Chapters Waking up from the night's beautiful embrace I open my eyes to realize it's still dark. "Huh, I wonder what time it is?" I get up and go over to the clock and it says 7am. "Up here must have longer nights than The Compound because this is weird."
"I ain't scared of no ghost! Show yourself!" says a mare I have no idea who it is.
"Hey, Boxer, Wake up we got company", I say kicking my sleeping friend.
"5 more minutes, I'm tired", he replies yawning.
"Well get your ass up or I'll dump river water on your head."
"Fine, fine. why did you want me up?"
"Someone is here. I heard them say something about ghosts. Go get a gun for you and me."
"Alright man, but this better not be a prank."
As he heads off I hear "WOOHOO! Sign me up. Just let me tie this bridge real quick and we have a deal", says the same mare.
"Who is she talking to? Hey Boxer, hurry up we need to be ready for whoever it is. I think she has friends by the sounds of it."
"Yeah, yeah man I hear ya. Here's your gun."
"How do you want to handle this? Since my last plan didn't exactly go well", I say sheepishly.
"Didn't go well? Dude, we're lucky to have gotten out of there alive."
"Hey now, those were some extenuating circumstances. You couldn't have planned for that."
"Can't change the past, anyway I say we hang out here. Find some place to hide ourselves and have our rifles pointing towards the center to catch them in cross fire if they come in here."
"See that's why you should plan stuff more often, it's simple to follow and easy to execute", I reply moving off to what I assume is the east side. I place my rifle on some rubble and lay down behind it, giving me just enough cover to stay hidden. My silver coat and silver and black wings doing what they can to hide me since I'm covered in bandages at this point. Boxer takes up cover on the opposite wall from behind a half fallen pillar. He places the gun barrel at the top most portion of the pillar which is only shoulder high for him. He isn't more visible than me but the shadows coupled with his black coat and dark gray skin color make him harder to see. His bandages are harder to see since there is less of them but he is more bruised. I look over to my left and see all of our gear still sitting out. "Shit! Dude get the gear hidden." I start moving for it when the doors burst open. I quickly retreat to my hiding spot.
"WOAH", all 6 mares in unison.
"OOOH, what's this stuff?" The overly cheerful and pink one says.
"It looks like someone has been living here, Pinkie", the purple one says.
"Kill me now", I mumbled incoherently to myself. 'Her name had to be Pinkie.'
"Come on Twilight, isn't this what you've been looking for?"
On my wrist communicator I ask Boxer, "Now?"
"Now!" He yells popping out from behind the cover. I just stand up Holding the rifle with my wings spread to keep me balanced.
"What in tarnation?" They all turn to face us.
Pinkie is the first to speak up, "Wow! Great surprise guys. We're definitely surprised, though your delivery could have been better. Like if you turned on lights as well and yelled 'SURPRISE!' really loudly-"
"I don't think they're here to throw us a surprise party, sugar cube", the orange one says with a hoof in Pinkie's mouth.
"She's right, you know. We're not. Now why are you here?" I ask with a little trouble staying upright.
"We're here for the Elements of Harmony!" Twilight exclaims loudly.
"If you are not here for us, Why are you in such a dreary place? And what ghastly contraptions are you wielding?" The white one asks with an air of class to her voice.
"That's none of your concern. Our business is our own. These", Boxer says holding his gun up a little for emphasis, "are guns."
"What are guns? ... I mean ... if you don't mind telling ..." the yellow one says so softly I almost missed it.
"They're weapons." They shrink back a little at that exclamation. "Any other stupid questions?" I reply starting to get a little angry.
"Well if you're not here for us and we're not here for you, can you lower your weapons, please?" Twilight asks.
"We can't trust you not to kill us with our guard down. Sorry missy, you're not getting this weapon down so easily", I reply.
"K-Kill you?" Twilight stutters. "We aren't going to kill you. We don't even want to hurt you."
"HAHA, they don't look so tough. Look at them they're covered in bandages. I bet I could take them With one hoof tied behind my back", the blue one boasts
"Keep talking rainbow-butt, but you'd die before you even reach half-way", Boxer boasts back.
Then, with speed unseen before in our lives, she is in front of him and says, "Prove it."
We both stare in disbelief as she was over 50 lengths away not 1 second earlier. She starts laughing "Oh man, you should've seen your faces." She starts flying back to her friends much slower than before.
"Enough!", a new voice yells.
We all turn to see, standing on top of the pillar is none other than Nightmare Moon.
"N-Nightmare Moon, you can't win. We have the elements", Twilight exclaims more than a little shakily.
"I only see 5 here. You need 6 for it to work. Where's the sixth element?" Nightmare asks already thinking she won.
"OOOH yeah, right the elements. Dude you know those stupid tales we were always told?" I ask Boxer.
"Yeah? What about them?" he replies more than a little confused.
"Well they're apparently real."
"So that means that Celestia actually did it?" he asks incredulously.
"That would be most logical since creationist magic is very obscure. Very few ponies even know about its existence."
"NOOOOO!" Nightmare Moon yells.
"We should probably be paying attention more", Boxer says.
We both turn to see Nightmare Moon being struck by a rainbow beam for a solid 10 seconds flat. When it is over I lower my gun just a bit as I move towards the center of the event. Boxer, along with Jules, who hopped up on the wall to still have high ground in case this went bad, start moving towards the epi-center.
"What happened?" I ask to no one in particular.
"It would seem that Twilight Sparkle found and used the Elements on my sister. Reverting to the pony she was before she lost herself to jealousy", Princess Celestia says right beside me causing me to jump. To which she chuckled merrily.
Everyone turned around at the sound of her voice and I respond with "Where the fuck did you come from?"
"Language gryphon. To answer your question, I was freed when Nightmare Moon was defeated."
Twilight rushes to her mentor and nuzzles her. "Princess Celestia!"
"It's good to see you too Twilight", Celestia says. "Now who are these two?"
"Ummm... We don't know. They were here when we got here and we haven't done introductions", Twilight responds.
"Well, let's start there", Celestia replies. "I am Princess Celestia, this is my most faithful student, Twilight Sparkle and her friends." She motions for them to introduce themselves.
"Ah'm Applejack", says the orange one.
"I'm Pinkie Pie", she says while bouncing around, showing no signs of stopping.
"Rarity, pleasure to meet you", the white one says.
"I'm Rainbow Dash, fastest flier in Equestria", The blue one says.
'Wow, she's humble.' I thought.
"I-I'm F-Fluttershy...", the yellow one says way too quietly for her own good.
Celestia addresses us "And you are...?"
Boxer speaks up first, "My name's Boxer and his name is Mongoose."
Jules jumps down from her perch seeing as how things are not hostile and says "I'm Skippy."
"Aaah!", The mares gasp.
Pinkie yells out "RUN!" She starts running off but before any of them can get far, Celestia laughs causing the ponies to stop and turn around.
"Everyone she is just a zebra, haven't you seen a zebra before?" I ask.
"The only zebra we've ever seen is the one that comes to town. She's SPOOOKY", Pinkie responds.
"I assure you, she won't harm you."
"UNNNH", A voice sounding a lot like Nightmare Moon mumbled.
Celestia rushes over to her. "Sister, are you ok?" She asks to a rather sleepy looking alicorn.
"Sister??!", the mares asks.
"Yes, didn't you hear me earlier explain it to Mongoose?"
"No, sorry", they replied.
"I am fine, sister. Art thou going to banish us again?"
"Oh shit, she banished her sister and here I thought my family had problems", I whisper to Boxer. That earns a chuckle out of him.
"No sister, we aren't going to banish you ever again", Celestia says with finality.
"Oh thank thee, joyous day", Luna says while running up to hug Celestia.
"Hey guys, let's grab our gear and get out of here. This is the perfect time to leave", Boxer reading my mind and already grabbing some gear, Skippy and I head off to get the rest of it.
"Hey Where did the others go?" Pinkie asks to the remaining ponies.
"Oh no they don't!" Rainbow shouts rushing to catch us.
Luckily we had enough time to reach our cars, unfortunately we haven't started the engines yet.
"And just where do you think you're going, huh?" Rainbow Dash asks.
"Well I was thinking we would allow you girls time to get reacquainted. Besides we really should be going. We have stayed far too long it seems", I reply.
Celestia walks out and says, "Nonsense, we have all the time in the world to catch up with friends, yet time is precious when making new ones."
"No Offense to you, but we weren't being around long enough to really become friends."
"Really? Where ever are you going?" Rarity asked.
"Away. Far away", Boxer replies.
"We can go with you", Twilight speaks up.
"OOH, What are these things? They look like modified carriages. Are they fancy carriages? huh?huh?huh?", Pinkie Pie says almost indecipherably.
"Alright, listen we're gonna go West. If you're going west, you're more than welcome to follow along otherwise please move out of the way", With that I started the Off Roader(4x4) and revved the engine. Boxer followed suit and started up the Truck as well. Everyone not in a vehicle immediately stepped back from the loud noise of our vehicles.
"What are these things?" Twilight asked.
"Your friend is right. These are fancy carriages, motorized, climate control, sound system, all the luxuries. Now please we must be going", Boxer says
"We're going with you. Ponyville is that way", Twilight said.
"Oh yippee, this will be so much fun", I say with the utmost sarcasm.
Author's Note
This wasn't actually supposed to be the first chapter but submission rules.
We head off once we have everyone situated in a vehicle. Boxer is driving the truck, Celestia is the front passenger. The other three passengers are Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rarity in the back. I'm driving the 4x4 with Luna in the front passenger and Pinkie Pie and Applejack in the back seats. Unfortunately for Jules she got stuck with Rainbow Dash in the bed of the truck. She is only back there since she decided to be nice and give up a cushioned seat. Twilight wastes no time in starting her question session about everything. Her first question was "How does this carriage work?" She asks getting a quill and parchment from seemingly nowhere.
"You'll need to be more specific. There are quite a few systems working in conjunction here", Boxer replies.
"How are we capable of moving forward even though no ponies are pulling us?"
"That would be the engine. The engine creates power and sends it down a shaft through the transmission to the rear axle, where the power is split between the wheels."
"How does the engine create power?" she asks getting more intrigued. Scribbling furiously away on her parchment.
"There is no need for the note taking. Mongoose and I know how to recreate everything about the vehicles, given the appropriate materials of course."
"'No need to take notes', 'NO NEED TO TAKE NOTES!!'" She yells. "Think of the advancements we can achieve with all of this technology."
"Well, the thing, is Twilight, after we invented things that use oil based fuels, such as engines and lamps. We noticed that burning oil produces more CO2 than anything else we've tried. That's why even as advanced as these machines are, we didn't build that many of them. Total we had 5, each for different purposes, so these 2 are pretty important."
"What's wrong with CO2?" she asks innocently.
"Well CO2 itself isn't harmful but when it's produced in the quantities that these vehicles can produce and would produce if everyone had them. We could cause lasting damage to the environment."
"Oh, that is bad."
Celestia takes this time to speak up, "Does where you come from care a lot about the environment?"
"We cared about the environment because whatever we little bit we did to the environment seemed to change it drastically. The weird thing was we had no idea why until recently", Boxer replies.
"Oh? Why is that?" Celestia asks intrigued.
"Well, we left. Now, though, I doubt they'd let us live if we did go back."
Twilight seemingly wanted back in the conversation and asked "Why would you leave a place with technology advanced as this? And why wouldn't they let you live?"
"We stole these prototypes when we left. We left because they wanted to control our lives. They gave us the thought of freedom but then wouldn't let us act upon it?"
"Whatever do you mean?" Rarity seemingly found a lull.
"I mean they say you can be free as long as it only pertains to your job or needs to live. The Community was good to live in. Everyone knew how things should be done and generally were pretty friendly. Outside of work though you couldn't really go somewhere and just relax. It made our lives rather boring, I guess that's kind of what they wanted though. It made your job the most fun part of your day. If you had fun at work you were more likely to make some sort of discovery that could advance the welfare of The Compound as a whole."
"You keep referring to 'The Community' and 'The Compound', do you have names for them?"
"Those are the names", Boxer replies a little more than confused.
"Huh? Wha- Can you explain it please?" Twilight responds.
"Well back in the beginning, The Boss founded a company called 'The Company'. The Company needed a place of business and out of that need grew 'The Compound', which is the place in which The Company holds it business. As the years passed The Compound grew as more went to work there. The workers felt that the best way to create a sense of unity was to refer to themselves as one body, one indestructible force, so that no matter what if one the workers fell. The rest would stand resolute and fight back. They achieved this by referring to themselves as 'The Community', which just so happened to coincide with the theme of everything else. As The Compound grew more workers searched for homes closer to where they were working. The Boss realized this and created homes for everyone and a new office building in the middle of nowhere. And ever since then we have been living there."
"How old is this "Company'?" Celestia asked.
"I don't know an exact date, but I would guess a few hundred years younger than The Boss and he's been around since the beginning."
"The beginning of what?" Celestia asks a little puzzled as to what Boxer is saying.
"I'm surprised you don't know this Celestia, I mean you should know him. Anyway it's said he's been around since the beginning of Druelongi."
Celestia is a little taken aback by the statement. Rarity would've done a spit take if she had had been drinking something. Twilight seems unable to process this information. Fluttershy seems the most capable of handling this all and speaks up first, "But that would mean that Princess Celestia is as old as this planet. And that isn't possible, right?"
Right as Boxer is about to speak Fluttershy cuts me off, "Ooh I didn't mean to say that out loud. I'm so sorry."
"No, it's quite alright. But yes that does mean Celestia is older than she lets on. Probably by a few millennia but what astounds me is that she would hide that fact from all of you."
"A mare should not talk about her age. Do you know anything more about him?" Celestia asks.
"No one has seen him in over a thousand years not since he got his latest second in command, and we don't even see him that much", Boxer replies.
"Can you tell me their names?"
"The alicorn's name-" Twilight cuts me off.
"There is another alicorn?"
"Yeah, we have a few in our society. Don't you have lots out here?"
"No, it's just the 3 princesses."
"Talk about a superiority complex. Anyway his name is Delcer."
"We are only princesses because the three tribes wouldn't stop arguing and many were dying."
"Of course you can't stand to let him do his job so you step in for the purpose of saving souls. It had nothing to do with being a leader?" Boxer asks.
Celestia says, "I had no intention of doing what I did, but when Ponies were on the brink of extinction, I couldn't let them die. I stepped in and stopped the fighting."
"It's a curious thing that in creating the 'Perfect World', most of the creators, that I know of, became corrupt, Ezreal is the only one who hasn't openly taken a leadership role. Granted I have yet to die. The point remains Celestia became the ruler of ponies, Discord tried to usurp her for a bit, and Wisdom takes to creating a highly advanced city, which he is the leader of."
"Ah, so that's where old Ashkore went", Celestia offhandedly remarks.
"What else can you tell me of Ashkore?" Boxer asks.
"He is the oldest of us. He always seemed to have an answer for any question we asked."
Twilight is looking at her Princess with disbelief and shock. "Princess, why did you never tell me any of this. I thought we could tell each other anything."
"Twilight, I never told you because you never asked. I had hoped you would learn that sometimes the best way to learn history is to ask about it."
"So I just outed your biggest and most well kept secret, huh?" Boxer asks chuckling a little.
"Yes, and I would appreciate you respecting my privacy from now on", Celestia threatens.
~~~~ ~~~~
Luna breaks the silence as I shift gears, "So what can thou tell us about thyself?" she asks while looking at me.
"Well let's see I'm 24 years of age, I'm a former military, my current job is an engineer."
"what doth thou do in the military? And doth thou ever fight in a war?" Luna asks either showing genuine interest or faking it really well.
"Well we didn't have to many machines to service in the military so I was a sergeant in the 152nd Air Brigade. No we didn't have any wars as far as I remember", I reply looking for any hints of wars in the past.
"How doth thou not have any wars in thy past? Surely thou must have had something", she asks incredulously.
"Well We did have a few groups trying to lead an insurrection but those get quelled pretty quickly when the first step in your plan is break into the armory to get weapons. Apparently where we lived was a gigantic underground cave that is under the ocean. War is a lot more negligible when you only have to protect against civil wars. All you have to do is keep most everyone happy and defenseless and the citizens can't really do much."
"One must never lead by fear-"I cut her off.
"We weren't scared of him or the government. We were scared of what the almost inevitable outcome would be to declare war on them. We actually liked the government mostly. They set it up so everything was shared; all the food we ate, all the tools we used, any materials necessary. It was all shared if we needed something. We could either just go and take it or fill out a request form. Everyone didn't mind, that's how it was. We had almost zero crime. If there was crime it was usually a murder and depending on circumstances it was either reduced rations or death", I replied nonchalantly.
"That don't seem right, Ah mean reducing some ponies food or killing 'em. Couldn't y'all have just fined 'em or jailed 'em?" Applejack asks.
"We don't have a currency or else our society would have crumbled long ago. And besides what citizen is gonna say 'Oh that guy killed another guy so let's through him in jail, where he doesn't provide for The Community, and gets 3 meals a day'? That's just stupid. If someone is going to be a freeloader, might as well kill 'em. That way they take less supplies and it discourages future infractions."
"That seems mighty barbaric of ya, but if it works..." Applejack responds.
"How doth such a society come to exist? surely it would cause problems at least in the beginning."
"And it did. Those first few years were the hardest on everyone to accept these new rules. There was more violence then than in the rest of our history."
"That sounds like such a mean place, everyone fighting with each other. Why couldn't they all be happy?" Pinkie asks sounding more than a little sad.
"Well they were happy after they learned to accept not getting paid for services. We still have the occasional newcomer that doesn't quite understand right away, but they usually pick it up."
"Newcomer? How doth they know of a place that we have never heard of?" Luna asks.
"I wouldn't know, I was born in The Compound."
"Maybe we will ask 'Tia", and everyone seemed to be pondering what I had said.
The rest of the drive was largely uneventful. We hit a few bumps here and there, slid over some rocks, narrowly avoided trees, and even met a nice serpent that helped us across a river even though we didn't need it. Boxer was leading since his vehicle was bigger than mine and was more likely to get stuck in the smaller opening unlike my vehicle. As the trees were thinning out, it was getting easier to move our vehicles so we were able to pick up speed. We didn't go crazy It would roughly be equivalent to 20 mph. Nearing the edge of the forest we stop our vehicles and say "We know you had choice in your mode of transportation but we thank you for choosing Misfit Transport, your one stop transport line for all your moving needs. Watch your step while exiting the vehicle and have a good day."
"Aren't you coming with us?" Twilight asked a little confused at the sudden stop. "And why did you say that?"
"No we aren't going with you. 1) Ponies would go crazy not only from seeing a zebra but also seeing two hulking metal contraptions being driven by a minotaur and a gryphon from out of this forest. Stuff like that doesn't normally happen. As to why we said that it's just something a transport agent would always say when his job is done, we just felt like it would be funny", I say walking up behind her.
"But if we're with you it will be fine. They won't freak out", she responds trying to convince us.
"Trust us it's better this way. You won't have to introduce them to 3 bloody, beaten and scarred creatures as well as why you now have Princess Luna and Princess Celestia with you."
"The least we can do is treat your wounds."
"What?? And lose all the cool scars they'll leave, no way! I worked hard for those", I reply while Boxer chuckles.
"You must stop by my shop so I can make you some clothes to clean you up", Rarity says.
"No that's quite-", I try to speak.
"OOOH, We should throw them a Welcome to Ponyville Party!", Pinkie Pie exclaims while bouncing up and down.
"Again, we must decline beca-", Boxer tried his hand this time.
"I would like to see you up at the castle later this week. We have much to discuss", Princess Celestia cuts in.
"Princess, we really aren't going to be staying", Boxer says.
"You're mistake was thinking that I was asking you. I would like to see all 3 of you there, let's say 3 days from now?", she asks pleasantly, her eyes betraying the tone.
"Well Celestia, we aren't going to be here in 3 days but we can show up tomorrow if you want", I reply.
"Dude, you sure you want to push this?", Boxer whispers to me.
"Just wait dude. It'll be fine." I mumble back.
"I can clear my schedule. Let's say lunch at the castle?" Celestia
"Sounds good. We'll be there right around noon", Boxer says.
"Noon?", Twilight asks.
"Oh, you don't keep time. Midday, when the sun is highest in the sky", he responds.
"Now you go on and enjoy the rest of the day. We need to figure stuff out", I say.
"We can help with that", Twilight says.
"Thanks, but if we need help we'll ask for it", I reply and she looks a little down about that. "We'll see you tomorrow princesses. And we'll probably see you six later."
After the mane 6 each say there variation of goodbye, Princess Celestia Speaks up "If you plan on hurting my little ponies..."
"Listen, If we wanted to hurt your ponies, we would have done it when we had the chance. We just want to get as far away as possible. Right Boxer?" I ask.
"Yeah, we should keep moving. Staying here is stupid. We don't know if they're tracking us", he says.
"Anyway, you should go. We don't want your subjects freaking out about you being gone", I say.
"We'll see you tomorrow then", Celestia reaffirms.
With that all 8 of them left for Ponyville. Leaving us to our thoughts. Jules speaks up first, "Are we really going to see the princess tomorrow?"
"Well I don't think we have a choice. I feel like I was pushing it as is. Hopefully it will be maybe an hour or 2 at most", I say. "What could she want to talk to us about?"
"Who knows. Let's figure out our next move", Boxer says.
"You guys said we're going north but didn't say why. Why are we going there?" Jules inquires.
"Well supposedly that's where the Sombra went after he was fired. I was hoping to figure out why he went there and what he found if anything", I say.
"What happens if we get there and are immediately captured by his empire?" she ask.
"We don't work on 'what ifs' you know that and besides he disappeared shortly after arriving there. We would know if he had an empire set up there. I just want to know why he went there", I say
"Sounds like we need to visit a library. To better understand this area. Our geography was always vague here", Boxer speaks up.
"Yeah, that's probably needed. We should probably find a way to get more kerosene as well. I would hate to run out somewhere far away from civilization", I say.
"Jules do you mind staying here and protecting the vehicles?" Boxer asks.
"That sounds good to me. See you 2 tonight then?" She replies.
"See you then. Bye." we say as we walk out of the forest.
Walking to town was uneventful. It took about 10 minutes to reach the first building. Once there however we noticed the town being rather weary of us. Some were even trying to hide in buildings so we wouldn't attack them. I guess that should be expected though. Very few ponies actually got close enough to us to hold a normal conversation let alone attack us. We ended up finding an official looking building to ask for directions to the library. Going inside We were greeted with the sight of A stallion looking very confused and a mare who seemed to be important. Walking up to the stallion I say, "Which way to the library?"
"It's right down the street in the big tree. You can't miss it. When did you arrive in town?" he asked.
"We're not staying, however it was about 10 minutes ago", Boxer replies.
"Do you need medical attention for those bandages?"
"Nah we're good. They don't hurt. If that's all, we'll be on our way", Boxer says.
"Goodbye then", The stallion replies.
We leave the building and I speak up, "Well, who would have guessed the library is inside a tree."
"At least it'll be easy to find. The tree will have to be pretty big to hold those a lot of books."
Finding the tree didn't take long but imagine our surprise when we open the door to find a familiar purple unicorn inside. "What's the probability of you looking for a book at the same time we are?" I ask.
"I'm not looking for a book. I live/'work' here."
"I didn't think living in a library was exactly hygienic. Not to mention I don't see a bed here", I reply.
"The bed is upstairs in my room. I am the Ponyville librarian."
"Of course you are."
"Can I help you find anything?"
"Uh not really, we're just gonna be looking at some geography."
"Well at least let me help you find some books on that."
"Alright, I guess."
"Let me see... Hmm, where did I put them. No, not there. Maybe I'll try..." Twilight spoke mostly to herself.
"Hey, Twilight? I think I found them. 'The Geography of Equestria' and 'The Frozen North' sound right?" Boxer says.
"Yeah that's some of them."
"Thanks for the help then, but this should be fine for now."
"Why do you want to know about the geography here?"
"We were never taught that because no one is allowed to leave, not that anyone really wants to, or can", I say.
"Then how are you 2 here?"
"We got lucky. A combination of luck, timing and planning. Mostly luck", I reply.
"How did you do it?" She asked.
"Well, basically we stole some stuff, killed anyone in our way, blew some stuff up and moved as fast as possible", I say.
"Y-You k-killed another creature?" She asked in a state of disbelief.
"They attacked us with intent to kill. It was kill or be killed", Boxer says.
"There could have been another way." She says trying to convince us.
"There probably was but in the heat of the moment you make a decision. If you think about it you could die", he says.
"Hey Twilight, can we get some quiet? We really need to read this." I ask trying to seem nice.
"Oh ok, just let me know if you want to check out the books?"
"I will."
With that boxer and I opened the books to find as much as we can about the north as possible. "So it's called the Crystal Mountains interesting. Maybe the crystal pony myths aren't myths and that's why he went there, Boxer mumbles to himself. "Dude we need to stock up on food, blankets, kerosene, and probably will want to find a unicorn to travel with us for safety sake", Boxer says to me.
"Yeah you should keep quiet about that till out of ear shot of this place", I whisper back.
"So that's everything we need?"
"It should be." We put the books back on the shelves and make way for the door.
"See you guys later", Twilight says.
"Yeah later", we reply.
Author's Note
If anyone notices bad grammar or spelling or anything let me know and I'll try to fix it.
Leaving the library, we headed straight to where we make camp only to be intercepted by three little fillies. "Hey, hey mister", says a white unicorn with a pink and purple mane.
"Just when you think it would be any easy, quiet walk back", I mumble mostly to myself. "Hello there little one, and who might you be?"
"I'm Sweetie Belle, this is Scootaloo and on my other side is Applebloom", she says while motioning towards an orange pegasus with a purple mane and an earth pony with a yellow coat, red mane and pink bow in her hair.
"Well, I'm Mongoose and this here is best friend, Boxer. Now if you'll excuse us we really need to be somewhere", I say while starting to move passed them.
"But we wanted to get our cutie marks by helping you..." Scootaloo says a little downtrodden.
"What were you gonna help us do?" Boxer asks.
"You look new here so we were gonna show you around Ponyville and get our cutie marks as tour guides", Sweetie Belle said despondently.
"Do you like being a tour guide?"
"Not really..."
"Then why would you want a cutie mark in being a tour guide?"
"We don't, we just want our cutie marks already", Scootaloo says.
"Good things come to those who wait. I wouldn't rush this", I say.
"That's what everypony else says."
"I'm sure you'll figure out what your cutie marks are eventually. Don't worry about it. Now if you'll excuse us we really need to go."
"Can we go with you? Maybe we can keep you safe."
"Thanks but no, we don't need protecting despite what we look like. We are actually very skilled fighters who had some very close calls with death", I say while moving away.
After managing to get away from the 3 fillies. We continue on our direct path out of town. Little do we know that the fillies had decided to follow us to keep us safe regardless of what they were told. We didn't have much issue getting back. The only other thing to really happen was Boxer got hit by a grey mare with a blonde mane and tail. She of course profusely apologized but Boxer didn't really mind much since she hit him in a spot that wasn't currently injured.
"See I told you they need protecting. If they can't even avoid getting hit by Ditzy, how can they hope to stay safe?" Scootaloo asks her friends.
"It didn't look like it hurt 'em. He just sorta stood there", Applebloom said.
"He could have easily fallen over and hurt himself", Scootaloo replies.
"Hey look, they're heading into The Everfree Forest!" Sweetie Belle almost yells.
"We better go stop them before they get hurt ... more than they already are", Scootaloo says while chasing after us.
"Ah don't know about this", Applebloom says mostly to herself.
Reaching the forest was relatively simple. Boxer speaks up " It would appear that we have followers."
"Yeah, they seem to be very insistent. I say let them follow us. If they get into trouble we can save them, right?"
"It should be easy enough if our second encounter is anything like our first in this forest."
"Dude, if it will be anything like our first encounter they could easily die. I don't want that to happen again anytime soon. If I have to deal with anything like these past few days ever again, there is something very wrong with the world."
"It wasn't that bad. Just some wolves and a mother bear and her cub."
"My point exactly, that is a very dangerous situation for defenseless fillies. I don't want to be responsible if they die."
"Anyway we're here. We should wait and see how long it takes for them to find us."
"What are you 2 talking about?" Jules asks.
"Just some fillies who thought it would be fun to follow us. They don't think we're very capable of protecting ourselves", I say.
"Look at you, I mean you're covered in bandages and new to town. If I didn't know better I'd say you need protecting too."
"So because we're covered in bandages we need more protection instead of less? Did you ever think that bandages means we fought well enough to live and drive off, if not kill, our attacker."
"I guess but bandages mean injury and that is usually a sign weakness."
Right then we hear "RUN! They're chasing us!"
Boxer and Jules rush to grab guns while I move towards the source of screaming. As I start moving towards them, they come rushing through some bushes and run into me. I look up to see 3 timber wolves and 1 of them looks familiar. Upon seeing me the wolf immediately starts snarling and getting ready for an attack. The other 2 start to spread out. I put myself in between the wolves and the fillies.
BANG.
BANG.
BANG.
With that, all three wolves died. Turning around I ask the fillies, "Are you alright?"
"What was that?", Scootaloo asks while rubbing her ears.
"It would appear that you 3 disobeyed us and got into trouble. Luckily though Boxer and Jules were smart enough to finish the fight before it started. Now are you ok? Did you get bit anywhere?" I ask again while still trying to make sure they're ok.
"Yeah, we're fine. Jus' a couple o' scratches. We're really sorry for disobeying ya", Applebloom says looking glum.
"You're not hurt and that's what matters now come on I'll take you 3 home", I say while heading to grab a gun.
"Just one question though, What made such that loud noise and stopped the wolves so quickly?" Scootaloo asks.
"Well, that would be a gun. And the reason they stopped moving so quickly was a combination of what guns are and where the wolf got shot", I say.
"Oh ok."
"Now come on. I need to get you 3 back home quickly so where do y'all live?"
"Ah live at Sweet Apple Acres", Applebloom says.
"You can drop me off at Carousel Boutique. That's where my sister lives", Sweetie Belle says.
"Can you give me directions since I don't know this town?"
"Sweet Apple Acres is on the southern edge of town and The Everfree."
"That's pretty close. We can start there. Hop on, I'll fly us there", I say while spreading my wings.
Flying out of the trees with the 3 fillies wasn't too hard. They're pretty light, however that doesn't say much as they like to move around and throw off my balance just enough. The flight was a short one, landing in front of the Apple family house hold. I let the fillies down and knock on the door.
"Well howdy there Mongoose. Ah see y'all have met the crusaders", Applejack says.
"Yes well, I just wanted drop off Applebloom and tell you what about what happened earlier today. And Probably explain some things that you most likely heard", I say.
"Is something the matter?"
"No, the problem has been neutralized. But these three fillies felt the need to follow Boxer and me into the forest and wound up getting attacked by 3 Timberwolves. Luckily these 3 ran straight towards us and we stopped the wolves."
"Is that true?" she asks the 3 fillies.
"Yeah, it's true..." they reply.
"Do y'all now understand why The Everfree is a dangerous place?"
"But he went in there."
"Just 'cause somepony else does something don't make it safe. Now go on upstairs I'll be up in a bit."
"Ahhhh ok, bye everypony", she says while looking at the ground.
"Now what else did y'all want to tell me?" Applejack says.
"I just wanted to let you know that the loud sounds you heard were Boxer and Skippy taking care of the wolves so don't worry about that."
"Mind explaining that a tad?"
"Maybe later. I still have to take these 2 home", as I say that Scootaloo cringes a little and Sweetie Belle notices.
"What's wrong Scootaloo?"
"Oh? Nothing. I'm fine"
"Ok then."
"So which way to Carousel Boutique?"
"It's near the center of town. Just a little ways north of the library."
"Alright hold on, and try not to move around so much."
The flight to the boutique was pretty nice I got to see how big the town actually was. It was surprisingly bigger than I originally thought. Easily 100 ponies. Landing in front of the store drew more attention than intended but everyone seemed to go about their business quickly enough. I quickly knocked on the door and Rarity answered with "Hello darling and welcome to Carousel Boutique. Where everything is-"
"Rarity, I'm sorry for interrupting but I'm not here to buy something. I came by to drop off Sweetie Belle."
"Oh? I'm sorry, where are my manners? Please come in, have a seat, would you like some tea?"
"Umm, No thanks I really am just here to drop off Sweetie Belle."
"I know dear, but I find it's best to talk when one has tea. Don't you agree?"
"I... guess so?", I say unsure of what to answer.
"Now what did Sweetie Belle do this time?"
"This happens on a regular basis?"
"She and her friends have been known to get into trouble quite often."
"Well this is probably the first time this has ever happened to her and her friends."
"Whatever do you mean?"
"She followed Boxer and I into the forest-"
"The Everfree Forest?"
"Yes, what is the big deal about this forest?"
"Sweetie Belle! You know better than to go into The Everfree Forest. Whatever were you thinking?"
"We just wanted to make sure Mongoose and Boxer would be safe. They don't seem like they're very safe."
"You should never go into that forest. It's just too dangerous. The "Big Deal" is that the forest is unnatural. That is the one place where no pony controls any aspect of it. Making it the only truly wild place in all of Equestria."
"So Everyone is scared of the uncontrollable?"
"Yes, Aren't you?"
"No, that's just one more adversity to overcome."
"What else did she and her friends do?"
"Well it wasn't her fault but 3 Timberwolves decided to attack the group of them. They were able to run towards where Boxer, Skippy and I were and we took care of the problem. I just wanted to make sure you knew about that and not to worry about any loud noises you heard recently."
"Oh my, thank you for telling me. And thank you for keeping my little Sweetie Belle safe from those terrible wolves."
"It was no trouble at all. Now if you'll excuse me I still need to drop Scootaloo off at her home."
"Come by anytime you or your friends need anything."
"I will and thank you for the tea."
Author's Note
I know I said this would be the original intro but writing stuff down didn't work out that way. I should put up eventually and I will tell you when I do.
"Alright Scootaloo, where do you live?"
"Just head over to the other side of town. I'll tell you when you get close."
"Alrighty then. Hop on", I take off for the other side of town not noticing the filly becoming more skittish. "Hey Scootaloo, Are we getting close?"
"Y-Yeah, it's just down there 3rd house on the left."
"Alright, cool." Landing in front of the nondescript 2 story "cookie-cutter" home, the filly jumps down from my back and seems to try to hide behind me. "Hey, is everything alright? You seem to be scared. Do you not want to go home?"
"I don't want to go home. I hate it there."
"What? why?"
"They always yell and they're always mean to me."
"It can't be that bad."
"I don't want to go back. They'll be mad at me for getting into trouble not to mention how mad they'll be that I got attacked by Timberwolves."
"Why would they be mad about that?"
"They just are. They're always mad at me no matter what I do. I don't think they care about me anymore."
"Scootaloo, Your parents care about you. They love you very much. You should know that."
"No they don't. They hate and they always have. Please don't make me go in there."
"I can't in good conscience leave a young filly like you outside unguarded."
"I could stay with Applebloom or-or Sweetie Belle but not here, please", she looked up pleadingly at me.
"Scootaloo they probably got in some trouble so they can't have friends over. What would you normally do?"
"I mostly stay at Ms. Doo's place when my parents are out of town or can't deal with me."
"I think it would still be best if you stayed in your parents home." As I say that I hear a loud ruckus and raised voices from inside the house. "Maybe Ms. Doo would be willing to look after you tonight. Where does she live?"
"She lives right down there", she says motioning to the end of the road.
"Alright then lead the way."
Arriving at the unimposing house, I say to her "Now do you understand what you did? And why it was so dangerous for you?"
"Yes... "
"Good", I say as I knock on the door.
"Why can you do those things and I can't though?"
"Well, for one, I know what I'm doing and can protect myself if I get into trouble. You have not had the training I have. Two you're still just a filly."
"Hello? What can I help you with?" A grey mare with a yellow mane and tail asked.
"Uh Yes. I was wondering- Hey you're that mare from earlier. I'm sorry we never got properly introduced. My name is Mongoose. And you are?"
"Oh hello again. Sorry for earlier. My name is Ditzy Doo but most everyone just calls me Derpy."
"It's nice to meet you Ditzy. I was wondering if Scootaloo could stay here tonight. I just wanted to make sure she got somewhere safe after the events of today."
"Oh it would be so nice to have her over I'm sure Dinky will love it."
"That's great. Well goodbye then. And Scootaloo stay safe this time."
"Thanks for not making me go home."
"It sucks having crappy parents. I understand it but you should understand that they truly do care about you."
"I doubt it."
"Just trust me. Goodbye."
"Bye."
Taking off for the Everfree I finally get some time to myself. "It's been 2 days so far and so much has changed. Escaping from that hell-hole, finding a ruin, meeting Princess Celestia, nearly dying throughout it all, what else will happen? I should get back to the camp and figure out what to do next." The rest of the flight was nice, nothing too terrible. A little wind, a couple of clouds, all in all a very pleasant flight to end the day. "Hey guys, miss me?"
"What took you so long? I thought it would be a simple return the fillies to their parents", Boxer says.
"I'm sorry they don't live closer together."
"What's the plan?" Jules asks interrupting us.
"Well she wants to see all 3 of us so I'm assuming that she probably wants a chance to examine our stuff without us there. My thoughts are lock everything up in the lockboxes and disable the electrical temporarily somehow", I say.
"We could mess with the battery or power distributor", Boxer says.
"But can we do it discreetly so as to not arouse suspicion?"
"We could work through the night and install switches to make it work", Boxer says.
"Anything else?" I ask.
"And keeping the keys with you won't work because?" Jules asks.
"Because unicorns can lock pick and the difference between a car ignition and a door lock isn't much", Boxer says.
"If they can pick locks then what good is putting stuff in lockboxes?" Jules asks.
"Good point, we should remove the firing pins and store them in the glove box", Boxer says.
"Looks like switch idea it is. Do we have any switches?" I ask.
"Umm no, we don't."
"Ok, then exposed wiring it is. This will be easier than initially thought", I say. "Let's get started."
It didn't take long to find a way to get the power wire into the cabs so all we had to do was disconnect it once we were done driving. With that out of that way I finally noticed how hungry I had gotten in this late hour. "I'm getting hungry. Anyone else?"
"Ah guess mah timin' is better than Ah thought", Applejack says.
"How did you find us?" I ask.
"Applebloom told me where ta find y'all. I brought some Apple family apples since y'all didn't seem ta have any food."
"Well thank you for the food. It's greatly appreciated", I say.
"Ah can't thank ya enough for saving mah sister's life from those Timberwolves. Ah don't know what Ah would've done if she got hurt."
"We were just doing what anyone else would have done in our position."
"Why do y'all talk like that?"
"Like what?"
"Saying anyone instead of anypony or the species y'all are referring to."
"We found it's easier on everyone in the community to refer to each other as one body. It makes everyone seem equally as valuable and important to the good of everything. Whereas referring to a specific race while speaking might subtly make one species feel superior or inferior. That could overall cause strife among the population and lead to more rebellions or uprisings. Overall it could cause more harm than good for such a secluded community so it was easier to fix it in schools early", Boxer says.
"Ah never thought of it like that before. It sure is surprising to see how much y'all thought about in this Community y'all speak of."
"Well we didn't think of it. The Boss and his right hand did", I say.
"Anyway Ah hope you enjoy them apples."
"Oh don't worry", I say taking a bite. "We will. These apples are delicious by the way."
"Thank ya kindly. Ah've gotta get going. Ah just wanted to drop off these apples and thank ya once again for savin' mah sister and her friends."
"It was no trouble. Anyone in our position would've done the same. Before you go, can you tell us the way to Canterlot?"
"Just go to the train station and take the train north."
"Ah, very good. Thank you."
"Don't mention it. See y'all later."
The night went pretty well since we didn't have to hunt anything and it was pretty calm, nothing unexpected happened. Waking up the next morning to the sun is extremely relaxing. That feeling of refreshment can't be matched if you get woken up by an alarm. "Are you guys ready for today?" I ask.
"Ready as we'll ever be. You know, if you told me 6 months ago that I'd not only be meeting a princess but also having lunch with her and her sister, I'd think you had gone mad", Boxer said.
"Does it look later than normal to you?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean does the sun look higher in the sky than it normally is when we wake up?" I ask.
"We have been living underground for all our lives. Maybe the day is a different length than we are normally use to?" Jules suggests.
"Maybe that's it. Uhhhm, I know this is a non-problem problem but since time is relative, how will we know how much longer or shorter their day is from ours?"
"I don't really know but we will just have to adjust to it", Boxer says.
"Since it looks later than planned let's go ahead and start heading over there. Do you know where the train station is?" I ask.
"Why would I know where the train station is? I'm just as new to this town as you are", Boxer says.
"Well it was worth a shot. Let's just head that west into town and hope we find tracks. I'll lead", I say.
Driving into town at 10 am whilst riding in motorized carriages draws a lot of unnecessary attention. To say we were the most noticed thing at that moment would be about right. Everyone stopped what they were doing to look at what was making so much noise. The vehicle's engines aren't what I'm talking about those make noise but aren't obnoxiously loud. Boxer listening to his music at full blast with his windows was making everyone look at him. And while I like listening to music like that most of the time, there are times when I prefer to try to blend in as best as possible. It didn't help that it was probably music that they haven't heard before by the looks on their faces. Luckily the market wasn't too much farther away from the train station. "Hey guys, I think I see the station up ahead. We should turn off here and follow the tracks north."
"Alright brosef", Boxer says.
"Hey dude," I start "do you think we can beat the train to Canterlot?"
"I think we can but it all depends on the terrain. I mean if we come to a water crossing or a tunnel we'd be screwed if we got stuck on either side of it. We should go for it", He replies.
"You aren't really considering this, right?" Jules asks.
"Come on Jules, it'll be fun. Besides it's just a harmless race. It's not like we're trying to cross the tracks before a train gets there. It's a harmless endurance/drag race, of sorts", I reply.
"Alright, just don't say it was my idea later", she relents.
"So when the train starts moving, we go", I say.
Author's Note
So starting next week, I'll start posting these chapters on Friday because I'll need the time to work on them with school picking up.
A few minutes later the train starts to roll forward and I slam the gas sending mud and dirt flying behind me. We're off to a bad start since the train was able to get better traction. "We want to beat the train right?" I ask.
"Of Course why else would be racing it fair?" Boxer replies.
"Alright, Well we better punch it and hope this train is pretty slow."
"why man? speed is good."
"I just like having more of a safety net. You know that."
"Dude stop worrying man. Look we're already catching up to it."
"That's not what I'm worried about. What I'm worried about is that we might have to cross water. And to do that quickly means driving on railroad tracks. So super bumpy and probably slower."
"It won't be that bad."
The train didn't have much of a top speed. It was only going 40 mph. Luckily our vehicles were able to go a little faster. We were able to go 50 mph. We quickly overtake it and am putting it behind us. "Shit trees!" I yell while turning the wheel. Jumping up on the track is definitely bumpier and slower. As soon as I got on the track my vehicle slowed down enough that the train started catching up to us.
"Mongoose, We need to do something soon because the train is starting to catch up to us", Boxer says through the communicator.
"As soon as I see an opening, We can get off these tracks and get far ahead of the train."
Driving on railroad tracks isn't good. Driving on them with a train catching up to you is worse. Needless to say things were getting scary quickly. I don't think we would be crushed, but I don't think that whatever would happen would be very kind. Looking around there weren't many places immediately available to safely get off the tracks. "Looks like this will have to do here. Get ready for a little bumpy ride back there", I say turning off the train tracks. The road we turned onto is pretty much any off roaders dream; rocks, hills, tight corners around trees, hopefully shallow mud pits and water crossings. Just all the stuff that makes off roading fun. Unfortunately, this is not a road that you want to traverse quickly, that is unless you want to break stuff. "Hey guys, we might need to slow down just a bit. This path isn't exactly clear. Sorry."
"How unclear is it?" Jules asks with a noticeable hesitation in her voice.
"Well, give it 50 yards and you'll see."
"Dammit Mongoose, we wanted to win this race, remember? Not have fun going flat-out up a mountain", Boxer says.
"What would you have me do? Stay on the tracks until we found a clear dirt path running parallel to the tracks?"
"That's what I would've done."
"And that's why you're not leading. We would do that and probably get destroyed by the train."
"Only you would since you would be following."
"Fuck you too, dude. How's it going back there?"
"Seeing as how my vehicle is bigger than yours, it's harder to traverse the terrain. You haven't pulled away yet and that's all that matters."
"Right, well let me know if I disappear from sight or something."
Driving through the forest gets very repetitive after awhile. The main difference between this and what we would do on a test is that this is much more technical driving. You must choose the right line to go over the obstacles or else you could get stuck or break something. Neither of those are a good choice when you're out in the wilderness with nothing to fix the vehicles. It seemed like most of what we were gonna be traversing didn't include cliff faces or rock ledges which is good. It means we don't have to wait for both of us to get over the obstacle before going on. The hardest stuff to cross was the mud and water because mud is slippery and can be any density so you must be careful lest you want something to go wrong. Water is difficult because it can be deceiving on how fast the current actually is moving as well as frying electrics if they aren't waterproofed correctly.
We came around to the tracks a little while later, unfortunately we could see the train already across the bridge and heading up the mountain. "Well, looks like we lost this race", I say to Boxer.
"Now we just have to get there. We aren't too far behind schedule", he says.
"This is gonna suck. Too many bumps."
"At least we don't have the train behind us trying to push us forward", Jules says speaking up.
"I wonder how much longer it will be until we reach the castle?"
Arriving at the train station Was a little unnerving. Everyone seemed to stop what they were doing in order to look at the new arrivals. Luckily it wasn't really late, just about midday. We needed to find our way into the castle and no one seemed like they wanted to help because whenever we got close they backed off. "Well, dude do you want to head into town and see if we ever get closer?" I ask.
"Sounds good to me", he replies.
With that we head off down what we think is the quickest road to the castle since it is the biggest. All that seems to happen is that the roads get busier. Every so often we have to wait for the crowds to move away or for one of us to rev the engines really loudly so the ponies back off and we can move. It goes on like this till we finally arrive at the castle where we have to deal with an annoying gate guard disallowing us access to the castle on account of her highness' royal plans. It takes forever for us to convince him that we are a part of the royal plans. We got in mostly because of a little intimidation and persuasion saying that she requested to see us and were running late. The courtyard is what one can expect when arriving at a castle; open, lush gardens, fountains and of course a hedge maze. Boxer and I find a location close to the front door where we can park our vehicles. "Well looks like we finally made it here", I say getting out my vehicle.
"Yeah it wasn't that bad", Boxer replies. "It was a little bumpy though."
"A little? Where did you drive? All that bouncing around could have given me brain damage."
"After a while, I got used to it. It's like an annoying noise, you can just tune it out after a bit."
"I don't understand how."
"Huh? Did you say something?"
"Very funny, now let's go before we're late."
"Uh, guys? Is the 4x4 supposed to be leaking like that?" Jules asked.
"Huh, most definitely not. Ok, new plan. You two go in and start talking to her, I'll try to fix this problem", I say.
"Alright man, see you in there", Boxer says heading for the castle.
I slide underneath the 4x4 and start looking for where a leak could be happening. "Well it isn't brakes, so that's good. Hmm, not oil either. Huh it looks like a cooling line. That isn't too bad. Now how to fix you..."
"What do you think is so special about these carriages?" I hear a voice say.
"It appears that our hunch about you was right, Celestia", I whisper to myself.
"The princess said they are more advanced than anything we have currently. We must figure out how they work as quickly as possible. She said that while the owners seem polite they act like jerks and this meeting may be cut short", a different voice says.
"Oh ok then. Whoa! Are those them?" the first voice asked.
"Do you see any other carriages that are so uniquely different around?"
"Where do we start?"
"Identify anything you can."
"Well... Huh, What's this liquid?" He asks moving his head down to look at where the liquid is coming from. That's when they first notice me. It could have gone better. "HUH? Who are you?" He asks while recoiling his head in shock. "And what are you doing underneath this carriage?"
"I am currently trying to fix this vehicle. If you don't mind I should work quickly. I don't want to lose all this coolant."
"Nuh-uh. You're coming with us. The Princess will want to speak with you."
"I'm not going anywhere with any guard until the princess arrives here."
'We're not allowed to let you stay here", the other one says.
"Why? It's not like I'm going anywhere. And besides these belong to me and my friend. I'm most certainly not allowing you two to stay around them to inspect them. Doing who knows what to them when I can just be defiant until the end."
"Or we can arrest you for impeding police business."
"Oh? So you want to be the first pony in the world to arrest a diplomat to your country?"
...
...
"No? Ok then. I'm going to get back to work."
"I understand what she means when she says they're jerks", one said to the other.
"Can you tell us about these vehicles since you seem to know them."
"No I won't speak on how these vehicles work because everyone here seems to only want our knowledge and not the creatures behind that knowledge."
"Oh ok..." the first one says.
~~~~~~
"Um excuse me Where is the princess?" Boxer says.
"She isn't seeing anypony today on account of royal business", the attendant said.
"We know. We are here because she requested to see us today for lunch."
"Highly doubtful. You seem too brutish to be here at her request."
"Do you always judge everyone or is it just the creatures that you deem won't take offense at you looking down at them?"
"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave if you continue speaking that way."
"What way? Getting angrier? Truthfully? Because I can speak the same way if you tell me. Then I won't leave just to piss you off."
"Then I will have to call the guards to remove you."
"Remove? Darn."
"Would you rather I have you arrested for trespassing?"
"It would make for a more interesting story to tell your princess."
"As if you would ever get the chance to speak to her."
"Isn't she the one who resides over arrests and the like?"
"Ah yes, you would need to have a trial."
"See I'll talk to her no matter what happens here so make this easy on me and tell me where she is."
"I'm sorry, I'm afraid I can't do that."
"Alright then. See you later", Boxer says as he turns to go down a random hallway.
"Where do you think you're going?" the attendant asks.
"Anywhere away from you since you don't want to be helpful."
"HEY!! GET BACK HERE! Guards..."Boxer heard as the voice faded away.
"I wonder how close we will be to Celestia before we get caught."
"Hopefully pretty close", Jules says.
Author's Note
OK so I'm really sorry this is late but class kept getting in the way of writing this. We're doing this massive project that is taking up all my time. Good news is that the next chapter is half way written right now so that means I should make this weeks deadline. Anyways I hope y'all are enjoying this somewhat.
Turning the corner they see two massive wooden doors with guards on both sides. They hear guards coming up from behind them and make the decision to rush the doors and hope to make it through. Boxer starts running at his full speed with Jules close behind him. This of course surprises the two guards because they were not expecting two creatures to come around the corner and charge at them. They hadn't yet been informed of the request to remove / arrest the two charging yet. They respond by repositioning their bodies for a better blocking of the throne room doors. When Boxer gets about halfway to the door the guards following him and Jules come around the corner walking briskly. They immediately notice A minotaur and zebra charging down the hallway towards the door. "HALT!" one of them yells out. Boxer looks over his shoulder and sees easily 10 guards behind him.
"Shit. Oh well, this will be more fun if they attack", he says to himself.
Boxer puts on more speed and quickly closes the remaining gap and turns his shoulder in front of him and slams the two earth pony guards into the door throwing the doors open and slamming them loudly against the wall. The noise startled the guards inside the room along with the princess. The guards started moving to attack Boxer and Jules once their minds registered what was happening. Boxer starts slowly walking towards the princess and all the guards move to intercept him. "Ah Boxer, I'm so glad you and Skippy decided to join me today. You are late for our lunch. Guards return to your posts. There is no need to capture these visitors. Tell me though where is Mongoose? I thought I asked all 3 of you to join me, did I not?"
"He said he would be along shortly. He just had some issues with the 4x4", Boxer replied.
"Ah, we should go check on him. Girls we will return shortly", Celestia said.
As they were leaving Boxer asked the princess "Why are the girls here? I thought it would be just you, your sister and Mongoose, Skippy and me."
"I asked them here. I figured Twilight wouldn't let you three be until she got some answers and I figured that this would be the best way. She brought along her friends since they seem to be very close since they met."
"We aren't getting out of here quickly, are we?"
"No, no you are not. We have many questions for you."
"Oh! On the way I would like to stop at your attendant for a bit. Just something I need to say to him."
"He always does something."
The walk to the lobby wasn't long. The look on the attendant's face when he saw Jules and Boxer with Princess Celestia was priceless. "Ah Just the pony I wanted to see. Now what was that you said about talking to the princess? I think it was that she wouldn't talk to me? Do you think that's true princess?"
...
"Really? You're pulling that on me? Wow." Boxer says.
"Hahaha. I couldn't resist the chance. I'm sorry", Princess Celestia says.
"Anyway I just wanted to prove you wrong attendant. Good day", Boxer says while leaving.
"He has a name you know."
"We didn't really meet each other."
"You don't need to be so harsh to him."
"He didn't need to offend me either but did that stop him? No."
"That is still no reason. Just because somepony resorts to offending somepony else does not mean you should be mean to them."
"I'm surprised to hear this from you. You have seen the dark side of the world. You know of war and famine. why do you care so much?"
"I care because I have learned that life is best preserved when everypony is happy and that is when there is very little anger or hate in the world."
"And you teach that by making ponies feel superior to everyone else?"
"NO! I don't teach that! Why do you think that?"
"You said everypony instead of everyone. It's subtle stuff like that. For all your age you seem to learned very little. Ashkore would be very displeased."
"It seems I have overlooked some things. Thank you."
The rest of the walk was pretty tame. No unwanted interruptions happened. Outside the vehicles was a very unexpected sight. It would appear that Mongoose decided to blast a music dance party with all the guards in the area. It appears that most of the guards can't dance at all. "Huh. I didn't think he would be nice to the guards at all", Boxer says mostly to himself.
"I don't think I've heard this music before", Celestia says.
"It was just something that we had."
"HEY! MONGOOSE! YOU THERE?" Boxer yells.
I pop my head out of the truck and see Boxer with Jules and Celestia. Immediately I turn off the music and all the guards groan. "Sorry guys but it appears that I am about to be in trouble."
"OH! SHIT!" all the guards except two quickly ran off to be at their stations.
"So how are things?" I ask.
"It would seem you chose to be late for lunch", Celestia said.
"I was only late because you decided to have guards come and inspect our vehicles while we had lunch."
"I only wanted an unbiased opinion on this technology."
"Unfortunately for you researching this technology will be much harder unless you have something similar. The closest thing I have seen thus far is the train and that is coal burning, right?"
"Yes, they are."
"The reason I bring that up is if you don't understand the concepts it's like reading a language you don't understand. It's just too much too fast and some of the things can be thought of as crazy things to have on a personal transport."
"Such as?"
"For one we have climate control. Another is surround sound for playing music. We were working on integrating wireless networking between vehicles for communication. It wasn't working but we can continue that later."
"How intriguing. How did you think to combine these technologies?"
"It was just a quality of life thing. We thought 'Why should we have to travel at the world's temperature?' or 'Why can't we speak to someone else who is also traveling?'. It was just figuring that out."
"How would you two like to work for me as engineers for the Royal Court? Trying to better pony life one invention at a time."
"We should talk, give us a minute", I say. I walk past Boxer and motion for him to follow. "What do you think?"
"It would set us up for life here. I mean we would work for the crown, so the pay must be good."
"True but I still want to go out on our own and not work for anyone. Just doing our own thing, no rules, no regulations, just living how we want. Didn't we want to figure out the sombra thing?"
"Yeah, we could but I don't know if she'd offer us a job when we came back."
"So what if she doesn't? We could always just invent our own stuff and sell it. Make our living that way. No need for her to be involved at all then."
"Alright man, Let's go off and live our own lives."
We walked back over to Celestia and I said "We need to live our own lives for a while before going to work for someone else. We won't be accepting your offer, thanks anyways."
"If you ever change your minds I'm sure I could find a place for you to work."
"That might not be very soon. Anyways we should get back to lunch. The others might start wondering what happened", Boxer said.
"Others?" I ask.
"Yeah, she brought the six we already met and Luna."
"Great. More fun."
~~~~~~
"Hello everyp-everyone, sorry about earlier. It would seem I didn't need to rush", Celestia said.
"It's ok. Is everything better now?" Twilight asked.
"Yes, it turned out to be necessary I left."
"So what is this lunch about?" I ask a little upset about the whole ordeal.
"I thought we should get to know my 3 newest subjects", Celestia replies.
"We haven't decided to be your subjects, so don't assume we will be loyal subjects", I snap back.
"You can't seriously be this rude to the princess", Twilight states more than a little surprised.
"Why can't I? I feel that one must earn respect regardless of their position. You should be able to respect a position without respecting the being in that position."
"You should respect her because she is the leader of Equestria and controls the sun."
"Just because a creature has great power does not mean they deserve my respect."
"Ah don't think you're gonna win this argument sugarcube", Applejack says.
"So let's bring this back to the original point of getting to know us?" Boxer asks.
"Yes, specifically how you got here", Celestia says.
"Ah, well that actually is a story that starts 2 days before we met you. It's probably best we eat lunch first."
"You did arrive a little later than expected."
"We weren't expecting to move slowly across the mountainside."
"How did you get here? I noticed you didn't take the train", Twilight asked.
"Well, we drove here on the train tracks. Those tracks really slowed us down", I say.
"You drove on the tracks? Wouldn't it have been easier to ride the train?"
"Well yeah, but we like driving and we don't trust them to be alone in the forest."
"Do they have a mind of their own?"
"No, they're machines. We just think of them like they do."
"So it was you that we saw driving earlier today. You almost got yourselves killed by the train. What were you thinking?"
"I was thinking it would be fun to race a train. We would've won if we didn't have to drive on railroad ties."
"We're getting distracted. You should tell us this story", Celestia says.
"So, It was just another average day..."
Author's Note
So I'm finally to a point where I'm getting into action in the next few chapters. However these are probably worse than the other chapters so...
Ch 8
"Well, shit. Hey Boxer, do you have any ideas on how to do this better? Every time I run through it, I get stuck at hallway bravo leading out to courtyard omega. The guards will get there just as I get in sight of the garage."
"Why don't we just start in the garage again?" he asked.
"We need someone to override the gate commands to allow us exit and I can't drive 2 cars at once. We haven't invented good enough computers for robotic controls yet."
"We could get a third person to do it for us or we could only take one vehicle."
"We can't trust they won't tell The Boss where we've gone. Besides what would we do if one of the vehicles breaks or gets stuck out there. We don't know much about the geography outside of The Compound. Hey do you think you could tow the Off Roader behind the Truck since that is what it was built for?"
"Now you're thinking. That's the best plan yet. Are you happy with how this will work now?"
"Well happier. This means we'll both be able to move at the same time but now I won't have back up if I get pinned. That's what makes it fun, right?"
"Exactly, Now let's run through this again. We start where?"
"Well you'll start after lunch and head off to the garage to start getting the Off Roader ready just like normal; pack it with the gear necessary for a 3 day test. You know the drill; survivalist stuff, med kits, food, water, etc.. Now they'll also pack up the Truck as well so that if the Off Roader breaks or gets stuck they can pull it out. Just add in some tow chains and move the tow bar for the 4x4 out and into the open like you want to service it. Once that is done step out for your break and find me I'll be near gate control. Then you head back and wait fifteen minutes. Make sure the garage is clear, use chloroform if needed, and hook the 2 vehicles together then make the drive to the gates for testing. If everything goes right the path should be clear for just long enough to not be seen. Mean while I'll be making my way up to gate control to forcibly open the gates and retrieve wrist communicators. The only questionable thing I see now is how do we retrieve weapons and escape because only guards are allowed weapons and that's only if they are on patrol."
"Maybe you could get on the patrol roster?"
"Right, because an engineer who isn't supposed to be working till the test day 2 days from now is able to get on the guard's patrol roster for tomorrow even though it's been up for the past month and I'm not cleared for it."
"What about all those mandatory years in the military?"
"Even though we spend time in the military doesn't mean they want us working that job even if anyone can do it." Now that isn't to say it's easy because it is. It's just a reflection of The Community we live in. Here everyone goes into the military. We all work together to create the most fair and best Community possible.
"Where do the guards patrol? Maybe one comes close to the gate control?"
"Well patrols increase in density as one gets closer to important areas such as gate control so if I manage to knock one out. Maybe just maybe I can hide him in a storage closet just around the corner before the next patrol should be able to see him. Then I could act like a guard; take up the route, get close to the control room, break in, knock all of them out, open the gates and have just enough time to hop in the 4x4 as you drive out and down to the pier. Then we are 75% of the way free."
"Yeah, free from this hell hole, and free to do what we want when we want."
"Who ever thought this Community was a good idea really didn't think about the freedoms you lose by actually living here."
"What's weirder is that they would teach us about freedom and other communities and how they live and not expect someone to try and escape."
"Maybe they do and see it as a training exercise for the security forces and how well they plan it all out", I reply. "But if that were true and they truly believe knowledge is the key to success, wouldn't the past escapes and successes or failures be in our curriculum?"
"One would think so, maybe the other plots were stopped so quickly they failed before they were started, or maybe we truly are that foolish to be the first to try it."
"Only time will tell. Until then we can be sure to be as prepared as possible."
With that we left for our homes to sleep away the night. The next day came too quickly as soon as I drifted off to sleep I woke up. My first thought was 'Well that went to quickly' followed closely by 'what the hell is with all this smoke and will someone please turn off the alarm'. As my mind caught up to what was happening I realized that my house was on fire. "SHIT! I gotta go find Boxer", I say while falling out of bed.
~~~~~~
"Your first thought when waking up to find your house on fire is to go find your friend?" Twilight asks.
"Well yeah, I thought that this was in response to our planning somehow", I reply.
"You don't have your priorities straight at all."
"I'll take that into advisement but back to the story…"
~~~~~~
Rushing downstairs was harder with smoke everywhere. When I reached outside I noticed this fire wasn't just my house like I initially thought. It was covering most of The Compound. "What happened here?" I ask mostly to myself. Rushing down Foxtrot Freeway to Boxer's place I see a couple of gryphons and minotaurs that weren't so lucky as me. With burns on most of their chest or back and some that were still on fire. Amidst all the chaos I find Boxer's house. Luckily it hasn't been touched by the fire yet nor has any of this area. The fire seems to be advancing in every direction while the fire squad arrives to put it out. I rapidly knock on the door as I try to figure out what's going on. When Boxer opens the door it's obvious he has no idea what's going on.
"Why the hell are you knocking on my door at 5AM?" He immediately asks as I finally realize none of us should be up.
"Dude, I woke up to my house filled with smoke and the fire alarm going. I think this has something to do with us."
"What are you talking about?" Immediately a house across the street blows up, presumably a gas line explosion. "SHIT! We need to go. NOW!"
"Right you go to garage and I'll reach gate control."
"What?!!? Are you crazy? The Boss obviously found out and you still want to do this?" He asks incredulously.
"Dude, this is the perfect cover. To just leave amidst the chaos of the workers not sure of what's happening. All we have to do is reach a few key gas valves and set off explosions on the path out of here. Besides now the test will be delayed while they 'investigate' this event."
"Bro, you're crazy, but this could work."
We make our way towards the center of The Compound. I slowly start thinking that maybe The Company isn't behind this. Labs are on fire, glass is everywhere, Company buildings are half destroyed. "Well this makes things easier. I'll head off towards gate control and get some weapons, something tells me they won't mind."
"Meet you there, try and grab a few grenades as well, we might want those." He heads off to get the vehicles hooked up and packed as quickly as possible.
Running for the gate controls was easy enough since it seemed everyone was rushing around trying to get something under control. I opened the door ready for a fight and noticed no one covering the gate controls and immediately thought 'This is too easy'. I sat down at the chair and started the process for opening up the gate. It's a long and arduous process using valves and levers at the right time but I eventually got it open. I then rig it so it won't be able to be closed without serious help. I head off for the armory to retrieve some weapons and ammo along with some grenades.
The armory was luckily enough empty so grabbing the gear was simple but that's where my luck started slipping the ceiling collapsed covering one of the ways out and the other way just happened to have someone walk by and notice me trying to escape carrying way too much for just a patrol. They reach in and grab a gun of their own and tell me "Stop right there. Put the guns down and leave here quickly."
I immediately turn to face them. Saying I was surprised to see the Hive queen there would have been an understatement. No this queen isn't Chrysalis. Like bees, princesses are born to be successors for the hive and if you steal the princess and a couple worker drones you can make a new hive wherever you want. "Queen Shadow, What are you doing here?"
"Well I was trying to get to see The Command and find out what was going on, so imagine my surprise when an engineer is gathering arms. Are you trying to escape?"
"Queen, you should know better than to ask stupid questions. But no I'm not, I was told to get arms for the guards while they try to get whatever is happening under control", I reply hoping she buys it.
"Well then, let me help you. How many guns do you need?"
"Not much just a few more, They told me to bring the guns over to the front gate. They prolly don't want anyone escaping."
"Have you forgotten your language classes already? Or has 'Prolly' become a word since I was last in class?"
"I am truly sorry for my slip-up there. I have gotten sloppy since I left schooling but I have yet to forget it. To answer your question, no it has not become a word yet. Do you think you can carry these few guns for me? My pack is full and you have your magic."
"Certainly, lead the way."
"Please Queen Shadow, you should lead since, after all, you are a leader here."
"Correct you are. Now please, follow me." She says as she turns away and heads out carrying another 3 guns and a case of ammo for them.
Walking to the gate drew some unnecessary attention since The queen hardly ever helps a lowly worker like me. Once the gate came into view The queen became more agitated. She noted that the gate was up and immediately turned and asked "What is the gate doing up?"
"I don't know. The guards told me to meet them here. Maybe you should go see what's going on in there."
"You should stay here to guard the gate to keep anyone from leaving. I'll be just a minute."
After she turned to leave I raised my gun and before I could fire the control room blew up sending glass raining down on The Queen and me. The blast knocked the queen and me air borne and flying away from the explosion. I hit the ground pretty hard. The queen faired much worse since she was closer and was immediately knocked unconscious by the blast. When I opened my eyes what I saw made me start to panic. The gate was closing! "Shit! That blast must have destroyed the valves and pipes and released the pressure. Where the hell is Boxer?"
Boxer makes his way to the garage. Immediately he runs into trouble. The garage is packed full of creatures of all types trying to get stuff. Minotaurs lifting 100 gallon water tanks and running towards the fires. Pegasi moving rainclouds towards the far away fires. Some unicorns are fetching gear with the magic for everyone so as not to be burned from the fires, others are running with the minotaurs and pegusi trying to use their magic to protect them. Gryphons are finding ropes and rescue gear. They serve as search and rescue mostly. Changelings, diamond dogs, and earth ponies are luckily not here, they're probably out trying to stop the explosions. "Shit! This is not good. Well better get to work", he mutters to himself. "Hey, I need some help. We can use the prototypes for this! Help me load them up", he yells out to no one in particular. A couple turn their heads and a few give nods of acknowledgement.
As Boxer is loading up the 4x4, a general walks up and yells "What the hell do you think you're doing with these vehicles?"
"Well sir, we are loading up these vehicles to assist with dealing with the fires and search and rescue."
"You are not cleared to use these vehicles."
"Sir, actually, I am. I was going to be in the support truck for the Off Roader test tomorrow."
"Be that as it may, these vehicles are not cleared for this and if they get destroyed... well let's hope that doesn't happen."
"Sir I'm talking about saving lives, possibly important ones. I don't know where the leaders are. If they are in danger and we could have done something to save them. I think that's worth losing a prototype we can recreate."
He thought this over for a moment and said "if this goes wrong it's your head."
With the general leaving to check on other stuff, the rest of packing up the vehicles went quickly. When both of the vehicles were packed up Boxer said to the driver of the 4x4 "Stay close to me because the 4x4 hasn't been fully tested so if something happens I'll need to save you."
"You can't order me around."
"Listen punk, when it comes to prototypes I have jurisdiction and if you don't like that then leave so I can tow the 4x4."
"I'm the only one allowed to handle the 4x4 here right now. You shouldn't even be allowed to touch it", the junior driver spat back.
"And I'm not asking to handle it. I just want to make sure the 4x4 is safe. So follow me", Boxer said louder than necessary.
"Fine. Let's go."
With that last little bit finished, Boxer drove the truck out of the garage first and the 4x4 followed closely behind. They made their way over rubble and around bends, fire was everywhere. It was amazing that this much of the compound was still standing. They finally arrived at the front gates to find that are still closed. "Dammit Mongoose. You had 1 job to do. Where the hell are you anyway?" Boxer asked mostly to himself.
~~~~ 15 minutes earlier ~~~~
"Alright Boxer, if you aren't gonna show up I should move. Crap. I forgot the communicators. Well, I should go find those", I said as I got to my feet. "Where is the nearest control room? Well I would guess it would be a guard tower so ... shit. There." Following the wall north the closest tower is surrounded by fire and everyone trying to put it out. "How am I supposed to get in and out with all these guns? Well I guess I could leave them here but then someone could find them or move them or take them and all of those are very bad. Maybe if I take them with me I could stash them somewhere safe-ish. Well that sounds like the best thing I can do. Now, how to carry all these guns? Oh well, I'll figure it out."
Taking all the guns and ammo Queen Shadow was carrying and guns and ammo out of my bag. Most of the guns have straps so I'll be able to sling those on my back, the ammo and grenades I'll have to carry in my bag so that leaves the unlucky 2 guns with no straps. "Well let's put them in my bag." After putting all the ammo and grenades in my bag, putting the 2 guns in there was rather hard to do since the bag is kinda small and it was pretty full to begin with. I end putting both of the guns in the bag with the barrels hanging out. I start moving for the tower when I spot Shadow still unconscious on the ground. I think 'Should I kill her now and never have to worry or should I let her live and rat me out to The Boss? Well if I leave then Boss man would find out Boxer and I left and it wouldn't matter if she tells him. Well, she was never truly mean to me. She was only mean if you put The Compound's safety at risk.' With that I walk right past her sleeping form and move onto the tower and fires. Once I got within 100 yards of the tower I start searching for a location that was hidden but wasn't on fire or in danger of catching on fire. I spot a water shed surrounded by shrubs. Perfect for hiding lots of explosive material that you don't want to explode. I drop all the ammo in the Shrubs surrounding the shed just as someone is coming around the corner.
"What are you doing back here? We need all the help we can putting out the fires", A unicorn mare asks.
"I was just trying find a way to tell if there is anyone inside the tower so we can rescue them."
"You can't do that. It's too dangerous! That tower could blow any minute!" she yells.
"I can't let anyone die today! Not while I'm still breathing! If you want to help get me some gear to help against burns", I yell back.
"Fine, but you best not get stuck in there or I won't save you."
"Do you have any ideas on who or what is still in there?"
"We think there is at least 2 guards and a couple of weapons. The ammo is definitely dangerous since it could blow at any time", she says handing the gear she managed to find.
"Thanks for the heads up", I reply putting on the jacket, mask and gloves.
"Be careful in there."
"Like I have a choice." I spread my wings and take off for the wall entry point since those aren't completely covered in fire. When I stepped inside the tower I noticed one of the guards was pinned under some rubble from the ceiling but he was still alive. The other guard was trapped under a desk that he took cover under when the ceiling collapsed but I couldn't tell if he was alive or not since he was passed out.
"Hey! You there! Can you help me? I'm stuck and can't move my rear legs", A male earth pony calls out upon seeing me.
"Listen, buddy I'll help you on my way out of here I was sent in to find a way of communicating with everyone. Just give me a bit, ok?"
"What!!! That's ridiculous just help me out of here", he pleads.
"I don't question orders and neither should you. They thought you were already dead and sent me in to get anything from here before it burns."
Finding the communicators was much harder since everything was tinted gray and red and covered in ash. Shelves were knocked over, glass was everywhere, and the ground was giving out from the supports burning. The communicators somehow managed to get flung underneath the desk nearest the wall overlooking the external wall. Finding 2 that weren't broken or crushed took a lot of digging which was getting harder with all of the smoke I was breathing in. After digging though approximately 20 different communicators I was lucky enough to find 2 still working communicators. I immediately attach one of them to my front left leg above my talon. Moving over to the conscious guard, "Where are you pinned?" I ask him.
"My legs! I can't move my rear legs."
"Alright, hold still while I move some of the rubble away." 'Damn I hate digging. This is why I never wanted to be a manual laborer. This is just so tedious and boring.' I was interrupted from my thoughts by a sound I didn't want to hear. The sound of a gun firing. While I'm looking around for the source of this sound I hear it again and more frequently. "AAAGAGGHHH, FUCK!" 2 of the bullets which were in the tower had managed to find my me. 1 hit my right rear leg just above my paw and the other hit me in the middle of my stomach. "Goddammit! You see what you made me do. You made me get shot! Stay still, I'm done digging." I start lift up the remaining pile of debris so he can pull himself out from where he was. When he's free I drop the rubble and fling him onto my back and get out of the tower as quickly as possible. The medics were waiting took the guard off of my back when I landed and immediately started checking me over. That unicorn from earlier trots over to me and before she can say anything I say "See I didn't get stuck, So HAHA."
"Yeah but getting shot isn't much better. So where's the other guard?", she asks.
"Well, I couldn't find him", I lied." Hey doc, you almost done yet?"
"Almost, but you shouldn't move around much", the doc replies.
"It's a shame you couldn't save both of the guards. Are you going to go back for him?" The incessant unicorn asks.
"It was a wreck in there plus the ammo is exploding. It's too dangerous in there."
"And it wasn't before?"
"Hey I almost made it out without injury. Now if you you'll excuse me I have more civilians to save." With that I headed off to where I stashed the guns earlier. Upon arrival I notice something amiss … "Shit."
Author's Note
I hope most of you are enjoying this if you made it this far. How should I know if no one says anything but oh well. But alas it's getting harder to do this with school giving a lot more work now. I'm going to stop this soon-ish.
"Where did they go? Who took that many guns? And how did they stay hidden while moving all those weapons?" I almost yell.
"I'm sorry sir, but you seem quite upset. Can I help you?" said that damn unicorn from earlier.
"Ok, miss what's your name?"
"Starry Skies, sir", she replies way to cheerfully for me right now.
"Interesting name since we hardly ever see starry nightscapes here. However, Miss Skies, could you do me a favor and leave me alone? You're really starting to piss me off", I'm almost snap at her.
"But I'm just trying to be helpful", she pouts.
"Yes, and I appreciate it, I do. It's just I don't want your help right now. The fire and rescue squad could probably use your help more than me."
"Fine, I'll go 'help' the fire squad", she says as she leaves me to contemplate my situation.
As I'm thinking about what to do, a thought strikes me, "Hey, Miss Skies", I call out. "Did you happen to see anyone over near the watershed while I was in the tower?"
"Well, no. However when I went to get some more water I saw a pile of weapons and had a pony take them to be put away."
"Where did they go?!" I almost shout.
"Well they went towards the forward armory in Charlie Courtyard."
"C-Charlie?"
"Well, yes, it is the closest."
"This day can't get any worse. I gotta go. Bye" I say as I fly off towards the forward armory hoping the pony hasn't reached there yet.
~~~~~~
Charlie Courtyard is only the most guarded and best death trap in the whole Compound. Whenever someone wants to test new assault strategies, they use Charlie Courtyard. Just 3 turrets and 20 soldiers can defend against the best of our military deployments. It is designed as a 2 tier defensive point with 2 turrets up top and 1 turret on the ground floor. The courtyard lies in the middle of 3 sides of the building. The fourth side of the building is open for anyone to enter it. The reason this courtyard is so much harder to assault is that the building doesn't have many windows with which to break in, or doors to use, so you can't flank the courtyard. Anyone who tries to climb the walls get shot down by the turrets on level 2. There are cleverly placed cement walls on level 2 that act as railings and waist high walls that are reinforced. They mostly protect against bullets and other such ordnance. On level 1, it's worse. There are many raised gardens and fountains in the way as to provide lots of protection for defenders. Not to mention the carvings on the cover is carved and has small holes through which one can put the barrel of a gun so they can shoot while behind cover.
As I near Charlie Courtyard, I notice she hasn't reached the entrance to it, but she is close enough that I can't knock her out and steal the gear without being noticed and promptly shot by someone in the courtyard. I only noticed her because she had bright blue fur that stood out from the browns and reds around here as well as all the guns she was carrying. 'Maybe if I follow her inside and attack her near a closet. I don't think I'll need clearance for the building, just certain sections of it.' With that I fly off to beat her inside and find a hiding spot along the way to the armory.
The earth pony is stopped by a guard and is asked "Why do you have so many weapons and where are you going with them?"
"As it were I was asked to bring these weapons to nearest armory after someone found them near a water shed of all places", the mare replied.
"Well it's good you brought them here. Go on inside then. Armory is first right and then it's the second left."
When she rounds the first corner I'm standing there waiting. Before she gets a word in I hit her in the throat she stumbles around and with my other talon I grab the side of her head and smash it into the wall. She slumped against the ground groaning and trying to get up. I give her a final swift punch to the face and she is knocked out cold. 'Should I hide her body? Nah, no time. I need to leave soon. But how? it's not like I can walk out of here without being stopped. Why not? I would be flanking them and if I rushed fast enough I should be able to disappear faster than their response.' With that I set about stripping her of the weapons. Once all of the weapons are secure I move to the entrance of the building and look out. I breathe a sigh of relief when I only see 4 guards; 1 zebra, 2 earth ponies and a minotaur, instead of the standard 7. "They must be needed elsewhere", I mutter to myself. I steel my nerves and turn the corner, bringing a gun up and pointing it at the nearest guard and pull the trigger; an earth pony falls down dead. The other three turn to see me rushing towards them wielding a pistol and pointing it at the zebra next.
~~~~~~~~
As Boxer is looking around he sees the Queen and immediately jumps down from the truck and rushes over to her to see if she is still alive. "Medic! I need a medic over here!"
A medic jumps down from the side of the 4x4 and rushes over to where the queen is. He starts checking over her as Boxer starts checking over the area. Boxer makes his way over to the gate controls and notes that they are all blown to hell. "No wonder the gate is closed. We can't open this mess. The pressure in the pipes have been released." He walks back to check on the medic and asks "How is she doc?"
"She'll be fine. It's just some minor burns and a hard blow to the head. I'll check her for a concussion when she wakes up but until then there's not much we can do."
"Alright, thanks doc. Want to help me move her so we can continue on our rescue?"
"Nah I got it, let me just...", with that he used his magic and deposited her in the bed of the truck.
Boxer hopped in the truck and drove down to next logical location which was over to the north tower. The medic and him got out to set up a make shift medic tent since there were quite a few ponies in need of help here. The medic magic'ed the queen out of the bed and put her in a medical cot. As soon as she was clear of the truck Boxer drove off still in search Of where mongoose could've gone when he hears a loud CRACK. He stamps hard on the accelerator and turns the wheel in the direction of the noise. "No, nononononono", realizing that this is the direction of Charlie Courtyard things could get bad fast and might be getting worse by the sounds of things. He pulls up to the courtyard to see Mongoose getting flung through the air by the minotaur.
~~~~ 2 minutes earlier ~~~~
I fire my gun at the zebra. He rolls and I miss him. The minotaur swings his fist down and it collides with my head. Dazing me as I try to stay standing. The Pony plants his front hooves and bucks me in the face and I am sent tumbling backwards into the wall. All of my rifles slide off of my back and land on the ground beside me. I try to stand as I regain my senses. Being punched and promptly kicked into a wall isn't fun. Getting back up was hard since my legs didn't want to work properly. The minotaur walks over to me and asks "What do you think you're doing? Attacking and killing a guard is grounds for death around here."
"Well that may be true if I planned on staying here", I spit back.
"Well now that is interesting. Do you feel like we should teach him what happens to traitors, Snake?" turning his head to face the zebra.
"Yes, yes I do. Let's start with a leg those aren't needed in court."
"Good idea." He starts moving his hand for my left leg. Once his hand is in range I grab his wrist and pull him close enough so I can grab his neck. He almost falls over because of how quickly I moved him. With my talon firmly gripping his neck, I squeeze my claws causing small streams of blood to pour out and down his neck. He retaliates by ripping me off his neck, causing more blood to pour out, and throwing me through the air into the far wall.
~~~~
Boxer hops out of the truck and runs over to where I was and yells "Hey dickhead, why don't you pick on someone your own size?"
"Huh?" is all he managed to get in before Boxer throws a left uppercut to the jaw of the minotaur. The Minotaur stumbles backward into the wall. Dazed from the blow and light-headed from the blood loss, he is having trouble standing. Boxer grabs his head punches him twice and then snaps his neck. The pony using this distraction to his advantage went and grabbed one of the guns that fell off of my body. The pony raises the gun and gets a shot off as Boxer is turning to face the remaining attackers. The bullet tore through Boxer's left side leaving a small entry wound and larger exit wound. The Zebra was reaching around in his bag to pull out one of his potions. He finds the one he was looking for.
"GAAAGHHH!!" was all I heard.
Getting up from the wall I start flying towards the pony still facing away from me hoping he doesn't hear my wings flapping furiously. I forgot that there was still a zebra to deal with. That damn zebra hit me with tear gas causing me to land so I don't kill myself flying. "Fucking Zebra, wait till I get my hands on you."
"Why wait?" he replies in front of me. With that, he promptly bucks me in the chest.
I slammed my back into a raised fountain and started trying to get the tear gas out of my eyes by dunking my head under water. Meanwhile Boxer was moving in on the remaining earth pony. "You're gonna pay for that small fry", Boxer says to the pony.
"That's where you're wrong", The pony says as he pulls the trigger.
Click.
"Look at that. The gun failed you in your time of need. My turn." Boxer steps forward and raises his fist. As he's bringing it down the Snake kicks Boxer in the side of the leg and topples him. "GGAAAGH!!" Boxer yells. Snake then brings his front legs down trying to smash in Boxer's head. Boxer grabs one of the legs and bends the joint the opposite direction of what it should bend, breaking it with a sickening crack.
~~~~~~
"Oh my, did you have to be so merciless to those ponies?" Fluttershy asks.
"Did you hear them? They were going to kill Mongoose", Boxer replies.
"Only because he killed one of the guards", Twilight replies.
"We were escaping and they were standing in our way. It made the most sense to kill them to leave quickly," I reply.
"What happened next?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Can't we continue this later? It's getting kinda late," I reply looking at the sun.
"It did get later than I thought it would. Perhaps we should continue this tomorrow?" Celestia asks.
"I was hoping not to," I say. "I wanted to go out and travel tomorrow."
"And leave the story at such a cliffhanger? No way, You need to finish this story, NOW!" Rainbow Dash practically yells.
"Yes you should stay the night and continue this story in the morning. You can go travel once the story is over," Celestia states.
"Come on Mongoose, I don't think we're getting out of this," Boxer says.
"Fine, tomorrow. Night then," I say heading off.
Author's Note
I am sorry to say that this story will be going on Hiatus since my class work has taken up a majority of the time not spent sleeping. I will try to put out a chapter sometime but no promises. This story should resume semi normalcy after December and the new year starts. I'm happy with how this story is turning out.