Another One Bites the Dust

by ThatMrSomeGuy

2. The Tic-tac Flashbacks

Date: Thorsday
Time: 1:02 PM
Location: Eastbound on an LA freeway

I had so many questions to ask Greg, but I was too shy to ask him any. I was afraid it was best I didn’t know why and where he was taking me. The first few minutes on the road was full of uncomfortable silence, time that was filled with me eating a leftover omelette taken from a to go box from the Steak-n-Bacon. It turns out I’m one of those stereotypical cartoon eaters. I must have finished the thing in 5 seconds flat with hardly any chewing. Another 3 minutes were spent rubbing my tummy. Now, I’m not one to take mini bites, but a minimal number of gulps really isn’t my nature. I’m not sure what got into me. Normally, I would take time to savor every bite. Perhaps I was just really hungry.

To buy some more time, I turned the radio on. Nothing like a little air guitaring to Back in Black by AC/DC to help make the time fly by. However, there is one time consuming thing that is completely unavoidable...traffic. LA is infamous for terrible traffic. And it is rightfully so. Simply put, it really does suck.

Going a maximum of 10 miles per hour with every (good) radio statio on commercial break would result with someone breaking the quietness. It was only a matter of time before a conversation started.

“So,” Greg began, “You’re probably wondering what’s been going on since we first met.”

“...Yeah.”

Both of us kept our heads facing forward. Neither of us wanted to make eye contact.

“Well, let me start off by saying I’m not part of PAPA and I’m not here to hurt you.”

Yeah right. “Then explain to me why you were with them.”

“They’re my friends.”

“Friends?” I really didn’t want to hear the crap coming from this guy’s mouth. I rose my voice. “Well, I guess now I can forgive you from letting them kidnap me and almost dice me up for a message of genocide. Not to mention, what kind of friend breaks his other friends’ ribs with a crowbar and abandoning them? Unless it's a stupid new handshake in town, that’s not how friends treat one another.”

“Hey!” Greg really got on the defensive. “They may be idiots, but they’re still my friends!”

“You’re defending them!? After what they did, you would defend them...Unbelievable!”

“I’ll have you know that my friends, no matter how stupid their actions are, are trying to do what’s best! They did all this out of fear! And I’m always the one to watch their backs, to make sure they don’t mix up their rights from wrongs! So you’re welcome for chaperoning my dumb friends through all this PAPA nonsense so I would be there to prevent them from doing something as stupid as whooping your ass!”

As much as I didn’t want to admit it, he had a point. I would have been mince meat back there. Greg was fuming and I was at a loss of words. For the longest minutes of my life, neither of us spoke. Greg was huffing, letting all his anger simmer down until he could talk again.

“Look. I know they’re morons. I know they would go as far as what they could have done back there, but nevertheless, they’re still people too.”

I really let that thought hang for a bit. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, I’ve never really seen PAPA as an organization of people. Not admitting an intense rage to a certain organization is just lying to themselves. Many of them hate it to a point where they no longer see the opposing party as a group of humans who share the same things they both strive for. Sorry to go all hippie there, but sometimes people in general lose their basic thought functions when it comes to groups they hate. Mine was to PAPA.

“It’s just their sights that are screwed up," Greg said. "I feel like I could have done more to make sure this didn’t happen. That’s why it’s my fault I let things go this far.

* * *

Date: Wednesday (4 days after first ponified, 6 days ago)
Time: 1:20 PM
Location: Bill’s House, Santa Monica

Bill called me about a week ago. He told me it was something important, something that needed to be taken care of or else would otherwise alter the course of the human race. I highly doubted the issue was that significant. Regardless of my day-to-day drama, I had nothing on my schedule. I was just going to be chillin’ with my drums. Besides, I haven’t seen the dude for almost four months. I wanted to catch up with what’s been happening since. So, I went over to see what all the fuss was about.

As I knocked on the door, Terry answered, looked around the block to make sure the FBI didn’t follow me, and hauled me inside.

Now, the three of us go way back. It wasn’t until after high school we started to distance from each other. Bill never made it to college, but that didn’t stop his skills in film equipment and setup. Terry went to some kind of college that specialized in the theater arts. He became a good actor. As for me, I majored in engineering, specifically electrical engineering. Basically, I know where wires go and what the tech hardware does. I used those skills to be the head mechanic for a local computer repair shop. Business is somewhat poor, but it pays the bills. That’s good enough for me. It also might be worth mentioning I’m the only one of them currently not living with my parents. But I digress.

It might seem usual to you that the two were being this paranoid, but it doesn’t happen that often. In truth, I was kind of worried. Despite ponies being a big news when it first emerged, I have no TV or internet. In other words, the world could be on the brink of a zombie apocalypse and I would be none the wiser.

‘Look at this.’ Bill showed us footage of what looked like a two winged unicorns holding some kind of press conference. ‘More are turning into ponies everyday.’

That’s what made me start howling in laughter. This was the best prank I have been a part of.

‘Wow,’ I was able to say between laughs. ‘How did you guys do this? Huh? There’s no way you’re capable of graphics that detailed, Bill. Did you get this from Youtube!? You guys got this from Youtube, huh? You almost fooled me there...thinking...that...’ Then I realized something was wrong. If it was a prank, they’d be laughing along with me, or maybe at least reply with a ‘you got me’ smile. Instead, both of them gave me a deadpan ‘you really didn’t know this was going on!?’ look.

‘Those are real-life ponies?’

Terry and Bill nodded.

‘This has been going on for a few days?’

‘Four to be exact,' Bill said. "This conference occurred three days ago.’

‘-is one other out there who is like us. I don't know who, or where, but somewhere there is a person just like us. Changed. Into a pony.’

My eyes widened. There’s more of them?

‘But this will not be the case for very long. Everyday, someone else is affected, and this will continue until...’

The white unicorn stopped talking for obvious reasons.

‘Aaaaand there,’ Bill paused the video. ‘The rest is just saying all ponies get to New York to gather and stuff. Do you believe me now? Those stupid living versions of play toys for girls is soon going to be every single brony. Then, all of us.’

Now I buried my face in my hands. I kept repeating ‘oh my god’ while the news settled down in my noggin. I kept thinking there must be a way to stop this, to prevent the world from becoming pastel equines. That’s the first step to becoming a member of PAPA, fear. Fear of losing humanity.

‘And what should we do?’ I had to ask them. ‘Such a thing cannot be prevented by three people.’

‘We wait,’ Terry said. ‘We wait until we get a chance. It’ll come boys. It’s best we’re ready. Did you get that Adrian? We have to stick together at times like these.’

Adrian is kind of like the fourth wheel to our trio. (That sounds weird. Maybe third wheel? No, we were a group of three. Doesn’t matter.) He became friends with us some time two years ago. He was Terry’s former college roommate. He was the quiet type. I often forgot he was even there. That day, he sat in the couch behind me, flipping his butterfly knife around to occupy his time.

‘Yeah, I get it.’ His eyes were so set on that knife. ‘Stick together.’ Little did I know, he stayed focused on that knife not because he was bored, but because of something else, something that I could have done to help when he most needed it most.

Date: Friday (4 days ago)
Time: 11:10 PM
Location: Adrian’s Apartment, Santa Monica

We all got facebook messages from Adrian to get to his house ASAP. He said he wouldn’t buzz us in until we were all at the front. Fortunately, being the last one ready, I didn’t have to wait to get in.

As we opened Adrian’s surprisingly unlocked door, the rooms lights were off. When I turned on the lights, we all gasped in horror what stood in front of us.

I’m fairly sure you figured it out right now, he was a pony. A pegasus to be exact.

‘Well,’ Adrian managed to say first. ‘Looks like the truth is out. I like My Little Pony. It was only a matter of time before-’

‘You turned into one of them.’ Terry’s tone had an icy sting to it. He was swelling up. ‘You’re a traitor!’

‘No! It’s not like that at all. You think I want to be like this just because I’m a pony? We’re on the same side. I don’t want this as much as you-.’

‘Lies!’ Bill jumped in. ‘Once a pony, there’s no going back! Leave before something bad happens to you. Head over to your little sanctuary in New York. You are dead to us! You hear me? Dead! Now fly out of here. We’ll be coming for all of you folk. Mark my words, we’ll find a way to stop all of you from taking over Earth.’

That’s when Adrian turned to me, mostly because I was the only one who didn't turn on him yet. I hardly knew the guy and now he was asking for my help. He was getting kicked out of his house by his own friends. And it was then I realized that there would always be people like my friends. Ponies like Adrian were misunderstood and mistreated out of fear. He NEEDED to get to New York. Until then, he would be bullied by the humans afraid of what they think he could do. I was placed on the hot seat. I was left with two options. I’d either side with Adrian and help him get to New York, or I’d watch over Bill and Terry. I knew if I left those two alone, they would have followed through something stupid, something like torturing a pony. I felt that Adrian was better prepared without me than my other two friends. I’m sure you can figure out what I decided on doing. As much as it pains me, I know I made the right decision.

* * *

Present

“Even now, I’m heartbroken to know I left him all alone. Sometimes the right decision can still be a saddening one. And then you came along. As soon as I saw you, I saw Adrian. I’m sure Bill and Terry saw him too. Their actions back there were channeled by their feelings, channeled by fear. What you saw was their feelings for what they lost, and what they feel they will lose if nothing is done. That’s what this pony-filled Earth has taken from us, trust.”

I saw tears drop from Greg’s face. No sniffling, just tears. I didn’t realize how much depth there was to my capturers. I felt not to intrude, but there was one thing that didn’t make sense.

“Why are you here with me now? You didn’t need to come with me.”

“And stay with the people who I just knocked to the ground? They may be my friends, but that needs time to heal what I did back there. Besides, when I was sent to hand over that crowbar, I felt the same pressure I did the day Adrian left. When I saved you, I felt responsible to bring you to New York, something I failed to do nearly a week ago.”

“You’re taking me to New York right now?”

“Yeah. Figured having someone to tag along with me is worth losing your flight advantage, seeing you didn't come with any money. But you did have some Pop Tarts in your carry-on.”

"They were cherry."

Greg nodded. "Ah..."

“And what of your friends? Who’s to say they won’t do something like that again without you?”

“They’re my friends. I know them more than you think. I left them a little something that'll surely change their minds.

* * *

Date: Thorsday
Time: 11:59 PM (1 hour prior to torture)
Location: Bill’s House, Santa Monica

‘I knew chloroform would do them the trick,’ Bill said as I carried you down to the basement. ‘Now just tie her to that chair.’

As I fastened the ropes to your hooves, I imagined Adrian in the same scenario. I should have stopped it there, take you away before I resorted to hitting my friends with a crowbar. But I needed to do something before i departed, something that might change their minds on what they were doing.

I went inside the bathroom to change to all black with a ski mask. I had the time to get out a few memoirs, and even write a farewell letter to sway them in the right direction. I began writing:

Hey,

I just want to let you know that by the time you read this, I'm already going to be gone with the pony...and the leftover chinese food from yesterday. (God that place is delicious.) She didn't deserve this. She is concerned of what will happen to the future of Earth as well, like you, like me, like everyone. We're all looking for a resolve to this mystery. Hate isn't the answer. Torture isn't the answer. PAPA isn't the answer. We all know deep inside those are not words we use. Now stop it with PAPA. You and I don't like what's happening as much as the next guy. But I'm looking for a resolution that I'm certain doesn't have to end in violence. We choose to let that violence happen. I'm sorry to leave you, but I know what must be done. See you when this is over.

- Tic-tac (Greg)

Along with that, I paper clipped that message to our high school graduation group photo with the three of us and Terry’s college graduation photo with him and Adrian. I gave them to Bill's mother. She is the most understand person I've ever met. Too understanding if you ask me.

* * *

Present

“Tic-tac?”

“It was a nickname I got in 7th grade for saving their asses from bullies. I never understood how I got the name. It never really stuck, so it was nice for a lighthearted mention.

"So," Greg changed topics, "What was it like before you became a pony? You go to the mall, listen to Justin Bieber? Is that what girls do nowadays?"

“You do realize I was a male before I became a pony?”

Greg’s eyes widened and his pupils shrank. That got me laughing for a good half minute. I love making situations awkward for people...kind of like my brother. I guess it runs in the family. I stopped laughing just to think of them again.

Silence. I didn’t know how to respond to that. I was out of questions. Greg basically told me everything I wanted to know about him. I turned the volume of the radio up now that music is playing again. Traffic started clearing up as well. I was too busy to notice before, but my head was still aching ever since I woke up. It was probably just the chloroform. Regardless, I reclined my chair to get a better sleeping position. I might as well wait out the pain in sleep. I had to establish something first before I sleep in the car.

“I'm calling you Tic-tac from now on.”

"Why?"

"Because I can and will. After all, it's your nickname, albeit an old unused one."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Tic-tac?"

“...Yeah?”

I fist pumped in my head. Somehow I got a feeling he wasn't going to object to it. He seems like the kind of guy who's okay with being called unusual nicknames. After all, I really needed to give him a new name because using his real name would have been confusing if I mentioned my brother.

“Do you think that Terry would have attacked me?”

“...Now that I really think about it, no. I don’t think any one of us have gone that far. I only hit my friends first because it was not worth wagering your life over it.

“By the way,” Tic-tac added. “I never got your name.”

My name? Well that’s easy it’s Michael Perch. No. I heard another name in my head. I could hear it buried deep inside the back of my mind, sort of like that random flight memory of my pony. Wait. That’s not my name it’s hers.

“Hello? Earth to pony. Did you forget your name?” Tic-tac hushed thinking he might have gone too far. For all he knew, I could have had amnesia.

“Lightning Dust. My name is Lightning Dust.”

Author's Note:

In case I didn't make it clear enough, all the flashbacks involve Tic-tac talking to Michael about past events.

Though I made this chapter somewhat sad, this is as likely as depressing as the story should get. I wanted chapter space to remove the idea that PAPA is full of bad guys. I wanted to add the thought that there were plenty of misunderstood people amongst the organization as well. Then again, they just hated ponies and claimed they were part of PAPA the first second they heard of the organization. Furthermore, Tic-tac needed a backstory after all the action crap that happened in the last chapter.

What are you doing reading this? It's not often I make a double publish (or publish at all, in fact :P ). Now get your ass to the next chapter.