12 - The Longest Day
Week 32, Thursday
He tried to lift his head, but things seemed to move in slow-motion. He was aware of something near him crying, and tried to focus on it, but the effort drained most of the energy he had left. He felt tears splashing against his face and wondered whose they were. He reached out to try and touch whoever was standing over him, but felt and saw the darkness rushing in and then there was nothing.
---Three hours earlier---
“Alright Flare, put up your bet.” Karl said, sliding a couple quarters into the pile of assorted items in the middle of the table.
“I’m going to win one of these rounds.” The unicorn said, beginning to take another bit from his pouch when a pair of hard bangs echoed throughout the building. Everyone in the room froze, the other three guards not knowing what the sounds meant. Flare felt the bottom drop out of his stomach and saw the two humans change personalities as if a switch had been thrown.
“Karl, check the hall. Flare, you and your unicorns will need to do exactly what we say. The others should be in the dining room. Twilight, Mystic and Spellweaver were resting in their rooms in the hallway. We’ll split up; two of you will come with me to check on Twilight and the others. Karl, take the others and try to determine what we’re facing. Do not engage unless necessary.” Kevin said as he unholstered his pistol and made sure the safety was off, chambering a round after nodding.
“Roger that Kevin.” Karl said as he checked his sidearm. “You two, what are your names?”
“Private Ruby sir.” One of the unicorns said quietly.
“Second Lieutenant Frost.” The other replied firmly.
“You two are coming with me. Stay close and do not try to be a hero. That’s the best way to get dead.” Karl ordered as he moved to the doorway. Peeking out, he nodded. “Alright, follow me.” The two unicorns quietly hurried after him and down the hallway.
Kevin took a phone from his pocket and pressed a single button. The phone buzzed for a few seconds before a calm voice replied over the line. “Identify yourself and your situation.”
“This is Tango One One Two Seven. The hotel is on fire.”
“Understood. Nature of fire?”
“Unknown. Sending firefighters to investigate. Need additional trucks.”
“Support is on the way. Hang in there.” The line went dead.
“Alright, help should be arriving soon. You, what’s your name?” Kevin asked the other unicorn as he motioned them down the side hall towards the personal rooms.
“Private Dawn Joy.” The unicorn whispered.
“Alright, here’s what we’ll do. Once we get to Twilight and the others, we wake them up and gather them all. After that we help them out a window. You and Flare will escort them to safety and wait for us. Do you understand me?”
Joy opened his mouth to answer when a fresh round of bangs echoed through the building, making him shrink in place and flatten his ears.
“I need you with us Private. There are civilians here at risk. Your duty is clear.” Flare ordered.
“Yes sir… I get you sir.” Joy stood a little taller, though his ears stayed stubbornly tilted back.
Kevin nodded and led the way down the hall toward the staff bedrooms.
---
Suzy whinnied in fear as another series of bangs echoed from somewhere in the building and pressed herself closer to Amy and Fluttershy. Jimmy snorted angrily, but otherwise held his ground between the mares and the strange men who reeked of anger.
“I told Five before we left to make sure Four didn’t turn this into a bloodbath too early. Three, go support Four and Five.” The man who’d shot George ordered. One of the other men nodded and readied his rifle, pacing out of the room silently. “As for the rest of you, I recommend that you continue to behave yourselves and remain quiet.”
“What is that you want?” Dr. Ross asked from where she was sitting on the floor.
“Yea, what’s the big idea?” Rainbow chimed in hotly, only to feel Dr. Ross’s hand on her shoulder. The cyan pegasus settled down as the man turned to look at her.
“I am only going to say this once. You will sit there and remain quiet, or I will kill one of your friends while you watch. Do I make myself clear?” The menace in his voice was plain, and for once Rainbow didn’t have a retort ready. This human wasn’t like any of the others she had met, and she knew that he meant what he’d said. She nodded meekly, even as she began to mentally gauge the distance to him to see if she could hit him before he could react.
“Good.” He turned back to watching the one of the doorways into the cafeteria.
Holly sat quietly on the floor next to George, having managed to at least keep him from bleeding out any further. He’d passed out after a few minutes, but his breathing at least was steady. She looked over at Dr. Ross, concern written across her face. “If George doesn’t get medical attention soon he’ll be in trouble. Do you know anything about medicine?” she whispered.
Dr. Ross slowly scooted closer, “Not enough to remove the bullet. He needs a surgeon and a proper hospital.”
The two women were interrupted by One, who’d noticed them scooting closer together. “I believe I just told you to sit there silently. Do I need to make a more… permanent example of one of you?”
Dr. Ross shook her head silently, but Holly met his gaze firmly. “My cameraman needs medical help. He’s going to die if you don’t let him get it.”
“Then he will be an unfortunate casualty. Now, sit there and be silent, or one of the ponies will pay the price for your actions.” One walked back to stand next to one of the other gunman.
---
Karl ducked back around the corner as another bullet whizzed past his face. “Shit, they brought a lot of firepower. I told them we needed heavier weapons on-site.” Once the firing stopped, he snapped off a round downrange and cursed violently. “I’m out!”
He waited, but no one walked out. Instead, a black muzzle poked around the corner and Karl slid back as more bullets hit the wall. “Damn, was hoping one of them would be stupid enough to look.”
“What do we do now?” Ruby asked, a note of fear entering his voice. The unicorn had thought himself ready to face anything the humans had to dish out, but watching a demonstration of the kinds of weapons humans used was vastly different than having one pointed at you spitting death.
“We do our jobs and try to take these fuckers out.” Karl hissed as the noise ended. Suddenly, he turned his head slightly as he heard a new sound coming from just ahead of them. It was someone crying, and he recognized the tone of voice immediately. “Shit, that’s Rarity.”
“Can you see where her voice is coming from?” Frost asked.
Risking a glance around the corner, Karl could only see one closed door in the hall. “Looks like she’s in there. We need to get to her, but those guys are dug in like an Alabama tick.”
“I can make it!” Private Ruby said firmly. “I’ll take her with me and escape.”
“Are you certain Private?” Frost asked, locking eyes with the younger unicorn.
“Sure am, sir. I used to win the races every year at the Fall Harvest celebrations.”
“Then you go, I’ll cover you.” Karl lifted his pistol and swung it out into the corridor, firing towards the enemy’s position. As soon as he did, Ruby broke into a dead gallop towards the closed door, his horn lighting as he drew close. His magic slammed the door open as he leapt through it… only for a chatter of bullets to strike his hind legs as he flew through the gap.
“Damnit, that fucker got lucky.” Karl swore as he ejected his magazine. Reaching into his pocket, he only felt two more and swore again. “Only got two left.”
Ruby shouted in pain as he landed heavily on the floor, scrambling out of sight as more bullets hammered the doorframe. Slamming the door shut with his magic, he took a second to take stock of his injuries. One of the bullets had ricocheted off his side armor, leaving what he knew would be a nasty bruise. The worst damage was further down, where one had torn clean through his leg. He fought to block out the pain as he looked around the room, seeing the sheets hanging off the bed shaking slightly. “Miss Rarity, it’s Private Ruby. Are you alright?”
The sheets were pushed aside enough for a single blue eye to peek out. “Oh my stars, you’re bleeding!” She retreated as another series of bangs shattered the air. “What in Equestria is going on?”
“We’re under attack. I’m going to get you out of here.” Ruby heaved himself to his feet and limped to the window, looking to the left and the right. He could see it was one of the alleys between the buildings, and it appeared empty. “I’m going to open the window and make sure it’s safe and then you’ll follow me. Understood?”
“But your leg, you can’t possibly intend to move about on it. What if more of them are out there?” Rarity shrieked as a bullet blew a hole in the wall.
“We can’t stay here. Now come on!” Ruby bellowed, feeling the familiar Guard disaster training kicking in. He turned to the window and carefully pulled it from the frame, setting the glass down gently. Taking a quick look outside, he nodded as he didn’t see any more humans. He turned back and motioned to Rarity, who took the hint and leaped through, shrieking as she landed in a pile of refuse.
Ruby heaved himself through the window and fell into the refuse with a heavy grunt as his leg gave out. “Alright, let’s go.” He began to lead the way to the exit of the alley, when a set of flashing blue lights blinded him.
“We got two ponies over here, one injured!” shouted a human in a blue uniform as he ran up, his pistol drawn. Ruby growled as he interposed himself between Rarity and the man, who raised his weapon. “It’s okay, I’m with the police, let’s get you two out of here.”
A few more officers ran over, two of them picking up Ruby and carrying him as they ran to where a number of vehicles with flashing lights idled. Rarity galloped after them, looking over her shoulder worriedly at the building..
---
Spike was dreaming, the baby dragon walking along a forest path towards where he was to meet Rarity for a picnic. The sun shone gently through the trees, birds sang, and all was well with the world. Then a hard bang echoed through the woods, cutting off the chirping of the birds. Spike stopped and looked around worriedly, before seeing a robin sitting on a branch looking at him. He smiled at it, only to jump backward as it opened its beak, another bang coming out instead of the expect chirping. As more birds began to make the frightening bangs, he felt himself being shaken awake. “Huh? What’s going on?”
“C’mon Spike! We need to go now!” Twilight shouted, her terrified eyes inches from his. Suddenly Spike realized that there were a lot of ponies in his room, and Kevin was there too.
“Twilight, what’s wrong?” He asked, only to cry out in terror as the hard bangs from his dream echoed through the halls.
“Some mean people are here. Karl is taking care of them, but I want to get you all out of here first.” Kevin said as he strode to the window. Picking up a chair, he swung it and smashed the glass, sweeping the fragments from the frame. He took a quick look outside and nodded. “We’re clear, let’s go.” One by one, he helped the ponies awkwardly through the window. “Your turn Twilight. Twilight?” He turned to see the unicorn stuffing a few pieces of parchment into her bag and cursed. “We don’t have time for this Twilight!”
“This is important! We need to tell the Princess right away!” Twilight said as she leaped through the window.
“I swear to Christ these ponies will be the death of me. Alright Spike, you’re next.” He said as he hefted the dragon out the window to Twilight, then the two Guards.
“But what about you?” Flare shouted.
“It wouldn’t be sporting to get you all out and leave the others behind, would it?” Kevin chuckled, but then his smile faded. “Flare, get them out safely.” He started walking back to the door when a metallic thud caused him to look back. He shook his head as he saw Flare scrabbling the rest of the way through the window. “What are you doing?”
“Well, I mistimed the jump.” Flare said as he shook himself off.
“No. I mean that I ordered you to get the others out.” Kevin snapped.
“They are. I’m not about to turn my back on ponies or humans that need my help.” Flare said, his brown eyes burning with determination.
Kevin sighed and looked back to the door. “No point fighting about it now. Follow me and try to pay attention next time.”
“Sure thing.” Flare said as they followed the source of the bangs.
---
“C’mon you fucker! I got what you need right here!” Four shouted as he let loose another burst of gunfire toward the corner the bastard and that pony were hiding behind.
“Calm down Four. One warned you not to get out of control.” Five said tiredly as he glanced back to see Three running towards them.
“Five, what the hell is this?” Three paused as Four fired another salvo down the hall. “I thought you’d have Four under control this time.”
“Fuck you Three. I’m going to kill these sons of bitches and to hell with what One says. These fuckers took everything from me!” Four snarled as he slammed a fresh clip into his assault rifle. Firing a burst down the hallway, he was rewarded by a shout of pain. “Got ya, you prick.”
Down the hall, Karl was grimacing, the bullet having torn through the corner and his shoulder. “Fuck, that hurts.” He lifted the pistol in his good hand and fired another few rounds downrange, but the slide locked back and he swore. “Shit, I’m out for real. Frost, you get out of here. I’ll buy you some time.”
“No, I won’t leave you behind.” Frost protested.
“Damnit, I gave you an order, now go!” Karl hissed, his eyes cold.
Frost dug her hooves in and snorted. “You don’t give me orders human. I was ordered by Princess Luna herself to protect everypony at this facility and I intend to.”
Karl opened his mouth to berate her further when a single bang shattered the air. He staggered forward a half-step and collapsed, his right leg folding at an unnatural angle. Frost lunged forward and grunted as she caught some of his weight.
“Well, ain’t this just precious.” A voice dripping with sarcasm said as a human came around the corner, a rifle held in his hands. “Fucking waste of space ponies.” He said as he steadily approached. Two more men rounded the corner, similar rifles aiming at them. Frost instinctively started to call upon her magic, but realized that with Karl right next to her she couldn’t.
“Four, back off. Three, secure them.” Five ordered.
The closest man, who Frost assumed was Four, instead walked closer until he loomed over her. His eyes were filled with malice and with a snort he spat on her, raising his rifle. The last thing she saw was the butt of the weapon as it collided with her head.
---
Much to Fluttershy’s relief, Suzy had finally calmed down, though she was still stiff with fear. Fluttershy was just as terrified, but was trying her hardest to keep a brave face on for her friends.
“How are you doing, Fluttershy?” Amy asked, the zoologist sitting on the other side of Suzy, one hand stroking Jimmy’s mane to settle him down. The stallion snorted softly and leaned further into her, eyes watching the humans with the guns unfalteringly.
“Oh, um… I’m okay.” Fluttershy said meekly, hiding behind her mane a little.
“Don’t worry. We’ll get through this.” Amy said reassuringly, though inside she was just as scared, both for herself and for the others.
“I just hope Rarity is ok…” The timid pegasus looked up hopefully at the sound of footsteps, but recoiled as the three humans who had left came back, two of them dragging Karl by the arms and the third carrying one of the unicorn guards. They laid Karl out on the floor next to Dr. Ross and Applejack, and Fluttershy blanched at the sight of the bullet wounds in his shoulder and knee. The third man threw the guardpony roughly to the floor, wiping his hands on his pants as if he’d carried something diseased. He stormed off to where the other two humans stood and was soon embroiled in a quietly intense argument. The one known as Three looked down at the hostages and gestured to Karl and the guard.
“Make yourselves useful, dead hostages are useless hostages.” He walked over to stand by one of the doors, while the final human stood nearby, his assault rifle held in his hands.
Dr. Ross scooted over to Karl, checking the shoulder injury first. Fortunately, it appeared to have not done any fatal damage, but had most assuredly broken his collarbone. Lifting him carefully, she could see an exit wound in his back and breathed a sigh of relief. At least she wouldn’t have to go rooting around in his shoulder for the bullet. Looking down at the knee, she saw that the kneecap was pretty much shattered.
“How bad is it?” Karl whispered weakly.
“Well, I doubt you’ll be doing the tango anytime soon, but you’ll live.” Dr. Ross said as she took off her lab coat. Looking up at the man pointing the rifle, she tilted her head toward the sink. “I need to wash my hands and something to use as bandages.”
“Alright, on your feet. Try anything and I’ll put you down.” He said coldly.
Nodding, Dr. Ross slowly rose to her feet and walked to the counter. Washing her hands briskly, she picked up a few clean dishrags and washed them as well. Once she was satisfied she turned back to the guard. “I also need some medical supplies from the lab.”
“Tell me what they look like, we will retrieve them.”
Dr. Ross gave the descriptions calmly, amazed that her legs hadn’t given out, and walked back to kneel next to Karl as her escort walked over to confer with the others. The angry one from earlier protested, but was overruled by the leader. The one who’d been called Three walked out of the room, returning a few minutes later with the supplies she’d requested, handing them to her calmly before turning around .
“Holly, I’ll need you to assist me here. Don’t touch anything that I’ve opened or Karl, and do exactly what I say.” Dr. Ross reached for a pair of gloves and carefully put them on. Peeling open the package on some antiseptic, she carefully drizzled it over the wound. Karl hissed and gritted his teeth as she carefully wiped the injury clean. “Oh hush, you big baby,” she chided as she set the empty package aside, “I need some gauze, the large square one there.” She took the package from Holly, layering the material over the injury. “Medical tape, the roll there.” Working deftly, she finished securing the bandage and looked it over. “Alright, let’s turn him over, treat the other side.” Together, they gently rolled him onto his stomach and got to work.
Fluttershy and Amy meanwhile busied themselves with the guardpony. Amy could see a dent around the right eye, presumably where they’d been struck, and carefully undid the helmet straps, lifting it free. Almost immediately, the grey color began to change, becoming a soft ice blue while the mane became a light yellow-orange. She dropped the helmet as her fingers started to itch. “What’s going on?”
“Oh, I’m sorry, I should have warned you. Royal Guard armor is enchanted to change the color of anypony’s coat to be the same color.” Fluttershy explained. She started suddenly as the guard’s head seemed to shift, becoming more feminine. “I didn’t know it would do this though.”
“So they can make mares look like stallions?” Amy wondered, before noticing the ugly bruise forming over the unicorn’s face. “We’ll ask about that later, for now, we just need to get her comfortable until she comes to.”
---
Twilight was still shaking as she watched the human police mill about anxiously. They’d been hurried down the street to where a large number of the vehicles with flashing lights sat, and once there had been asked a number of questions about the attackers. However, upon learning they’d not seen them, the police had largely left them alone.
“Twilight, what about the others? Are they okay?” Spike asked, the baby dragon starting to get teary eyed as the full scope of things started to sink in.
“I don’t know Spike. But we have to stay strong for them. Now, I need you to take a letter to the Princess, she needs to know what’s going on.” Twilight said as she dug out a piece of parchment, quill and ink. Hoofing them over, she cleared her throat. “Princess Celestia. The research lab has come under attack. Some of us are still trapped inside, including Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Rar…” She was interrupted as a familiar voice cried out.
“Twilight!” The unicorn looked up to see Rarity galloping up to envelop her in a crushing hug. Twilight flung her hooves around her friend, fighting back tears of relief. Spike dropped the letter and quill on the ground to join in, the baby dragon trying to hide his own tears.
“I was so worried!” Twilight said as they separated. “What about the others, did they escape with you?”
“No, I’d thought they might have escaped with you when I saw you.” Rarity said, both unicorns looking toward the building. “I do hope they’re alright…”
“I’m sure they will be just fine.” Twilight said, though she felt an uncomfortable heaviness in her stomach. “Spike, let’s finish that letter, scratch Rarity’s name out.” Once Spike was ready she continued, “Dr. Ross, Amy and the rest of the human staff are still inside as well, along with two Royal Guards, Second Lieutenants Flare and Autumn Frost, if I’m not mistaken. The humans are responding in force, but I just don’t know what to do. Your Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle.” She nodded to Spike, who breathed a stream of green fire and sent the scroll on its way.
“What do you think Celestia will do?” Spike asked as they waited quietly, watching as a large vehicle with the letters S.W.A.T. emblazoned on the side pulled up. Humans dressed in black gear carrying rifles jumped out, one carrying an enormous shield.
“I don’t know Spike…” Twilight trailed off as she felt a familiar surge of magic and looked up, seeing a flash of light that caused her to shield her eyes. When she could see again she gasped at the sight floating in the air overhead.
Celestia’s face was impassive as she led six pegasus guards in a downward spiral, landing next to the cluster of police vehicles. Not even slowing down, she strode purposefully forward until she saw Twilight pushing through the crowd of officers that had formed. A look of relief crossed her face as Twilight pressed against her legs. “I am relieved to see you are safe. And you all as well,” She said to the other ponies who had gathered, “Is this everypony who was able to escape?”
“No your highness, one of the unicorn guards was injured while rescuing me. The humans are treating him over there.” Rarity pointed with a hoof.
“I see.” Celestia walked toward the indicated vehicle, the officers hurrying out of her way as the pegasus guards formed up protectively around them. One of them hung back to walk with Twilight, Rarity, Mystic and Spellweaver. Peering closer Twilight recognized the symbol on the breastplate of the armor. “General Cloudhammer?”
“Glad to see you’re alright Twilight.” Cloudhammer said. “Did you happen to get a look at any of the attackers?”
“No,” she admitted, “Kevin, Second Lieutenant Flare and Private Dawn Joy woke us and helped us out a window. Flare and Kevin went back inside for the others.” Twilight said in a rush.
“I’m going to tan his hide when he gets out.” Cloudhammer muttered. They followed Celestia to the ambulance, where Dawn Joy could be seen trying to sit up on the stretcher.
“Princess, I apologize for the lack of a salute, if this human would let me go...”
“Your leg is injured, please stay still.” The harried EMT said as he kept an arm on the unicorn’s chest.
“There is no need to rise Ruby.” Celestia said warmly as she smiled at the guardpony. “How is your leg feeling?”
“Nothing that I won’t get over, your highness.” Ruby said, his eyes widening as he saw Cloudhammer standing behind her. “Is there any word from Flare or Autumn Frost?”
Celestia shook her head. “No, we believe they are still inside the building. However, you should rest, and let others take over for now. You’ll have plenty of chances to serve in the future, Second Lieutenant.” She turned and trotted calmly towards a knot of officers looking at a map.
“Did she just...” Dawn Joy stammered.
“I believe she did. Excellent work Second Lieutenant. But a word of advice? If you’re aiming for a promotion there are easier ways to do it than getting yourself shot.” Cloudhammer said as he turned to follow Celestia.
“So we believe the most likely place for them to be is either the cafeteria or the research lab. Of the two, I’d argue for the cafeteria, it’s got food, close access to bathrooms and only two ways in.” One of the officers said, looking up when no one else replied. “What are you guys staring at?” Turning around, he joined the other officers in staring blankly as Celestia approached. “Oh.”
“Please, do not stop on my behalf.” Celestia said as she joined the group of officers. “So these are the building plans?”
“Um, yes.” The officer said lamely. Gathering his wits a little, he turned to indicate the cafeteria. “It’s likely they’re holed up here, it’s going to be hard to get any eyes on them to get a headcount.”
“Has there been any attempt made to contact them?” Celestia asked, her eyes tracing each line on the page intently.
“Not yet, we were still establishing our perimeter. We have a secure phone for our hostage negotiator to use to talk to them and see if we can get a feel for what kind of people we’re dealing with.” He pointed to a man sitting inside the large armored truck, a phone held in his hand.
---
Everyone jumped as the phone on the wall rang. One turned and walked over to it, the corners of his mask crinkling in what could only be a smile. “There they are, I was wondering what was taking them so long.” He picked the receiver up. “Hello? Ah, excellent. You may refer to me as One. I am currently in possession of Dr. Elizabeth Ross, Holly Williams, Amy Getton, and four of the six Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, in addition to other hostages. Therefore, I will give you orders to be carried out without hesitation or delay. Should you try anything, I will execute a hostage. Do I make myself clear?” He nodded at something said on the other end.
“Good. Now, we demand the immediate destruction of all research into the so-called ‘ponification serum’. Once I have verifiable confirmation of the destruction of the serum, I shall release half of my hostages. We also demand the immediate removal of ponies from human soil. Our species has existed for thousands of year on its own, and allowing ponies to interfere in our affairs is intolerable. Upon the completion of their removal, I will release all but one of my hostages. That hostage will accompany us on a chartered flight to a destination of our choice, to be given to the pilot when we board. Once the plane lands and we depart, the last hostage will be freed. I expect to hear your reply within the next...” he looked at a watch sewn to his glove, “two hours. At that time if I do not have at least proof the research is being destroyed, I will execute a hostage. I will be contacting you through it with any further demands.” He listened for a moment and then nodded. “A last word of warning. Do not underestimate the resolve of the Human Liberation Front.” He set the receiver down firmly and walked back to stand next to the others. They conferred quietly, while the humans and ponies looked at each other with newfound fear.
"What’re we gonna do ya’ll?” Applejack whispered. “We can’t let these guys split us up!”
“Yea, we all stick together, no matter what!” Rainbow Dash said firmly, putting her hoof into the middle of the group.
“Absolutely! We just have to keep our spirits up!” Pinkie said with a smile, joining in.
Fluttershy put her hoof in with a murmured assent, though she was getting increasingly nervous about the ugly looks that Four kept giving them. Suzy and Jimmy put their hooves in too, the new ponies not knowing what the gesture was for, but finding comfort in their new friends all the same.
Dr. Ross, Amy, Holly and Jared all looked at each other, the humans taking strength from the ponies’ optimism, but an ugly voice in the back of their heads whispered that things were going to get worse before they got better. Amy looked at the men closely, trying to decide if they would carry out their threat. Finally getting a look at the eyes of the man calling himself One, she saw the same cold-eyed stare that was associated with fanatics of any creed. She knew then and there that he’d go through with it. It was as her vision crossed the unguarded doorway that she saw the door across the hall that had been closed was now open. Peering closer, she could see a glint of gold on one side and the barest trace of a head poking out on the other. Tapping Dr. Ross on the shoulder, she jerked her head slightly in that direction.
“You think it’s Kevin?” She breathed.
“Probably. Hope he’s smart enough not to try anything on his own.” Amy whispered back, quickly closing her mouth as One walked over.
“On your feet, Dr. Ross.”
Pushing herself up from the floor, she met his cold glare levelly. “What is it?”
“You will show us to where the serum is, and destroy it.”
Dr. Ross felt the protest rising in her throat, but cut it off there. “Very well.”
“Good. Two, accompany her and ensure she does as ordered.”
---
Seeing one of the gunman leading Dr. Ross toward the opposite door, Kevin withdrew into the darkness of the room, motioning for Flare to do the same. Withdrawing through the darkened room into the next one over, they carefully shut the door behind them. “I counted five of them. You see any more?”
“No. It looks like they have everyone clustered close together; makes it easy to keep them out of any crossfire.”
“And easy to mow them down with a pull of the trigger. We can’t make a move yet.” Kevin pulled out his phone and pressed the same button. “This is Tango One One Two Seven. I have a count. Five, assault rifles and body armor.”
“Understood.” The same cool voice replied. “Count of friendlies?”
“Eleven. Clustered by counter. Firefighters among them.”
“Roger. Orders are to pull back until assets are in place. Will notify.” Kevin put the phone away with an aggravated sigh.
“What’s wrong?” Flare looked up at Kevin, then back to the door.
“We have to pull back, wait for reinforcements.”
“But what about them? We can’t just leave them!” Flare protested hotly.
“I don’t like this either, but two of us won’t last long against five of them.” Kevin drummed a finger against the grip of his pistol in irritation. “Alright, follow me, we’ll head out the service entrance and then regroup outside with any police presence.” He started to turn toward the other door, only to realize Flare was still standing at attention by the dividing door. “Flare, we have to go, there’s nothing that we can do.”
“Then you go. I’m not going to leave any of them behind, and frankly I’m surprised you can.” Flare stated coolly.
Kevin looked back at the exit, then shook his head. “Alright, we hold here, but no goddamned heroics, alright?”
“Understood... and thanks.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever.”
---
“So their demand is to destroy the serum and all research notes pertaining to it?” Celestia asked.
“It appears that way, in addition to their demand for you ponies to return to your own land.” The officer in charge said.
“I see.” Celestia looked at the unassuming face of the building. “How did they even gain entrance? Weren’t guards placed here to prevent this kind of thing?”
“I can answer that Celestia.” Ruby said as he limped over, his hind leg wrapped in bandages. “It was the shift rotation and Second Lieutenant Frost and I were still in the guard room when they struck.”
Cloudhammer fixed Ruby with a glare, but said nothing as Celestia nodded. “I see... What is the plan now?”
“Well, we have another S.W.A.T. team coming in, once they’re here we can try to set up to storm in, take down the terrorists, but that can result in losing some of the hostages. Our other options are to try to talk them down or to give in to their demands.” The officer concluded.
Celestia was silent as she stared at the building for a few long seconds. Seeming to make up her mind, she turned and trotted back to where the unicorns were formed up around the chariots. Cloudhammer and the others followed her, and with a few curt gestures a ring of gold formed around the Princess and the civilian ponies. “Cloudhammer, I am leaving you in charge. Coordinate with the humans on any plans they form to rescue the hostages. Send a letter through Spike if anything develops.” She spread her wings and took to the sky, disappearing in a flash of light.
Cloudhammer and the others watched her go, then the old pegasus turned to Twilight. “I want you, Rarity and the others to try and relax for now; I’ll come get you if I need a letter sent.” He turned and trotted back towards the gathered police officers, who parted to allow him to examine the building layout again. “You weren’t kidding when you said this room would be hard to enter.”
“No. The plan for now is to try to talk them down, see if we can’t get any of the hostages released so we can learn more about where they are.” The senior officer said wearily.
“Do you think that’ll work? Given what I’ve heard it seems like a better idea to simply hit them hard and fast, take them down before they knew what hit them.” Cloudhammer said, his eyes narrowing as he peered at the diagram.
“Honestly, I think we’ll need to take them down regardless. We might end up losing some hostages though, we’ll have to see what the higher ups say.”
Cloudhammer scowled at the human, but had to yield to his logic. He returned his gaze to the map, trying to think of a plan to get them all out.
---
Dr. Ross led the man through the hallways to the lab, trying very hard not to tremble or otherwise give away her fear. “You don’t know what destroying this serum means. It’s a way to save us from dying when the Barrier finishes forming!”
“Shut up. It’s nothing but a lie perpetrated by those damn ponies and the governments brought under their sway.” Two replied flatly, pushing her into the room. “Now, where is the serum?”
“I’ll need to unlock the safe it’s stored in.” Dr. Ross walked over to the storage refrigerator and began to type in her passcode, then stopped. “But first, I’m going to make a demand of my own.”
Two’s eyes narrowed and he brought the assault rifle up. “Enter the code.”
“Not until you release George. The man is useless to you as a hostage, and if you let him die, then he’s even less useful. Letting him go to get treated will make the police more willing to work with you,” Dr. Ross said calmly, amazed her voice wasn’t shaking, “And if you shoot me or any of the others, I won’t give you the passcode at all.”
Two held the assault rifle on her for a few more seconds, but finally lowered it with a muttered curse and pulled a radio from his belt. “One, we have a problem. Come to the lab.”
A few minutes later One walked in, a scowl on his face. “Just what is this ‘problem’?
Dr. Ross forced herself to meet his gaze with almost bored detachment. “In exchange for the passcode, I want you to release George so he can get treated. You don’t have to let any of the others go, just him.”
“Dr. Ross, if you do not unlock that door now I will…” One started to say threateningly.
“If you shoot me, you won’t get the code at all, I’m the only one here who knows it. And if you shoot any of the others, I’ll never give it to you. So you have a choice to make.” Dr. Ross said firmly, sweating bullets inside and praying that she hadn’t just condemned them all to die.
One gritted his teeth, almost on the verge of shooting the geneticist then and there, but his orders had been very specific. He had to ensure the destruction of the serum before he was allowed to kill her. “Two. Take the cameraman to the front door. Then return to guarding the hostages.”
Two nodded sharply and walked out. One turned back to Dr. Ross. “Now, open that safe,” he said angrily as he walked over to the phone mounted on the wall. Picking it up, he dialed a number. “This is One. I have decided, as an act of goodwill, to allow a hostage that was wounded to be released. This does not affect your deadline, nor the penalty that I will inflict upon the other hostages should any action be taken against us.”
Dr. Ross entered the code, and opened the door to reveal the five bottles of serum they’d been able to produce. Risking a glance over her shoulder, she could see that One’s back was still turned. Making another decision, her hand darted forward and snatched one of the bottles, slipping it into a pocket of her lab coat. Carefully lifting the other four, she set them on the table as One hung up the phone.
“This is all the serum?”
“Yes.” Dr. Ross said dejectedly, hoping her tone didn’t sound too faked.
“Excellent,” One said as he walked over. He picked up one of the bottles and eyed it for a moment before throwing it to the floor. It shattered into a mess of pieces and serum, some splashing onto Dr. Ross’ shoes. He repeated the process with the other three bottles before swinging the rifle back to her. “Now, move.” He led her back towards the cafeteria.
---
As soon as the gunman disappeared from view, a trio of S.W.A.T. officers escorted a pair of paramedics to the door and carefully lifted the wounded man onto a stretcher. Hurrying him to a waiting ambulance, they loaded him in and raced toward the nearest hospital. One police officer accompanied them to be there if and when the man woke. He might be able to tell them more about the gunmen who’d chosen to attack the research facility.
---
The White House Situation Room was a disorganized mess, as people tried to push their idea for resolving the crisis.
“So let’s just give them what they want! Destroy the damn serum, let them think they’ve won, and then take them down on their way to the helicopter!” the Secretary of Defense shouted.
“There’s no way we can meet their deadline, it’s the middle of the night in some of the countries working on the serum!” the Secretary of State retorted.
“Enough!” Everyone fell silent as Foster stood up from his place at the head of the table. “Standing around here arguing is going to get us nowhere. Now, I want to know how we’re going to get all of those hostages out safely.” He trailed off as the air began to feel statically charged and a wave of nausea swept the room.
“An admirable sentiment, President Foster.” Celestia said as she appeared in the room with a flash of light. “My apologies for causing you all discomfort, but the situation is too dire for delay.”
Foster shook his head, swallowing hard to get his stomach back under control. “Don’t worry about it. So what’s your opinion?”
“I do not desire to do so, but so long as they have the hostages they do, it seems we must give in to their demands. However, is it not possible to simply back up the information on how to create more serum?”
“Yes, but we’ve put so much work into it that making new serum will take time that we don’t have. On top of that relocating all the ponies that have integrated with the scientific community back to Equestria is impossible to do with the timeframe they’ve given. I suspect that was their intention from the beginning.” Foster said tiredly.
“Then what plan do you have?” Celestia asked calmly.
“Well, the LAPD S.W.A.T. is some of the best in the business, they’ll be working to come up with an insertion plan now. Until then we’ll need to stall them for time, hope for the best.” SecDef said lamely.
Celestia said nothing, her eyes staring intently at the screen.
---
The time crawled by slowly, the huddled group growing more nervous as the two hour deadline approached. At the six minute mark the phone rang and One picked it up. “Yes, this is One, do you have the proof I require?” The other voice must have said something he didn’t like, and he shook his head. “It appears that you did not believe me when I told you the consequences of playing games with me. Three, select a hostage.”
Three nodded, walking over to the group, which as one pulled tighter together. Looking them over for a second, he reached out to grab at Suzy. Frost slapped his arm away with a hoof and interposed herself between the two. Three’s face twisted in anger, and he struck her with his rifle. Frost staggered, but managed to keep her legs under her and glared at the human, spitting a tooth out.
"Three, it doesn’t matter which one we use. Just take her.” One said with lethal calm.
Nodding, Three grabbed Frost by her mane and dragged her away from the others, who tried to hold on to her but couldn’t keep their grip.
“No... no, please don’t do this!” Fluttershy cried, burying her face into Amy’s shoulder.
“Let her go you bullies!” Rainbow Dash shouted, anger and fear twisting her features.
“Ya’ll don’t have to do this! Ah know they’re workin’ hard to do what ya’ll told em!” Applejack pleaded.
“She’s got family and friends waiting for her back home! We can work this out together if we just try!” Pinkie yelled.
The humans all looked at each other, and knowing what was coming, nodded before gently trying to turn the ponies’ eyes away from it. However, their hands were brushed away as they stubbornly refused to look away.
Three threw Frost roughly to the floor and hefted his rifle. She looked up to see the gaping maw of the barrel pointing directly at her, and closing her eyes for the last time, began to speak.
“Celestia, hear my...”
The bang of the gunshot was deafening, soon replaced by screams of denial and terror. One simply sighed, as if he were merely inconvenienced by what he’d just ordered. “Three, dispose of that. Take it close to the entrance and leave it there.” Three nodded and lifted the body by the mane, dragging it from the room and out of sight, leaving a trail of red behind him. Putting the phone back to his ear, One spoke calmly, “That was your first warning. If you have not finished destroying the serum and removing the ponies from human soil within the hour, I will execute another hostage.” He set the receiver down and turned back to the hostages, shaking his head. “I did tell them not to underestimate our resolve.”
Outside, everyone had jumped as a faint bang had made itself known, the hostage negotiator who had been shouting into the phone held it silently before slamming it onto the table with a curse. Cloudhammer’s eyes were flinty as he glared at the building. “Do we know who they killed?”
“No, they didn’t say. Based on the voices in the background, I think it might have been one of the ponies.” The negotiator said with a heavy sigh.
“I got movement at the door!” One of the officers shouted, weapons lifting and pointing to the entrance as a figure dragging another became visible.
“Weapons tight! No one fire.” The senior officer shouted as the figure threw the body it had been dragging to the floor in sight of the door before disappearing back into the building.
Cloudhammer’s eyes narrowed and he turned toward the other pegasus guards, “First Lieutenants Willow Spark, Dawn Breeze, retrieve the body.” They nodded sharply before flying to the door, nosing it open after checking to make sure the lobby was clear. They gently carried the gold-armored form back across the line and laid it down carefully. Cloudhammer forced himself to look down at the ruin of the face, feeling his heart shrivel a little as he recognized it. He slowly extended a wing and closed the eye that was still intact. “Rest easy Autumn Frost, your duty is done.” He turned and strode firmly back to the senior officer. “We will not negotiate any more. I will see every single hostage still in there brought out safely. Do you understand?” His cold blue eyes bored into the officer’s, who nodded in mutual understanding. “We still need to make a plan to get in there though.”
“Then let’s get to work.”
---
The Situation Room was quiet as everyone watched the screen and the two pegasi carrying out the body of the guardpony. Discreetly, or at least as discreetly as they could manage, they turned to look at Celestia, who stared at the screen as if frozen. Those closest to her realized that heat was beginning to rise off her coat, and her mane was rippling faster, as if in a strong breeze.
President Foster looked up at her and gently laid a hand on her shoulder, ignoring the uncomfortable heat. “Celestia, I’m so sorry that this happened...”
“President Foster, remove your hand at once.” Celestia’s voice was razor sharp.
Foster removed his hand quickly, scooting his chair away slightly as the heat continued to rise.
“Her name was Autumn Frost. She served in the Guard for fifteen years, I still remember the smile on her face when she passed basic training.” Celestia said calmly. “I will be returning to Los Angeles President Foster. I request that you inform these terrorists that I will begin removing my ponies from your nations as soon as possible. We will personally oversee the destruction of the serum as well.”
“Celestia, you can’t be...” Foster recoiled despite himself as Celestia turned her eyes to meet his. The contained fury burning within their depths terrified him on a level he hadn’t felt since he was a small child.
“Do not presume to tell me that I am not serious. I will not allow another of my subjects to be as casually murdered as Autumn Frost was. Make the call and tell them what they wish to hear.”
Foster and some of the others began to realize what she had in mind and all nodded. “Alright, I’ll make the call.” Foster said calmly
“Thank you.” Celestia turned and strode out of the room, the temperature falling as she did so.
“Sir, are you sure that you really know what’s going on inside that head of hers?” SecDef finally asked.
“To be honest, I’m not even sure I’d want to.” Foster replied before looking at the hand he’d laid on her, the small blisters already forming. “Has there been any word from either of the two men we had inside?”
“Not since we ordered Kevin out.”
---
“Let me go Kevin! They killed one of them!” Flare hissed, trying to force his way through the door.
“No can do. If you go, they’d kill you without hesitation, then the rest of the hostages.” Kevin took out his phone and pressed the button again. “This is Tango One One Two Seven. The fire has intensified.”
“What is your location? Your orders were to retreat and await further orders.”
“Other firefighter cannot leave his squad behind. Made call to hold until other assets are in place. Secured for now.”
“Do what you need to in order to fall back; plan is in motion to put out fires.” The line went dead and Kevin sighed.
“They’re putting together a plan to take care of them for good. I’m telling you, we’ll be able to do more good from the outside working with everyone else.”
Flare stared at the floor for a long minute before snorting in anger. “Alright, you win. Let’s get out of here.”
The two quietly moved through the connected rooms to a window. Opening it carefully, they hurried down a side alley and saw a number of officers swing their weapons to cover them.
“I’m one of the good guys, assigned as protective detail to this facility.” Kevin said as he raised his arms, continuing to walk forward.
“Lower those weapons!” The senior officer barked as the pair crossed the perimeter.
“Second Lieutenant Flare, front and center!” Flare turned and snapped to attention as Cloudhammer walked up to him. The two stared hard at each other before Cloudhammer returned the salute.
“Sir, the shot from before, who was it?” Flare asked, his voice only wavering slightly.
“It was Autumn Frost. I’m sorry Flare.” Cloudhammer’s scowl faded slightly.
“When do we strike back?” Flare’s eyes were hard as he pushed past his friend, walking slowly to where a white sheet covered the body. He reached down and lifted the sheet to the side, staring for a moment at the body of one of his fellow Guards.
“We still need to put together a plan; the room they’ve chosen has only two doors in or out.” Cloudhammer said as he trotted up.
Both ponies looked up as the sky flashed white, Celestia spiraling downward to land next to them. They bowed low and stayed there as she regarded Frost’s body sadly.
“Rise, both of you. There is work to be done.” She trotted back over to the map of the building, the officers backing away nervously as she drew close. Taking a deep breath, the aura of heat surrounding her receded and she looked at each of them in turn. “I am not going to bite, now let’s figure out a plan to save the other hostages. How do you usually do this?”
The senior officer walked back over, looking at the floorplan. “Well, we’d put teams at both entrances, toss in some flashbangs, then storm in and take down the hostiles. Problem is they’re probably expecting us, so they could have cover set up so they won’t be blinded when the grenades go off.”
“What are these ‘flashbangs’?” Flare asked, getting a curious expression on his face.
The officer waved over one of the S.W.A.T. officers and pointed to a grenade on his vest. “You just pull the pin and toss it. Detonates a second or two later and blinds and deafens anyone nearby.”
“What are you thinking Flare?” Cloudhammer asked, knowing that look in the unicorn’s eye.
“Well, they’re expecting us to come from either or both of these doors here, right? So we just need to change where the attack comes from.” Flare tapped the floorplan in the center of the room. “We need to hit them from the center of the room.”
“But how are we supposed to get there...” The senior officer trailed off as he started to understand what the unicorn meant. “That might work alright. We’ll still need a place for our teams to wait while you strike.”
Kevin walked forward. “I can lead the team in through this window back here. We’ll cross through the rooms to this one here, it wasn’t covered when Flare and I left.”
“Alright, let’s get set up.” The senior officer started barking orders to the S.W.A.T. team.
Flare looked over to where Twilight could be seen with the others. “Miss Twilight! We need your assistance please!”
---
One looked at his watch again, shaking his head. “There’s only fifteen minutes remaining. I think they’re going to try and make a move. Two, cover the left door; Three, the right. Four and Five, you cover the hostages...” One trailed off as he looked out the door to his right. “That door was closed earlier. Four, go investigate. I don’t want anyone left in this building beside us and the hostages.”
Four looked like he was going to refuse, but finally stormed out of the room and into the dark room across the hall. Squinting, he peered around before seeing that the connecting door was also open. He walked forward slowly, assault rifle held loosely in his hands. He thought he could see a shape in the next room and started to lift his rifle, only for his head to jerk back as a wire wrapped itself around his neck, cutting off his air and preventing him from shouting. His attacker kept the pressure on until he had stopped twitching, lowering him to the ground slowly to slump against the wall. The dark figures moved forward, the one who’d choked Four securing the weapon as they passed, and took up position at the door across the hall from the cafeteria.
A minute passed, and One was becoming increasingly agitated. “Where the fuck is Four? I send him on a simple assignment and he still can’t get it right.” He felt the skin on the back of his neck begin to tingle and looked around, tightening his grip on his pistol. “Five, select our next hostage.”
Five nodded and walked over to the group of hostages. He looked them over before pointing. “On your hooves.”
“Nuh uh, you’re not taking her!” Rainbow Dash tried to put herself between Five and his target, only for him to strike her out of the way with his assault rifle.
“I-it’s ok Dashie. I’ll be alright.” Pinkie Pie said quietly as she got to her hooves, despite the tugs that tried to hold her down.
“No, we can’t let this happen!” Applejack’s eyes were burning with anger as she started to get to her hooves too, only to stop halfway as her eyes widened.
Five, seeing she wasn’t looking at him, turned to see what she was looking at. He didn’t see anything at first, but peering closer a small, marble-sized orb of purple light could be seen…
---
“So I just pull the pins?” Flare shouted as he levitated the flashbangs in his magic.
“Yeah! You only got 2 seconds after that though, so make it count!” The senior officer shouted from behind the safe line they’d established.
“Alright, you ready Twilight?”
“Yes, the spell’s ready to go when you are.” Twilight said, her horn glowing brightly as she pictured the opposite end of the room from where they’d said her friends were.
“Alright then, three, two, one, and now!” Flare tugged the pins free on the grenades and released them, as Twilight’s spell made them disappear…
…only to reappear on the opposite side of the room from Five. They struck the ground and exploded with blinding light, the roar of sound making One and Two scream in pain. They dropped their assault rifles and fell to the ground. Three, still facing away from the explosion, started to turn, but instead fell to the ground as a bullet transited his skull. Five blindly spun back toward the hostages, his finger tightening on the trigger. His rifle spat a few rounds before he was struck by multiple bullets and pitched to the floor.
The ponies were screaming in fear, clapping hooves to their eyes or ears in a vain effort to protect them. Finally, their vision started to come back and they blinked their eyes to try and see what had happened. Pinkie Pie realized that she was now on the floor instead of standing up, and something heavy lay across her. Once her vision finished clearing she looked at what was pinning her and screamed again.
Jared had realized what the grenades were a split second before they hit the floor, somehow grabbed Pinkie and threw himself on top of her before Five’s assault rifle had opened fire. Five bloody holes had been torn into his back, and there was already a pool of blood spreading rapidly across the tile floor.
“Jared!” Pinkie shouted as she lifted his head in her hooves. The others gasped in horror as they saw what had happened.
Coughing a little blood, Jared’s eyes opened. “Oh, hey Pinkie, are you okay?”
“Forget me, what about you! Why’d you do that you big silly?” Tears were starting to form in her eyes.
“Didn’t seem right for me to sit there and let you get shot too.” Jared laughed weakly before coughing again, more blood spattering her coat.
Pinkie gently scooted out from under him and lowered him to the floor. The others gathered around him while the S.W.A.T. officers secured One and Two.
“I need an RA unit for a wounded hostage!” One of the officers shouted into his radio as he hurried over.
“He’s going to be alright, isn’t he?” Pinkie asked tearfully.
The officer looked at him closer, then back to the watery cyan eyes and shook his head slowly.
"But… no, he’ll be ok, he’s just gotta!” Her eyes darted back and forth to her friends, all of whom were starting to cry, even Suzy and Jimmy. Suddenly, she got an idea and looked to Dr. Ross, her eyes determined, despite the tears that poured from them. “Get the serum in your pocket.”
Dr. Ross jerked back as if struck. She slowly slid her hand into one of her pockets and drew out the bottle. “But… how did you know?”
“There’s no time for that right now! We were going to test it on people anyway, right? It might help, I know it will!” Her voice was rising until she was shouting.
“Pinkie, darlin’, Ah know this is hard to admit, but some things just can’t be fixed…” Applejack started, only for Pinkie to shoot her a venomous glare.
“He gave everything to save me, so why won’t we do the same for him?” She looked from one of them to the next in desperation until Dr. Ross finally sighed.
“Alright Pinkie, but we still need a unicorn to power the transformation.”
“I’ll be right back. Hold on Jared.” She was out the door in a blur, eyes darting as she searched for her target. Spotting it, she arrowed in and skidded to a stop in front of Twilight, who was conversing with Cloudhammer, Rarity and somepony she didn’t know.
Rarity gasped at the sight of the blood on Pinkie’s face. “Oh my goodness Pinkie, are you alright?”
“No time, follow me!” Pinkie grabbed Twilight and raced back into the building, setting her down on the floor. “You gotta help! Jared got hurt protecting me and I think we can help him using the serum but we need a unicorn to help and so I grabbed you because you’re the best unicorn I know and you gotta help him!” She finished her sentence with a gasp of air and stood there, her eyes pleading with Twilight.
The unicorn stood there for a moment, trying to process everything that Pinkie had said, before looking down at Jared and recoiling in horror. He’d been turned face-up, and his skin was deathly pale, the pool of blood no longer expanding. Looking back up, her eyes were clouded as she shook her head. “I’m sorry Pinkie, but I don’t think it’ll work. We were barely sure of it when we tested it on Suzy and Jimmy, and…” Twilight was cut off as Pinkie got right up in her face.
“If we don’t try we’ll never know. If it can save him, it’s worth a shot, isn’t it?”
Twilight looked at her for a few seconds, then to Dr. Ross, a pained expression on her face. “What do you think Elizabeth?”
“I think if we’re going to try this, we need to do it right now. We’ll use a 3oz dose, which should be enough serum for his body weight.”
Twilight sighed in defeat. “Alright, let’s give this a shot. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, clear everyone to the far end of the room. Amy, get his clothes off. Pinkie, help Fluttershy keep Suzy and Jimmy out of the way, alright?” Everyone got to work as Twilight looked across at Dr. Ross. “Well, here we go.”
Dr. Ross nodded as she slid the needle into Jared’s arm, crossing the room to stand with the other humans once she’d finished injecting the serum. Pinkie stood over him for a second longer, a few tears falling from her face to land on his.
“Please be alright,” she whispered as Twilight’s horn began to glow, “you just have to be alright.”
---
He tried to lift his head, but things seemed to move in slow-motion. He was aware of something near him crying, and tried to focus on it, but the effort drained most of the energy he had left. He felt tears splashing against his face and wondered who they were from. He tried to reach out to touch whoever was standing over him, but felt and saw the darkness rushing in and then there was nothing.
He supposed that they’d gotten it right at least; death did seem to be nothing but a dark void. But as he floated through it, things started to feel weird. The darkness was receding, and he could feel grass underneath his feet as the light became bright enough to see that he stood in a field, stretching as far as he could see in all directions. Looking down, he could see he was naked, but this didn’t seem to bother him like it used to. What use do dead people have for clothes anyway? He took a few steps forward, letting his hands run through the grass as he felt the peacefulness of the place overtake him. But after a few more minutes he noticed a thunderous rumbling that broke the silence, and before long the ground was shaking. Turning in an attempt to find the source of the noise, he froze as he beheld it rushing directly toward him. Dozens, hundreds, thousands or even millions of forms, so many he couldn’t even begin to count them all came towards him like a tidal wave, and he threw his arms up in a reflexive gesture to protect himself. After a few moments came and went, he lowered his arms and opened his eyes.
The vast horde of beings surrounded him, eyeing with curiosity the interloper in their midst. Looking closer, Jared could see that they were all vaguely equine shaped, some with horns, others with wings, and yet others with neither. Jared returned their gazes uncomfortably. “Umm, hi?”
One of the forms trotted carefully up to him, its breath warm on his chest. It nudged him with its snout and tilted its head in the direction the enormous herd had been running.
“You want me to run with you?” Jared asked incredulously.
The spectral equine tossed its head excitedly and reared, all the others doing the same. He could hear and feel the thunder as the herd ahead of him started running. Shrugging, Jared ran with them, haltingly at first, but soon he was keeping pace with all of them, not knowing or caring where they were going. All that mattered was the run itself.
Looking ahead, Jared could see that the grassy meadow abruptly ended, continuing off into a starlit expanse. The herd in front of him simply galloped off of it and continued on, and those behind him kept him from turning.
“Uh, I don’t think I can follow you guys theeeeere!” Jared trailed off into a scream as he plunged over the edge, leaving the spectral herd over him. One of the forms, a pony with wings, whinnied encouragingly at him as he plunged into the darkness.
After falling for what felt like forever, he abruptly felt himself slow down before he landed gently on a hard stone floor.
“Where… where am I?”
“You are here.” The voice that replied was simultaneously thunderous, yet filled him with a warm sensation like stepping outside into a sunny day.
“Oookay. Well, I guess that’s true.” He blinked as a soft light began to fill the space, finding that he stood in the throne room of an immense castle. Ahead of him he could see a towering plinth seemed to be merged with the floor instead of laid on it. On it sat two thrones, one made of something halfway between gold and marble, the other a curious mix of silver and obsidian. He couldn’t exactly see what was on the thrones, but he recognized the feeling almost immediately. “Princess Celestia, Princess Luna?”
“Those names are the ones you know us by in the waking world. Here, such appellations are unneeded.” The presence on his left said, the air growing slightly colder as she spoke.
“Indeed, though your ignorance is forgivable. This is your first time here, after all.” The other presence said warmly.
“What shall be done with him then?” The darker of the two asked.
“I believe his essence has already made that choice for him. We shall meet again.” The warmer said as a wind began to howl through the throne room.
“Wait, I don’t understand! What happened to me?” Jared shouted as the wind lifted him and flung away from the two.
“A friend who cares deeply for you made an impossible choice to save your life. Make sure it is not squandered.” The two said in unison as Jared’s vision was obscured by blinding white light. Groaning, he tried to raise an arm to block it, but was stopped by something warm.
“Take it easy there, nice and slow.” He recognized the voice.
“Pinkie Pie?” His tongue and lips felt weird. “What happened? I remember getting shot, but after that it’s all blurry…”
“What do you remember?” He heard Twilight ask from nearby.
“I’m not sure, I remember standing in a field, and then this herd of what looked kind of like ponies came running up and around me. They wanted me to run with them, but then I fell…” Jared trailed off as he tried to remember. “I remember a giant throne room, and I think Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were there, only they didn’t call themselves that…”
“Do any of you know what in the hay he’s talking about?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“We’ll worry about that later. For now, can you open your eyes again Jared?” Dr. Ross’ voice asked calmly.
“Sure.” Jared opened his eyes again, wincing at the brightness of the fluorescent lights. He could see Pinkie Pie, Twilight and Dr. Ross all hovering over him, but something seemed off. The coats on the ponies seemed brighter, and so did everything else. He blinked a few times, sneezed, and that’s when he saw it. His face was stretched out into a muzzle.
Yelping, Jared tried to scoot backward, only to see that his hands and feet were now hooves, his legs covered in a soft layer of dark yellow hair. “What happened to my arms and legs? Why can I see my face now?”
Pinkie stifled a giggle at his antics, and then her expression fell. “Well, you were… dying. I didn’t know what else to do. But then I got the idea that using the serum on you might help, since I heard it fixed Jimmy’s cold. So we used it on you.”
Jared’s blood turned to ice as he realized what that meant. “Then… I’m a…”
“Yes Jared; you’re a pony now.” Dr. Ross said simply. “A pegasus to be precise.”
Jared turned his head, noting absently how flexible it was, and saw a pair of feathered wings on his sides. One extended as he involuntarily tried to put a hand to his face and he jumped. “How does that work? I tried to move my hand and the wing moved?”
“Well, we’re not entirely sure. Can you try to stand up?” Twilight asked.
“I’ll try…” It took Jared a few minutes, but he eventually figured out how to move each of his four new legs, and set about getting them under him. With much effort, and help from Applejack and Rainbow Dash, he was soon standing upright. “Alright, now what?”
“Well, let’s see about getting you walking.” Amy said as she walked over, followed closely by Suzy and Jimmy.
Jared tried to take a step forward, but on the second step his hooves skidded out from under him and he fell to the floor in a heap. “Damn, I was hoping to avoid that.”
“Relax, Suzy and Jimmy didn’t get it right away either, so just take your time.” Fluttershy said reassuringly.
Holly watched the scene wordlessly, her cell phone out and recording. She’d intended to record the actual transformation as well, but something had stayed her hand. Sure, it had been mildly revolting to watch Jared’s flesh churn, the bullets being forced out as his body rejected its human shape to become a pony’s. But what had stayed her hand was the sense that what she’d been witnessing was something private and wonderful, something that couldn’t be caught on film.
It took Jared a few more tries, but he was soon trotting haltingly around the room. “I think I’m getting the hang of this!” He said happily, right before his face hit the floor. “Or not.”
He got to his hooves, on his own this time, and looked around, seeing Pinkie sitting in the corner. Frowning, he started to make his way over, Twilight following before Dr. Ross put a hand on her shoulder.
“I think he needs to talk to her by himself.”
“But…” Twilight looked up at Dr. Ross in confusion.
“I don’t deny that Pinkie’s idea saved his life; but he didn’t get any say in it, so I think that’s what freaked him out when he woke up.” Dr. Ross said softly.
Jared managed to make it the rest of the way to Pinkie and stood there for a second sorting out how to sit down. Once that was taken care of he looked at her and tried to figure out what to say.
“I’m sorry.”
Jared looked up suddenly, seeing Pinkie had turned to look at him, her eyes downcast. “What do you mean?”
“I didn’t ask what you wanted, and made such a big choice for you. I understand if you’re mad at me or don’t want to be friends anymore.” Pinkie said sadly, hanging her head.
Jared reached out with a hoof and lifted her chin so they were looking at each other. “I’m not mad; I just didn’t anticipate waking up as a pony is all. It is a little shocking, you know. But if you hadn’t made that choice, I’d have died. So I can’t be mad at you for that.”
Pinkie smiled a little. “Then... are we still friends?”
Jared smiled too. “Of course we are.”
The two ponies, one born naturally, the other born human, embraced each other while the others looked on.
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Frost!
So Frost got iced.
Unfortunate. Is it bad that I was thinking they should have just let her take Suzy? Yes, Suzy had been a mere chimpanzee before getting endowed with pony intelligence, but she also had no family outside of Jimmy. Oh well I'm quite glad she lived. Jimmy and Suzy may be some of the more original characters I've seen in a while. I'm surprised Celestia didn't try to teleport the weapons out of the HLF goon's hands or something, but I'm glad you didn't go that way. It be too easy to glorify magic and lessen the threat these fellows pose. Also I'm glad you're willing to go to off your own characters. Sounds strange, but some people get so attached to their characters, they won't let anything touch them.
Ok, there is one thing that needs to be addressed. What was the point of Celestia's little tantrum? Why is she flinging her power in the faces of the human leaders so damn much. If anything that's going to antagonize them.
Curse the HLF!
good job. keep it up
Yes Yes Yes -Bison
i wonder what would happen if the HLF were actually brony haters. and everyone else were bronys....
oh shit.
*falls to my knees* YOU MANIACS! YOU KILLED HER! CURSE YOU! CURSE YOU ALL THE WAY TO TARTARUS!
555779 Well, to be honest the leaking of her nature(not precisely magic) was from the fact that ponies don't do this. Ever. Not to mention she knows all of the Royal Guard by name, sneaks out of the castle to show up to their birthdays, childbirths, weddings, and so on. So knowing that one of them just got killed like an animal is bound to piss her off somewhat
I cheered when Suzie got selected because that meant none of the real ponies would die...
Frost... Nu kyr'adyc, shi taab'echaaj'la. (Not gone, merely marching far away.)
Brilliant chapter, mate. Killing off a character like that just reinforces the differences between the two worlds. How will the other ponies see the HLF after this? Time will tell.
557307 And yet somehow she remains above reproach from all the human leaders. This isn't the first time in the story she's acted like this. True, it was a very emotional moment but a leader should know better than to let emotions get to them. Here she yields to the terrorists demands seemingly and then turns around and goes out to watch the SWAT teams. Not too mention it's not clear at all whether her orders were a ruse or if she's serious, though it looks alot like the latter. Because you know one death is a tragedy, the 5K from the emergence is a statistic. Which she got free scott free after singing, no families demanding reparations or anything like that. As for ponies not doing this ever, there is a ton of creature's in Equestria that still try to kill ponies, it's not exactly fair to pin the novelty of murder on humans. Dragons are intelligent and attack the ponies on sight. The Diamond Dogs try to enslave Rarity.
So far while the story has been very good about the human pony interaction, only once has a pony done any wrong. The rest of the time it's been humans. Do you see where I'm coming from?
562173 y'know that's actually a very unhuman way of thinking, most people I know will struggle to survive by any means, only willingly giving up their own lives to save those closest to them or to further a cause they believe in with all their soul.
Also the serum is not causing brainwashing obviously, if it were he would have barely been surprised by the change and wouldn't have remembered anything else, you obviously don't know how brainwashing works it works by breaking you down mentally and emotionally over a long period of time(often with the use of drugs) and presenting you with a new viewpoint during that time which you gradually accept more and more as time passes.
538787
Mentioned earlier in the story, however i guess i should rephrase Christians to religion in general
Why would the HLA make demands that they knew couldn't be met under their proposed timetable? The government wouldn't be able to destroy all the serum in time and all the hostages would get killed, gaining the terrorists nothing.
734270 Either because
1. They don't know enough about what on earth they're doing to do the job competently.
or
2. They're really racist human supremacist fanatics who are trying to cause major political damage, regardless of personal safety.
Okay, this story is freaking awesome.
That is all.
dam i love it
