Homecoming of a Jumper

by tosety

18 Last Line of Defense

Lilly Valley was screaming again.

“I don’t think I have ever met a flower pony that didn’t scream in any universe,” Steelskin muttered as he turned to trot towards her voice. It was probably a bunny stampede, butterfly swarm, or something equally harmless, but only stupid ponies ignored an alarm.

Halfway there, Dash swooped down.

“Get to the school,” she gasped, lungs sucking air greedily. “Bring any foals you see.”

Not even waiting for a response, she took to the air. As an afterthought, she called back “Star beasts from the Everfree,” before flying off.

Steelskin turned on a hoof and galloped off towards the schoolhouse.

---

#PL - 04#
@Arrival + 1 Hour@

“Steelskin!” Alex’s voice rang out as I limped into town.

I took a moment to curse how close to the Everfree these jumps dumped me before turning to look at Alex. Some day, my luck was going to run out and a manticore or cragadile would finally get their snack.

Alex ran up to me and grabbed me in a tight hug.

“We thought we’d never see you again after you dove in after Dinky,” Alex continued. “Scoots has been inconsolable.”

He pushed me back an arm’s length to look me over.

“Alex,” I began.

“That’s Mister Roberts to you, kid. You’re not my son in law yet,” he replied, some minor annoyance squeezing past the concern and relief. “That’s a nasty gash on your leg. We’ll get you to the hospital, then you can tell me about those spikes.”

“Have you ever wondered why jumpers are always dumped into the Everfree Forest?” I asked as he carried me there. “I’ve been landing in or near that forest with every jump. In fact, I think it’s only been El that’s jumped somewhere else.”

Alex answered off hoofedly, “Beats me, kid. Could be that Castle of the Two Sisters acting like a gravity well for whatever powers this damn jumping. But hell, what do I know? Even the Princesses don’t have a clue.” On that note, he turned and trudged on.

---

“Tiara!” he called out, seeing her glancing around worriedly with a box on her back. “We need to get to the schoolhouse!”

She panicked and bolted in the opposite direction. After a moment of indecision, he ignored her, deciding that she was obviously unwilling to follow him and he’d just as likely chase her into monsters than get her to safety.

Turning the next corner, he saw Sweetie Belle and Dinky bolt from one doorway to the doorway of a house across the street, Sweetie’s horn was lit and her pale lavender aura seemed to be pulling Dinky along.

Steelskin ran into the middle of the street and started looking around. When he was sure there weren’t any monsters in sight, he caught their attention and motioned them to keep going.

At the next intersection, he saw Pinkie playing reverse-whack-a-mole with a taurus, the star beast’s roars echoing among the buildings as Pinkie called out “Missed me!”

He hurried the fillies along, keeping an eye out for anything else. Just as he was catching up to them, he heard a roar from his left. A leo stood shaking its starry mane and pawing the ground.

He just registered Fei calling out “Close your eyes!” before a blinding flash erupted between him and the leo.

“Quick, this way!” Fei shouted as the leo blinked its eyes in confusion.

Keeping one eye on the beast, Steelskin ran to where the three of them had gathered. Fei took a moment to cast a cloak of invisibility around them before motioning them to start moving again.

---

#PL - 04#
@Arrival + 1 Hour@

“So a unicorn named Starlight Glimmer stole the Elements’ cutie marks and escaped to Earth?” I asked as Nurse Redheart fixed up my leg.

Alex nodded grimly. “She’s been leading raids to steal ponies for the past month.”

Just then, a siren started blaring.

“I hope you’ll be smarter than the other one and stay here,” Alex said to me with a glare.

I nodded, mostly because an argument would delay him.

After he’d dashed out of the room, I turned to Nurse Redheart. “Please help me to the lobby. I promise not to run off.”

“Is it worth saying no?” she asked cynically.

I just smiled.

---

They all let out a breath of relief as the red schoolhouse came into view.

Steelskin knocked and was quickly answered by Cheerilee, opening the door a crack. Fei, seeing this, dropped the illusion and Cheerilee hustled them inside. Steelskin was glad to see that she and Dusty had barricaded all the windows, though it would do little if something like an ursa showed up. Also inside where Snips, Snails, Featherweight, Rocky, and Silver Spoon.

“Okay,” Steelskin said, taking the lead as he saw the adults looking on the verge of panic. “Do we have anything we can use as weapons?”

The foals scattered, rummaging through the supply closets and even the craft materials. Hot glue, an outrageous amount of glitter, and even chalk.

“Does anypony know what’s going on?” Steelskin asked, looking around.

Before anypony answered, there was a pounding on the door. Rocky, Sweetie Belle, Fei, and Dusty moved behind Steelskin, keeping enough distance so they wouldn’t be in his way.

Dusty unbarred the door and looked out. Steelskin heard Weyul and Valus growling at each other. Once the door was pulled open, Weyul grabbed his son by the scruff of his neck and threw him inside.

“Keep him from doing anything stupid,” Weyul said, not taking his eyes off his son.

“How bad?” Steelskin asked.

“Star beasts,” Weyul answered grimly. “At least ten of them, and in a blind rage. This is an unnatural attack, most likely some coward is working to divide our attention.”

Dusty gave a brief nod before closing and barring the door.

“Let me out,” Valus growled, hair standing on end and tail high in the air. “I will not cower like a coward among pups.”

As Dusty held his ground nervously, Steelskin reached up and cuffed the warg across his snout. All the ponies in the room flinched.

“You will listen to your elder and protect the future of your pack,” Steelskin said, glaring up at him.

Valus glared for a minute before tucking in his tail and looking down.

When Valus seemed to have accepted Steelskin’s authority, Steelskin relaxed his scowl and gave a grim smile. “I know it hurts to be sitting in hiding as others fight, but we have a much more important mission. Look at these pups.” Steelskin waved a hoof at the rest of the occupants. “We are their last line of defense. If anything slips past the adults, we are their only hope. Have you been taught the ways of an ambush?”

Valus nodded, still unconvinced.

Steelskin forced his expression into a draconic grin. “We’re that ambush. You and I are hidden among the weak, looking weak ourselves. When they see an easy meal, I hit. If I go down, you hit while they are congratulating themselves. Rocky and Dusty will be your wingwargs and Fei and Bells will run interference.

“Miss Cheerilee?” Dinky said from the entrance to the broom closet. “I found these weird sparkly things.”

Cheerilee trotted over and looked into the box.

Hearing a sharp intake of breath, Steelskin looked back and saw her frozen in place, wide eyed. Hurrying over, he looked in as well.

“Cancer eggs...” he said, almost as fearfully as he felt.

---

#PL - 04#
@Arrival + 1 Hour@

It hurt to see the ponies getting injured as they defended the hospital while I just sat behind the doors in safety.

I watched as ponies and humans fought hoof to hoof and was about to give in and rush out there when I heard the familiar snap-crack of a teleportation.

I turned around, expecting to see Twilight, but instead saw a much lighter purple coat. She had a baby blue stripe in her purple mane and tail. She was also levitating some sort of human gun. It apparently had Twilight’s cutie mark on it and a glass jar stuck on the bottom with several other cutie marks floating inside of it.

She smirked and started to cast a spell on Nurse Redheart, so I extended my hoof and slammed it into her horn. She dropped her gun with a cry of pain and I went a little nutty, slamming her head against the floor until Nurse Redheart dragged me off of her.

It was a good thing that medical ponies desensitize themselves to the sight of blood, because it was not one of my more noble moments.

---

Steelskin said a silent curse at the universe and anypony controlling it as, of course, a giant claw ripped through the wall, sending wood flying. Dusty quickly bucked it, cracking the shell, and it retreated with a scream.

Steelskin moved into position, getting a better view of the star crab and getting ready to spear it through an eye. Sweetie Belle thought even faster, enveloping the eggs in her pale lavender glow and hurling them through the hole as far as she could. Steelskin breathed a relieved sigh as he saw the crab follow the eggs even as Dusty and Rocky started boarding up the hole.

“See what I mean?” Steelskin asked Valus with a grin.

Valus grudgingly smiled back.

“Owww...”

A moan sounded from the circle of fillies and a quick inspection showed Silver Spoon with a large splinter of wood lodged just above her right knee.

“D-Dinky... Get th-the first aid k-kit.” Cheerilee was hyperventilating at the sight of the injury.

As Dinky went to the teacher’s desk, Steelskin glanced at the wound. It wasn’t bad, but it was going to bleed a bit.

“Valus, pull it out and get the cut bandaged,” Steelskin ordered.

Valus looked between the adults and Silver Spoon in confusion. “Shouldn’t an adult-”

“Ponies can’t handle blood,” Steelskin replied just in time for Dinky to get back, see the injury, and faint.

Cheerilee and the colts weren’t doing much better.

A quick pounding on the door was followed by Weyul’s voice calling in. “Anyone injured?”

“Nothing serious,” Steelskin replied. “But tell everypony somepony’s been hiding their eggs.”

“On my way,” Weyul’s voice called out, already fading as he bounded away.

Everypony redoubled their search for weapons, leading Sweetie Belle to grab a length of rope. Dusty broke the end off a mop to make an improvised spear, and Snips levitated up several pairs of scissors.

As Steelskin continued to help get the place more secure, he heard Valus speaking quietly and comfortingly to Silver Spoon. “It’s not bad, but it’s gonna hurt when I pull the wood out.”

Steelskin glanced over to see Featherweight and Cheerilee nuzzling Silver Spoon, careful not to look at what Valus was doing.

A moaning, sniffling cry was followed by Valus’ voice reassuring her. “It’s out now. I just need to put some alcohol on it and bandage it up.

---

#PL - 04#
@Arrival + 2 Days@

“My goals are noble; you are the villains here,” the pony named Starlight Glimmer said to Twilight. “I found an entire nation of humans that agree that everypony should be equal and we’re helping each other bring that equality to everypony.”

Glimmer had a smug smile on her face in direct contrast to the bandages, bruises, and horn lock she was wearing.

“And you get to be more equal than the rest, right?” Matt asked from behind his visor.

Twilight snorted, touching her cutie mark to reassure herself she’d actually gotten it back.

A tall, dark skinned man with tattoos all over his arms started whistling a tune.

Matt glared at the man. “Tycho, please, no.”

“Oh, come on, it’s just a history lesson,” Tycho replied before continuing his humming.

Soon, Twilight started singing along.

“To Moscow I came seeking fortune,But they’re making me work ‘til I’m dead.”

Matt put a hand to his faceplate.

As Twilight finished the introduction, Starlight Glimmer was caught up in the song.

“I am the mare who arranges the blocks,
That descend upon me from up above.”

---

Soon, Rumble, Zipporwhill, Flitter, Pipsqueak, and (to Steelskin’s relief) Scootaloo arrived.

Screams and roars continued as Cheerilee supervised turning the desks on their side and making a circular wall to surround them in the center of the room. Soon, Dinky, Zipporwhill, Flitter, and Silver Spoon were huddled in the center with Snails, Featherweight, Scootaloo, and Cheerilee surrounding them. Snips stood inside the barrier, but his scissors floated above it, and Pipsqueak stood, trembling but determined, next to Dinky. Silver Spoon was favoring her injured leg, but the blood, thankfully, did not seem to be soaking through.

Steelskin directed everypony else to form a ring outside the desk wall as he closed his eyes, calming himself and using every other sense to ‘look’ all around himself.

With a wave of wind and magical resonance, Twilight appeared inside, dropping off Spike and Apple Bloom. “Any injuries in here?” she asked.

“Silver Spoon’s leg got cut, but Valus bandaged it up,” Dusty responded. “Did Weyul tell you about the cancer eggs? They were hidden in a cardboard box in the broom closet.”

“Thanks,” Twilight said before popping away.

“Ahm sick a’ AJ dumpin’ me off whenever she’s scared,” Apple Bloom said with a pout.

Rocky put a hoof on her shoulder. “Don’t look at it that way,” he said as he pointed to Cheerilee and the more timid foals. “We’re making sure they’re safe.”

Steelskin smiled and winked at him and he gave a sheepish smile in return.

---

#PL - 04#
@Arrival + 2 Days@

“The winter is cold, I’ve got plenty of gold,
And I’m standing in line for a loaf of bread.”

The song wound down and, whether it was Tycho’s influence or just the magic of harmony knowing that this was the best place to end it, the music ceased.

Twilight shook her head to clear it. “This is what we experienced when we visited your town. Everypony was forcing themselves to think they were happy even while doing horribly with their special talent, but things were already falling apart even before we arrived.”

“Hmph!” Glimmer scoffed. “We’ll show you. Equality is the only way you princesses won’t be able to take the manticore’s share of everything.”

Twilight tried, but failed to restrain her giggling at that. “Hey, Tycho, let’s go over that stuff Steelskin had on his crystal.”

---

It didn’t take long after Twilight teleported away for the first of the parents to show up to retrieve their foals. Steelskin hung around, unsure of at what point he, as both a kid and adult, should leave.

Midway through the pickup, Filthy Rich came looking for Diamond Tiara. “What do you mean, she’s not here? I’ve already checked Town Hall!”

“Calm down, Mr. Rich,” Cheerilee soothed. “She probably got trapped and hid herself away. Now that everything’s calmed down, she’ll come out and we can find her.”

The door opened again and Rainbow Dash came in. Cheerilee was about to call Scootaloo over when she noticed the restrained fury on Dash’s face.

”Filthy, you need to come to Town Hall. Your daughter has some explaining to do,” Dash snarled.

Author's Note:

Tycho is from Into the Rift, but, in the reality Steelskin visited, Tycho doesn't have dermal spikes.