//------------------------------// // The Light Brigade // Story: Leap of Faith // by A bag of plums //------------------------------// Sunset Shimmer scurried down two steps at a time, not stopping for anything as she made her way down. She had almost lost her footing once or twice, but she eventually found her feet on dirt as she hit the bottom of the construction site, running out to the streets as fast as her legs could carry her. Sunset was panting and sweating from the encounter with Wolfgang and her escape, but the freezing weather still got to her, biting at her exposed skin. “Velvet,” Sunset muttered as she looked up at the unfinished building. Whoever Velvet Breeze was, she had bought Sunset plenty of time to get away. The fiery haired girl felt that she owed it to Velvet to get her out of here as well, but she couldn’t do it alone. The icy air needling the inside of her lungs, Sunset made for the streets, practically flying through the crowds that were meandering along the sidewalk, eliciting cries of surprise and outrage as she bumped into pedestrian after pedestrian. “Sorry, sorry!” Sunset yelled out as she focused on getting to her destination. She had to find someone who could help her and she could only think of five really good friends that would help without question. Sunset took the next crossing at the traffic light, making her way out of the busy streets towards the outskirts. On a good day, it would be at least twenty minutes to get to Sweet Apple Acres, but the way things were going, Sunset would reach there in ten, as long as her heart didn’t give out before then. “Come on, Sunset,” She dodged between two men who were shoveling the front of a shop. “You can do this. Just a little more.” To be honest, she wasn’t sure what she was going to do once she got to Applejack’s house. With the little oxygen that wasn’t being pumped to her arms and legs, Sunset harbored misgivings toward bringing her friends into this. Wolfgang was clearly a highly dangerous individual, and if Velvet hadn’t stopped him, the inspector would have shot her. Not bothering to wait for the light to change, Sunset vaulted over the hood of a car and kept running, paying no attention to the angry screams from the driver inside. Just a little more. She could go the distance, and hopefully get help for Velvet. Big Macintosh lounged against the countertop of his kitchen, a stalk of celery in one hand and a can of cider in the other. The eldest of the Apple Family watched with polite curiosity while Pinkie Pie amused the other four members of the Rainbooms by blowing bubbles in cake batter. All of a sudden, the moment of calm was shattered by the sound of the front door slamming open, followed by the anguished rasps of someone who was clearly low on oxygen. Sunset Shimmer staggered into view, her leggings torn with blood oozing down one knee, and her scarf missing, panting like Winona on a hot summer’s day. “Sunset?” Pinkie let go of the straw and the bubble she had been blowing popped all over her face. “What happened to you?” Rainbow and Rarity got up to help their friend sit down, but Sunset waved them off. “There’s no time! We have to go back and help Velvet! Wolfgang’s crazy!” “What do ya mean, crazy?” Applejack said warily. “He ain’t some kinda evil creature from Equestria, is he?” “I mean he tried to shoot me!” At that, everyone in the kitchen took a collective gasp. “Velvet saved me, but I don’t think she can take Wolfgang on her own.” “Velvet? Velvet Breeze? The new student?” “Yes! Her! Now come on, we need to go back there!” Sunset made for the door again, but Rainbow Dash had other ideas. She seized Sunset by the arm and spun her about. “Look,” the athlete said seriously. “If Mr. Wolfgang has a gun, don’t you think we should call the cops or something? I mean, they’re better equipped to deal with this sort of thing, right?” “Rainbow’s right, dear,” Rarity added on. “Who are we to deal with a madman with a gun? Taking down magical creatures is one thing, but this… I don’t know if we can handle this.” As much as Sunset wanted to refute Rarity’s logic, she couldn’t deny its validity. “But I have to help her,” Sunset said, stumbling a step as the adrenaline began to wear off. Velvet was her friend, and friends didn’t leave each other in moments of need. “Ah can help,” Big Mac said from the counter, finishing up his stalk of celery. “Tell ya what, Sunset. Ah’ll come with ya, on the condition that ya don’t do anythin’ foolish. We can take mah truck.” “But if Mr. Wolfgang’s still there,” Applejack added. “We’re callin’ the cops. No ifs, ands, or buts.” “We’ll all come with you!” Pinkie yelled and whipped out a trumpet of sorts from her pocket. “To war!” She put it to her mouth and blew out an awfully flat note, though the volume was deafening. “Uhm, not to war, if that’s okay with you…” Fluttershy squeaked. “Eeyup. Ah’m hopin’ it doesn’t come to a fight.” When no one else voiced any objections, the group all left the house, stopping only to tell Applebloom to stay put and to grab Big Mac’s shotgun from the shed. “It’s loaded with rock salt,” Applejack explained. “Keeps the varmints out of the orchards without hurting them too bad.” The seven of them piled into the one of the Apple family’s pickup trucks and with a screech of tires on asphalt, they were off. The ride there was relatively silent, with only the sound of the truck’s powerful engine and Pinkie’s trumpet blowing filling everyone’s ears. Following Sunset’s directions, Big Macintosh was able to find the construction site with little trouble. After parking the truck just out of sight, the motley crew of high schoolers crept toward the unfinished structure. The sun was setting, casting deep shadows all about, giving them plenty of places to hide. Big Mac was at point, his shotgun cocked and ready to fire, while the Rainbooms stayed just behind him, seeing as the rest of them were unarmed. “Careful, Big Mac,” Sunset warned as they stepped into the site proper. “I don’t know how well armed that man is.” “Eeyup.” As their eyes adjusted to the gloom, the search party was greeted by a grisly sight. Blood was spattered sparsely all around the ground, congealing in the snow. A short distance away, a pair of knives lay abandoned. Sunset recognized one of them immediately. “That’s Velvet’s knife.” She picked it up and examined it, the cold steel reflecting her face. “Hold up a second,” Rainbow said a little too loudly. “Velvet’s knife? Why would she be carrying a knife on her? Did she know she would have to save you?” Fluttershy had ducked back behind Applejack before pointing to the bloodstained snow. “W-what if t-that all belongs to Velvet…” “I’m sure it isn’t, and I’ll explain everything later,” Sunset replied, sounding more confident than she felt. In truth, the fiery haired girl was beginning to have misgivings about coming back. If Wolfgang had killed Velvet, then taking on seven kids wouldn’t be much of a challenge for him. “Hey, come have a look at this,” Rainbow waved her friends over. “Looks like someone fell down here.” There was a human shaped imprint in the snow, the imprint clearly depicting an adult sized person lying spread-eagled on the ground. They must have hit the ground pretty hard, Sunset mused, to have left such a deep imprint. Some of the ground was visible in the crater, under the bloodstained snow. Footsteps led away from the point of impact, tracking all the way back to the entrance; the prints seemed to be a little uneven. The group looked up, trying to deduce where the body might have fallen from. “You don’t think…” Rainbow licked her lips, which were becoming cracked from the freezing air. Rarity bent down to closer examine the point of impact. “Looks to me like a fall from the third floor, just over there.” The group followed her finger to a pillar above, partially stained with what looked like more blood. “I would think a fall from such a height would mean death.” Everyone stared at Rarity, who at least had the grace to look perturbed. “What? I’m not allowed to know about things other than fashion?” “Well, yeah,” Applejack rubbed the back of her head. “Ah just never figured ya for the sleuthing sort.” “I’ll have you know that I own the entire Nagatha Christie collection, and make it a point to watch Sherclop Pones every Saturday afternoon-” Rainbow stepped in between Applejack and Rarity.“Okay, okay, we get it. Can we get back to checking out this place? Rarity, would you do the honors.” “Why of course, Rainbow.” Rarity flipped her hair back and headed up the steps. “Although… Big Mac! Perhaps you could lead? Just in case?” “Eeyup. Gonna need a light though; it’s getting awful dark in here.” At once, six phones were whipped out and their flashlights clicked on, six beams of light cutting through the darkness like swords. Rarity lit the way for Applejack’s brother, who kept his firearm pointed forward, warily keeping an eye on his surroundings. There didn’t seem to be any other sounds emanating from the building besides their footsteps on the concrete. The group decided to listen to Rarity and headed for the third floor. As they arrived on the second floor, Pinkie Pie was the first to see something. “Hey! Guys! Look! Someone’s over there!” There was a body in the corridor, lying motionless on the ground. It was dark and too far to make out any details, but the hoodie and teal-grey hair stood out like a sore thumb. “Velvet!” Sunset gasped and rushed past Rarity and Big Mac. “S-s-she’s not… dead, is she?” Fluttershy trembled at the back. “Come on!” Rainbow was next to head to the unmoving girl’s body. “If she’s still alive, we’ve gotta get her out of here!” Sunset bent down over Velvet and shook her gently, wincing slightly as her knee wound flared up. “Velvet?” It was then that she noticed the small puddle of blood spread around the hooded girl, spreading slowly from the garish wounds on her body. Sunset tentatively placed a hand on Velvet’s face, sighing with relief when she realized the blue-skinned girl was still breathing, though just barely. “She’s hurt!” Sunset yelled as her friends crowded around her. “We need to get her help immediately!” Sunset’s world became a blur of motion. Should she try to move Velvet? Should they call for an ambulance? Was Wolfgang lurking in the shadows somewhere, just waiting for someone else to come along? Applejack knelt down next to Velvet’s body, placing two fingers on the fallen girl’s neck. “She’s stable, y’all. We could call for an ambulance, but it’d take ‘em a while to get here. Plus,” she added after straightening up. “Ah don’t reckon getting the police involved is the best idea for Velvet.” As expected, this statement drew everyone’s attention. “What?! Why not?” Rainbow demanded. “Ah’m guessin’ the girl’s got some kinda deep secret if she saved Sunset outta nowhere. There’s more to all this then we think, and Ah’ll bet Velvet has the answers. If she even is Velvet,” Applejack recalled Twilight’s message. “So what do we do, then?” Rarity asked. She was gingerly stepping over tiny puddles of congealed blood to get a closer look. “We could take her back to the farm!” Pinkie bounced in the back. “Or we can take her to my place, or Rainbow’s place, or Rarity’s! And Fluttershy can help! She’s used to helping animals! She can check Velvet’s wounds!” “Actually,” Big Mac spoke up slowly. “Granny’s got some trainin’ as a nurse from way back then. She can help look if y’all ain’t up for calling the authorities.” “I think that’ll be the safer choice,” Sunset nodded. “At least until we figure out who she really is.” “Is it okay to… move her?” Rarity said squeamishly. “We won’t be making it worse, would we?” “We’ll have to,” Applejack tilted her hat. “We need to get her back home all quick like. She’s lost a lot’a blood.” Big Mac wasted no time. Passing his gun over to his sister as he gently picked up the unconscious girl in both arms. “All set, Big Mac?” Applejack asked as she readied his shotgun. “Eeyup.” “We better get goin’ then. It’s gettin’ awfully dark, and Ah don’t want to be around if Mr. Wolfgang comes back or somethin’.”