Wilmont

by gmen15

The Chase

[A/N]: Sorry about the delay on this. Sort of started getting caught up in writing my short one-shot fics. Anyway, here's the next chapter. I am not sure how good it is, but I at least hope it's an improvement from what it was before. Let me know if there are any glaring errors. With that said, enjoy :)

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Chapter 19- The Chase

Mall

It was around one-thirty in the afternoon when everyone got to the mall. Alex and Applejack changed vehicles to Alex's car so he could go pick up Pinkie Pie and Pete at Pete's house. Ryan drove Rainbow Dash in his car. Carl drove Twilight and Rarity in his car. Once again, Twilight made sure to cast her illusion spell so that everybody who was not part of their group would see them as humans. The only exception to this was Louis, for they didn't want to reveal their true selves to him quite yet. If they did, the girls feared that he might have lost his mind. So they made sure he saw the mane six, or five in this case as Fluttershy wasn't present, as humans rather than the ponies they truly were.

Another reason they held off on telling Louis was because Carl wanted to "test the water" and see if he was a brony or not. To do that, they needed to tell him the girl's real names without revealing that they were from the cartoon. If he wasn't a brony, he wouldn't get it and just think the names were odd and wonder why they lied about their true names. But if he did know where the names were from, he'd most likely say something.

Or not, it was relative on what kind of person he was- the kind of person who didn't give a fuck what other people thought or the kind of person that would go to extreme lengths to protect their image.

So there, in the center of the mall, nine of the twelve Elements sat, waiting for the arrival of the human Element of Generosity to arrive. In order to make room for everyone to sit together, Alex and Carl dragged two tables together. Normally this wouldn't have been a problem, but the fact that both tables were round made the situation somewhat awkward- the combined tables forming a figure eight of sorts. Regardless of their odd seating choice, the friends all sat down at their makeshift table, taking a load off as each of them felt a sense of fulfillment. The hardest part was over, they had found all six elements- and now it was time to partake in yet another combination of fast food at the mall, and destroying a teenage guy's sense of reality.

"So how long until he gets here?" Alex asked, his hands fidgeting- his aggravation on the rise since sitting down.

"I'm not sure man, be patient. We aren't in any rush." Carl said. Though he, too, started to feel impatient. He looked down at his watch to see how long it had been. 1:33- He was late, but not so late that it would be an issue. It was always good to be fashionably late, after all.

But perhaps most antsy of all was a certain cyan pegasus. Rainbow Dash's eyes were half-shut, her chin pressed down against the table as she let out a mighty yawn.

"Ugh I'm sooooo bored." she complained, lifting her head lightly, as if trying to wake herself up. Unfortunately, her efforts, though valiant were for naught. Her head fell back onto the table with a soft thunk. She sighed. "There's gotta be something to do."

Ryan noticed his partner's distress. He thought about what he could do to make time pass quicker for her. Suddenly, he had an idea. Smiling, he nudged the pegasus gently with his elbow. She peeked over at him, her head still down.

"What?" she mumbled, her chin pressed against the hard table-top slightly stifling her speech.

"Do you want to have a quick little competition while we wait?" Ryan asked, smiling.

Rainbow Dash's eyes widened and her ears perked up. A competitive smirk grew across her face.

"So, you're finally feeling up to the challenge, eh?"

Ryan nodded. "Yep, but only because this isn't a race, so I might have a chance with this one."

"Hey, a challenge is a challenge. I don't care what it is; I'm game." she said, pounding her chest proudly.

"All right, see these napkins here?" Ryan asked, pulling a brown napkin out of the table's dispenser.

Rainbow Dash cocked her head, a look of bewilderment in her eyes. Slowly, she nodded. "Yeah."

Ryan chuckled. "Okay, well, I want for us to do is to crumple them up," Ryan crumpled the napkin in his hand to demonstrate. He held it out to Rainbow Dash, who looked it over and nodded. Ryan then continued. "And we try to toss them into the waste can over there." He pointed over his shoulder at a black trashcan. “Whoever sinks the most wins.”

Rainbow Dash nodded, her grin returning with even more competitiveness- a sight that made Ryan blush. The tom-boy leaned closer to Ryan so they were almost nose-to-nose, her eyes piercing like a twin set of spears.

"You are so on." She said, spitting into it and stuck it out to Ryan to shake. The teen boy, in turn, spat onto his palm and shook her hoof in a way that her saliva-covered hoof met Ryan's saliva-covered hand. As they drew back and began to crumple up the napkins, Rainbow Dash doing quite well for not having hands, she giggled, "I thought you got grossed out by spit Ryan."

"I told you yesterday, when it's your spit I don't care." Ryan laughed, "Besides, it's not like I didn't have your tongue in my mouth all day."

Once the words left Ryan's mouth, everyone at the table stopped what they were doing to look at the elements of loyalty. Initially, Ryan and Rainbow Dash were too busy crumpling napkins for their competition to notice, but once they finished, they glanced up to see the entire table staring at them in shock- except for Applejack, who already knew the feelings they shared for one another.

Ryan's face turned red, a feeling of pure embarrassment rushed through his body. He didn't know what to do, his heart racing and his breathing quick and shallow. He thought he was going to get up and run when he heard Rainbow Dash laughing. Before he could ask her why she was laughing, he was met with a supportive, cyan foreleg being placed around his shoulder..

"Yep, you heard correctly, Ryan and I are dating and if you have a problem with that...well...let's just say you'll have a hard time walking tomorrow once I get through with you."

Ryan gave Rainbow Dash a "thank you" smile and kissed her cheek. Alex suddenly broke out into a huge grin and held his hand out for Ryan to hi-five. Ryan hesitantly high fived him- unsure if it was mocking or sincere. Then Alex put his hand out for Rainbow Dash to hi-five as well, both Ryan and Rainbow Dash were confused about his apparent excitement over the news.

"Congrats you two." He laughed, "You two make a great couple."

"Um…thanks Alex." Ryan said shyly, giving his friend a grateful smile.

"So you and Rainbow Dash are really...in love?" Carl asked with a bit of a shaky voice, showing the insecurities he had seeing the two pony/human couples that were sitting at the table. All they did was serve to remind him of his own feelings for Twilight, and how wrong he felt it was.

Ryan nodded as he recovered some confidence and was now not ashamed to profess his feelings in front of the others.

"Hell yeah we are, do you have a problem with that Carl, because Rainbow Dash here said…."

"No! No, I don't have a problem." Carl said nervously, holding his hand out for mercy. Images of the rainbow-maned pegasus whooping him sent panic throughout his body. "I-I'm just surprised how fast your relationship started...like Alex and AJ's."

"Alex?" Ryan and Rainbow Dash both said in unison as they looked over to see Alex lay his arm around Applejack's shoulder. The earth pony, in turn, gave the Texan a small peck him on the cheek before turning to the rest of the table.

"That's right y'all, we fell in love with each other." Applejack said as she leaned her head on Alex's shoulder and closed her eyes.

"I still don't understand. You've only known each other for...what? A day? And yet you're already in love?" Carl asked, scratching his head.

"You weren't there last night when we talked at the park." Alex muttered with a smile.

"But…Relationships never start that quick. When we were here yesterday, you two were making out twenty minutes after you first met."

"Maybe it's because we connected better than most people here on Earth do. Call it an honest case of love at first sight rather than the 'love at first sight' that soon-to-be brides lie about to make themselves feel better about a marriage, but...we have it." Alex said, chuckling as he looked down at his partner in love and honesty.

"Yeah, not ta mention we ain't afraid to show our feelings fer each other." Applejack added, "Ah think that's why people in yer world don't act like we did yesterday, Carl. We ain't into holdin' back none, while they are."

"That's true," Ryan said, "besides, Carl, you know that I've had a crush on Rainbow Dash when I thought that she was a fictional character, and Alex felt the same about Applejack. So it's not like we suddenly felt this way. Our love for them developed while we watched the show and meeting them just...I don't know. Finalized it, or something."

Now it was time for the girls to speak up.

"And I liked Ryan so fast because he wasn't like other guys, and I got that within the first few minutes of meeting him. He isn't overly cocky, which is a bit of a weakness for him no doubt, but most stallions act so macho all of the time, that it was nice to meet an emotional, caring person that I can have a mutual respect for."

"Ah hear ya sugarcube." Applejack piped in with a smile. "After talkin' with Alex yesterday when he still thought I was human, ah knew he was a great guy. Not ta mention that he talked on and on about honesty and hard work and how much he values them. Naturally, ah felt a connection with him right then and there."

Carl sighed and rubbed his head. He had gotten over pretending to think it was weird for them to have these feelings, but we as still in disbelief about how fast their relationship had progressed. Such a short time since meeting each other, and they seemed to accomplish a closeness that no other couple that he had ever seen in his life could match. Married couples of twenty plus years would envy the love expressed in these relationships.

Another strange thing was that both Alex and Ryan looked different, especially in their eyes- shining like they were still children in the schoolyard instead of teens hardened by the world around them. It was like ever since they met their partners they became happier and, strangely, more innocent in their attitude towards the world around them. Ryan seemed to have more confidence, and Alex seemed more, well…vibrant. It was truly strange.

While Carl continued to ponder the romances, Pete silently listened- not contributing anything, as he was too worried that he'd say something stupid. Honestly, the only person, rather pony, he felt comfortable around to actually be himself was Pinkie Pie, and that was only because she was as random as he used to be- before he was kicked in the gut by reality.

As Ryan and Rainbow Dash gave each other an Eskimo kiss, Pinkie Pie smiled.

"Awwww that's so cute! You make such a great couple. And so do you Alex and AJ! Hey, maybe I should plan a party for you guys! Like a big 'happy trails for the new couples' shindig! Oh that would be so fun; I could make cake, cookies, and get some ice cream. I could get chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, and cotton candy to match you Rainbow Dash!" she said, nearly bouncing in her seat. Pete chuckled a bit, forgetting his insecurities for a moment as Pinkie Pie's little display of joy reminded him why she was his favorite pony.

Carl, growing tired of all the mushy talk decided that a change in subject was needed. Clearing his throat, he looked at everyone and everypony at the table, face serious and business-like.

"Guys, it's great you all found love like a bunch of shameless, fanfiction self-inserts. But don't forget, our main priority here is to talk with Louis about his role in our group."

"I wish he would arrive soon, my hooves are starting to shake from anxiety." Rarity said, looking down at her hooves with a blush on her face. She closed her eyes and let out a dramatic sigh. "Oh I do hope the dear likes me." She then opened her eyes and looked herself over, from her white hooves to her diamond cutie mark. "How do I look? Did I overdo it? Does it look like I'm trying too hard?"

Carl smiled weakly at Rarity. "You're fine Rarity; he's going to love you."

"Speaking of which," Twilight whispered. "Look who finally arrived."

Everyone looked towards the entrance of the mall to see Louis walking into the mall. He was now wearing a light-blue UNC Soccer t-shit and a pair of white and blue shorts. He was like a Gad-damned walking advertisement for the University.

No longer was he drenched in sweat- he was dry and groomed, ready to hang out with the three lovely babes that walked up to him at the park. Once Louis saw the girls, his face lit up for a split second before his eyes moved over Carl, Alex, Pete and Ryan- the guys. Almost as soon as it appeared, his joyous expression fell- a hint of disappointment flashed over his eyes before a small smile returned, though this one lacked the excitement of the first.

"That disappointed expression he had on his face," Alex said, pointing to Louis with a small smile. "That, my friends, is the look of a man who thought he was getting lucky, realizing that he's been regulated to the friend-zone."

"Guarantee you he still tries to flirt up a storm." Ryan muttered, looking at Alex. "Jocks don't know when to quit when it comes to hot girls."

Alex nodded, "As an athlete, I agree wholeheartedly."

Louis walked over to the table, looking at Twilight and Rarity and giving them a small nod. His face immediately showed a forced romance. "What's up ladies?"

Rarity and Twilight smiled in return, giving Louis a small wave with their hooves, cheeks flushed.

"Hello Louis." Twilight said sultrily. Carl balled his hands up into a pair of tight fists. Though he didn't want to admit it, watching Twilight act so flustered by Louis' presence and 'ladies man' person made enviously seethe on the inside.

"Hi Louis, I'm sorry, I forgot to tell you I was bringing some friends." Rarity said, gesturing to the others.

"Some?" Louis said with a laugh, looking around the table at the five girls and four boys. "God, some of the classes at St. Mary's have fewer people than this."

Louis took the only vacant seat, which was purposely right across from Rarity. Carl had it like this so they could talk about him being the element and her partner. But to Rarity, it just gave her another chance to gaze into his 'magnificent' eyes- as she would call them.

"So what's up, why did you call me down here? Did you want an interview or did you just want to bask in my glory?" Louis said, shooting a prideful look at Rarity, who seemed to melt even more bit from the gesture.

Deciding to take initiative, Carl leaned forward so he was looking directly into Louis' eyes. "We needed to talk to you about something important."

Louis looked at Carl, his smile waned but still persisted. "Okay, I'm listening. What did you want to talk about?" His tone suggested a lack of interest in talking to a guy rather than the two beautiful girls and their three equally beautiful friends.

Carl swallowed, using his saliva to wet his dry throat, which seemed to constrict from nervousness. Sighing, he finally got the words out. "You don't know it yet but you are one of six people who have been chosen to fight a great evil that is residing here in Wilmont."

Louis looked at Carl as if he just told him the world was going to end. "So...this is some sort of religious cult bullshit? Because, in case you didn't read the newspaper article close enough, I go to St. Mary's CatholicAcademy. I'm all set with my faith in my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ."

Carl shook his head. "No, this isn't a religious meeting. This is something more serious than that."

"More serious than God and religion?" Louis asked.

"At the moment it's more important than preaching about him."

Louis turned to give a blank look at both Twilight and Rarity. "Why the hell did you two ask me to meet you here?"

Twilight and Rarity looked at each other, eyes asking the other how they should proceed. Clearing her throat, Twilight turned to Louis.

"Look, Louis. We aren't who you think we are Louis. Our names aren't really Tara and Raquel."

Louis just kept staring, "Then…then what the hell are they?"

"My name is Twilight Sparkle and this is Rarity." Twilight said, pointing to the sheepish, white unicorn, who gave Louis a small wave.

Carl bit his lip, closing his eyes in anticipation of Louis' response. After a few seconds of awkward silence, Louis burst out into laughter.

Everyone just stared at him, even some people who were at other tables that heard his bellowing looked over in disgust at his crude behavior. As he calmed himself down, he pointed at Twilight.

"So you're Twilight? And you're Rarity?" he said, pointing at the two girls, who both nodded. He grinned, "That's so cute. Role-playing as characters from My Little Pony?"

"Yep! And I'm Pinkie Pie, and here is Applejack and Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie Pie shouted excitedly, causing some people nearby to look over at them like they were a gaggle of escaped mental patients- not too odd of an assumption when taking the crazy pink pony into account.

Louis shook his head, still laughing, "Funny. Oh, this is too hilarious."

"So you are a brony?" Alex asked and Louis sighed before turning to Alex with a cocky smile.

"Okay, fine, you caught me. The big, bad-ass soccer superstar is a closet brony. Do you know how many shits I give about it?" Louis held his hand up his hand to show a "zero" shape with his thumb and middle finger. He even mouthed 'zero' as he did this to further emphasize his point.

"Yeah you don't care. That's why you haven't mentioned it once in any of the newspaper articles run on you." Ryan muttered sarcastically, not looking up at Louis as he said it.

"Louis, please listen to us." Rarity said with a pleading look, "Nopony here is trying to mock you for being a brony; we just need your help because you're Earth's Element of Generosity."

Louis was about to laugh when he got caught staring into Rarity's expressive eyes that were beautiful to Louis, who saw them as very elegant human eyes.

"Louis! Look at me." Twilight said, making the boy turn to her and stare. Twilight put her hooves onto his shoulder and looked him square in the eye, of course to him it just looked like she was putting her hands onto his shoulders. "You have to believe us, we really are the Elements of Harmony and we all need your help."

Louis then pointed to the guys at the table, first at Carl, then sweeping his pointed finger at them all until they landed on Pete, who flinched as he saw Louis' finger directed at him. "And who the hell are they?"

"They're the other elements of Earth. You are the last one that we need before we have all six. So please, don't disregard us as ponies pulling a prank on you." Twilight said without taking her serious eyes off of Louis’ own confused ones.

Carl tapped Louis on the shoulder, making him turn around.

"Louis, Discord is here in Wilmont and we need you to help us defeat him before he brings this town into a deeper hell than it is right now."

"Carl." Twilight muttered. Carl looked up at her.

"What?"

She pointed her hoof timidly towards the entrance in a stealthy manner, making sure it wasn't too obvious to anyone who she was pointing to. "We might have a bit of a problem."

Carl looked over his shoulder to see about twelve men in black suits walking towards them.

"Don't look at them, they'll see you.'" Twilight muttered; grabbing Carl and turning him back to face her.

"Who the hell are they?" he asked.

"I don't know about most of them, but that one in the front is one of Discord's henchmen. Trust me; I can see him for who he really is. He's a unicorn in disguise as a human. The others just look like humans.”

“They look like government agents.” Alex added.

"Does that mean he can see you girls are ponies as well?" Ryan asked Twilight nervously.

"Let's not say to find out." Applejack said.

"Okay everybody, get up and calmly start walking further into the mall." Carl said. They began to stand up, trying to act as relaxed and calm as possible, which was more difficult than it sounded. Ryan and Rainbow Dash both tossed their crumpled napkins at the trashcan. Of course, Ryan missed his shot and Rainbow Dash sunk hers.

"Got it." She whispered smugly at Ryan, sticking her tongue out in a taunting manner. Ryan rolled his eyes before picking up the napkin and throwing it out. It may have been an emergency situation, but Rainbow Dash wouldn't let that get in her way of finishing a competition.

They threw out the rest of the napkins, food and everything else at the table and headed off, the group of men following only about thirty feet behind them.

"May I ask what's going on?" Louis asked, somewhat annoyed at the situation.

"We're being followed." Alex whispered.

"That's just fantastic." Louis hissed with pure sarcasm.

"Now what do we do?" Twilight asked Carl.

"We split up and go in separate directions. We'll meet back at the cars as soon as possible; Alex and I will need to find a way to get outside and to the cars. But right now our main priority should be to evade these fuckers." Carl said before turning to the others. "Listen to me and don't look back at them, otherwise they'll know that we know about them following us. Everyone evade them by any means possible and get out to the cars. We'll meet up at my house, understand everyone and everypony?"

Everyone nodded, except for Louis who shook his head, "I still have no fucking idea what's going on."

"Just go with Rarity, okay superstar soccer man?" Carl muttered in a condescending way before Louis shot him an angry glare. Regardless, he nodded, as he didn't want to argue any more with this kid that clearly belonged in a mental institution. Lord knows how truly insane he was, Louis thought.

"So get out of the mall and meet back at my house, break."

And the group split up into five groups of two, each group consisting of the same element: Carl and Twilight went off in one direction, Alex and Applejack went off in another, Ryan and Rainbow Dash in a third, Louis and Rarity in a fourth, and Pete and Pinkie Pie went their own separate way. They were dispersed- it was every pony and brony for themselves.

Carl and Twilight quickly made their way down the long hall of the mall, but at the same time not going so fast as to draw attention to themselves. They maneuvered through the mass of people, Carl leading Twilight by finding every available space there was so they could pass the "indoor pedestrians".

"Twilight, can you tell me if those guys in suits split up without turning around to check?" Carl asked as he and Twilight made their way past a mother and her stroller-riding child.

Twilight nodded. She closed her eyes; her horn glowed. After the glow went away, she looked back up at Carl. Her eyes willed with dread, like she had just seen an ax murderer stalking them.

"It looks like two men are following each group...except us." She said, her voice quivering at the end.

"What?" Carl asked, looking at the pony who was trotting alongside him. "How many are following us?"

Twilight swallowed. "Four."

"Shit." Carl's eyes went wide. He looked up, picking up the pace and biting his lip in aggravation. He then looked down at Twilight, "Twilight, I have an idea. Can we split up and meet back at the table in the food court in ten minutes?"

She nodded, "Yeah, I remember where it is, and I could probably lose two of these jerks."

"Okay. And remember, only use your magic if there's no alternative."

She nodded and once they reached a "fork" in the mall, they split up, Twilight went down the right-hand side and Carl went down the left.

Behind him, Carl could see Brett order the group to split into two groups- saying he'd follow Twilight if the others went after 'the boy', as he referred to Carl. Brett and one of his minions started off in the direction that Twilight went in, while the other two made their way after Carl. Turning back around, Carl picked up the pace- steadily increasing the gap between himself and the two pursuers. He started to search for a store to slip into- someplace big enough to find a hiding spot while having easy access to an exit. He passed a cooking store, a book store, a tiny Hallmark store, a cookie cake booth- the smell of which would have tempted him had he not been in a blind panic.

Finally, he found a large video and gaming store. The large windows that surrounded its entrance were covered in movie posters and posters promoting the new Call of Duty game that was to be released later that year. It was also relatively crowded, perfect for losing the two idiots perusing him. Without hesitation, he strode into the shop, the two other men following suit.

Now, what Carl forgot was that this store was so astronomically big that it actually was on the other side of the fork as well. Twilight was trotting, trying to remain inconspicuous, she saw the same video and gaming store that Carl had gone into. Much like Carl, she thought its size and the crowd inside would help her lose her pursuers. She went inside, unknowingly ending their "split up".

Ryan and Rainbow Dash

Ryan and Rainbow Dash had two men following them at this point. They were walking down a very wide section of the mall that ended in a very large sport's store. That had some mannequins in the front that wore the newest sports gear, like Under Armor and football pads, as well as gear that promoted different teams in New York, such as the Bills, Giants, Sabers, and Yankees.

"Let's hide in there." Rainbow Dash whispered.

"The Sport's store?" Ryan asked and Rainbow Dash nodded. "Considering you being with me, that's ironic."

"Not really, I picked it because it's an athletic store." Rainbow Dash said with a small chuckle.

They both went in. They kept walking through the store, passing endless rows of Under Armor gear and other sporting equipment and clothing. Everything from hockey sticks to lacrosse gear. It didn't matter what season the sport was played in- the store had it in stock. Finally, they found the fitting rooms. Ryan looked over his shoulder. He saw the two men looking around, bewildered They seemed to have lost sight of the elements of loyalty for the time being, the clothes and other obstacles providing them with good cover.

Ryan tapped Rainbow Dash on the shoulder. She turned to him and he pointed at the one of the open dressing rooms. "In there."

They both ran over to an open fitting room and, thankfully without anyone noticing, slipped in and shut the door. Once inside, Ryan closed the door and slid the lock into place. They both pressed back against the body mirror that stood on the wall- typically used by people who were trying clothes on. Both human and pegasus started to breathe heavily, running and panic causing massive amounts of adrenaline to pump through their bodies.

"What do we do now?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"We wait, Dashie." Ryan said with a sigh as he kissed her forehead to comfort her and she returned the gesture with a nuzzle.

Louis and Rarity

Two other men were currently following Rarity and Louis. Though Rarity was getting nervous, she knew that she had to stay strong and calm for the befuddled Louis as she dragged him into a clothing department store.

Inside, there were clothes everywhere, lining the walls. They hung on rows of hangars, and were worn on the plastic bodies of mannequins.

"Oh my, so many clothes, this place is magical!" Rarity thought as she felt like she was in her own personal heaven. She shook her thoughts of paradise away, returning her focus to what was important for the time being, finding a place to hide.

"Louis, do you know anywhere that we can hide?" she whispered.

"What? No, look Raquel…”

“You can stop calling me Raquel, darling. It’s 'Rarity'.” Rarity said, a slight snippy tone to her voice.

Louis rolled his eyes, “Fine, 'Rarity', look I don't…"

"Ugh, there is simply no time for this." She groaned, shoving Louis into one of the circular, rotating clothes hangers. Louis fell to the carpeted ground, Rarity right behind him as she slid the clothes back into place like nothing happened. They were completely hidden from sight, crouched behind the wall of clothes hanging around them- mostly dresses- like a shower curtain.

Rarity got down and stared at Louis straight in the eyes, "Louis, I am about this close to losing it and you aren't helping in the least, so I want you to calm down and tell me that you'll do what I say, when I say if because that might become necessary if we want to elude the people chasing us."

"Yeah, okay." Louis nodded in fear. He was still skeptical, but he didn't want to see what this clearly unstable girl would be like when she freaked out.

Pete and Pinkie

"Why are they following us?" Pinkie whispered to Pete as they hid in one of the dressing rooms at the clothing department store, unaware that Rarity had just taken Louis to hide in there as well.

"I don't know, probably because of Discord." Pete muttered.

"Oh I don't have a good feeling about this." Pinkie said, shaking a bit in fear. Pinkie then got onto her knees and peered out from under the door, as there was about a foot space in-between the door and the carpeted ground.

"Do you see anything?" Pete asked.

"Oh my gosh!" Pinkie gasped.

"What is it?" Pete asked with worry. "Are they in the store?"

"No, but..." Pinkie Pie squinted, trying to get a better view of whatever she was looking at. "There's a guy with really weird hair over there."

"Weird Hair?" Pete asked with some anger at her clear lack of seriousness for the situation.

"It's all spiky and green. I didn't think humans could have green hair." she said, looking back at Pete. “Why is your hair so plain and his so loco in the coco?”

"We can't have naturally green hair, it’s probably dyed or something." Pete answered before he shook his head. "Pinkie come on we don't have time for this!"

"Right, I'll keep watch, and tell you if those meanies show up." Pinkie Pie said, a big grin on her face. She then peeking back into the store.

"Geez, is everything in life a game to her?" Pete thought.

"Hey! I wonder how many other crazy hairstyles I can count while we're hiding." Pinkie said excitedly. "Hey! There's one! Oh! There's another...oh, wait. I think that's a wig."

Pete face-palmed.

Alex and Applejack

Alex and Applejack were looking for places to hide when Alex decided to take a rise and look behind him to see if they were still being followed. This was a big mistake, because as soon as they two men saw him look at them, they began sprinted towards the two- nothing to lose except their targets.

"Shit! AJ run!" Alex shouted as both he and Applejack began to sprint away. The mall was pretty packed, so naturally, the two fleeing elements of honesty had to push and shove their way through everyone.

"Get out of the way!" shouted one of the men, trying to catch up to the two elements of honesty. "Somebody stop those two!"

Alex and Applejack were starting to put a nice distance between them and the other two men when suddenly a bystander who was just coming out of a shoe store heard the men calling for them. He ran up to the duo, snagging Applejack's foreleg.

"Hold on, there little Missy."

"Let go of me ya varmint!" Applejack shouted before she managed to pull her leg out of the man's grasp before she pushed the man into a nearby fountain out of frustration.

Alex just noticed that Applejack wasn't running with him anymore and turned around to see what had happened. He ran back to help her when the two suited men finally caught up to her and grabbed her foreleg. She struggled against them, fighting to break free when Alex made a b-line at one of the men, who pulled out a gun and pointing it at Applejack's head.

"Hey, let go of her you motherfuckers!" Alex shouted right before he tackled the gun-wielding man into the nearby fountain. Alex and the man wrestled in the water while Applejack socked the other man with her hoof. The force of her hoof slamming into his face was so great that it broke his nose, knocking him out cold. He fell to the tiled floor right in front of dozens of bystanders- all with stunned looks on their faces.

Applejack turned to see Alex struggling to fight the other man in the water. Alex started to swallow mouthfuls of water as he rolled around- breaching for a few moments only to re-submerge under the depths. Applejack wasted no time, running over and head-butting the man, freeing Alex from his grip.

The country pony and the man both landed in the water, Applejack starting to pummel the suited man with her hooves- no relent present in the force of her slams. Now free, Alex tiredly swam to the ledge to get his bearings, blood and water dripping from his nose and mouth into the fountain-water. His chest hurt from gagging up the water that had made its way into his lungs and now needed to escape. He felt as if a train had hit him square in the forehead. He looked back to see the brawl between his mare-friend and the last conscious enemy. They rolled around in the water like two gators trying to submerge each other, throwing punches and giving the occasional bite.

Alex watched in horror as the man pinned Applejack underwater. She tried to get up, but he only pushed her down harder. She kept kicking, sending water everywhere, as she held her breath, face turning red as her body started to scream for oxygen.

"Hey…" Alex spat, finally coming to and getting his strength back. A power started to well up within him, something he never felt before. Subconsciously he held his right hand out towards them man. "Let her go!"

As soon as the words left the teen's mouth, the man was surrounded in an orange aura. He was then lifted off of Applejack, floating in mid-air above the fountain, dripping water into the basin below. Alex's hands and arms were shining an orange aura similar to that which the man was engulfed in. Alex's eyes widened, shocked at what he was doing. He lifted his hand, watching as the man rose ever-so-slightly- matching the boy's hand's movement. He had complete control. Slowly, a smile made its way onto Alex's face, mentally noting how cool his sudden power was.

"Whoa." He muttered, continuing to hold the man up. Applejack, finally able to surface, was still breathing heavily after being held underwater for so long. She looked up to see the man floating above her head.

Grinning, she got to her hooves, turned around and bucked the airborne man in the gut. Alex released him just as the mare's hooves made contact. The man was sent flying onto the mall floor in front of several shoppers that jumped back in fright. She waded over to the edge of the fountain to see the man knocked out, and people staring at them with wide eyes, either whispering to one another or using their cell-phones to record what had just happened.

Alex was still standing in shock as the orange aura around his hands disappeared.

But he got another shock when he suddenly felt Applejack throw her forelegs around him in a tight, and by tight I mean very tight, hug.

"Alex, yer okay. Thank ya for saving me."

"Thanks for saving me AJ." Alex said with a relieved smile as he finally noticed everyone staring at them. Looks of astonishment defined the crowd that surrounded the duo.

"Maybe we should get out to the car now."

"Ah think that sounds like a good idea." Applejack said with a chuckle before she coughed a little bit more water up. Alex hugged her and they both headed off.

Carl

Carl was still in the video and gaming store, looking for someplace to hide from his two pursuers. So far he had done a good job not making it clear that he knew he was being followed. Eventually, he succeeded in evading his pursuers by hiding behind a cardboard cutout of an alien character from the new sci-fi movie that was being released onto DVD that week. He watched as the men who were looking for him got frustrated and ran out of sight to look somewhere else. He gave a sigh of relief and was about to relax when he heard Twilight scream nearby.

"Hey! Let go of me! Help!" she shouted, trying to use her magic, but for some reason it was not working.

"Shut up." He heard one of the men say. Carl quickly stood up and walked over to where he heard the voices coming from. He saw Twilight being lifted into the air by a man that Carl didn't know at that moment, but would eventually know all too well. This man was Brett. He and the other three men surrounded Twilight with looks on their faces.

"I think you're all alone on this one Twilight." Brett said as he pulled out a gun, as did the rest of the men so that the people at the store would be too scared to help her. Not only that, but Carl noticed a faint glow around Brett's hands.

"He's right," Brett said, chuckling. "My magic has made it so everyone in this place is completely oblivious to you. You're alone, Twilight Sparkle. And now, you will pay."

Carl stood up and walked closer to the group of men and Twilight, "She's not exactly alone."

They turned to look at Carl, and upon seeing the teenager's face, Brett grinned.

"Ah, it looks like the fun's about to begin." He muttered. He put Twilight down so the other men could watch her. He began to walk over to Carl. "So you're one of the elements of Harmony for Earth?" Carl nodded and Brett let out an arrogant chuckle.

"You seriously think that you have any chance of stopping Discord?"

"Twilight and the others beat him last time. So," Carl shrugged, "yes, I know we can. Now let her go."

"I would love to, kid. But you see we have direct orders from Discord himself to take in you and your little pony friend here." He said; gesturing to Twilight who eyes lit up in fear. "You see, he knows that he cannot corrupt them due to their purity, so they must die. You and your little human friends, on the other hand, have been corrupted already and I just need to take you in so, please cooperate and I promise that Twilight's death will be quick and painless."

"You won't touch her." Carl spat with a seething anger. "I'll kill you before you get the chance."

Brett smiled and nodded, "I think you underestimate my power kid. For you see, like your little pony friend here, I am not a weak little human."

Carl bit his lip as he watched Brett close his eyes and his forehead begin to glow a dark black color, "as you can see…" he slowly transformed into Obscure Darkness right before Carl's eyes. "…I am a unicorn. My name is Obscure Darkness. If you don't surrender now, you'll learn to fear my name."

Carl didn't know what to do; he knew that he couldn't take a unicorn with his magic. After all, he wasn't experienced with his own skills and Obscure was. He noticed that no one seemed frightened about a cartoon unicorn being in the store.

"And as you can see, I, like your friend Twilight Sparkle, can pick and choose who I show my true form to." He said with a grin. "But it's not like that was even necessary, after all I cast spell earlier to make everyone in this place oblivious to our little quarrel."

The two looked at each other intensely as Twilight continued to try to use her magic, which still wasn't working.

"Oh and Twilight, I'm sorry but, I'm currently blocking your magic with my own. I guess you'll have to fight me the old-fashioned way. Hoof-to-hoof." Obscure said, leaning closer to Carl. "Or hand to hand. No horn and no magic is allowed here."

"How about wings then?"

Obscure was suddenly tackled to the ground by a blur of cyan and rainbow. He flew into the wall before slowly sliding down and hitting the floor face-first. He groaned as he rolled over, blood dripping down his muzzle.

Apparently, his magic to conceal what he was doing to Twilight didn't work on Rainbow Dash, because she was now hovering over him and stuck her tongue out and mocked the downed unicorn. "Na-na-na-na."

"And I hope some lacrosse action is all right as well!" Ryan's voice came out of nowhere as he jumped out from behind a section of DVDs with a black lacrosse stick, which he used to smash one of the men on the head before hitting the other right in his 'special area'. Groaning, and holding his goods, the man fell to his knees, grunting before he finally fell forward. Ryan smirked. "Should have worn a cup, bitch."

The last one was head-butted by a very powerful and adrenaline-fueled Rainbow Dash. As the four men rolled around the floor in pain, Carl, Twilight, Ryan and Rainbow Dash wasted no time in getting out of the store as fast as their legs could carry them. They could hear the people in the store come back to life behind them, the spell having worn off.

"Don't let them get away!" They heard the irate Obscure shout, but the four elements kept running.

"Holy shit man, where did you come from?" Carl gasped as they ran towards the exit.

"Sport's store, wasn't the lacrosse stick a giveaway?" Ryan asked with a smile. "We hid in the fitting room until their backs were turned. I tackled one and Dashie, here, got the other."

"Then we were leaving when we heard that jerk Obscure Darkness ranting like an idiot who thinks that he's some sort of egghead." Rainbow Dash said, sticking her tongue out in disgust.

"Thanks you two, you saved our flanks." Twilight said with a smile before looking up at Carl. "And thanks for standing up for me."

Carl nodded, "Thanks can come later, right now let's get out of here."

Pete and Pinkie Pie

Once they felt that the coast was clear, Pete and Pinkie Pie slowly made their way out of the fitting room. But right after they opened the door, they were met with an un-amused female employee, her arms crossed and face scornful.

"And what were you two doing there?" She asked.

"N-nothing." Pete stuttered.

"Don't you dare lie to me kid. Two teenagers, a girl and a boy, come out of the same dressing room and you think I'll buy that nothing happened?" The woman laughed. "What kind of idiot do you take me for? You know this isn't a nightclub on a Saturday night. You can't just fool around wherever you want; there are rules here."

"I…we didn't…." Pete started, but the woman held out her hand to cut him off.

"Don't try to talk your way out of this kid, just leave." She said, pointing to the door. "Both of you get out and I won't call the authorities."

"Yes ma'am. Sorry ma'am." Pete muttered apologetically, even though he had nothing to apologize about, as he and Pinkie walked off.

"What was that weird lady talking about?" Pinkie Pie asked Pete with a raised eyebrow, and Pete shook his head.

"You don't want to know."

Moments later, however, they bumped into two other people. Both Pete and Pinkie jumped back in fright, Pinkie even had to shove a hoof into her mouth to stifle the gasp. Fortunately, they didn't bump into Discord's men, nor did they bump into a random stranger. They walked directly into Rarity and Louis, who were climbing out of their hiding spot after their pursuers had left the store.

"Louis? Rarity? What are you doing?" Pinkie asked, now recovered from her shock. Pete, meanwhile, was still trying to catch his breath and slow his heart rate.

"What do you think, we were hiding." Louis snarled. "Come on; let's get out of here before those assholes find us."

Alex

Alex and Applejack were already in Alex's car, ready to pick Pete and Pinkie Pie up as soon as they made their exit. Alex started strumming the steering wheel, muttering "come on" under his breath over an over. Finally, the door to the mall burst open. Rarity, Pinkie, Pete and Louis all spilled out into the afternoon sunlight, sprinting towards the parking lot. Pete caught glimpse of Alex's truck and, grabbing Pinkie Pie, made his way over.

"There they are." Alex muttered. The back too to his car opened and Pete and Pinkie literally jumped into the backseat. "You guys okay?"

"Yeah, let's get the hay out of here, stat!" Pinkie shouted, her eyes bulging and her mouth opening to a size that only a cartoon character could. Pete slammed the truck door shut. Alex turned to Applejack, who looked up at him.

"Ah think she's right, let's skedattle."

Alex nodded and drove off, tires squealing as he made for the exit. They sped by Louis and Rarity, who were almost at Louis'sedan, a vehicle that had seen much better days. As soon as Rarity lay her eyes on it, she recoiled in disgust.

"Egad Louis! Is this what you go around in?"

Louis unlocked his car and turned to Rarity. "Yes. Sorry it isn't a limo 'Madame Rarity'."

Looking inside and seeing the mess- mostly crumpled fast food bags and wrapping- Rarity recoiled a second time.

"When was the last time you cleaned this filthy thing out?"

"Enough Get in I'm on my last fucking nerve." Louis hissed, opening the door for Rarity to get inside. She delicately, almost nervously, got into the car as Louis slammed the door. He then got into his side, started the car, and sped off.

Once they were gone, the last four elements made their way outside. Carl leading the way as he, Twilight, Ryan and Rainbow Dash all sprinted to their cars. Once they reached them, and unlocked the doors, Carl turned to Ryan and Rainbow Dash, watching as Ryan helped the pegasus inside.

"Remember, meet back at my house!" Carl said, opening his driver's side door- Twilight able to open the passenger-side easily with her magic.

"Got it!" Ryan said, shutting the door behind Rainbow Dash. He then ran around to the other side, slipping into the driver's seat.

Carl shut the door and turned to Twilight, noticing that she was having trouble getting the seat-belt on. Carl reached over to help, but she held a hoof up.

"I've got it." She finally clicked the buckle in and leaned back, turning towards Carl. "We should get going, don't you think?"

Carl thought over what she said for a moment before realizing she was right- they didn't have time to dawdle around. Turning on the engine, Carl sped off, Ryan right behind him.

As both cars drove off, four to six of the suited men, including Obscure, who had turned back into Brett, ran out of the mall. The two cars vanished before anyone got a chance to see them. Brett scanned the lot, looking for any sign of their presence. Alas, there was none. Grimacing, Brett stomped on the ground, cursing under his breath.

Comments

[batran]

Wait St. Mary's University!? I GO THERE! (well its Mt. St. mary's)

[gmen15]

1745926

Actually in this story it's the name of a high school lol. But yeah I've heard of St. Mary's university.

[Commentator]

"You can stop calling me RAQUEL now"

Not Rachel dude.

And that's the only error! I think.

[gmen15]

1746221

That's not all. Check out Carl's mom's name.

[Lucky Seven]

1746133 That comment made me think back to Friends, and how Paolo called Rachel Raquel

[random reader]

Whew, finally an update! I was worried that you wouldn't continue possibly the best work of literature I have ever read. So far I've read the whole story, as in, I read everything you have currently on FIMFiction, then switched to FanFiction and resumed from where the story left off. Honestly, I have to say that I liked the original version better, because it was a bit darker than this version, and fit well with the theme your setting of getting progressively more corrupt. as time goes on. I still loved this chapter though, don't get me wrong. I hope you don't deter the truly dark parts later on too much though, call me a sicko, but I thought that it was a good idea to give the mane six a true taste of the absolute worst parts of humanity.

[gmen15]

1793592

Oh don't worry, I'm planning on keeping the dark tone. Sorry if it seemed a little less dark, but I'll get to working on it.

The second "third" of the story is coming up, and that's when the dark parts really start coming into play and, don't worry, I'll try my best to keep the tone of how I originally wrote it.