//------------------------------// // Twister // Story: Into That Wild Blue Yonder // by CptBrony //------------------------------// Instead of waiting for the next day to transport the griffon Yafid, the ponies had done so immediately, figuring that sooner was better than later for medical aid. If it didn’t get fixed right away, it could mean permanent disability. The young man wouldn’t mind that, since he was going to sell him into slavery or some such fate, but the ponies were too afraid of any consequences to go with that. The young man was about ready to get going now. He had his gi and it was nice and dry, he had a few coins, and he could grab some food before he left. If he took enough, it would keep him stocked until he hit up the next village, where he would quickly get food and anything else he could use and then dip. He didn’t want to stick around, not with those Tong thugs who seemed to have nasty plans for him. The young man had thrown his gi on the previous night before sleeping, figuring he might as well just sleep in it since it was his only set of clothes. It would get smelly and gross over time regardless, so one night wouldn’t make much of a difference. He actually sweated a bit in his sleep due to how well the gi actually kept heat retained under the blanket. The open chest generally let one cool down fast, but when that was blocked up, the heat retention was excellent. The young man decided he would have to start each day with stretches, like any time he went to the dojo back home. He was probably going to be exerting himself quite a bit in the coming days or weeks, or even months, and any injury would slow his progress. He wasn’t willing to deal with that, not when he was surrounded by terror-stricken, miniature horses. He just so badly wanted out now. After the confrontation with Gibbs the previous day, he hated being here. These ponies were so complacent about their situation, so driven by fear. The young man couldn’t understand how that would drive them to do nothing. And this was especially true when they could band together the villages to end this tyranny once and for all. But it was no matter for the young man to handle. It wasn’t his business. He didn’t choose to end up here. It wasn’t so early in the day this time when he woke up. Outside, he could hear the ponies milling about, doing whatever nonsense they typically did. The little ones played, the older ones worked, and life was almost normal for them. Until the young man heard that familiar voice boom from a long distance away. “We don’t like being lied to!!” the Tong leader called out. The young man felt a chill go down his spine. He was literally, just about to head out, and then this jerk showed up. The timing couldn’t have been worse. And judging from his words, he knew the jig was up. “Where is it?!” the Tong leader demanded. “Where is the human!?” “What are you talking about?” Gibbs shouted from a distance. “We don’t have it here!” “So you know there is one!” the leader said. His voice was getting closer, and sounded like it was roughly where Gibbs’s voice was. “No, I wasn’t saying-“ Gibbs was cut off by what sounded like a severe buck to his side. The young man could hear the crack from the house. “Mother of God,” the young man said to himself. He listened through the window to what was happening. The sounds of primal brutality reigned supreme through the village. Children were crying, ponies gasping and shrieking out. The leader of the Tong was breaking Gibbs physically to try to break him mentally. The Tong leader finally stopped, panting. “You really hold out strong, huh?” he said. “Well, I’m sick of this village anyway. I’ll be back this evening with my guys, and we’re going to burn this place to the ground.” “We ne ver h ad a hu m an…” Gibbs sputtered out. “A little birdie’s injuries speak otherwise,” the Tong leader said, revealing his source. The villagers transporting Yafid sold the village out. “Da mn it a ll,” Gibbs whispered. “Better live life like it’s gonna be over tomorrow!” the Tong leader declared. “Cuz yours are gonna end tonight!” The young man listened as the sudden interruption of his plans faded away in the distance, laughing like a truly evil individual. When he felt like the pony was gone, the young man rushed to the door and looked outside. What he saw horrified and disgusted him. Gibbs lying in a broken heap of brutalized pony on the ground in the middle of the village, bleeding and crying. And nopony went to help him. “Jesus, people, help him!” the young man shouted from the door, startling everypony there. The young man jogged forward to go to Gibbs’s aid, but Sherry and Gibby got there first. They had already been running to his aid when the young man cried out, and even now, they were still the only ponies going to help. The others were stuck in place, like they were glued to the ground. “Gibbs!” Sherry cried. “It’s okay, I’m here! Gibby is here, we’re alright!” “Da-ha-ha-ha-aaaddyyy!!” Gibby bawled. He grabbed his father’s foreleg, one of the few unbroken parts of him. “Daddy, daddy…” “Oh, man,” the young man said as he got close. Gibbs looked up at him. In the young man’s eyes, he saw pity. Pity for what had just happened to him. Pity for the entire life he was leading. There he was, the strong human, still on his feet, and Gibbs, the supposedly reasonable one, lying on the ground, broken and half dead. Soon, he would be all dead. “I guess you were right,” Gibbs coughed out to the young man. “Gibbs…” the young man said. “No… you were *cough* you were right… this is a pathetic life,” Gibbs said. “You aren’t like us. You’re strong, you can control your own fate. We’re just destined to be this way, I guess.” “Gibbs, I never meant-“ “This is what you meant,” Gibbs interrupted. “You were right. At least when you leave now, you’ll know you were right. That’s what’s important, I guess.” “Gibbs, don’t talk like that!” Sherry said. Gibby still just cried. “Human,” Gibbs said. “There’s a bag of bits and a backpack in my home. Take them; they’ll help you as you go home. Not like we’ll have any use for them…” “Gibbs, you can’t give up,” the young man said. “You have an entire village here. If you all just stand up-“ The young man stopped. He could see that his words were falling on deaf ears. Frustrated, he turned to the crowd of ponies around them. “If you all stand together, you can kick these guys out! You have the ability to fight, you can do it!” The crowd’s responses were less than positive. “I’m getting out of here.” “We’re just going to be hunted or given up.” “It was a good run, I guess…” The young man was angry. He was angry at the Tong for being terrorist thugs. He was angry at the villagers for so easily accepting their doom. He was angry at himself for thinking they could be talked into action. He was angry that he thought there was any hope for these ponies. The young man sighed. “You can still escape,” the young man said. “Might as well take the chance. No reason not to now, huh?” “Hardly a chance,” Gibbs said. “They’ll catch us, especially me.” The young man shook his head. “I guess it’s over, then,” he said. “Thanks for everything.” “Try to use it smartly,” Gibbs said. The young man turned away from Gibbs and walked back to the house, where he quickly went in, grabbed the contents Gibbs told him about, and came back outside. The villagers were all just hanging around doing nothing now, waiting for the end to come. Why? Why couldn’t they fight back? They were so resigned to their fate; it was disgusting. The young man went into the house, grabbed the money Gibbs talked about, and left without another word. The villagers all stared at him as he walked toward the road, some resentfully, some despairingly. Some just wore the most perturbingly blank expressions the young man had ever seen. Totally empty. All except one. As the young man came close to exiting the village proper, Colm Winds ran up behind him. “Hey!” he shouted. The young man turned around. “Yeah?” he asked, patience for this world gone. “Yer really just gonna leave us here to die?” Colm asked rhetorically. He knew the answer. “After all this village did fer you?” “I tried to get them to act,” the young man fired back spitefully. “This village is too deep into its fear to do anything. I can’t help.” “You can fight,” Colm said. “Ha!” the young man said. “I can fight a few guys. Let’s say that thug comes back with just a small number of his guys. What’s that, like, ten? You think one man can effectively fight that?” “Maybe yer world is different,” Colm said. “But here, a special talent is called that fer a reason.” “And what’s yours?” the young man asked. “Ah don’t ever get to use it anyway,” Colm said. “But I am the best at it, and no group could ever do it better.” “Whoop-dee-freaking-doo,” the young man said. “I don’t intend to give my life for a bunch of miniature horses that can’t stand up for themselves, only to have it fail anyway when they refuse to fight.” The young man turned back around. “I would advise that you get yourself out of here, too. There’s nothing here for you now. Not that there ever was.” “Well, good luck out there, then,” Colm spat. “I don’t abandon my friends.” “Have fun dying with them, then,” the young man said icily. Colm Winds and the young man faced away from each other and went in opposite directions, one toward a hopeless goal and the other to his old friends and life.