Gears Of Change

Sweetie Belle sighed deeply as she absentmindedly stared out of the large window beside her. Yet again she found herself wishing something would happen. Anything would be better than sitting here listening to Ms. Gurta talk about how interesting and important trigonometry was. For crying out loud they were just numbers! If you’d seen them once you’ve seen them all. Can’t the ponies in charge of the school system think of anything better to waste time and money on? Maybe soccer. Soccer sounded like something fun to try. Maybe then she could finally show off to all the colts in her grade.

Laying her head on her hooves, Sweetie Belle looked down at her watch. It was barely 8:25am. Not even a full half hour had gone by yet since school began. Frustrated she glanced back out the window hoping to spot something interesting. A small group of colts were out tagging some poor sap’s car. Some fillies were watching the football team doing drills. And Applebloom was being chased by Diamond Tiara through the parking lot again with Scootaloo chasing the latter.

Sighing again, Sweetie Belle decided to go to the restroom. With a nod at Ms. Gurta, she got up and headed for the door. She was almost to the restroom when the first scream sounded from behind her. Startled Sweetie Belle’s head whipped around as the hallway suddenly erupted in shrill screams. Ponies started pouring from down the hallway, running towards the exit in a frenzied panic.

Pieces of wood and debris rained down on the crowd, causing them to panic even harder. A desk flew past her slamming into a fleeing student and throwing her through a wall. Pressing herself against the wall Sweetie Belle tried to figure out what was going on as she scanned the busy hallway.

That's when she saw him. A young colt with strange black tentacles walking out of one of the classrooms. He had dark green skin with spikes going up his back that seemed to be emitting some kind of glow. His eyes were hollow as he scanned the hallway and settled on her. With a smile he took a step toward her, throwing several students out of his way without a single care for what happened to them.

“Did you seriously think you could get away?” He asked staring at her. “No one ever fully escapes.” As if to emphasize he reached for a nearby teacher and threw him through the ceiling. The crowd cringed as they heard his bones bread as he collided with the ground below.

Sweetie Belle screamed. Then she looked at the desk which had almost hit her and decided otherwise. Following the crowd she ran outside where the first of the first responders had started to arrive. As she rushed down the steps, Sweetie Belle was suddenly tackled from behind and slammed onto the ground. Rubbing her head, she turned to see two uniformed police officers lifting someone off her body. They appeared to be struggling to hold the person as she thrashed violently in their grip.

"Get your freaking hooves off of me! Let me go! I have to get back in there! I have to save her!" The young filly screamed as she struggled to break free.

"Please miss calm down. What’s the point putting yourself in danger?” One of the officers said as he reached for a zip tie on his belt. "Please just calm down. Don’t make me have to restrain you or your friend for failing to cooperate with a government official."

"The flip I will!” The filly screamed. “Let me go! I need to get back in there! Let me go!" She hissed. As the officer reached for her one of the filly’s hooves slammed between the officer’s hindlegs.

“MOTHER-” shouted the officer as he bent over. He reached for his baton but was stopped by a silent shake of his partner’s head.

By now Sweetie Belle had recognized the filly as Summer Nip  from her science class. Though she didn’t know her very well, Sweetie Belle did know one important fact about Summer Nip. She was never without her twin sister Kraven. Never.

"Summer Nip! Summer Nip!” Sweetie Belle called as she rushed over. “Summer Nip, what’s going on? Where's Kraven?"

“Sweetie Belle?” Summer Nip called. “Sweetie Belle! You have to help me! Kraven is still inside!”

Sweetie Belle looked at the officer holding Summer Nip. “What the heck is wrong with you? Why are you doing this to her? Why don’t you let her go? Or better yet, go save her sister?”

“You don’t understand youngin it’s too dangerous for anyone to go inside. We can’t allow it.”

“Can’t allow it?” Sweetie Belle demanded. “Why can't you allow it? Isn’t it your job to protect us? To keep the things we fear away? I’m tired of the way you grown ups treat us like we don’t know anything. Well let me tell you!”

“Miss calm down. We don’t want any trouble-”

“Calm down?” Sweetie Belle screamed. “Calm down! You’re telling me to calm down?”

“Ma’am. Please-” Started the other officer.

“No! I will not calm down!” Sweetie Belle shouted. “Not until you answer me!”

The officers didn’t say anything, instead both drew their weapons and aimed it behind her.

“What are you doing?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Are you going to shoot me now? Just because i asked a question?”

In a flash something grabbed Sweetie Belle around the waist and lifted her off her hooves. Then before she could react, Sweetie Belle felt her body get slammed against a nearby car. She screamed as her ribs snapped one by one, along with every one of her limbs. Bleeding and broken, she felt her world turn upside down as she toppled off of the car and to the cracked ground below.

Sweetie Belle slowly opened her eyes, her vision blurring as she struggled to focus. Not far from her she could make out the shape of one of the police officers lying on his side. Hearing a click, she turned her head to the right. There stood the colt. He was watching her with his emotionless stare. In his tentacles he held the other officer, who was gasping loudly as he clutched at the abomination around his neck. Throwing the officer to the side, the colt walked over to Sweetie Belle. He grabbed Sweetie Belle by her neck and swiftly lifted her off the ground.

“It’s been a while.” He told her. There was a low hum to his voice. “Almost six years to be exact. What are you, fourteen now?”

Sweetie Belle didn’t answer.

“What’s wrong? You act like you don’t remember me Sweetie Belle. Did Rarity do something to you? Figures. Oh well no matter. Shall we continue where we left off?” He gripped her neck tighter till she started squirming as she struggled to breathe. Then dropped her back on the ground. “As you can probably tell your body feels heavier and you’re having trouble breathing. Partly because I almost choked you to death. But more because I just released a toxin into you.”

He smiled at Sweetie Belle’s reaction. “That’s right I’m going to kill you now. And I’m going to enjoy it.”

Not far from her, Sweetie Belle made out another figure watching the events unfold from the shadows. He seemed to be enjoying the look on her face as she struggled to breathe. The stare-down lasted for nearly a minute, the cold dark eyes of the figure boring holes into her’s.

“Your turn,” The figure whispered giving a wide grin. “Go ahead and die for me.”

“No.” Sweetie Belle whispered back, as she struggled to stand up.

With her eyes burning and the world beginning to grow darker, Sweetie Belle finally conceded. Dropping to her knees, she coughed loudly as the toxin filled her lungs, her mind burning from the pain. She fell to the ground, screaming for it all to come to an end. With a nod from the figure in the shadows, the colt lowered his hoof on her neck. As her vision faded into nothingness, Sweetie focused on the colt’s eyes suddenly feeling a small warmness coming from them.