Chapter XII: A Song For The Heart
6:00 AM ***VIDEO***
Everypony strolled through Ponyville, becoming increasingly disturbed with what they saw. The grand majority of the city was in ruins, and many structures either condemned or on fire. Applejack kept an angry atmosphere around her, the others trying to avoid conversation until Applebloom spoke up.
“Sis, ya gotta forgive Nick! He was only lookin’ out for you!”
“That human killed our uncle Orange!”
“He didn’t know who it was, Applejack! Besides, if your uncle really loved you, would he have threatened to kill you!?” Pinkie fired back in the defense of the golden filly.
“Yall shut up! That’s not the only reason Ah’m mad at him!”
“Why else?” Twilight asked, cocking her head to the side in curiosity.
“None yall business!”
“Well, darling, it’s certainly our business, because it’s affecting you!”
“No. It. Ain’t. It ain’t none yall business!”
“Do you love him, Applejack?”
An awkward silence. Everypony froze, and turned to the voice, which came from an upset, anger-stricken, purple-maned pegasus.
“What? Of course not! Ah hate him!”
“You’re lying.”
“How do YOU know what ah feel!?”
“Don’t play stupid with me, Applejack; I was awake the whole time you were talking. I heard everything.”
“A little filly like you should be sleeping at one in the morning. Plus, you shouldn't get involved in adult matters!” Twilight violently butted in.
“Why? Because I’m ‘too young’? I’ve seen friends and family die, and I was RAPED by YOUR brother, Applejack. Whatever ‘innocence’ I have is gone! I’ve seen things no child should EVER see. As such, I’m damn sure I can handle an adult conversation or two, and truth be told, I’m being the adult here, Applejack; you’ve been rash and having a temper tantrum over this whole situation! Who’s the adult now!?”
“Err’ one of ya shut up!”
“You’re only proving my point, Applejack! You need to calm down!”
“Ummm, everypony? Why hasn’t the moon gone down yet?” A somewhat reserved Derpy hesitantly asked, nervous pangs beginning to attack the bubbly mare.
“Alright, ya win! Yes ah love him! He helps take care ‘a th’ farm, does just as much work as Big Mac, takes care ‘a you an’ Appleboom just like yall were his own kids, an’ he never ever asks for nothin’ in return! It’s just that... he killed uncle Orange!”
“He was looking out for YOU. He had no idea that it was him.” Scootaloo retorted, slamming a forehoof into the dirt below her.
“Ah know that, alright?” Applejack aggressively shot back, turning away from the group. “It’s just that... mah family’s lost so much to this whole mess, an’ th’ farm is almost bankrupt ‘cause nopony is spending money on food; they’d rather have those confounded drugs! That on top o’ th’ fact that he told me we can’t git closer is what’s hurtin’ me! Do ya realize how difficult it is ta wake up every day and work ya flank off with hard, manual labor, an’ then go ta bed every night without a special somepony next to ya? It crushes th’ soul!”
“Everypony?” Derpy spoke again, but was immediately ignored.
“Well, what exactly did he say, dear? Doesn’t he know that Equestria is open to the idea of interspecies relationships?” Rarity chimed in. “Look at how long widdle Spikey-wikey here has been trying to call me his special somepony...” She continued, rubbing her muzzle against the young, purple dragon, who immediately blushed.
“He done told me that we couldn’t get closer cause...”
“Why, darling?”
“‘Cause ah’m a horse’, he said! He thinks it’s wrong ta be interested in somethin’ like us!”
“Sis, why do ya love him, exactly?”
“Cause like ah said, he takes care of both yall an’ Granny Smith, just like Mac does. He never asks for nothin’ in return for th’ work he does on th’ farm other than a meal an’ a place ta sleep. He treats us all like family; he’s everything ah’ve wanted in a stallion.”
“So why are ya so angry?”
All the talking down had calmed Applejack considerably. She took a breath, and closed her eyes for a few moments.
“Cuz his killing uncle Orange set me off. If there’s one thing ah can’t stand about Nick, it’s that his solution ta problems are almost always violent. An’ the worst part, he won’t ever love me back th’ way ah’m hopin he does.”
“He saved your life... I’m pretty sure he loves you.” Twilight added, putting away a piece of parchment that she was just recently scribbling away on with a quill. “Can somepony tell me what’s wrong? Celestia hasn’t been replying to ANY of my letters!”
“EVERYPONY!”
The arguments abruptly stopped, and all eyes turned to the wall-eyed pegasus.
“Why hasn’t the moon gone down yet?”
Everyone looked above them and noticed the moon, now a brown, cratered mass in the broad morning sun, looming not to the side, but quite literally above their heads. Twilight gulped. Applebloom felt a warm release, and squealed as a puddle of liquid formed on the grass.
“Something isn’t right.”
“Look, let’s just go find the others, then look for Nick, okay?” Scoots asked, looking away from the giant rock sitting above their heads.
7:00 AM
“Discord, I had no idea you had it in you to bring true chaos to the world! Feeding off of Jadusable’s emotions for Sweetie Belle has driven him into insanity! Thanks to you, he’s defiled the graveyard, and now I have the ability to throw this world into an even deeper hell!”
The mask salesman laughed at the words, leaving a confused Discord staring at the statue in puzzlement.
“Master, if I may... what exactly will you be able to do with this?”
“Fool! Why, raise the dead! Jadusable has blindly desecrated the graveyard, leaving large amounts of negative energy behind! I can use that to bring an outbreak to Equestria!”
Discord took a step back, his eyes widening. His master didn’t want to take over Equestria...
...he wanted to kill EVERYTHING.
“In just a matter of hours, the outbreak will overtake the nation. I’m on my way to set it in motion. Do not fail me while I am away.”
And the statue faded away with another laugh, leaving Discord standing there in disbelief.
“What have I gotten myself into?”
8:00 AM
Fluttershy! We need you! Come out, please!” Twilight said, in a somewhat hushed voice, knocking on her friend’s door. The house opened slowly, but no lights were on. They all stepped inside, a bit cautious of their surroundings.
“Fluttershy?” Spike asked, looking around in the dark house.
“Oh... um, hello, everypony. I’m sorry for not turning on the lights.” Fluttershy’s voice suddenly chimed in, flicking the switch. “I’ve been so scared of all the guards out every day, I haven’t come out in months. I’ve heard all kinds of nasty things are happening out there. It’s been driving me crazy!”
“Darling, that’s quite alright. We’ve been dealing with a lot too. We’re actually trying to see if you could help us.”
“With what, Rarity?” Fluttershy asked, uncertainty in her voice. “What could I possibly do?”
Twilight facehooved herself, then looked to their long lost friend as the others gathered around the purple mare.
“We’ve had all kinds of problems lately. There’s this little statue-looking creature that’s shown up all over town.”
“I... I know the one. I’ve heard it’s doing all sorts of evil things; the animals talk to me.”
“Oh yeah, speaking of, where are your animals, Fluttershy? Where’s Angel at?” Pinkie asked, but didn’t give her friend the pleasure of a response before cartoonishly tearing the house apart in search of the creatures. All the others had the same question in their mind, as the home seemed barren, not another soul living within other than the yellow pegasus.
“Um... well... you see, I...”
“No matter where they are, sugarcube, it doesn't change th’ fact that town has broken apart! There’s riots an’ drug addicts plaugin’ the streets, martial law is in effect, an err’pony here, cept the girls, has been forced ta do somethin’ awful by that statue! Plus, somethin ain’t right with th’ moon!”
“And we lost a friend. Scootaloo threw in, another angry scowl from Applejack following her statement.
“Who... who is this friend of yours?”
“A human that goes by tha name o’ Nick.” Applejack answered quickly. Fluttershy jumped back and hid her face in her mane, letting out a terrified squeak at the mere mention of such a beast.
“A... a human? Here? That’s not possible! They’re only foal’s tales!”
“That’s what we all thought, Fluttershy.” Spike said, wrapping his claw around Rarity’s back. They snuggled together for a brief moment before turning their gaze to the yellow pegasus. “Will you help us?”
Fluttershy looked away from her friends, sitting down on the couch. If anypony had to guess, their being here seemed to be bothering her. Why, though?
“Um... no, I-I can’t.”
“Oh come on, Fluttershy! We need all th’ help we can get!” Applebloom squeaked, a sullen look overtaking her.
“Sorry, girls, but I can’t afford to help you now... I gotta... take care of the animals...”
“Well, can we at least borrow some equipment?” Twilight asked, beginning to walk out the door and around to the side of the house. “What about the supply shed?”
“No! Stay out of there!”
Fluttershy stood up and started to chase after Twi, but it was too late; she had already opened the door of the outer shed. What Twilight saw, however instantly made her freeze in fear. All neatly organized along the walls, in rows, hung the skeletons of various creatures, framed by their own skin, which itself, was turned inside out and stretched to the breaking point, pinned at the corners. The area was splattered in blood, and in the very edges of the room were piles of small organs of varying kinds and sizes.
“So... you’ve seen my work. You shouldn’t have done that...”
Twilight froze, not bothering to turn around at Fluttershy’s words. The yellow pegasus slithered up behind her unicorn friend, her eyes now a visible red, when, just moments ago, they were a vibrant, peaceful shade of turquoise. All the others, who weren’t in the shed backed away, but Fluttershy turned to them, giving her trademark stare, which ran chills through each of them.
“Get. In. Here.”
Everypony hesitantly walked into the maccabe shed, their actions almost controlled if you will, as the yellow mare stared them all down. Well, all except for Scootaloo. The door slammed shut and locked behind them all, but Scootaloo, on the other hoof, was looking around the house, rather than following the rest; Fluttershy’s home having little to no animals in it meant something was terribly wrong. And of course, like everypony else, what better place to hide a dark secret than in your basement? Scootaloo stepped down into the darkened room, flicking the light switch. Within, the floors were littered with cages of all kinds, each filled with varying creatures that were all screaming and hollering at the pegasus, their voices one, almost as if to say, ‘Let us out! Let us out before she kills us!’ Scootaloo was quite disturbed at the scene; the cages were packed full, leaving barely any legroom for the poor creatures stuffed away inside. All of them also looked extremely malnourished, and some still, had been long since dead, rotting away in pestilence. If there was anypony that could help with this, it had to be Nick. Scoots had to go find him.
...No, there was no time for that. These creatures needed help NOW. Scootaloo ran outside and collected a large stone from one of the many gardens surrounding the cottage and quickly headed back inside. She took the stone, bashing the locks apart with what force her small body would allow, but fortunately, it was enough for most of them. Animals of all types - insects, birds, rodents, and other small mammals came pouring out of their prisons. Rejoicing with squeaks and chirps and cries, gathering around the orange filly for a moment, before darting up the stairwell. A little squirrel stopped as his friends barrelled up the stairs, turning to face Scootaloo, moving its arm in a beckoning motion before joining his comrades, as if it wanted the young pony to follow them. Scootaloo wasted no time, and rapidly followed behind them.
“I shall strive to change the things I can control and seek strength for the things I cannot.”
Scootaloo came back outside, stopping just short of the supply shed. Many creatures were surrounding it, a few looking into the window nearby. Scoots carefully snuck up and peered into the room with her new allies. What she saw though, was NOT something she’d ever expect Fluttershy to do, let alone be CAPABLE of doing. Everypony aside from her were tied down into blood-stained wooden chairs, each of the team panicking in their very own way. Fluttershy loomed over Derpy with a meat cleaver, and the silly eyed pony began to whimper and shake in fear.
“I love animals, you know?” Fluttershy began, tossing the blade up in the air and catching it a few times as she spoke. “I love them, because they’re so darn cute and cuddly.”
Fluttershy drew even closer to the grey mare, subsiding her game of catch with the blade.
“But sometimes...”
The skull kid laughed, and the song of unhealing began to play in the air, as Fluttershy swung her weapon towards the pegasus, who screamed.
“They can be SO annoying!”
The meat cleaver had missed Derpy’s face by inches, flying straight through the skull of one of the many skin-framed decorations covering the walls.
“All they want is attention and care. I wouldn’t complain if they gave back to society, but do they? NO! They just take and take and take!”
Fluttershy’s eye twitched as the mask salesman giggled, the demented tune still playing in the in the atmosphere.
“Then... you have the ones that just take and never love you back for all you give.”
At those words, Fluttershy pulled out a white object from her saddlebags. Everypony screamed.
“You know, Applebloom, I bet you would look real pretty with an amulet on. Wanna see how it looks on you?”
Before the young girl had a chance to say anything, Fluttershy tied the pendant around the little filly’s neck, but what was the pendant? The head of a small, white rabbit, both its eyes and teeth missing. Bloody muscle tendons hung down from where the clear conjoinment of the neck used to be. Rarity vomited all over herself.
“When you have little buckers like him who are just mean, no matter what you try, it tears you apart, and each day, makes you angrier! Animals never do anything for us! I knew my talent was taking care of them, but what about when they don’t bother to help you when the time comes? They’re nothing but selfish!”
“Fluttershy, that isn’t true! They helped you train for the water lifting job, didn’t they?” Twilight asked, concern spreading over her face. Following the unicorn’s worrisome voice, Fluttershy’s eyes suddenly went back to their normal color, and she let out a squeal.
“Make it stop!”
Then her eyes went back to their crimson red as a sharp headache hit her. She pulled the meat cleaver out of the wall decoration, and approached Pinkie Pie.
“If everypony had just left me alone, I could have done this without any harm. But you know what they say...”
Fluttershy sliced at Pinkie Pie, chopping off a bit of her mane. The party pony screamed in fear.
“No witnesses.”
Scootaloo was jumping up and down, panicking as she looked through the window, then to the animals for some form of support, then back to the window.
“What do I do? What do I do?”
Scootaloo thought on it as the time dwindled away. She quickly picked up a rock and threw it through the window. Afterwards, her and a handful of animals jumped through the broken pane, catching Fluttershy off guard; as she was about to send her meat cleaver hurling towards Pinkie Pie’s neck, she missed at the abrupt sound of the breaking glass.
“FLUTTERSHY! STOP!”
“Oh hello, Scootaloo. Have you and your little animal buddies come to play?” the wicked pegasus asked, looking at nopony in particular, and then turning to face the orange filly.
9:00 AM
“Stop what you’re doing! This isn’t you!”
No response from Fluttershy. Instead, she just used her stare, which immediately struck fear into Scoots and the animals with her. She felt paralyzed, almost unable to move.
“Come on, I have to do this! Juggalos protect their family!”
As Fluttershy drew closer, blade in hoof, Scoot’s life violently flashed before her eyes, including one particular moment she never remembered seeing. Trapped in her mind, Scootaloo was staring at a rather disturbing image. She was assaulting Nick, her only father figure. She was mercilessly punching him, tearing away at his face as blood flew every which way, and while the action itself was unfamiliar to her, the location certainly was: Derpy’s house, just a day ago.
“Did I do this?” She thought, her brain still fixated on the image unfolding before her. The memory continued to play in her mind’s eye, Fluttershy coming ever closer to her back in reality. In this state, Scoots began to cry. How could she have done this to Nick, the human that had saved her and treated her like a daughter? She kept staring at the memory unfolding before her, and saw Nick... begin to sing. She never knew why, but for some reason, she opened her mouth to speak, Nick’s soothing song accompanying her. It was the song that Nick would sing to her and Applebloom every night before bed. She began to recite the tune as the psychotic yellow pony drew ever closer, and a very soothing melody filled the shed, Nick’s own voice seemingly accompanying her, her vision still seeing the memory. Though his voice was always gruff in normal conversation, his singing voice was a relaxing, almost angelic speech pattern that accompanied the calming melody that floated in the room. Both voices and the song echoed throughout the shed, each note letting the vicious image of the place wash away from the minds of its occupants as they fell into a trance.
“Day to night, dark to light”
“Fall the sands of time.”
“Let the years, like the gears”
“Of a clock unwind.”
“In your mind, walk through time,”
“Back to better days.”
“Memories, like a dream,”
“Wash tears away.”
“Like a star in the sky,”
“Darkness can’t reach you.”
“Light the night, joy is light,”
“Till the new dawn.”
“Cast away your old face,”
“Let go your spite.”
“With this mask I’ll ask”
“To borrow your light.”
A wave of soothing energy filled the room of vile decor, a warm, sweet aroma passing through the nostrils of all the living organisms in the area. Fluttershy dropped the cleaver, and, having a quick headache, passed out on the floor, a wicked, black mist seeping from her mouth. The fog flew out of the window, leaving behind it the rambunctious scream of the skull kid. Though they would have one terrifying mess to clean up, everypony slept like a baby where they were, the mellow aroma drifting out of the broken window and out into the land. Whatever properties this song had...
...Scootaloo knew it was a weapon they needed to use.
10:00 AM
Scootaloo awoke, noting she was still in small wooden structure ravaged with gore. While the scenery was indeed offsetting as well as horrifying, She felt well rested and content. She didn’t remember much, but she did know for certain that Fluttershy was attempting to kill everypony in the room just moments ago. The little orange mare sat up, noticing all the others sleeping soundly. They had been out for who knows how long, but Scootaloo took it upon herself to untie everypony from their restraints. She would love to stay and help clean up, but she had a job of her own to do - go find Nick. And so she did. The unaccompanied filly took the blade from Fluttershy, placing it in her saddlebags and went walkabout.
“Now if I were an upset human, where would I be?”
The question bobbled around in Scootaloo’s head for some time as she wandered around town, before passing by the church and cemetery. Nick might be here, seeing Sweetie Belle. On the other hoof, he might be getting breakfast somewhere, or at a bar, drowning his sorrows in alcohol; it was common for humans to do the latter, according to the foal’s tales. Oh well, it was at least worth a shot. Upon arrival though, there was no sign of anypony living. Well, she might as well stop to see Sweetie Belle herself; it’s been a good couple of months since their last visit, which was the initial burial. Yet, Scootaloo begin to panic after approaching the grave. Not only was there a shovel by it, but it was open. Scoots rushed over to the pit, only to see that the plastic bag of meat was gone. Dear Celestia, somepony had disturbed Sweetie’s grave! Scoots felt queasy at the realization of her friend’s missing remains, yet she knew there was nothing she could do at this point. Might as well go and find Nick, her only true comfort nowadays, and truth be told, it didn’t take long to find him. When she had found him, he was in a very bad way, sitting between a pile of garbage cans in a back alley. His hair was frazzled and torn. His remaining eye had deep bags underneath, and his skin, covered with wrinkles - definitely not healthy for somepony as young as him. His body was nearly colorless, a grey, clammy pigment overtaking his flesh and clothes. He was talking to himself, incoherently mumbling. Every once in a while, his voice became clear, organized speech, though it looked like he was talking to nopony in particular, and he appeared to be sitting in a pile of his own wastes, having not even bothered to move from this spot, apparently; he smelled awful.
“S-sweetie... I-I have a problem. I-I want to know if you can help me. You see, I-I love Applejack, but, but I can’t date a horse. It’s looked down upon where I’m from. It’s not right.”
His little self-talk was unnerving to Scootaloo, who approached him. The human completely ignored the new addition, and kept talking, this time to an object that Scoots recognized.
The bag of meat.
It didn’t take a genius to realize that Nick had dug up Sweetie Belle. What’s worse, he had completely lost all grips on reality, talking to this plastic container of mold and grubs like it were still a living thing, holding it to his ear every time he finished a sentence, as if awaiting a response. Quite frankly, it made Scootaloo sick, scared, and somewhat angry. The man that, through all the drama and death and destruction, always managing to keep his composure in even the grimmest of situations, had finally let everything get to him; all the death, all the possession... everything. And to top it all off, he was hiding his emotions from Sweetie’s death so well, that not even Scoots recognized it, even after all the time they had spent on the farm.
But now, here it was, in plain sight - Nick had gone mad from loss.
“Nick?”
Nick turned to face the new creature before him, just barely recognizing Scoots. He giggled a bit, his laughs short and weak of breath.
“Hey Scootaloo... I’m-I’m just talkin’ to Sweetie Belle. We’re having a fun time. You know, I thought she was gone, but she told me she wanted to come back, and so, I helped her out!” He finished, stroking the bag of meat gently, his crazed giggles leaving a slight echo off the alley walls. Scootaloo gagged, but cautiously nuzzled up to the half-crazed human, trying to bring him back with what words she could use.
“Nick... Sweetie Belle died months ago.”
“NO!” Nick screamed, throwing one of the steel trash cans to the side, Scoots watching it barrel to the pavement and spill its contents everywhere. “She’s still alive! We’re talking right now, don’t you see!?”
Nick held up the moldy and foul-smelling bag, placing it close to his heart.
“She’s here with me. We’ve been talking about a lot of things, like how I love Applejack, but can’t get involved with her, because it’s not right.”
Not only had all the destruction and the loss of Sweetie Belle gotten to him, now he was emotionally torn after the situation with Applejack. Scootaloo had to think of something, and fast. She couldn’t stand to see the one she loved most (aside from Rainbow Dash) fall apart like this; it tore at her heart to see a once well-composed man finally succumb to insanity. Then she remembered something - Nick always held onto faith. What if she took a wild leap? It had worked on Fluttershy’s crazed rampage. Would it work on a psychotically depressed human? No other way to find out other than trying. Scoots took a breath, and began to sing the soothing melody again, and as the gentle lyrics left the young pony’s lips, Nick suddenly became drowsy. He felt lightheaded, but his breathing slowed, claiming itself. His crazed giggling subsided, and he took slow, deep breaths. A sweetly scented aroma ran through his nose, and he took the sugary scent in, letting it waft around him.
“It... it’s... so... relaxing...”
And then, Nick slowly dozed off to sleep, passing out on the cold, cobblestone pavement. Scootaloo became tired as well, yawning as she slowly walked up to Nick and lied down next to him. As she closed her eyes, the sweet smells invading her nostrils, she smiled a bit.
“I love you, dad.”
And an arm gently wrapped itself around her, sending her into a peaceful nap.
“I can’t imagine what I would do... if anything bad happened to you, Scoots.”
11:00 AM
I woke up in some decrepit back alley downtown. Scootaloo was happily sleeping next to me, resting under my arm. I nudged her, and she groggily woke up, but instantly embraced me as tightly as she could upon seeing my face.
“Nick!”
My head hurt. Where the hell was I, and what had happened since I went to go see Sweetie Belle after the fight with Applejack?
“What... what have I been doing this whole time?”
Scoots was crying into my chest, wailing like a scared little child. Whatever had happened between the incident with Applejack and now must have really upset her.
“You haven’t been doing anything. You were just having a really bad nightmare!”
A really bad nightmare was right. I looked at myself, only to notice I was in awful shape, wallowing in my own mess. To the side of me lay a plastic bag of rotten smelling flesh, completely covered in mold and maggots. It didn’t take much to figure out that I had defiled Sweetie Belle’s grave, and judging by Scootaloo’s emotions pouring out of her, she knew it too. What have I done? I felt like a monster.
“It’s not your fault, Nick! You were hurting, you wanted Sweetie back. I understand.”
“I...”
I didn’t know WHAT to say. All I did was hold Scoots close to me, letting her cry. It didn’t take too long for the others to find us, all of which had deathly ill looks on their faces as if they’d seen something flat out awful. Fluttershy was with them, and she looked downright sick. Her eyes were puffy red and her mane tangled and broken in places. She was shaking and sweating, and hyperventilating at that. Judging from experience and my time here, BEN had obviously made her do something, and I didn’t want to know what. All I did was stand up and hug her. Fluttershy, I knew, would need serious counseling after all this was over. I probably would too, if I was to be completely honest, but for now, I had to set things right with the world and return Sweetie Belle to her resting place. I took the bag, and walked downtown with everyone else, on the way back to the graveyard. I stayed ahead, Scootaloo talking to everyone else, who were all tagging behind. Obviously, she was telling them what I did, though, as I turned my head back to look at the rest, met with eyes, they didn’t seem the least bit mad at me, not even Rarity. If anything, their eyes screamed out an entirely different message: ‘we feel your pain’.
12:00 PM
We got to the graveyard to soon find out that all was not well. The yard was torn asunder, headstones and flowers scattered every which way. Worse than that, many of the graves were dug up, and the bodies were missing, which unnerved us all, Fluttershy especially, to nobody’s surprise. I went to bury Sweetie, Ignoring the ruined graveyard, but stopped and looked around. There was no way she could be buried in as unholy a place as this. I personally wouldn’t allow for it.
“Is there another graveyard in town?”
“Y-yes... um... other side of town.” Fluttershy almost inaudibly said.
“Let’s go. Fluttershy, would you mind if I flew?”
“I... I guess... I just don’t wanna get too close to the moon up there...”
“What?”
I looked above to see that, in broad daylight, the moon was still out, and it was only a good twenty something miles above our heads. I never paid much attention, but it must have been out here all morning. Staring up at that moon which, surprisingly, had that same child-crushing face it did in the game, was more than frightening, and it gave a damn clear indication of what BEN was doing now. My mind though, kept telling me that it was from a game. It’s not real. It’s not real. It won't fall. It’s a motherfucking game.
Ah, what the hell was I saying? I couldn’t fool myself. If I hadn’t woken up on my futon by now, this certainly was real. Alright, BEN...
You wanna play one last game of Majora’s Mask? Bring it on, motherfucker.
“Let’s go. We don’t have any time to waste.” I said, hopping onto Fluttershy’s back and taking to the air. Pinkie collected her balloon, seemingly out of nowhere, and piled everyone else in, following behind me.
“Oof... you... humans... are... heavy!”
We flew over town, en route to the other cemetery. Nothing was out of the ordinary, it seemed. Some individuals were panicking over the moon, and security in town had been stepped up, but otherwise, town went about its daily business. We landed outside of the cemetery fence, and I was the first to stroll into the yard. I collected Sweetie’s remains from under my shirt, and Rarity went into the keeper’s shed to grab a shovel. Applejack and Twilight collected a headstone, and we repeated the same process we had done months ago; I even inscribed the same message on the headstone, though using the knife this time. We finished paying our due respects, but I decided to do one thing extra. If Sweetie Belle could hear me from the spirit world, I wanted to send her a message begging forgiveness for my rash behavior when I had come to visit her. So what did I do? I crouched down beside the filly’s newly minted tomb and began to sing her the lullaby I had done for her friends. As I sang, the melody magically filled the air, like it had done so many times before, carrying with it a sweet, sugary scent. It made everyone in my team begin to nod off as I sang, and, after completion, I noticed the others were soundly sleeping behind me. The mellow scent invaded my nose, and all my pain and troubles seemed to drift away as I slowly passed into unconsciousness with the others. While I was sleeping, I had a dream. It was short and sweet, but in it, I saw Sweetie Belle in her normal, full body, looking straight at me in a black void. She said one thing to me in this vision, one thing I will never forget.
“I love you, Nick. Thanks for taking care of my friends.”
1:00 PM
I woke up again from a well-rested nap, along with everyone else. I was content, my last memory being that Sweetie Belle was happy and had no lingering regrets or unfinished deeds in the living world. She wasn’t mad at me for what I did to her remains, and her soul was truly at peace, that I knew. We were sleeping in the graveyard, but that didn’t bother any of us, not even the timid Fluttershy. In fact, we all woke up happy, and seemingly worry free. Why though? Was it the song I sang at Sweetie’s grave? That WAS the last thing I remember doing before falling asleep, so it HAD to be true. I stood up and collected my equipment that was scattered all over the ground, the rest following suit. With a fresh, clear mind, there was only one thing in my head.
I needed a bath.
Since we weren’t too far from the river, I figured it as good a place as any, and, even if it were illegal, there was absolutely nobody around; we were on the outskirts, not too far from the dam, so as we got to the river, I hastily threw my belongings on the grass, and dove into the icy stream, clothing and all; they needed a good wash too. Everyone stared at me as I bathed, beginning to take my clothes off once in the water. I wish I had privacy, but it didn’t bother me too much. I fell backwards, my face going under the river as I began to lazily float down it on my back. Derpy picked up my stuff and threw it all in her saddlebags, as the others slowly followed me downstream. As I continued to wash myself and my linens while lying down on my back, I looked over to Twilight and Scoots, then over to my missing arm.
“Twilight, you’re a smart mare. I’ve seen you do a lot of things with your scientific skills. Do you think you could put those skills to use for me?” I asked, sitting up and throwing my clothes on the bank.
“Um... sure, I could try. What do you need?”
I swam over to the edge of the river, holding my arm there for support, my clothes sitting to the side of it.
“Well, it’s a two pony job. I’d need a scientist and a doctor.” I added, glancing over to Scootaloo.
“I could help with it, too, Nick. I mean, I owe you something after all you’ve done.”
I looked to my left, then to Twi and Scoots, then closed my eye, took a breath, and opened it again.
“Could you build me a replacement arm?”
The others jumped back, a bit freaked out about my request. Scoots and Twilight, however pondered the question, resting their chins on their hooves.
“I guess we could try.”
I smiled at the two, then everyone else.
“Good, get on it when you can, and the rest of of you, go with them; the more of you there are, the more effectively you can fight if something happens. I want NOTHING to happen to Scoots and Applebloom, understood?”
Everyone nodded and took off, including Derpy, who was hobbling behind, after throwing my equipment on the ground.
“Except for you, Applejack.”
The orange earth pony dug her hooves into the ground, kicking up a pile of dirt in front of them as she forcefully slowed down upon hearing my words.
“You and I need to talk.”
AJ approached the river bank, sitting down on the grass. I gently pulled myself up, collapsing on my back, my bare skin being tickled by the green blades, which were being softly pushed about by the light wind.
“You know, Applejack, I never asked to come here. I didn’t want to either. And this certainly isn’t my world, nor is it one I belong in.”
“Awh, sugarcube, why would ya say that?”
I pointed up into the sky, looking at the sun which was just barely visible behind the moon hovering menacingly above us.
“Take a good look at that star. That sun is being raised and lowered at the will of a magical horse in a castle. Where I’m from, my sun, and moon for that matter, definitely don’t do this - they rise and set on a basis of gravity and magnetism. The animals in my world have to kill each other to survive, and the weather patterns change without any physical assistance from humans.”
Applejack stared at me quizzically. She obviously didn’t believe what I was saying.
“So, what was life like for ya back home, then, darlin’?”
“Me as an individual, or our whole species?”
“Just you, sugar.”
I had to think back quite a ways, come to think of it. My life wasn’t too terribly exciting, but it had its moments, and even the darkest of them, I can say that I’m grateful for, for whatever doesn't kill me will only make me stronger.
“Well, my life at home wasn’t bad at all. Starting from birth, not much happened. My father was in the military, and one night, we had an incident at our home, very similar to the boutique, where a bunch of people - people I KNEW, looking back, broke into my house, and held me and my mother at gunpoint while they robbed us.”
Applejack crawled over to me, wrapping one of her hooves across my chest, and looking down at my face.
“What happened, sugarcube?” She asked, an upset, concerned look about her. I could tell she was trying to use this moment to mend any hostility we had back at the boutique.
“My father went insane. He killed every single one of them. Just to protect us. After the incident, my mother divorced my father. Other than that one night, my life was pretty damn normal, aside from BEN.” I blandly replied, not even flinching at the memory.
“Nick, that’s awful!” Applejack said, embracing me tighter, preparing to ask her next question: “Why did ya mom get that divorce?”
Should I really delve into my personal life for her? Could I trust her enough with this information?
“My... one of the the thugs that broke into our place...”
“Uh-huh?”
“Was my mom’s uncle.”
“Sugarcube... ah had no idea...”
To get her off the topic of this, so neither of us would suffer in pain, I quickly interrupted.
“Well, after that, I lived life pretty normally. Because of that incident though, I was always sketchy about trusting people. I’m not gonna be a ‘Gary Stu’ and tell you about how my life sucked and how I was bulli-”
“Gary-whatnow?”
“Ehm, uh, nevermind. My life was always good. I had everything I wanted as a child, and my social life was alright. I told you... about BEN, but...”
“What, sugarcube?”
“I never told you how it started. You see, when I got into college, one of my old buddies gave me a game console that we used to play with as kids.”
“Awh, well wasn’t that nice of him!”
“Well, Applejack, this is where it gets bad. You see, I only had about three games, so I got pretty bored. I went around the local neighborhoods looking for some old games, and I ran across this small house with an old man. He gave me a copy of a game I REALLY liked as a kid, and-”
“So, where’s the bad part, hon?”
“Well, the game was pretty shady looking, so it had to be a bootleg or something, I figured. The man said I could have it for free, so I took it home and started playing it. It was a bit glitchy, and had a few problems, but nothing too bad.”
“So what happened then?” AJ continued to inquire, now massaging my shoulders.
“First, it started mixing the file names up. Then, every day, it got worse. The game would teleport me to places that weren’t even part of a proper sequence. It would randomly kill my character, and eventually, this statue, which, by the way, WAS part of the game, started following me around. I started recording the footage of everything that had happened, and hoped to put it on the internet to tell people about this freaky experience.”
“Why does it bother ya so much? Ghosts an’ spirits exist, don’t ya know that?”
I sighed, leaning my head back off the edge of the bank, my long, untamed hair drooping down into the cold, blue stream.
“Of course they do, there’s no denying that. What’s so bothersome is, in my world, spirits can’t effectively communicate, so they have to do things like manipulate technology to talk to us, and when it’s done so indirectly...” I paused, looking for my words. “Well, it freaks us out because of how unnatural it is. Just... imagine, let’s say, some of your farming equipment acting odd; doing things on its own, and whatnot, with no explanation; not doing what you EXPECT of it. Wouldn’t that be scary to you?”
“Ah, well then, ah can understand, sugar. Yeah, that would be.”
“So, I put everything on my computer, but then IT started acting strange; opening windows, shutting off and turning on for no discernible reason, and then, it started talking to me with an automated chat system. That’s when I found out that there was the spirit of a kid named Ben trapped in the game. He told me he would stop tormenting me with nightmares and freakish gameplay if I ‘set him free’.”
“Did ya, then?”
“No, he was too big a threat. If I ‘set him free’, god only knew what he would have been capable of. I double-crossed him, and locked him away in my computer and destroyed it - or at least I thought I did.”
“Whatcha mean ‘thought’, Nick?”
“Well, I saved all the ‘chat’ conversations on a flash drive, and, gave it to my roommate. I told him to upload everything from there to a website, and got up and left that apartment. But I didn’t know Ben’s spirit had gotten into the file, and so he set HIMSELF free. Now, he’s angry at me, and he’s taking it out on your people.”
“Now, he was th’ one who done sent ya here, right?”
I sighed as Applejack continued to massage me. I could tell she was trying to get me to open up so I would talk to her about the incident at the boutique. Truth be told, I wanted to get to that, but I felt I had more to tell her.
“Yes, he was the one. How he did it, I don’t know. How he even GOT the power to do what he does, I don’t know. He never had the ability to possess or kill, or transport beings through dimensions back in my word. I want to tell you something right now. okay?” I asked, pulling my head out of the water and sitting up, forcing her to take her hooves off of me.
“Sure, Nick, what is it?”
“I’m nobody’s ‘savior’. I’m not your ‘sacred warrior’ that came here from some prophecy, nor do I want to be. All I’m trying to do is survive and find a way back home. I do NOT want to be here, but BEN, somehow, sent me here, and with the newfound power he has, which, I’m guessing the world itself gave him, is trying to kill me. And from what I’ve seen, he’s willing to go through you guys to get to me. He’s done all kinds of vile things to your world, and, from what I understand, from television of course, your world is NOT like this.”
“It never was, sugarcube. We’ve had our share of evil, what with Discord and Nightmare Moon an’ whatnot, but none of us ain’t seen anythin’ like this, all these sick, unspeakable things like cannibalism an’ all. We ain’t never seen this amount of death, neither. Whatever this ‘television’ says about our world, that’s how it normally is, darlin’. Ah mean, it’s so bad, FLUTTERSHY is killin’ animals! That’s somethin’ she’d NEVER do!”
“I know.”
“Can ah ask ya something, sugarcube?”
“Shoot.”
“Why do ya fight to get what ya need? How’d ya learn all those moves?”
This... this was a question I was dreading. There was no denying it or delaying it though. I had to answer.
“First of all, I HATE fighting. I absolutely DESPISE doing it. Where did I learn to fight? My father. He was in the military, and, about six years after that incident at home, you know, with the thugs?”
“Uh-huh?”
“He taught me how to fight in case anything happened again. He trained me in all kinds of things - hand to hand, blades, guns. He even taught me how to properly sneak, and pick locks, and breach a doorway... he taught me everything he knew.”
“If ya have all that training, how didn’t ya stand up against Big Mac? He was th’ one that took ya eye, right?”
“Well, see, you know how I said I hated to fight right? My dad preached self-defense like it was a holy book, and ALWAYS wanted me to practice and stay sharp. I never did, and so, I forgot a LOT of what he taught me. So, when I fought Big Mac, It was like having next to no experience. Same with Pinkie Pie. Though I’ve gotten a handful of skills back in my time here, I’ve been paying dearly for not keeping them sharpened all the time. I don’t like to fight, and I’m not GOING to unless my life, or someone else’s depends on it, and I CERTAINLY don’t want to kill, but... sometimes that’s unavoidable.”
2:00 PM
I stood up and put my partially dry clothes back on, tucking all my equipment away. I twisted my back, allowing my spine to pop, still talking, yet looking away from Applejack.
“I’m going to fight BEN to try and purge him from your world. I am the reason he came here, as he’s the reason I’m here.” I began, checking the ammunition in my gun as I slipped into my shirt. “I’ve seen all kinds of nasty things happen here, and before I go, I’m willing to work with you guys to set things right.”
“So... ya do plan to leave?” Applejack meekly asked me, wiping her eye, as if to hide a tear that she thought I didn’t notice. There was no hiding it now; we HAD to talk about her feelings for me, and truth be told, my thoughts about her. I sat down on the grass, patting an open spot by my side.
“Come on, sit down, AJ.”
The mare, covered in elegant sunburst orange, hesitantly approached me, lying on her stomach, and sprawled her body out along the warm afternoon grass. She set her rancher’s hat to the side, and removed her hair band from the back of her mane, letting it drop and flow out in all its blonde, untamed glory.
“Applejack, I’m gonna be straight with you, okay?”
“Alright, sugarcube.”
I took a breath, looked up at the sky (while attempting to ignore the soul-crushing moon), and then turned my sole attention to the young pony lying beside me.
“Four months ago, when I came to this world, I didn’t know where I was. I fell out of the sky, and landed in your apple orchard, breaking one of my ribs, and the first thing I did was come to a farmhouse hoping to find some hospitality for a man with a broken rib. When I saw YOU open that door, I didn’t know what to think. I thought that someone had slipped me some heavy drugs, because, in my mind, I was telling myself: ‘a talking horse can’t be real, and this particular horse that I know from TV can’t be real’. I thought I was having some kind of happy-go-lucky mushroom trip, until the very next morning, when I went down to get a bottle of water from your apple cellar. I saw that the Crusaders were being sexually abused by YOUR brother. But that’s not what snapped me into believing it was real. What got me to see the truth was Big Macintosh himself. I felt every punch, smack, and scrape he made. I felt my glasses destroy my eye, cutting into my flesh. I felt my very own gun touching my skull. THAT was when I knew it was real. I saw and felt Sweetie Belle’s organs cover me in that operating room. I tasted every chewy bit of flesh the moment I figured out I was eating that poor girl’s remains. I smelled the vile scents of death underneath Sugarcube Corner and Twilight’s library.”
I then put my hand on Applejack’s neck, gently running my fingers down the length of it.
“And I heard all those spiteful words you said back at the boutique.”
Applejack immediately drew tears, her eyes looking down to the grass.
“If you can’t rely on your own senses to tell you the truth, then what can you trust?”
“Ah... ah’m sorry for all those things ah said, Nick.”
‘
“I know you are. And I am sorry for killing your uncle.”
“Ah know ya only wanted to protect me an’ Scootaloo..”
“And I will, Applejack; you’re like my family. And to answer your next question, do I love you? Absolutely. That night I showed up, you took a leap of faith, and invited me into your home, putting your whole family at risk. Just for that, I respect you. Add in that you’ve saved my life on more than one occasion, and I can’t help BUT love you.”
I took my hand off Applejack for a moment, and pulled out my knife, twirling it in my hand a bit.
“But that’s not what you want to know. You want to know why I don’t want to take my love for you to a more personal level.”
“Because ah’m a ‘horse’, ya said.” Applejack replied, even thicker tears beginning to well in the corners of her eyes. I set my knife into the ground and wiped away the salty liquid that invaded the young pony’s leaf-green orbs.
“Applejack, please don’t cry. It kills my heart to see that.”
“Just tell me why ya won’t get closer with me, then! Ah mean, Equestria is open to th’ idea a’ inta’specieces relationships; Mah cousin Braeburn is seein’ a buffalo right now, and nopony, not even Granny Smith objects to it! And ya know how long Spike’s been trying to get with Rarity. If’n it were illegal, ya think we’d let him keep trying to date her? A’ course not!”
I swallowed, trying to pick my words carefully. I knew this was going to hurt, no matter what way I said it.
“Where I come from, romance is EXPECTED by society, to be between two humans, and NOTHING else. Even then, the term ‘humans’ is tossed around; same-sex relationships are often looked down upon as well, so the only true choice for a partner is one man, one woman, and it’s been that way for millennia, so you’ll have to excuse me if I find getting personal with a pony bothers me; it’s just something... naturally ingrained in my mind. I hope I’m not offending you by saying this.”
“Ya... ya ain’t offending me, Nick; ya breakin mah heart!” She yelled, crying into the soft grass beneath her.
Oh god damn it... she’s crying. If APPLEJACK cries, you REALLY hurt her.
“The reason It’s ‘wrong’, is because in my world, the animals - and ponies constitute as animals, can’t talk, or use tools, or have an organized society. Because they can’t talk, they aren’t able to consent.”
“But ah CAN!” Applejack violently screamed, chucking her hat at me and falling back to the grass.
“Oh for fuck’s sake, stop crying. Please, for the love of god, don’t cry...”
“Ah just want somepony that ah can wake up next to before a day of farmin’! Ya a father to mah sis an’ Scootaloo, and ya a mighty hard worker. Ya everything ah want in a stallion, Nick.”
“Stop. Fucking. Crying. You are making me feel awful...”
“After all ah’ve done for ya, sugarcube, ya won’t even be willing ta commit ya love just because ah ain’t a human!”
“Fuck... there’s only one way to get you to stop crying, isn’t there...”
I quickly grabbed Applejack by the neck and gently pulled her in. I forcibly threw my lips to her own, gently wrapping my arm around the pony, lightly scented with crisp, fresh apples. I didn’t let go for a good three minutes, and Applejack fell into a state of bliss, closing her eyes and sighing, her warm breath escaping into my mouth, her own lips a gentle taste of gingerbread, apples, and raw sugar. I broke away from her after another minute or so. Still, as this went on, my mind was screaming at me. I opened my eye for a brief moment, only to see Applejack’s form shift from the cartoon pony, to an actual one from earth, and back again, my eye beginning to play vile tricks on me.
“Jesus Christ, you’re kissing a fucking horse!”
“Stop.”
“KISSING.”
“THE HORSE.”
Though I was yelling all of this in my head, there was only one phrase that actually left my lips, as much as I wanted to break, and run off screaming in terror.
“If Equestria doesn’t have a problem with it, and I’m not in MY dimension...”
Applejack looked up at me with hopeful, teary eyes.
“...I’m willing to take that extra step for you if we get out of this alive.”
“Thank ya, Nick. That means th’ world ta me. Ah... ah love ya.”
“I love you too, Applejack. Thank you for all you’ve done for me.”
---
“So, Jadusable... I see you found a little bit of a love interest. You shouldn’t have done that...”
---
3:00 PM
“Nick! Nick! It’s done!” a joyous and exuberant Pinkie Pie yelled, happily bouncing my way.
“What’s done? What’s going on!?”
“Your new arm! Twilight and Scootaloo got it finished!”
I stood up, offering my hand for Applejack. I followed behind the giddy Pinkie Pie, until we came to a ramshackle structure on the western side of town. Upon stepping into the building, a sickening smell of clorox and mothballs attacked my senses. In the back of the main floor sat a medical cot, with an IV, heart monitor, and a cart of medical tools.
“Why is it everywhere I go, somebody wants to chop me up!?”
“Do be quiet, dear. You DID ask for this.”
“You’re not helping me feel better ABOUT my hasty decisions, Rarity.”
I got up on the table, taking my shirt off. Twilight hooked me up to the heart monitor and IV, while Scootaloo went downstairs and produced a small generator. Twilight approached me with a hypodermic needle, and with some magic, strapped me down to the cot with leather restraints.
“Lie back, please.”
“You gonna genetically splice me with Applebloom?”
The little filly started to cry, and ran to Applejack’s side after hearing my wiseass remark.
“NICK!” everybody yelled together, shooting me mean glares.
“Oh. Well, excuse me for not trusting a bitch that tried to turn us into mutants!”
At that, I felt a violent jab in my right (and only) arm, as well as Twilight’s next words.
“For Celestia’s sake, shut up!”
And I slowly fell into unconsciousness as the sedative rushed through my bloodstream.
4:00 PM
-Beep-
“Rarity, keep an eye on his blood pressure.”
“Sure, Twilight.”
-Beep-
“Vitals are stable. Disinfecting operation area and draining blood.”
“Um... everypony? Are... are you sure this will... you know, work?”
-Beep-
“We don’t know, Fluttershy. We’re going out on a limb here - literally.”
“Sis, he’s gonna be okay, right?”
-Beep-
“Ah hope so Applebloom. If’n ah lost him, ah don’t know what ah’d do.”
“Opening the wound, Twilight. Pinkie Pie, flashlight, please.”
-Beep-
“Be careful. I think he deserves a muffin if he pulls through.”
“Well, be sure to give him one then, Derpy. Loosening muscle fibers.”
-Beep-
“Rarity, how’s the blood pressure look?”
“Stable, Twilight, dear.”
-Beep-
“Good. Attaching muscles to the prosthetic.”
“Great work Scootaloo. It’s coming along nicely.”
-Beep-
“Only because you’re assisting me, Twilight.”
“Okay, I think we’re good. Let’s sew it up!”
-Beep-
“Sutures done. Disinfecting and redistributing the blood.”
A familiar laugh.
“Let’s hurry up before he tries anything; we all know what happened to Sweetie.”
5:00 PM
-Beep-
“Nick, can you hear me?”
-Beep-
“Hello?”
-Beep-
“Holy hell, I feel like shit. Is it done?”
“Yep, but please, take it easy, Nick; we want to run a few tests first.” Twilight said, unbuckling me from the cot with her magic, allowing me to sit up. I looked over to my left, and saw a contraption of stainless steel and wires in place of my former arm. It was heavy, but nothing I couldn’t lift. If I had to make a comparison, it looked like one of C3PO’s arms from Episode I.
“Try moving your shoulder for me, okay?”
I did, gently rolling my shoulder around in a circle, working slowly to accommodate for the fresh stitches. The device whirred and chugged with various electrical noises.
“Go go, gadget. kick-fuckin’-ass.”
“Excellent! Try moving your elbow for me, Nick.”
“So this is a cybernetic implant? How the hell did you pull this off?” I asked, gently moving my elbow inwards, outwards, then finally, up and down slowly.
“We just held on to faith that my crazy idea would work.” Twi responded, packing away some materials into her saddlebags. “Can you move your wrist, now?”
I did as told, folding it backwards, forwards, and twisting it gently from side to side.
“Great. Now try your fingers.”
“And you did this with no documentation?”
“Success!”
“No, we had documentation.” Scootaloo said, producing an anatomical chart of the human body. “I took a copy with me before we left the hospital. That’s why they were running all the x-rays and blood tests on you the whole time you were recovering; they were trying to make medical records in the event another human comes here.
“Well then, can’t argue with that. Who’s hungry, cause I’m starving!”
“Who wants to hit up that new milk bar in town?” Pinkie excitedly added, jumping into the air.
“Hey, if they serve food, I don’t care WHERE we eat.” I said, licking my lips.
At that, we all got up and headed back into town. Getting into the bar, we all took a place, and ordered our food, along with two bottles of milk each. Though I had fifty-six dollars, and another two hundred on my Visa, I knew that wouldn’t do shit. I dug into my right back jeans pocket, slamming down a pile of bits on the counter, and everyone stared at me.
“Where’d you get all that money?” Pinkie asked, staring at the bits that littered the marble countertop.
“Stole it from the guys at the boutique.”
Everybody gasped.
“Oh for Christ’s sake, don’t look at me like that! You KNEW they were gonna kill us!”
“Still, Nick... you robbed the dead?” Spike asked, his eyes a wide, nearly lid-free stare.
“Money’s tight! You saw what Rarity had to do to keep her business going!”
“Don’t you DARE mention that! I have no intentions of going back!”
“I... I think we should just relax and drink...” Fluttershy almost inaudibly announced.
“She’s right. Look, let’s just enjoy the night while we can, okay?”
Everyone nodded, and soon after, our food came. I picked up my first bottle of milk and held it up.
“Cheers!”
6:00 PM: Night of The First Day - 60 Hours Remain
The sound of a wolf howling, accompanied by the church bell could be heard as we stepped out of the restaurant. We all left the bar laughing, chatting, and with warm food and some mildly spiked milk in our bellies, were having a good evening, despite all the events that had happened earlier that morning. We decided to make our way back to the farm for the night and collect ourselves before heading out to find Rainbow Dash, the last of the crew. Casual conversation was struck along the way, and all was well - the curfew wasn’t for another two hours. We got through the main gates of the Apple farm, and out of the blue, a small team of about twelve large stallions, all pegasi, landed around us. They were wearing solid black uniforms, and masks that looked similar to a World-War II era gas mask. I brought my hand back, gripping the crossbow that was slung over my shoulder.
“Could I help you gentlemen?”
I didn’t have a chance to do anything before they all attacked us, knocking my posse and I to the ground. I quickly collected myself and stood back up, pulling out my knife. I slashed at one of the pegasi, but he dodged my swing and I was hit in the back of the head by another. The rest of my team each stood and attempted to confront a pony, but these guys were way too strong. Two of them grabbed Scootaloo.
“Nick! Help!”
“Scoots!”
I tried to stand again and rush to her aid, but was pinned down by one of the stallions.
“I’ll fucking kill you! Let her go!”
Twilight and Rarity tried to fight back with magical shots. Applebloom, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Spike, and Derpy were cast aside like playthings to the towering ponies, being thrown about. Applejack tried to fight back with what strength she could offer, but it wasn’t enough. Still, we fought, and we fought hard. Then the two ponies holding Scootaloo flew off. She screamed.
“SCOOTALOO!”
I got up in anger, throwing one of the stallions off of me, and started chasing after the two that had taken to the air, yet I didn’t get very far, as I was struck with a stone to the back of the head. The others were viciously overpowered by the team of pegasi, and after a few more moments of unsuccessful self-defense, my team caved in, and our attackers flew away, in the direction of Cloudsdale, towards a menacing looking structure high above the clouds. From this distance, it was a tall, perhaps twenty-five story structure, with many lights. I began to cry, watching the orange Crusader get drug off to the building, screaming into the night.
“Sc-scootaloo...”
My eye twitched, and my sadness abruptly turned to rage. I let out a few short, spastic laughs, which, thinking back, probably sounded like borderline insanity.
“Nobody.”
I began to shake and sweat, painfully standing up.
“MESSES.”
Veins bulged out across my skin, my jittery shakes getting worse.
“WITH MY KID!”
I threw myself up, running over to the others and trying to forcibly pull them from the ground.
“GOD DAMN IT! GET UP! EVERYONE GET UP! NOW!”
“Face it, Nick, she’s gone! There’s nothing you can do!” Twilight yelled at my outburst, painfully standing up with all the rest. That response - giving up, from Twilight, no less, made my anger come out even more. I grabbed Twilight by the neck with my human arm, slamming my robotic one down on the nearby fence, which caused the struck portion of the wood to splinter into pieces.
“Bull. Fucking. Shit. We're going to Cloudsdale! Grab all the equipment you can!” I seethed, growling under my breath as I spoke, and threw Twilight to the ground, who gagged and spat, trying to regain her breath. “Fluttershy, what is that building up there?” I asked, pointing up to the ominous structure that sat in the clouds many miles in the distance.
“That... that’s the Cloudsdale rainbow factory.” The timid pegasus managed to say, backing away from me slowly.
“Well, that’s where we’re going.”
“We’re not prepared to go up there! That place has gotten a heavy boost in security ever since the statue showed up in town!” Derpy said.
“Well then, looks like we're taking a stealthy approach. Let me tell you all something right now: When you hurt a man’s family...
I drew my crossbow, putting it in my mechanical hand, my pistol in my normal one.
“...he will do everything in his power to protect them...”
I walked over to the apple cellar and opened the trapdoor.
“...but take away a man’s DAUGHTER...”
I began to close the trap behind me, but took one last look at my group of friends standing on the lawn.
“...and he’s capable of anything.”
*SLAM*
“He’s right, everypony. We NEED to get Scootaloo back.” Twilight said, offering her hoof. The others brought their own limbs together, forming a ring. They then brought them up into the air for a cheer.
“For Scootaloo!”
At that, all the girls and Spike split to collect the things they would need.
“Twilight, can I ask you something?”
“Sure, Spike. What?”
“Why does Cloudsdale need a ‘rainbow factory’ when the weather factory already makes rainbows?”
“I- well, I dunno. It’s a new place they built around five months ago.”
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My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
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944070 Zalgo. Going upwards and downwards. And a bit of middle too?
949662 There ain't no bleach strong enough for this, buddy.
The thing I hate most in a MLP fanfic is the human X pony ships, but someone is going to say "suck it up" so I will do that, that is my opinion I really hate when someone ship the human with a pony.
I will continue reading this despise my hate for said ship, this is your story Hylian and you do whatever you want with your story and I'm ok with that.
P.S: "take away a man's daughter and he's capable of ANYTHING" *cough* asura'swarth *cough*
952286 i know i can't please everyone.
952387 It's ok, don't worry about it.
954009 Not saying anything.
This looks interesting... I'll read it...
Yay, you used part of my line! Anyways it seems your including a little bit of SHED.MOV and Rainbow Factory in this story. I've heard of the latter, but never actually bothered to read it until now so I would know what to expect..... Sir, you are one sick mother fucker, and I love you for it!
Concept alone gets this 5 Captain Falcons riding Sonic the Hedgehogs out of 5.
960793 Glad you like :D
I really have some catching up to do!
I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE.
Hey, hey, heeeey...
Stay out of may shed...
The oath to order will defeat Ben.
"What about in the supply shed?"
"I Wouldn't go in there if I were you..."
HELL YEAH! I Knew SHED.MOV had to come in here at some point.
And when They carried Scoots off to Cloudsdale, and Nick remarking that the building was extremely large?
My Reference Radar is going off the charts.
"In the Rainbow Factory. Where fears and horrors come true.In the Rainbow Factory. Where not a single soul gets through. In the Rainbow Factory..."