Lost and Fallen

by Superdale33

Chapter 5: Answers

Lost and Fallen
Chapter 5: Answers

Ponyville had hardly changed as we entered the town. The same buildings were still there, and the humans continued their daily routine of disciplining the ponies and living their lives. One thing that did change was the security. Everyone had bolt-action rifles strung over their shoulders, and there was numerous patrols coming and going.

Somehow, my prediction that my mask - which was in Twilight’s saddle bag - would disguise me was spot on. No one gave me a second glance, and those who did quickly brushed it off. I was beyond thankful for that for two reasons. One, I didn’t think I could fight a whole town with the weaponry they had. And two, we had no plan whatsoever.

Looking around, I tried to find out where to begin looking for the information we needed. All I could really see was wanted posters literally covering the buildings. A small humourous grunt escaped my lips when I saw that my bounty had risen again to six hundred bits. Applejack stared straight ahead, giving nervous gazes at each passerby, while Twilight simply looked on with curiosity. Pinkie Pie just followed along depressedly.

“Hey!” Twilight suddenly exclaimed, drawing unwanted attention. After I gave her a death glare, she cleared her throat anxiously and whispered, “Why don’t we head to my Library?”

“You used to own a library here?” I inquired; why would a princess be in charge of something so mundane?

“Yeah, you see,” Twilight explained plainly, sounding like a teacher educating a student. “I wanted to stick close to my friends when I became a princess, so Princess Celestia allowed me to work out my royal duties while I stayed here.”

“Huh,” I replied, honestly approving of Celestia’s actions. “Well, the Library is a start. So let’s head over.”

“What about where Jordan used ta work?” Applejack interjected, looking between us, “Wouldn’t the Mayor have some stuff on our friends?"

I rubbed my chin, she had a good point. Jordan would have kept tabs on as many ponies as he could, and would most likely keep it close to him. The Town Hall. “Okay, let’s split up,” I suggested, “Twilight and I can head for the Library and Applejack and Pinkie can check the Town Hall.”

“No humans!” Pinkie shouted, causing us to jump a little, “Can’t stand them. No, no, no.”

“Uh, not ta go against your idea,” Applejack said warily as she stared at Pinkie, “But wouldn’t two ponies walkin' without a human raise some questions?”

“Just tell them I ordered you to pick up some supplies,” I thought up. It was a logical conclusion, and hopefully no one would think better of it.

“Nolan,” Applejack scolded, “ya know I can’t lie.”

“God damn it,” I cursed under my breath, Applejack was right. I saw first hand how bad she was at telling a fib, and there was no way she would be able to get by easily. Plus, the people here might recognize her if she was not under some kind of supervision. I had no idea if the people here knew she had helped me escape.

“Okay,” I spoke up after a minute of contemplation, “Twilight and Pinkie will go to the Library, and Applejack and I can head for the Town Hall.

“What about Pinkie’s… behavior?” Twilight said, pointing a hoof at the pony. She was right; we were lucky that Pinkie had not attacked another person yet. Still, I was growing impatient with their contradictions to my plan. They should be glad I was able to come up with a plan.

“Just… use your magic,” I said rubbing my forehead. Giving a nod, Twilight explained our plan to Pinkie and they both headed off. As I watched them trot off, I was worried that they would be caught. I wasn’t sure if it was because I actually cared for them, or because they would rat me out and get me killed.

Nudging me, Applejack brought me back to reality and we set off for the Town Hall. Walking through the town with the knowledge I had, I felt conflicted on how I saw the ponies. They had only wanted to live their lives in happiness, but then they were forced to obey a species that they had not even known existed. Now that I thought about it, how did these ponies not know that there was a species living right next to them? Surely they would have found them by then. I wondered if Celestia had anything to do with it; leaders always had their secrets, especially those that were ‘good’.

“Uh… Nolan,” Applejack asked nervously, and I looked to her with a raised brow. “This may not be the best time, but…”

“We have a bit of time,” I reassured, “What is it?”

“...Do ya have a family?” she inquired, looking both sad and curious. Wow, she knew when to pick the best time to ask something like that. Then again, I did say there was time.

Grimacing slightly, I gave a small nod, “Not exactly a family anymore.”

“What happened?” Applejack inquired tenderly. How strange that she would suddenly take an interest in my family. It was probably something deeper than just being curious, but I would find out why later.

Grinding my teeth, I tried to figure out where to start. “I had my mom and dad, of course,” I said, scratching my head. “No siblings… lived a normal life…”

I had an idea why I was having a hard time talking about it, but I wouldn’t admit it to myself. Applejack simply stared at me, yearning me to go on. “My dad was deployed in the military when I was seventeen, and… my mom died of a heart attack when I was nineteen…”

“Did your dad come back after that?” Applejack asked, and I could tell she was feeling sorry for me. I didn’t like it when people did that. I already knew that my past was saddening, and I didn’t need people feeling apologetic about events that they never knew about.

“Yeah,” I spat, kicking a rock on the ground, “Then took off again without a second thought about me. He barely even talked to me. I hope I never see him again.”

Applejack winced from my tone, “Don’t ya think that’s a bit harsh?

“Harsh is leaving your family and never coming back,” I shot back, keeping my gaze to the ground. Just thinking of that man made me tense up in anger, which is usually why I avoid thinking of him. Taking a deep breath, I calmed down and faced Applejack, who seemed lost in thought. Whether it was from my family or something else, I didn’t know.

“What about you?” I asked, veering the conversation off myself. “Have any relatives?”

Applejack visibly sagged at the mention of her own family, and I regretted asking about something that she was sore about. “It’s sorta complicated,” she admitted with a mournful chuckle.

“Then it can wait. We’re here.”

“Huh?” Applejack said, glancing around. We had made it to the Town Hall, and the stroll had taken more time than I thought would be necessary, even with Applejack’s knowledge of the town. However, that wasn’t the biggest worry, as the building held another obstacle.

The Town Hall was locked down.

There were troops all over it, patroling around the building in twos and more at each window. When I looked over to where I had burst through the window on the second floor, A plank of wood was boarded up to cover it.

“Whoa, Nelly,” Applejack said in surprise, “Ya really caused a ruckus here.”

“Well, when the only way to find out where you were was by stealing something from the Mayor…” I said, rolling my eyes. Applejack bowed her head slightly in thought, and I couldn’t tell what she was feeling. Guilt? Anger? Sadness?

“What do we do now?” Applejack asked, looking up to me with a blank expression. Or she could just be thinking of our next move.

I shook my head as I reexamined the Town Hall. There was no way we would be able to get in there without being questioned, and I doubt it was open to the public anyway. “Let’s get to the Library,” I suggested, “Twilight and Pinkie should be there by now.”

“Alright,” she agreed, and we turned around and walked away, heading for our next destination.

I knew we had a few minutes before we would meet back up with Twilight and Pinkie, but I was reluctant to restart the conversation again. Would Applejack even want to bring it up again? Although, she was the one who started the discussion about family. Looking anywhere but at Applejack, I inquired, “So… what about your family?”

Applejack did not do anything to acknowledge that I had spoken. Thinking she was just ignoring me so I wouldn’t pester her, I shook my head slightly and continued in silence. In my peripheral vision, I suddenly saw something gray fly by. Looking over, I saw only the empty air. I swore I saw something gray. Maybe even a bit of yellow, but that may be pushing it. Catching up with Applejack, who had moved up a bit while I had stopped, I made sure to watch my back for the time being.

In this world, there’s no such thing as seeing imaginary things.

The Library was a lot closer than the Town Hall, and it came into view quite fast. I also noticed a strange raised platform of some sort just across from it. There were only a few people looking it over, and I thought little of it as I neared the Library. As I approached the door, I caught a glimpse of the name of the building before opening the door.

Golden Oak Library.

As I entered, the first thing that I noticed was the aroma of steel and gunpowder. I was familiar with the smell, but I thought I would smell wood or must. Then my eyes registered what the room actually contained: firearms. There were only rifles, revolvers, and double-barreled shotguns, but those three quantities took up the entire room, hanging on wooden racks on display. Twilight was seated in the center of the room, staring at the weapons with a dumbfounded expression, and Pinkie was off to the side, arguing with herself in hushed whispers.

“The… the library,” Twilight muttered taking deep breaths, as if going into hyperventilation. “It’s… it’s a-”

“An armory,” I finished, taking a sweep of the area.

“What happened to all the books?!” she nearly shouted hysterically, not surprised that I had suddenly appeared, “There were hundreds and hundreds of books!”

“Keep it down!” I exclaimed quietly, waving my hand around, “We don’t need someone coming in here and finding us.”

“But the books!” Twilight said, pointing a hoof at the guns while facing me with anxiety. She wasn’t taking this well at all.

“We have more important things to worry about,” I explained, crossing my arms in thought. “Like where to find out where your other friends are.”

“What was wrong with the Town Hall?” Twilight inquired, her tone uneasy.

“The humans here have it locked up tighter than the palace vaults,” Applejack answered, stepping forward. “There’s no way we could get through ‘em.”

“So now what?” Twilight asked. I had asked myself that question a lot lately. There was really nothing we could do. We had no idea where the other three ‘Elements of Harmony’ could be. Even if we did, we would probably have to go through a bunch of people to get to them, and I could only do so much.

“End their lives!” Psycho Pinkie shouted, gaining our attention. I had decided to name the violent version of Pinkie to make it easier on my brain.

“No!” Pinkie cried, “I don’t want to kill anyone! Stop it!”

“Do it!” Psycho Pinkie said angrily.

“I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna!” Pinkie whined, grasping her head with her hooves. I could see tears falling already; another breakdown.

Twilight sighed and walked over to Pinkie to help comfort her. I would hate to admit it to Applejack and Twilight, but Pinkie was becoming more of a burden than anything. She constantly went into hysterics, she didn’t contribute to the situation, and she may get us in trouble. However, there was nothing I could really do about it, since there was nowhere to send Pinkie. Dropping the subject from my mind, I focused on what our next objective would be.

As I was thinking, I idly walked to a nearby shotgun, examining the weapon. It was an ordinary design, and I snapped it open to see two shells inside. My curiosity piqued, I grabbed the shell and looked it over. I could recognize the ammo anywhere: 12-gauge. It wouldn’t work on my shotgun, which only used 20-gauge. I guess I would have to really conserve my shotgun use. I could only carry my riot shotgun, so I couldn’t carry around another long-barreled weapon without discarding it first. Deciding to wait until my shotgun ran out of ammunition, I placed the double-barrel shotgun back where I found it before speaking to the group.

“Okay, listen,” I called out, and everyone turned to me, even Pinkie, “Let’s get out of town while we still have the chance. Then we can come up with something else.”

“Why don’t we ask Derpy?” Pinkie asked pointing at the window behind us while wiping her nose. Eyes wide, I whipped around towards the window, my body tense, but there was nothing there.

“Derpy?” Twilight repeated in disbelief, “Pinkie, there’s no one there.”

“She’s right there!” Pinkie said, emphasising her point. I was still staring at the spot she was referring to, but there was still nothing. “D-Don’t you see her?”

“Sorry, Pinkie,” Applejack apologized, “But we don’t see anypony.”

Pinkie looked down with sorrow, shaking slightly, “But… but she’s…”

I would have disregarded Pinkie’s claim that there was someone there, but my earlier sight of something gray graced my mind. Could it be the same person? Were we being followed? “Who’s this… Derpy?” I inquired, an eyebrow raised as I stared at the window.

“She used to be the mailmare here in town,” Twilight explained, “She had cross eyes and was pretty clumsy.”

After saying that last part, Twilight rubbed her head with a shiver, as if recalling a past event. “When was the last time you saw her?” I asked the group as a whole, though I knew Pinkie probably would be no help.

“I think she was deliverin’ a package out a’ town,” Applejack replied, playing with her hat in thought. “She could be anywhere.”

“Would there be a chance that she returned?” I followed up, furrowing my brow.

Twilight gave me strange look, “You can’t possibly believe that Pinkie saw her. Eh, no offense, Pinkie.”

“None taken,” Pinkie sneered bitterly.

Shaking off her comment, I said, “I’m not implying that she really saw her. But I just have a feeling that we’re being watched.”

“Do ya think someone recognized ya?” Applejack inquired, turning to the window.

I shrugged, “I don’t think so. But my attire isn’t exactly normal here. Maybe someone is just wondering about it.”

“I doubt someone would hide and follow us just to find out where you got your clothing,” Twilight pointed out.

“If that’s the case,” I summed up, “Then we should proceed with caution. Let’s just get out of town quickly.”

As Applejack and Twilight gave nods of confirmation, I looked over to Pinkie, who was peering out the window where ‘Derpy’ had supposedly been.

“Hey, what’s going on outside?” Pinkie asked, squinting her eyes.

I was about to look to see what she was talking about when a loud bang rung out. Pinkie gasped, covering her mouth in horror as she scooted away from the window.

"Death," I could hear her mutter, "Death is upon us, the reaper is smiling now."

Though her comment concerned me, there was already something to worry about. That noise was a gun. No doubt about it.

“Get down!” I whispered frantically, throwing myself to the floor. I didn’t know if the shot was intended for us, but I wasn’t taking any chances. The other three ponies dropped down as well with fearful expressions. A few seconds dragged out, but nobody shot another round or called out to us. Crawling quietly to the nearest window, I peeked outside to see what was going on, drawing my revolver simultaneously.

The platform that I had dismissed earlier was now buzzing with activity. Humans and ponies stood before the platform with expectation, as two humans and two ponies stood next to another pony, who was lying down on the platform. My eyes widened at the one person in particular. Grayson. Though I knew he was alive, I wished it wasn’t true, yet there he was, using a wooden cane to get around and handling a piece of paper, apparently reading from it.

On the platform with him was someone I didn’t recognize. He had black, shoulder length hair, wielding a revolver in one hand. When I gazed at the ponies that were with them, I realized that they were chained together in a row, and that the ponies were shockingly familiar.

Carrot Top. Goldengrape. And… a dead Rose. My breath hitched as I stared at her still form, a single bullet hole through her head. What the fuck!? When did these ponies get captured? Why were they being executed? My fist was unconsciously tightening against the window sill, and I gazed over to Grayson who was speaking to the group that spectated the scene before them. I couldn’t hear a word he said, his voice muffled from the barrier between us.

“Nolan,” Twilight whispered from the other end of the room, “What’s going on out there?”

“They’re...” I hesitated. I didn’t know how Twilight would react, as she had a tendency to go overboard. Still, she had a right to know, and there was no point lying, “executing ponies.”

“What!?” she responded in a hoarse tone. I wouldn’t be surprised if her heart stopped. “B-But why? They didn’t do anything wrong!”

I reflected on how these ponies had helped me, or had been at the scene of the crime. My heart dropped; it was my fault. I was the reason why there were being killed in public. My own selfishness was causing their deaths. “W-Who’s being executed?” Applejack inquired, beads of sweat dripping from her face.

I gave a small sigh, and replied, “Carrot Top, Rose, and Goldengrape.”

“The other ponies at my farm?!” Applejack jerked back, her jaw hanging open.

“Yeah,” I said, feeling distant from all that was happening. “And it’s all my fault.”

“Darn tootin it’s your fault!” Applejack seethed, walking over to me. “If we just left ya alone, they wouldn’t be in this mess!”

“You think I don’t know that!” I snapped back, pointing a finger at her. “You think I wanted this to happen!? I just want to get home!”

Applejack didn’t back down, nor did I expect her to. She narrowed her eyes more as I turned away from her as another shot reverberated in our minds. All of us instinctively jumped slightly, caught off guard from the sudden sound. I looked over at the platform again, seeing Goldengrape fall down, his eyes wide open in shock. He was dead.

“Shit!” I cursed, standing full height, grinding my teeth “I’m not just going to stand here and let them all die like criminals.”

“Do you have a plan?” Twilight asked weakly, still uneasy that the ponies would be killed in such a way. I faced the outside again, taking note of everything. The humans who were watching the spectacle had their eyes glued to it. The ponies, on the other hand, were cringing and facing away in sympathy of the ponies on stage. My guilt grew as my gaze passed over the deceased Goldengrape; I had to avenge him, along with Rose.

“Twilight,” I said sternly, extending my hand towards her while staring outside, “give me my mask.”

Without pause, Twilight used her magic to levitate my head gear out of her saddlebag and towards my outstretched arm. I snatched it from the air and hastily put it on, feeling the seconds tick by. Carrot Top was next and there was no way in hell that I was allowing her to die. After I finished, I briskly made for the door, my revolver still tight in my hand.

“What about your plan?” Twilight called to me as I opened the door. I halted at the door frame, considering her words for a moment.

“Don’t have one,” I said, continuing my walk as the ponies stayed inside the Library. When I had neared the gathering, I could finally hear what Grayson was going on about.

“...assisting a fugitive. Do you deny this?” he asked Carrot Top, over his sheet of paper.

Even from this distance, I could tell she was shivering, her bruises, though faded, were still present on her sides. “I-I didn’t help him th-though!” she stuttered as loudly as she could, which wasn’t much. “He j-just saved me!”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Grayson brushed off, “Now, does anyone want to purchase this pony?”

Carrot Top dipped her head, facing the ground, probably to not get even more distressed from the lack of raised hands. That’s when an idea struck me: I could purchase her. “Going once,” Grayson shouted, the other man on stage, who I assume was the executioner, leveled his gun with Carrot Top’s head. Would my plan work? I didn’t even have any money!

“Going twice,” Grayson said, the executioner’s finger twitching. God damnit, it can’t work!

“I’ll buy her!” I screamed. Confused, the crowd looked at each other to see if someone would actually purchase the pony. Carrot Top blinked in disbelief, looking around to see who had said that. With the distraction, I aimed my revolver at the executioner just as Grayson laid eyes on me. I couldn’t help but give a smug smile at his expression. It felt good to take him by surprise.

“Didn’t see that one coming, didja?” I whispered, as I gave a mock salute, then gripped my gun and fired at the executioner. The loud bang and the man falling dead made the group panic, looking around frantically for the shooter. I had already taken off, heading for the Library where Twilight and the others were at. I hoped that Carrot Top would be able to escape from there.

“It’s the Masked Man!” I heard Grayson shout behind me, “Get him! I’ll raise the bounty on him by three hundred bits! Just kill him!”

Wow, talk about desperate. Nevertheless, I quickened my pace, as I heard cries of anger and vengeance. I crashed through the Library door, and slammed it shut behind me. As the sense of Déjà vu rushed through my mind, I locked the door and slid to the window to a crouched position.

“What the hay, Nolan?!” Applejack shirked at me, who was laying low to the floor with the other two as the first bullets began to fly. “That was your plan?!”

“Don’t like it, come up with your own,” I shot back, shooting through the window at an approaching man, sending glass shards everywhere.

“Well now what do we do!?” Twilight jumped in with a worried expression next to Applejack. Pinkie was beside Twilight, looking just as frightened.

“Look for another exit,” I ordered, taking another shot out the window. “I can hold them off for awhile.”

Twilight looked around, like the alternative exit would be in plain sight. I focused back on the fire fight, putting more bullets in more approaching men. They were getting smart, as they aimed for the window while taking cover, forcing me to duck my head as the bullets impacted my position. As I brought myself out of cover to take more shots, I saw someone with a rifle aim straight at me. I ducked just in time, the bullet nicking my helmet.

I had forgotten that they had weapons besides revolvers. I would have to change my strategy. Then I gazed over the room before me, Twilight and the others had gone to find the other exit, and I grew a maniacal grin at the amount of weapons. Crouching low, I went over to the racks of rifles and gathered as much as I could carry. I made my way back to the windows, placing a few at each one, carefully avoiding being seen from outside.

When that was finished, I quickly got the shotguns and looked around for a place to put them. Though there was no cover in the room, a doorway leading to a kitchen was perfect. This idea of mine had better work. That’s when the guns stopped, and I heard muffled voices from outside. They must have thought I had been killed, or were just waiting for me to make a move. Using the lull in gunfire to my advantage, I came back to the window, grabbing one of the rifles I had rested next to it.

I checked outside, seeing a few of them arguing. The shattered window allowed me to hear what they were saying. “Is he dead?” someone asked.

“You, check it out.”

“Why me?! Why the hell don’t you look?”

“Because I outrank you.”

“Crap, alright.”

Gripping the rifle in my hands, I quickly aimed outside to the approaching troop and took the shot. The recoil was more than I was used to, causing me to give a small wince, but the bullet hit its mark. The others scrambled back for the cover that they had left, and I had trouble loading another bullet into the chamber. How did anyone manage these clunky bolt-action rifles? Even with my inefficient loading, I was able to take out one more before they were behind a barrier once again.

As they were shooting at my cover again, I tossed the rifle to the floor and shuffled to the other window, grabbing the rifle that rested there. Because the enemies were focused on where I once was, I was able to take aim without worrying about getting hit. Still, I didn’t waste time as I pointed my rifle at someone behind a nearby building and fired.

The people around him flinched as his body fell, and as quickly as I could, I loaded another bullet and shot again. They moved their attention to my position and I backed away as the bullets practically ripped it to shreds. When their firing stopped, I edged for the other window. However, I found the reason why they had ceased fire. Someone had rammed into the door: they were already too close.

“Shit,” I cursed under my breath, tossing the rifle and hastily making for the doorway holding the shotguns. A bang from behind the door informed me that they had shot the lock. I equipped myself with a shotgun, and stood beside the doorway, awaiting their arrival. They kicked down the door and I instantly jumped out shooting at the first two to come running in with both shells.

God, the kick was worse than the rifles!

I dropped the shotgun and grabbed another just as more were running into the slaughter. As they fell, I could see some others take positions at the windows and the entrance. Instincts kicking in, I shot at each man at the window and discarded the shotgun as well.

Just as I reached for another shotgun, I heard Applejack’s voice over the gunfire. “Nolan!” she yelled, “Twi’ found an- gah!”

The sudden yelp of pain filled me with fear. What had happened? I peeked around my cover and saw Applejack laying on the ground clutching her left forehoof with her right, as it was bleeding. I also noticed two men running for her. I dispatched them quickly with my shotgun as I ran out of cover, heading for her. I slid beside her as she was shivering from the suppressed cries of pain. I gave the injury a look over and found out that the bullet had passed right through it.

“Can you walk?” I asked, taking out my revolver as I kept an eye on the entrance.

She put pressure on her hoof and almost fell back down. However she pushed through the pain and gave me a nod. I had to commemorate her for her stubbornness against pain, but I hoped she wouldn’t push herself too much; I knew what it was like to get shot in the leg. Patting her on the shoulder, I jumped up and gave suppressing fire as we both crept back into the door she had came through.

When we were completely through, I slammed it shut, noting with a groan that there was no lock for this door. We had better hurry. Turning to face where we entered, I saw that it was a large basement, with the stairs open to the two story room. The place had strange technology that I wouldn’t associate with a place like Ponyville, with electronics and such.

My brain was trying to comprehend how technology was present in a world where it shouldn’t be, but the gunfire had halted once again, and I snapped out of my revery. I hurried down the stairs behind a struggling Applejack, picking her up half way down.

“Put me down!” she yelped, as she kicked, but it sounded hollow; that leg must have hurt more than she was letting on.

“No time,” I mumbled, practically flying down the stairs. I saw Twilight and Pinkie standing beside some sort of hole in the ground, near the wall, looking uneasy. When I ran over to them and they saw Applejack bleeding, their eyes widened in shock.

“A-Applejack!” Twilight cried out stepping over to us.

“She’s fine!” I shouted, placing Applejack on her back rather harshly. “Get going! Now!”

The door upstairs burst open, men already infiltrating the basement. I began firing on them, keeping them at bay until the ponies had made it through. When they were all inside, I inched towards it until I was at the brim of the hole, still firing until my revolver clicked empty. When it did, I jumped inside.

It was pitch black, forcing me to squint to see anything through my tinted goggles, but that didn’t work either. When I hit the bottom, I toppled over from the unexpected landing, but I pushed myself back up quickly. I had jumped into a dark tunnel, with absolutely no light to see anything at all. It caused me to panic slightly, but Twilight’s horn lit up, casting a lavender light on the walls.

“Keep going!” I shouted, pointing to the dark abyss of the rest of the tunnel. “We’re not out of the fire yet.”

The two galloped through it, with me right behind. I kept glancing behind me to see if anyone had followed us through, but the darkness canceled any hope of sight. That didn’t stop the sound however.

“They went through here!” someone shouted, echoing through the tunnel. “Someone get me a torch!”

I was racking my brain, trying to come up with some way to get them off our tail, but the tunnel was extremely linear; it literally went in a straight line. I gazed around at the tunnel walls until an idea hit me in the head.

“Twilight,” I called out, causing her to look over to me. I could see she was having trouble, what with holding Applejack and using her horn for light, but this had to be done. “Can you collapse the tunnel behind us?!”

“Are you crazy!?” she scolded me, her fear showing plainly on her face. “It could cause a chain reaction and bring the whole place down on top of us!”

I looked behind me again, and was able to see someone throw down a torch, illuminating the surrounding area. “It’s either that,” I said, keeping my eyes on the entrance, “or get shot in the ass!”

“Okay, okay! I see your point!” Twilight agreed. She skidded to a halt, and turned to face where we had come from. A human had just jumped down, already getting used to his surroundings. Her horn was growing very bright, and I saw a chance to help her a bit by taking Applejack off her back. When I did, I could easily see Twilight relax slightly and concentrate on her spell.

Time seemed to move at a crawl, the spell feeling as if it would take ages to complete as more men were following the first. Hearing mumbling beside me, I looked down to see Pinkie going into her ramblings. Yet strangely enough, one line of it made sense.

“Forgive your enemies... but never forget their names,” she quoted quietly, staring ahead. Wait, wasn’t that a quote from-

A huge explosion and sudden flash caught me off guard, making me stumble back from the sheer force of the discharged energy. After that, the rumbling I could feel in the earth caused me to shiver; my plan was working. I saw Twilight breathing heavily, watching rocks and boulders fall and block the path. The only problem was that they were still falling, and would eventually crush us. “You went a little overboard, Twilight,” I announced, backing away. “Let’s get going before the ceiling comes down on our heads.”

“I… did it,” she breathed, but was difficult to hear over the shaking and rumbling. “I… completed the spell.”

Was the spell more complicated than I thought? Even so, she could reflect on it when we were out of danger. “Twilight!” I shouted, finally knocking her back to reality as she gawked at the collapsing tunnel. “I don’t want a dead princess on my hands! Run!”

She followed my orders without hesitation, spinning in a circle and running like I’d never seen her before. I was already up ahead, right behind Pinkie Pie, with my lungs burning from the exertion. However, no matter how hard we ran, the crumbling tunnel was growing closer to us.

“Shit, we’re not going to make it!” I yelled, gritting my teeth. Fortunately, the cave-in stopped abruptly, as if the tunnel saw our plight and fixed it. Breathing heavily, I slowed to a stop and tenderly laid Applejack on the ground as Twilight joined my side, appreciating the break.

After a minute or two of just resting, I looked over the ponies and assessed them. Pinkie seemed absolutely fine, not tired from the sprint. Applejack, though unwinded, was still in pain from her leg injury. And finally, Twilight was exhausted and from what I could make out from the spell, I couldn’t blame her.

“Is everyone alright?” I asked, making absolutely sure there wasn’t some bullet wound that someone may be hiding.

“Fine,” Applejack answered promptly, “I’m… fine.”

“Can you walk?” I questioned, crossing my arms while looking agitated.

“No-”

“Then you’re not fine,” I shot down, feeling annoyed. She really was stubborn, and I’m sure if I didn’t interrupt her, she would go into a huge explanation on why she was alright. Twilight sat on her haunches, still looking in disbelief. No doubt about the spell she had performed.

“What’s so special about that magic spell?” I asked in exasperation, she was making a big deal about it.

Twilight gave a heavy sigh, closing her eyes as she faced the ground. “It was the last spell Princess Celestia taught me,” she revealed with a sad tone. “I couldn’t master it, and this was the first time I was able to use it.”

I gave her a sympathetic look, “She was important to you, huh?”

She gave a nod, but then quickly shook her head and faced me with a forced smile. “She wouldn’t want me to mope around,” she said, trying to dissolve the sorrowful feeling. “We should keep going.”

I wanted to say that we had time, but I couldn’t be sure if that statement would be true or not. Instead I faced the rest of the tunnel and saw that it ran on for another hundred meters. “Where does this go anyway?” I inquired; it wasn’t exactly normal for a tunnel like this to be here.

“It goes to Fluttershy’s cottage,” Twilight informed me, stepping past me with her horn glowing. “Princess Celestia wanted Fluttershy to make it to our usual gathering place, my Library, without any distractions.”

That seemed like it would waste more time than gain, but this Princess was the expert. Besides, this ‘Fluttershy’ - who I recall being one of the Elements of Harmony - must have been important to have some sort of tunnel built in her basement. Shrugging off my thoughts, I carefully lifted Applejack up and looked over to Pinkie, who was rocking back and forth.

“Pinkie,” I exclaimed, and she instantly looked at me with unblinking eyes… Freakin’ blink already! “Uh, can you make yourself useful and carry Applejack for awhile?” I asked, tilting my head towards Applejack for emphasis. Applejack groaned quietly, probably feeling useless because of her lack of mobility.

“No!” Psycho Pinkie screamed, “That lazy pony can walk herself.”

“But she’s hurt,” Pinkie reasoned, “and she helped us before.”

“Not in that asylum!” Psycho Pinkie retorted, “I’m not letting that pony on our back.”

“But she’s our friend!” Pinkie cried, breathing heavily. Psyco Pinkie didn’t say anything, causing Pinkie to look at me expectantly. I gave a curt nod of understanding and placed Applejack on her back. Twilight levitated some bandages out of her saddlebag and over to Applejack’s foreleg, which was still bleeding.

“Hold still, please,” Twilight requested, tightly wrapping the wound. Applejack winced when Twilight tightened it, but didn’t move as she was told.

“Don’t worry, Applejack,” I assured, “Once the pain is gone, you should be able to walk by yourself.”

Applejack sighed, “Just dandy.”

{~+~}

The end of the tunnel was just a simple wooden door, and was no challenge to get through. Not that I was complaining; I was expecting to have to blast it open again, based on my luck. When I turned the knob and entered, my hand hovering over my holstered revolver, I saw that it was another basement. This one, however, was way less advanced than Twilight’s.

Twigs and crumbs littered the floor, and the dull scent of manure hung in the air. The lighting was slightly better than the tunnel, but was still difficult to see. The basement was empty, yet unnerving. Like it once held a purpose that was no longer significant.

Pinkie and Twilight slipped past me, heading over to the stairs that lead to the surface. I followed behind, and the four of us entered the room above. It was all wood, making me believe that this household was carved into a tree as well. Bird houses were hung on the ceiling, and mouse holes were placed in certain areas in the walls. Seeing that this room was bare pointed to the thought that this building was abandoned.

“Applejack?” Twilight asked, eyeing the room with an uneasy face. “Do you know if the humans had found the tunnel before?”

“Can’t say, Twi’,” Applejack shrugged from her position on Pinkie, who glanced back at her as she spoke. “I wasn’t ‘loud off the farm.”

“Probably best we keep moving,” I suggested walking over to a window with dank and torn curtains. “I don’t want to get in another fire fight.”

“I thought you did pretty good out there,” Pinkie complimented with a frown, “Can’t you… keep it up?”

I scoffed, scanning the exterior of the house, “I only have so much ammunition, and as I said before, it’s all luck. I’m surprised I didn’t take a hit back there.”

Silence reigned over us, forcing me to speak up to avoid the awkwardness that usually followed it. “You said this was... Fluttershy’s house, right?” I asked, having to recall the pony’s name.

“Yes, right next to the Everfree Forest,” Twilight explained, nodding slightly.

“Perfect,” I said, noting positively that the area was empty, “We can go into the forest and use it for cover to-”

“Enter the forest!?” all three ponies shouted, nearly making me jump from their outburst. These ponies can be really loud.

“The forest is evil!” Twilight exclaimed nervously, “There are all sorts of monsters in there!”

“Well, think of it like this,” I said turning towards them, “Either the monsters in the forest, or the humans in Ponyville.”

“Ya seriously have no idea what’s in that there forest,” Applejack said with a worried expression.

I thought about her words carefully. It was true, of course, that I have never stepped foot in the forest. Add to the fact that I have no idea what monsters were in Equestria, and I had a recipe for disaster. There was just one thing I wanted to confirm.

“Have the humans ever gone inside that forest?” I inquired, causing Applejack to grimace.

“I overheard Jordan talk about some humans who went in ta explore the forest,” she gulped, sweat dripping from her face. “From what I could learn, they heard guns and screams. And they were never seen again.”

I grunted, crossing my arms, “You make it sound like a campfire story.”

“It’s the truth,” Applejack finished with narrowed eyes.

“I know it is,” I said, pausing for a few seconds so those words could sink in. “Anyway, we can worry about the forest later. While we still have the time, let’s figure out what to do next.”

The ponies faced away from me, but it didn’t take a genius to know why. They had no clue, same as me. Ponyville was probably on high alert at this point, searching the town for us, or me specifically. Not only that, but there may come a point where they would investigate this house. And if we couldn’t think up something quickly, we would be screwed.

“Derpy!” Pinkie cried out suddenly, throwing Applejack to the floor as she streaked for the door, crashing through it.

“Pinkie, there’s no Derpy!” Twilight shouted, as she and I ran after her. When we left the house and into the crisp outdoors, We found a bit of a surprise, more for Twilight than me. A gray pegasus pony, with three bubbles as a cutie mark and a blond tail and mane, was standing there in shock. What surprised me was her eyes; one was looking at us, while the other was looking up.

She was cross eyed.

“Princess Twilight!” Derpy said in alarm, bowing low, “I was really worried when the humans came after you.”

Twilight rubbed the back of her head with a small smile, obviously uncomfortable with being addressed and treated like royalty. “Uh, thanks, Derpy,” Twilight thanked, “but I told you that you don’t have to call me that, or bow.”

Derpy giggled as she rose, “I know, but it’s fun. And I’m so glad that I found you!”

“So you’re the pony that’s been following us?” I accused, causing Twilight to glare at me. Derpy blinked and turned to me, as if just registering that I was standing right by Twilight.

“I didn’t know if you were their master,” she retorted, scrunching up her nose rather adorably. But then she relaxed, “but when you saved Carrot Top, I knew you must have been the human that the town was talking about.”

At the mention of Carrot Top, I leaned forward with a tad of distress, “Did she get away? Did Carrot Top escape?”

Derpy tilted her head at how concerned I was. In truth, I felt responsible for putting her in that situation, and if she didn’t escape death, than I was more a failure than I had previously thought. Thankfully, Derpy smiled, and faced behind herself, exclaiming, “Carrot Top, c’mere!”

I heard hoof steps as a pony approached from the path that probably led into town. Soon enough, Carrot Top came into view, backing towards us while keeping a watchful eye.

“What is it, Derpy?” She inquired with no hint of annoyance, “I was watching the path, but nopony has-”

She turned to us, stopping mid sentence as she looked to see Twilight and I standing there. The next thing I know, she was running at me in full gallop, eyes closed tight, and hugging my waist tightly. “Thank you!” she cried out, “Thank you, thank you so much! I thought I was dead, with Goldengrape, and-and Rose…”

“Well, I couldn’t just let them kill you,” I explained, not sure what to do with my hands. I should have hug her back, but it was just strange to be truly liked in this land that I was completely stunned. My statement made Carrot Top hug me even tighter looking up at me with strained eyes.

“That’s what you said last time…” she reminded, “When I almost died…”

The guilt began to grow as I was forced to remember how she was almost killed both times. “It’s all my fault that those people nearly killed you,” I said sadly, my arms resting limply. “If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t have been in danger.”

“But you made it up by saving me,” she replied courteously, finally letting go of me and backing off to give me room, “You're the first person to stand up for me in my entire life.”

“Even before the invasion?” I asked in bewilderment.

She nodded and continued, “I was pretty lonely back then, and didn’t have many friends, and when the humans arrived in Ponyville, I thought I would live like that for the rest of my life.”

She looked up at me hopefully, “But then you came, and changed that.”

“I couldn’t save Rose or Goldengrape or anyone else before hand,” I said quietly, “So don’t call me a hero, because I’m not one.”

Carrot Top opened her mouth to argue, but something struck Derpy suddenly. Something very pink. “I knew it was Derpy!” Pinkie shouted out happily, snuggling the surprised pony. “I just knew it!”

Why didn’t see say hello earlier? Why did she wait until now to tackle Derpy? I suppose it didn’t matter too much, but Pinkie sure was random.

Derpy gave an embarrassed chuckle, “Sorry for hiding, Pinkie. But I wasn’t sure if this human would hurt you if he saw me.”

“Glad ta see you’re alive at least,” Applejack smiled, limping over to us.

“Likewise,” Derpy responded cheerfully. “Now I can take you to Rainbow Dash at Los Pegasus.”

To say we were shocked by that was an understatement. Our eyes went wide and jaws dropped open. “R-Rainbow Dash?” Twilight repeated.

“Los Pegasus!?” I repeated, shaking my head. I must have heard wrong; there was no way that there was a place that would be a copy of Los Vegas.

Derpy simply grinned, “Yeah. Rainbow Dash is leading the resistance movement.”

Applejack and Twilight faced each other with a smile, glad to have learned of another friend’s whereabouts. Pinkie, on the other hand, was acting nervous. “Rainbow Dash!?” she shrieked, making Derpy take a few steps back in fear. “I can’t see her! What will she think of me!? I can’t see her!”

“Why not?” Derpy inquired, and Pinkie stomped a hoof down in aggravation.

“I have my reasons!” she shouted, forcing Derpy to look at her funny.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” I said, waving my arms and walking in between everybody to get their attention. “Back up a bit. Did you say Los Pegasus?”

Derpy was really looking confused now. “Yeah,” she answered slowly, “Is something wrong?”

“Wrong?” I repeated, ripping my mask off while looking at her incredulously. “There’s a city here that is one big pun of a city where I’m from!”

“And that’s in the north… right?” Carrot Top asked, the last word coming out meekly. I would have shouted at them for being so oblivious, but I had to remind myself that they still believed I was just another human here.

“I’ve told Applejack and Twilight,” I sighed, gesturing to them while cooling down. “I’m from another world. It’s the only reason why I’m helping them find their friends. To get home.”

“Is… that really the only reason?” Derpy asked, looking dejected.

I couldn’t meet her eyes - or the only eye facing me - and looked off to the side, regretting bringing it up. “Yeah,” I said, having to force myself to say the single word. “It is.”

“Well that’s just…” Derpy started, hovering in front of my face while thinking of the right word to use. “...mean!”

“And the other humans here aren’t?” I snapped back, furrowing my brow.

“You have no idea what they took from us!” Derpy shouted in my face, her eyes quivering. “They took my daughter.”

Though I was mildly taken aback by that, I didn’t show it, though my insides tightened in empathy. Derpy landed back on the ground her eyes shut tight, no doubt to stop the tears before they even began. Carrot Top looked between myself and Derpy, her jaw slack like she had something to say but wasn’t sure if it should be said.

“Th-that can’t be right!” she cried out, looking up at me, as I raised a brow. “If you’re just helping them, then why did you save me?”

“I may have my own reasons for helping Twilight and Applejack,” I clarified, feeling like the group had suddenly turned on me. “But I’m not heartless. I’ll help someone if they need help. I was a cop before I came here; it was my duty.”

Everyone was silent, not sure how to respond to my statement. Looking over the group, I could tell that it was growing pretty big. Applejack, Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Derpy, and Carrot Top. Then there’s me; the odd ball out. Who knew that we would gather this many ponies together. Turning around to face the very dark forest, I spoke up, “Let’s get going before the people in town come here.”

“Right,” Derpy agreed solemnly, probably still sad about her daughter. “Los Pegasus is pretty far away. About a three day journey if we don’t get side tracked.”

She pointed to a direction, “It’s South West of here; in that direction.”

“Uh, Derpy,” Twilight corrected, pointed in the opposite direction, towards the wicked forest. “South West is that way.”

Derpy gave a sheepish grin, playing with the dirt, “Sorry, I’m not very good with directions.”

“So we’re going through the dark and potentially dangerous forest, huh?” I summed up, facing the forest with a tired expression. “Well… let’s get it over with.”

“There!” Someone screamed up the path, “I found them!”

Knowing it was another human, I quickly ran over to a tree for cover with the other ponies, Twilight helping Applejack as she was still limping. I put on my mask again, hoping to god that they didn’t see my face. Though, even if they did, I doubt they saw enough to get a clear picture. The humans were already opening fire on our position, not leaving me room to fire back while tearing up the trees.

“We’re trapped!” Carrot Top realized with a hint of panic. “Now what do we do?!”

I gave a small glance to the approaching people, seeing that there were far too many. Then I turned toward the forest. The place that was apparently cursed to hell, and may be far worse than what the attacking humans could do.

But at least it had a higher chance for survival at the moment. Hopefully. “Scatter into the forest!” I ordered, knowing that I may be sending them to their deaths.

Comments

[Legion222]

A moment of silence for the needlessly slain Rose and Goldengrape, please.

I swear, that was honestly one of the saddest parts of the story so far.

Kind of morbidly funny how I felt no remorse for the untold numbers of slain humans, but nearly cried for real when two ponies died.

Interesting how I only seem to realize these things after the chapter gets posted, instead of during the editing phase. No, during editing I'm cracking bad jokes and just being all-around weird. Now, however, I really get the full intended impact of the feels.

Write on,
Legion

[Superdale33]

3183729 Whoa, never realized it hit you that hard.

I guess it was kinda sad, but was pretty fast as well, so there wasn't much time to mourn.

I guess why its sad is because they were needlessly killed. Darn humans.

[Rokkurin]

Another great chapter to another great story!

[Cole the guy]

This is a song for your enjoyment.

[Legion222]

3184684
No human being is just one thing. We all act differently in different situations. If anything, the variation makes him seem more human, more real.

Write on,
Legion

[Superdale33]

3184480 I have a feeling you're going to leave a song after each chapter, correct?

[Humbucker]

Another awesome chapter full of awesome. That's awesome.

[Cole the guy]

3185130 Maybe.

[Superdale33]

3197161 Well, considering I have only fired one gun in my entire life, it's slightly understandable. Most of my knowledge is from video games, and everyone knows that one doesn't become an expert from that. Still, I'm sorry that my gun knowledge is not up to your par, and I'll try to do better. Thank you for reading.

[SomeGuyCamping]

Superb chapter my friend. You get an awesome Rainbow Dash
-SomeGuyCamping

[ISWIS]

Bam bam boom I feel like we're going to get some Rainbow Six action here... get it? Rainbow as in Rainbow Dash and you know uhhhh six as in... I don't know about six but I know it's in Las Vegas...You know what this story needs... more grass like if it had some extra grass here and there then it would be much more comfortable mabye some carpets to soften up the atmosphere. Make it a little more cozy. I wonder how Rainbow will react to Pinkie

[Superdale33]

3204968 You get off topic quite often. Something soft, eh? I can work something out...

[Georgia-Man]

Are all the humans in Equestria men or are there women as well?

[panzerleid]

huh a JFK quote .

[Dustchu]

Maaaan, Nolan needs to loosen up Dx he's gotta save equestria from the asshole humans..
Show some compassion mane~

Nice job!

[Im Iteration]

I hope there's good changelings. I like changelings.