Dimension After Dimensionby Winter RushChaptersThe OrphanageLate Night AnticsAn Unexpected SurpriseAn Escape?A ReturnThe FightThe OrphanageIt was raining outside the Ponyville Orphanage, though being inside was not much different to the outside, apart from there being no rain, and the icy, unforgiving atmosphere was creeping through the slight gap between the double doors at the front of the orphanage. The receptionist, Sunflower Shine, was sipping at a strong, sweet smelling drink of some description, sighing softly as an orange unicorn with a bright, flaming yellow mane dashed through the foyer with a green pegasus close in pursuit. There was the occasional shout or scream or cry of a pony that had got into a scrap with another or had stubbed a hoof on a small step or just wanted attention. This was a normal day for those at the orphanage. Ponies generally enjoyed being at Ponyville Orphanage and it was always a sad but beautiful sight to everypony when a pony was adopted, though for one, life was a misery. He had arrived at the orphanage on a similar type of day eight years earlier after being found wondering the backstreets of Ponyville with a broken wing and with nopony seemingly related to him. Sunflower Shine brought him in and had given him a room on the second floor. He had loved being at the orphanage and most of the ponies had originally been friendly to him - he was only two years old, after all, when he had first arrived. However, as time went on, they discovered that he loved science and similar subjects and was cast out by the others who described him as a 'nerd'; He wasn't, he just had an interest, but they continued to bully and separate him from groups. Eight years later, he still had the same bullying. His name was Winter Rush. There was a sudden noise of galloping hooves and Sunflower Shine looked up from her desk to see the door squeak open and three pegasi step out of the torrent and into the dry reception area. "Welcome to Ponyville Orphanage! How may I help you today?" Sunflower Shine exclaimed in her soft, but confident tone. Standing before her was a large blue-purple male pegasus with a short rainbow mane and a bright pink female pegasus with a blue mane. Between them stood a filly with a blue coat and rainbow mane. Each stood in the growing puddles beneath them in the middle of the carpet. The female pegasus stroked the filly's mane. "We saw a flyer in town and thought that we'd get a sibling for our little angel here." Replied the female pegasus, who had a bright and cheery tone, which contrasted with the weather outside. An angry cloud rumbled outside. "Well I hope that we can find the pony for you!" Sunflower Shine beamed. "Just follow me please." **************************** After half an hour of looking at all of the ponies there, not one had been right for the family. As they began to walk through the television room towards the foyer and the entrance, Sunflower Shine started apologising, “I’m sorry that we couldn't satisfy you today. Maybe you could come ba-", she hadn't finished her sentence when the young filly shouted, "What about him?" The three adults turned to face the filly who was pointing under the sofa. The male pegasus lifted the sofa with one strong hoof and exposed the curled up colt underneath. The colt had a blue coat and a dark and medium blue mane. He had retreated under there from the hateful remarks by the other ponies and had lain there sobbing softly to himself. The colt blinked several times at them and the filly stuck out a friendly hoof towards him. He stared at the filly and then at her hoof. He slowly extended his own hoof and placed it on her's. "Winter Rush! There you are!" Exclaimed Sunflower Shine. She looked at the filly's parents. "I see your filly has made her decision!" **************************** After all of the forms had been signed and Winter Rush had packed his bags, the two adult pegasi said their goodbyes to the staff who replied the same to Winter Rush, closely following his new family. As the doors swung shut behind, Winter Rush felt something warm inside his body. He smiled to himself. It was a sense of freedom. Late Night AnticsIt was late afternoon and the moon was already beginning to rise. The air was stuffy and hot and Winter Rush was getting restless. "Minuette!" He called from upstairs. There was a noise of a pony galloping up the stairs. Louder and louder, then silence. A head suddenly appeared around the door. "Yes?" The blue mare questioned. "I think we should leave for Ponyville. Not that I don't like it here at your grandma's; I love it, but I keep getting the same dreams lately about Dash." Answered Winter Rush. "What kind of dreams?" "Dreams of her calling me. Over and over." "Ok. I'll go and tell my grandma then." **************************** After they had packed, Minuette kissed her grandmother goodbye and her and Winter Rush shut the door behind them and set off on their long journey to Ponyville. The moon was high in the sky and the air was still. An owl hooted. Minuette shivered and Winter Rush turned to face her, reaching into his satchel to remove a blanket. He draped it over her and gave her a tight squeeze with his hoof. "Th-th-thank y-y-you" Stuttered Minuette. The night was getting colder. The branches of trees hung over them as menacing, bony claws. "Rush, do you think that we should make camp here and continue in the morning?" Minuette questioned, "This place is pretty nightmarish and in starting to get tired." "Sure." Said Winter Rush reassuringly, "You could have said earlier if you wanted to. I was starting to tire myself, though didn't want to ask to stop in case you were inclined to carry on." "I wouldn't ever leave you Rush! You must know that!" Minuette exclaimed. "I know, I know. I didn't want you to think that I was lazy and couldn't be bothered when we arrived in Ponyville." "I wouldn't think that at all! Now come on, let's set up that tent..." **************************** "There we are, finished." Said Minuette. They crawled into the tent, with some difficulty, lay down in each other's arms and fell asleep. ---23:30--- There was a strange rustling outside the tent. Neither Minuette nor Winter Rush stirred. The rustling came again, this time louder. Still, neither stirred. The rustling was replaced with a growling and a shake of the tent. This time, both woke up with a start. "R-Rush...?" Minuette questioned, "What was that?" "I-I-I don't know." He replied. Both looked out of the tent at the same time. What was standing there made them both gasp and dart out of the tent. A large lion-like creature was staring at them. Bearing its white fang like teeth, it slowly plodded towards them. Minuette let out a high pitched scream. The creature roared. Both Minuette and Winter Rush held on to each other for their lives. "How will we deal with this?" Minuette screamed. "I don't know... Wait, I have something back in the tent that may just scare it off!" Winter Rush said breathlessly. "Yes, but we can't get there because that... thing will see us! I'd use my magic if I could see the bags, but I can't do anything as it'll see me." "I know a way." Winter Rush reassured her, gesturing with his wings. He quickly darted into the undergrowth without the creature noticing him and appeared a few seconds later, silently gliding across the moonlit sky towards the tent. The creature still hadn't seen him and continued to growl at Minuette every time she moved. He returned with a long, black object concealed under his wing. "What's that?" Questioned Minuette. "You'll see..." *BANG* The noise made every creature in the Everfree forest start up. The lion stared wide-eyed at them and ran off as fast as it could into the depths of the forest. Minuette sat there in shock, staring at Winter Rush as he holstered the MK3A1 Jackhammer shotgun on the strap down the front of his body. "What was that!?" Exclaimed Minuette. "I came prepared. I thought that we'd end up in a bit of trouble out here, so I brought my shotgun. Only working one in the whole of Equestria. Shall we carry on for Ponyville then?" **************************** It took them two hours to reach the outskirts of Ponyville, though it was only around 1:30 in the morning. "Ponyville looks...so different at night." Said Winter Rush. "Where do you think...Ah! There it is - Rainbow Dash's house!" "There's one problem however. You're a pegasus. Only pegasi can walk on clouds. I can't." Said Minuette disappointingly. "Can't you do a spell on yourself to enable you to walk on clouds?" "Oh! Of course, yes!" No sooner as she had said this, there was a blinding flash and Minuette started levitating above the ground from the power of the spell. Then the light disappeared as quickly as it had come and Minuette was back on the ground, though not looking any different from before. "That should have worked. Let's go!" Said Minuette. Winter Rush helped Minuette onto his back and soared up into the sky to Rainbow Dash's cloud house. They landed with perfect precision in front of Rainbow Dash's door. "Okay, there's only one way to see if that worked. Try hopping off my back, and don't worry, I'll hold you." Winter Rush reassured. Minuette stepped cautiously off Winter Rush and onto the cloud. "I think...I think it worked!" Exclaimed Minuette."So this is Rainbow Dash's house then?" "Yep! Let’s knock." They knocked and promptly heard a moving of bed sheets followed by a long yawn. The door opened as far as the chain allowed it and a blue face appeared in the gap. "Who is it?" Came Rainbow Dash's sleepy voice. "Hey sis! It's me, Rush. Oh and Minuette's here as well." The door closed and the rattle of the chain came from inside. The door opened again and Rainbow Dash appeared and hugged them both. "Rush! I haven't seen you in such a long time! So how are you my awesome bro?" **************************** After a long time chatting about what had happened while they had been away, they decided that it would be best to go back to Minuette's house nearer the centre of Ponyville. "It was so good to see you again sis!" "I'm glad too bro!" Said Rainbow Dash. "See you again Rainb...Um, guys! I'm sinking! Guys HELP!" Screamed Minuette. "Wha... Oh shit..." Cursed Winter Rush. He quickly grabbed Minuette as she was about to fall through the cloud. Her spell had stopped working. "I've got you Minuette!" He lifted her carefully up onto his back, they said their goodbyes to a shocked Rainbow Dash and flew off the edge of the cloud to Ponyville below. **************************** They arrived at Minuette's house twenty minutes later and went straight upstairs. They entered the bedroom, got into bed, kissed and fell fast asleep. An Unexpected SurpriseALMOST A YEAR AFTER ARRIVING **************************** It was the middle of the night. There was no noise outside. The only noise I could hear was Minuette's light breathing. I was confused. I had woken up due to a noise - seemingly from downstairs. I could hear nothing now. I admit I was a little scared, but if whatever it was, I hoped I could fight it with Rainbow Dash-like courage. However, there was silence again. I had put my head down and as I had closed my eyes, I had heard the door squeak and a sound rush by. I woke with a start, but still couldn't see anything. I heard a sound from behind and as I had slowly turned to face it, the thing swung something and I must have fallen unconscious. **************************** I blinked. There was a blinding light shining down onto me. I couldn't move - I was shackled to a table like bench made from thick concrete. I turned to the side and saw Minuette in the same condition as me. I shouted her. Nothing. Her eyes were closed but thankfully she seemed to be breathing. There was a sound of something moving and a shadow that didn't look like a pony. Suddenly, a face appeared. It took a few seconds to realise that it wasn't the face of a pony. It was a strange biped creature and it walked towards us on weird, long legs. It was wearing some weird clothes but before I could take too much in, the thing spoke. "Hello Winter Rush." "Who...who are you - what are you? How do you know my name? What do you want with me?" I cried. "So many questions; All of which will be answered shortly." It replied. "I see that your friend hasn't woken up yet. Let's get her awake shall we?" The creature turned to Minuette and slapped her across her face. "Don't you dare hurt her!" I shouted. "Aww, young love; How sweet." It said sarcastically. Minuette still hadn't stirred. He slapped her again. Still nothing. This time he got a large box with wires connected to it. He jabbed the other ends of the wires at Minuette's body. She woke with an ear-piercing scream. "An electric shock always works." He laughed. "Where am I? W-Who are YOU...?" Minuette screamed. "Because you are both wondering, my name is Andrei Dimitriev and I am not from your...world. I am not a pony. I am a human and you are on Earth." We stared blankly at him. "We made a portal to...the unknown and ended up in some pony-land. You may have noticed that your town was very quiet, even for 2 O'clock in the morning. We captured many of your friends, including you two." "Where our our friends? Can you let us out of here? We will tell nopony anything that has happened." I cried. "You obviously don't understand. We have captured you and you will never be let out. You will be used for scientific research." "Сэр, Радуга не спать." Spoke a guard, hidden away in the shadows. "В здесь." Replied Andrei. (Roughly translated, due to my limited knowledge of a similar dialect I had heard and studied in Equestria, this meant; "Sir, rainbow one awakens." "Bring in.") Promptly, a table was wheeled in with a familiar pony shackled to the top. "Lemmie' go!" It cried. "Sis!" I shouted. "Oh, she's your sister? This could be interesting..." **************************** The human carried on talking and eventually we were unshackled and walked at gunpoint along many corridors and finally into a cell. The door was slammed shut and we were left. We saw Rainbow Dash being brought to another cell further down the corridor through the tiny window in the white metal door. The cell was around 7ft X 7ft wide and around 8ft tall. It was modern-looking with white metal walls with curved edges. There were glowing blue lights embedded in the roof and there was an uncomfortable looking bed pushed up against a wall. "I-I can't get my head around this." Sobbed Minuette. "Neither can I. Come here Min." I hugged Minuette. Her body warmed me slightly - it was comforting having her by my side. She started crying. "Come on Min, we're gonna get out of here. I promise I will get us out." "I put my faith in you Rush." I scanned the room to see if there were any obvious exits. There weren't. "If we are let out for anything, we need to look for a chance to escape; a grille, an unmonitored corridor, a place without guards, etcetera. And when we see something, we need to make a quick escape without screwing things up." "I do hope that it works. I really do." "If we do screw it up, we'll be tortured, or even killed." "Why don't you escape and I distract the guards so that when I return to my cell, you can come back and get me out, as well as all our other friends." "There will be an armoury in this place, so I'll stock up there first and then come here." "Sounds like a plan!" We kissed each other and fell asleep on the cold, hard bed. An Escape?I woke to the sound of the cell being unlocked and the guard shouting something in the foreign language, which most likely meant for us to "get out". We were being brought to the mess hall and even though it probably was a little early for an escape, I nodded at Minuette who, with great acting, clutched her stomach, as if in great pain. The guards rushed to her and I made my escape. I had seen a grate, though as I had dived into it, I had caught my hoof on the sharp metal and I lay inside the air conditioning pipes, I held onto my bleeding hoof, crying softly to myself. I bit my lip and crawled on; Even though I had a lot of time, it wasn't that much and didn't need to be wasted. **************************** Firstly, I made my way to the medical centre to get my hoof patched up. I didn't spend long there, so I carried on along the corridor. There many doors, most of which were locked, but a few were open. I trotted past an open door. I peeped my head around the door. I really wish I hadn't. Really, really wish I hadn't. Tied between two posts was a pony, or what was left of one. It was a purple pegasus who had had its ear cut off and had cuts all the way down its body. There was dried blood everywhere. There was a jagged circle cut where a cutie mark should have been. There were more rooms like this, some with closed doors, with sounds of screaming behind them. It was like something out of a horror movie, or some bucked up fanfi...Urgh... I didn't want to think about it. I backed out of the room, feeling very sick and queasy. I'd always had a fear of blood. **************************** I made my way to to the kitchens and as I entered I had to quickly dive behind a fridge. The camera swung the other way. I held my breath. It hadn't seen me. I climbed up onto the fridge and used a pair of kitchen scissors to slice through the wire making the camera rotate, as cutting all the wires would be too suspicious. I jumped down and opened one of the fridges. It was full of fruit and pie and cooked meat. A full stomach would just slow me down and it would make it a little obvious that someone had been there if all the food in the fridge had just mysteriously gone, so I ate as little as possible, but enough so that I would be satisfied. After my small meal, I decided it was time to equip myself. "Right, to the armoury." I whispered to myself. You had gone for a while and I had started to worry. You hadn't come back to the cell. I just hoped that you were all right. I was smiling to myself. I had found my trusty MK3A1 Jackhammer shotgun. They must have taken it when they came through the portal. I filled it with more shells and and continued looking for more weapons. There was a Barrett M98, an M320 grenade launcher, a CheyTac Intervention sniper rifle, a G36C, a FAMAS, several AK-74s, an M249, a PKP Pecheneg, an ACB-90 combat knife, the list went on and on. I was in my element. I took my shotgun, the ACB-90, the M320 and the CheyTac Intervention, (and the PKP Pecheneg for Minuette) plus ammunition for each. I would have taken them all, however they would have been too heavy and I already had a Barrett and a FAMAS at home in Ponyville. The weapons I was carrying already weighed around 31kg, but the gun straps were helping me carry them. I found a uniform that fitted me and cut a hole in the back of the trousers so I could my tail through. I put on a pair of dark sunglasses and stepped out into the corridor. Nopony, (or would it be nohuman?), would be a match for me. I galloped as fast as my bandaged leg would allow me. As I reached the cell, I looked inside. Minuette wasn't there. I was frantic. I galloped down the corridor towards the torture room. I peered through the glass door. Minuette was lying there, shackled to a table; bleeding. She seemed to be alive but there were guards interrogating her. I did what was the only option. I stood back and fired a grenade at the door. It shattered into a million gleaming shards, which flew through the air like needles. The guards stood there with their eyes and mouths wide open and Minuette had turned to face me, also with the same look on her face. She didn't look too badly injured. The blood was coming from her nose, which was most likely broken. "Ding-dong mothabuckers!" I swapped to the Intervention and before any of the guards had opened fire, a bullet travelling at roughly 2296.6 ft/s (for ponies who work in metres, it is around 700 m/s) had slammed into the chest of each. I trotted across the room towards Minuette. She was staring at me, shocked. I brought my hoof down on the control panel and the shackles snapped open instantly. She threw herself at me any gave me a big, long hug. I loved it. "I'm so glad you got here! You look like you're in the...what was it called...the 'Russian Spetznaz'." "Umm...what?" I stared at her, blankly. "Oh, you won't know. It's apparently a 'special forces' thing which our guys here trained in." "Oh, ok...Anyway, are you injured?" "I think my nose is broken, but everything else is fine, I've got a couple of bruises here and there, but nothing I can't handle." "Good, because I brought this for you." I handed over the PKP Pecheneg and ammunition and she smiled at me. "I think I know how to use this. To reload, I just lift up this, take out the empty magazine, clip in a new one and feed it in then close the flap again, don't I?" "Correct! I knew giving you all those weapon training sessions would come in handy." "So, where to now?" No sooner as she had said this, then we heard a human approaching. I quickly grabbed Minuette and we flung ourselves into an open door. The steps were getting louder and we quickly crawled into another ventilation shaft. "Эй, что ад случилось?." ("Hey, what the hell happened?") The guard shouted. We heard the crunching of glass and a piercing, wailing siren. "Quick!" I whispered to Minuette. As we caught our breath, we heard many shouts and alarms. We crawled through the shaft, went up a ladder, continued crawling and came out from the floor and into an unlit room. Suddenly, blinding lights flickered on and we found ourselves in a cylindrical, glass tube. A ReturnI was waiting. After I had lifted Minuette onto my back, I had gone to the main control room, tied up the guards and unlocked the cells of every pony. I went back to the cells and was warmly greeted by them. Through the crowd I spied Rainbow Dash. I shouted her. She turned around and saw me I flew down between her and Twilight Sparkle. I hugged Rainbow Dash. "Hey Twi. Or should I call you Princess Twilight now?" I smiled. "Please, don't call me Princess. I don't like being called a Princess by my friends." Twilight smiled back. Her smile suddenly vanished. "Wait, who's that on your back?" Everypony looked around. They all gasped. I told them about Minuette. "Hey guys, do y'think we should, y'know go now, seein' as our friend here needs some medical attention?" Questioned Applejack. "Where's the portal?" Somepony shouted. "I don't exactly know. Rush, do you know?" Replied Twilight. "Yeah, I know. Follow me everypony." The portal creator was a small hoof-held device which could create a portal anywhere. On the side, the words "Dimensional Portal Gun E603" were embossed. I turned the handle on the side. A portal opened in front of us. As we had begun to leave, I heard a siren and a speaker system announce, "THIRTY SECONDS UNTIL DETONATION." I had no idea what it was but it didn't sound good, so I hurried the rest of the ponies through the portal. I was the last to go through and discovered what the announcement meant. The world erupted behind me in a bright white flash. I only just made it through the portal. "Ah. Back to Ponyvi..." I opened my eyes. We weren't in Ponyville, or Equestria for that matter. There were blocks everywhere. The world was practically made of cubes. And it was dark. We heard a hissing noise. Everypony screamed. A large green creature with four stumpy legs walked towards us with a very unhappy face. I quickly opened up another portal to another dimension. We went through. "This still isn't right." I said. We were on a floor of a bluey-purple skyscraper. There was another human. He had a long face and a very long, pointy nose. Next to him was a teal beaked creature wearing a fedora. They stared at us, we stared at them. We fired up another portal and again jumped through. "Well that was weird." The man said in a German accent. "Wasn't it Perry the Platypus?" The platypus agreed with his signature noise he made at Dr. Doofenshmirtz. **************************** The next portal brought us out in a large, flat land. There were more humans. Like everything else, they stared at us, we stared at them. One human was moving a box with a strange weapon like thing. A thin blue beam from the weapon was holding the box in the air. There was one on the floor beneath me. I picked it up and tied it to a strap around my waist. It would come in handy. There was a large sign in the distance that read 'Flattywood'. I opened the portal into the floor and yet again we fell through. It took a long time to finally get a portal into Ponyville. "Well that was strange." I thought to myself. **************************** I had brought Minuette back to Ponyville Hospital. She was still having operations. She seemed to be alive, which was a good thing but with how much time it was taking, I knew she must have been severely injured. **************************** I returned to the hospital. I asked for Minuette and I was brought through the wards to where she was. I entered her room. She lay in the bed. She opened her eyes as soon as I entered the room. She turned her head to face me. "Rush!" She shouted. "Minuette!" "I am so happy you're are here!" She cried. "I'm so glad that you are alive! What happened in the operation? How much damage had been done?" "A lot. In the state I was in, I would have only lived for a few more hours. I had broken many bones and lost a lot of blood. Though thanks to a lot of unicorn magic, and even Princess Celestia's help, my bones were fixed. I ache a little, but I'm so glad that I'm alive." "Wait... You had help from... Princess Celestia?" "Yes. Because her magic is the most powerful in all of Equestria, she made a fusing spell to fuse my broken bones together while the nurses held the bones in place. So tell me; What happened after I had been crushed?" "It's a long story..." **************************** After telling her the story, Twilight Sparkle and Spike came in, followed by Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and finally, Fluttershy. We chatted and everypony thanked me for helping to get everypony out of the complex. As spike started talking however, he suddenly let out a huge belch of dragon fire and a letter from Princess Celestia appeared. As everypony gathered around, Spike read the letter. It was addressed to me. "Princess Celestia wants me to visit her in Canterlot right now? I don't know if I'll look presentable enough. Is my mane all right? Is..." Spike let out another belch. Another letter came. He read it out: "Yes, you are fine as you are Winter Rush." Everypony laughed. I was slightly embarrassed, but laughed with them. **************************** We reached Canterlot around half an hour later. Princess Celestia greeted me with glee. "Thank you, Winter Rush. I think everypony can congratulate you for your heroic efforts while in...that other dimension." I blushed slightly. "Don't be embarrassed Winter Rush. I mean what I say. Also, I have something for your efforts yesterday." Some royal guards brought forwards the gift. It was a huge diamond with the words 'Saviour of Ponyville' embossed in platinum. My eyes widened in shock. "Go on. Take it. It's yours." I took it. " I...I don't know what to say..." "You have no need to thank me, saving Ponyville is enough of a thank you." ----------END----------- The FightThe room we were in was massive. We looked up at a screen which had turned on to show the face of Alexei. "Ha! You really thought that I wouldn't notice that you were crawling through the ventilation shafts? I put movement sensors everywhere in them, so I'd know if anyone was trying to escape. I figured you'd end up here. It would have been a little awkward if you'd ended up anywhere else in the room, so I decided to place these tubes everywhere across the room. Literally everywhere. I can't be bothered moving them." "You think these tubes will hold us?" I fired the MK3A1. Glass shattered around us. "I thought they were a little stronger than that. Oh well, turn around; I have a surprise." We did as he said. I wish I hadn't. Stood in front of us was an enormous robot. It was around 40ft tall. "What do you think? You're both fucked now!" The robot's arms swung up into the air and smashed into the ground in front of the two ponies. Winter Rush flew up into the air while Minuette used her unicorn magic. The robot fired a missile from its left arm. "Missiles?! What the buck is this shit?" Shouted Winter Rush. The missile flew towards Winter Rush, though Minuette managed to redirect it with her unicorn magic and instead hit its right arm. An arc of electricity flew out of where the missile had hit. The arc struck Winter Rush's wings with a snap and he plummeted out of the air. I saw Rush fall out of the air and rocket towards the ground. I had only a few seconds to save him. Quickly, I focused my magic on slowing down Rush at the same time stopping the arms of the robot from colliding with him. It was hard focusing all of my energy on two things, but I managed to carefully bring Rush back to his hooves. He got his breath back, winked at me and launched himself back into the air. After Minuette had saved me, I skilfully slalomed around four heat-seeking missiles and brought them crashing down onto different parts of the robot, sending shrapnel flying. Winter Rush was flying around the robot, trying to distract it, when the robot took Minuette by surprise and crushed her under a powerful arm. I spun round and saw the arm crush Minuette. "MINUETTE!" I screamed. The arm retracted and she lay there. This was the last straw. The anger welled up inside of me and I slammed my own body into the glass screen that protected Alexei inside. The glass cracked. I tried again. It cracked more. I tried one more time. I flew through the glass, it smashed into large shards and I collided head on with Alexei's face. I heard a horrible snapping noise and Alexei didn't get up. I had broken his neck. I backed away from the body. I flew out of the cockpit and down to Minuette. She was bleeding heavily and from what I could see, she had broken several bones. I cried as I lifted her broken body onto my back.
The OrphanageIt was raining outside the Ponyville Orphanage, though being inside was not much different to the outside, apart from there being no rain, and the icy, unforgiving atmosphere was creeping through the slight gap between the double doors at the front of the orphanage. The receptionist, Sunflower Shine, was sipping at a strong, sweet smelling drink of some description, sighing softly as an orange unicorn with a bright, flaming yellow mane dashed through the foyer with a green pegasus close in pursuit. There was the occasional shout or scream or cry of a pony that had got into a scrap with another or had stubbed a hoof on a small step or just wanted attention. This was a normal day for those at the orphanage. Ponies generally enjoyed being at Ponyville Orphanage and it was always a sad but beautiful sight to everypony when a pony was adopted, though for one, life was a misery. He had arrived at the orphanage on a similar type of day eight years earlier after being found wondering the backstreets of Ponyville with a broken wing and with nopony seemingly related to him. Sunflower Shine brought him in and had given him a room on the second floor. He had loved being at the orphanage and most of the ponies had originally been friendly to him - he was only two years old, after all, when he had first arrived. However, as time went on, they discovered that he loved science and similar subjects and was cast out by the others who described him as a 'nerd'; He wasn't, he just had an interest, but they continued to bully and separate him from groups. Eight years later, he still had the same bullying. His name was Winter Rush. There was a sudden noise of galloping hooves and Sunflower Shine looked up from her desk to see the door squeak open and three pegasi step out of the torrent and into the dry reception area. "Welcome to Ponyville Orphanage! How may I help you today?" Sunflower Shine exclaimed in her soft, but confident tone. Standing before her was a large blue-purple male pegasus with a short rainbow mane and a bright pink female pegasus with a blue mane. Between them stood a filly with a blue coat and rainbow mane. Each stood in the growing puddles beneath them in the middle of the carpet. The female pegasus stroked the filly's mane. "We saw a flyer in town and thought that we'd get a sibling for our little angel here." Replied the female pegasus, who had a bright and cheery tone, which contrasted with the weather outside. An angry cloud rumbled outside. "Well I hope that we can find the pony for you!" Sunflower Shine beamed. "Just follow me please." **************************** After half an hour of looking at all of the ponies there, not one had been right for the family. As they began to walk through the television room towards the foyer and the entrance, Sunflower Shine started apologising, “I’m sorry that we couldn't satisfy you today. Maybe you could come ba-", she hadn't finished her sentence when the young filly shouted, "What about him?" The three adults turned to face the filly who was pointing under the sofa. The male pegasus lifted the sofa with one strong hoof and exposed the curled up colt underneath. The colt had a blue coat and a dark and medium blue mane. He had retreated under there from the hateful remarks by the other ponies and had lain there sobbing softly to himself. The colt blinked several times at them and the filly stuck out a friendly hoof towards him. He stared at the filly and then at her hoof. He slowly extended his own hoof and placed it on her's. "Winter Rush! There you are!" Exclaimed Sunflower Shine. She looked at the filly's parents. "I see your filly has made her decision!" **************************** After all of the forms had been signed and Winter Rush had packed his bags, the two adult pegasi said their goodbyes to the staff who replied the same to Winter Rush, closely following his new family. As the doors swung shut behind, Winter Rush felt something warm inside his body. He smiled to himself. It was a sense of freedom.
Late Night AnticsIt was late afternoon and the moon was already beginning to rise. The air was stuffy and hot and Winter Rush was getting restless. "Minuette!" He called from upstairs. There was a noise of a pony galloping up the stairs. Louder and louder, then silence. A head suddenly appeared around the door. "Yes?" The blue mare questioned. "I think we should leave for Ponyville. Not that I don't like it here at your grandma's; I love it, but I keep getting the same dreams lately about Dash." Answered Winter Rush. "What kind of dreams?" "Dreams of her calling me. Over and over." "Ok. I'll go and tell my grandma then." **************************** After they had packed, Minuette kissed her grandmother goodbye and her and Winter Rush shut the door behind them and set off on their long journey to Ponyville. The moon was high in the sky and the air was still. An owl hooted. Minuette shivered and Winter Rush turned to face her, reaching into his satchel to remove a blanket. He draped it over her and gave her a tight squeeze with his hoof. "Th-th-thank y-y-you" Stuttered Minuette. The night was getting colder. The branches of trees hung over them as menacing, bony claws. "Rush, do you think that we should make camp here and continue in the morning?" Minuette questioned, "This place is pretty nightmarish and in starting to get tired." "Sure." Said Winter Rush reassuringly, "You could have said earlier if you wanted to. I was starting to tire myself, though didn't want to ask to stop in case you were inclined to carry on." "I wouldn't ever leave you Rush! You must know that!" Minuette exclaimed. "I know, I know. I didn't want you to think that I was lazy and couldn't be bothered when we arrived in Ponyville." "I wouldn't think that at all! Now come on, let's set up that tent..." **************************** "There we are, finished." Said Minuette. They crawled into the tent, with some difficulty, lay down in each other's arms and fell asleep. ---23:30--- There was a strange rustling outside the tent. Neither Minuette nor Winter Rush stirred. The rustling came again, this time louder. Still, neither stirred. The rustling was replaced with a growling and a shake of the tent. This time, both woke up with a start. "R-Rush...?" Minuette questioned, "What was that?" "I-I-I don't know." He replied. Both looked out of the tent at the same time. What was standing there made them both gasp and dart out of the tent. A large lion-like creature was staring at them. Bearing its white fang like teeth, it slowly plodded towards them. Minuette let out a high pitched scream. The creature roared. Both Minuette and Winter Rush held on to each other for their lives. "How will we deal with this?" Minuette screamed. "I don't know... Wait, I have something back in the tent that may just scare it off!" Winter Rush said breathlessly. "Yes, but we can't get there because that... thing will see us! I'd use my magic if I could see the bags, but I can't do anything as it'll see me." "I know a way." Winter Rush reassured her, gesturing with his wings. He quickly darted into the undergrowth without the creature noticing him and appeared a few seconds later, silently gliding across the moonlit sky towards the tent. The creature still hadn't seen him and continued to growl at Minuette every time she moved. He returned with a long, black object concealed under his wing. "What's that?" Questioned Minuette. "You'll see..." *BANG* The noise made every creature in the Everfree forest start up. The lion stared wide-eyed at them and ran off as fast as it could into the depths of the forest. Minuette sat there in shock, staring at Winter Rush as he holstered the MK3A1 Jackhammer shotgun on the strap down the front of his body. "What was that!?" Exclaimed Minuette. "I came prepared. I thought that we'd end up in a bit of trouble out here, so I brought my shotgun. Only working one in the whole of Equestria. Shall we carry on for Ponyville then?" **************************** It took them two hours to reach the outskirts of Ponyville, though it was only around 1:30 in the morning. "Ponyville looks...so different at night." Said Winter Rush. "Where do you think...Ah! There it is - Rainbow Dash's house!" "There's one problem however. You're a pegasus. Only pegasi can walk on clouds. I can't." Said Minuette disappointingly. "Can't you do a spell on yourself to enable you to walk on clouds?" "Oh! Of course, yes!" No sooner as she had said this, there was a blinding flash and Minuette started levitating above the ground from the power of the spell. Then the light disappeared as quickly as it had come and Minuette was back on the ground, though not looking any different from before. "That should have worked. Let's go!" Said Minuette. Winter Rush helped Minuette onto his back and soared up into the sky to Rainbow Dash's cloud house. They landed with perfect precision in front of Rainbow Dash's door. "Okay, there's only one way to see if that worked. Try hopping off my back, and don't worry, I'll hold you." Winter Rush reassured. Minuette stepped cautiously off Winter Rush and onto the cloud. "I think...I think it worked!" Exclaimed Minuette."So this is Rainbow Dash's house then?" "Yep! Let’s knock." They knocked and promptly heard a moving of bed sheets followed by a long yawn. The door opened as far as the chain allowed it and a blue face appeared in the gap. "Who is it?" Came Rainbow Dash's sleepy voice. "Hey sis! It's me, Rush. Oh and Minuette's here as well." The door closed and the rattle of the chain came from inside. The door opened again and Rainbow Dash appeared and hugged them both. "Rush! I haven't seen you in such a long time! So how are you my awesome bro?" **************************** After a long time chatting about what had happened while they had been away, they decided that it would be best to go back to Minuette's house nearer the centre of Ponyville. "It was so good to see you again sis!" "I'm glad too bro!" Said Rainbow Dash. "See you again Rainb...Um, guys! I'm sinking! Guys HELP!" Screamed Minuette. "Wha... Oh shit..." Cursed Winter Rush. He quickly grabbed Minuette as she was about to fall through the cloud. Her spell had stopped working. "I've got you Minuette!" He lifted her carefully up onto his back, they said their goodbyes to a shocked Rainbow Dash and flew off the edge of the cloud to Ponyville below. **************************** They arrived at Minuette's house twenty minutes later and went straight upstairs. They entered the bedroom, got into bed, kissed and fell fast asleep.
An Unexpected SurpriseALMOST A YEAR AFTER ARRIVING **************************** It was the middle of the night. There was no noise outside. The only noise I could hear was Minuette's light breathing. I was confused. I had woken up due to a noise - seemingly from downstairs. I could hear nothing now. I admit I was a little scared, but if whatever it was, I hoped I could fight it with Rainbow Dash-like courage. However, there was silence again. I had put my head down and as I had closed my eyes, I had heard the door squeak and a sound rush by. I woke with a start, but still couldn't see anything. I heard a sound from behind and as I had slowly turned to face it, the thing swung something and I must have fallen unconscious. **************************** I blinked. There was a blinding light shining down onto me. I couldn't move - I was shackled to a table like bench made from thick concrete. I turned to the side and saw Minuette in the same condition as me. I shouted her. Nothing. Her eyes were closed but thankfully she seemed to be breathing. There was a sound of something moving and a shadow that didn't look like a pony. Suddenly, a face appeared. It took a few seconds to realise that it wasn't the face of a pony. It was a strange biped creature and it walked towards us on weird, long legs. It was wearing some weird clothes but before I could take too much in, the thing spoke. "Hello Winter Rush." "Who...who are you - what are you? How do you know my name? What do you want with me?" I cried. "So many questions; All of which will be answered shortly." It replied. "I see that your friend hasn't woken up yet. Let's get her awake shall we?" The creature turned to Minuette and slapped her across her face. "Don't you dare hurt her!" I shouted. "Aww, young love; How sweet." It said sarcastically. Minuette still hadn't stirred. He slapped her again. Still nothing. This time he got a large box with wires connected to it. He jabbed the other ends of the wires at Minuette's body. She woke with an ear-piercing scream. "An electric shock always works." He laughed. "Where am I? W-Who are YOU...?" Minuette screamed. "Because you are both wondering, my name is Andrei Dimitriev and I am not from your...world. I am not a pony. I am a human and you are on Earth." We stared blankly at him. "We made a portal to...the unknown and ended up in some pony-land. You may have noticed that your town was very quiet, even for 2 O'clock in the morning. We captured many of your friends, including you two." "Where our our friends? Can you let us out of here? We will tell nopony anything that has happened." I cried. "You obviously don't understand. We have captured you and you will never be let out. You will be used for scientific research." "Сэр, Радуга не спать." Spoke a guard, hidden away in the shadows. "В здесь." Replied Andrei. (Roughly translated, due to my limited knowledge of a similar dialect I had heard and studied in Equestria, this meant; "Sir, rainbow one awakens." "Bring in.") Promptly, a table was wheeled in with a familiar pony shackled to the top. "Lemmie' go!" It cried. "Sis!" I shouted. "Oh, she's your sister? This could be interesting..." **************************** The human carried on talking and eventually we were unshackled and walked at gunpoint along many corridors and finally into a cell. The door was slammed shut and we were left. We saw Rainbow Dash being brought to another cell further down the corridor through the tiny window in the white metal door. The cell was around 7ft X 7ft wide and around 8ft tall. It was modern-looking with white metal walls with curved edges. There were glowing blue lights embedded in the roof and there was an uncomfortable looking bed pushed up against a wall. "I-I can't get my head around this." Sobbed Minuette. "Neither can I. Come here Min." I hugged Minuette. Her body warmed me slightly - it was comforting having her by my side. She started crying. "Come on Min, we're gonna get out of here. I promise I will get us out." "I put my faith in you Rush." I scanned the room to see if there were any obvious exits. There weren't. "If we are let out for anything, we need to look for a chance to escape; a grille, an unmonitored corridor, a place without guards, etcetera. And when we see something, we need to make a quick escape without screwing things up." "I do hope that it works. I really do." "If we do screw it up, we'll be tortured, or even killed." "Why don't you escape and I distract the guards so that when I return to my cell, you can come back and get me out, as well as all our other friends." "There will be an armoury in this place, so I'll stock up there first and then come here." "Sounds like a plan!" We kissed each other and fell asleep on the cold, hard bed.
An Escape?I woke to the sound of the cell being unlocked and the guard shouting something in the foreign language, which most likely meant for us to "get out". We were being brought to the mess hall and even though it probably was a little early for an escape, I nodded at Minuette who, with great acting, clutched her stomach, as if in great pain. The guards rushed to her and I made my escape. I had seen a grate, though as I had dived into it, I had caught my hoof on the sharp metal and I lay inside the air conditioning pipes, I held onto my bleeding hoof, crying softly to myself. I bit my lip and crawled on; Even though I had a lot of time, it wasn't that much and didn't need to be wasted. **************************** Firstly, I made my way to the medical centre to get my hoof patched up. I didn't spend long there, so I carried on along the corridor. There many doors, most of which were locked, but a few were open. I trotted past an open door. I peeped my head around the door. I really wish I hadn't. Really, really wish I hadn't. Tied between two posts was a pony, or what was left of one. It was a purple pegasus who had had its ear cut off and had cuts all the way down its body. There was dried blood everywhere. There was a jagged circle cut where a cutie mark should have been. There were more rooms like this, some with closed doors, with sounds of screaming behind them. It was like something out of a horror movie, or some bucked up fanfi...Urgh... I didn't want to think about it. I backed out of the room, feeling very sick and queasy. I'd always had a fear of blood. **************************** I made my way to to the kitchens and as I entered I had to quickly dive behind a fridge. The camera swung the other way. I held my breath. It hadn't seen me. I climbed up onto the fridge and used a pair of kitchen scissors to slice through the wire making the camera rotate, as cutting all the wires would be too suspicious. I jumped down and opened one of the fridges. It was full of fruit and pie and cooked meat. A full stomach would just slow me down and it would make it a little obvious that someone had been there if all the food in the fridge had just mysteriously gone, so I ate as little as possible, but enough so that I would be satisfied. After my small meal, I decided it was time to equip myself. "Right, to the armoury." I whispered to myself. You had gone for a while and I had started to worry. You hadn't come back to the cell. I just hoped that you were all right. I was smiling to myself. I had found my trusty MK3A1 Jackhammer shotgun. They must have taken it when they came through the portal. I filled it with more shells and and continued looking for more weapons. There was a Barrett M98, an M320 grenade launcher, a CheyTac Intervention sniper rifle, a G36C, a FAMAS, several AK-74s, an M249, a PKP Pecheneg, an ACB-90 combat knife, the list went on and on. I was in my element. I took my shotgun, the ACB-90, the M320 and the CheyTac Intervention, (and the PKP Pecheneg for Minuette) plus ammunition for each. I would have taken them all, however they would have been too heavy and I already had a Barrett and a FAMAS at home in Ponyville. The weapons I was carrying already weighed around 31kg, but the gun straps were helping me carry them. I found a uniform that fitted me and cut a hole in the back of the trousers so I could my tail through. I put on a pair of dark sunglasses and stepped out into the corridor. Nopony, (or would it be nohuman?), would be a match for me. I galloped as fast as my bandaged leg would allow me. As I reached the cell, I looked inside. Minuette wasn't there. I was frantic. I galloped down the corridor towards the torture room. I peered through the glass door. Minuette was lying there, shackled to a table; bleeding. She seemed to be alive but there were guards interrogating her. I did what was the only option. I stood back and fired a grenade at the door. It shattered into a million gleaming shards, which flew through the air like needles. The guards stood there with their eyes and mouths wide open and Minuette had turned to face me, also with the same look on her face. She didn't look too badly injured. The blood was coming from her nose, which was most likely broken. "Ding-dong mothabuckers!" I swapped to the Intervention and before any of the guards had opened fire, a bullet travelling at roughly 2296.6 ft/s (for ponies who work in metres, it is around 700 m/s) had slammed into the chest of each. I trotted across the room towards Minuette. She was staring at me, shocked. I brought my hoof down on the control panel and the shackles snapped open instantly. She threw herself at me any gave me a big, long hug. I loved it. "I'm so glad you got here! You look like you're in the...what was it called...the 'Russian Spetznaz'." "Umm...what?" I stared at her, blankly. "Oh, you won't know. It's apparently a 'special forces' thing which our guys here trained in." "Oh, ok...Anyway, are you injured?" "I think my nose is broken, but everything else is fine, I've got a couple of bruises here and there, but nothing I can't handle." "Good, because I brought this for you." I handed over the PKP Pecheneg and ammunition and she smiled at me. "I think I know how to use this. To reload, I just lift up this, take out the empty magazine, clip in a new one and feed it in then close the flap again, don't I?" "Correct! I knew giving you all those weapon training sessions would come in handy." "So, where to now?" No sooner as she had said this, then we heard a human approaching. I quickly grabbed Minuette and we flung ourselves into an open door. The steps were getting louder and we quickly crawled into another ventilation shaft. "Эй, что ад случилось?." ("Hey, what the hell happened?") The guard shouted. We heard the crunching of glass and a piercing, wailing siren. "Quick!" I whispered to Minuette. As we caught our breath, we heard many shouts and alarms. We crawled through the shaft, went up a ladder, continued crawling and came out from the floor and into an unlit room. Suddenly, blinding lights flickered on and we found ourselves in a cylindrical, glass tube.
A ReturnI was waiting. After I had lifted Minuette onto my back, I had gone to the main control room, tied up the guards and unlocked the cells of every pony. I went back to the cells and was warmly greeted by them. Through the crowd I spied Rainbow Dash. I shouted her. She turned around and saw me I flew down between her and Twilight Sparkle. I hugged Rainbow Dash. "Hey Twi. Or should I call you Princess Twilight now?" I smiled. "Please, don't call me Princess. I don't like being called a Princess by my friends." Twilight smiled back. Her smile suddenly vanished. "Wait, who's that on your back?" Everypony looked around. They all gasped. I told them about Minuette. "Hey guys, do y'think we should, y'know go now, seein' as our friend here needs some medical attention?" Questioned Applejack. "Where's the portal?" Somepony shouted. "I don't exactly know. Rush, do you know?" Replied Twilight. "Yeah, I know. Follow me everypony." The portal creator was a small hoof-held device which could create a portal anywhere. On the side, the words "Dimensional Portal Gun E603" were embossed. I turned the handle on the side. A portal opened in front of us. As we had begun to leave, I heard a siren and a speaker system announce, "THIRTY SECONDS UNTIL DETONATION." I had no idea what it was but it didn't sound good, so I hurried the rest of the ponies through the portal. I was the last to go through and discovered what the announcement meant. The world erupted behind me in a bright white flash. I only just made it through the portal. "Ah. Back to Ponyvi..." I opened my eyes. We weren't in Ponyville, or Equestria for that matter. There were blocks everywhere. The world was practically made of cubes. And it was dark. We heard a hissing noise. Everypony screamed. A large green creature with four stumpy legs walked towards us with a very unhappy face. I quickly opened up another portal to another dimension. We went through. "This still isn't right." I said. We were on a floor of a bluey-purple skyscraper. There was another human. He had a long face and a very long, pointy nose. Next to him was a teal beaked creature wearing a fedora. They stared at us, we stared at them. We fired up another portal and again jumped through. "Well that was weird." The man said in a German accent. "Wasn't it Perry the Platypus?" The platypus agreed with his signature noise he made at Dr. Doofenshmirtz. **************************** The next portal brought us out in a large, flat land. There were more humans. Like everything else, they stared at us, we stared at them. One human was moving a box with a strange weapon like thing. A thin blue beam from the weapon was holding the box in the air. There was one on the floor beneath me. I picked it up and tied it to a strap around my waist. It would come in handy. There was a large sign in the distance that read 'Flattywood'. I opened the portal into the floor and yet again we fell through. It took a long time to finally get a portal into Ponyville. "Well that was strange." I thought to myself. **************************** I had brought Minuette back to Ponyville Hospital. She was still having operations. She seemed to be alive, which was a good thing but with how much time it was taking, I knew she must have been severely injured. **************************** I returned to the hospital. I asked for Minuette and I was brought through the wards to where she was. I entered her room. She lay in the bed. She opened her eyes as soon as I entered the room. She turned her head to face me. "Rush!" She shouted. "Minuette!" "I am so happy you're are here!" She cried. "I'm so glad that you are alive! What happened in the operation? How much damage had been done?" "A lot. In the state I was in, I would have only lived for a few more hours. I had broken many bones and lost a lot of blood. Though thanks to a lot of unicorn magic, and even Princess Celestia's help, my bones were fixed. I ache a little, but I'm so glad that I'm alive." "Wait... You had help from... Princess Celestia?" "Yes. Because her magic is the most powerful in all of Equestria, she made a fusing spell to fuse my broken bones together while the nurses held the bones in place. So tell me; What happened after I had been crushed?" "It's a long story..." **************************** After telling her the story, Twilight Sparkle and Spike came in, followed by Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and finally, Fluttershy. We chatted and everypony thanked me for helping to get everypony out of the complex. As spike started talking however, he suddenly let out a huge belch of dragon fire and a letter from Princess Celestia appeared. As everypony gathered around, Spike read the letter. It was addressed to me. "Princess Celestia wants me to visit her in Canterlot right now? I don't know if I'll look presentable enough. Is my mane all right? Is..." Spike let out another belch. Another letter came. He read it out: "Yes, you are fine as you are Winter Rush." Everypony laughed. I was slightly embarrassed, but laughed with them. **************************** We reached Canterlot around half an hour later. Princess Celestia greeted me with glee. "Thank you, Winter Rush. I think everypony can congratulate you for your heroic efforts while in...that other dimension." I blushed slightly. "Don't be embarrassed Winter Rush. I mean what I say. Also, I have something for your efforts yesterday." Some royal guards brought forwards the gift. It was a huge diamond with the words 'Saviour of Ponyville' embossed in platinum. My eyes widened in shock. "Go on. Take it. It's yours." I took it. " I...I don't know what to say..." "You have no need to thank me, saving Ponyville is enough of a thank you." ----------END-----------
The FightThe room we were in was massive. We looked up at a screen which had turned on to show the face of Alexei. "Ha! You really thought that I wouldn't notice that you were crawling through the ventilation shafts? I put movement sensors everywhere in them, so I'd know if anyone was trying to escape. I figured you'd end up here. It would have been a little awkward if you'd ended up anywhere else in the room, so I decided to place these tubes everywhere across the room. Literally everywhere. I can't be bothered moving them." "You think these tubes will hold us?" I fired the MK3A1. Glass shattered around us. "I thought they were a little stronger than that. Oh well, turn around; I have a surprise." We did as he said. I wish I hadn't. Stood in front of us was an enormous robot. It was around 40ft tall. "What do you think? You're both fucked now!" The robot's arms swung up into the air and smashed into the ground in front of the two ponies. Winter Rush flew up into the air while Minuette used her unicorn magic. The robot fired a missile from its left arm. "Missiles?! What the buck is this shit?" Shouted Winter Rush. The missile flew towards Winter Rush, though Minuette managed to redirect it with her unicorn magic and instead hit its right arm. An arc of electricity flew out of where the missile had hit. The arc struck Winter Rush's wings with a snap and he plummeted out of the air. I saw Rush fall out of the air and rocket towards the ground. I had only a few seconds to save him. Quickly, I focused my magic on slowing down Rush at the same time stopping the arms of the robot from colliding with him. It was hard focusing all of my energy on two things, but I managed to carefully bring Rush back to his hooves. He got his breath back, winked at me and launched himself back into the air. After Minuette had saved me, I skilfully slalomed around four heat-seeking missiles and brought them crashing down onto different parts of the robot, sending shrapnel flying. Winter Rush was flying around the robot, trying to distract it, when the robot took Minuette by surprise and crushed her under a powerful arm. I spun round and saw the arm crush Minuette. "MINUETTE!" I screamed. The arm retracted and she lay there. This was the last straw. The anger welled up inside of me and I slammed my own body into the glass screen that protected Alexei inside. The glass cracked. I tried again. It cracked more. I tried one more time. I flew through the glass, it smashed into large shards and I collided head on with Alexei's face. I heard a horrible snapping noise and Alexei didn't get up. I had broken his neck. I backed away from the body. I flew out of the cockpit and down to Minuette. She was bleeding heavily and from what I could see, she had broken several bones. I cried as I lifted her broken body onto my back.
