Derpy and the Pegasi Express Race

by TheReaderAndWriter

Out of the Woods

One could only describe the next few seconds as utter silent chaos. It was a mad scramble to take whatever one could bring. Derpy had to leave her little shelter behind, fortunately she had most of her belongings already packed, including the crucial packages.

It was obvious Geld wasn't as lucky, most of his things were strewn about, and in the end he only got a blanket and his water with him as they rushed into the dark of the forest.

Rainbow Dash flew up into the nearest treetop, and while Derpy wouldn't have been able to fly above them, it only took one good flap and a mightly leap before she too disappeared among the branches and the leaves.

Geld quickly joined them, and they sat there in the darkness like three little mice, listening in complete silence to whatever threat might have been hunting them.

Within a few tense moments, one could hear the rustling of leaves, both from the bushes and the trees, as over a dozen figures passed them, all heading towards the abandoned camp. They couldn't see them, but they could hear it very closely; every animal with any sense had disappeared, leaving the forest almost completely quiet. There wasn't even a breeze. Had all the griffons and ponies on the ground stopped moving for just a second, they would have been able to find Derpy by her breathing alone.

It took several tense, agonizing moments for the silence to be broken. A voice yelled out from just below. "Did you find them?" asked an angry griffon. Rainbow Dash, Geld and Derpy all jumped in shock, not even having noticed him. They had to supress a shared sigh of relief when they realized he hadn't heard them.

"Maybe, there's a feather here. Could have been a pegasus, or a griffon."

Derpy turned to Geld, giving him a scared look, a look that very specifically said "What if they find us?"

Geld answered her look with a gesture, a shake of his head, and a secure smug grin that seemed to say "Relax, they can't know for sure it's our campsite!"

"The boss was right! They were here! I found Geld's travel papers!"

Geld didn't need to look, as he could practically feel his companions' glares, like sharp hot daggers. He did actually, however, feel Rainbow lightly tap his shoulder, and when he looked she gestured to both of them that they needed to keep moving.

It wasn't easy, traveling in the trees, and it only became worse once it dawned on them that not only were Big Bills on the ground, but also patrolling the sky above. Flashlights were turned on, helping their hunters search through the treetops after anyone who might try to escape by air. Derpy had to do her utmost to keep herself from clumsily crash into a tree or fall to the ground, but against all odds she managed to keep out of trouble.

Then, there was a little bit of a problem. The trees became sparser ahead, but a few Big Bills were still searching below, going through bushes and searching for tracks. They were constantly updating each other on any progress or lack thereof. Derpy actually found their work impressive; not unlike a post office, communication was an important part of a productive work environment.

The first great gap between trees arrived, and Geld was the first to jump over. While he was larger and leaner than Derpy, he still managed to land softly on the branch ahead. It made sense to her, he was half cat after all... right?

Rainbow Dash was next, competitive as always. She just barely managed to keep out of a stray lightbeam, to the point where whoever was using it felt they needed to double check to see if they had seen something rainbow colored in the dark, but it was clear Rainbow Dash had cleared it by the skin of her teeth.

Derpy, feeling a bit insecure about jumping that long and precise without even getting a running start, decided to play it safe. She took off her bag, waited until the right moment, and tossed it over to Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow caught it without issue... but the bag had been open. One of the two important packages fell out, and there was a unicorn just at the base of the tree! Derpy and Geld both had faces frozen in silent screams, while Rainbow being an athlete and having the reflexes of one, fumbled with the package, almost juggling with it while she desperately tried to keep her balance on just two hooves. Being a pegasus, she couldn't get a grip, hitting the box almost a dozen times, and with one last fumble, it fell out of her range, past one of the thinner branches, out into a freefall.

But Geld launched himself, burying the claws of his hind legs into the tree, and with one talon on the branch, he caught it with his other, the upside of having digits, managing a balancing act that left Derpy breathless. It had been fast, efficient and quiet.

Nopony had noticed a thing. They were safe. They had witnessed a miracle.

"Awesome, Geld!" yelled Rainbow Dash, immediately covering her mouth with wide eyes.

Every single flashlight in the forest suddenly seemed to be pointing straight at them.

"Um, oops," said Rainbow.

"Run!" said Derpy, jumping over the gap, but instead of landing on the branch, she glided down to the ground. She hit and jumped off the face of the unicorn, and landed into a full sprint. Bushes kept hitting her face but thankfully her goggles were hanging around her neck. With just one quick adjustment nothing bothered her anymore. All Derpy focused on was running for her dear life.

Zipping past trees in the dark, having the stars and frantic searchlights following her as guides, she did everything she could to not crash for once in her life.

"Trench up ahead, Derpy! Get ready!" yelled Geld from somewhere above.

Derpy couldn't do anything else but trust him. "Tell me when!"

Above, she could hear Geld jump from branch to branch, following her.

"Now!"

And Derpy jumped. For a moment, it seemed like the searchlights fell away, and the ground disappeared beneath her. For just a moment, she hovered in an infinite abyss, the only reminder she was still alive being the air blowing through her mane.

And then the world returned to her. Stumbling, but not falling, she reached the other side and continued her sprint, away from her pursuers.

"Thanks, Geld!" she said, looking back towards him.

And that's when she crashed into the tree.

***

Derpy must have been out of it for a relatively short time, a few minutes at most, but she jolted awake like she continued her sprint, accidentally kicking a stranger in the face.

"Why do you hate my face so much?!" yelled the angry unicorn before disappearing into the small crowd surrounding them.

Pausing, Derpy took a moment, and a breath, to take in her surroundings. They were clearly inside a building, a shack, or rather...? Old rusty iron bars scattered around, two stories tall, windows and railings up above... A storage depot next to the railroad. She was tied to a pole in the middle of the messy room, with basically all of their pursuers crowded around her. A few oil lamps had been lit, filling the room with a warm but weak light, casting dancing shadows upon the walls and debris. Her goggles were nowhere to be found, along with her bag.

A single, familiar griffon, large, dark, intimidating, sat hunched on his hind paws, holding something in his talon: a package, ripped open like a mortal wound.

"Where. Is. It?" asked the griffon in such an intimidating voice, even his coworkers seemed to want to avoid him.

"H- hello, Mister Griffon. Brick, wasn't it? I'm Derpy Hoov-"

He silenced her with a quick, firm gesture. "This isn't yours," said Brick, holding the package closer to Derpy's face. Inside the box, among packing material, Derpy could see a small metal statue depicting two mares hugging a heart together. It was adorable, and Derpy gushed at the sight. "Focus! One of the others must have it, where are they!?" Brick practically roared like a dragon.

Derpy didn't let herself be intimidated, but she didn't want them to be frustrated with her either. "I'm sorry, Sir, but I'm not sure. If you didn't get them with me, they might already be gone."

Brick didn't like what he heard. "Your companions are gone, but they have the box. Where do we find them?!"

"I don't know! I just hope they're okay!"

Brick took the statue, smashed the box onto the ground, and with one talon each he grabbed the mares, flexing his muscles. "Tell me where they are or this is what will happen to y-"

With absolute horror, Derpy thrashed against the ropes. "No! No! Please! Not the statue! Some poor customer in Manehattan is expecting it! What if it's a gift from a sweetheart!?"

Nobody had managed to knock Brick off his balance since Miss Grau herself, but he had never expected her to plead so desperately, like he was about to break a foal in half, for just a trinket.

"C-calm down! It just a stupid statue! It's not important!"

Derpy froze, focusing her gaze on him. "Every package is important."

Brick could only stare at her before regaining his composure, never in all his years doing this dirty business had he ever encountered one such as her. He usually dealt with thugs, criminals, cowards and weaklings. This was new. Derpy noticed that his stern face became ever so slightly softer. Brick quickly realized that this wasn't his usual mark, and he needed a different touch here, one he wasn't used to using... one he didn't mind. He took a deep breath.

"Listen, sweetheart," said Brick, visibly relaxing. "I am really under pressure here. This clearly wasn't your package. All we need is your box. Would you please tell me where it is?"

"I'm sorry, Mister Brick, but I can't. Even if I knew where it was, I still couldn't. I have a duty to deliver it to the proper recipient!"

Brick gestured to her, a wide friendly gesture, a comforting gesture, one that told her everything would be fine! "Then you're in luck! The package you are delivering belongs to our boss! If we get it, then you don't even need to finish the race! A job well-done!"

"Mister Brick, I really need to finish the race and the delivery myself! Even if what you're saying is true, which can be kind of hard to believe, I'm doing this so that I can get my old job back! I need to finish it!"

"Listen, I guarantee you that it's our package. How else would we have known it was you who had it? If you give us the package, then everything is forgiven. You can go home safe and sound, Geld's... stupid debt is cleared and we won't bother him. It will be water under the bridge," said Brick.

"But my job-"

"Don't you think we would be able to convince your boss to hire you? We could get you anything you need to get a simple job back! Great references, a bribe or two, or just intimidation if the need calls for it! If you give us the package, it will be easier for us all."

Derpy took a long and hard look at Brick. "I'm sorry, but the answer is still no. I want you to understand it's fundamentally not about you being criminals. It's about me, doing my duty as a mailmare! To know I'm doing what I love, and that I'm doing it right! I won't let myself or my family down!" she said. Also, she wasn't sure they would be able to convince her old boss to do anything, whether they used bribes, threats or whatever they could come up with. "Besides, if it's really your package, why can't you just let me deliver it like I'm supposed to?"

"That would have been fine, frustrating, but fine under any other circumstance," said Brick. "But, then, you became popular in the competition. Could leave a very incriminating paper trai-"

"Um, boss? Aren't you telling her a bit much?" asked on of the other griffons.

Brick realized she had gotten the better of him again. It was something about those eyes that made one trust her, lower one's guard.

"Y-you're right. We can't have that, it would ruin some very important plans," Brick said. Back to standard practices, he didn't truly want to harm this innocent mare, but if the situation called for it... "Listen, we know who you are, and if you have family, we will find them, and-"

"Mister Brick, I'm sorry, I would never wish harm upon you in any way... but I am currently running across Equestria just to get a job," said Derpy, looking him straight the eyes, both of hers focused on his. "If you would harm my family, what makes you think I wouldn't run across the entire world to get you?"

For the third time, she had caught him off guard, and for the first time, she had actually managed to frighten him, if only a little. The quiet determination in her eyes, the will to get what she truly wanted at any price. It reminded him far too much of Miss Grau. She absolutely meant it, he was sure.

"Do you know what's in the package?" asked Brick.

"No, what? What could possibly have been the cause of all this trouble?" asked Derpy. At that question, she heard some agreeing mumbles around the crowd.

"What makes you think I will tell you? I just wanted to make sure you hadn't opened it. The less any outsider knows where it originated from, the better."

"Can't you please tell me anyway?" asked Derpy. "If I get to see my friends again, then I could make them at least stop bugging me about it. I really hope they haven't opened it."

"No," said Brick. It was clear from the disappointed and frustrated looks around him that Brick was the only one who knew why they were out in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the woods in the middle of the night looking for a box.

"Okay, fine. Could you answer me one thing, though? It's more about the delivery itself than the package," said Derpy. "If this box is so super important, then why didn't you just travel to Manehattan via the train yourselves? Why enter it into a competition?"

Brick just glared at her, obviously and proudly not intending to respond, but one griffon behind him took a step forward. "Oh, this one stupid guy who got it from overseas in Vanhoover decided to try saving on postage. Out of all the dumb-"

Brick struck him so hard he flew past the crowd and landed on the hard floor.

"KEEP YOUR BEAK SHUT!" Brick roared, suddenly so angry he seemed to have forgotten where he was. He glanced around himself and regained his composure as the hurt griffon slowly got up on his feet again. "I'm in enough trouble already."

Derpy realized something, because it felt oddly familiar. "It was you, wasn't it?" asked Derpy. "You're the reason this mess happened."

And yet again Brick stared at her. Any other night nothing would have budged him, but this pony just kept hitting all the right nerves.

"That's why you followed us all the way from Canterlot, all the way out here! You're being reprimanded!" said Derpy.

He nervously glanced around himself, his crowd murmuring among themselves.

"I- no, I-" said Brick. Why in the world he couldn't just silence them with a glare, couldn't summon the conviction and strength to just shut them all up with a word, he failed to understand.

"It's okay! I know what it's like to mess up!" said Derpy. "I do it all the time!"

"I didn't mess up!" said Brick. "It was m- my subordinate. He's never going to fly again because of his stupid mistake, and now I suffer for it too. I need to fix this."

"What's in the box, Brick?! Why in tartarus are we all out here?! What did you drag us all into?!" yelled one of the griffons.

Brick pointed to Derpy. "Get her out of here, and I'll tell you if it gets you to shut up. The train's going to stop by soon, so make it quick."

Derpy was hauled outside of the building, still in bonds, by two ponies. They left the weak warm light and stepped out into the bright cold electric light. Shutting the door behind them, they then roughly tossed her down on the ground. They themselves were just waiting by the door, grumpy, impatient.

And after one strike from above, knocked out.

"There you are!" whispered Geld, hurrying over to free her. He tried to release her with one swift slash, but to his embarrassment his talons were too dull to cut the ropes. He had to bite them off. "Are you okay?" asked Geld. "Listen, I'm still really sorry. I know I shouldn't have lied to you, but I guess that's just how I am, alright?"

Derpy quickly rolled around, and kicked towards his face. Geld just braced himself, but realized she had missed him. A glance backwards made him realize she had kicked the pony running up behind him. The unicorn was knocked unconscious again, and this time long enough for Derpy and Geld to tie him up together with his companion.

"It's okay, Geld. I know exactly what you're like," said Derpy as she made an extra tough knot. "You're a liar and a scoundrel."

"Well, yeah-"

"You are also a dependable fellow, and right now that's something I don't mind."

"Speaking of dependable, look what I snagged from inside when no one was looking," said Geld, holding up Derpy's bag and her goggles.

"Yes!" said Derpy, grabbed the bag, but the goggles around her neck, and checked inside. Her stuff was there. Perfect.

"Okay, first thing first," said Derpy, grabbing one of the no longer usable maps and a pencil, writing a message, and then she wrapped it around a little bag of bits and put them down next to the two ponies. "Sorry," she whispered to them, hoping that what little money she had would be enough to make up for the violence. She also took out some bandages and wrapped them around the unicorn's face.

"Done. Now, where is Rainbow Dash?" asked Derpy.

"We got separated in the chaos," said Geld. "She's probably looking for you, or she's flown off towards the nearest town for help."

"Rainbow Dash is really cool. I think she'll figure out what to do," said Derpy.

"Listen, I think I hear a train, in the distance," said Geld. "We should get out of here."

"No, not yet. Brick still has a package in there!" said Derpy. "Do you have yours?"

"Sure, right here." He produced the box, and Derpy immediately stuffed it in her bag.

"How did you sneak in and out?" asked Derpy.

Geld quickly lead her around the corner, and showed off a small hole in the old wooden wall. Voices could clearly be heard from inside. They both sneaked in, and the voices became clear.

Peeking over a stack of planks, they could see the group listening to Brick, who paced back and forth among them, like a commander giving orders. With Derpy no longer bothering him, he felt like he was in control again.

Derpy spotted the statue. Box or no box, price or no price, that statue needed delivery too. Rain, snow, shine or gangsters, every package would be delivered. It was standing all innocent at the edge of the group, resting on a table that she could definitely reach, if only she could get closer...

Every time Brick looked away, she would take a few quiet steps. "Alright, listen, this doesn't leave the Big Bills, alright? If Miss Grau even suspects you talked to someone, I will personally make you regret it."

The crowd didn't say anything, but it was clear they understood. Derpy got a little closer, the statue was almost within reach.

"What's in the box is the fruit of years of research and development overseas. It contains a working prototype, as well as schematics for how to produce the individual parts that it's built with. The Big Bills back home has prepared and planned all necessary machinery to mass produce it, and are ready to start within 24 hours, once they get it."

"Okay, but what is it?" asked a female griffon.

Derpy waiting for just the proper moment, and in one swift movement she reached out and grabbed the statue, putting it in her bag. It was safe, which was more than one could say for herself. She hurried back, keeping her head down. They were almost out.

"Basically, it's a war cannon, that can fit in the palm of your claw. A clawgun," said Brick.

This made Geld stop dead in his tracks, and looked towards the gathering like they were ghosts, Derpy meanwhile just tried to grab him and get them moving.

"It can only be used by something with a claw. Hooves are useless. It's a game changer. This will change everything."

Suddenly the loud noise of a train whistle could be heard, reverberating through the building.

"Go out and get the pony!"

***

While Geld and Derpy weren't quite out of the woods just yet, both literally and figuratively, once they thought to have put enough distance between themselves and the criminals who were no doubt scrambling like crazy trying to find them, Geld had to stop.

"Geld, come on! We need to keep going!" said Derpy.

"Derpy, do you realize what that means?!" he said, gesturing wildly. He seemed almost to be in shock, the way his face couldn't seem to focus.

"Yes, the package contains a weapon. That's a bad thing, I get that. We still need to keep going."

Geld grabbed her before she could turn around, and he looked straight into her eyes. Derpy had never seen him this serious, or terrified.

"Derpy, when we started this journey together, I lied to you to make it seem like the stakes were higher than they actually were. You need to trust me when I say they were just raised through the roof. Derpy, Brick mentioned a Miss Grau... I know what this is about now, and even who Brick is! Brick is Garrick!"

"Who?" asked Derpy.

Geld let go of her and shook his head, aimlessly walking in circles. "Garrick! Grau and Garrick! They are the son and daughter of the griffon Glent!"

Derpy just looked at him. Shrugging.

"Okay, this is not something you know about. Fine! Fair! Glent is a big deal in the griffon kingdom. A while ago I told you we don't have many great leaders, it's a kingdom without a king. Glent is from a family that claims to be descendants of one King Grover!"

"Wow! I've heard of that one! Are they?" asked Derpy.

"Of course not, they claim it along with about twenty other families. The thing is, Glent is still legible to become king. If he's the one in charge of the Big Bills, then no wonder he's been able to stay in power. The bastard is probably constantly bribing folks to stay up there."

"Okay...?"

"Derpy! Glent hates Equestria, and he wants to either outdo or get rid of the competition. If this clawgun is as effective as Garrick make it out to be, and if they can mass produce it, Glent could easily get enough sway to become the true king of the griffon kingdom! Not only that, but a few of the griffons who wants to be king also wants to wage war on Equestria! They've never been taken seriously, because we don't have enough soldiers, or a decent military, and Equestria's got all kinds of magic we can never hope to outmatch!"

It dawned on Derpy. "But with a cannon that most ponies can't use that can fit in a talon..."

"Derpy, the worst case scenario is war. That said, I can't say for sure Glent would actually be crowned king, and even then, if he could stay in power long enough to declare a war, or if anyone would even let him. But! This is still a huge problem! Best case scenario is still that every Big Bill griffon will have ready access to deadly weapons! Maybe some idiots will use it to start fights with dragons!"

Geld took a deep breath. "In every scenario, someone innocent is going to die if we let them get that package. We have to destroy it!"

"No! I need to deliver it!" said Derpy.

"Okay, now who's being selfish?" asked Geld and rolled his eyes.

"Geld, if we destroy this package, or hide it, or whatever, they are just going to send for a new one wherever they got it! They might already have for all we know! We need to take this package to the authorities! Brick said it himself that this is proof against them! If we can deliver this, we can solve all problems at once!"

"We can just tell the authorities in Baltimare!" said Geld, but he stopped himself. "No, hang on, they could have ponies on the inside."

Derpy thought out loud to herself. "They don't want us to finish the race. They don't want me to finish the race, because I'm popular? Because that would be incriminating... why would it be... Geld! That's it! They don't want me to finish the race because they can think I can actually win!"

"What?"

"Do you remember what Celestia said back in Vanhoover? The winner will hand over the package to the recipient himself on stage."

"Glent will be there," said Geld. "Of course! It's not even to that degree! Everyone will have their eyes on you, even if you finish last. You're the underdog! The Big Bills are afraid ponies are going to keep an eye on the package and connect the dots. There is a risk this could ruin their plans!"

"The better I do, the more likely it is that Glent will be caught! If I can win, Glent is going to receive the package in front of all of Equestria... and in front of Princess Celestia!"

Derpy grabbed Geld, not willing to let him go. "Geld, you are with me on this, right?! You will help me win, won't you!?"

"Yes, of course! I'm all about the money, but I'm not going to let them put more lives in danger!" He glanced to the side. "There's probably a big fat reward for putting the leader of the Big Bills behind bars, though."

"Good, because I can't legally get within 50 feet of Celestia to tell her! Come on! We've wasted enough time already!"

And just like that, they took off, running into the night. Baltimare was their next destination, and beyond that: Manehattan.

A short explanation along the way, and all Geld could say was "Omnicide?!"

Comments

[DreadedCandiru2]

Oh, cripes. That last line......"What was that, Muffin? 'Kill them all!"? GOOD IDEA!!!!"

[Gyro Pony]

Wow.
The stakes were indeed raised with this last chapter.

I like this story.
Very unique.

[DavisSentoV5]

So Derpy had a super weapon this whole time..... Damn

[superfun]

How much longer is the hiatus and how much longer is the story?
Just trying to figure out if I should read this now or just wait until it's finished.

[TheReaderAndWriter]

10638286
Honestly you should probably wait. I don't even know when I'll get back to this, as I have no energy for writing right now. It could be anywhere from a few months to literal years as I'm also busy with real life stuff and more important projects.

[superfun]

10638305
Alright