//------------------------------// // 4. Faint // Story: Sidetracked // by flamevulture17 //------------------------------// Tap … Tap Tap …ugh... Tap Tap Tap ...ugh...stop it... TAP Max's eyes snapped open. Flailing his body upright as he threw his arms at the window to get the noise to stop. He hurried to find the door handle through his massive headache that rippled his skull. Something was knocking on the door. Candy? Felix? How long was he out? From the looks of things, not long, half a minute maybe. Max found the handle and opened his door, pushing it halfway. He tried to get out, but was still strapped to the seat. Unbuckling with difficulty, Max fell out of the car onto the dirt. His coughing was so bad, he could see blood dripping from his lips. Eye half closed and disoriented vision, standing up was impossible. Suddenly, a pair of arms pulled from under his shoulders and carried him from the wreckage. The unexpected touch and grab forced instinct into overdrive, fearing the worst of being captured. But his captor's voice reassured his fears. “It's alright Max, I gotcha!” He's never been happier to hear Felix echo those comforting words at his aid, considering his current condition. “Come over here Ben! Help me out!” Irregular footsteps ran up beside them. Max felt another pair of hands grab his own to push him upright while Felix braced him from behind with his arms. Max managed to blink a few times to restore his vision. He found Ben holding up a dark red t-shirt. Even his friend appeared to be in pain, probably more so according to the seething wrinkled on his cheeks. “Here, wipe yourself off.” Max accepted the cloth and patted down his knees. “No, your mouth.” Ben was pointing to his own lips to illustrate. Max was reminded of the blood. It didn't scare him. However, the state of the car several meters away did. He was a little banged up for sure, but he'll live. No sign of broken bones or internal bleeding. The car, on the other hand, looked terrible. While not wrecked, it was largely crippled. The left front tire was shredded and the left corner of the bumper was slightly smashed in by the trunk of an apple tree. Poor baby. Max finished wiping his face with the shirt and shook his head free his dizzy state. His friends helped him to his feet, brushing off the dust and leaves stuck to his clothes. “What happened?” he muttered. “A shitshow, that's what happened.” Ben punched Felix. “Get serious, man.” “I am serious.” Felix responded with a return shove. “It doesn't matter what happened, we're fucking screwed!” “It does matter.” Max retorted, resisting the need to shout. “What happened to the flying horse?” Ben shrugged. “I don't know, it wasn't here after we crashed.” Felix's face was red with fury. “Ugh, when I see that thing again, I'm gonna kill it!” Enough was enough. Max gave him the worst scowl of his life and grabbed his angry friend from the collar of his hoodie. “NO! You're going to stop acting like an asshole and let this go. Think about this rationally and don't do anything stupid.” Felix pushed Max off of him. “Let this go?!” he argued. “Are you serious right now? Do you realize how crazy you sound right now? That horse thing crashed the damn car, and now we are stuck here for god know how long, miles from the interstate and no way to call for help. Look who's the crazy one here, huh? Thanks for getting us lost in this god forsaken hell of a detour.” All while the two of his friends berated each other for idiocy, incompetence, insolence, insensitivity, and other insults that begin the letter “i”, Ben retreated many steps back slowly to glance back at the car. He saw Candy inspecting the damage done to their ride. As per usual, the two who used the front seats, Candy and Max, were the most injured, even if it was mild, but recovered rather quickly. He and Felix only suffered minor whiplash. They weren't even going that fast. Thankfully, his trustee helmet kept him safe. Best human invention since the wheel. Still, all of them bore the pain of despondence. Some more than others. They no way they're leaving anytime soon. Ben decided to ditch his friends to help Candy, leaving behind a tumultuous bickering session. He limped over to her. The pain spiking from his left knee was getting worse. “Sooo, what's the verdict here?” he asked her as she inspected the luggage stored in the back of the car. “Oh, uh,” she cleared her throat, “looks like everything is okay back here.” She reached up and closed the back door. “But it doesn't look like we'll be going anywhere with a flat tire. The thing can still run, but without a new tire, we're stuck.” “Isn't there a spare under the seats?” “I don't know, I'm waiting for Max to finished yelling at Felix so I could ask him.” She rested her hand on her hips. “It ain't my car.” “Well...” Ben stared at the men flailing their arms around each other. “This could take a while.” He paused, looking at her, then away, then at her again, then at the sky. “So where's that thing that jumped on the hood? I mean, it nearly got us killed.” “I believe it's called a pegasus.” Candy laughed. “Still funny how small its wings were. And that hair, hehe, must be some hipster trend or something. All the colors? I mean give me a break. Talk about rainbow overload.” Ben looked at her funny. “Uh, you seem to be pretty sure about the animal itself, forgetting the fact pegasuses don't exist.” “Pegasi.” “See! That what I'm talking about. You act like this shit happened like it's no big deal. Can't you see we're fucked?” Ben didn't mean to raise his voice, the frustration of it all sinking in was beginning to bleed through. He didn't swear often. That attitude was now starting to rub off on him, stooping as low as the arguing pair several meters away. Or maybe it was the blood rushing to his head. Candy grazed her chin with one hand and placed the other in her pocket, thoughtfully. She wasn't given enough time to sound off when they heard several thumping sounds approach with great speed, only to slow down and stop some distance away. All was quiet now. Candy and Ben noticed that Max and Felix were no longer barking at each other. They were all staring at the same thing. The horses were back. And they brought company. Three of them. Most prominent of them was the blue one that caused this whole mess. No surprise there. The next was the first horse they saw before back in the orchard less than twenty minutes ago, an orange equine with a loose brown hat and dirty look on its face. The last one was new, a red beast of a horse. Obviously of large size and heavier proportions. The rainbow one took it upon herself to approach first. Each of the humans had already grouped together at this point, backs to the car. “What do you monsters have to say for yourselves!?” she snarled in her oddly raspy voice. Apparently the other horses shared her sentiment, looking ready to defend themselves at any time. The men stepped back, while Candy took a step forward. She held her arms up passively, a definite move of non hostility. “W-wait wait wait, hear us out,” she said, a crack in her voice. She shrugged. “We were just trying to pass by. What did we do wrong?” “You hurt our friend Pinkie Pie!” shouted the rainbow one again, on the verge to attacking. “No no no, we didn't hurt any-” “Don't lie to us,” the orange horse pitched in, siding with the pegasus. “Ya'll hurt her feelings, an ya'll don't apologize, yu gunna regret it.” Ben forced the courage to waddle to Candy's side, but not to her aid, but to voice major concern. He pulled on her shoulder. “Why are you talking to these horses?” he whispered, biting on his own teeth. “I mean for all we know we're just trippin' on acid or something and none of this is really happening.” That clearly didn't feel true at all as his knee alternated with waves of pain. This echoed the panic shared by the two men behind him who were clearly lost in light of the encounter. Candy pushed back. “Shut up, Ben, I'm trying to get us out of this mess. It's all just a huge misunderstanding.” He raised an eyebrow. “Misundersta-” “HEY!” the pegasus interrupted, “Stop ignoring me!” Candy sighed to hide her anxiety. She spoke calmly and kept her cool. “Well, what is it you want us to do?” “Ah said apologize!” said the orange equine. Candy came up with a puzzle expression. “To who?” “Pinkie Pie.” “Was she pink with curly red hair, about your size?” Like, no shit. Just play dumb, Candy, play dumb. “Yes, and you made her cry. She came running into town with a tears in her eyes. She told us everything. And you monsters are responsible.” Candy and Ben made the mistake of looking over their shoulders at Felix, eyes filled with contempt and disappointment. The horses took notice of the implied confession on the part of the sole instigator of Pinkie's pain. The humans were not expecting what happened next, which defied physics as they knew it. WHOOSH The pegasus instantly sprinted past the first two humans and stopped inches from the face of the guilty human in question. This provoked rapid retreat from Felix as he tried to scuffle away. “AGRH, get away!” the man yelled, stumbling back away from the hovering pony. He swung a fist at her, but she effortlessly dodged it. She retaliated he with her own punch, also dodged by the human. Felix wished he had his pistol in hand, but it didn't matter. He was outmatched. A scuffle ensued, only to be interrupted soon after. “THAT'S ENOUGH, RAINBOW DASH!” roared a deep voice, almost as loud as the crack of a gunshot itself. The flying horse stopped, opening the opportunity for Felix to land a hit on her muzzle. Fortunately, Max intervened by nearly tackling him and shoving him back, giving the pegasus time to reorient herself and retreat at the sound of the loud call from the large red horse. “Stop it, you idiot!” Max hissed, pressing an arm to the man's chest, forcing him back. “Or so help me, I'll beat the shit out of you myself.” “You just gonna let that... horse... thing... get away with attacking me?” That reason apparently didn't suffice. He'd have to come up with a better excuse. Acting as the human barrier between Felix and his new enemy, Max did everything to calm him down. “No. But you need to get a hold of yourself for fuck's sake. You're the only one of us who is pissed, and I don't want you to make it any worse.” Though this didn't sit well Felix, it did help to diffuse a potential storm. Right now he felt betrayed by his own friends. Why would they defend these ponies? None of this is supposed to be happening. One minute they're on a road trip, and the next they're being harassed by stupid talking... ugh! Even thinking of what they are makes him uneasy. “Ah am sorry for mah friend's behavior,” said the orange horse stepping forward to pull the pegasus back. “She just gets a little cocky sometimes. But what ya'll said to Pinkie ain't nice. Don't think we won't use force to protect our friends.” Candy took a couple steps back. The pegasus clearly had some issues, and apparently her orange companion was well aware of that. At least, that was the assumption. She didn't disregard the attack, only to explain that they wouldn't hesitate to use violence. Fortunately, the orange pony's logic was a two way street. “Well that's what we were trying to do, too,” said Candy, making a small gesture behind her to Ben. “Protecting our own friend.” “Why should we trust what ya'll are saying is the truth?” orange pony asked with a frown. Not once did she drop her guard. Candy didn't know what to say other than give an informative excuse. “Because even we aren't happy with how things went. None of us were expecting... uh... you guys.” Ben carefully approached, trying to pull Candy away from digging her own grave, but she resisted. “My point is, we're lost, and we're not entirely sure where we are. Plus, talking horses don't exist.” Each of the equines glanced at each other. As confusion began to brew, the hostile first impressions faded to reveal some hint of sympathy. That is, until they thought about that last part. The one with the hat relaxed a bit, and the big red one was as stoic as can be. The spectrum pegasus, however, wasn't convinced. “Don't play dumb with us,” she contended. “You monsters are always out to get us. Go back to the Everfree Forest where you belong!” Her orange friend stepped in to contest that absurdity. “Now hold on there Rainbow Dash. It ain't nice to go insulting anypony before they can explain themselves.” She further expressed worry with a stink eye. “Ah don't want nopony to getting' hurt, these here... uh... tall... creatures don't look like they ain't from the Everfree Forest.” “Everfree Forest?” Candy whispered. “Tall creature?” “Ah think we should get Twilight to help, she'll know what to do.” “ARH!” yelped Ben, falling to the ground in agony. The horses flinched and Candy immediately leaped into action. She was too late to catch him, but offered to see what was wrong. “What happened!?" she asked him. Ben couldn't speak clearly, too immobile as he painfully gritted his teeth together with his eye shut tight, forcefully gripping his leg. Even Max and Felix walked over to help out. "I think he broke his leg,” said Max. Each human could recall the moment Ben had trouble getting up after the whole Felix gun fiasco. It was probably more serious than they thought. All Ben could do was grunt. In fact, he passed right then. Candy's started to panic, fearing Ben might have gone into shock. Or worse. “Ben?” She tried to shake the boy awake, but to no avail. She removed his helmet, letting it fall to the ground. “Ben!?” She looked over his body. “No no no no.” “Candy! Calm down,” Max said. He pointed to Ben's leg, which had turned a dark blue color. “We need to stop the bleeding.” “But how?” she croaked. “I- I- I don't know what to do.” “We do.” The humans looked up at the voice of the orange horse. “What?” “Ah see yer friend is hurt bad.” The expression the equine was strangely human with resemblance to the emotion of dread. No more resentment, replaced by mercy. “We have a hospital not far from here. We can take him there.” Candy didn't know whether to trust what she was saying, or give them the benefit of the doubt. It sure did appear like she truly meant her words. Beside, she was desperate. “U-um, o-okay...” Candy picked up Ben from the neck and knees. “Are you really going to trust them?” Felix objected, clearly weary about the idea. “Seriously, these things attacked us.” “I'm not going to argue with you,” Candy retorted. She pointed at Max. “Stay here with Felix and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid.” Felix raised a finger, but she cut him off. “Don't to anything stupid.” She then looked back at the ponies. “Show me the way.” The orange pony nodded with a smile. “Big Mac, stay here, we'll be back. Rainbow, come with me, ya'll done enough damage already.” “Aw what!? But what how come-” “Ah don't to hear it,” she hissed. “Ya gone too far.” With that, they trotted away, Candy following close behind holding Ben. Max watched as they were led into town and then disappeared behind a house. The air was still again, with the infrequent bird chips. What kept him on edge was the red horse standing there staring at Felix with his cold eyes. Felix didn't like that. “What do you want?” he said, asserting control with his stern voice. The horse didn't respond. Max walked over to join him. “Just shut up and stop talking, man. It's bad enough with you around now. I don't even know why Candy asked you to come with us to California.” He put himself in between Felix and the horse. “Even I didn't think it was a good idea. And I was right.” Felix spit on the grass. “I'm sorry, okay? Jeez, I was just saving Ben from that annoying horse. You would have done the same thing.” “No. No I wouldn't. You went too far pulling out a gun like that.” Max threw his arms in the air. “I mean for fuck's sake, you should have told me you had a gun with you.” Felix shrugged. “What? I didn't think it was a big deal.” “Well, it is now.” “Big Mac!?” squeaked a young voice. The men looked around, only to find a tiny horse run up to the large horse three times its size. The yellow creature wore an oversized pink bow, reason to believe was the little girl equivalent of pony. “What's all the ruckus? Ah heard a big metal carriage crash on the farm.” “Applebloom.” said the horse, with that deep voice, enough to intimidate the humans with just its pitch. “What are ya'll doing out of school?” The little filly saw the two humans watching her from a distance, in awe. “Who are they, Big Mac? Were they riding in that there carriage?” “Eeyup.” “They look funny.” She took notice of the wrinkled clothes they had on and how tall they stood on their hind legs. “What are they big brother?” “I don't know,” he said, glancing back at the men. “You know we can hear you, right?” uttered Felix, crossing his arms. Max gave him a little shove. “Don't be rude, man. She's just a kid.” It was interesting how unafraid the little pony appeared to be. She showed them a playful grin like any kid would do when made aware of their youth. “Well, what are ya?” “Applebloom, please,” her brother said. “No, it's fine, I'm Max, and this is Felix.” Felix shoved back. “Don't tell them our names.” “Will you chill out already and grow up. You shouldn't be surprised by now. Yes, I know we found a town with horses that fly and talk. If you're not okay with that, then deal with it. I still think it's impossible, but it's also cool.” “Cool? You've lost your mind?” “Says the guy who pulled a gun on someone.” “Shut up.” Felix huffed, knowing he would never live it down. “Admit it, you fucked up,” Max stated. “Just don't do it again. I can make sure of it.” “What are you talking about,” said Applebloom. She was eager for answers. “Quiet, Applebloom,” Big Mac said. “They're dangerous.” “Wait how would you know that?” Max objected. “You don't even know us. It was all just a mistake on the part of my friend here. But also blame your other friend, that pink pony that scared the shit of us and wouldn't leave us alone.” “Pinkie Pie?” Applebloom chirped. “Is that her name?” Felix rubbed chin and cleared his throat. Given the strong disapproval from all her friends and the second thought of wrongdoing, he finally forced out his insincere conviction. “Tell her I'm sorry, kay?” “Apology accepted!” The humans jumped. Both shouted “Fuck!” before sidestepping away from the car. They found the bright pink pony standing on top of the car as if she'd been there the whole time. She then jumped down and joined the other horses. “God damn it you-” Felix was pushed back by Max, having already recovered by the quick shock. “Dude chill, she's harmless.” “Yes indeedy, I would never hurt anypony, or any filly, or any gryphon, or any itsy bitsy spider.” Pinkie Pie smiled wide. The hyperactive speed talking of that high pitched voice annoyed Felix to no end. “Thanks for that,” Max said sarcastically. “You're welcome friend! Welcome to Ponyville.” “Seriously?”