Children of Equestria

by Samey90

My Way

“Well, I kinda didn’t think this through...” Babs muttered, looking through the porthole at the forest on the right bank of the river. According to her plan, they were supposed to leave the boat as soon as she’d see it, but it was harder than she initially thought. Sure, there river was mostly covered in ice, except of a path made by the icebreakers, but still it meant that she’d either land in the cold water or on ice that could snap under her weight. The steamboat was moving slowly, taking them further from Dodge Junction.

“What are we gonna do?” Diamond Tiara asked. “Are we going to Baltimare?”

“Of course not,” Babs replied. “The guards will be already waitin’ for us there...”

“How about snapping her neck and telling the guards that she kidnapped us?” Curtain Call whispered into Diamond Tiara’s ear. “She has no idea what to do...”

“I’d wait,” Silver Spoon muttered. “She’ll figure something out.”

“All we have to do is to stop this ship, even for a brief moment,” Babs said. “I’ll talk to Dust...”

“Yeah, because she’ll totally help us,” Curtain Call muttered.

“Shut up,” Diamond Tiara hissed.

“What?” Babs asked.

“Not you,” Diamond Tiara replied, trying to tune Curtain Call and Silver Spoon out. “It’s just...”

“What does she say?” Babs looked at Diamond Tiara unsurely. “Ya still don’t have your meds... And I doubt they have ‘em in Dodge Junction...”

“Don’t worry, I’m not gonna kill you.”

Babs shook her head. “I think I have an idea,” she said. “Wait for me and don’t go anywhere. I’ll be right back.”

She listened for a moment if nopony walked to them and trotted down the narrow path leading to the boiling room. The roar of the engine and the hissing of steam was deafening. Babs was staggering – she hadn’t had a proper sleep since they’d left Ponyville. It was hard to fall asleep when Diamond Tiara was around – at first, Babs could occasionally hear her talking with somepony invisible. Then, Diamond noticed that Babs was listening to her and since then she started to hide that from her, which only made Babs more suspicious.

Babs blinked and wiped sweat from her forehead. The innards of the ship were a dark maze of rusty pipes, broken cogwheels, valves and other junk. Babs could already hear the shouts of the stokers. She knew that Lightning Dust was there, but she also knew that the pegasus wouldn’t help her. She didn’t tell anypony about them, but Babs was sure that she reached the limits of her kindness.

A jolt of pain woke her up. She realised that she’d knocked her head against a low-hanging pipe. Her forehead started to itch and she realised that a patch of her fur was now slightly charred.

An idea appeared in Babs’ mind. She looked at the floor, littered with various pieces of scrap metal and other equipment. There was even a piece of rope there – Babs took it with her, since jumping from the deck of the ship on the ice wasn’t something she’d like to try. She was, however, looking for something else.

Finally, she found it – a spare piece of pipe, lying forgotten on the floor. She picked it up and hit it against the large, low-hanging pipe, the sound drowning in the roaring of the engine.

Nothing happened. Babs groaned and looked at the pipe more exactly, looking for weakened, rusty spots. She then stood on her hind legs, and hit the pipe, using her own weight to make a blow stronger.

She backpedalled when the hot steam bursted into her face. Its pressure made the hole bigger and soon the whole place was filled with the vapour. Babs cursed under her breath, rubbing her face and trying to see something. Tripping over the garbage, she retreated to the corridor leading to the cargo hold. She heard that the engine slowed down and the stokers’ rapid hoofsteps.

Babs turned back and sprinted to Diamond Tiara, who was sitting hidden behind a stack of wood, just as she’d left her. “Let’s go!” she exclaimed. “We have to run before they get what’s goin’ on!”

Diamond Tiara looked at her and gasped. “Babs! Is everything okay?”

Babs felt that her face was itching. She blinked – while her eyes were intact, she felt that her eyelids had suffered much from the burns. She clenched her teeth, trying not to cry. “I’m okay,” she muttered. “Let’s go!”

They galloped to the ladder and climbed on the deck. Babs noticed that the paddlewheels stopped and there was nopony there. She took the rope and tied it to the railing, realising that it was too short – they could only climb halfway down the ship’s starboard, then they’d have to jump.

“Go,” Babs muttered, looking around. “I’ll keep an eye on the crew...” She took her knife from her pocket. She hissed, feeling the cold breeze on her burned face.

Diamond Tiara caught the rope and closed her eyes, sliding down. She reached the end of the rope, pushed herself off of the side of the ship and released the rope.

Her back hit the ice, knocking the wind out of her. She heard a crack and wanted to get up to her hooves, when she felt as if somepony touched her back.

“Crawl,” Silver Spoon muttered. “Remember what Ms. Cheerilee told us about ice breaking under a pony’s weight?”

Diamond Tiara didn’t remember that, but since Silver Spoon knew about that, it meant that this information was hidden somewhere in her brain. She took a look at the ship – even though its engine had been disabled, it was still going with the flow while Babs was struggling with the rope. Diamond Tiara didn’t have time to watch her – she saw that Curtain Call was awaiting her on the river bank, and started to crawl towards her. She shuddered when the ice touched her skin, but only gritted her teeth. When her hooves touched the snow, she got up and ran to Curtain Call.

“If Babs continues like that, we won’t have to kill her...” Curtain Call muttered when Diamond Tiara turned to look at the ship disappearing slowly behind the trees. She saw a dark silhouette crawling through the snow. “I’m surprised she didn’t drown, her thick skull should pierce through ice like a stone...”

“Yeah...” Silver Spoon suddenly appeared on the other side of Diamond Tiara. “Remember Ruby? Her squeals before she died...”

“Screw Ruby...” Curtain Call muttered. “Remember Alula? She wasn’t that brave with swamp in her lungs...”

“Oh yeah...” Silver Spoon chuckled. “And Twist... She only managed to catch a glimpse and bang! She was choking on her blood. Also, Diamond, why did you think she was me?”

“Stop it...” Diamond Tiara whimpered, covering her ears. “I didn’t want to kill them...”

“If they hoped that I drowned, tell them to fuck off.” Babs patted Diamond Tiara’s arm.

“How did you–” Diamond Tiara saw that Babs was limping and had a nasty burn on her face.

“Ya were talkin’ to yourself,” Babs replied, giving Diamond a worried look. “How many of ‘em are there now?”

“Two.” Diamond Tiara muttered. “They’re saying that... that...”

“Don’t listen to them,” Babs said. “We need to get to Dodge Junction quickly. They must have a pharmacy or a doctor’s office there...”

Diamond Tiara nodded. Babs got up and started to trot deeper into the forest. “C’mon!” she exclaimed. “If we want to get to Dodge Junction quickly, we need to move.”

“What about your face?” Diamond Tiara asked.

“It’s okay,” Babs replied. “It doesn’t hurt.”

Diamond Tiara sighed and followed Babs through the snowy forest.

---

The hall of the Canterlot General Hospital was empty. Minuette’s hoofsteps echoed through it, startling her. She took a deep breath and scolded herself mentally. It was just a hospital.

She didn’t like that place. She remembered all too well how she’d been transported there, nearly dead from blood loss, with large gashes in her hoof and side. Seven years later, the only reminder of those events were the scars on her foreleg. For all those years, Dr. Stable had been recommending her his friend who was one of Equestria’s best plastic surgeons, but she’d always been refusing. Eventually, she’d agreed on having the scars on her side removed, but her hoof still looked like after Berry had attacked her.

That, however, wasn’t why Minuette came to the hospital. She trotted to one of the rooms at the end of the corridor and looked inside, not sure if she could enter.

“Come in,” Octavia said. She was lying in bed, barely moving. Her voice was quiet, but Minuette noticed that it was a bit stronger than when she’d last visited her friend.

Minuette sat at the chair next to Octavia’s bed. “How are you?” she asked.

“Better,” Octavia replied. “Much better since I learned that the baby is okay...”

Minuette sighed with relief. “Where’s Stable?” she asked. “I think he should be here with you...”

“He was here all the time, but he had to go back to work.” Octavia straightened in her bed. “He panics more than I do...” She shook her head. “One could think that it was him who was shot, not me...”

“Well, we’re all worried,” Minuette said. “For a moment I thought that you were dead. I hardly remember anything. Just that filly shooting at Jet Set and the psychologist trying to calm me down. It was like Berry again...”

“Did they catch her?” Octavia asked. “I’ve heard they know who she was...”

“Applejack’s cousin.” Minuette sighed. “She murdered Berry’s cousin and now half of the country is looking for her.”

Octavia shook her head. “What happened to those kids? How old is she? Twenty?”

“The newspapers said she’s nineteen,” Minuette said.

“I’d give everything for some newspaper...” Octavia muttered. “The doctors say that I should avoid stress... I’ll die of boredom sooner... My husband talks to me as if I was dying and the baby isn’t exactly talkative...”

“I can bring you some,” Minuette replied. “That Babs... I’ve seen her a lot in Autumn.”

“Let me guess...” Octavia smirked. “There was always evil hidden in her eyes?”

“No,” Minuette replied. “In fact, she seemed quite normal...”

---

Babs collapsed on the ground. There was much less snow there, since they were coming closer to the desert surrounding Dodge Junction, but still it meant landing in the mud. The burns on her face were aching. “It looked closer on the map...” she muttered.

“Come on,” Curtain Call said. “There has to be some shelter here...”

“Come on,” Diamond Tiara repeated. “There has to be some shelter here...”

Babs stood up slowly and limped behind Diamond Tiara. It felt strange – after walking through the forest she was hungry and exhausted, while Diamond seemed to grow stronger with every step. “We’d better watch out,” she said. “There may be guards there...”

Diamond Tiara sighed. “So what? Are we going to sleep in the forest?”

“Well, there are cherry orchards around Dodge Junction...” Babs muttered. “I was planning to hide in some remote barn...”

“If there’s even one there,” Diamond Tiara muttered. “Not everypony puts them in random places, like Apples...”

“Hey!” Babs exclaimed. “D’ya have some problem with my family?”

“I’m just stating a fact,” Diamond Tiara replied calmly. “Also, I’d like to remind you that your family disowned you. They threw you away like a rotten apple...”

“Fuck off,” Babs muttered. “Ya think I won’t beat the crap outta ya? I didn’t yet only ‘cause I know it’s because of your meds.”

“Yeah, right...” Diamond Tiara chuckled. “You’re afraid of me. Well, not only me. You’re afraid of everything, even that dead guy... Even of yourself... Aargh!” Diamond Tiara fell on the ground face-first when Babs hit her in the back of the head.

“Never insult a pony ya can’t see,” Babs muttered. Instead of going further, she waited for Diamond Tiara to stand up so she could still trot behind her.

“You just had to provoke her,” Silver Spoon muttered to Curtain Call. “She’s strong. If we don’t surprise her, we’re dead.”

“Shut up.” Curtain Call helped Diamond Tiara up. “She might be stronger but she has to sleep sometimes. Once we find some barn, we’re gonna think about it.”

“Do you think there’s a barn here?” Silver Spoon asked.

“There has to be,” Curtain Call replied. “Or else we’ll have to deal with that bitch forever... In Tartarus...”

---

Babs barely remembered the last twenty four hours. They didn’t find a barn; just some old, smelly cottage near the road. Diamond Tiara promptly lay on the ground, wrapped in her coat, and fell asleep. Babs, however, couldn’t join her – she had to watch out for the guards who could be travelling down the road and, what was more important, she had to watch out for Diamond Tiara. She knew that one didn’t get “The Sleepless Killer” moniker for nothing.

Now, however, she was on the verge of passing out. She curled in the cleanest corner of the cottage, holding her knife in her hooves. Closing her eyes, she hoped that if Diamond Tiara woke up, she’d hear her.

When she woke up, she realised that her hopes failed her. Judging by the sun’s position, it was long past midday. Luckily, Diamond Tiara was still sleeping in the same place as before. There was, however, another problem; when Babs tried to get up, a dirty, aquamarine hoof pushed her at the wall.

“You think you’re very clever?” Lightning Dust asked. “I’m glad I still can fly here from Baltimare in just a few hours and you should be glad too...” She sighed. “Guards are looking for you, imbecile...”

“Tell me somethin’ I don’t know...” Babs muttered, glaring at Lightning Dust angrily. “Why are ya even here? Got bored of bein’ a retarded stoker?”

“You’re not only dumb, you’re also deaf,” Lightning Dust muttered. “Guards are looking for you. They want to interrogate the crew... Including retarded stokers.”

“So, you’re basically savin’ your ass?” Babs asked.

“No, I’m saving your ass... again. Way to go, kid... Damaging a ship and hiding here, where everypony can see you? And you fall asleep!”

“I haven’t slept in forty eight hours...” Babs groaned. “I have to take care of Diamond...”

“So, I guess you’ll need my help...” Lightning Dust said.

Diamond Tiara slowly opened one eye. She looked at Lightning Dust and sighed, turning in her makeshift “bed”.

“Dammit...” Curtain Call cursed. “Now there’s two of them...”

Comments

[Jman14102]

Well, Curtain Call and Silver Spoon are becoming "realer" for lack of a better word. And the friction between Babs and Diamond is growing...

This can only end badly.

[Starlight Nova]

Why didn't you link to Manehattan Blues?

[Samey90]

5206990
Because it's rated mature.

[Tiaa OwO]

Wow so my thought are...Buttons cheating on Sweety or vise versa...Sweety Belle or Button Mash killed Featherweight...or both!

[ServingSpoon]

5193920 Yeah I don't know if I care that Babs dies, whether be by Tiara's hoof or the cops, but I do feel sorry for DT. She just wanted to salvage her life and "Silver Spoon" was once the opposition to "Curtain Call" for keeping DT relatively sane and focussed.

Now Silver has become as ruthless and blood thirsty as Curtian. And poor Diamond is struggling.

[Etyco Filly]

Poor Diamond. I already felt bad for her in Sleepless, but this story just makes me wanna hug her tight
Babs on the other hand... I don't feel the same way, but I do empathise with her immensely. Poor thing, stuck in a downward spiral.