Author’s note: I’m not exactly sure what I’m doing here. I am currently writing this note and haven’t even started to write. I have no idea what adventure my brain will take me on here but I can only hope it is good.
Some music that helps me get Ryan into character:
‘45’ by Shinedown
‘Headstrong’ by Trapt
‘Monster’ by Skillet
‘The Animal I Have Become’ by Three Day’s Grace
‘Welcome to the Black Parade’ by My Chemical Romance
‘Viva la Vida’ by Coldplay
‘The Regulator’ by Clutch (Be patient, it has a long intro)
‘Sympathy for the Devil’ by The Rolling Stones
-
The tires kicked up a few patches of dirt before gripping some solid ground and pushing forward. I rolled down my window and let my left arm rest on the sill as the wind blew through my hair. The sun was shining down over the large field ahead of me but my aviators shielded me from most of the rays. The V8 roared under the hood as I pushed on towards the familiar road towards town.
The digital read out on the radio claimed it was noon as I pulled up onto the road. The suspension gave a squeak and it reared over the ditch separating the road from the field. As soon as all four tires connected with the road, my ride smoothed out and I cut the wheel. I diverted my attention from the road to the radio and turned it on. I was immediately met with ‘Paint it Black’. The guitar echoed through the cabin before the vocals took over and drowned out the rest of the noise.
I sped up to 65mph and flipped on the cruise control. My rifle rattled between the seat and console as I hit a bumpy section of the road. The tires let out little yelps as they hit each bump and sent shockwaves through the car. It wasn’t that big a deal though since road smoothed out again as I entered town. The town was out and about as I pulled onto the central street. Various ponies went on with their daily lives as if I wasn’t there. I slowed down to 15mph in town so I could give them a chance to get out of the way.
I remembered from the changeling attack where the bakery was. I turned around a corner and parked on the side of the street. I pushed open the door and Dash flew out over top of me. She shot straight up in the air as I stepped out of the H2 and slammed the door behind me. The engine cut off as I stepped away and walked towards the Sugarcube corner. Dash dropped back down to ground level and looked up at me.
“Needed to stretch out, you know?” She said.
I thought for a moment before it hit me again. She was eagerly waiting to show off to me. Now that I knew what she was thinking, it was almost obvious in her posture. She walked with and exaggerated step, leaned into her movements, and hated riding into town in the car. I smiled a bit as I stepped towards the building. I tried to peer into the window to get an idea of what I was expecting. Most of the lights were off and no one was inside. Something didn’t seem right. It was the middle of a weekday and the shop was closed without rhyme or reason? I took a step towards the door and looked down at her.
“Why is the shop closed this time of day?” I asked with the worry evident in my tone.
She was still ‘stretching’ as she replied “I dunno. She is usually here at this time of day.”
“No,” I replied with my hand snaking towards my 1911 “something is wrong here.”
With the sight of the gun, Dash stopped what she was doing and flew up to waist height and pulled my hand away from my holster.
“I’m sure everything is fine.” She said in a comforting tone “Don’t hurt anypony.”
I smirked “When haven’t I been careful?”
I jerked the handgun out of its holster and pressed my back against the wall next to the door. I wasn’t going to take chances as I kicked the door in and spun around into the dark room, scanning the area with my handgun. I walked over to the counter and hopped over the counter with the gun still in hand. Empty.
“All Clear!” I shouted as Dash stepping inside.
I jumped back over the counter and walked over to another door which read ‘private’. It was the last place anyone could be. I stepped in front of the door and banged on with this the grip of my gun three times.
“Hello!” I called out through the door “Is anyone here?”
I didn’t get a response.
“I will kick the door in if no one responds.”
Still nothing.
“They must be somewhere else Ryan. Forget them and come watch me!” Dash said excitedly.
I was considering her request before I heard a sneeze in the other room. Proof enough for me. I reared back and ran my shoulder through the door. The door swung wide as I readied the handgun.
“SURPRISE!” A room full of full of familiar faces called out.
I gave a relieved exhale as I lowered the gun. The room was decorated with various streamers and balloons like you’d see at an eight-year-old’s party. I could see Pinkie, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Twilight in the room as well as a few others I didn’t know and Spike in the corner.
“Be careful.” I told them as I pulled my jacket open and shoved my handgun into its holster “I could’ve hurt someone.”
“Hey!” I heard Dash call out from behind “Why wasn’t I told?!”
Pinkie stepped forward and seemed to defy gravity as she jumped up and slammed a party hat on my head. She then turned to Dash.
“You might have given it away, silly! We couldn’t have you ruin the surprise.” She said in her normal, jovial manner.
“What’s the occasion?” I asked as I took the hat off.
“Well,” She started off “I wanted to thank you for your help with that nasty changeling invasion. Who knows what would have happened without you!”
“Uhhh… thanks?” I said, totally confused.
“You’re welcome!” she said as she spun around and bounced back into the crowd.
I walked towards the crowd and grabbed a chair. I plopped down into it and crossed my arms as I sat back in it. Music suddenly filled the air and it sounded almost like a Victorian orchestral piece. Not really my style, but whatever. I looked over to Dash and saw she was almost aggravated at this point. She dug one of her hoofs into the floor before slowly giving in and walking into the crowd. She then began to mingle with Twilight. I sat back in my chair and noticed Rarity walking over to me.
“I’m glad to see you like your suit darling.” She said and she stopped in front of me and gave me a once over.
“That reminds me,” I said as I reached into my pocket “here is the cash for this suit.”
I pulled out five coins and set them on the table next to me.
“Don’t give me that ‘It’s free’ bullshit either. I am working now and here is the cash I owe you.”
Her expression gave me the impression she was perplexed. She seemed to shrug it off though as she grabbed the coins with her magic and walked off. I thought for a moment where she would put the coins without pockets or a purse before I came to the conclusion that this was a bullshit question.
Funny how it was a party for me and I ended up receding into the corner to survey it. It had always been like this for me. I never like to be the center of attention because I always preferred to watch from the sidelines. You could learn a lot from someone just by sitting back and opening your eyes. Although by doing this, it did help me develop an uncanny ability to drop in on other people’s conversations. That always used to get me in trouble at home.
I sat back in my chair and watched the party from the comfort of my own world. I could see that Pinkie was off talking with Rarity about something or other, Applejack was chatting with Spike and Fluttershy, and Dash was still talking with Twilight as she motioned with her hoofs about something. I didn’t want to be just a piece of furniture, so I climbed to my feet and walked over to the corner of the room near Dash and Twilight. I still had on my sunglasses as I leaned back in the corner and watched over the situation. I opened up my ears in hopes of picking up on a conversation.
The room was too jumbled with too many conversations to pick out just one but I could hear choice words like ‘saved, gun, tall,’ and ‘helped’. I knew this was a party for me so I had to wonder where the booze was. What’s a party without alcohol? I wish I still had that bottle of vodka I had found in the H2 but Dash had tossed it out the window, never to be seen again.
As I stood there, I crossed my arms and leaned my head against the wall to close my eyes for a moment. Twilight seemed to notice this. She stepped forward and tried to strike up conversation.
“Did you speak to Celestia after our talk?” She asked.
“You’re bad at small talk, you know that?” I said, not opening my eyes.
“Don’t try and change the subject.”
“Isn’t it bad etiquette to speak with a ‘client’ outside of appointments?”
“Stop trying to brush me off.”
“If you really want to know; no, I didn’t.” I said as I rubbed my eyes and pulled my glasses off of my face.
“Why not?” She asked in an annoyed tone.
“A major case of ‘could not be asked’.”
I could sense a lecture coming on “You will show Celestia respect. She helped you and you owe her.”
“One, no and two, I don’t. She brought me here against my will so I don’t owe her anything.”
I could tell she was getting a little aggravated at my comments. It almost seemed like she either had a crush on her or worshipped her as some sort of god.
“Why are you acting like this?” She asked in a little annoyed tone.
“Because I can.” I snapped back on cue.
“You’re impossible!” She exclaimed.
“So I’m told.”
She shook her head and walked back into the crowd. I watched her grab Applejack and Rarity’s attention and begin to speak. Both of them turned their head to get a look at me before giving Twilight a nod. This was going to be good.
“Let the games begin.” I mumbled as I noticed Fluttershy taking timid steps towards me “Can I help you with something?” I asked, turning my attention to her.
She shot behind a chair as soon as my eyes hit her. I rolled my eyes and walked over to her position. I grabbed the chair, picked it up, and placed it behind me. The small Pegasus cowered before me before I knelt down and offered my hand to help her up.
“I don’t bite.” I said as I knelt down closer.
“O-Okay. Y-you’re just a little… i-intimidating.” She said in a voice so small it was like she didn’t want me to hear it.
“You aren’t the first one to tell me this.” I said as she placed a hoof in my hand and I helped her up.
“I’m glad to see you making friends.” A familiar voice said from behind.
I spun round to see Dash walking up to me. I was still on one knee as she grabbed my arm with her forehooves and tugged me towards her.
“Let’s go!” She said, barely containing herself. “We have been here long enough!”
“Why are you so eager to leave?” I fired back.
“I just am, ok? I already cleared it with Pinkie!” She claimed.
Her necklace swung wild as she jerked and tugged at my arm.
“Ok! Let’s go then.” I said as I pushed myself back on my own two feet.
“Finally!” She exclaimed as she spun wildly in her tracks.
She was almost like a child trying to grab their parent’s attention to show them a drawing they had worked so hard on. She still had a grip on my arms as she tugged my over to the door.
“This is kinda against my will, but I gotta go.” I said before giving the room a two finger salute.
The ponies in the room nodded and Dash yanked me out.
“Let’s go, let’s go!” She said as pushed open the door and pulled me out of the building.
“OK.” I said as I went along with it.
She flew over to the H2 and sat down on the hood. I jogged over to her as she tapped her hoof on the hood to communicate her impatience. I climbed inside of the cabin and let Dash climb over top of me to get to the passenger seat.
“Can you head to that spot I showed you a while back?” She asked.
“I think so.” I said as I turned the engine on and shifted into gear.
-
I drove for a few minutes before I turned off the road and headed towards the spot where me and Dash… eh… ‘shared a moment’. I pulled up to the apex of the hill and stopped. I shifted into park and let the engine cut off. I jumped out of the car and stretched a bit before looking back at Dash. She unfurled her wings and waved them around. She then pulled a stretch like that of a cat. She leaned down and pushed forward keeping her back legs firmly locked on the ground. I let her finish her stretching in peace and I placed a foot on the front bumper. I hoisted myself onto the hood of the H2 and heard the metal under me give metallic thumps as it coped with my weight.
I took a seat on the hood and waited for Dash to be ready. Without a second wasted, she flew out over top of the Hummer and looked down at me.
“I know you’ve waited and can’t wait any longer. Prepare to be amazed.” She said in a cocky voice before taking to the skies.
She pulled a giant loop in the sky, leaving her familiar rainbow trail behind her. I wish I could keep my attention on her but my mind was somewhere else…
-
Three years prior…
I awoke to the familiar walls of the shitty apartment that I was living in. The walls were white with apathy as I climbed out of bed still fully dressed from the night before. It was 3am as I woke up for no apparent reason. Something screamed in my sleep to wake up but I had no clue what it was. I knew it wasn’t a nightmare or a dream but it seemed to be an instinct of sorts. I realized that I was drenched in a cold sweat as I stumbled out of my room and into the bathroom. The walls were a light tan color and the room smelled of mildew as I placed my hands on the edges of the sink.
I looked up at the mirror and saw a white figure float away in the distance. I shrugged it off and walked out into the living room. In the center of the living room was a tan couch that had caked-on messes that I was too lazy to deal with. On each end was an end-table with various empty liquor bottles on them. I was barely eighteen and I had a steady access to liquor due to a shady store at the end of the street. They didn’t ask questions and neither did I.
I flopped down on the couch and grabbed the remote to an old TV that a roommate stole a while back during a riot. It was an old Magnavox that he ran off with from so old couple’s house. It made me sick to still be using it but I was too poor to buy a new one and I sure as hell wasn’t going to ask my mother for some cash. I hadn’t spoken to her in almost three months and my last conversation with her was an argument of why I wasn’t going to college.
I flicked through a few late night comedy shows and soap operas before the news started up. The bombastic sound-board music flew on as well as the logo for the channel. It was a low budget new program because the population of Youngstown couldn’t give a shit about the news. It was always the same, usually some banger getting plugged and ending up in some shady basement or business.
“This KYTX news coming to you live from downtown Youngstown.” A man with exceptionally well kept hair and suit said “We have a report coming in that corruption had been found at the upper levels of both city hall and the police department.”
‘No shit, Sherlock.’ I thought as I turned the light on the end table on. On the end-table, besides the bottles, sat a phone and a bag of beef jerky. I grabbed the bag of jerky and cracked it open. The smell was a welcome thing as it covered up the horrid smell coming from the kitchen. I took a bite before the phone came to life.
The phone was just a basic model that still had a cord. I didn’t need anything fancy because I never used it anyway. I wondered what kind of asshole would be calling at three in the morning as I picked up the phone and answer.
“Do you realize what time it is?” I grumbled into the receiver.
I could hear sirens in the other end of the phone as a gruff voice said “I’m sorry Mr. Laney but something has happened.”
“Please tell me Alex isn’t in jail again.” I said realizing it was the police.
“I’m afraid Mr. Litivnova isn’t involved this time. I need you to please come to 205 Mansell Dr.”
I shot forward in my seat “Why do I need to go to my mother’s house?! Did something happen?!”
“I’m afraid so. Please, I don’t want to talk over the phone.” The officer said before hanging up on me.
The phone switched to a high pitch whine as soon as the officer hung up. The phone fell from my hand as I ran over to the door and slipped my sneakers and ran out the door. I trudged down the stairs as my mind raced. I never really talked to my mother outside of holidays and I prayed for her safety. I kicked open the door to the open night sky and ran over to my old Ford sedan. I fumbled for my key before slamming it home. I pulled the door open and brushed all of the garbage off of the seat. I climbed in and tried to start the car. The car gave a few chugs before I slammed my fist on the dashboard and the car shot to life. I pulled the car out of my parking spot and barreled down the road thinking of every bad crime drama that I had ever watched.
-
I pulled on to Mansell Drive and saw the red and blue lights flashing in the distance. I felt my foot press harder and harder on the gas as the old ford sped down the suburban street. The houses became a blur as I accelerated towards the light like a fly to an electric bug zapper. As I reached the scene, I slammed on the brakes and my tires skidded to a stop. All of the officers snapped their heads to me as I stepped out of the car and left the door open behind me.
I saw the yellow tape on the door to my mother’s house. Oh god no. I ran up to the door and an officer stepped in front of me with a look of sympathy.
“Please Mr. Laney; you don’t need to go in there.” He said he placed a hand on my shoulder.
Lightning cracked in the distance as rain began to pour. I tried to step around the cop but he stopped me again.
“Mr. Laney, we need you cooperate with us.”
I wasn’t having it. My anger peaked and I punched the cop with everything I had in my. As my punch landed on the side of the cop’s face, my feet almost lifted off of the ground. The cop fell flat out on the ground and I charged up to the door. The door hung wide and only the yellow police tape separated me and the scene. I ran through the tape with a few officers in hot pursuit. As I ran through the doorway, I saw that the door had a large footprint in the center of it and the frame was split open. I ran in the living room, and saw that all the lights were out.
“Mom?!” I shouted as if I was going to hear her voice “Samarra?! Sarah?!”
Nothing.
An officer rounded the corner into the living room and I clothes-lined him. I charged into the kitchen and saw what would haunt me forever. There were a few yellowish plastic evidence markers as well as a bloody crowbar in the corner of the room. I hesitated as I walked around the corner and saw the bodies.
I walked up, empty inside. I was less than 5ft from the bodies when I fell to my knees. A few officers entered the room and stopped. I could hear them talking with one another as I stared at the bodies. They were mangled with expressions of horror on their faces. I could do nothing as I inched my ways towards them.
“No... god, no.”
I placed my hands around my mothers and found that they were cold and lifeless.
“Why you?” I mumbled as I broke down.
“Son,” An older police officer called from behind “you don’t need to see this.”
I threw myself on top of my mother’s corpse and cried into her cold neck, searching for a sign of life. She had tried so hard to help me but I just pushed her away all of those years. She wasn’t perfect but she was all I had.
“Come on son.” The officer said as he placed his hand on my shoulder and pulled me off of my mother “Let’s get you outta here.”
I let him pull me away as I tried to stifle my crying.
“Let’s get out of here, captain.” Another officer said.
The officers threw my arms around their shoulder and essentially dragged me out of the house. They took me out of the door and I lifted head and saw all of the police in the yard looking at me. The older officer walked me to his car as the lights blinded me and opened the door. He carefully placed me in the front seat as I just sat there, limp and numb.
“Everything will be fine.” he said with a hand on my shoulder.
“I don’t need your fucking sympathy.” I mumbled as he closed the door.
-
I came back to life and looked down at my hands. I found that my mark still sat on them as I realized where I was again. I still sat atop the H2 as I noticed a tear well up in my ear behind the sunglasses. I forced it back and shook my head.
“Are you ok?” I heard Dash call from my side.
I recoiled for a second before I realized it was her and calmed down. She seemed genuinely worried as I looked down at my hands and found that they were trembling. I tried to hold them still for a second before they trembled again.
“I-I think.” I replied.
“Another memory?” she asked as she dropped down on the hood and walked over to me.
“Yes, but not a pleasant one this time.”
“You have pleasant memories?” she joked.
“Now is not the time.” I replied coldly.
She seemed to take this as a cue and walked over to me.
“You want to tell me about it?” She asked.
“I don’t want you to share this burden. It is one that I must carry alone.”
She didn’t question it as she walked over to me and climbed into my lap and curled up. She must have had quite the work out because she was sweating and her heart was still racing.
“I’m gonna need to go back to Youngstown.” I said flatly.
“I thought you said that was behind you.” She said a little worried.
“There are a few things I need to take care of.” I replied.