I felt, as odd as it was. The drug must be slowly waning, what with my kidneys weeding it out. I flexed my injured arm and winced when a painful throb responded. It was still sensitive, but I could deal with it.
“Nolan,” the nurse stressed, her eyes furrowing, “The doctor has given you orders.”
Ignoring them for a moment, I turned to the nightstand on the other side of the bed, eyeing the cup of water that begged to be drank. Without a thought, I lurched forward and grabbed the cup, downing the water greedily. It felt so welcoming that I held the cup at my mouth, even after finishing off the contents, as if more water would magically appear. Somewhat sated, I placed the drink back on the nightstand before releasing satisfied sigh.
“And I’ve opted to ignore those orders,” I retorted, glancing around for my clothing. I found it in a heap against the wall, with a hole where I had been stabbed. Blood stained the inside of the sleeve, and I was almost tempted to leave it. I would need to get someone to patch it up, hopefully soon.
Standing to my feet turned out to be easier than I thought, but not by a whole lot. The room span for a while, but after a few quick shakes of my head, everything fell into place. Reaching for my clothing, with my arm acting up again, Doctor Styles approached me, looking like he was about to put his hoof down. “You must stay in bed. We don’t know if the drug had any after effects. For all we know, it could kill you! You. Could. Die!”
“Nice try,” I snapped back, throwing my jacket back on as I adjusted the zipper. “How long did it take you to think that up?”
Doctor Styles made sounds akin to words, but he was definitely flustered. Luckily for him, Angel came to his rescue as she stepped up next to him, pushing him aside with a hoof as she glared at me. All I could do was smirk as I threw my vest on, feeling its snug pressure fit right in.
“He’s only doing what’s best for you,” Angel said as I slipped on my gloves before facing her fully with my arms crossed, “Do you really want to risk dying when a lot of Ponies don’t want you to?”
“What do you care?” I asked back with a wave of my hand. Angel had done nothing but antagonize me every chance she got. If anything, she was trying to get me killed as much as any Human had ever attempted. I made to walk past them, but Angel laid a hoof above my knee. It wasn’t the force that stopped me in my tracks, as it wasn’t even very strong. It was the exact opposite; her touch was much gentler than I had ever thought possible from her.
“I care,” she whispered, almost making me swat her hoof away in disbelief. But she wasn’t finished as she bowed her head, “I care that you survive so I don’t have to put up with more injured Ponies. It was already bad enough that I had to tend to so many wounded, but to have most of them end in death…”
I stared at the top of her head, unsure exactly how to feel about Angel. Doctor Styles spoke up, his eyes soft, “Do you know what Angel did when the foal - Piña Colada - passed away?”
Bringing that subject up made me somber, as if it was a trigger, and I shook my head in reply, feeling like he had already won the argument. “She cried,” he stated, “And if you knew her as much as I do, you'd know she rarely ever cries.”
That gave me a different perspective on Angel. I knew that I couldn’t judge these Ponies, knowing all of them had suffered in their own way, but meeting a cold hearted nurse like Angel made me think nothing fazed her. I was wrong again. Even still, I couldn’t leave myself bedridden any longer. The Human had been captured, but there could be more, searching for him. I needed to question him, torture it out of him if necessary. The Ponies were too soft to do something like that.
“I’m not going to die,” I said, emphasising each word so the two could memorize it. “But if something doesn’t feel right, I know who to go to. Besides, I’m sure there are other people who need more attention.”
Angel glanced up, her face hard to read at her angle, but she softly nodded at my words. Doctor Styles even smiled, accepting them as well. These two had healed me a few times, from broken ribs to gun shots, and I never really thanked them for it. Then again, I was thanking them by helping Ponies, so I suppose it balanced it out.
Leaving the two behind with a quick goodbye, I left the room, and as I closed the door behind me, I could see more rooms in the hallway, probably the patient variety. A glance to the plaque beside the room I had occupied showed that it was room one-oh-six. Inwardly, I smiled at the number, somewhat glad I had been sleeping in there.
I made my way down the hallway until I reached the receptionist room, and halted at the doorway at what I saw. Applejack and Apple Bloom were the first I spotted, sleeping soundly together and making me ponder how long I had been out. The two had really bonded after Applejack’s break down. I didn’t want to feel like I had helped, since I wanted AJ to have come to terms on her own. And in a way, she kind of did. Carrot Top was already trotting up to me as soon as I was in view, and I put my focus on her. When she was within range, she stood on her hind legs and wrapped her forelegs around my neck. I forgot that the Ponies could be as tall as Humans when they felt like it. I wasn’t surprised by her gesture either, wrapping my hands around her back for a second before pulling back. She did the same, but instead of falling back to all fours, she put her forelegs on my chest and used one to slap me across the face.
That stunned me as my face jerked to the side, my mouth falling open as my cheek grew numb. Before I could reach a hand to sooth the pain, Carrot Top pushed off and glowered at me.
“Jerk!” she exclaimed. Her voice was low enough to not disturb Applejack and Apple Bloom, but had enough malice to show I was in trouble. “You just up and leave for Cloudsdale without telling anybody, without telling me, your friend! And all of a sudden you come back and I don’t even know until you’re off chasing some Human! And you get yourself poisoned in the process! You’re so insensitive! Don’t you know I’ve been worried for you!? You just-just…”
She finished off with a loud angry grunt as if it would describe all of her anger. I was in relative shock at first, but I came to understand her frustration quickly. I hurt a lot of people by heading to Cloudsdale, and it seemed it would be a journey to haunt me for a long time. As Carrot Top pushed off me, I could finally see that there was one other occupant. And though what Carrot Top had said to me was pretty important, I had found myself bewildered by the visitor.
A Zebra sat on one of the chairs, having a smug smile, or perhaps it was confidence. His eyes gave me the impression that he was laid back, more relaxed than anybody else I had met in this world. His color scheme was similar to all the other Zebras I had gotten glimpses of, and his mane was a short mohawk. He had one circular earring as well as multiple bracelets on both forearms, all with bronze coloring.
“Je ni wakati mbaya kuzungumza?” He asked with a deep yet young voice. He was asking a question, but I only knew by his tone, because I didn’t understand a word he said. I should have known he would speak in a different language.
“Uh…” I responded, “I don’t speak…”
Carrot Top sighed with a roll of her eyes, “Ndiyo.”
I turned my baffled gaze to her; not only could Carrot Top understand the Zebra, but also speak his language. The Zebra chuckled, before pushing off the chair he sat on, trotting up to me with a hoof outstretched.
“I am Zenith,” he said in English, his accent showing his African roots, or Zebrican, I suppose, “I am happy to meet a warrior such as yourself.”
I didn’t meet his hoof, staring at it with confusion. He knew I was a Human, yet treated me like I was another Pony. I had to be cautious around this, in case it was a trick. He noticed my hesitation as he put down his hoof with another chuckle.
“I see you are being careful,” he said with a sagely nod, “Inaeleweka. In your position, I would behave the same. Fear not, however; I saw what you did against the other binadamu. I believe you are on our side.”
It was a fresh change of pace, having someone new like me the first time I meet them. With everyone either hating or fearing me, Zenith was probably the very first Pony to actually come up to me peacefully. Not even Spitfire had done that the first time I had met her.
“Okay, Zenith,” I greeted back, trying to break the ice I had set with my earlier mood, “I’m Nolan. And don’t take this the wrong way, but why are you here?”
“Ah,” Zenith said in realization, rubbing his chin, “I suppose I should elaborate on my position. I am both the leader and ambassador for the Zebras from Zebrica. I am here at the request of Princess Twilight Sparkle, specifically to lend aid against the Humans. Except for you, I suppose.”
So, not only was this Zebra friendly towards me, but was the one in charge of his people too. That would pave the way for my well being among other Zebras. After all, the people follow their leader - if he wasn’t a douche bag - and would surely follow his example. Feeling better at that, I stuck my hand out for a proper shake, and Zenith returned it with a smile of his own. For once, we may actually get an ally against the Humans. A glance over to Carrot Top made me frown as she sat on her haunches facing the wall.
Having a friend like her acting that way wasn’t a good feeling to have. She was one of the few, if not first, ponies to treat me with kindness, and betraying her trust really didn’t change things for the better.
“Carrot Top,” I called, searching for the right word to start with. “I should have told you that I was leaving, but it didn’t really cross my mind.”
She grunted in disdain, and I nearly facepalmed at my idiocy. Right, start off by saying I wasn’t even thinking about her at all. Why did everything need so much drama? Not wanting to deal with her attitude, I decided to veer the topic away from myself.
“How do you know how to speak Zebra anyway?” I asked, looking to Zenith in case I had offended him in some way. He simply smiled, closing his eyes with calmness. I envied his mellow demeanor. It must be nice to be able to tune out all the harsh things going on in the world.
“It’s Zebrikun,” Carrot Top corrected, barely turning her head to speak, “It’s their language, and I learned it from Zecora.”
If I recalled correctly, Zecora had been shunned for a while in Ponyville, and I didn’t think Ponies would want to visit her in the Everfree Forest. Plus, Carrot Top had never spoken in Zebrikun when we visited Zecora. Why didn’t she tell me of her bilinguality? There were a lot of questions floating around, and I feared none of them would be answered because of our small fallout. And if many of the other Zebras couldn’t speak English, than I would need her to translate when Zenith wasn’t around.
Everything just had to be complicated.
Thankfully, I had a Human to interrogate, which would give me time to figure out how to deal with Carrot Top. I didn’t think pushing off our heated conversation would be a good idea, but if there were Humans still roaming around, I needed to know. First, I would deal with the Human, then I could focus on my friendships.
“We’ll talk later, alright?” I asked as I headed for the door.
“Whatever,” she snapped, her head tilting towards the floor. I halted at the door, my heart tightening at her one-worded answer. She was really angry about what I did, which was somewhat ironic, because most Ponies were angry at me for different reasons. Figuring out how to make up for what I did wasn’t going to be easy, but nothing had really been a walk in the park either. Sighing, I opened the door, glancing over to the still sleeping Applejack and Apple Bloom. It put a smile on my face to see them so tranquil.
“We will talk later, mlezi?” Zenith asked with a genuine smile, nothing smug or confident about it. I raised a brow at the word he called me, unsure if he had insulted me or not. Looking over to Carrot Top showed she wasn’t about to tell me. For the time being, I had to hope it was a friendly term. With that in mind, I nodded in his direction before stepping outside.
It was at that very moment a bird swooped down by my head, causing me to swat wildly at it in reflex. I covered my head when it left, keeping an eye on it as it flew in a wide circle before landing on Fluttershy’s outstretched hoof, who stood just a few feet away from the building.
“Mrs. Bluejay!” Fluttershy scolded, her eyes scorning the bird who cowered away. “What did I say about attacking my friends? I know Humans are bad, but this one is good. Now, say you’re sorry.”
The bird nodded before stretching its wings and flew over to me. Hesitantly, I held up a hand and it landed on it, right before tweeting like any other bird I had ever heard. It wasn’t hard to guess what it could have said, but that the bird had some form of intelligence and that Fluttershy could understand them was what threw me off.
“It’s… fine,” I said with a raised brow. I turned back to Fluttershy, who trotted over with a smile of satisfaction. “You can understand animals?”
“Oh, yes!” she said excitedly, “I don’t know exactly what they say, but I have a really, really good feeling on what they mean. I used to have a bunch of animal friends back in Ponyville. I was the caretaker for them.”
The bird chirped in agreement, and I had to feel guilty for not knowing more about Fluttershy. She had a whole life before the Humans came, all the Ponies did, and I knew nothing about those lives. Sure, some of them were obvious, like with Applejack and Carrot Top, but what did Pinkie Pie do? Or Trixie? I could only guess, and it didn’t feel like it was enough.
My eyes wandered to the bird’s leg, where an item was tied to one. It was a small note, with a piece of string wrapped around it. There was no reason for Fluttershy to tie a piece of paper to the bird. “What’s with this?” I questioned, pointing to the note.
“I’m not sure,” Fluttershy answered leaning closer with her head tilted up. I brought my hand down for her to get a better look, but I was sure Fluttershy already knew what I was talking about. “Mrs. Bluejay flew all the way from Ponyville to deliver it. Most of the animals don’t know the names of Ponies, so she couldn’t tell who gave her the note. It had to be someone who the bird was familiar with though, otherwise she would have just flown away.”
So the bird had to trust the person who gave it the note? That was some really specific guidelines, especially for an animal. It couldn’t have been any Human, considering the bird had attacked me on sight. Pushing away the speculation, as I thought I had an idea who sent it, I pulled the string apart and picked up the note. With delicacy, I unfurled the paper, squinting to see the small letters that formed a single sentence. One that made my eyes widen in complete confusion.
Trust everything Jayden says -Zecora
And unless the rules had changed around Equestria, Jayden was a Human name.