The Changed One

by peacevic

The Lost One- part 2

The Lost One- part 2

"What do you mean we're in Equestria!?" Twilight was right on the edge of losing it, terrified she had missed some tragedy that'd hit her home.
"It's a little complicated." I responded. "I'll explain later. For now, we have to get to the Tardis. Where is it?"
"It's in the next room."
"Too late! Look!" Derpy pointed.
I turned to look out in the hall. The Raiders were already charging down it, towards us. They saw me and raised their weapons.
"How did they get here so fast?" Derpy scratched her head.
"Never mind! Duck!" I pushed them out of the doorway as a storm of bullets tore through the air where they'd been standing.
"What is that?!" Twilight yelped.
"It's so loud!"
I risked a peek. The Raiders had entrenched themselves at the t-junction opposite ours, clearly expecting us to return fire. "It's all right, Derpy, Twilight. Just stay down."
"Well? What are those things?"
"Just think of them as throwing rocks fast enough to punch through a pony's body. Lots and lots of rocks."
Like a cannon, but smaller." Twilight summarized.
Another barrage chipped the frame of the door, the Raiders feeling confident enough to resume fire. But not confident enough to advance, I noticed. Why were they being so skittish?
That was about to be a moot question, and soon. The Raiders began methodically pouring bullets into the walls, trying to push us toward the doorway.
"We need a shield! Quick!" I shouted over the din.
"I've got your shield right here!" I heard one of the Raiders taunt.
A second later something bounced into the room. Something shiny and metallic. Something hoof-sized. My heart quit from fear.
"Twilight, throw it back!" I shrieked.
Purple magic scooped the grenade up and whipped it back the way it came. Twilight turned to me, looking like she was going to ask why something so small had scared me so badly. She never got the chance. The grenade blew, and the smack of wet chunks of meat hitting tile echoed down the hall.
The Princess' eyes widened, and she looked as if she was about to throw up. "What did I do?"
"You saved our lives." I counseled. "Focus on that."
My therapy session was halted when a battle cry came from the blast site. One of the ponies must have survived. He roared again, sounding closer this time. Survived and was now running towards us.
I planted myself right next to the door, as close as possible without the Raider being able to see me. As he passed the frame, I scythed a kick at his front ankles. He pitched forward. The blade he'd been holding in his mouth skidded across the floor. Before he could stand back up, I dashed over and smashed a hoof into his jaw.
He was out, but he wouldn't be for long. I sauntered over to where his dagger had ended up, glad he'd carried it instead of a gun. I didn't think my tongue was dexterous enough to pull a trigger. I picked it up and turned.
"Verdant..." Derpy began.
"What do you think you're doing?" Twilight demanded, cutting off the pegasus.
"Whee haf-" I stopped and spit the dagger out. "We have to finish him."
"What? No!"
I sighed. "You didn't have a problem with killing that creature in the forest."
Twilight stomped in frustration. "That was different! That thing was a monster! He's a pony."
It was my turn to be frustrated. "There's already a hall full of dead ponies out there!"
The Princess looked away. "You didn't tell me it would explode. I would've thrown it out the window. They wouldn't have been able to break through my shield, so we could have negotiated with them/"
Negotiated? God Damn it, negotiated!?" I pointed at the unconscious Raider, not even sparing him a glance as I berated Twilight. "You can't negotiate with that! He's not a pony. See his armor? That is not fucking paint! That's blood. Blood from some poor pony this asshole hunted, tortured, and killed. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if they found time for a little rape. This fuck's more of a monster than that creature, and it tried to literally smash me to pieces!"
"I- um..."
The Doctor stepped forward. "Verdant, Twilight didn't mean any harm."
I sighed again. "I know. It's just... ponies like him are what's ruining Equestria-"
"No." Twilight said sharply.
I looked back at her and, to my shock, saw that she had another beam spell readied. "I'm sorry, Twilight, but this is Equestria. A version of it at least. Don't worry about it, there's no way-"
"Stop!" She shouted, then she fired the beam. It narrowly missed my head. I turned to track where the shot went and found myself face to cauterized stump with what used to be the Raider.
I cleared my throat. "Oh. Thanks, Twilight." I turned back to face her.
Tears were starting to flow. "Why didn't he stop? I had him, he knew I had him. Why?"
I lifted her chin with a hoof, so we were looking eye to eye. "Twilight, listen to me when I say this. Some people- or ponies- can't be reasoned with. They can't be befriended, or redeemed. They can only be stopped. If you didn't stop him, he was going to hurt other ponies. And it speaks volumes of your character that you wouldn't allow that to happen in front of you." She sniffled and nodded, somewhat comforted.
We heard Derpy shriek and both turned to look. The pegasus was frantically batting at her mane, trying to brush something out of it. "No, no, no!"
"Derpy, what is it?" The Doctor asked, moving to help his companion.
"Get it off! Get it off!"
Then we saw it. A bit of the Raider had landed on the poor girl's head. Twilight delicately levitated it off and Derpy collapsed into the Doctor's embrace. He turned to look at me. "We have to find a way back to the other Equestria."
"I agree." I said. "But in order for me to be of any help, I have to know where in the timeline we are."
"What do you need for that?"
I thought about it. "The Tardis. We have to meet one of the only ponies who pass for heroes in this world."