My Little Paintball

by SweeneyXoz

Chapter 3: The Man With No Mane

My Little Paintball
Chapter 3: The Man With No Mane

Part I: Average Joe

"I won't beg for mercy," Sparkler defiantly told the stallion standing over her. Outlined by a blood-red sky, he was a giant of a pegasus. The barrel of his gun was right in the unarmed unicorn's face and by his own face, he didn't look like he would hesitate to pull the trigger. "If you're going to finish me off, do it quickly."

The pegasus, Crafty Crate, chuckled. "Well, there's no need for that, beautiful. I won't have to hurt ya if you're willin' to give me somethin' in return. Something only a mare can provide." He stroked his hoof under her chin and let out a dastardly chuckle.

"If you're thinking of what I think you are, there's no way in Tartarus you're getting it."

Again he chuckled. "Don't be so resistant. I'm practically starved after a long day of fighting. And a battle-weary soldier's gotta have some pleasure."

"There's no way I'm making you a sandwich!"

He spat. "Sooner or later, you'll have to relent. Everyone knows what a master sandwich craftspony you are and I will have my way."

"Then I'm afraid you're going to be sorely disappointed." She glared at him in contempt and refused to speak another word.

Crafty wrapped his hoof around her neck and threw her to the ground. "I don't need your impudence, girl. I'm an adult!" He raised his hoof to slap her across the face, but a stranger's words halted him.

"Leave the lady alone."

The suspicious stallion turned to see a small figure standing against the sunset. Behind him was the road leading away from Ponyville. He almost looked like a child. In fact, he didn't look like a pony at all. It was a baby dragon. And not just any baby dragon, Crafty thought. He's the one who's always hanging around that Twilight chick! What was his name? Bah, can't remember. He's just some average Joe. Hey! Maybe that's it!

"You'd best be mindin' your own business, Joe!" he shouted, gesturing his gun to Sparkler. "The 'lady' might get hurt."

"I'd say she already looks hurt." Joe took a few steps forward and his figure was illuminated a little more. He seemed to be wearing a poncho and a hat not unlike those worn in Appleoosa. In a holster at his side was a paintball gun, his claw not even touching it.

"And it's her own damn fault! It'll be your damn fault too if she gets shot!"

The baby dragon continued inching forward and shook his head. "It just so happens, I don't like it when a stallion lays his hooves on mare."

Crafty, seeing a bigger threat, aimed his gun at Joe and screamed, "Not one more step or you'll get it! I swear to Celestia you'll get it!"

Joe stopped. Sparkler, rubbing her sore but undamaged neck, eyed this strange character with great curiosity. It was obviously Twilight's assistant, but for some reason the name escaped her. Was such an unusual person really so forgettable? She almost spoke up, but one quick look at Crafty's enraged face kept her silent.

The shaking in Crafty's hoof grew more obvious as he kept up his threats. "Now back away! Real slow-like, or I do you and her in!"

Joe, who'd been keeping his head tilted down, raised it to match his foe's eyes. The determination in them was unmistakeable and a chill shivered down the brawny stallion's spine. "I don't think you want to upset me any more."

"Shut up! Just shut up and back away!"

Joe took a single step forward and Crafty's hoof squeezed the trigger of his gun. The paintball flew wildly to the right of the dragon's head. Naturally, he didn't even flinch. Even his eyes hadn't moved. He simply kept up his stare and took another step forward.

"What the hell is wrong with you!?" Crafty cried out, his voice breaking. "Your ears broken!? Get away!" He fired again, but the shaking in his hoof was uncontrollable. This freak was unlike anything he'd ever seen. Tears began to well up in his eyes. "Son of a bitch!" he desperately spat out. He pointed his gun at Sparkler's head and screamed. "I told you I'd—" His words were stopped as he felt an impact against his chest. He looked down to see a wet, purple stain slowly dripping down his front. He looked up. The dragon was still just standing there, but his claw rested on his gun. I didn't even see him move. I didn't... eve... His eyes glazed over and he crumpled to the ground, a sweaty, sorry heap.

Joe slowly approached the stunned mare and offered a claw to her. "Are you alright?"

Sparkler placed her hoof in the claw and allowed herself to be pulled up to stand. She looked down to see her savior below her, staring off into the distance. It was strange. Hadn't he seemed taller?

"I— I'd like to thank you," she said, struggling to find proper words. "There's no telling what would've happened if you hadn't been there."

"You seem like a strong mare," Joe said back, still staring into the distance. "I'm sure you would've been alright."

She blushed at the compliment and wrapped one foreleg around the other. It wasn't that she found this stranger attractive. He was just so... captivating. Like a celebrity you deeply admire and feel incredibly humbled by.

"Even so, I thank you." She waited for him to ask something. Where she was going, how she got herself into that mess, anything, really. But he was as silent as stone. Maybe Tom would have been a better name. After a good fifteen seconds of silence, she decided she would ask the questions first. "So... where are you from?"

"Around."

She cocked a brow. "Around... here?"

He nodded.

"Well, then you must be Twilight's assistant. I'm guessing your name's not Joe, though."

"You'd guess right."

"Then may I have your real name?"

He looked up at her, confusion showing itself on his face. "My real name? I'm sure you must've heard it."

She turned away, facing the town in which she had searched all day. "I'm sorry. I wish I could recall, but it's just... I simply can't. I'm sorry." She closed her eyes and felt a few tears build themselves up.

He put an arm around her shoulder comfortingly. "No worries. Not many ponies seem to recall me. It's how I got myself here, strangely enough. You can just call me Scalie."

"Scalie?" she questioned. It seemed silly at first, but there was an odd charm to it. He nodded in confirmation and her eyes shifted thoughtfully to the ground. This stranger, from out of nowhere, saved me from a terrible fate. Yet, he isn't even telling me his real name. Should I trust him enough to tell him how I got myself captured by that sicko? "So, uh, I'll bet you're wondering how I got myself into that mess back there."

"It might've crossed my mind."

She sighed. "The thing is, I've been looking for my daughter all day. She's a pale blue filly with violet eyes. I lost track of her after the game began and I haven't seen her since. I was following the road out of Ponyville when that monster jumped me. You wouldn't happen to have seen my daughter would you? Tootsie Flute?"

Scalie's interest was piqued the moment she brought up her lost daughter. He'd listened silently, but intently. "I'm afraid I haven't. I've been looking for someone too."

"Twilight?"

He chuckled softly as he turned back to the sunset. "If so, I think I may have found her already. Kidding aside, I'm not so sure. Maybe I'm just looking for myself". He thought for a moment, then looked up at his newfound friend. "But I suppose since we're both searching, we could search together. Watch each others' backs and all."

Sparkler wrapped her foreleg around the baby dragon and they both sat on the grass. "I was about to suggest the same thing. But it's going to get dark soon and by nightfall anyone in the street will be defenseless."

"We could head to the library first. There's plenty of food there and who knows? Maybe Twilight's already there."

"Sounds like a plan." The two companions rose and stepped onto the dirt road, ready to head back into the battleground that was once sleepy, little Ponyville. As the pair began the trek to the library, Sparkler cheerfully asked, "Care for a sandwich?"

Part II: Aim for the Heart

Spike awoke to find himself cut off from the world he knew. Where once there was colour, there was only a blinding white light. Where once there were many sounds, there was only a low rumble. Where once there was a crowd, there was absence. Spike looked about, trying to get a grasp on his location, but found all of his senses taken. His attempt to get up was met with a piercing migraine, the likes of which he'd not felt before.

What in the world?, he thought. Where am I? This isn't the town square. A terrible thought crossed his mind. Was I trampled? Am I dead!? He fell forward and pulled himself across soft dirt and grass, trying to feel his way out of this void. It wasn't long before he noticed something else was wrong. I'm not breathing. I can't really be dead! There's no way! He tried to stand up again, but discovered his legs could not carry him. He stumbled and felt a sharp pain as his face impacted the ground. He rolled onto his side to see a pure-white pony galloping towards him. Its features were indistinguishable and it seemed to be yelling something.

"Ntak te aghov!" the pony shouted. "Khanye eer me?"

Spike weakly lifted a claw and attempted to wave, but felt his strength draining by the moment. It seemed the white void would swallow him, body and soul. The white pony reached him and stood before his eyes. "Inyon hilfoo," he heard the stranger say.

Can't understand a word. What does he want? Why is this... Spike felt his grip on life slowly slipping as his chest constricted and darkness began to overtake his vision. The stranger lowered its head and, with one swift motion, jerked back. Suddenly, light, sound, and smell filled Spike's senses and forced him to shut his eyes. Air rushed into his lungs, allowing him to take several life-saving gasps. He knew the stranger must still have been standing there. He could hear its breathing.

Slowly, Spike opened his eyes. Above him was an earth pony stallion with a plain brown mane and a coat the colour of caramel. What was his name again? Butterscotch? "Who are you?" he asked.

The stranger took on an irritated look. "Figured you wouldn't remember me. But I sure as hay remember you."

"I know I've seen you before."

"Right before the gala. Lucky and I were doing a favor for Rarity when you whipped us! You whipped us!"

"Wait a second... Caramel!"

"That's right. And you're welcome for saving you."

Spike sat up and faced his apparent rescuer. "Saving me? What did you do? What's going on?"

"I saw you lying there with a plastic bag over your head. I think you got trampled unconscious in the mob when a bag just fell on your head and you started suffocating."

"Mob? That's right! There was a crowd here!" He looked around. "But where is everyone?"

"Well, Lucky's off to go make sure Rarity is okay. Everyone else is hunkering down for the game"

"The... paintball game?"

Caramel tilted his head. "Yeah. You must've gotten hit harder than I thought. Do you need a doctor?"

The uneasy dragon shakily stood up and dusted himself off. His headache was still quite painful, but the rest of his body seemed well enough. "No. No, I don't think so. And thank you... for saving me."

Caramel's face softened a bit, his previous irritation swept away. "As long as you're okay. Some ponies are taking this game a bit too seriously." Immediately as he finished his sentence, a yellow unicorn mare had stood some distance behind Spike and raised her gun to fire. "Get down!" He shoved Spike back to the ground and readied his gun. Thanks to a dive-roll in her direction, the first few shots missed. Not waiting a moment, Caramel raised his gun and put two paintballs into her. He turned back to Spike and shouted, "It's not safe here! We need to get out of the open!"

Spike nodded and took off for the nearest building as fast as his weary legs would carry him. Caramel kept an eye out for any more attackers and followed after the baby dragon. He rushed inside the door and slammed it shut, taking the chance to catch his breath. Spike also stood nearby with his claws on his knees. The interior of the building looked like a typical Ponyville home. Stairs in front of the door, small hallways leading to the living room and dining room.

"You don't have a weapon, do you?" Caramel inquired between gasps.

"I'm not looking for a fight. The prize doesn't make a difference. I just want to make sure my friends are okay."

"I didn't ask that. The competition started just minutes ago and the town is already turning into a battleground. If you want to last to see them again, you're going to need to defend yourself."

"Then no, I don't."

"Well, let's remedy that." Caramel stood up to his full height and shifted his gaze around the room. "There might be someone here willing to 'lend' us a weapon. Stay here."

Not willing to argue with his earth pony ally, Spike planted himself in a nearby chair and waited as said ally inspected their their surroundings. He heard doors open around the first floor as Caramel went about his search. Having not found a single other pony, he slowly ascended the stairs with gun at the ready. Spike heard one door fly open. A second door flew open. Then a third. For some time afterward, he didn't hear a sound.

Well, that's strange. Did he find anything? A bit scared, but curious, Spike climbed the stairs and slowly looked into each room. The first a bathroom, the second a hall closet, and the third a foal's bedroom. His heart sank as his eyes beheld the scene inside. A brutish earth pony was standing his gun aimed at a kneeling Caramel. His coat was the colour of dirt and his red eyes had an almost demonic quality. In the corner were two more armed earth ponies guarding a sobbing mare and her oblivious baby.

"Put your claws in the air," the leader commanded in a gravely, uncaring voice. "And get on your knees"

Spike complied, unsure of who these ponies were or why they were being so cruel. He took a look at Caramel, who was clearly enraged at the lack of care they presented to this innocent family. "Why are you doing this?" he asked in dismayed confusion. "What did they ever do to you?"

The leader spoke again, focusing more on his new pony hostage than on his dragon one. "You may not have heard, but there's a battle going on. We're here to make sure we're the last ones standing."

"Even if it means stepping on a family who never did a thing to you?" Caramel said between his teeth.

"Make no mistake, I have no intention of hurting those two. We simply mean to make use of their residence. Plenty of food and plenty of beds."

"For Celestia's sake, it's just a game! A game they're not even playing!"

"Well, you're right. It is just a game. But then again, so is life. There are winners..." He took a few steps toward his prisoner until the barrel was mere centimeters from his face. "And there are losers."

Unwilling to simply sit by and do nothing, Spike leaped for the leader.

Caramel also jumped up and only had time to cry out "No!" before their enemy shifted his aim to Spike and fired.

Part III: Someone Like You

Scalie focused on the ceiling above as he lay on his back, his spine resting on a familiar bed. He remained on the ground floor while Sparkler took Twilight's bed in the loft. The lights were off and the windows boarded shut. With the day's events still roiling in his mind, he found himself unable to sleep. He rose from his bed and walked over to the table in the center and picked up a picture of himself with his lifelong friend, Twilight Sparkle.

"Can't sleep either, huh?" he heard a voice say behind him. He turned to see Sparkler standing there, a blanket still half-wrapped around herself to keep away the cold.

He set the picture back in its place. "Yeah."

"Thinking about Twilight?"

"Mostly. But there's also Fluttershy, Pinkie, Rainbow, Applejack, and..." He closed his eyes. "Rarity."

Sparkler stepped over to the picture and eyed it with friendly curiosity. "Quite a few friends you have. If your care for them is any indication, they must love you very much."

"They do. They don't always show it, but they do."

"What do you mean?"

"More than a few times, I've been pushed into the background. Gently, but pushed nonetheless."

"I don't quite understand."

"The six of them are practically inseparable. Where even one of them is, another can't be far away. But me..." He stepped away from her and looked above to see the night sky through a window. "All too often, like today, it's like I'm not even there."

Sparkler approached him and placed a caring hoof on his shoulder. "Listen, if there's one thing you're not, it's forgettable. After the way you saved me today, I don't think you'll ever fade from my memory."

He brushed off the hoof and stepped away from her warm presence. "What I did today wasn't heroic. It was to atone."

"Atone for what?"

"Something stupid I did today."

"It couldn't have been that stu—"

"An innocent mother was shot in front of her baby because of me."

Sparkler made a strained "woah" sound and found herself completely unsure what to say. One question immediately burned into her mind, though, and she figured she'd ask. "How in Equestria did that happen?"

"Myself and a friend were looking for a gun to arm myself inside their home. Except we had no idea that they were home. A few other players were keeping them hostage and using the building as a make-shift base to start the game with. I jumped the leader and managed to take his gun while my friend shot the others. But in the confusion, the mother had been shot." He started to feel a single tear slide down his cheek. "Right in front of her baby. I was so... stupid. Arrogant."

"But she's okay, right?"

He turned and his mood suddenly became nonchalant. "Oh, yes. Of course. My friend took her outside and made sure she got to safety. I doubt anyone would be sick enough to actually shoot at them, so she probably got outside the town easily enough."

"Oh. That's a relief."

"But I swore I wouldn't let something like that happen again. After seeing that mother fall prey with no one there to help, I knew I had to act when I saw you."

She smiled. "I'm sure you would have acted regardless. A real gentledragon is just what this world needs."

"Gentler ponies would be nice, too. Some of the other players could learn a few things about compassion from mothers like you."

The moon's path had taken it straight over the heads of the unlikely pair, bathing them in its silvery glow. Sparkler, now literally sparkling by the white orb's blessed light, declared, "Then let's teach them together."

Scalie smiled in agreement and thought about Twilight, Sparkler, and the unknown mother whose only wish was to protect her child.

Where cruelty has no value, kindness, sometimes, has its price. That is why mothers have appeared.

Comments

[Chill Mists(Chilly)]

Spike is a badass. I'm cool with this.

[CoastalSarv]

Am I supposed to be laughing now?

[heliolithicJellybeans]

Situational badassery ahoy!

[na]

I imagine him with this moustache at the same time

[NLRsoldier]

Is it bad i keep trying to re like this story with each new chapter?

[Your Antagonist]

I love the way you did Spike: Mysterious badass drifter anti-hero. Fits perfectly. Keep it up!

[lunarderpy1]

558900 no, no it is not