Trailblazer The Rescuer

by Trailblazer Rocker

Stress

The next morning, four of the ponies woke back up; Rarity was the last one to watch Rainbow Dash, so she was the one already awake. Already, the others gathered around that tent for any updates.

"Well, Rainbow Dash is still asleep, but she didn't do anything out of the ordinary," said Rarity.

"She'll wake up in a little bit," said Twilight Sparkle. "Let's pack up and head out."

Without answering, the others got their tents taken down and packed. Trailblazer took the tent he set up for Rainbow Dash and took it down as well. He began to take away the sleeping bag she was in, which started to wake her up, groaning as she did so.

"Psst!" Trailblazer whispered. "How are you feeling?"

"Nggghh..." she moaned. "I still feel sick..."

"Any better or worse?"

She began to get up, but her legs still gave in. "Still the same..."

"Well, just hang in there. We'll get to Marehattan this afternoon and find a hospital so you can recover."

"Okay... By the way, thanks for taking care of me last night."

Trailblazer stopped packing and looked at her. Already, his lackluster sleep and thoughts last night came back to his mind. He thought about making a snide remark about how she didn't have a single care or responsibility in the world, but he stopped and shook his head. "Yeah, you're welcome." He packed everything else he had except for a blanket and put on his backpack and walked back to Rainbow Dash. "C'mon, let's get you back up." He crawled underneath her and stood back up with her lying face-down on his back. Already, a flashback popped into his mind about how he carried AppleJack back into her barn in a similar way a while ago. He quickly shut the memory out and rubbed his eyes, then came back to his senses.

"Well, let's go," said Fluttershy. "We'll be able to reach Marehattan today if we keep it up."

"Yes, let us move," said Rarity.

They turned and proceeded towards Marehattan to continue their quest. Trailblazer's nagging doubts still continued to work against him during their walk.

"So, you see, I was alone, and I noticed that he had, like, five other ponies with him," SteelHide said as he was reporting to Black Hole in the throne room. "I really couldn't take them all on myself, so I had to rely on an ambush..."

"Hmmm, I see..." said Black Hole. "What else happened?"

"Well, I took those poison darts you made, and I stuck one of their pegasus ponies with them. After that, she was hanging onto the cliff edge. One of the unicorns ran to her to help her up, and that's when I knocked them both over the edge. The second pegasus dove after them, but that's when I had to bail."

"Ah, yes," thought Black Hole. "Considering how long it took to get the poison to act, that pegasus is either dead or incapacitated. You've done well."

"All in a day's work, Lord Black Hole," SteelHide said back, sensing approval.

"Hm, let me think here..." said Black Hole. Then, he called out. "Shadowcolts! I summon you!"

After a few seconds, three shadows appeared on the floor, and the Shadowcolts emerged from them.

"Your faithful servants return. Pray tell, do you have another assignment for us?" Dark Sun spoke.

"Yes. I need you three to team up with SteelHide and ambush Trailblazer and his friends, wherever he's at now."

"Ah, a surprise attack. This shouldn't be too difficult."

"Let SteelHide take care of the ambush. You three should go by his order out there."

"Will do, my lord."

"Okay, so what are we waiting for? Let's go," said SteelHide.

Dark Sun grabbed SteelHide and dragged him into his shadow. Dark Moon and Dark Sky followed Dark Sun, chuckling to themselves.

In the holding room, White Comet came back into it to tell AppleJack what happened.

"So, what's the scoop?" she asked him.

"I have some bad news..." White Comet said. "As your friends were crossing a deep canyon-like river, they were ambushed by Black Hole's admin, SteelHide. As they were flown across, SteelHide managed to poison Rainbow Dash with a fast-acting toxin. Then he said that he knocked another pony off the cliff. I don't know what happened after that, but I don't think either one of them survived."

AppleJack sat down to keep herself from fainting. "No... How could this happen...?" She started to breathe heavily and quickly.

"Hey, stop, calm down." White Comet got close to her and shut her mouth. "We don't know if they're okay or not. We just have to hope for the best in that they're all still okay."

"But what if we really lost them?"

"Just stay calm. We won't know until later."

Just then, Black Mace flew onto the balcony. "Hey, White Comet! Get this! We found the first key we need to unlock that door! That, and Trailblazer might've lost a couple of his friends!"

"Yeah, I heard!" White Comet said, using fake excitedness.

"Anyway, you can go on break. I can watch her from here."

"Allright, I will." White Comet flew away off the balcony, and Black Mace walked into the room. AppleJack opened the glass door to the balcony again, walking to it's edge, looking at the world from it, wondering what went on. All she could see were rocks that sloped to the ground. The nearest walkable surface rock from the balcony was about 300 yards below her. She still looked intently at the landscape, still hoping, yet doubted.

"Trailblazer... Where are you..." she called out meekly.

"We made it!" said Pinkie Pie. "We're in Marehattan!"

"Oh, goodness!" said Rarity as she breathed a sigh of relief. "Let's go find the hospital here and get Rainbow Dash back to her prime!"

"Look up, Dashie!" Pinkie Pie piped up. "We made it!"

Rainbow Dash looked around to see the statues and brick buildings that were either stores, apartments, or condominiums that surrounded them. She scanned the area to look for a hospital herself. Then, she started to feel worse.

"Owwwwhh, my stomach...!" she said trying to clutch her stomach. She ended up brushing Trailblazer's underside by accident.

"I think we're going to have to look for it, fast," said Trailblazer. "I'm sure the locals here know where it's at."

Twilight looked at a sign on the street, which showed them the directions around Marehattan. Some arrow signs led the way.

"Look at this!" she motioned for the others to take a look. "This tells us where the hospital is at!"

"Top shelf!" said Rarity. "Proceed!"

They jogged throughout the city, following the metal signposts that led to the hospital. Although they could've ran there, unless Rainbow Dash was able to hang on to Trailblazer, they had to slow down so she wouldn't fall off. Many twists and turns were taken as they galloped on the streets and between buildings, following all the signs that told them where the hospital was. It was easily found when they reached the campus. It was a big square building with a tan coloration and a skywalk that led to another part of the campus. The one they saw led to a small clinic that was similar in appearance. They continued to gallop to the hospital's main enterance that had an overhang. They walked through the rotating door and walked to the front desk, where a female receptionist greeted them.

"Hello, welcome to Marehattan Hospital. Is there something I can do for you?" she asked.

"Well, a friend of ours is sick, and we're running out of time..." said Fluttershy.

"Okay, just head straight down that hallway on your right, and Wayne will get you registered."

Off to the right, they saw a glass door down the hallway that the receptionist pointed out to. They saw another pony in there, working on some paperwork. They all walked over to him, and he saw them coming. They opened to the doors and got into the office.

"Hello, take a seat here," said Wayne.

There were only two chairs on their side. Fluttershy and Rarity took them, leaving the others on their feet. The door was closed behind them, Then, Wayne looked up and noticed Trailblazer carrying Rainbow Dash on his back.

"Oh, don't tell me..." said Wayne, with a negative tone of voice.

"What?" Trailblazer asked.

"You're that troublemaker, Trailblazer, right?"

"FORMER troublemaker," Trailblazer mouthed back.

"What ultimately brought you here anyway, huh?"

"Hey, this isn't about me. We came here to get our friend in better shape."

"And what makes you think I can let her get the treatment she needs?"

"Well, she's poisoned, and needs help."

"Oh, hell yeah! I'll help YOU!"

"What, you're going to just let her go like this? Just let her remain poisoned until she dies?"

"Well, serves you right. You did unspeakable things to us when we were little, and I ran away to Marehattan to get away from you. Now you wind up here so your friend can get healed, for you?? You're dreaming!"

"Yeah, thanks for the history lesson. How about you start living in the present and help Rainbow Dash out?"

"What, do you want some cash with that treatment too? How much would you like, $25? 50? 100?"

"Yeah, how about you take that cash, turn it into some coin rolls, and stick them up..."

"Knock it off, you two!" Twilight interrupted, trying to stop the fight. She got next to Trailblazer and shoved him aside. At that moment, she felt some stings on her side. She looked at her side and saw that more poison darts stuck to her.

"Oh, no!" yelled Pinkie Pie. As she reached into her bag to pull out some poison-lifting herbs, all the others looked in the direction that they came from. Twilight Sparkle plucked the darts out of her side. She grabbed the herbs and quickly ingested them. Upon looking to their left, SteelHide and the Shadowcolts began to close in on them.

"This time, we're gonna RUIN you, Trailblazer!" said Dark Moon. Using some lassoes, Dark Star captured the receptionist, and dragged her towards them.

"No, Cinnamon!" Wayne ran up to them and tried to ram them, but SteelHide knocked him aside when he got close and pinned him down. "Let go of my sister!"

"I don't think so," said SteelHide. He turned to face Trailblazer's friends, but he wasn't there. "Where'd he go?!"

"Ack, behind us!" Dark Sun yelled. They saw that Trailblazer attacked them from behind, and had Dark Sun dragged away in a tight headlock. He set him down and gave him a hard kick, stunning him.

"Security!" yelled Wayne.

Fluttershy kept Twilight in the registration room, giving her the herbs to counter the dart's poison. Both of them were protecting Rainbow Dash from further harm. As she was doing that, Dark Moon was fighting Pinkie Pie, Dark Star was fighting Rarity, and Trailblazer squared off against SteelHide. It was evenly matched between the three of them, but then the hospital security came into the scene, working to stop and tackle the invaders.

"Oh, crap! This backfired real fast!" yelled SteelHide.

"Quick, SteelHide, hold on!" Dark Sun ran back to their group and pulled him through the shadow on the floor. His two brothers vanished to the floor too, and they didn't return.

"Boys..." Trailblazer said, with his southern accent. "This here is just gonna keep happenin' an' happenin'."

"Oh, Cinnamon, are you okay?" Wayne said as he ran up to her.

"I'm shaken, but I'm okay." she told him.

Wayne thought for a moment, and looked at Trailblazer. "Trailblazer, I'm going to make sure that your friend gets the best treatment she could ever get."

"Whoa, what's with the sudden mood change here?" he wondered.

"Cinnamon is my sister, and you saved her. I can tell you've changed."

"Well, here's my little history lesson: When I grew up and reflected on what I've done as a foal, I saw all the bad things I did, and I wanted to change. Now, here I am, trying to keep everyone safe and sound." Trailblazer told him.

"Well, you saved my sister, so that's very good of you."

"I don't think I ever got to say that I was sorry though."

"Hey, you saved my sister, Apology accepted. Now then..." Wayne walked back into his office and pressed a button on his desk next to a speaker and microphone. "Hey, I need someponies here to escort a pegasus pony to one of your rooms. She's been poisoned and needs the proper medical treatment."

"Will do, Wayne. We're coming down now," a voice spoke back.

Wayne shut off the speaker. Then, he turned to look at Trailblazer. "By the way, I'm curious. What was the deal with those four thugs that broke in anyway?"

"Well, it's kind of a long story, but I'll try to shorten it," said Trailblazer. "Do you remember a unicorn named Black Hole?"

"...Oh yeah... He wasn't really a good egg either back then."

"Well, those four ponies you saw just a little bit ago are working for them. And Black Hole is trying to unlock the Tethleon treasure to get his revenge against me."

"He's trying to get that treasure?"

"Yeah... The reason why we're out here in Marehattan is because we're on a trip by foot. We need to keep going north so we can stop him before he unlocks it. I still don't know what that treasure is, but if he wants to gain control of it, it sure can't be anything positive. Also..." Trailblazer stopped.

"Also... What?"

"...He also kidnapped my marefriend."

"And you're trying to rescue her?"

"Uh-huh."

"Wow, it sounds like you're caught up in something serious..."

Just then, two ponies with a stretcher walked into their lobby.

"Where's this pegasus?" one of the stretcher carriers asked.

Trailblazer walked towards where Fluttershy and Twilight were standing and picked Rainbow Dash up. He carried her over to them. He walked up to them and gave Rainbow Dash to them. The two ponies set her down on it and carried her away.

"I don't know what exactly lies ahead of you between you and Black Hole, but I wish you all the good luck," said Wayne.

Trailblazer nodded and thanked him. Pinkie and Rarity walked back to Fluttershy and Twilight along with Trailblazer.

"Are you all right, Twilight?" Pinkie Pie said.

"Actually, I'm perfectly fine," she answered. "I guess we just have to use those herbs early enough and the poison will be neutralized."

"I guess that makes sense," thought Rarity. "The earlier the treatment, the less effective the ailment will be."

"Exactly."

"Hey, your Rainbow Dash friend is in her room right now," Wayne spoke up. "The doctors are getting her stomach pumped, so you can't visit her now, but she should be okay to greet the next day."

"Oh, that's right!" said Pinkie Pie. "We still need a place to stay here in Marehattan."

"Well, we should go look for one," said Fluttershy.

The five ponies walked out of the hospital and onto it's campus. To their surprise, Applebloom and Big Macintosh were outside the doors.

"What?" Trailblazer stammered. "What are you two doing here?"

"Hi, you five..." Applebloom greeted them with. Both of them looked upset with drooped ears, but none of them wondered why.

"Y'all forgot to tell us about AppleJack..." said Big Macintosh.

"Oh..." said Fluttershy, a little guilty.

"How did you get here anyway?" asked Twilight.

"Well, our Orange relatives are now on vacation, so we decided to rent out their place while they're gone." Big Macintosh continued. "An' Applebloom an' Ah figured that y'all would be here too."

"Wait, did you just say that you have a rented-out place?"

"Eeeeeyup..."

"You, wouldn't mind if we stayed there overnight, would you?"

"Nnnope..."

"Oh, great!"

"Many thanks," said Rarity.

"Just follow us."

The five followed Applebloom and Big Macintosh through the city. It was now nighttime, and all they could do was follow the two as AppleJack's siblings led the way. After a five minute walk, They stopped at a brick two-story building and went inside.

"Here's the place," said Applebloom.

It was an apartment building. They walked through the hallways until ending up on the second floor near the right end of the apartment complex. There, they ended up in a room with small proportions, like any other apartment.

"It ain't much, but this here is where our Orange relatives call home," said Big Mac.

The five got their sleeping bags laid out in the small living room. They were going to need some shut-eye, but Trailblazer still found it difficult to rest.

"I wonder how Dashie is doing," wondered Pinkie Pie.

"I hope she'll pull through," said Trailblazer. "I know she's a tough mare, but poisoning is not to be taken lightly." Then, he said, "I wonder if AppleJack is still doing okay..."

"Trailblazer?" Applebloom overheard that. "Do ya know where she's bein' held?"

"She's held way up north, in the Crawnite Mountains."

"Please take me with you. I want to see her again."

"I'm afraid that you'll have to be with us in spirit, Applebloom."

"But why?"

"We almost lost two of our friends before coming here. I really don't want to tell AppleJack that you're gone when I find her."

"But Trailblazer..."

"Please, Applebloom, it's for your own good. Just sit tight and let us handle it."

Applebloom looked down, still upset. "Yeah, okay. I'll be good."

"Now go get some sleep." Then, Trailblazer mumbled to himself. "Chances are you'll get more than I can."

Applebloom nodded and walked away into a bedroom. At that time, the other four were already asleep, but Trailblazer stayed awake for some time that night, staring blankly into the darkness, still thinking of what he was up against, and what he did when he was younger in Tethleon. Only until his eyelids felt heavy did he fall asleep, but he couldn't tell if it was physical weariness or emotional stress that he was hiding that got him to get some rest.