Holding the Cards
Holding the Cards
"Jason, what are these things?" Dash asked, kicking a shoe lightly.
"They're like foot protectors, so I can kick things and go over sharp rocks and stuff." Scoots sniffed at one, scrunching up her nose in disgust.
"They smell like sweat! Why would you wear these?"
"It's not like I have a choice, and plus..." He reached over to a shelf, grabbing an air freshener that he had found earlier and spraying it into the shoes. "How about now?"
She sniffed again. "Like lemons, I guess." Jason chuckled and nodded, sliding a shoe on, then the other. He stood up and took a few steps, before taking one back off and looking at the missing toes. He balled up some paper and shoved it into the toe before replacing the shoe and nodding affirmatively, bending over and strapping Dash's saddlebag to himself, following with his own.
"Ready to go?" He asked, looking downwards to the other two with a grin. "Wait, hold on." Jason turned around and pushed open the door to the cockpit, looking around as the other two peered in the door at the controls. He'd never been in a cockpit before, this was kinda cool. If there wasn't somewhere to go he'd probably pretend to fly it. But since there was...
Jason pulled open the door to a small refrigerator, checking the temperature with a hand. It wasn't particularly cold, but the stuff inside may have survived. He pulled out the contents, setting them on a small table. Most of a gallon of milk, some bags of beef jerky that had been refrigerated for some reason--although the cheer in his head wasn't dissuaded--some half and half, and a packaged bar of cheddar that he sniffed and stuck into Dash's saddlebag.
He knelt to look at the lower shelf and pulled out a pizza box, sighing when the only piece inside was half eaten. He sighed and decided he'd be better off leaving the milk, grabbing the beef jerky instead.
"Can I- go on your head again?" Scoots asked, standing on two hooves, then leaning on the other two in a manner that made her look surprisingly cute.
"Sure." He replied, looking around for a minute before he found a backpack, and dropped in Dash's armor and gun, along with her holster. He put the machete and his AUG around his back, checking that everything still fit. He picked up the filly as she giggled, placing her behind his head so that her hind legs were on either side of his neck. She hardly weighed anything. "Happy?"
"Just make sure to duck under doors." Dash said with a smirk, as Jason picked her up as well despite her squirming, cradling her in his arms.
"I take what I said before back, you're not all that heavy either." She jumped as he squeezed at her flank, her face lighting up in a blush. "There're a few things I've been missing. You have a really squeezable butt, it's not my fault." He shrugged, making Scoots giggle as she bounced around on his shoulders.
"Scoots is right there!" She yelled back, blushing more heavily.
"You're the one making a big deal of it." Jason replied, exiting the plane on more stable footing than before and following a pointed hoof from Dash into the forest.
"And you're the one that's going to make me miss these things when they're gone." She replied, wiggling into a more comfortable position. "This sure is comfortable though..." She murmured, letting her eyes droop.
"Don't pass out on me, if something happens you might get dropped." He said, lifting her higher until his lips met hers. He let her back down and watched her blush ease slightly, shifting her to caress her cheek with a thumb, looking at the spot where he had punched her, showing signs of a bruise already.
"I told you to stop worrying about that." She said, closing her eyes again. "Shit happens, I'm not one to overreact."
"Are you two still mad at each other?" Scoots asked.
"No, we're not." Dash replied. "Jason can't figure out why I'm not mad. I'm probably not going to get mad unless he cheats, which I doubt he will." She finished with a smirk.
"Why?"
"Cuz I know how he felt when he hurt me inadvertently. The hive mind isn't only useful for you, Jason."
"Yeah, but-" He was cut off when she stuck a hoof in his mouth, which was rather foul tasting, unsurprisingly. Wait...
"I don't want to hear it anymore, it's not a big deal, alright?"
"Yeah..." He trailed off, scanning the foliage for anything he actually recognized. "So I can taste things again, whether they're your taste buds still or mine."
"Well I guess it's not all bad." Dash replied.
"It's not anyway, there's something nice about being human, even without all the magic and stuff. I'm sure if you suddenly went back to how you are now after being something else you'd enjoy it as well."
"Yeah, but I can fly like this, all you have is... most of your fingers." Dash replied.
"Thanks for making me feel good."
Dash snickered. "I'm there for you when you need me."
"I guess there's something I can't argue about. I thought those didn't exist."
"Yeah, me too." She replied with a chuckle. "Hey, let me down, I feel useless." She squirmed again, as Jason tightened his arms.
"Dash, come on. I can't do this normally, cut me some slack."
"Yeah, but you're carrying everything, and me, and Scoots." She paused. "You aren't trying to make up for something, are-"
"No, Dash, I still feel guilty, but I'm not going to make up for something by carrying you over a short distance."
"I don't want you to make anything up anyway."
"Anyway, I would have either done something important, taken you somewhere you like, or something to that extent. Maybe some flowers as well... I haven't given you many of those before..."
"Jason, I-" He tried to put a finger over her mouth, before he tried again with his middle finger.
"If you don't want anything, that's fine, as long as you know I'm sorry, alright?"
"Yeah, I do."
"Then there's no problem, I guess. But don't take it as me trying to make up for something if we do go somewhere. I don't need to make something up to do something nice for you."
"I know." She said quietly. "Can you grab me a piece of jerky, since we have some again?"
Jason chuckled. "You're hardly a vegetarian anymore, Dash, what have I done?"
"Introduced me to superior cuisine?" She asked, opening her eyes to stare up at him.
"Heh, just so long as you don't eat too much." He replied, transferring her to one arm as he reached around and grabbed a bag, neatly ripping it open with his teeth and proceeding to stare at the bag. "I can't really get it out..."
"Oh, superior humans..."
"Yeah, because you can grab so many things."
"Just hand me the bag." Dash said, not waiting as she took it from her hands, pushing a hoof in and returning with a smallish strip of beef, which she quickly put into her mouth. "I really missed this stuff."
"Mom, what is that?" Scoots asked, reaching down towards the bag.
"It's beef, like meat."
"Why are you eating that?!" She yelled, nearly blowing out the eardrum on one side of his head.
"Cuz it's delicious, and the cow's dead either way. It wasn't intelligent in the first place." Dash reached back into the bag, reaching up with a piece in her hoof. "Try some." Scoots stared at the dark colored, peppered meat. "It could get you your cutie mark..." Dash teased, waving it around. The filly watched for a few more seconds before grabbing it herself.
"This isn't because I think it'll get me my mark." She denied, taking another look before she shoved it all into her mouth. Dash giggled as she watched Scoots' face, which could be going through any number of expressions at the moment. Jason knew she enjoyed it a little at least, whether she showed it or not. He tripped a little over a root, smacking his foot into the ground on the next step and stabilizing himself.
"Don't fall, Jason." Dash warned. "I'll be the first thing to hit the ground."
"No you won't, if I know I'm going to fall, the nice thing about being tall is that I have a lot of time to react. So basically I'd fall on my back and grab Scoots like this," He reached over his head and put a hand on her stomach, making her giggle as he gripped her lightly. "Then just pull her over and onto my stomach."
"Oh, so it's foolproof, huh?"
"Exactly!" He replied, making her roll her eyes, although a fairly large smile still forced its way onto her face. Jason suddenly stopped and righted Dash before setting her down, getting himself behind cover.
"So, moment of truth then?" Jason asked, looking at Zecora's hut as he crouched in the brush, stroking at the very edge of the machete blade with his thumb and letting the sound ring out.
"Why do you toy with fire like that?" Dash asked. "You're already missing a finger, what happens if you lop off another one?"
"Don't worry, it'll be- AAAAAAHHHHH!" He flailed around his fist, watching the other two join with his yell before he started to laugh.
"You bitch, why would you scare me like that?!" Dash yelled as she punched his shoulder rather hard, making him miss the armor that was usually all over.
"I can't just be the nice guy all the time, it gets boring."
"So it's still there?" Scoots asked, as he held his hand up above his head and she sighed.
"Why are we waiting here?" Dash asked, pushing through the bush and tugging at Jason with a hoof. "She's not going to freak out, don't worry."
"I dunno, what if I look like their version of death or something?"
"The chances of that are so low, Jason." Dash replied, deadpan.
"Fine, but if she hits me with a potion and I end up as something I haven't been before, it's your fault."
She rolled her eyes, raising a hoof and knocking at the door. It opened a few moments later to a rather surprised looking zebra, which Dash thought was her whole reaction, until Zecora saw Jason and her jaw dropped slightly.
"I see you have brought a friend Rainbow Dash," She swallowed. "I hope the decision has not been rash." She gestured for them to come inside and they did, as Jason made sure to duck under the much too short doorway.
"He's not usually like this, he got poison joke. I was hoping you could help"
Zecora turned from a steaming cauldron, tilting her head as she approached Jason again. "You say this is poison joke? Surely this must be a hoax."
"How come?" Jason asked. "I know for a fact I wasn't like this yesterday." He reached into his saddlebag and pulled out the photo of Scoots and himself that he'd kept. "See, that's me right there, and this," he pointed to his head, "Is my daughter."
Zecora studied him more closely, lifting up his shirt with a hoof. "I do believe it is reverting, maintaining a spell like this is quite exerting."
"You're saying he'll go back to normal by himself?" Dash asked, pulling up his shirt to look at the black patches that were starting to show through.
"I'm sure he will soon, definitely before the next new moon."
"I don't have that kind of time!" Jason yelled a little too loudly. "I need magic back by the end of the week or this future will have never existed!"
"Please, I will need peace and quiet, If I am to repair this-"
"You can fix it?" Jason asked, his emotions not completely following the sudden change in direction the conversation had taken.
Zecora nodded. "It's too extreme for a simple bath, but I can speed the path along its path." She said, grinding something in a mortar. "Besides, my cauldron would never fit a beast like you. And after all, I'd have to get rid of this brew." She finished, gesturing to the swirling contents.
"So how long?" Jason asked.
"Maybe a day, or two, or three. Try to avoid a scene, for the ponies may flee."
"So I figured." He replied, taking a finished potion with a nod, and putting it to his lips. He looked for a sign that he wasn't supposed to drink it before downing the entire flask in one go, coughing slightly at the taste. Dirt and fish. Probably dead fish. "Blegh." He said, coughing as he handed the empty bottle back. "That stuff tastes terrible."
"That is what I would safely assume, it does need large amounts of mushroom."
"Well thanks, hopefully this'll get me back to normal soon enough..." He said, smiling as he picked up an orange near the door. "What color's this?"
"That would be orange, can't you see--well played, changeling."
"I told you her head wouldn't explode!" Dash said with a laugh, making Zecora frown.
"Just because I feel a hankering for verse, does not mean the absence would necessitate a hearse."
Dash stared for a moment, before she pushed the door the rest of the way open. "Anyway... I'll see you around." A blush crossed her face. "Actually, I've got a favor to ask. You can go wait outside if you want, Jason."
Zecora nodded, watching them leave as Jason almost turned and collided with the top of the door, swearing under his breath as he ducked and stood outside on the much more worn path than the one he'd taken to get to the hut in the first place.
A few minutes later, Dash exited with another flask in her mouth, carefully stowing it in her saddlebag as Jason raised an eyebrow. Whatever, she could have her secrets. She'd tell him if it was important, or maybe it was something he'd see more of later. The thought made him grin, her surprises hadn't been lackluster so far...
"So Jason, somehow I've forgotten to ask you for a race." Dash started, breaking the silence.
"I'd lose." He replied with a laugh.
"Maybe, but I still want to see what happens." She replied, turning off into a small clearing. "Come on, line up. We'll race to those rocks over there." Dash squared her footing as Jason took off...everything, leaving it in a small pile as he set Scoots down as well.
"Hold on a second." Jason said, poking at his stomach. "I think I'm hungry."
"Only you wouldn't know!" She replied with a laugh, before turning her view forward again. "I'll take this stuff to our house and then grab you something from Sugarcube corner."
"We have food with us, you know."
"Yeah, but maybe my friends'll be there, and I kinda wanted to show them I was okay."
"Why are they always there?"
"It's only in the morning on weekends." She paused. "And some weekdays. Yeah, we need to do something new."
"It doesn't matter to me, really. Ready?"
"Yeah, ready, set, go!" She yelled, as Jason popped up from the line and sprinted off to an early lead. He'd expected that much, watching Dash pass him a few seconds later, widening her lead before they crossed the improvised finish line. "Okay," She started. "First, let me say, I thought you had me there for a second. Now, let me just mention that I won."
"Just a mention, huh?"
"It's not like it was going to be close, you said that yourself. But you're pretty fast for only having two legs."
"Heh, alright. My turn. Scoots, come here!" He yelled, watching the filly trot over. "Okay, minus flying, I bet that you can't touch me in this clearing, even if you two are on a team."
"No way, you're on!" Dash replied, taking a few quick steps away. "So, whenever?"
"Yeah, I'm ready." He said, sticking a hand in his pocket. He hardly had time to react as she lunged and he jumped backwards, jumping over Scoots as she ran under him. Jason landed and rolled, getting shakily back to his feet as Dash started to sprint behind him, and he dipped a shoulder, touching a few fingers to the ground as he changed direction, watching her spread her wings to slow down.
Jason hardly had time to chuckle before an orange ball entered the corner of his vision and he tried to stop, hitting his back on the ground as he fell and Scoots shot over. He rolled to the side and got up, turning sideways to avoid Dash but not missing the smirk on her face as she tried to hit him with a wing. She only seemed to do so half-heartedly, and instead whispered something to Scoots before they both spread out again, and a blue ball shot past him.
He could hardly do more than react as Dash tried to tag him one way, then switch to another, making him change his motions faster than he'd thought he'd have to. He'd gone a fair ways backwards without any sign of Scoots, just repeated occurrences from Dash, herding him backwards. So Scoots had a fairly easy shot at-
His foot caught on what he was sure was Scoots, and he couldn't regain his footing. His back hit the ground again as Dash landed on his chest, knocking some air out of his lungs as her smirk widened. "Gocha."
"Technically, I think it was Scoots."
"Whatever, we still did it."
"Yeah, I suppose you have." He said, stroking his chin. "Feel free to move whenever."
"I dunno, I kinda like it here." Dash replied, flopping onto her side and poking his nose. "It's comfy."
"Ugh." Jason pushed her off, hardly sitting up before Scoots knocked him back down, smiling widely. "You too, huh?" He asked, slipping a hand under her chest and lifting her up above his head, placing his other hand on her stomach to take the pressure off her breathing. "How's the weather up there?"
"It's pretty rainy." The filly replied with a giggle, fluttering her wings.
"I don't understand why she likes this kind of thing when she can fly." Dash said, looking up the eight or more feet to her daughter.
"I like to be taller than other ponies." Scoots said. "I'm like the shortest kid in class, I hate looking up to people. And I also kinda like the fact that I'm still close to either of you..."
"It's too bad you don't like to be called cute, Scoots." Jason said, scratching her head lightly. "Cuz you really are, hopefully your colt friend knows how special you are."
"Yeah, he better." Dash mumbled. "He's got hell to deal with if he doesn't." She started pulling stuff off of the pile and strapping it to herself, the saddlebags, the backpack, testing that her wings were still clear enough to fly. "I'm just going to bring this stuff up to the house, I'll meet you where this trail lets out. And for the love of god, Jason, don't cause trouble."
"I'll try not to." He said seriously, lowering Scoots back down to head level and planting a gentle kiss on her forehead. "I love you Scoots, don't ever forget that."
"Like I would." She said, rubbing her cheek against his. "Love you too."
_____________________________________________________________________
Dash glided down, breaking into a trot as she landed. She looked around, checking that no ponies were nearby before walking into the forest a little, jumping as Jason grabbed her leg out of a bush. A hiss left her gritted teeth as she tried not to scream, able to easily feel her heart beating through her chest.
"God damn, why would you do that?"
"I thought it'd be funny." Jason replied, his head poking out as laughter permeated the air from a filly somewhere nearby. "And it was."
"If I didn't pull this kind of thing on you I'd probably be angry right now."
"Yeah, well just so long as nobody finds out it's me in here. You better not act like you know anything if things go downhill."
"No problem."
Jason paused for a moment. "So, that food..."
Dash facehoofed. "Ugh, I forgot. Just a second, hold on." She turned and jumped into the air, watching Jason disappear back into the brush as she gained speed. At least he wasn't freaking out to be back the way he was, considering how much worse the whole thing earlier would have been. She couldn't shake the thought that all the stress was tugging at his sanity, to a much greater extent than it had for her.
Dash sneezed, swerving slightly. And now she could be getting sick, which was just one more thing she obviously didn't want. God, it was just one thing after another with this, and there was still the soul magic and Chrysalis to take care of, and even if they could bring Scoots it still didn't seem like something she'd want to do. Although when it came to Jason, he might want the fighting if it meant friendly ponies.
She landed slowly, still in thought as she pushed open the door to Sugarcube Corner, accompanied with the ring of a small bell. Her friends were there, as per usual, but Dash walked past the table, straight to the counter.
"Dashie!" Pinkie yelled, zipping up with a cupcake and some sort of more strudel-type thing. "Where's Jason? I don't know if he likes the cupcakes that much which is cah-raaaaaa-zy, but I made a new thing for him, I figured maybe he could try it, right? By the way, where is he anyway?"
"He's...sick." Dash replied, pushing some bits across the counter and taking the bag in her mouth. "Tanks."
"So how's he doing?" Twilight asked.
She set down the bag with a sigh. "I dunno, not that well I guess."
"Oh, is it serious?" Rarity queried, looking like she may swoon.
"No, I meant besides the illness."
"Take a seat dear, tell us everything!" Dash felt a chair hit her legs before she was up at the table, staring across at Rarity as she rested her head across two hooves. "Is he distant? Do you think he's cheating?"
"Wha-? No! He wouldn't do that, I know how he feels about me."
"Do you?"
"Yeah, I can feel it. It's an advantage of him being a changeling, I guess." She finished with a smirk, crossing her arms. Any smugness didn't last long as her face fell again and she bit her lip.
"Well, something's wrong, dear." Rarity urged, probably wanting the gossip.
"If you tell anypony, Rarity..."
"Don't worry darling, a lady doesn't repeat confidential things."
Dash rolled her eyes, taking a long pause. "I don't think, after this- I think he's starting to lose it." She put a hoof to her forehead. "I'm not exactly sure what part of all this is making him any different, but he freaked out this morning, I could hardly calm him down."
The other ponies exchanged worried looks. Applejack was the first to break the silence. "So should Ah be-"
"If you ask whether or not he's dangerous, I'll fucking tackle you over this table." Unsurprisingly, silence ensued. "Look at this a different way. Assume he's a pony for a moment. Now, this pony's been stabbed, tortured, watched his marefriend die in his arms, had the Nightmare in his head, fought through a war on the front lines, and most ponies hate him. Like half his body's scar tissue by now, and you never hear him complain! He hardly brags either, and I've not heard one of you say anything about him basically saving any of you from the griffins or anything!"
She paused, taking a breath as she readied her next set of words. "I don't know if you just kinda ignore what he says, but at least trust me. I'm not under any spell, and I've been friends with all of you for years. Just fucking humor me, and show the guy a little respect. Maybe I'm a little biased, but he probably deserves it more than anypony else, for one reason or another." She paused, a tear coming to her eye. "I just don't want to lose him, especially not to insanity or some shit like that."
"Um." Someone said, the only noise for what seemed like entire minutes. A hoof covered hers, and she looked up the arm to see Rarity.
"We'll do our best, darling."
Rage filtered through her chest, as she stood up and the chair skidded backwards. "You've been trying for ages! It's. Not. That. Hard!" She took a breath. "You can't do your best, you better, fucking, succeed!!" She opened her eyes back up almost immediately as she heard scraping, only to find that the table had moved back a few feet, along with the chairs across from her. "Wha-" She said, staring at the table again before she grabbed the bag in her mouth and started to run off. "I grta go."
Dash was hardly ten steps outside before her thoughts turned from her friends and to whatever had happened. The speed of the change worried her slightly, but after all this time, her friends should have come around by now. Or was she being unrealistic? Fuck, whatever. She'd moved that table. She was pretty sure she'd moved that table. But that was impossible, she wasn't a unicorn, and she knew that nothing like this had happened before, with any non-magic user.
So what then, maybe she had the power, but there was no way of expressing it, no horn to make anything actually work. She was already back to the forest and skidded to a halt over a rather long length, diving into the same bush and landing directly on top of Jason, as he tried to react.
"Jason, what's wrong?" She asked, looking at his pained expression.
"A few minutes ago I got dizzy and then you landed on my testicles." He hissed, shoving her off none too gently. "Ooooooowwwwwww."
"I just moved a table." Dash said, as Jason gave her a 'who cares' gesture with a corresponding hand motion. Scoots seemed to miss the meaning as well. "Without touching it, I think I used magic."
"But you're a-" He started.
"I know!"
"Ugh, I bet it's the hive mind." He mumbled, as her ears perked.
"Oh god, you're right. It's got to be, huh?" She paused. "How can I pull power from that?"
"I dunno, Chrysalis could do the same in reverse or something, it's not like I know what I'm doing." He rolled over to his side before she pushed him back.
"How do I do it? Move things."
"Just let me die in peace, Dash."
"Jason." She poked him, pulling Scoots over and telling her to do the same with a laugh. "Jason, Jason, Jason."
"Look, you just kinda will it to do that, and it does. I'll teach you later, just don't expend my energy right now. Assuming it's all mine."
"So why does the hive mind let me express the your power or my love or whatever like a unicorn?"
"Fuck if I know."
"I love you too, Jason." She said with a grin, patting him on the shoulder. "Come on, it's not that bad."
"It's that bad. It's like dropping a brick on your nose, but without the broken part and with more pain. I'm not so sure about the unbroken part." She chuckled, pulling him into a sitting position. "I'm going to take Scoots back home, probably take a shower or something. You'll be okay for a while?"
"Probably I guess." He replied, kissing her as he placed a hand on the back of her neck. He was right about the hands, they were nice to have in a way that hooves just didn't measure up to. "Love you too, by the way." Jason finished, watching her leave with Scoots already on her back.
It was quiet after he heard the sounds of feathers beating and a slight yelp from his daughter, and he laid back down in the dirt, feeling his hair flicker across his forehead as the wing blew through the bush. Jason pulled the machete off his back and looked at the sheath, hearing the blade ring as he slid it part of the way out. Maybe twenty minutes went by of him, simply sliding the machete in and out, over and over again.
"Did ya'll hear that?" He heard, immediately dropping the blade to his chest as he slid it back inside.
"No, what?" Another pony asked, as he heard hoof steps approaching. He held his breath, checking belatedly that his feet were inside. They were, at least some luck was on his side.
"Ah dunno, there was just this weird noise, it sounded like it came from over here. I've never heard anything like it..." Jason watched their shadows play over the bush, as they got close enough that their breathing became audible. Jason jumped as a snake slithered into his vision, cascading onto his leg and up his chest.
"It's probably just your imagination, come on, let's get going. This place creeps me out." Jason let out a breath, making the snake flick out its tongue and peer to the side. The steps outside stopped.
"Ssh, Daisy, hold on. Ah heard somethin' else."
"Yeah, it was probably just a monster or something. Come oooooon." The snake lost interest in the voices and continued its trek, pushing its head into Jason's collar and disappearing beneath the fabric. It slithered back down, staying in place for a moment before it coiled up and appeared to be about to rest. Jason stuck a hand underneath his shirt, grabbing the snake's tail and gently pulling, before the thing started to come to on the warm surface that had made it let down it's guard.
He hardly tried to move the snake before it started to freak out and he pulled out his arm, realizing that staying silent wasn't worth the effort. And he was starting to think he didn't like snakes.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" He yelled, bursting out of the bush as he pulled the snake from the bush. He caught the eyes of Applejack and some other pony for a moment before he stumbled a little further, caught up in the snake too much to care about what they would do, as he pulled out the machete and tried to finish the job. It seemed like only a few seconds before hooves hit him in the back, sending the snake flying and Jason a ways further than he would have expected from such a small pony. But then again, he was already moving, and she had kicked upward...
Too bad the logistics of his most recent fight were hardly important, as he looked up to more than a few ponies in the town, only feet away at this point. Jason turned, looking for an escape, although he didn't particularly feel like trying to outrun a mare hardened by farm work. He'd rather overestimate her than get caught. Jason turned and ran between a couple ponies, sprinting along the side of the town.
"Get the thing, it's armed!" Some pony yelled, probably Applejack as she stubbornly gave chase to something that she may not be able to fight. Or catch, for that matter, Jason thought as he sprinted towards a gutter on a brick wall, easily scaling the miniature building as he started running on the roof. It really was amazing, just how small things looked from this height.
He looked sideways to see that a few other large ponies had joined the chase, as Jason quickly sped up again, jumping and easily clearing an alleyway. He rolled on the other side, scraping his shoulder slightly when he didn't maintain the right rotation.
Another building, a higher one this time, as he planted his foot on the edge of the roof, jumping against the adjacent wall and grabbing the top. He pulled himself up easily, taking only the most brief of moments to admire his strength before he was forced to jump into open space, catching the gaze of at least a few ponies as he floated through open air, landing on his feet and rolling again, jumping over ponies like hurdles.
He ran by an annoyed looking Dash, watching Scoots light up with a grin as he gave them both a slight shrug, blazing past the pair. Applejack pulled up next to him, preparing to probably kick him somehow before Jason stopped, putting his hand to the ground behind him and cutting into an alley. It was pretty clearly a dead end, but he grabbed the bottom of a fire escape and pulled himself up, hoping that it would hold his weight.
It groaned but acquiesced, and he quickly vaulted across to a lower roof, and then back down to the ground as the row of buildings ended. He could run forever, sure, but he wasn't technically hostile unless he attacked one of the ponies, and he had no plans to.
Scoots peeled out in front of him, looking like she had something planned. Jason could see the forest approaching again as she ran in front of him, and in a decision that could fix everything in one go, he grabbed her with an arm, whispering into her ear. "Act afraid, I have a plan."
She hardly needed to act as he whipped her around and stopped running, pulling the machete off of his back and holding it up to her throat. Nowhere near, really, but it would look like that, at least. He knew for a fact that she wouldn't be hurt, it was a rare instance where he was both in control of the executor and the victim, stacking all the cards in his favor, considering none of them knew. The few ponies that had chased after him halted, staring at him as he stared back. A pony took a step forward and Jason stiffened his arm menacingly, backing slowly off the road towards the forest, back into the path he'd come from.
A slight magical haze gathered around his hand but Jason shook it off, putting his head closer to Scoots' and reassuring her again. As Jason disappeared behind a bush he let her down, watching in surprise as she suppressed a giggle, running back through the forest and probably about to act like she'd either been released and the monster wasn't bad, or that there was some sort of heroic fight. Hopefully the former.
Jason remained crouched for a few moments, trying to let his rapid breathing slow before he stood up. He was almost at his full height as a blow hit him in the side, throwing purple sparks all over as Jason crashed into the ground. Dammit, he was so god damn close...
He pulled himself up with the machete back in his hand, and turned to run again. Fighting someone like Twilight definitely wasn't a good idea. Maybe he could win, but that wasn't a chance he wanted to take. And he'd have to knock her out, any stabbing was out of the question as well.
Jason hardly got twenty feet before another bolt blasted through the side of a tree and hit his hip, sending him flying again. His head hit the ground and he felt blood fill his mouth, looking to the side through blurry vision as he blocked another with crossed forearms, sliding along the ground painfully.
A few other ponies broke into the brush as Twilight readied another of whatever spell she'd been using. Jason tried to push himself up, cradling a rib that he knew was broken. He was hit before he could get to full height, stumbling into a bush as he realized that any hope of an actual getaway was hopeless. But dammit, that hadn't stopped him before. He spit blood out, pushing himself on his back against a tree, sighing as the full fruitlessness sank in.
"Well, go ahead. I definitely deserve a death sentence." He said, making sure that the sarcasm was completely obvious as he spit out some more blood. "Who did I murder?"
"Nopony, yet." Twilight said, her horn aglow. "But I never said anything about a death sentence either." Jason shifted his head as the tree dented slightly behind himself, laughing at the ponies and what he assumed had been a directed blow to knock him out. "That looked like a death sentence to me." He continued, watching at the world started to darken. Jason drifted out of consciousness, still chuckling at the ponies through the gloom. He knew they wouldn't kill him, only the soldiers would be capable of such a thing, and he knew all four. So fuck you, reality. He knew he could take anything it threw at him by now.
And this was nowhere near his breaking point, it'd just be another shitty situation, the first where he held all the cards. It felt nice, to know that something would be easier for a change. He could hardly wait.
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his he going to make matchlock musket for the army?
Where do you plan on going?
Run Forest run!, oh damn!
Rainbow Dash is also beginning to lose her marbles it seems. My guess is it is also an effect of the hivemind plus the natural PTSD she would have from the war.
Man, this guy seriously has some bad mojo going for him. And, as for Dash's friends, this isn't helping their friendship with her. Sure, they may not have known that he was Jason, but I think she might be getting really tired of seeing her 'coltfriend' getting hurt like that. But, on the bright side, Dash seem to be getting magical abilities through the hive mind, more or less.
C&Cs:
"Cuz you really are, hopefully your colt friend knows how special you are."
> Combine or put a dash between ‘colt friend’.
"If I didn't pull this kind of thing on you I'd probably be angry right now."
> Comma after ‘you’.
...and even if they could bring Scoots it still didn't seem like something she'd want to do.
> Comma after ‘Scoots’.
"So why does the hive mind let me express the your power or my love or whatever like a unicorn?"
> Remove the second ‘the’.
Ah, getting into trouble because you decided to skip the whole "telling ponies what's going on" step again eh, Jason?
Oh well, at least this will give him more things to moan about.
Sarcastic semi-rant aside, it is amusing to watch Jason get hurt over and over again. At least, I think that's how I'm supposed to react. It's either that, or exasperation at the character torture going on. So amusement it is!
Alas, poor Jason, you just can't seem to catch a break can you?
Oh and I like the whole human thing, can't wait to see how he's going to explain this to the girls.
And when he was running from the ponies. All I thought was Assassins Creed.
All I could hear in my head was this.
Just fyi... IF THERE ISN'T MOAR STORY YOU SHALL BE TOAST!!!!
Also great chapter...Yet again
We really REALLY want you to keep writing. Personally, this is my FAVORITE story. I don't want it to end any time soon.
all of that could have been avoided if Dash actually TOLD her friends that Jason was experiencing the effects of poison joke and is no longer technically a changling
DAAAAAMMMMMMMMNNNNNNNNNN, the last part of the story reminds me of when Jason's cover was blown back in the first story. And to think after everything Jason's done for the good of Equestria, the rest of the Mane 6 still don't trust them(I guess at this point they never will, unless he saves their live individually as a start.)
Dude. Do whatever you can to keep this away from a cliffhanger if your gonna be gone for a while. Even I you can't, you still have the support and understanding of your readers!
p.s. Fuck those down voters
After all he has done for Equestria they still treat him like a thing…
When and if he eventually earns there favor i hope he tells them where they can shove it.
Yeah, definitely my least favorite chapter of this series so far.
That whole chase scene seemed very pointless and avoidable...
Ponies: "Eeeek! Monster!"
Jason: "Hold up, guys! It's just me, Jason! I'm under the effects of poison joke..."
Ponies: "Oh... Okay!"
That doesn't really rhyme. Maybe say "Surely you are blowing smoke?"
edit: Yeah, some of the others are pretty off, too. You weren't kidding when you cracked that joke in the author's notes a few chapters ago.
You opened my eyes to something. XD