Cursorial Hunter

“Yards? I'm done. Now what?”

“Did you milk the cows too?” Yards was under the Cider Squeezy 7000. The new vacuum line had come in and he was fetlock deep in oil trying to replace it behind some heater hose. He knew if he took off he'd never get it back together today, but trying to get it lined up was proving extremely difficult. He wished, not for the first time, that he had more sensitivity in his hoof. Being able to actually feel where the nipple was would make this a whole lot easier.

“Yeah.”

He grunted as he finally got it lined up. “Can you hand me the 8mm socket and ratchet?”

“Which one is that, again?”

“The clicky one.”

“Ah!” There was the sound of metal scraping around metal as she dug though his tool box. It stopped, then there was more rustling.

“The sockets are outside the box on the ground by my left hoof.” He moved his hoof for emphasis. There was a moments pause while Yards moved the hose clamp into position, then something thunked onto his stomach. He looked down and saw the ratchet sitting there. “Thanks.” He floated the tool over by his head and started cranking the band tight.

“I wish I could do magic.”

“All ponies can do magic.”

“Yeah, but not like that.”

“Yeah, that's the horn again. It lets us externalize our magic. It's no different from a pegasus's ability to walk on clouds.”

“Yeah, but us earth ponies, we don't have nothin'.”

He sighed. “Well, your magics are more subtle.”

She huffed.

“What? Rocks don't grow on their own. That's magic. Having these apple trees bearing fruit constantly, that's magic. Cooking as good as your mom's?”

“Mamma's cookin' is good. Too bad I don't have no talent.”

Yards slid out from under the machine to see a pouting filly. Such a common sight in his life, yet it still almost broke his heart.

“It's okay.” He stopped from putting his grease soaked hoof around her shoulders. First he wiped away the oily goo, then put his hoof on her head. “Look, I know how hard it can be. I didn't get my cutie mark until my last year in school.”

She looked at him in disbelief.

“It's true, and it happens a lot more than ponies think, especially when your special talent isn't as simple as 'going real fast' or 'caring about things'. How do you think all those ponies who's special talent is accounting figured out their talents before taking an accounting class?”

She seemed to consider the idea. “So you didn't know you were going to be an engineer until you graduated?”

“My cutie mark isn't in engineering. It's, uh, multi-study disciplining.”

She gave him a confused look. “Wha?”

“My special talent is in knowing about a lot of things and how to combine them together.”

That explanation had apparently not helped.

“Okay, you know about all the renaissance masters, right?”

She nodded. “Raphael is the best! He has sais, and he doesn't take crap from anypony.” She quickly covered her mouth with her hoof.

“Ninjas aside, they, the real masters, not the mutant ones, are considered masters because they combined things like a mastery of the understanding of things like anatomy with art to create such life like works, or art with engineering to create amazing buildings. Their talents are in combining things.”

“So how did you know that that was your talent?”

“I didn't. Not until I knew enough about two things that I could combine them, then realize that was what made me special.”
He started putting away his tools. “What do you want to do now?”

“Swimmin'?” asked the foal.

“Well, we need to clean out the loft first, then we can go, okay?”

The filly agreed.

_____________________________________________________________________________

They were wearing ski masks to hide their faces, and most were wearing pants to hide their cutie marks. The ones that weren't were wearing barde. They were wearing the gold and the silver from both factions. One held a large knife in his teeth, and two others were on their hind legs with rifles in their forelegs. A grey one in Lunari armor planted himself at the front of the car. He was carrying a huge, belt fed, multi-barreled machine gun on his back. He held the firing bit firmly in his teeth. There were two mares. One was in barde with a rifle, the other was in a long trench coat with a mask and a fedora. She was standing next to another barded stallion in a half helm who had a pistol and officer's markings crudely painted onto his armor.

Starfall walked up to them, her forehooves held up in surrender. “Please, there's no need for viol-” The knife pony slapped her, grabbed her mane and slung her over the small bar in the corner.

“EVERPONY SIT DOWN!” he shouted, grabbing a hold of his weapon. They all did as ordered. Strangers sat down next to Toffee and Apple. The two looked around for Delta but she was no where to be found.

“All right, I'm going to say this once, so everypony be quiet and remain calm,” began the officer. “We've hijacked the train. IF you behave then you have nothing to fear. We're going to take the train and stop it in a remote area, but you're on a train track. They WILL be able to find you once we're gone. We are looking for one of you. So long as she behaves, then we won't have to hurt anypony. If she disobeys, then we will kill anypony sitting with her. In the meantime, I would like the staff to resume work. From here on out, all food and drink are free. Nopony should have to pay to live.” The last sentence carried a strong sneer.

One of the martial ponies in the back shouted and began to open fire. The passengers screamed.

“OH CELESTIA! SNAKE! A SNAKE!”

“Hey!” shouted the stallion in charge. He stomped over to his subordinate.

“It was HUGE!”

“That is unacceptable.” He slapped his helmet.

“It was almost big enough to eat a pony.”

“Knock it off!”

“But...but...it was a snake,” he whimpered.

Pony Dredd shook his head. “Everypony sit up.” Slowly they rose. There was a low murmur of whimpering and foals crying. A pair of soldiers from each end began slowly looking at each face going down the lines. Everypony looked around in terror. There were several who were just sure that it was going to be them. Nopony was ready for when they shouted: “Found her!” They all turned to see who the unfortunate mare was, only to find them looking at Apple Rhubarb, holding a photo next to her. The fedora clad mare walked over, looked at the photo and then looked at her. She nodded. The rifleponies moved to flank her.

“Me? Why would anypony want me?” Apple asked. The only answer was to point their guns at the stranger sitting beside her. Quicky they both put their forehooves in the air. “You may want to move so I can get out.” Apple tried to be calm, but the fear was in the corners of her voice. The stranger got up and the guards moved. Apple whimpered slightly, looking at Toffee. Toffee could only look on helplessly, crying for her friend. Nopony in the car knew who they were, but they all knew she was dead.

Slowly she slid to the end of the bench.

“Move, Apple,” said the mare.

There was no doubt now. They knew who she was and they were here for her. There was no case of mistaken identity. She hung her head in sorrow. She didn't want to die, but there was no way she would let somepony else die for her. Not again. Not after her husband had sacrificed himself to protect so many others. The only right thing to do was to give herself to the terrorists to save all the others.

“If I go, you swear you won't hurt the others?”

“If they mind themselves,” answered the officer.

There was no other option. She tried to think of one, but nothing came to her. She looked over at Toffee. “Good bye.”

Toffee whimpered. “Good-goodbye, Apple.”

“Tell the others for me?”

Toffee could only nod.

“Help watch over Rhu, please?”

Toffee whimpered and started crying again. Her wail was small and pitiful. There was a hoof under Apple's foreleg pit, pulling her up.

Apple stood, scooting to the walkway, then fell on all fours. The fedora mare walked in front, followed by one of the riflestallions, then Apple, the other riflestallion, and finally the officer. Apple heard the fedora mare talking while holding a hoof to her ear. “Praying Mantis to Red Wasp. Target is secured. Contact Army Ant for pick up.”

They walked forward to the next car, the heavy turning around to open the door for the procession. This left the barded mare, the knifestallion and the heavy in the room. Starfall slowly pulled herself up on the bar, rubbing her head.

Inside this new car was two more hijackers who hadn't gone into the room.

“The rest of the train is secure, Mantis.”

Gun fire erupted behind them. Apple Rhubarb spun in terror.

“You said you wouldn't hurt anypony.”

“Mantis” put a hoof to her head. “Target Neutralized? Did he have a seatmate? I thought they'd be trouble.” She grunted and put her hat on a nearby table. Then she pulled her mask off. She had a dark green coat, orange eyes and her muzzle was a light green. Her teal mane was short and somewhat spiky. There was some sort of small horn in her ear.

“Mi...Mantis, we're not suppose to remove our masks.”

“I'm not going back into that room, so they won't see me,” She put the fedora back on. “And Apple here will never see anypony else to describe me to.” Gunfire roared in the compartment behind them again.

Apple was paralyzed in terror, yet she couldn't shake a sense of familiarity about this “Mantis.”