Chapter 13
Chapter 13
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“Aw, is da widdle baby gonna go cwy to his mummy?”
I sniffle, whipping my nose with my shirt sleeve as the three bullies stand over me.
“He doesn’t have any, remember?” another of the three says, sneering at me.
They all laugh and start kicking me as I lay of the ground where their leader pushed me.
I curl up, trying to shield myself.
“Hey! Leave him alone!”
The kicking stops as I hear a grunting.
Glancing up, I can’t help smiling as I see Ben standing in front of me, his fists held up.
“Who wants some?” he growls, glaring at each boy in turn. “I warned you never to pick on Tom! Now who wants some?”
I smile, before everything suddenly shifts.
I’m now a little filly, maybe five and a grey Pegasus mare is standing over me protectively, her wings flared as she glares at the three stallions.
“You will not harm my Dinky!” she snarls, her teeth bared.
The three stallions looked at each other in confused fear, before turning and bolting away, their tails between their legs.
Once they’re gone, Mommy turns around and settles down next to me. She pulls me into a wing hug and nuzzles my cheek.
“Mommy will always protect you, okay.”
I sniffle, snuggling into her fur. “I love you Mommy.”
___________________________________________________________
“I love you Mommy,” I murmur, snuggling against the warm body
“Hmm? You say something, Dinky?” a voice that isn’t Mommy’s says.
I suddenly panic, getting up and frantically moving away, tripping on my own hooves and flopping to the ground.
As my eyesight clears from having just woken up, I see a yellowy blur standing up. Something about it is familiar though.
“Tom? Tom, what’s up?”
Tom? Who’s...?
My eyes widen as everything snaps back. I look around, seeing we’re in the bunch of trees we’d fallen asleep in last night.
It all comes back. Finding out I was turning into Dinky, Carrot getting her mark, riding away on her bike to escape those military guys, coming out onto the reserve so we could be safe on our way to find somewhere we can stay safe and live normally.
And, the biggest thing of all... Mommy’s not here with us.
I slump, tears welling in my eyes before trailing down my cheeks. “Mommy!” I sob, putting my hooves over my eyes. “I want my mommy!”
I hear movement and feel Carrot come over and settle down next to me, wrapping me in a neck hug.
“I... I’m sorry this happened to us, T... Dinky. Maybe... maybe we’ll find her on the way to... wherever it is we’re going.”
I sniffle, rubbing against her fur. It’s the only comfort I can have right now. Carrot isn’t Mommy, but... she still feels important and not just because we were friends as humans.
A loud howls makes us jump and whirl around.
Walking towards us are seven dingos and the looks in their eyes say they’ve found breakfast.
Squeaking in fear, I press myself against the ground.
Carrot quickly gets up and stands over me in a protective manner, her head bent down. She digs her hoof in the ground, like a bull getting ready to charge.
One of the dingoes rushes forward.
It almost happens too fast for me to see. Carrot whirls around, leans forward on her front legs, then thrusts her hind legs out.
They impact against the incoming dingo, making a horrible cracking sound, bucking it, sending it flying backward.
The dingo skids along the ground a few metres. All the others turns to look at their fallen pack member, who struggles to get up, it’s breathing sounding labored.
They all look back at Carrot, who has turned around, her eyes wide, before they narrow and she digs at the ground again, glaring at the dingoes.
“Who wants it next?” she growls, looking from one Australian wild dog to the next. “I’m and Earth Pony and protecting a foal under my care! And, judging by that dingo’s movements, I just busted a rib or two, if he’s lucky. You really wanna try me?!” She snorts.
The dingoes glance at each other for several moments, clearly under what to do. They make up their minds, however, when Carrot takes a firm step forward, and they bolt, their injured pack member doing its best to keep up with them despite its injuries.
After several moments, and the howls had faded away, Carrot’s body slumps and she sits on her flank, breathing heavily.
“I... what... what just... happened?” she says, shaking her head.
I sniffle, before feeling her come over and press her body against mine.
“Hey, hey. It’s okay. We’ll be alright.”
“I want Mommy,” I whimper, nuzzling against her.
She sighs and pulls me in a bit tighter. "I know, sweetie. I know."
___________________________________________________________
After the indecent with the dingoes, we wait at bit to recover, before Carrot takes some food for breakfast out of the bags and we eat, though I don’t do so very enthusiastically.
That dream, followed by the dingoes... makes me want my mommy so bad. Where is she? Where did Discord send her? Is she okay? Has she already changed? Did someone capture her, like we almost were back at uni?
This is all I can think about as I eat, which doesn’t help my appetite any.
After breakfast is done, we pack up what we can (Carrot finds it particularly hard to get the tarp down) and head out across the reserve, myself staying as close to the bigger pony as I can.
We walk for several hours, passing some native animals. They glance our way, but don’t pay us much mind, so we just keep moving. By midday, we stop and rest by a riverbed.
As I move to take a drink, I hear a sound that chills me to my core and causes my legs to freeze up. A gunshot.
It’s followed by a scream, one that sounds very human, but familiar at the same time. And it’s a scream of pain.
Without warning, Carrot grabs me in her teeth by the scruff of my neck, tosses me over her shoulder to land on her back, then charges in that direction, barely giving me any time to wrap my forelegs around her neck to stay on.
We turn a bend and see several men tossing what look like crate into a large carrier truck. Think G1 Optimus Prime.
Carrot skids to a halt as she sees what I see. The five men are all carrying guns, those one is scolding the other.
Carrot turns to move, but drops down with a cry, causing me to tumbled off her back.
Glancing behind her, I see another human coming out from behind a tree, a gun held up and aimed at us.
“Dinky...” Carrot says in a dreary voice, her eyelids drooping, her head slowly bobbing up and down as she tries to stay awake. “Run.”
I can see a tranquilizer dart sticking out of her flank!
Suddenly I feel a sting in my chest and glance down to see one sticking out of my chest.
At once I start feeling dizzy. I look to the human with the gun as he lowers it, grinning as he and everything else turns blurry.
I try to call out, but as I do, everything fades away and I’m consumed by darkness.
___________________________________________________________
I groan as consciousness returns to me.
Slowly, I open my eyes, blinking several times.
I’m in a dark area. I can see some light filtering in, but I can’t really tell where I am.
“Oh,” Carrot’s voice groans.
Pushing myself up, looking around, and see my vision is blocked by wired bars. At once I panic and take a closer look.
I’m in a wire cage, like the kinds they put animals in.
Glancing around, I can see four more cages like the one I’m in, two are smaller than mine and the other two a bit bigger than mine. I can barely stand in here without scrapping my horn against the roof.
“Carrot?!” I call out, now actually able to hear how my voice has changed, but shake it off as I try to know if my roommate is here with me. I half hope she isn’t. Then maybe he’s gotten away.
“Y-yeah, Dinky?” her voice replies before she groans again. “Ah. Remind me to tell your mom she was right about that cherry cider.”
“Carrot, snap out of it!” I cry, my voice squeaking with fear. “We’re in cages!”
“Hu—wha?” she says, her eyes becoming visible in the dark, which then widen in horror. “Wh-what happened? Ack! My-my hooves! They're strapped down! Why are they strapped down?”
“That’s the least of your worries,” a gloomy voice says from the other cage.
We both turn to see a pair of redish-purple eyes are looking sadly at us from the cage.
“Wh-why?” I stutter, my legs shaking beneath me.
The other pony gives a sad chuckle, before shifting into a position so that we can’t see her eyes anymore, making it look like she vanished. “We’re being taken away be the government. Why else would we wake up in cages?”
My heart sinks further and I let my legs give out from under me. Curling up on the floor of my cage, I feel so alone, even though Carrot is just a few feet away from me.
I want someone to hold me. I want someone to tell me it’ll be alright. I want... I want...
“I want my mommy,” I whimper, tears starting to fall down my muzzle and onto the floor of my cage.
Suddenly I hear a gurgling, sobbing sound. Looking up, my eyes fall on the smallest cages. I can barely make out more than a pair of small dot eyes, one pair is light blue and the other is brown.
It takes a moment, but I suddenly recognize the eyes and feel like I’m going to be sick. It’s Pound and Pumpkin, the Cakes’ twins. How sick are whoever has us that they’d put baby ponies in cages, and separate ones at that?
“So, why’d we stop here, huh?” a muffled male voice suddenly says from outside.
“Rumour is there’s a huge settlement of those freaks not too far from here,” another says, sounding smug. “The others are scouting ahead whilst we guard the truck. Since they were on this reserve, they must have a means of getting here. We’re getting paid enough just for these three. Imagine how much Spectrum will give us for a whole settlement?”
“Easy money and hello early retirement,” the first voice snickers.
“And the best thing, the higher ups won’t even known we went further than ordered. Far as they’ll be considered we found ’em shortly after picking up this lot.”
They’re sending us off somewhere, probably to do experiments on us. I don’t want that. I don’t. Why is this happening? Why?
“Wonder if we should cut off the horns of the two with them?” the second voice asks suddenly.
I feel myself go rigid, though my tears keep going. My horn? They... they want to cut off my horn?!
“You sick bastards won’t even get the chance!”
“Huh?”
“Who said—”
Suddenly there are bangs, gunshots and thumps coming from outside.
I try moving as far back in my cage as I can. What’s going on out there? Who’s firing guns? What’s happening?
It only lasts for a few minutes. Once all the loud noises stop, I hear a voice, the one from right before all the noise, speaking in an authorative tone.
“Hold them down, boys. We don’t want any getting any ideas about escape.”
Suddenly an area of the darkness opens wide like a pair of steel doors. The brightness where it was once dark causes me to slam my eyes shut.
As I keep my eyes closed, I hear the sound of steps on the metal floor on which our cages are sitting.
I don’t dare open my eyes. I don’t know what’s going on, but I just want to not be here anymore.
Suddenly, I hear a noise that puzzles me for a moment, before it registers in my brain. Magic. Unicorn magic from the show.
I open my eyes, only to wince as the light blinds me. Struggling to keep them open, I see the silhouette of somepony standing before my cage, their horn glowing with a blue aura as they open the door.
“Come on, out,” they say, their voice sounding soft and gentle. “We’re the good guys. We’re taking you someplace safe. Constable, assist with getting the mares out. Sugar Belle’s looking pretty bad. And it looks like we’ve got the Cake twins in here too. Officer Miles, make sure word is sent back to the settlement via Banana Muffin. She can tell the Cakes we found their kids again and that they're on their way back.”
“Yes, Sergeant,” a male voice says, before I hear the sound of fast moving hooves. The voice sounds really familiar to me for some reason.
“Got it, ma’am,” another voice says.
I put it out of my mind, letting the unicorn who opened my cage move me onto her back and carry me out of the now not so dark space and out into the sunlight.
I blink several times, squinting as I look around. Not too far off I see a large billboard with the image of a river, with the words, “Welcome to Albury” in large white letters in the bottom left-hand corner.
Blinking, I look back down at the pony I’m riding. From what I can see she has a light-pink coat and her mane is purple with blue streaks tied back in a long ponytail that keeps tickling my nose.
She walks for a bit until she’s closer to the sign, then picks me up in her magic and levitates me down so that I’m facing her.
“Who are you?” I blink, still trying to get my eyes to fully adjust.
She salutes. “Sergeant Riley Johns of the New South Wales Police.” She smirks. “Though, I do tend to go by Starlight these days.”
I blink a few times and the mare comes into focus and I leap back in shock. It’s Starlight Glimmer! The unicorn who took away the Mane Six’s Cutie Marks!
Her eyes sadden a little and she gives a small smile. “Guessing you watched the show, huh?” she sighs and sits down. “Listen, I don’t remember everything, but I remember enough. Starlight... well, I wasn’t trying to be cruel. I just...” she grunts, rubbing the back of her neck. “To tell the truth, I don’t really know why, but I know I did that thing with the Cutie Marks because I really did believe everything about equality and Cutie Marks being bad. I know it doesn’t make up for what I did, but...”
“D-Dinky?” we both turn to see the other pony that had come into what I know see is a truck with a metal carrier. All around it are more cages like the one I was held in.
The pony in question has a grey coat, a purple mane and tail combed back, light-green eyes and a scroll Cutie Mark.
I blink myself, before I’m hit with a memory.
“Dad, come on! Mom and Sparkler are waiting for us!” I call out to the stallion at the bottom of the hill.
He laughs, though sounds a bit winded. “Where do you fillies get all that energy?” he says, catching up.
I laugh and hug him. “Secret! Now, come on! Mom made her blueberry muffins! You know I love those!”
With that I let go and hurry off, hearing a tired laugh from behind me.
I shake my head as the memory stops and look to the stallion with wide eyes. “D-D-D-Daddy?”
He nods slowly and I rush forward, grabbing onto him and hugging tightly, not ever wanting to let go. This feeling, I... I can’t explain it, but I’m so happy to see him. So happy to be held by him again. I just somehow know he’ll make every bad thing that’s happened go away.
“S-Script?”
We both turn to see Carrot Top. She’s got her right forehoof raised a little, as if it hurts to put pressure on it, but the look in her eyes is of a mixture of confusion, shock, joy and sadness.
“C-Carrot?” he stares at her, blinking.
“Aright, Millard,” Starlight Glimmer says, causing me to remember that she’s here. Glancing over, I see she's holding Sugar Belle up, the other unicorn giving her a sad, thankful look. “You can reacquaint yourself with your pony family once we’re back at Banana’s farm, got it?”
Dad blink for a few moments, before sighing and nods. “Yes, Sergeant Glimmer.”
___________________________________________________________
“After that we’ve all stayed together, here at the farm,” Carrot says, finishing the story she and Dinky had been taking turns in telling.
I look down to the filly snuggled under my wing, before looking back to Starlight with a frown not actually aimed at her. “They put Pound and Pumpkin in separate cages? Babies?”
She nods, her face grim. “The people higher up weren’t too pleased when I told them about how infants were being handled. Sugar Belle and other mare whom knew the Cakes back when they were human was taking the foals to the reserve to see the animals a few days ago. When they didn't come back, we sent out a search party. She didn't make it, I'm afraid.”
I look around at the assembled ponies and humans, before noticing the stallion who’d led us in is heading our way, followed by an Earth Pony the same yellow as Fluttershy, but with a Cutie Mark of a muffin.
They come over and she stops, smiling at me. “Derpy Hooves?”
I nod, tightening my wing against Dinky ever so slightly.
She nods. “I’m Banana Muffin. I own this farm and the land around it.”
I nod, before glancing at Dinky, then bow. “Thank you for taking care of my daughter.”
She shakes her head. “All ponies seeking safety are welcome. Which makes me ask, are you all planning on staying?”
I glance around at the other, who each nod.
I look to Kelly, Jenny and the kids, then back to Banana Muffin. “What about our human companions? One of them’s my girlfriend and the other woman’s her sister in the law. The children are my girlfriend’s niece and nephew.”
Banana looks to them, then back to me. “They can stay, but don’t expect everypony to be too kindly at first. Not all of us have had good experiences with humans since the change.”
I nod again, before looking to Starlight. “So, nopony has any problems with Starlight Glimmer being here?”
Banana just laughs. “You kidding? Sure, at first everypony was hesitant, ’specially when they learned she was in a place of authority, and since several of the ponies here are from that town she took the marks from but, in fact, it’s Starlight who’s been the best help.”
I look to the unicorn, who’s blushing slightly.
“Not to mention, she’s b’n teaching all our unicorns as much about magic as she can,” the stallion says.
I frown, turning to Starlight. “How can you teach something you shouldn’t even be able to remember how to use?”
She just smirks. “Let’s just say I pulled a fast one on Discord after what he did to Twilight Sparkle.”
*** Starlight Glimmer***
I dodge around a corner, trying to get away.
Damnit! He finished up faster than I’d expected. I’ve been studying Starswirl the Bearded's Time Travel Spell, trying to make it work better. At first I was planning on using it to get revenge on Twilight Sparkle for taking away my village, but after Discord turned on Equestria, my reasons became to go back in time and warn the princesses about his betrayal. However, I also was trying to learn what I can of this spell he uses to send ponies away.
Whilst I haven’t been able to uncover much, I do now know he doesn’t destroy them. He’s sending them away somewhere. Where exactly, I have absolutely no idea. But, I do know one other thing. When the ponies arrive wherever he’s sending them, they won’t be able to remember their lives as ponies properly.
I don’t know why he’s only sending us away and wiping our memories instead of wiping as out completely, but I’m not going to try understanding the way Discord thinks.
From what I’ve learned, I have managed to come up with a spell. It's only partially done though, so I’m not really sure how it will affect the spell he’s using if he casts it on me, but I need to be sure I won’t lose my memories. Somepony will need to remember what Discord’s done, that we need to stop him.
I may not be the best candidate for a leader, what with my track record, which I've learned speaking with the few survivors I've met on my travels to figure out the Time Spell, but I’m sure as Celestia not going to give up without a fight. If I can find Princess Twilight wherever he sent her, maybe I can figure out how to get her memories back too and then we can—
“Hello, Starlight Glimmer. Ready to join the others?”
I whirl around, my horn flaring, casting the spell just as a white mist surrounds me, causing me to scream in agony.
"Five score divided by four,
Your memories removed, your body confused!
For your insolence you must pay,
Cast off to a land far, far away!
I've scattered the six, and that's just the start of my tricks,
Your mind shall be weak, your outlook bleak!
Forgetting everything and living like a fool,
You have all lost, now no one can stop my rule!”
I feel myself fading. I'm going wherever he's sending everypony else. But I can't just go, not now that the Time Spell is finished. I can't let Discord get his hands on it.
With what little strength I have left, i cast a Magic Fire on the scroll, destryoying it completely, even Discord's magic won't be able to bring it back.
Sorry, Starswirl. In order to keep it out of enemy hands, the world must be deprived of one of your greatest works.
___________________________________________________________
“My spell for memories didn’t work nearly as well as I’d have hoped,” Starlight grumbles, kicking at the ground. “I’m nowhere near the princess’s level to make a perfect spell. I can’t really remember too much, in fact, I barely remember more than anypony else,” she snorts, before grinning. “But, once I started changing and figured out who I am, there’s one thing I did remember. Spells. Lots of them.”
“From what we can gather, Starlight’s spell interrupted Discord’s, not enough to let her keep her memories, but enough that she has a good portion the spells she used back in Equestria,” Carrot says, nodding as she leans against Script.
I frown, turning to Starlight. “Even the Unmarking Spell?”
She shudders, shaking her head. “Thank Celestia, no!” she says, looking to me. “I don’t remember all the spells I used back in Equestria and, thankfully, that’s one that didn’t make it with me.”
I nod, before a thought occurs to me. "Can you restore other ponies' memories of before. Sweetie Belle could do that because her curse was interrupted. Can you?"
Starlight's eyes widen, before her body and expression sag. "No. Sorry. I can't do anything like that. Believe me, if i could, I would have long ago."
I sigh. Well, it was worth a shot, anyway.
“And Miss Hooves?” Banana asks and I look to her. “Whilst we don’t have many, a lot of our pegasi haven’t really figured out how to fly. Would you and Miss Rays be willing to help teach them? We need all the help we can get with the humans that keep trying to get us off our land.”
I look to Honey, who nods, before I do the same. I look to Banana and smile. “We’ll help out however we can. Though, Starlight?”
“Hmm?” the unicorn looks to me.
“Of the spells you do remember, one wouldn’t happen to be a spell that lets you know if somepony’s pregnant, would it?”
She cocks an eyebrow. “Yeah...” she says slowly. “Why?”
Honey and I look at each other, before looking pointedly at Party, who wilts a little. “Well, Honey and I were in heat before Dash’s Rainboom. Would you check to see if there’s a muffin in my oven and honey in her pot.”
Carrot and the kids fall over with laughter as everyone else blushes and Script gives narrowed eyes to Party.
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Dinky's story was way to short.
omg that last part just prefect.
Would you check to see if there’s a muffin in my oven and honey in her pot.”
yep this is going to get super interesting as this story grows.
7531579
Should probably mention how they were friends, and how it stopped, at some point in the story...
Oh yeah, Lightning does visit, doesn't she?
Isn't it great when bounty hunters end up helping!
Keep going! ;)
Oh, is that anger I smell, or a healthy dose of jealousy?