Chapters Making his way through the tunnels, Storm Soldier Carter returned as the only survivor of his unit. He and his squad was in charge of holding the line against the creatures. But they were slaughtered to the bone. The resistance was now losing, the tides of war was turning to the creatures' side.
"Carter, did the line hold?" A soldier asked.
"Not even close." Carter said. "They'll be here."
"Go talk to Commander Connor. He's organizing the defenses."
As Carter walked throughout the resistance base, he saw many resistance fighters preparing for evacuation. They loaded their supplies onto carriages being pulled by the strongest Storm Soldiers. The other Storm Soldiers stayed behind to to practice their fighting to the hardest. Traps were set up for the creatures, smoke bombs and flash grenades were being carefully crafted to stun their enemies. As Carter continued his way to Connor, he noticed a unicorn who was part of their group placing his sister on one of the carriages.
"You have to get out of here." He said.
"But what about you?" His sister replied.
"I'll hold them off."
Carter made his way to Commander Connor in his office. Connor's second in command, Leon, stood before him, holding the Staff of Sacanas, the magical staff the Storm King on his revenge against Equestria. It was once in the possession of Twilight Sparkle, but the resistance's best soldier, a white unicorn with a short black mane named Gusty Gallows, also known as Newton, knocked Twilight out to steal the staff. But even with the staff, Phoenix was still outnumbered by Princess Celestia's troops.
"Connor, we didn't hold them back, they'll be here."
Connor let out a sigh. "Well that it's then, we lost."
"We have to evacuate."
"The good news is that we have ships picking up civilians and evacuating them along with the Storm Soldiers as long as we speak." Leon said. "Our troops found a safe patch of land, away from the creatures. And I will be their new king."
Leon was the son of the Storm King. He objected his father's revenge against Equestria after the Storm Kingdom was attacked during a raid by the creatures. As he was captured to be executed by the royal guards of Canterlot, Newton saved him from being executed. The two would head back and become key members of the resistance.
"We aren't taking back the Storm Kingdom?" Carter asked.
"No." Connor sighed. "We failed."
The alarms rang out.
"Oh no, they're here." Connor said.
"Get into positions!" Leon ordered. "Let's get ready!"
The Storm Soldiers readied their weapons as the front line held very large shields.
"Come on, let's do this!" A Storm Soldier cheered.
"Let's give them punishment!" Another added.
"Ready on the traps!" A resistance fighter stated.
As Carter readied his weapon, no creature came into sight.
"Is it a false alarm?" One Storm Creature asked.
"I don't see them!" Another stated.
"Where are they?" Carter said.
"Steady guys, steady!" Leon ordered.
The resistance steadied themselves. Three creatures appeared. One yak, one unicorn, and one griffon. The resistance ran up to capture them.
"Is that it? Did we win?" A resistance fighter asked.
"They're testing our defenses! Stay focused!" Another one answered.
"That's just their scout units, come over here Carter." Connor said.
Carter nodded. "On my way."
Carter made his way to Connor. Connor was preparing to evacuate with Leon.
"Carter, we have to evacuate. But we still have a chance. Grab whatever gear you want and head to the rally point we mentioned. If you're there, get in touch with us. I'm counting on you."
"You got it." Carter said.
Since the Storm Kingdom was more advanced in terms of technology to the other creatures, they invented very lethal long-ranged weapons known as firearms. However, most soldiers choose not to carry them. In favor of old-fashioned weapons such as spears and shields. Carter grabbed a firearm and a large stock of ammunition before heading out.
"Carter, there's an escape vehicle you can use, it's this-"
A large explosion knocked back many resistance fighters. A plethora of creatures came through the hole the explosion came from.
"Celestia's Army!" A resistance fighter shouted.
"It's the royal guard!" Another added.
"Carter, we got multiple breaches! The royal guard are bypassing our defenses! I can't get through to you because the roof's collapsed! You get everyone out your side while I evacuate from here!" Leon said through Carter's earpiece.
"Got it, Leon. Everyone get to the carriage! We're getting out of here!" Carter ordered.
"Run! Run!" A resistance fighter shouted.
Carter fought off an earth pony who held down a Storm Soldier.
"Go!" He shouted to the Storm Soldier.
"You're going down you little sucker!" A resistance fighter said, emerging from cover and attacking a griffon.
"To the carriage, come on!" Another resistance fighter added.
Carter shot down two changelings who ambushed him from behind.
"Take them out!" Carter shouted.
"Got something for ya!" A Storm Soldier said, tossing out a smoke grenade.
"You're gonna die, sucker!" A resistance fighter said after a hippogriff took out his friend.
"Everyone get to the carriage!" A resistance fighter who already made it said.
Carter ran to the carriage after shooting down a yak who struggled with a Storm Soldier. The metal gate ahead of the carriage was the resistance's only means of escape. However, it was closed.
"Get this gate open! Come on, we gotta get out of here!" Carter said.
"It'll take us time!" A resistance fighter said.
"Ok, we'll hold them back!" Carter said.
Carter gunned down a pegasus and a griffon who were trying the flank the Storm Creatures.
"I can see the problem, I can fix it!" A resistance fighter said.
"Do it now!" Carter shouted.
The resistance fought off a dragon trying to burn the wounded soldiers alive. As the dragon dropped to the ground, one resistance fighter took her to safety.
"That's it! I'm opening the gate!"
"Everyone fall back! Fall back!" Carter shouted.
The resistance all got on the carriage as the strongest soldiers pulled the group to safety.
"So long, suckers!" A resistance fighter shouted to the royal guard.
"Connor, we got out! What's your situation?" Carter said to Connor through his communication device,
"Good work, Carter! We're coming up to you now!"
The spotlight shined on a talk show host Nightlight. Creatures in charge of filming the talk show aimed their cameras on Nightlight. Sound and video editors got to work on their jobs. The audience was comprised of creatures from all over Equestria. Stage music began as the audience grew quiet.
"Mares and Colts, please give it up for the captain of the royal guard, Gallus!"
A male blue griffon wearing royal guard armor walked on screen. Gallus was originally a student of Twilight's friendship school, but climbed up the ranks as a royal guard and ended up as its captain.
"And the royal guards' drill sergeant, Tempest Shadow!"
A dark orchid-colored unicorn with a broken horn walked alongside with Gallus. Tempest was the former second in command of the Storm King until the latter betrayed her and seeked ultimate power himself. The Storm King would later be killed by falling off a balcony while being turned into a statue and shattering into pieces down below.
"Thank you, thank you." Tempest said.
"It's so great to be here." Gallus said.
"Now tell me, what about this job you are doing to keep the Storm Kingdom as weak as possible?"
"Oh. That thing." Gallus said. "Five years ago, the Storm King and his army launched their conquest in taking over all of Equestria."
"The Storm King invited me along with my assistant Grubber in taking the magical pearl that resides in Mount Hippogriff. We failed and the hippogriffs went underwater after that." Tempest added. "So the Storm King gave us a new job. Taking alicorn magic to power himself."
"Thanks to the Mane Six, his plans were thwarted along with Tempest's help. Because they played a role in the Storm King's rise to power, we captured some of his soldiers." Gallus said. "They told us from where they came from. The Storm Kingdom."
"At the Storm Kingdom, we did our best to keep the Storm Creatures from rebelling against us. We put them in prison camps, set limitations on what they could do, we took out high-ranking members of the Storm King's castle." Tempest followed.
Gallus then took over. "But one of our guards had enough. He didn't want the Storm Kingdom to be harshly punished. So he broke out with one of our prisoners and escaped."
"The two would then join a resistance force that would fight for their freedom." Tempest said. "It was an ultimate fight, but we crushed them."
The Storm Creatures were being loaded onto the boats as they were being evacuated. Carter met up with his wife and daughter just in time.
"Come on, creatures, let's go!" One soldier said.
"Come on, we're almost there." Carter said to his wife, Lisa.
The three got onboard with some room to spare.
"We got 50 civilians waiting for boarding." A Storm Soldier said.
"Put them on the next ship." His commander said.
Sometime later, the ship took off. The Storm Creatures were settled into the cabins on the ship. For once, they had room to breathe. Carter went down to check on his family.
"We're gonna be safe." Carter said to his daughter, Connie.
"Dad, what about Commander Leon, Connor, and Newton?"
"They're gonna be safe." Carter replied.
"Shouldn't we be at the safe spot of land right now?" Lisa asked.
Leon walked into the cabin to speak to Carter.
"Sir, Connor wants to speak to you."
"Why all of the sudden?" Carter asked.
"I don't know."
"Dad, where are you going?" Connie asked.
"Just wait right here, I'll be back."
Carter then left. Connie was left playing with her Storm King plushie. Noticing a strangely covered Storm Creature, she went over to look at it. The Creature grabbed her.
"Let go of me!" Connie shouted.
The Creature uncovered himself. Then used magic to reveal his true form. It was changeling. And it snuck aboard the ship. Everyone screamed in horror.
Carter made his way over to Connor, who was overseeing the ship being steered by the captain.
"Connor, what is it that you want me to inform about?" Carter said.
Before Connor could answer, a Storm Creature came running in.
"Sir! We have a problem. We found a changeling on deck."
Carter turned and ran below deck.
Carter avoided the screaming crowd of Storm Creatures running away from what they saw. As he made his way to the cabin Lisa and Connie resided, he was attacked by an enraged Storm Creature. He quickly subdued him. As he walked inside, he found it with a handful of enraged Storm Creatures lying on the ground squirming. They made groaning noises as Carter examined the whole deal. As he looked up, he saw Lisa and Connie being threatened by the changeling who snuck aboard the ship.
"Hey!" Carter yelled to get the changeling's attention.
The changeling turned.
"You're just in time to test out our secret weapon." He said.
The changeling threw a small bomb that Carter dodged.
"Ha! You missed!"
A cloud of orange spores erupted from the bomb. All three family members felt a strange parasite crawling underneath their throats. They started groaning, snarling, and thrashing about as their eyes turned from blue to a pale grey. The changeling then left them to their own will as he left to infect the others.
"We even found some of the Storm Creatures attempting to escape their homeland. But luckily, we captured all of them before they could flee." Gallus said. "We used our secret weapon to defeat those bullies."
"Why call them bullies?" Nightlight asked.
"We didn't have any better names. We could them meanies, losers, or stinkers." Tempest said.
"But why capture all of them?" Nightlight asked.
"They attacked us first. We cannot forgive the Storm Kingdom for their actions. They turned our princesses to obsidian, drained all of their magic, and now you're expecting us to simply forgive them for that?" Gallus said.
"I'm not asking that. I'm just generally confused. It's been 4 years since the incident."
"Yes, it has." Tempest said. "The Storm Kingdom is no more."
Author's Note
Before you ask, this story is marked as an alternative sequel to my previous story, Freedom Fighters. For one, Phoenix has to lose in order to keep this story going. Plus, Newton isn't the main protagonist here.
Chapter 1: The Announcement
"Name?"
A therapist was interrogating a police officer. Feeling his pains being massaged while sitting on the couch in the room, the officer told the therapist his name.
"Nick. Nick Stiles. I'm here because of my wife Julie's death."
"Can you tell me how she died?"
Nick let out a sigh. "She overdosed on drugs. Heroin, alcohol, weed, you name it."
"I see how drugs affected your relationship with her."
"I've taken her to rehab, she's been in the hospital a whole lot, I just couldn't get her off drugs."
"And do you blame yourself for her death?"
"It's not about me. It's my son." Nick groaned. "He and I grew apart after Julie died. I think he blames himself for Julie's death."
Nick's son Peter was enjoying a happy life with his father....
Some of the time. At most during his childhood, he could hear Julie screaming cuss words under the influence of heroin while Nick tried to calm her down. One time, Julie held Peter against a wall yelling insulting words such as fat and ugly. Peter wasn't having it. He pushed Julie back with the latter falling into a large box. She couldn't get out of the box due to her small height and weight. He would remember wanting to eat the frozen dinners they had in the freezer but his mom wouldn't let him as they were hers. As his mother and father fought each other like they always would, Peter turned to one thing that distracted him from their battles...
Video Games. He turned his gaming PC on and booted up Cyberpunk 2077. He turned on live streaming for the game to chat with his audience watching the whole thing.
"Today my fellow viewers, we are playing Cyberpunk 2077! I like to thank all my viewers including thelegend27, RT-FC, and 8008S. We are traveling through the city of California to find whatever dangerous criminal gangs, corrupt police officers, and robots."
Peter then shot down trucks chasing his vehicle.
"Oh yeah, knock em out! Take it suckers!"
More comments were left with the audience members amazed by Peter's gaming skills. Peter completed the main quests while choosing the correct choices, saved lives, completed the side quests to earn more loot. Towards the end of the stream, he prepared to fight with a large boss character.
"And BOOM! Great job, everybody! We did it!"
Comments congratulating Peter were left on his social media.
"Thank you for coming today on Ninjart. Make sure to like and subscribe and I'll see you next time."
At the end of Peter's stream, he noticed that it was time for school. He packed his things and hurried on his bike.
As Peter walked into another day of school, his best friend Chloe Parker saved him a seat in the gym.
"What are they announcing today?" Peter asked.
"Don't know." Chloe said. "Yet."
Chloe and Peter first met each other at the age of 4. For most, they were inseparable. Both of them attended the same school, enjoyed video games, and often sat together. The two would enjoy killing zombies in Resident Evil, with Chloe fawning over Leon Kennedy a bit too much. They raced against each other in Mario Kart, fought mythical creatures in Diablo, and escaped prison in A Way Out. The two would often grow close to one another with Chloe placing her hand bashfully on Peter some of the times.
"Come on, hurry up!" A student said, getting impatient.
The principal of Peter's school walked in. She was with two other people. One of them was holding a t-shirt cannon.
"Yeah-hoo!" She yelled as she shot a t-shirt that someone caught in the crowd.
"Hello, my fellow students. I hope you had a great day. Today we have some very exciting news. Here with me right now is two voice actors, Tara Strong and Nicole Oliver."
"Hello, everybody!" Tara said.
"Hello!" replied the audience but Peter.
"You might want to look at the shirt we shot at you." Nicole said.
The students noticed a strange horse-like creature thank was fully pink. It had a pink coat, pink mane, and wild bushy hair.
"What is this? Something from My Little Pony?"
"Yes! It is!" Nicole said.
"Our school will be holding a special event known as BronyCon next month. It's a three-day event in which students will attend a fan-convention about the show My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I have selected a student who will be charge of decorating for the convention. Please come down, Chloe Parker!"
Chloe got out of seat and squealed when she was standing with Tara and Nicole.
"Hi! I'm so happy to be here! As a brony myself, I allowed my inner creativity get the best of me! I may take questions if you are asking."
One student raised his hand. "What's a brony?"
"Oh, it refers to people like myself who are fans of MLP. This term usually applies to grown men, but I prefer that over the term for female fans known as pegasisters. I don't know, I don't like the word pegasister so don't call me that."
More announcements were given on how to enter, what to expect from Bronycon, and who will be attending. As the students were dismissed, Chloe ran up to Peter with news.
"I was able to get you a free pass." Chloe said.
"Um... thanks?" Peter said. "I'll be there. If I can."
After school, Peter went home. Seeing no one there, he expected the usual. His mom passed out and his dad needed to call the hospital. The ambulance arrived to pick her body up. He went back to his computer to livestream Cyberpunk 2077 again.
*Ring* *Ring*
Peter got a call from his phone.
"Hello?"
"Peter, they can't save your mother."
"Huh?"
"You need to head to the hospital. It's time to say goodbye."
Peter ended his livestream early and headed to the hospital.
Dodging patients and doctors in the hallway, Peter arrived in the room his mother was in. The first time Peter saw his mother, she looked like some grotesque monster. Her liver was dead, her kidneys were no more, and her pancreas met its end. Her body was swelled up like a sponge, she was no longer his mother. The doctor took one look at Julie then one look at Peter.
"We have to take her off life support."
Everyone agreed as Peter pulled the plug.
"It's about a month since Julie died. Peter hasn't talked to me since." Nick said. "He just sits alone, plays video games."
"So you're interested in mending the relationship with your son?"
"Yes."
"Do what every parent does. Take him on a father and son trip."
"I can't. The thing that really brought us together was video games. I would often tell him that bullets in video game guns don't rotate when loaded. I would buy him video games as a present for Christmas and his birthday."
"Why don't you play with him?"
"I'm not very good at them. I just want to be a good father."
Chloe was over ecstatic at the big day. Bronycon was today. Many students who attended wore fur suits of the Mane Six and other characters. It didn't just attract the students of the school, it also attracted grown men and women. They lined up to get autographs from the voice actors of MLP. Stands lined up in the hallways selling pony-related merch. Audio Dramas of MLP were being shown as presentations in classrooms. Fanfictions were being sold as actual books.
"This is it, Peter. The greatest Bronycon yet!" Chloe assured to Peter at an empty classroom.
Peter remained silent.
"I know you'd be so excited!"
Chloe held her hands onto Peter. She made the puppy eyes at him as Peter kept to himself.
"I know this is usually a boy thing, but Peter, will you be my boyfriend?"
"Uh...." Peter said with his cheeks blushing.
The two heard loud wind noises that interrupted their conversation. The two went to the direction of the noise. A small bright sphere sparked in the middle of the empty hallway. It started to grow, it was the size of a baseball, no, the size of basketball, no, the size of a yoga ball!
"What is that thing?" Peter said, pointing at it.
"I don't know." Chloe said.
The sphere grew bigger and bigger. An equine-like figure walked out of the portal as Peter readied himself. The figure was followed by another equine-like figure.
"Who are they?" Chloe whispered.
"Don't know."
The two figures were now looking at them. They ran at full speed, tackling both of them down.
"Hey! Let go of me!" Chloe shouted.
Both Peter and Chloe tried to fight back, but the figures' grasps were too firm.
"Where are they taking us?" Chloe said.
"I don't know!" Peter said.
The two figures who captured them then went back to the bright sphere, now the size of the hallway itself. The four disappeared as they walked through the sphere. The size of the sphere then grew smaller until it was a speck of nothingness.
Chapter 2: The Chosen One
Both Peter and Chloe struggled to break free from the grasps their captors held on them.
"Ponies have kidnapped us! Ponies have kidnapped us!" Peter yelled.
Chloe looked at him.
"What? I can't do that?"
A bright flash of light blinded both of them for a full second.
When everything cleared, Chloe and Peter found themselves in a strange new world. Everything was bright and colorful, rather than the more-grounded colors of the area Chloe and Peter lived in, houses were made of wood and straw, and it was filled with mythological creatures. There were normal earth ponies, pegasi, unicorns, yaks, changelings, griffons, hippogriffs, dragons, and kirin.
"Every creature is here..." Chloe gasped. "This must be a dream!"
Even the creatures were a bit surprised at two humans suddenly in their town. Peter noticed a castle up ahead. Assuming he and Chloe would be taken there, he tried to fight back once more. He gave up shortly after. The castle was white, not grey like any normal castle. It also had flags containing insignias of a lavender winged unicorn with a violet mane. There were creatures dressed as members of the royal guard. The leader of the royal guard seemed to be a male blue griffon with blue eyes. Like the guards who brought Chloe and Peter to the castle, he had gold-colored plates of armor on his chest and back, with gold-colored boots for his talons.
"Greetings, humans, you are about to meet our leader." He said.
"Um, can you say your name first?" Peter asked.
"My name is Gallus. I am the captain of the royal guard."
"So you're not a general or lieutenant or..."
"I am his lieutenant." A voice said, walking in.
A dark orchid-colored unicorn with a broken horn with a scar under one of her eyes appeared alongside with Gallus.
"I am Tempest Shadow. Or-"
"Fizzle Pop Berrytwist." Chloe said.
"That's... right." Tempest said with surprise. "How did you know my name?"
"You guys are obviously cartoon characters in a children's TV show!" Chloe exclaimed.
"We're on TV?" Gallus said, with confusion.
"Yes! You are!" Chloe added. "I watched every episode on you! You, Gallus, were a student of Twilight's School of Friendship!"
"I was." Gallus said. "After school, I signed up to be a guard. I climbed up the ranks and here I am."
Tempest soon followed. "And I was the former lieutenant of my old master. Glad he was dead."
"You're disrespecting the dead." Peter pointed out.
"He betrayed me. Almost destroyed this world!" Tempest shouted. "HE DESERVED TO DIE!"
Everyone was silent as they stared at her blankly.
"Sorry. My temper got the best of me."
Both Chloe and Peter looked at each other.
"Release them from their binds, but don't let them leave." Gallus ordered.
The guards let Chloe and Peter on the ground. There were too many creatures surrounding them, so fighting was not the answer. Chloe reached out to touch Gallus on the cheek.
"Sorry, I just want to see if you're real."
"No I'm not real." Gallus said.
Peter folded his arms.
"Okay, I'm real. Just messing with ya." Gallus chuckled.
"Not funny." Peter said. "You still kidnapped us."
"We didn't kidnap you, we're using you to save our world." Tempest said.
"We're actually saving the world?" Chloe asked.
"That's right!" A guard said with a cheerful tone.
The castle doors opened slowly.
"Would you please follow me?" Gallus said.
The two followed Gallus into the castle. The first thing Peter noticed was the servants of the castle. It was a combination of actual servants and weird yeti-like creatures with pale grey eyes. They were moaning around, holding food for their leader. Everything was neatly decorated. On the walls were glass windows each with a winged unicorn on it. The first winged unicorn was white with a rainbow-like mane. The second was midnight blue with a starry mane. The third winged unicorn was pink and had a mane with violet, rose, and gold colors. The fourth winged unicorn was light pink with a violet and light blue mane. Before taking a look at the last one, Gallus blew a large, yellow horn, signifying something royal.
"Presenting, our majesty, and ruler of Equestria, Princess Twilight Sparkle!"
On cue, a large winged unicorn appeared sitting on her throne along with a dragon with huge muscular arms standing by her.
"Princess?" Peter asked. "Don't you mean Empress or Queen?"
"No, we mean princess." One of the guards said.
The winged unicorn flew down with her large wings. Her body was lean, much taller than any other pony. She was at the average height of a human now.
"So these are the humans you were talking about." The dragon said.
"Spike!" The winged unicorn said in a harsh tone.
"Sorry." Spike said.
"Apologies for him." The winged unicorn said. "Spike's just not used to being humans. Anyway, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Twilight Sparkle."
"You're the real Twilight Sparkle?" Chloe asked.
"Sure am." Twilight said.
"Nice to meet you. My name is Chloe Parker."
"Chloe..." Twilight said with thought. "That's a very odd name."
"Well from where we are, it's not odd." Chloe said. "Oh, and his name's Peter Stiles."
Peter noticed the creatures cheering him on.
"What matters is that we found you, the Chosen One." Twilight said to Chloe.
"How am I the Chosen One and not Peter?" Chloe said.
"We are looking for an element known as Remarkable. This element only resides in girls like you. You, just by being here, you are saving our world of Equestria!" Twilight announced.
"But wait, does this revolve in me getting killed?" Chloe asked. "Or do I have to get raped or..."
"No. All you have to do is just stay here."
"Cool!" Chloe said.
"Chloe, what about escaping this place?" Peter asked.
It then hit Peter.
"Oh my god, there's no way out of here!" He screamed.
"Calm down, Peter." Chloe said. "Maybe this place isn't so bad after all."
Twilight stepped up.
"First, we don't say god , we say Celestia ."
"Everypony, line up!" Gallus said.
All of the creatures lined up under Gallus.
"I don't want to use your terms." Peter said. "Plus, it doesn't make sense. Everypony, somepony, getting out of hoof, what?"
Twilight then spoke up.
"Gallus, would you find for our guest to relax?"
Gallus took Peter away from Chloe.
"Where are you taking me?" Peter asked.
"To your room." Gallus said.
"You assigned me a room?" Peter asked before disappearing down a doorway.
All that was left was Chloe, Spike, Twilight, and all the other guards.
"Give it up for the Chosen One!" Twilight cheered.
Every creature cheered as Chloe began to regret the words she said.
As Peter walked down the hallway, he noticed more creepy yeti-like creatures staring at him.
"Here is your room." Gallus said.
Gallus opened the door. It lead to a fancy hotel-like area with a king-sized bed, two easy chairs, a serving table of food, a large flat screen TV, and best of all...
"A bathroom! And it's spacious and clean!" Peter cheered.
"You're saying your bathroom is filthy?" Gallus asked.
"No. But it's bigger than the bathroom in my home!" Peter said.
Peter walked out of the bathroom to view the room once more. He was so entranced that he didn't see Gallus with his claw on a small lever. As he pushed it down, Peter found himself tumbling into darkness.
Author's Note
Well this is awkward. Two chapters in one day.
Pain rocked over his body. Peter found his nose and left arm bleeding. As he got himself up, he looked around the room he was imprisoned in. It looked like a dungeon, with a steel gate blocking his exit, a worn down bed, and a bucket that he already knew what its used for. As Peter tried to find a way out, he heard footsteps. The royal guards came for him. There were two now standing in his cell. One was a male unicorn with a white coat and blue mane, while the other was a female pegasus with a mint-green coat and a artic blue mane.
"Congratulations!" The unicorn cheered.
Peter was left bewildered.
"Get out of there." The pegasus said, shoving Peter out.
The two creatures looted from Peter.
"What is this?" The pegasus said, looking at a small device.
"That's my phone!" Peter said. "Give it back!"
Peter grabbed his phone. The unicorn was impressed at how quickly Peter can move.
"Say, can you run?" The unicorn said.
"Yeah, so?"
The unicorn left the pegasus into watching Peter. He then returned a few minutes later with a number tag. He placed it on Peter's jacket.
"What is this?" Peter said.
"You just have to survive." The pegasus said.
The pegasus escorted Peter away.
"Get in here." The pegasus said, shoving Peter into another cell.
The first thing Peter saw was other creatures with the same number tags. One male blue changeling with red eyes, Two female earth ponies; one with a brown coat and white long mane, and the other with a blue coat and a short, messy red mane, four hippogriffs, all light green and male, and two dragons; one male with blue scales and pink spines, and one female with white scales and purple spine. They all looked at Peter. Peter looked around his new cell. There were three gates, two of which were close together leading to an unknown area. They were smaller than the third gate, requiring you to crawl into the entrance to get through them.
"Oh my god..." Peter gasped.
The alarm blared. The two small gates locking the prisoners in opened. All of the creatures inside the cell walked out. Peter stood there, wondering where they were going.
"HEY!" A tomboy-like voice yelled.
Peter noticed a female cyan pony with a rainbow-colored mane speaking to him through the big gate.
"Get out! Get out!" She ordered.
Peter complied and walked out through the small gates. As he walked through the gates, he heard a large crowd of cheering royal guard members and normal civilians in Ponyville. They were all behind fences, preventing them from getting into where ever he and the other creatures were in. The area he was in was spacious, with a small pool of water on the ground.
"Where are we?" Peter asked to one of the creatures.
"We're in the arena." The earth pony with the blue coat and red mane said.
The arena looked like the underground area of Canterlot Castle. It was overly large, with multiple floors, all of them packed with creatures and royal guard members. The creature who seemed to be in charge was an earth pony with a pink coat and a wild pink mane.
"Attention mares and stallions!" She announced, with a suddenly game show attire.
"Who is she?" Peter asked.
"We are about to commence the game. You know the rules contestants!"
"What rules?" Peter shouted.
The earth pony had a small device on her hooves. She pressed down on the red button.
*BZZZZ*
Everyone grew silent. Peter could almost hear an earth pony laughing evilly. Ahead of the contestants was a shipping container, two creatures pulled on it, opening the doors. Snarling noises echoed. Out came the yeti-like creatures Peter saw earlier who were servants in the castle. They were now enraged and looking for victims.
"RUN!" Peter screamed.
The creatures who were with Peter didn't have to be told twice. They ran all around the arena. Peter stood there, watching the chaos. A enraged yeti-like creature was about to attack him but Peter dodged his attack.
"Keep running! Keep running!" The creatures in the audience shouted.
Peter did his best to avoid the enraged yeti creatures. Some prisoners weren't so lucky however. One of the hippogriffs was swiftly knocked to the ground and silently killed by the yeti creatures. Another hippogriff was tossed into another yeti creature and was taken out as well. Above the shipping container was a timer counting down to zero. There were 30 seconds left.
"Run! Run!"
Peter avoided another yeti creature attack and ran to help out some of the prisoners. He grabbed one of the yeti creatures from behind and tossed him into the fence. He ran to help out the two dragons by grabbing the yeti creature holding them down, the three then worked together to toss him to the fence.
*BZZZ*
The lights around the arena went out. A disco ball lowered itself into the shipping container. Then game show music played from the loudspeakers the pink pony used to announce the game. Out of the shipping container came a female dragon with orange scales and a orchid spines. She wore a long coat with flashing neon lights attached on it. She also had two flashlights that she waved around. As if that wasn't weird enough to Peter, there were lyrics sung to the game show music.
It is time to say goodbye Let us meet again soon It is time to say goodbye Let us meet again soon
As the lyrics were sung, the dragon waved the flashlights around to get the enraged yeti creatures' attention. It worked. The yeti creatures were charging for her now. The dragon ran into the shipping container as the gate closed behind her, trapping the monsters inside. The small gates leading back to the prison cell reopened. All of the surviving prisoners ran back into them. As a confused Peter got up, he was met with a creepy smile from a female white unicorn with a long purple mane. She spoke in a fashionista accent.
"If you don't hurry... the doors will shut!" She stated.
Peter ran for the gates. He made it there in time just as they closed behind them.
"Good job, new kid." The blue earth pony said.
Peter was surprised. This pony didn't seem as afraid and scared as the other prisoners.
"What's up with you? You seem different than the other creatures. You obviously know this place."
"I played through this game once. There's also a second round."
"Second round?" Peter said with disbelief.
Before the pony could say anything more, the big gate opened. The same royal guard members who threw Peter into the cell walked in.
"Get up, we're about to start the next game." The pegasus ordered.
"No wait-"
A bag was swiftly thrown over Peter's head.
When the bag was removed, Peter found himself in what seemed to be a luxurious party. Every creature was dressed formally. The females all had long dresses while the males all had suits with ties. As Peter examined his surroundings, he noticed the same prisoners who survived the first game. The same pony who remarked his skills was one of them. She looked pretty normal as the other prisoners were shivering in fear. The pink pony who was in charge of the first game earlier was also in charge of the second one as well. She held the mic and spoke in another game show voice.
"Mares and Gentlecolts, welcome to the Hunting Grounds. Now we are short on participants... So, who will participate in this second round?" The pink pony said.
"I will participate." A sea-green pony with a light sea-blue mane said.
"Sandbar! How nice of you to join!" Someone from the audience said.
Sandbar got up on the stage Peter and the prisoners were on. One of the prisoners spit back into his face. He wiped it off gently.
"I'm gonna have so much fun..." He said in a scary voice.
"Anyone else?" The announcer said.
"We would like to join!"
A female light blue-colored changeling with cyan eyes and a female hippogriff with light magenta feathers with a light blue mane walked up.
"Ocellus and Silverstream! Awesome too!" Another creature said.
"Who else?" The announcer said.
"Yona wants to fight! Creatures need to pay for rebelling against their leader!" A female yak said, charging onstage.
"We just need one more!" The announcer said.
"Please don't let it be Gallus... Please don't let it be Gallus..." Peter thought.
"I'll go."
Peter looked up. A female unicorn with a light lavender coat with a purple mane with aquamarine highlights walked up.
"Starlight! How nice of you to finish it up for us." The announcer said.
"I wouldn't have it any other way, Pinkie." Starlight said.
"Now, let's get this game started!" Pinkie said. "May Twilight be blessed with you all!"
The prisoners were escorted into a different arena as Peter viewed his new surroundings. There were now bushes, walls, and pillars around the arena to serve as hiding and ambush spots. At the very center was a fountain filled to the brim with water. As the participants geared up to kill the prisoners, the prisoners were given time to hide in the arena. Peter dove into the bushes as his hope for hiding. Holding his breath, he watched the other prisoners scurry around like ants.
*BZZZ*
At first, the lights cut out, preventing the prisoners from seeing anything. The exits of the arena opened. This allowed the participants, armed with night vision goggles, to hunt their victims. The five participants all held their hooves together as if they were some cult.
"Blessed be our leader Twilight Sparkle. For letting us kill those who support the enemy. Blessed be Equestria. A nation reborn." They all spoke.
Peter hunched down and held his breath as the participants began. Up above, on the castle walls, Pinkie and the attendees viewed the game. Magic blasts and screaming echoed in the arena. Peter viewed the scene as he saw the male dragon running for his life only to be hit on the ground by Yona.
"Mercy! Mercy!" The male dragon begged.
"Yona does not like traitors!" Yona said before finishing her victim off.
Peter wanted to rush out to help, but going out was suicide. One of the hippogriffs was silently grabbed from behind by Sandbar and taken out by Ocellus. The earth pony who Peter recognized as the one who remained calm despite being under peril was running towards him. Peter braced for impact. The sound of a magic blast was heard. The earth pony was down on the ground, injured and unable to move. Starlight made her way over to her target. As she stood over her, Peter's heart raced. He had to do something. He was breathing rapidly, almost loud enough to get Starlight's attention. Screw it.
Peter jumped out of the bush, attacking Starlight.
He held Starlight by the neck, as Starlight wrestled away from Peter. Peter responded by choking her even more. This allowed the earth pony to crawl into the bushes. Starlight tried to aim her horn at Peter, but Peter diverted the magic blast to the sky. Starlight lost her breath as she went motionless. Peter hid her body in the bushes as he took Starlight's night vision goggles. But they were too small, and Peter could only use them like binoculars.
"You okay?" Peter whispered to the earth pony who made it to safety.
"Yeah..." The earth pony said. "You know how to fight."
"I've been a member of the basketball team at my school." Peter replied.
"That doesn't make you a capable fighter."
"At least it doesn't make me a slouch."
The two were forced to quiet down as Sandbar arrived at the scene of Peter and Starlight's fight. Peter knew what was going to happen. He quickly tackled Sandbar down before he could alert the others to his location. He then slammed Sandbar's head to a pillar. He then disarmed Sandbar of his night vision goggles and tossed him to a wall. He then stomped on Sandbar's face. He then hurried back to the earth pony.
"Here, put this on." Peter said, giving Sandbar's goggles to her.
"How many did you take out?" She said.
"I took out two of these bastards. There's three of them left."Peter replied. "Whatever's happening, we're going to get through this."
Back up on the castle walls, Pinkie and the viewers were surprised to see one of their prisoners fighting back.
Peter went around, searching for anything he could use to fight against the creatures. The only thing he could find was a rock.
"HA!"
Ocellus attacked Peter from behind when she had the chance. Peter grabbed Ocellus by one of her legs and dragged her body to the fountain. Ocellus had her face smashed against the brim. She was still alive, but severely injured.
"Take this!"
Out of the fountain came Silverstream. She used her seapony disguise to surprise Peter. Peter then retaliated by grabbing one of her talons and twisting it.
"AUGH!" Silverstream screamed.
Peter then kicked Silverstream in the stomach, stunning her before bashing her head with the rock, knocking her out.
"Yes, they took out four of us." Pinkie said to Gallus.
"YONA NOT LIKE THIS!"
Yona's voice suddenly disappeared.
"Make that all of us." Pinkie corrected.
"You heard the mare, move out!" Gallus ordered.
The lights around the arena suddenly turned back on. The earth pony who Peter helped earlier emerged from hiding.
"Is this it? Is the round over?"
"I don't think so." A royal guard said.
"Hey! Don't push me!" Peter said.
Peter was finally caught alongside with the earth pony. There was one other survivor left. It was the last of the four hippogriffs.
"Hey, take it easy man." He said.
"You creatures and my guards are gonna have a little talk." Gallus stated.
As Peter regained his consciousness, he found himself tied to a chair, along with the earth pony and the hippogriff in a small room of the castle.
"You don't tell 'em nothin. You got that?" The earth pony said.
Peter continued to survey the room. The only way out was the door in front. He heard footsteps. In came a male earth pony interrogator. He had a black coat, with a white short mane. Along with him was a female unicorn with a red coat and a short tan mane.
"Thank you so much for waiting." The interrogator said. "Now, you are going to tell me how you were able to survive our arena."
"Luck I guess."The hippogriff responded.
"You know I have magic powers?" The interrogator threatened.
"I don't care about your powers."
"Allow me to demonstrate." The interrogator said.
"I point my head on you..." The interrogator said, pointing his head onto the hippogriff. In the back, the unicorn was the one with the powers. "I aim... and..."
The hippogriff was hit with the magic blast from the unicorn. He was there, motionless.
"NO!" The earth pony yelled.
"How about it? Are we ready to talk now? Hmm?" The interrogator said to the earth pony.
The earth pony refused.
"Oh I'm getting tired of all this!"
The earth pony was hit with a blow from the interrogator. She was out cold. The interrogator pointed his head at Peter.
"Start talking, or I won't go so easy on you!"
BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!
The unicorn was hit by something. She fell onto the ground dead. The door the interrogator went through was kicked open. It was a yeti-like creature that Peter saw earlier. But his eyes were not pale grey, they were arctic blue. As the creature surveyed the room, he then turned to the surprised interrogator. He had a small gun in his hands, and he must've shot the unicorn with it.
"Wait, wait!" The interrogator pleaded.
"Suck it." He said, shooting the interrogator.
With the interrogator dead, the creature checked on a shocked Peter. He went over to Peter and untied him.
"Hey, I'm not gonna kill you." He said. "Let's get you out of here."
Author's Note
Cut to black moment here. Cut to black.
"Ha! You can't have two moms!"
"Lesbian! Lesbian!"
Chloe was smacked with insults from her bullies left and right. She covered her ears to shield out the insults, but the words got the better of her. She ran off in tears.
"Yeah, run from your problems you chicken!" The bully said.
Peter walked up to the bully.
"You talking bad about my friend?" He threatened.
The bully turned to him. "What are you, her boyfriend?"
Peter grabbed the bully's arm. He twisted the bully's wrist.
"AH!" He screamed.
Peter then attacked the other bully by kicking him between his legs.
"OUCH!"
"Run!"
The bullies fled from Peter.
"Are they gone?" A voice said.
"Yeah, they're gone." Peter said.
Chloe emerged from hiding.
"Thanks." She sniffed.
"Why would they call you a lesbian?" Peter asked.
"It's because I have two moms."
"Two moms? Can I go to your house and see?"
Walking up to Chloe's apartment, Chloe stared into Peter's eyes.
"Promise me you won't laugh."
"I won't."
"Moms, I'm home." Chloe said while knocking on the door.
One of Chloe's moms, Dana, opened the door. She seemed pretty stocky with long hairy arms and uneven teeth, but Peter decided to be polite and not talk about it.
"Oh, who's your new friend?" She asked.
"This is Peter." Chloe said.
"Hello." Peter said.
"Your other mother is making dinner." Dana said.
Dana then turned to Peter. "Would you like to join?"
"Ok." Peter said.
Peter followed Chloe into the kitchen. The other of Chloe's moms, Carol, was stirring pasta sauce. Peter noticed her as very youthful, with strawberry-pink shoulder length hair, and small height and weight. Chloe was about the same height as her, which also seemed very strange to Peter.
"She's a very small woman." Peter remarked.
"She is." Chloe said.
"Why hello there!" Carol said, noticing Peter.
"Mom, this is Peter." Chloe said.
"Hello, Peter."
"Hi." Peter said.
"Just wait for dinner okay?"
"So what now?" Peter asked.
"Wanna go see my room?" Chloe suggested.
The two walked their way to Chloe's room. Chloe's younger brother, Max, noticed Peter.
"Who's he?" Max asked.
"This is Peter. Peter, meet Max."
"Hi?" Peter said.
"Sup." Max said, trying way too hard to be hip.
Peter left Max standing there as he followed Chloe.
"Welcome to my room." Chloe said, opening the door.
Peter immediately noticed the MLP plushies on Chloe's bed. But the thing he noticed most were the Funko Pops of Resident Evil characters, mainly Leon Kennedy.
"I guess I can't give up my one true love..." Chloe chuckled as Peter examined the Leon toy.
"And I'm guessing you have Resident Evil games."
"Of course. I have Resident Evil 2, 4, 6, Gaiden, 3-"
"So any RE game with Leon and you're sold?"
"Yep."
"Should we play Resident Evil right now?"
"Sure."
Peter booted up Resident Evil 2 on Chloe's game console. He blasted zombies with Leon's police gun as Chloe watched. As he played on, he became more immersed into the game.
"Dinner's ready!" A voice said.
"And just when things were going good." Peter groaned.
Max, Peter, and Chloe sat down for dinner. Dana and Carol set up dinner.
"I hope you like pasta." Carol said.
As Peter sat down, he noticed Chloe's family getting along well, unlike his. He kept to himself as he ate.
"Hey, I'm not going to hurt you." The yeti-like creature said. "Let's get you out of here."
Footsteps of reinforcements shook up the creature.
"Oh snap!"
The creature hid behind the door as it was kicked open. Two guards, one a dragon, and the other a pegasus walked in.
"Where is he?" The pegasus guard said.
The creature killed the pegasus guard with his gun. He then tackled the dragon guard. He plowed the dragon, knocking Peter to the ground, freeing one of his arms. The dragon knocked the creature to the ground and thrusted a knife to which the creature blocked. The two were in a stalemate, Peter grabbed the gun the creature dropped and pressed the trigger.
*Click Click*
It was out of bullets. Peter threw the gun, stunning the dragon, allowing the creature to smash him in the jaw.
"AUGH!" He screamed as he fell back.
The creature stood over him and swiftly choked him out. Peter grabbed the knife the dragon dropped to cut himself free.
"You got skills kid." The creature said.
The creature then went over to check on the creatures that were with Peter. He tested the pulses on the hippogriff and the earth pony. He then untied the earth pony and carried her out the door.
"You coming?" He asked.
Peter quickly followed.
Avoiding the guards and the eyes of normal civilians, Peter and the Creature arrived in the forest.
"Hey, give me the gun."
"Why?" Peter asked.
"I know more about the gun than you. Plus, even though you saved my life, you could still be a changeling."
Peter reluctantly handed the gun. In turn, Peter held onto the blue earth pony. He watched as the creature reloaded his gun.
"There we go, nice and crisp."
The two continued on their way. Peter began watching the details of the forest. There were strange plants, bugs, spooky eyes, creatures-"
"We're here. Safety."
It seemed like a normal rock covered with moss. The creature uncovered the moss revealing a button. He pressed on the button as as part of the rock moved revealing an underground entrance. The two went down inside it just as the rock moved back into its original position.
"What is this place?" Peter asked.
The creature took out a flashlight and lit the way.
"Come on."
Peter followed the creature down the tunnel. They soon reached a dead end blocked by a rock. The creature removed the rock, revealing an underground city of yeti-like creatures. Peter was the first to step out. As he got out of the tunnel, he was hit in the back of the head with a blunt object.
"So gullible." The creature said, seeing his unconscious body.
"Tie him up!"
Peter awoke to find a unicorn with an asymmetrical black mane and white coat holding an army knife in front of him. As he tried to get away, he found his hands tied behind a chair. His whole body was tied to a chair. The unicorn walked up to him holding the knife to his hand.
"Hello there." The unicorn said. "My name is Gusty Gallows. Or you can call me Newton. What's your name?"
Peter was too afraid to speak.
"I shall call you, Mr. Changeling." Newton said before correcting himself. "No, Mr. Spy."
Newton took back the knife.
"You and I are gonna play a little game. You're gonna tell me about your job as a Canterlot spy and I'm gonna free up some blood from you."
Beads of sweat ran down Peter's face as he held his breath.
"It's going to be a lot more fun for you than me I'm afraid." Newton threatened. "Question is, should I end it for you really quick? Or should I make it slow for you to suffer?"
"I'm not a changeling!" Peter shouted.
"That's what anyone would say."
A sharp pain occurred on Peter's hand. He winced at the pain. Newton noticed the red on his hand. Normally, changeling cuts are in green, not red.
"Oh, snap. Someone get him help!" Newton said.
A paramedic came into the room carrying a medkit. She wrapped a bandage over Peter's hand.
"Sorry about this, pal. We have to take extra measures to prevent changeling spies." Newton said.
At that point, two more of those yeti-like creatures came in. One of which was the creature that saved Peter.
"Newton, you done interrogating this guy?" He asked.
"For now." Newton said.
The creatures then turned to Peter.
"Who are you? What are you? You stand on two legs like us. Are you a different kind of Storm Creature?" The creature that saved Peter asked.
Peter had a lot of questions to ask. But he decided to answer first.
"My name is Peter, and I'm a human." Peter said. "So you guys are Storm Creatures? What are they?"
"Before we get into that, my name is Leon." The creature who saved Peter introduced. "The other guy with me is Connor. He is the leader of this underground city. The Storm Creature who tended to your wounds is Angel."
"Hello." Angel said.
"Leon, Connor, and Angel, got it." Peter corrected.
"I already introduced myself to him." Newton said.
"Good for you." Leon said.
"So what are Storm Creatures?" Peter asked.
"Storm Creatures come from a faraway land known as the Storm Kingdom." Connor said. "Our technology is more advanced than the creatures here. But one day, they attacked."
"What do you mean by they?"
"I'm talking about Celestia and Luna, the previous rulers of Equestria. They sent an army to attack our kingdom. We did our best fighting back, but we didn't win. So we went into retreat. We found a land, safe from Celestia and Luna, and plan to build our new kingdom there. But as we used our boats to escape, a terrible event happened."
"What happened?" Peter asked.
"A changeling snuck on board. He got rid of most of us with these orange spores."
"Orange spores?" Peter asked.
"I heard any creature is immune to them except for the Storm Creatures. When Storm Creatures inhale these spores, their minds become gone. They only behave violently. They follow Celestia's army like slaves and attack like zombies to those who refuse to follow Celestia."
"That explains why they attacked me in the arena." Peter thought.
"But as the years went by, Celestia and Luna retired from leadership. They passed it all to their top student, Twilight Sparkle."
"Twilight Sparkle..." Peter realized.
She was the pony that greeted Peter and Chloe at Canterlot Castle. She was the bad guy after all. And she also had Chloe.
"Where are these creatures getting these spores?"
"We sent a spy to investigate. She's the one who was interrogated along with you." Leon said.
The blue pony with a messy red mane must've been that pony.
"The good news about rescuing her is that she's going to live." Connor said. "But let me finish. Twilight Sparkle ruled Equestria with an iron fist. She recruited her friends as high-ranking members of the castle. She recruited one of her students as captain of the royal guard. Her assistant became her bodyguard. And who knows what else? She could be recruiting another student to take her place!"
Peter was speechless. How could Twilight do all of this?
"Anyway, I'm off track. The source of these orange spores come from a plant that emits these spores. Celestia, Luna, and now Twilight uses these spores to keep us under her control. She used all of us to expand on her castle, lavish her with treasures and food, make low quality TV shows."
Peter paused at that. "Was that last one a joke?"
"No, that really happened." Angel said. "I was the clown, so embarrassing."
"But fortunately for us, the spores began to disappear over time. Our minds became clear, but we ran away like frightened toddlers." Connor continued.
"Why run?" Peter said. "You had the chance of fighting back."
"They're too big. We would get wiped again." Leon said.
"However, some of our people are still under her control. Our spy informed that they're now looking for a new creature to support her. Someone who is everything to them. Someone whom they can use to make their plant grow once more."
Peter knew what that meant.
"The Chosen One!" Peter gasped.
Chapter 5: Girl's Day Out
"And you're saying what now?" Nick said.
Dana and Carol pressed their backs on the chairs of the police station. Nick Stiles recorded their conversation.
"Chloe has gone missing." Dana said. "We tried calling her but she won't answer."
"She's never this late home." Carol added.
"The same thing happened to my son." Nick said. "We'll find them."
Dana was confused by Nick's lack of emotion towards his son missing. The emotionless blank stare at his brown eyes was enough for the two women to believe that Nick murdered his son. Still, Dana and Carol played along.
"We'll find them? That's it?" Carol said.
"As far as I can tell, when did you last see Chloe?"
"We sent her off to school. The school board hasn't notified us of her absence. In fact, she told us that she was staying back at the school to work on the upcoming Bronycon."
"I see. We'll update on you as soon as we can."
The two women left the building.
"What if Chloe ran away?" Dana said.
"Chloe loves us. Yeah, she's bullied a lot, but she has her best friend as a bodyguard." Carol said. "Wherever she is, she must be missing us and be having the worst day of her life."
"This is the best day of my life." Chloe sighed as she laid back.
Her legs stretched out, her feet being massaged by servants, it felt like a five star spa for free.
"Move your hooves over there." Twilight instructed the servant.
"Yes, your majesty." The servant said.
"You know, I wonder if I ever get to meet your friends." Chloe said.
"You will." Twilight said. "Girls?"
Five ponies walked in. A light pink earth pony with a fluffy pink mane, an orange country-accented earth pony with a blonde mane, a light blue tomboyish pegasus with a rainbow-colored mane, a yellow pegasus with a pink mane who spoke in a soft voice, and a white unicorn with a purple mane that spoke in a fancy accent.
"So this is the chosen one you are talking about!" The rainbow mane pegasus said.
"Allow us to introduce ourselves." The fancy pony said. "My name is-"
"Rarity." Chloe said.
"How did you-"
"You're Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy." Chloe said to the respective ponies.
"How did you know our names?" Applejack asked.
"Let's say you girls are famous from where I came from." Chloe said.
"Yeah!" Rainbow Dash said. "We're famous even in this world!"
"So what should do?" Pinkie asked.
"I say we go to Joe's donut shop." Twilight said.
Chloe was appalled by how much Pinkie could eat for the donuts.
"Um, can I have something healthy?" She asked to the waiter.
The waiter left and brought back her an apple.
"Thanks, I guess." Chloe said.
"Why aren't you eating donuts with us?" Pinkie said after downing her fourth donut.
"I could get cavities if I eat too much. One's good enough for me."
Everypony laughed.
Soon, the ponies and Chloe all walked into an early movie screening. The theater was filled with creatures from all over Equestria. Dragons, Changelings, Hippogriffs, Griffons, Earth Ponies, Unicorns, Pegasus, Yaks, Cats, Dogs, and buffalos.
"Welcome, one all to the special screening of the Mane Six movie!" The announcer said. "Give it up for the Mane Six!"
The spotlight shined in on the Mane Six's VIP seats. Every creature cheered them on, including Chloe.
"We have created this movie to show that these six, who have saved Equestria from Tirek, Cozy Glow, and Chrysalis, as a way to show how heroic their actions are. Now sit back, relax, and enjoy the show."
Everyone cheered as the lights went out.
After the movie, the girls spent their time at the Wonderbolts academy.
"Strange," Chloe said. "I thought there should be less air when you go higher up."
"Well here in Equestria, height doesn't matter." Twilight said. "Just breathe constantly."
Rainbow Dash now became the new captain of the Wonderbolts team. She was training a new generation of Wonderbolts.
"And flip!" Dash said as the Wonderbolts did a flip.
"Woo!" Pinkie cheered.
As Chloe watched Rainbow Dash training with her students, she saw a vision of Peter standing there. No, he couldn't be here, he was enjoying the time of his life at the castle. Chloe began to feel even more guilt.
After spending a girl's day out, the Mane Six returned to their jobs. Twilight and Chloe had dinner with the royal guard.
"I can't believe it, I'm having dinner with the Chosen One!" Twilight cheered.
"I don't know, it would've been more fun if Peter was here." Chloe sighed.
"Oh come on, I gave him some dinner." Twilight said. "Nothing to worry about."
The doors to the dinner hall opened. Gallus walked in with some news exclusively for Twilight. He whispered words so soft in Twilight's ears.
"I got to do some princess stuff. Stay here, eat, and don't forget to breathe... a lot."
Twilight left with Gallus. As Chloe watched, she felt air being sucked up above her. A funnel sucking up air was placed ever so slightly above her. Chloe grew curious. She went up to one of the yeti-like servants.
"Do you know where this funnel leads?"
"RRRRRRRRRRRRRRR......." The servant groaned.
"Guess I'll figure out myself." Chloe groaned.
Chloe examined around the castle, noticing paintings of all the creatures together. One painting had Twilight with all her friends sitting around her. That part of the painting didn't look right. Chloe felt the smooth texture of the painting, noticing a switch in the corner. She pressed it down, making the painting shift to the left. Behind the painting was a strange green plant that looked wilted.
"I see you have met Mama." A voice said.
It was Twilight. She was there with Gallus and the guards.
"You called this plant Mama?" Chloe asked.
"Yep!" Twilight cheerfully said.
"But what's it for?"
"It's for you, Chloe." Twilight said. "This is why we're collecting your Remarkable!"
"Say what now?"
"You breathe, Mama sucks up Remarkable, or else, she'll shrivel up and die without it." Twilight said. "But thanks to you, she can now produce her wonderful mind-controlling spores."
"So I'm actually doing something ama- Wait. Mind-controlling spores?" Chloe said with shock.
"How do you think I got to be in charge in the first place?" Twilight said. "These mind-controlling spores are just what we need to keep our rivals, the Storm Kingdom, weak. They attacked us once, enslaved all of us, and now we're giving karma to them! I need new episodes of Clown and Mailman!"
"But is enslaving them right?" Chloe said. "They wouldn't want that!"
"Oh they would." Gallus said, joining in on the conversation. "And we need Remarkable to do that."
"Remarkable? What even is that?" Chloe asked.
"It what's creatures like you breathe." Twilight said. "I verified this in my studies."
"Wait, Remarkable? You mean carbon dioxide?"
"Carbon dioxide?" Twilight said.
"Everyone exhales carbon dioxide."
"We don't." Gallus "We creatures inhale oxygen and exhale oxygen."
"Well, everyone from where I live exhales carbon dioxide."
"Wait." Twilight said. "What?"
"All seven billion of us!" Chloe said. "So you don't need to hold me hostage!"
Chloe let her words get the better of her.
"Oh, snap."
"Great! I can feed Mama forever! I can have hundreds of hit shows, milkshakes, and an entire army of Storm Creature servants! Get the girls to come back here."
"You got it, your majesty." A guard said.
"Gallus, throw her in the dungeon." Twilight said, pointing to Chloe.
"What?" Chloe said.
Gallus and another guard grabbed Chloe by the arms.
"Hey, let me go!" Chloe shouted.
"Make sure she won't escape, like the wild dog we got earlier."
"Wait, you mean Peter?" Chloe asked.
"He's probably suffering out all alone now." Twilight taunted. "Take her away!"
The guards escorted Chloe away. In turn, Twilight turned to the Storm Creature servants.
"You got big potential, and you know that." Twilight said.
Author's Note
Just in time for Christmas. See ya!
"Oh, Peter. You're back here again." Max said as he noticed Peter on the door to Chloe's house.
"Um, yeah." Peter said.
"Why are you here?" Max asked.
"I just feel like being here." Peter said.
"There's got to be something else other than that."
"I just feel like being here." Peter stated but much more slower.
Max allowed Peter in. The two sat down to play A Way Out together.
"You've been coming here more often." Max suggested.
"I have to hide from my family." Peter said.
"What do you mean hide from my family?"
"Mom's an drug addict. And my Dad tries to get help for her."
"Does it work?"
"Of course not. I'm starting to wonder what even caused her to get into drugs in the first place."
"But you still love your parents?"
"Of course I do. It's just that you guys have a normal family."
Max scrunched his face.
"Are you jealous of us?"
"No! You've never had a bad family like mine."
Max placed his hand on Peter's shoulder.
"What are you doing?"
"Hey, I'm not going to mock you. But is this the reason why you keep showing up to my house more often?"
"Yeah, sort of."
"I guess if you want to escape from your family you can always come here."
"Thanks Max." Peter said, giving him a fist bump.
"So that's how you got here?" Leon said.
"Of course." Peter said. "I think the ponies were using some form of magic to bring me and Chloe here."
"I bet they're using a spellbook because no unicorn or alicorn could know about transporting to different worlds."
"A spellbook?"
"Twilight is known for her bookish attitude."
"Also Ocellus." Newton added.
"Ok, Ocellus too. But the point is, Twilight could be the one who sent the ponies who have kidnapped you and your friend."
"That makes sense. But what about the Storm Creatures who attacked me earlier in the arena? They acted like zombies!"
"We call them infected." Connor said.
"But it doesn't seem like there is a cure for the infection, aside from it wearing off. But for now, we need to rescue my friend and get out of here."
"What about us?" Leon said. "We're finding a safe place to stay."
"And you're saying this isn't a safe place to stay?"
"We are searching for a home, one where all of us can live."
"You could stay in my world."
"Wait, you would do that?"
"If you cannot find a safe place in Equestria, why live there? You could live beyond Equestria where no creature will find you."
This got every Storm Creature excited.
"Question, how are we going to get there?" Newton asked.
Walking amongst the crowd of ponies, Newton laid down the group's plan. He waited for Gallus and two of his royal guard members to arrive. He jumped out in front of them.
"Why Gusty, what a surprise." Gallus said.
"Here's the thing Gallus. Before you arrest me, I'm gonna give you some instructions that you have to follow first."
"My favorite thing." Gallus said sarcastically.
"You're going to tell me where Twilight Sparkle keeps her spellbook."
"Are you going to learn dark magic with that?" One of Gallus's guards teased.
"No, I want to find a home for the Storm Creatures."
"Gusty..." Gallus said, stroking his chin. "They're dead. You can't save them all."
The crowd surrounding them chattered to each other.
*BLAM* *BLAM*
Gunshots rang out. The two guards with Gallus dropped on the ground, motionless. The crowd was sent into a frenzy as they ran off. As Gallus was figuring out what was going on, he was hit in the face by Newton. Peter dropped down from the rooftop he was shooting at.
"You didn't tell me you were a good shooter." Newton said.
"I'm a basketball player."
"That doesn't make you a good shooter because you don't carry guns as a basketball player."
"Just take my word for it."
Gallus awoke to find himself back at the underground sanctuary. He was tied to a chair, his talons and beak who smoothened to prevent him from cutting the ropes. His wings were tied to his body, almost as if he was in a birdcage.
"Where am I?"
"Somewhere where the guards won't find you." Leon said.
"Oh boy, I'm going to like it here." Gallus said sarcastically.
"We did this the easy way, now we're going to do this the hard way." Newton said.
"I am a trained soldier who is also the captain of the royal guard." Gallus said. "You have no idea who you're messing with. Release me right now, or else suffer the consequences."
"Of what? Your mom?" A Storm Creature taunted.
"Hey Sam, too harsh." Leon said.
"I have just and fair when dealing with creatures like you. I only follow orders!"
"From Twilight only. I see you give orders to your guards." Newton countered.
"You creatures don't understand. You guys have dealt so much damage to our country. You robbed from us, you enslaved us, you tried to drain the princesses' magic to gain power for yourself, and you're saying that you're actions are justified?" Gallus shouted. "Because what? Your king had his wife killed in some raid and he's avenging the queen's death! That's justifiable, purely justifiable!"
Peter walked up wearing an apron over his hoodie, science goggles, and white gloves. He wielded a long blade with rotating parts.
"What is that thing?" Gallus said nervously.
"Something you would find in a horror movie." Peter said.
"We're gonna give you a simple question." Leon said. "If you do not answer, you die."
"By what? That thing?" Gallus said.
"Let's just say, you're gonna lose your head when it happens." Peter said. "So here it comes, where are you keeping the spellbook that Twilight used to get into the human world?"
"I don't know!" Gallus said.
"Oldest diversion in the book!" Peter said.
Peter started up the device. It sputtered as Peter started up again. Gallus only let out a chuckle.
"Screw you and you're so called resistance! You Storm Creatures cannot topple the magic that is friendship! You will go to Tartarus for this! You'll be rolling in your graves, creatures will dance upon your mangled corpses, and make flash cupcakes out of you!"
Peter started up the device as it made the successful whirring sound. He held it close to Gallus's neck as the latter craned his neck to avoid the blade.
"Okay, Okay! I'll tell you!" Gallus said. "What is it that you want to know?"
"The spellbook that Twilight used! Where is it?!" Peter shouted.
"The School of Friendship. In the Headmare's office." Gallus nervously said. "But you'll never get there. There are teachers who know about the School of Friendship better than I could. You will ultimately fail, and you'll prove that you're no better than bandits."
Peter started up the chainsaw. Gallus let out a scream.
The news came out to every creature across Equestria.
"We are saddened to say that Gallus, the captain of the royal guard has lost his life while on patrol. His body was found without a head floating on stream." One reporter said, trying hard to cry.
"It widely believed that bandits were responsible for the deaths of these royal guard members. Creature officials have tightened security in all of their respective regions." Another reporter added.
"The royal guards ask you to be on the lookout for any suspicious behavior."
The group geared up. Peter made sure to carry extra cartridges for his gun. He made sure that it was clean, had iron sight, and a laser pointer. He tested his gun on some shooting targets before leaving with the others.
"Okay, I'll go with my sister to get the book." Newton said.
"You have a sister?" Peter asked.
The same earth pony whom Peter met at the arena earlier walked in.
"You." Peter said.
"You did good out in the arena." The earth pony said.
"This is Neytiri." Newton introduced.
"How were you even captured by the ponies in the first place?" Peter said, shaking her hoof.
"I was supposed to spy on them. Bad idea."
"There's a lot more questions I want to ask." Peter said.
"I'll answer them along the way." Leon said. "Right now, you and I have to rescue your friend."
"Ok, meet us back here at the base when you're done." Newton said.
"You got it."
Neytiri and Newton arrived at the School of Friendship. As Starlight Glimmer welcomed the new students, Newton and Neytiri blended in with the crowd.
"We have used our savings to expand the school's design. Now, we can house even more students than ever before! Please welcome our new creatures that can now join us, kirins, buffalos, zebras, cats, and dogs!"
The students cheered as the leaders of the respected creatures walked up.
"I am honored to have friendship be taught to my creatures." The kirin leader Rain Shine said.
"Come on, we need to move." Newton said.
As the speech continued, Newton and Neytiri went through an open window into one of the classrooms in the School of Friendship. The two walked into the hallways as they avoided the staff on patrol. The two arrived in the headmare's office with little trouble.
"I'll look around." Newton said. "You keep on watch."
"Got it." Neytiri said.
Newton searched every place he could think of. He then found it. Inside a cabinet in Twilight's desk. The spellbook that Twilight used to get into the human world. He saw a flat pressable plate on it.
"A pressure plate. Twilight's learning." Newton said to himself.
Newton grabbed another book and carefully replaced the spellbook with the book he just grabbed.
"I got the book." Newton said.
"Great, let's go back."
Back at the castle, Leon and Peter spotted guards on patrol throughout the castle.
"There's too many of them." Peter said. "We need some distraction."
"There!"
Leon was referring to the unguarded guard barracks where the guards stored their armor, food, and tools. This gave both of them an idea.
"Do I smell smoke?" said one of the guards.
The guards turned to the direction of the smell.
"The barracks! It's on fire!"
The guards rushed to the barracks to save the supplies. This allowed Leon and Peter to sneak into the castle.
"Okay, do you recall how you got to the arena?" Leon said.
"I remember Gallus taking me to another room, and after that, I remember myself falling."
"Do you know that room?"
Peter led Leon to the fancy hotel-like room that Gallus trapped him in.
"This is it."
"Hey, what's this thing?" Leon said, noticing the lever.
"That must be how Gallus trapped me in here!" Peter said.
Peter pulled down the lever, exposing the trap. When he released the lever, the trap closed.
"It looks like we have to split up." Leon said.
"I'll go down there and rescue Chloe myself."
"Got it. I'll try and find a way to reach you."
Leon opened the trap, this time allowing Peter to hop into the darkness that seems to be the end.
Chloe stood with the other prisoners in the arena.
"Welcome one all! To another survival game!" The new gamemaster Silverstream said.
Silverstream pressed the red button with her claws. The infected came out to attack their new victims.
"I wonder what happened to the old gamemaster." A yak guard said.
"She's with Twilight now. That's all I know."
Peter popped out of from the side holding the gun he got from the Storm Creatures.
*BLAM* *BLAM*
The infected all stopped and turned to the direction of the sound. This in turn also caused the guards to cower in fear. The prisoners still ran for their lives as the infected continued chasing them. Chloe was shoved to the ground as a prisoner used her as bait from an infected. She braced for the worst...
*BLAM*
The infected was killed. As Chloe looked around she saw a familiar face. Peter was there, and he somehow managed to get into the arena.
"Look! It's the guy that knocked me out in the second round!" Silverstream shouted to the royal guard.
Peter shot down all the remaining infected that were going for him and Chloe. The audience in the arena ran for their lives. Peter took out a smoke grenade and threw it in the air. He aimed his assault rifle at it.
*BLAM*
A cloud of smoke erupted, shrouding the prisoners along with Peter and Chloe.
"Are you okay?" Peter said.
"Yeah, I can walk." Chloe said. "But... Twilight... She used me."
"We'll worry about that later. Right now, I have to get you out of here."
Chloe silently nodded.
"Stay behind me." Peter added.
Peter took out a flare from his inventory. As he pulled the trigger, he threw the flare at the entrance to the arena. This caused the infected to chase after the flare.
"Block the entrance!" Silverstream shouted.
The prisoners waited until the infected were gone. They then ran for the entrance too. As the arena cleared, Peter waited until the time was right.
"Follow me!" He stated.
The royal guard tried to stop the prisoners from escaping, they were the first to be met by the infected. The infected swarmed them as the prisoners ran for their lives. Peter and Chloe avoided the infected as they ran down the hallway. A dragon guard used her flame breath to push the two back. Peter returned fire by shooting her in the chest. A changeling soldier appeared from the side using a prisoner disguise. Peter shoved the changeling away and fired at his neck. An earth pony guard grabbed Chloe from behind but Peter managed to shoot him in the forehead.
"Look out!" Chloe shouted.
A line of unicorn guards readied into position. They all fired their magic blasts which Peter and Chloe were forced to avoid by running down another hallway. The hallway seemed clear as Peter and Chloe continued on. An infected jumped onto Peter as he pushed it away. Peter fired back on him. Another infected got to Chloe. Chloe tossed the infected aside to a wall. She then toppled a bookshelf over the infected, trapping him. An infected knocked the gun away from Peter. As Peter wrestled with the infected, the same line of unicorn guards appeared in front of them.
"Shoot! Shoot!"
Peter grabbed the infected and used it as a human shield. The magic blasts hit the infected while keeping Peter safe. Peter slid to cover. Another infected came to attack Peter. Peter wrestled with that infected creature while Chloe watched helplessly. Peter's gun was right in front of her, but running out to get it was suicide. The royal guard was closing in on them. Chloe held her breath as she leapt up.
"AH!" She screamed holding Peter's gun whiling firing.
A hippogriff guard and a griffon guard were gunned down.
"Peter!" Chloe shouted.
Peter caught the gun Chloe tossed at him and shot down the infected. At the same time, Chloe felt a sharp pain on her back. She collapsed onto the ground.
"I hit her! I hit her!" A male unicorn guard said.
"Great job, Gumdrop!" A yak guard congratulated.
Peter's heart sank. His mission... It was all a failure. What hurt even more was Chloe's hand reaching for his jacket. She was this close to being saved. Peter slowly removed her hand, it had now gone cold. Chloe was gone. His breath was shaky, his hands were trembling, all that he wanted was vengeance.
"This way! This way!"
Peter reloaded his gun. He slid out of cover and shot down a pegasus guard. A dragon guard and a earth pony guard were met with shots from Peter. A yak guard tried to tackle Peter, but he dodged her attack and shot her in eye. A changeling guard tried to disarm him, but Peter knocked her into a large table and shot the changeling in the temple. Peter shot two more guards who readied him. He was so swarmed with guards that he didn't see a creature approaching him from behind. Peter aimed his gun.
"Hey! It's me!"
It was Leon.
"How'd you get here?"
"I found a secret passage that led me here. We can use it as our escape! Come on!"
Leon ran off. Peter turned to Chloe's body. He could not leave her behind. He strapped the gun to his shoulder as he carried Chloe's body out of here.
"You did all that you could." Leon said. "That's what matters."
The two made their way out of the lower grounds of the castle and into the main hallway.
"Come on, the exit's not that far."
Leon covered for Peter as he shot down the guards attacking him and Peter.
"They're escaping!"
The two ran out of the castle just as the doors closed behind them.
"We're not out of the woods yet. Keep running!" Leon said.
As soon as they were out of sight, Leon and Peter were on their way back to the underground sanctuary. The two then noticed the place completely ransacked. Storm Creatures were dead on the floor.
"What happened?" Leon said.
Peter placed Chloe down on a bed. He and Leon armed themselves as they examined the area. A member of the royal guard grabbed Peter from behind as Leon shot him in the head.
"Look for anyone still standing!" Leon ordered.
Peter gave off a salute as he ran off. He first checked the most crowded area in the underground. He noticed Tempest among the royal guard. He hid behind a piece of cover to avoid their sight. He popped another cartridge in his gun to be ready. He emerged from cover, shooting down all the guards with Tempest. As Tempest tried to flee, Peter tackled her down.
"Hooves behind your head!"
Tempest surrendered as Peter knocked her to the ground with the butt of his gun. Leon arrived shortly after.
"You okay, man?"
"Yeah."
"They got Angel, Connor, and everyone else."
"But at least we have a lead on where they are."
Both of them turned to Tempest, still conscious. They rolled over her body as she was now facing up. As Tempest opened her eyes, she was met with the demanding temper of Leon and Peter.
Author's Note
Took me a while, hasn't it? Anyway, what really held me back was that I was super busy. I had school, work, and a thing called a life. Anyway, if that seems far fetched to you, then I don't know what else.
"I'm at the castle right now." Leon said through his earpiece.
"Good, see if Neytiri is there." Connor replied back.
Leon waited until the guards weren't looking at the entrance. He creeped by them.
"I'm in the castle now."
"Check the holding rooms."
Leon noticed a guard patrolling the area. Seeing no way past, he snuck up behind her. He grabbed her from behind and swiftly knocked her out. He hid her body in the janitor's closet. As he walked into the holding cell, he saw the shadow of another guard, Leon was forced to take out this guard as well.
"Oh I'm getting tired of all this...."
A swift punch was heard. Leon saw the door leading to the room that must have held Neytiri hostage. He had his gun ready. Noticing a shadow through the floor, he shot through the door eliminating the unicorn guard behind the door. He burst into the room noticing three creatures, one dead, Neytiri, and one shocked creature. The creature who seemed to be the interrogator was stunned to see the Storm Creature as well.
"Wait, wait!" The interrogator said.
"Suck it." Leon said.
The interrogator was shot in the face. Leon went over to the shocked creature. He didn't seem like any creature Leon has ever saw. It seemed like a hairless gorilla with clothes.
"Hey, I'm not gonna hurt you. Let's get you out of here."
Newton and Neytiri returned to the underground sanctuary. They were immediately ambushed by Leon.
"Oh, it's you." Leon breathed. "Wait a sec..."
Leon slapped both ponies.
"Ok, you're clear."
"Were you thinking that we're changelings?" Neytiri asked.
"I had to be safe."
The three met up with Peter, who had tied up Tempest to the same chair he used to interrogate Gallus.
"Alright, how do we want to approach her?" Peter asked.
Tempest awoke to find herself in Peter's face.
"It's you." Tempest said. "The one who defends the Storm King even though he was in the wrong."
"What happened here?" Newton asked at the same time.
"We were attacked." Leon said. "Tempest and her forces launched an attack that killed some of our group."
"Correction. All of the group." Tempest said. "You are the last of your kind!"
Leon was enraged. His hands were shaking, he grit his teeth, and he lunged for Tempest.
"Why you little...."
As Leon choked Tempest hard, Peter thought back on Tempest's words.
"Last of your kind..." Peter muttered.
"Leon?" Newton asked.
Leon let go of Tempest, the latter of which was catching her breath.
"I want to punch the rest of her horn off." Leon grunted.
"Leon, you said about the infected and how they're Storm Creatures right?" Peter asked. "And didn't you also say that it wears off?"
"I lied." Leon sighed.
"What?!"
"There is no way to resist the orange spores. Once you're infected by them, there is no cure."
Leon walked away as Peter turned to Newton and Neytiri.
"You were hiding this the whole time?"
Both ponies silently nodded.
"And now you know." Tempest said. "Now you know that the truth hurts. The Storm King has spread many lies about us. Join us, and I will treat you as my own."
Peter paused for a moment. Leon did indeed lied to him, but it must've been for a good cause. On the other hand, Tempest does know what she's talking about.
"No...." Peter said.
"Excuse me?" Tempest asked.
"Leon may have lied, but he wouldn't backstab me. I know what he's doing is right."
"And decapitating the captain of the royal guard is right?"
"No, but we didn't want to let him go." Newton said. "Or else he would lead his forces to here and kill everyone."
"And now Leon is the last of his kind." Tempest teased. "Soon, the Storm Kingdom will be extinct!"
As Tempest embraced the idea. Peter subdued her cold.
"How do we deal with her?" Peter asked.
"I say we leave her so that the wildlife may deal with her." Newton stated.
Both Newton and Neytiri carried her unconscious body. Peter turned to find Leon, curled up against a wall. Peter went up to sit with him.
"You okay?"
"No... I lied to you. And now look what came out of this. I'm the last of my kind, Chloe got killed, and I lost my home."
Peter placed his hand on Leon's shoulder.
"We're going home."
Leon slowly nodded. As the human boy helped the Storm Creature up, the two then headed towards Newton and Neytiri's direction.
"So, are we ready?" Newton said.
"Wait, before we go..." Leon began.
Leon gathered the belongings of all the Storm Creatures who died among the assault in Sanctuary. Including Angel and Connor. As he lit the match which set everything on fire, he used one of the guns to fire a shot in the air.
"Okay, let's go home." Neytiri said.
Peter came in carrying Chloe's body.
"Is that supposed to be the girl you went and rescued?" Newton asked.
"Yeah, she didn't make it."
"I'm so sorry..." Neytiri said.
"I'll move on." Peter said.
"Okay Newton, fire the spell."
Newton opened the spellbook. For the next few minutes he browsed through the pages.
"Ooh, there's a spell in which you can freeze your enemies."
"Focus Newton." Peter said.
Newton continued to skim through the pages until eventually finding the right one.
"Okay, there we go." Newton said.
Newton laid the book down for all to see. He then took deep breaths to ready his magic. A spark came from his horn as he tried to cast the portal spell. It fizzled out. Leon and Peter looked at each other in confusion.
"Try again." Leon suggested.
Newton tried the spell again. It did not work.
"Third time's the charm?" Peter asked.
Newton tried the spell for a third time. Nothing happened. For six minutes that Newton tried, nothing happened.
"Did we get the wrong spellbook?" Leon asked. "Or does the spell literally not exist?"
"I'm not giving up." Newton said.
Newton casted the spell again. This time, a small blue ball appeared in front of the group. It fizzled out.
"I think we're heading in the right direction." Peter said.
Newton casted the spell again. A quick flash of bright light blinded everyone for a split second. At the location to where Newton casted the spell was a big blue sphere of light hovering in the air. Peter went up to it to gently touch it. As he stuck his head in, he saw through the other side. The portal led to Classroom 201 of Public School 38, the room where he and Chloe were kidnapped.
"It leads to home." Peter said, moving back in.
"Come on, let's go!" Leon stated.
Leon picked up the spellbook just in case the group needed it. First came in Neytiri, then Peter carrying Chloe's body, then Leon. Newton checked behind him to see if anyone was watching the whole scene. No one was there. He went in shortly after.
"Oh my god..." Peter breathed. "It's so good to be back."
"So this is what your world looks like." Leon said.
"I heard stories from Twilight that it's similar to a world she entered through a mirror." Newton said. "I mean there's a school."
"Let's go outside to see your predictions are right." Neytiri said.
As the four left the classroom, they saw dead bodies of students laying on the floor.
"What the?" Peter gasped.
The four then headed towards the gym. What was supposed to be a Bronycon was a party that was struck by a tornado. Decorations were everywhere, food was spilled over, dead bodies were strewn across the bleachers and floor.
"What happened?"
The group heard pounding on the janitor's closet. Leon readied his gun as they slowly approached to the door. As Peter laid his hand on the doorknob, he held his breath as he swung it open. It was the janitor.
"Oh my god, you found me!" The janitor said with relief.
The janitor then noticed Newton and Neytiri.
"No! Don't kill me!"
"Relax, we're not going to kill you." Neytiri said in a calm voice.
"Stay back! Stay back!" The janitor said, holding his broomstick.
Neytiri slowly walked up to him and gave a gentle pat on the janitor.
"Oh...." The janitor moaned.
Peter was speechless.
"Did you suddenly have Fluttershy's powers?" Leon asked.
"No, I'm just good at calming people down." Neytiri replied.
"I have one strange sister." Newton said.
"Can you tell me what happened?" Peter asked after Neytiri calmed the janitor down.
"They came..."
"Who came?" Leon asked.
"The horses...."
Something clicked in Peter's mind.
"The six..." He muttered.
He ran to the exit of the gym, as he opened the doors, he saw a new post-apocalyptic world in front of him. He then got a special alert on his phone.
ATTENTION!
This is a reminder for citizens. Due to recent events, we advise you to remain indoors and stay calm. Panicking will not help in this situation. Our police and military force will deal with it shortly.
As the janitor along with Newton, Leon, and Neytiri arrived to Peter's location, the latter turned to them.
"We're too late."
"We're too late." Peter said.
"Where do we go now?" Leon said.
"I got to check if my dad's okay." Peter said. "I need to go to my house."
"Okay, let's stay together." Leon stated.
The group started moving. Every store looked looted, windows and doors were boarded up, more dead people laid on the streets.
"Look!" The janitor said.
A man standing perfectly still with his face turned away from the group was walking down the street. The janitor walked up to him to get a closer look.
"Um, I wouldn't do that if I were you..." Neytiri said.
The man suddenly turned around. His eyes were pale grey, he made groaning noises.
"Oh shoot!" Peter shouted.
The infected man lunged at the janitor. The janitor dodged his attack. As he scrambled to his feet, the group ran in the opposite direction. The janitor wasn't so lucky, the infected man killed the janitor by bashing the latter's head to the ground.
"Come on!" Peter shouted.
The group ran out of sight from the infected man and into an alleyway.
"Do you think it saw us?" Neytiri asked.
"I think it killed the guy that was with us." Newton said.
Peter checked his surroundings, finding a metal ladder leading to the rooftop of one of the buildings.
"Guys, we can get a good viewpoint from up here."
The group climbed up the ladder, Peter made sure to check for any infected.
"Clear."
As everyone made it to the roof, they saw hoards of infected people wandering around. It didn't take long to discover who was behind this.
"How much damage could one alicorn do?" Leon said.
"Way too much." Newton said.
"Guys, we can't stay up here forever." Neytiri said. "And I'm starting to get hungry."
"You know what they always say if there's an apocalypse." Peter said. "Anyone want to come with me?"
Peter and Newton went back down the ground. They stayed out of sight from the infected and headed to the nearest store. It looked looted, but there were still some bags of chips and soda lying around.
"This isn't enough." Newton whispered.
"We have to make the best of it."
The two looted the store absolutely clean. After checking every aisle to make sure everything was looted, they returned to Leon and Neytiri. Night had already fallen, but it wasn't too cold.
"Has the horde dispersed yet?" Newton asked.
"No, not yet." Leon said.
"Figures." Peter added.
The group sat down to enjoy their meal of chips and soda. It was still dark out, but there was enough light for the group to visibly see each other.
"Hey you know what this feels like?" Neytiri said, aftering taking a sip from her soda.
"Like what?"
"You know those scenes in movies where a group of friends spend time around a campfire where they explain about themselves?"
"But we don't have a campfire." Peter corrected.
"Well, we can just pretend there is a campfire here."
"Or we can just do the other thing." Newton said.
"Like what?" Leon said.
"Explain about ourselves."
"Okay, I'll go first." Neytiri said.
Neytiri stood up as she introduced herself. "My name is Neytiri."
"Hi, Neytiri." Everyone said.
"Me and my twin brother Newton-"
"Wait, he's your twin brother?" Peter asked. "I just thought he was your brother."
"Well now you know. Anyway, we never had parents. We were sent to an orphanage when we were really young. The owner was really mean. Like really mean. She was so abusive, I can remember the time she held me and my brother by the neck-"
It flashed right in front of Peter. He remembered how Julie treated him.
"You total jackass! You're a fat slut who just loves attention!" Julie angrily screamed at a younger Peter who had him against the wall of their basement.
"Mom, just chill..." Peter said in a real even tone.
"Shut up, butthead! You're not the boss here!"
Peter was not having it. In his defense, Peter shoved her away.
"Whoa!"
Julie crashed into a large cardboard box. At only five feet tall and weak muscles from the drugs, she couldn't get out of the box. Peter had to pull her out.
"No! I can get out myself!"
Peter decided to let Julie do it by herself. He left the room.
"I never got to hear that story." Leon said. "And I've been with you for a few years!"
"I went, and Newton went." Neytiri said. "How about you Leon?"
"Okay," Leon said standing up. "Sup, Name's Leon."
"Hi, Leon." Everyone said.
"I am the Storm King's only child and heir to the throne."
"I already know this." Newton whispered to Neytiri.
"As a creature who lived a royal life, not only do I get wealth, but I also get to eat like a king with the Storm King!"
It triggered another memory within Peter.
After a long day of school, Peter was super hungry. He saw his mother sleeping on the couch. Using this as an advantage, he made his way to the kitchen. As he walked over to the freezer and opened the door, a stack of frozen Hungry Guy dinners.
"Hey!"
It was Julie.
"You fat retarded slut! Those are mine! Do you want to get fat? Do you?"
"Mom, I'm hungry..."
"Mine! Mine! Mine!"
Peter gave up for the dinners. He had only one other option left. Eat at Chloe's house.
"Oh, hey Peter." Chloe said.
"Do you guys have room for one more for dinner?" Peter asked.
Peter watched silently as Chloe's family had an amazing time together. They ate well, shared stories, and ate with good manners. Chloe then turned to Peter. She spoke with Neytiri's voice.
"Peter? Peter!"
Peter snapped out of his trance. The group was staring at him.
"Um, can you go?" Leon said.
"Ok." Peter said, standing up. "I'm Peter."
"Hi, Peter." Everyone said.
"I have a mom and a dad..."
"Wow, you have parents unlike the rest of us." Leon said with amazement.
"Should I tell them the truth?" Peter thought.
"Something wrong?" Newton asked.
"Oh, my mom... she... got overdosed."
"Overdosed?" Neytiri questioned.
"She overtook on drugs?"
Neytiri cocked her head in confusion.
"She took too many drugs?"
Newton raised an eyebrow.
"She... had too much?"
Leon was scratching his head.
"She died." Peter stated.
The group was shocked.
"Oh no..." Neytiri gasped.
"I lost my mom. So I guess I'm like you."
"But you still have a dad." Newton said.
"My dad? We don't see each other eye to eye."
"Why not?"
"After mom died, my dad and I didn't talk to each other. At first I assumed to be grief, but then I realized something."
"What?"
"I'm responsible for her death."
"What do you mean? It's not your fault."
"When my mom was pregnant with me, she started to feel pain. The doctors gave her painkillers to ease it. She always had a habit of drinking wine every night. So she took two painkillers and had her glass of wine, and it triggered something in her."
"She became addicted?" Leon asked.
"Yep."
"It wasn't until my dad stepped in and convinced her to stop so that she could take care of me. It worked. Until after I was born. She went back into drugs again."
"Didn't you and your dad try and convince her to give up?" Neytiri asked.
"Dad tried. We went to therapy, rehabilitation, substitute drugs, nothing worked. And under the influence of those drugs, she physically abused me. She always tried to scratch me with her bare hands, throw phone cords, pillows, but it never hurt because she was a small woman."
"A small woman?" Newton questioned.
"I say she's shorter than me. Anyway, she would always hold me by the neck calling me cuss words, slurs, and no one wants to be called that."
"Did you fight back?"
"Yeah."
"Oh dear."
"Because of her addiction, she was always in and out of the hospital. The last time I ever saw my mom was the pretty much the same reason as before. Dosed on drugs, on life support, and dying, I remember like it was yesterday..."
It was a Friday afternoon, Peter rushed into the hospital.
"I got the call! I'm here for Julie Stiles!"
"Hold up." The doctor said. "Are you a family member?"
"Yeah, I'm her son."
"Come with me."
Peter followed the doctor to Julie's room. His father, grandfather, grandmother, cousins, and some close friends of her.
"I have some bad news." The doctor sighed.
"What is it?" Nick asked.
"Your wife is suffering from arterial pulmonary hypertension. Normally, there is no known cause, but in your wife's case, it's from the drugs she was addicted on."
"Can you do something about it?" Peter's grandfather asked.
"I'm afraid at this stage, there is little that could be done. The symptoms already manifested a long time ago, but it's too late to get any form of transplant or treatment. Your wife is going to stay in bed, but she could die at anytime."
Everything was silent. Everyone was horrified. It wasn't until Peter's grandmother stood up.
"I don't care if you can't do anything!" She shouted. "This is the twenty-first century! You got to do something."
"I can't do anything. I'm sorry..."
The doctor left the room.
"What happened next?" Newton asked.
"We all came into an agreement that my mom needs to be taken off of life support. We all said our goodbyes, but when it was my turn, I was too scared to look at her. All those cables and tubes connected to her, it looked like some grotesque monster. I backed away and lied to my dad in saying goodbye."
Peter could hear Neytiri sniffling.
"At her funeral, my dad gave her a eulogy. Death is real, I remember being as someone as reckless as my mom in that way. I love my parents, a lot. And losing someone you love, can hurt. You can't go back and say I'm sorry, set a good example, or talk her out of it..."
Peter voice cracked.
"I know she was scared. I saw her eyes while she was in the hospital, not wanting to die. My mom had big dreams, wanting to be a game show winner, and now those dreams were shattered. I look back now because I was one who gave her those drugs in the first place. It was my fault that she died. After her passing, Dad blamed me. He never got abusive to me, but he stopped talking to me. I remained in my room more often, staring at a wall in my room, everything that has just happened in front of me."
Newton's eyes were red, Leon was holding back tears, and Neytiri was blowing on a tissue given by Newton.
"Ever since then, I always look back to her death with nothing but pain. I don't know what to feel now."
Peter remained silent as the group shed their sorrow and pity. He kept to himself as everyone went silent. Not a single word was heard from anyone as the night continued.
As Peter woke up, he noticed the horde had dispersed. He woke up Neytiri, Leon, and Newton.
"They're gone! It's safe to cross now!"
The group made their way down the street.
"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Leon asked.
"I'm sure." Peter said.
The group continued until they came across a two story house in the suburbs.
"Welcome to my house." Peter said.
The group went up to the door. Suddenly, a barrel of the gun stuck out of a boarded window.
"Stay back!"
The door opened. A young man holding a hunting rifle popped out.
"Who are you?"
The young man noticed Neytiri and Newton and pointed the rifle at them.
"Easy now, they're friendly." Leon said.
"Says the creature who is part of Princess's army!"
"No, Princess Twilight is after us too."
"I defected from her royal guard a long time ago." Newton said.
"I used to support the Princess, not anymore." Neytiri said.
"And I'm the son of the Princess's greatest enemy." Leon added.
"Are you just going to stand there and explain yourselves?" The man said.
Peter noticed another person peeking out behind the young man.
"Max?"
Max noticed Peter's face.
"You're safe!" Max cheered.
"You know this guy?" The young man asked.
"Yeah, she's my sister's best friend. By the way Peter, where is she?"
Peter had to tell the truth.
"She's dead. Got killed by the ponies."
Max was silent. His eyes changed to shock. He backed away slowly.
"Chloe..."
"Max..." Peter said.
He ran off.
"Damn it!"
"Don't worry, he needs time to grieve." The young man said. "And considering that you and Max know each other, I guess you're safe."
Peter walked in, but the man stopped him.
"On one condition. The creatures over there must be kept a close eye on."
"Fine." Newton said. "At least we'll be safe."
Inside the house, Peter found other survivors hiding from the infected. Among the survivors were a mechanic, a shoe salesman, his wife and two daughters, Carol, Dana, Max, a pizza delivery boy, and the man who had his gun pointed at the group earlier.
"Dad!" Peter said with shock.
Nick was among the survivors in the house. He ran up to embrace Peter, Peter embraced him back.
"What happened around here?" Peter asked.
"It all happened when they came."
"The ponies and their respective allies?"
"When the ponies came, people were ecstatic. Life outside of earth..."
When Twilight and her allies arrived to earth, the people at first were afraid.
"Aliens?" someone in the audience asked.
"Wow, these creatures sure are weird." Rainbow Dash said.
"They're called humans." Twilight said. "I encountered them the time when I went through the magical mirror to get my crown back."
"So these creatures can walk on two legs, wear clothes, and breathe carbon dioxide?" Fluttershy said.
"Unlike the humans at Canterlot High, yes."
Pinkie did a sinister laugh. "Let's have some fun."
The plant was brought up in front of the people. As it came into contact with the atmosphere , it grew to the height of an adult human in less than a minute. It released a cloud of spores into the air. The people fled to avoid the spores, but some came into contact with them. The people not infected ran into the nearest stores to catch the their breath.
"Do you think we're safe?"
"What was that outside?"
"Were the ponies involved with this?"
"I saw that plant emit spores."
One person went over to the window to check everything out. As she did, an infected man pounded on the window. The people inside the restaurant jerked back. More infected came crashing through. Breaking the window, they started to swarm the civilians. They were mauled down instantly. While some escaped through the backdoor, the newly infected civilians attacked those who weren't infected. Police and Military were sent in to dispatch those that were infected. They were killed by the infected as well.
"It all happened a week ago. Millions have died so far." Nick concluded.
"Wait, it all happened last week?" Peter said. "But I was only gone for a few hours!"
"I guess time is different between worlds?" Leon said.
"All we know is to avoid the spores." Carol added.
"Hey, don't you guys have any food on you?" The pizza delivery boy asked.
"We have chips leftover along with some soda." Leon said.
"It's not going to be enough for all of us." Nick said.
Everyone was ready to give up until Peter spoke up.
"Why can't you guys go outside and get some food yourselves?"
"It's too risky to go outside. With all the spores, infected, and who knows what else?" Dana replied.
"Come on! We've been outside once, I'm not letting a group here starve."
Peter went to his room to collect his backpack. He dumped all of his schoolbooks out.
"There, it should be enough to carry a lot of food."
"Hold up." A voice said from behind.
It was Leon. He stood there, examining Peter's room.
"So this is your room."
"Saying something, Leon?" Peter asked.
"Oh. I was just saying you aren't going out there alone. I'm coming with you."
"I have a spare backpack. It's in the closet over there."
Leon grabbed the other backpack and placed it on him.
"How do we defend ourselves? I don't want to use my gun."
in the kitchen, Leon and Peter found kitchen knives to defend themselves. The two also got long sticks and taped the knives to one end, making them into makeshift spears.
"Where you going?" Nick asked.
"We're searching for supplies."
The man who pointed his gun at the group earlier stopped them.
"No freaking way."
"We're running out of food." Leon said. "We just have to be careful."
The man took the two inside the living room for a group meeting.
"Peter, what are you doing?" Nick asked.
"I'm going out with my friend Leon to search for food."
"But it's dangerous!"
"Not as dangerous as us starving to death."
Nick threw his hands into the air.
"Jerry, keep an eye on my son and whoever's with him." Nick told the man with the gun.
"This boy's your son?" He replied.
"Yeah. We don't have the best relationship." Peter said.
Armed with a bow, Jerry took Peter and Leon, both armed with homemade spears out to the nearest grocery store. The sliding doors were shut. The power must've been off.
"Give me a hand with this." Jerry whispered.
Peter helped Jerry in opening the sliding doors. Leon made sure to grab the shopping carts to load their supplies.
"What should we get?" Leon asked.
"We have kids with us, so let's get them some candy." Peter said.
The three loaded their carts with anything they could find on the shelves. Jerry made sure to collect more canned food and bottles of water, Peter grabbed any bags of chips and soda he could find, and Leon grabbed batteries, flashlights, and radios.
"Your cart isn't even full." Peter said, looking at the cart.
Leon went back to check. Some of the products were spoiled and can't be collected. He grabbed any canned food and water Jerry could not get. The three left the store to return back to the house.
As night fell, the group sat down to enjoy a hot meal.
"So Sydney, what did you and Blake used to do before everything went spiral?" Newton asked to the shoe salesman's wife.
"I sold shoes at the mall. Wasn't the best job but it paid the bills." Blake said.
"I worked as an accountant. Stupid Boss. Always cared more about golf than accounting.
"Mechanic." The mechanic said.
"Bruce, you got to give more than that." Peter said to the mechanic.
"So how was your job delivering pizzas, Mark?" Neytiri asked.
"Tons of teens and young adults all that kind of crap." Mark said. "Nothing much to say there."
"Hey Nick, how much of that roast you got left?" Carol asked. "I want seconds."
"Well, it would just go bad if we don't finish it." Nick said, getting another slice.
Jerry was on watch from the second floor. As he examined the roads ahead of him, he noticed several shadows in the distance. He quietly sounded the bell.
"Someone's coming, lay low!" Leon said.
The group hid as Nick and Jerry readied their guns. As the shadows grew closer, they suddenly disappeared.
"What the?"
"Boo." A voice said.
As Peter looked up, he noticed several members of the royal guard rounding up all the survivors. He was forced to go with them as the royal guard got them to their knees. Their leader looked very familiar.
"Tempest!" Newton gasped.
"Why hello, Newton." Tempest said.
"You two know each other?" Blake asked.
"She murdered my father." Leon said. "The sadistic right-handed mare of Gallus."
"I did the right thing." Tempest said. "And you did worse than the Storm King."
"Leon, what did you do?" Bruce worriedly asked.
"The group that was with you killed Gallus. You take something of mine, I take something of yours."
Newton was dragged to Tempest's feet. As the guards held Newton down, Tempest raised her front legs. Her front hooves had brass horseshoes, designed for extra impact on hits.
"Wait!"
Blake stood up.
"I collaborated in the whole affair. I led this whole shenanigans."
The guards released Newton and grabbed Blake.
"Blake, no!" Sydney shouted.
On the first hit of Tempest's stomp, both of Blake's eyes popped out. The group watched in horror as Blake was beaten to pulp. At first, the group was silent. Sydney then stood up, seething in anger.
"I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU YOU PIECE OF-"
"Language." One guard reminded as he held Sydney with her magic.
"This is why you don't mess with us." Tempest said. "Do it one more time, and we'll kill all of you."
The guards along with Tempest left. Sydney was let go as the guards left.
"Oh God, Blake!" Sydney said.
Sydney was left clutching onto Blake's body as everyone was left in shock and sadness. Tears streamed down Sydney's face.
"Blake! Blake! Blake, please, Blake. Oh my god. No... Don't leave me..."
As morning arrived, the survivors of the royal guard attack was recovering from Tempest. Sydney was left mourning over the loss of Blake. Leon went over to comfort her.
"Leave me alone." Sydney muttered.
"We'll get revenge on him." Leon said.
"It's your fault." Sydney grunted.
"What?"
"It's your fault! If you hadn't pissed off the ponies, we wouldn't be in this mess!"
Sydney got up to push Leon down. She stood over him to punch him in the face.
"Hey, Hey! Everybody, calm down!" Jerry shouted. "Jesus."
"Calm down, Sydney. Please." Neytiri said.
"All I know is, because of what you did to piss the ponies everything was your fault!"
No one spoke a word. Leon punched Sydney back.
"Oh you wanna fight, man? I'll give you a fight-"
Nick grabbed Sydney's arm before she landed her attack.
"Now's not the time." Nick said.
Sydney slunked onto the ground.
"He was my husband. Now Lizzie and Sophia won't have a father to look up to."
The daughters of Blake, Lizzie and Sophia, were being consoled by Bruce and Mark.
"I'm sure Blake wants you to take care of them for him." Nick said.
Sydney looked up to Nick, who had his hand outstretched to help her up. Peter examined the area around him.
"We're not safe here. Tempest and her guards will come back for us."
"But where should we go?" Mark asked.
"There's got to be safe zones. That's probably where they're keeping survivors."
"Great, we're going to be left walking around in circles." Newton sarcastically said.
Peter noticed more cars lined up against his house including an RV. The group gathered all of their supplies and loaded them into the RV.
"Everybody, ready?" Nick called out.
"Yeah, ready!" Bruce said.
The group got onto their cars and drove off.
"I think our best bet is to head to the police station." Nick suggested while Bruce was driving. "They have guns, they have food, and more importantly, they have medical experience."
"Can you tell me where to go?" Bruce said.
"Sure, just head down this highway."
The group drove down the highway, they didn't get very far as the highway was blocked by cars.
"Rats." Leon said.
Peter, Leon, Bruce, and NIck went out to push the cars away. Newton kept on watch.
"Wait, Newton?"
"Yeah?" Newton asked.
"Don't you have magic?"
"Oh!"
Newton used his magic to easily move the cars out of the way.
"Whoa!" Bruce gasped.
"Now there's something you don't see everyday." Mark added.
"Okay, I think we're clear now." Peter said.
Three figures appeared in front of the RV's headlights. Jerry and Nick readied their guns.
"Don't make a move!" Jerry shouted.
"Whoa! Whoa! Hold your fire!"
Out of the shadows came a tall, burly, African American, his daughter, and her boyfriend.
"Oh snap, I almost killed you!" Nick gasped.
"Who are you guys?" Peter asked.
"My name is Brian. This here is my daughter Angela and her boyfriend Mitch."
"Name's Nick. Peter over here is what spotted you."
Brian noticed Newton, Neytiri, and Leon within the group.
"Why are they here? They're ponies!"
"We're being hunted by the ponies too." Newton said. "We committed treason to them, I call it tyranny."
"Well, I guess the enemy of my enemy is my friend." Angela said.
"Angela, don't be so trusting of him." Mitch whispered.
Brian's group merged with Peter's group. After continuing down the road, the group found the police station Nick mentioned.
"Okay, let's check the area to make sure it's safe." Peter said.
"Wait, since this is a police station, shouldn't there be prisoners?" Neytiri asked.
"We do have prisoners, but most of them are sent to the prison ward." Nick said.
"Stick together, everyone." Jerry said.
The group explored the station. As Peter opened the first door that was closest to him, he saw four female inmates sitting around in the cafeteria.
"Hey, you want some meatloaf?" One of them said.
Nick ran up to Peter.
"Oh my god..."
"Yes, I would like some meatloaf!" Peter said.
The rest of Peter's group followed in soon after.
"Wait, aren't prisoners usually men?" Sydney asked.
Peter noticed a sign behind the group.
PIKE'S INSTITUTION FOR WOMEN
"We're in a lady jail." Lizzie giggled.
"I would call it that." One of the prisoners said.
"But aren't they prisoners?" Newton asked. "What are you guys in here for?"
"Robbery." The female inmate with the blue eyes and the long brown hair who spoke in a British accent said.
"Murder." The second female inmate with the brown eyes and bowl-cut blond hair added.
"Drugs." The third female inmate with the green eyes and long brown hair said. "But I'm clean now."
"Arson." The last inmate with the long red hair and light blue eyes added. "But it wasn't my fault."
The group sat at a different table far away from the inmates.
"Come on, don't worry. We're all clean and we've changed." The British inmate said.
"Yeah, until you rape my kids." Sydney said.
"Wait, females can rape other females?" Mark asked.
Peter decided to ask another question. "How'd you guys get stuck up in here?"
"When the monsters attacked, the prison guards all left us to them. A lot of us died, but us four, we killed all that we could find." The red hair inmate said.
"Hey, can I get your names?" Nick asked.
"Courtney." The green-eyed inmate said.
"Ashley." The red hair inmate said.
"Lucy." The British inmate said.
"Karin." The blond hair inmate concluded.
"My name's Nick. This here's my son Peter."
Courtney noticed Newton, Neytiri, and Leon.
"I see you have stragglers too." Lucy said.
"They're friendly. Like us." Mark said.
"Care to show us around?" Peter asked.
Courtney took Peter and Nick around the prison. The remaining members of Peter's group kept a close eye on the inmates.
"Lizzie, Sophia, just don't look at them." Sydney said.
Night fell. The inmates along with Peter's group slept in cells. As Peter laid in his bed, he thought about what happened ever since he left. The crazy adventure in Equestria that got his friend killed. Now, he has to find new homes to three fugitives on the run from Equestria's leaders.
"Hey..."
Newton snapped him out of Peter's train of thought.
"Did you ever had a crush on Chloe?"
"What?"
"You seem to care a lot about her."
"No, not really. I don't feel anything towards her."
"So, do you have a crush on someone else?"
"Not really. I don't like girls, I don't like guys, I don't feel attracted to anyone at all."
"Why not?"
"Honestly, I feel that getting into a relationship is going to be a waste of money. Money I can use to buy food, video games, and movie tickets."
"But those aren't needs, those are wants. Aside from food."
"Still, I don't want to be in a relationship."
"So no boys?"
"No."
"No girls?"
"No."
"Then what are you attracted too?"
"I'm not gay, but I'm not straight either. I'm nothing."
"You don't know who you are?"
"What kind of person does not like boys or girls? I'm not against you, but I do know that there are people who will not accept you as gay or whatever you are."
After a long wind of silence, Peter spoke up.
"Can we just go to sleep now?"
"Okay."
Chapter 11: Into Darkness
One week had passed since the group's settlement at the prison. With Jerry keeping on watch, the group did what they could. Sophia and Lizzie were playing with Neytiri, while the adults chattered with one another.
"Have you guys seen Max?" Carol asked.
"No, we haven't." Leon said.
Carol walked away to talk to another person.
"Psst!"
Leon heard Newton and Peter telling him to come over.
"What?" Leon said. "Is it about Max?"
"Yeah. I know what happened to him." Peter said.
"Did he?" Leon said before motioning a gun to his head.
"No. I found a note left by him to his parents."
"But why didn't you show this to Carol and Dana?"
"If Carol and Dana knew, they would be freaking out. And we would not want to be freaking out." Newton said.
"Let me see that note." Leon said.
Dear Moms,
If you are reading this right now, you know I have already left. I have joined the ponies to bring Chloe back to life. Do not try to stop me. We can be a family again.
"Oh no." Leon gasped.
"We have to rescue Max." Peter said.
"I'll go get my sister. You guys gear up." Newton said.
Peter and Leon armed themselves by looting the armory of the prison. Peter attached a silencer to his pistol.
"What did you do to Chloe's body?" Leon asked. "Didn't you have it with you?"
"I did, but when we were escaping the infected, I had to leave her body behind."
"It's just that I don't know how these ponies are going to resurrect Chloe."
"The answer's very simple." Peter summarized. "They're not."
"Okay, we have enough ammo, army knives to conserve ammo, food, water, flashlights, first aid kits, and smoke grenades."
Newton came in with Neytiri.
"I heard what happened. Let's go get Max." Neytiri said.
"Hey! Where are you going?" Jerry asked as he saw Peter, Leon, Newton, and Neytiri leaving the prison.
"We're searching for more survivors." Peter lied. "They need to know how safe this place is."
The group left.
"Good lie." Leon said.
"Okay, considering that Max went with the ponies, we need to find out where the ponies main base of operations is." Newton added.
"The mayoral office?" Peter suggested.
"Why there?"
"If any place is to be for a political figure, then it has to be there."
The steps of the mayoral office stood in front of the four group members.
"There it is..." Newton said.
"The dreaded..." Peter continued.
"... new base for the ponies." Leon added.
"Guns loaded?"
"Check."
The four approached the mayor's office as if they were going to breach it. Peter slowly opened the door. Nothing was inside. The group readied their weapons as they made their way in.
"Check the mayoral office."
The group got into breaching position again. Peter slowly opened the door. There was a light amber colored female earth pony with a light gray mane talking to her two bodyguards.
"Now?" Peter whispered.
Leon nodded.
"So how's the plant coming along?" The light amber pony said.
"Well, it's thriving Mayor Mare. You think people will see it, but it's still the same size, just producing more spores." One of the mayor's bodyguards said.
"I wonder how things are going back in Equestria." The other bodyguard added.
"Twilight never made an official response. But I hear from other ponies that she purged every Storm Creature in existence." Mayor Mare said.
"Weren't there rumors of the Storm Creatures freeing the Legion of Doom?"
"You mean Chrysalis, Tirek, and Cozy Glow?"
"Yep."
"Yeah, I heard these rumors."
WHAM!
The door burst open. Leon and Peter came in armed.
"What the-"
The two bodyguards were gunned down. All that was left was Mayor Mare. Newton and Neytiri ran up and held her down.
"What is all this hullabaloo?" Mayor Mare said.
"You know us, Mayor." Leon stated.
"The Storm Prince. Son of the most dangerous creature in Equestria."
"More like a somebody trying to find a home."
"Wait, isn't this mare known to be working with Twilight?" Peter suggested.
"Where is Twilight and her friends?" Newton demanded.
"Screw you! And screw your comrades too!"
BLAM!
The mayor was shot in the leg.
"Okay, okay, I'll talk! Give me a map of your area!"
Peter took out a map of his town. As his group gathered around, Mayor Mare was handed a pencil by Newton.
"You live in this place called Portland?" Leon said. "No wonder why it feels so close to our region."
"Maine's more of a cold state rather than hotter regions like Florida or Arizona." Peter explained.
"Ok, I marked the location, can you let me go now?" Mayor Mare said.
"You sure this is correct?" Newton demanded.
"I'm sure. Now let me go!"
Peter raised his gun at Mayor Mare but was stopped by Leon.
"She's already down. She can't chase us or warn any of her allies." Leon said.
"You'll never know!" Peter defended.
"No." Leon said.
Peter grunted as he binded Mayor Mare's hooves together and shoved her in the cabinet.
"There, that should teach her." He stated.
"Deering Oaks Park." Neytiri read the marked location.
"Let's go!" Newton said.
The group arrived at the park. Only to find it empty. The group first examined the area.
"Mayor Mare tricked us!" Peter said.
As the group discussed what to do next, footsteps were heard. The group hid behind some bushes. Three figures were spotted in the distance. Leon took out his binoculars to examine them.
"A dragon, a hippogriff, and another human." He whispered.
"Let me see." Peter said, taking the binoculars.
Peter got a closer look at the human the creatures had.
"Max..."
"Wait, they have Max?" Newton gasped.
"I'm going to go get him..."
"No, wait!" Leon interrupted. "I want to observe them. Maybe they could lead us to wherever the creatures are hiding out."
The creatures brought Max to the edge of the pond in the park.
"Hope you can hold your breath." The dragon said.
"Wait, what are you-" Max began.
The hippogriff held hands with the dragon as she laid her claws on the medallion around her neck. Magically, the two transformed themselves into sea creatures. The two jumped into the water.
"Jump in, the water's fine!" The hippogriff said.
Max sighed while taking off his clothes. As he stripped down into just his pants and underwear, he jumped in with the two creatures.
"Now hold onto me." The hippogriff-turned seapony said.
Max held his breath as he latched onto the seapony. They both dove underwater just as Peter's group arrived at the edge.
"How are we going to go after them now?" Peter asked.
"Don't you have the spellbook we used to get back here?" Newton asked.
"Oh yeah."
Peter took out the spellbook from his backpack. As he skimmed through the pages, he found the spell he was looking for.
"Here it is, the spell that allows you to breathe underwater."
Peter showed the spell to everyone.
"Okay, let me try." Newton said.
Newton casted a large bubble surrounding him and his friends.
"Well, did it work?" Peter asked.
Leon placed his hand on the bubble. It immediately popped.
"Let's try again."
Newton casted the bubble spell. This time, the bubble didn't pop.
"Strange, I thought this would go over our heads." Peter said.
The group made their way to the pond. As they dove under, they saw a large underwater fortress guarded by creatures turned into sea creatures.
"Oh no, how are we going to get past?" Neytiri asked.
"Newton, can you cast spells outside the bubble?" Peter suggested.
Newton moved a tiny rock outside the bubble to prove his worth. The group made their way so that they could see the fortress but out of sight from the guards.
"Okay, what now?" Neytiri said.
"I got an idea. But it's a stupid one." Peter sighed.
The guards saw the bubble the group was in approaching the castle. As the guards approached them, they were stunned to see their fugitives standing front of them.
"No way, this is too darn easy." One of the guards said.
"You caught us, oh no." Neytiri said sarcastically.
"Isn't there some sort of bounty on our heads?" Peter asked. "If someone turns us in?"
"Yeah..." One of the guards said.
"And if we turn ourselves in, we get the reward." Leon added.
The guards laughed.
"You think you get a reward for turning yourself in? What is it? Freedom?" The guard teased.
"Get them, boys."
The guards escorted the group inside the castle. Since there were only two guards watching them, one on the front and one on the back, Peter waited until they resurfaced in a chamber of the castle.
"I got to admit, you were pretty clever with that bubble spell." The guard said.
"Of course." Newton said.
Peter had a hidden handgun attached to his pocket. He waited until both guards positioned themselves in front of the group.
"Okay, what should we do while we wait for more guards to arrive?" One of the guards asked.
Peter grabbed the gun and shot both guards before they could react.
"Good work." Leon remarked.
The group hid the bodies of the two guards.
"Wait, I got an even better idea!" Peter said.
Disguised as guards, Newton and Neytiri escorted Peter and Leon around.
"Wouldn't the guards recognize your face?" Neytiri asked.
"Rarity disguised herself as a guard and everyone believed her as a guard." Newton said. "I didn't though."
"Why didn't you believe it?"
"Because of her face. I've never seen Rarity as a royal guard member. If she were, she would've signed up, trained with fellow guards, and considering training with guards is what I do for a living before I defected, I know she was tricking us."
"But if you know she was tricking you, why didn't you inform the guards?"
"I was still loyal to the Mane Six. Before I saw with they've done to the Storm Kingdom. I use to look up to Twilight as some sort of hero. I had to learn a ton of spells if I want to be like her. And..."
Newton had red markings over his cheeks.
"I had some sort of... crush... on her."
The three gasped.
"You... had a crush... on some creature... who was evil?" Peter said.
"That was before. Now, I'm just a wanted stallion."
"Jeez, I never realize that my friend had a crush on our enemy." Leon said.
"We need to move." Peter said.
The group continued on. If any of them had looked up, they would've seen a lanky alicorn looking down at them with a smug face.
The Storm Creatures were tired of trudging through the forest after several days of walking.
"Leon... we need to... rest..." A Storm Soldier said.
"I already sent scouts to search ahead for a safe place to stay." Leon stated. "They should be reporting back by now."
Leon got a call on his earpiece.
"Hello?"
"We found a safe spot. Head on over to our location as we give you the coordinates."
Leon met up with his scouting team consisting of Newton and Neytiri.
"What did you find?"
The two ponies showed Leon a secret hideout behind a moss covered rock. As Newton uncovered the moss, a secret button was shown to the three. Newton pressed it, showing the hideout.
"Whoa."
"We went in to check if there were any creatures in there." Neytiri said. "It's clear."
Leon contacted Connor.
"Connor, we found a safe spot to hide. Get everyone to come over here."
"You got it."
Leon then turned to Newton and Neytiri.
"What can I ever do without you?"
Beads of sweat ran down Max's face. The armored soldiers had them cornered. The soldiers seemed ready to gun them down at any moment.
"Hey..." Peter said. "What do you want?"
"You have creatures from the other world with you..." A soldier said.
"They're on our side!" Peter stated.
"We're not trying to kill you! The winged unicorn and her army is!" Leon added.
"Bullspit!" One soldier stated. "You're a creature, she's a creature, all of them are evil!"
"Not all of us are bad." Neytiri said. "Some, like us, are good."
"Tell that to the thousands of civilians you made angry for losing their homes!" Another soldier said. "I lost my wife and kids because of you!"
Peter decided to change the subject. "Did you kill the people we see on those pikes behind us?"
The soldiers got a good look at the beheaded victims on pikes.
"No. They were like this when we got there." A soldier said.
"So you've been here before?"
"Yeah, and we rounded up everyone in the building."
"Can we speak to them?"
The captain of the armored soldiers arrived to the group.
"You are not authorized to speak to them on our behalf. However, you'll be speaking to me. Now if you'll be getting along, we can make this nice and easy."
Everyone was forced to follow the armored soldiers.
"Oh, and one more thing." The captain said.
A black cloth bag was thrown over the group's heads.
"No wait-"
Peter awoke on the sounds of Max's breathing.
"Max?"
"Huh?"
"Where do you think we are?"
A voice spoke up.
"Okay, unmask them."
It felt like being hit with a flash grenade. Bright lights blinded the group eyes for twenty seconds. The captain of the armored soldiers stood before them.
"Wh-Where are we?" Neytiri said.
"You're at the Safezone. No infected nor creature can get in here. Now, may I please get your names and ages?" The captain spoke.
"Peter Stiles. I'm 13 years old." Peter said.
The captain was baffled. "You look you're in your late teens. Are you lying about your age?"
"People can look older when they're actually young. Other way around."
Leon then spoke. "Leon. I'm 16."
"You don't have a last name?" The captain questioned.
"No. From where I came from, we don't get last names."
"Neytiri. I'm 18."
"Sounds like a Native name."
"You got a problem with that?" Peter asked.
"No. Just trying to be nice."
"Max Parker. 14."
"Okay. Now that we have your names, what about your weapons?"
"Your men already collected them." Peter said. "We don't have any extra."
"Okay and finally, why are Neytiri and Leon in your group?"
"We came to this world because our home was destroyed by the creatures who invaded this world." Leon said. "I come in peace."
"I only joined Leon because what he's saying is true." Neytiri said. "They also kidnapped my twin brother."
"Wait, you have a brother?" The captain said. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"His name's Newton." Peter said. "The creatures have captured him and they intend on making him marry their leader."
"But why would they want to do this? Surely there must be some motive."
The group looked at each other.
"Maybe Twilight just wants to marry him?" Max asked.
"Bullspit!" Peter said. "You saw how evil she is!"
"Peter, we don't know why Twilight wants to marry Newton." Leon said.
"We only heard from Newton that he had some affection towards her." Neytiri answered.
"That's not a valid response, but I'll buy it." The captain said.
"Okay, now it's time for us to ask the questions." Peter said. "Where's our group?"
"Group?"
"The ones you collected at the prison we were hiding out on."
"Oh, you mean the recent wild dogs we found there? They're our recent round-ups, and they're living the life there."
"Can you take us to them?"
"Sure. Round up, boys!"
The group was escorted into army jeeps, with the captain driving the front jeep. The group sat together in one jeep.
"You're gonna love our place." The driver said.
"Oh we sure are." Leon said sarcastically.
As Peter looked out the window, he saw what seemed to be less and less infected. In fact, the group had not seen an infected Storm Creature or human for quite a while. It may even seemed like nothing had happened at all.
"Hey! Is that a stadium over there? You guys have your safe zone in a stadium?" Max said.
The group saw a large baseball stadium off in the distance.
"No, that's just part of our safe zone. It's up ahead even further."
"Here we are!"
A large community of survivors greeted the incoming soldiers.
"Got some new round-ups." The captain said.
The group got out of front jeep to see the survivors.
"Holy cow." Leon said. "There are so many people here."
The crowd gasped at the sight of Neytiri and Leon.
"It's okay." Peter said. "They're with us. They're friendly."
"Why don't we show you around?" The captain said.
The group was taken through the community while the crowd of survivors stared at them.
"Peter? Is that you Peter?"
"Dad?"
Nick ran through the crowd to meet up with Peter.
"What happened out there?"
"We had to find Max. He was taken by the ponies."
Nick turned to Max standing behind Peter. He then noticed someone missing from the group.
"Where's Newton?"
"The ponies captured him and now Twilight wants to marry him!"
"Alright, reunion's over." The captain said.
Nick was escorted back into the crowd. The captain took the group further into the community.
"We're here!" The captain said, arriving at a tall building.
The group got a good look at the building the captain was referring to.
"A bank?"
"That's where you'll find the Governor of the safe-zone. You might want to talk to her."
The group walked into the bank to find a bald man greeting them cheerfully. He didn't even seem to notice Leon and Neytiri standing behind Peter.
"Welcome to the safe zone!" He cheered.
The group was silent.
"Um... thanks?" Leon said.
"Please come with me to our leader."
The group followed the man into an office designed after a mayoral office. The leader of the safe-zone was there along with two soldiers.
"Hello." She said. "Please, sit down."
Chairs were brought so that Max, Leon, and Peter could sit. Neytiri still kept standing.
"My name is Esme Carmona and I'm the governor of the safe-zone. We shelter over fifty thousand individuals who are escaping from the incident not too long ago."
"That's great and all, but we now what caused the incident." Peter said.
"Oh?"
"The creatures have brought a large plant that emits spores that turned people into infected monsters."
"Then why don't we burn it down?" Esme suggested.
"I don't know. A healthy plant like that can't be burned." Leon said.
"Have you thought about going into the root of your problem?"
It then struck everyone.
"The root!" Neytiri said. "If we destroy the root of the plant, the plant won't be able to survive!"
"That's only one problem solved. But Leon said that there is no cure once you're infected." Peter said.
"Then we have to get rid of all of them." Esme suggested.
No one seemed to be against the idea. But no one spoke up. Esme had to clear the air.
"I know what you're thinking, we can't kill them all! But what other choice do we have? There's nothing we can do with these monsters!"
"Find a scientist?" A soldier asked.
"Do you think that the scientist is going to forge a cure for all of this? It's the real world!"
The group left the soldier and Esme arguing with each other.
"What do you think we should do with the infected?" Leon asked at the marketplace of the safe-zone.
"I have to agree with Esme over this one." Max said.
"No!" Neytiri argued. "What if there are normal people within this town? Innocent people will lose their lives!"
Peter spoke up. "We got to ask Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie about this."
"What?"
"Peter, Tempest said that there is no cure to the infected!" Leon said.
"But is she saying that just to mislead you?"
"I even said that there is no cure! We used any kind of medicine we can think of!"
"But have you ever thought of magic?"
The group was silent.
"Think about it. Tempest isn't much of a friend to Twilight compared to Rainbow Dash or Pinkie Pie. Would you think that Twilight would give information about the plant to the mare that killed your father? Or to the elements of harmony?"
"You have a point right there." Max said.
The group arrived at the prison cells where Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were held.
"Oh, it's you." Pinkie said.
"I'm surprised you didn't try to escape." Peter said.
"Do you think I could escape from here? I have my limits you know!"
"We want to ask you a couple of questions?" Leon said.
"Then what?"
"I'll ask the guards to let you go."
Everyone, even the guards watching the group, seemed surprised. Leon started the first question.
"Where is Newton?"
Rainbow Dash answered the question.
"Easy. He's with Twilight."
"Where is Twilight marrying Newton?"
"At her new castle." Pinkie said. "I was going to be the wedding host!"
"Where is her new castle?"
Rainbow Dash only had this to say.
"I'll tell you this, her special plant is going to be her castle."
"Ok, one last question, and you better get this one. Why is Twilight marrying Newton?"
"Once Twilight kisses the unicorn who betrayed us, she's going to use her magic to make him an unstoppable weapon!"
Neytiri and Max gasped in shock. However, Peter and Leon were still curious.
"How and why are you giving out all this?" Leon said. "I thought you would resist."
"We were, but then realized that this plot would go on for too long." Pinkie said. "So we're telling you here and now."
"You're gonna rot in here." Leon said. "And you know this."
A soldier came running up towards Peter, whispering something in his ear. The group turned to him.
"Esme's asking us to meet in her office. Now."
The group found Esme looking very shaken.
"What's wrong?" Leon said.
The group went over to the window Esme was looking out of. A large swarm of infected have arrived at the safe-zone. Leading them was Twilight's allies, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Applejack.
"Oh crap. What do we do?" Max said.
Peter watched as the survivors were either hiding inside buildings or getting killed alive by the infected. More survivors burst into Esme's office.
"Dad!" Peter said.
"Moms!" Max added.
"Peter, there's a-" Nick began.
"We know." Leon said.
"We can't waste all of our ammo on this horde." A soldier said.
"Then we only need it to take out the ponies and creatures hiding within the horde." Peter said. "Also, instead of guns, have you ever thought about using silenced guns, crossbows, and just bows?"
Everyone looked at each other.
"I have a plan."
Author's Note
I originally wanted this chapter to be longer, but screw this, I'm releasing this anyway!
Twilight and her friends examined the damage left by the Storm Creatures after their attack on the Festival of Friendship.
"We may have gotten the Storm King's staff, but it's not enough to repair what the Storm King has done." Twilight said.
"We just have to be careful." Rainbow Dash said. "Besides, they have to deal with the pony who did the Sonic Rainboom!"
"I understand how it was necessary to bring us all together, but is it really a god-defining moment?" A unicorn guard with a white coat and black mane said. "Oh look! Rainbow Dash is a goddess! Oh look, we want to be like her and end up hurting ourselves in the process. Point is, the Sonic Rainboom is not a moment for worship. We should not treat Rainbow Dash like a goddess."
"Uh, why would we exist without her?" Another guard added. "The Mane Six saved us from Nightmare Moon, Tirek, Queen Chrysalis, reformed Discord, and just defeated the Storm King! And it was all thanks to Rainbow Dash for saving Equestria. She is a goddess! Not literally, though."
The unicorn guard hoof-palmed.
"When I was growing up, I didn't let my ego get the best of me. I was focused, I only took this job because it paid well and supported me and my sister."
Rainbow Dash arrived to stop the argument.
"Chillax, after all, as the element of loyalty, I wouldn't call myself a goddess."
The guard stared at her.
"Have you ever thought of your behavior? You six are not behaving like the elements like you once were. I saw you at the execution. You seem to take glee in murdering high-ranking members of the Storm King's army! And then what? You open up a school in which you take pride in the fall of the Storm King. I saw the terror in many of the Storm King's army's eyes.
Pinkie Pie gushed.
"Uh oh. Looks like we have a party pooper!"
The guard groaned.
"Screw this, I'm outta here!"
He left to join the other guards on their daily march.
"Don't mind Gusty." The guard who argued with him said. "He's just always grumpy."
The group held their breath as they walked across the rooftops, using wooden planks as bridges, and the safe-zone soldiers to take out creatures hiding within the infected.
"Oh my god, there's a lot of them." whispered Max.
"Keep moving." Peter said.
As Peter was about to finish crossing the plank, someone got in the way.
"Going somewhere?" A hyperactive hippogriff said.
"Gah! Silverstream!" Leon yelled.
"I knew you as the ones who killed Gallus." Silverstream said. "Now, I take my revenge!"
Silverstream flew up to Peter to scratch his face. Peter reached behind his back to grab his knife. He stabbed Silverstream in the stomach. The latter was tossed overboard and smashed down on the ground below. Peter continued onward.
"Ok, we're clear."
"Peter..." Leon said. "You just..."
"Are you guys gonna go or not?" Peter asked.
The group got across the building safely. As they climbed down the ladder, the group found themselves behind the infected.
"Okay, follow me." Peter said.
The group soon arrived at the bus station in the safe zone. Then he saw it, one of the buses had loudspeakers attached on top of it along with Christmas lights for added measure.
"Here's everything you planned, Peter." One of the soldiers for the safe-zone said.
"Okay, everybody get on."
As the group boarded onto the bus, the soldier drove towards the infected.
"Hit it."
As the music played, the infected all stopped heading to Esme's office and turned towards the bus. The infected were all now heading towards the bus.
"Okay, let's go."
The bus drove slowly away, with all the infected following them. This exposed the creatures hiding within the horde, allowing the soldiers to finish them off.
"That was easy!" One of the soldiers said.
"Yeah, let's just hope that Peter can lead the infected away." Esme said.
"Okay, speed up so that the infected can't catch up to us but slow down so that they can hear the music." Peter ordered.
The soldier looked through the rearview mirror to find unlikely followers.
"Guys, we have a problem..."
Peter opened one of the windows of the bus to see pegasi, dragons, hippogriffs, griffons, changelings and other flying creatures sent after the bus.
"I got an idea." Peter said.
As the first wave of creatures landed on the bus, they raised their claws, talons, and whatever kind of fighting skill they had to destroy the speakers. The soldier simply turned up the volume. This shattered their eardrums as they fell overboard. Seeing their companions fallen, the creatures simply retreated.
"Ha! You can run, but you can't hide!" Neytiri teased.
"Guys..." Max said.
Another wave of creatures came from the front.
"Ambush!" Leon shouted.
"Speed up! Speed up!" Peter shouted.
The soldier drove the bus faster, running over an earth pony.
"I see it! I see it up ahead!" Neytiri said.
The group saw a large cliff up ahead. The soldier stopped just behind a couple feet. The group waited until the infected and the creatures arrived. The creatures arrived first, landing onto the loudspeakers. The soldier turned up the volume again, sending the creatures fleeing. Then the infected arrived. The soldier turned off the music as everyone huddled for impact. The infected simply went around the bus and over the cliffside. The group did not get up until the infected noises died down.
"I think they're gone..." Peter said.
The group watched the infected fall into the ocean below.
"We did it!" Neytiri cheered.
"Yeah..." Leon said. "Let's go check on the others."
Everyone regrouped with each other back at the safe-zone. As everyone shared their victory in dealing with the horde, their planner was met with unanimous praise.
"We're not out of the woods yet. We got to rescue Newton." Peter said.
"But where is the castle Twilight's using to marry Newton?" Max asked.
"That's a question they need to answer." Esme said.
Peter saw behind Esme a line of prisoners the soldiers have captured.
"This is the Hessian army all over again..." One soldier said.
Peter went up to the first prisoner and glared at him.
"Where is Twilight's castle?"
Author's Note
Better late than never, right?
"There's a changeling on deck! A changeling on deck!" A soldier screamed.
The survivors along with several civilians were being loaded onto the lifeboats. The soldiers helped by taking out the changelings and the infected.
"There's too many of them!" A soldier shouted.
"I got to change mags!" Another soldier added.
"Okay, everybody's on!" The captain confirmed.
The soldiers quickly got on board the lifeboats. As the lifeboats gently lowered themselves onto the sea, the infected swarmed out.
"Okay, activate the igniter!"
A soldier pressed the detonator. The ship exploded, killing all the infected.
"Whew." A soldier breathed.
"Wait, got to do a check first." The captain of the lifeboats said, holding out an army knife.
No one was a changeling on the lifeboats.
"Leon, we got out. What's your situation?" One of the soldiers asked on his earpiece.
"I got out too with the others."
"What do we do now? Head to the promised land?"
"No, we'll never reach there on our small lifeboats. We have to head back to Equestria."
"What?"
"We'll find a place to hide. Away from everyone. Trust me."
The soldier hanged up. He informed the captain on what to do next.
"Leon's leading us to a suicide zone."
"He's knows what he's talking about."
The lifeboat, along with many others returned to Equestria.
The group arrived at the prison cells of the underwater hideout. There they saw ponies chained to a wall behind bars.
"Please help me, please..." A female unicorn said as she spotted them.
"We got to help her." Leon said.
"We can't right now." Peter said. "We'll cause an audience."
"Stay right here. We'll get you out soon." Newton assured.
The group continued down the hall until they came across a metal door. Peter slowly opened it. The smell of guts filled the air.
"You know what this reminds me of?" Peter said.
"What?"
"Cupcakes."
"How does this remind you of cupcakes?" Leon said.
"Cupcakes isn't just a food. It's a fanfic of someone claiming to be a My Little Pony animator who did this in his free time. You don't want to read it."
"Why not?"
"To put it simply, it's very gory, violent, disturbing, something you see from a horror film."
"Yeesh."
As Peter was the first to open the door, he made his first step in. Immediately a rope trap sprung around his ankle. He was dragged in just as a cage lowered itself quickly behind him. The boy was now trapped. Peter untied himself and ran for the door.
"Come on, open it!" Peter shouted.
"I'm trying man!" Leon shouted.
Both of them tried to unlock the door. They both then paused after a short while.
"What's wrong?" Newton said.
An earth pony appeared behind Peter wearing a face mask that covered her face from her forehead to her mouth. On closer examination of her puffy tail and mane and pink color on everything. Peter spoke up.
"P-P-Pinkie?"
Another masked pegasus pony appeared behind the group. Her pale yellow body along with her long pink mane made her recognizable to Newton.
"I'm not gonna hurt you..." The masked earth pony said to Peter in a soft, but threatening voice. "Maybe a little..."
Peter was swiftly knocked out. Meanwhile, the other three members of Peter's group were forced to lower their weapons and surrender by the masked pegasus's threatening voice.
Peter awoke a few hours later to find a chained up female pegasus next to him. Immediately, he recognized her to her rainbow mane.
"Dash? What are you doing here?"
"Pinkie has mean locked up and she's going to slaughter me to make her famous cupcakes!" Rainbow Dash panicked.
"At first, Peter went up to help her, but then he realized something."
"No, this is a trick."
Peter then turned to the cage as he tried to unlock it again. This time, Leon, Newton, and Neytiri were gone. But he had more things to worry about.
"Don't bother opening it."
It was Pinkie. She was still in her mask, holding her kitchen knife laced with whatever red stuff is on it. It had a pungent smell, Peter winced as he held his nose.
"No, please, no!" Rainbow Dash panicked.
Instantly, Pinkie thrusted the knife into Rainbow Dash's body, instantly killing her.
"Holy crap!" Peter panicked.
Pinkie now headed for him. Peter charged for Pinkie with all his might, tackling her down. Pinkie reached for the knife, Peter tossed the knife away.
"You are a tough nut to crack!" Pinkie said.
Pinkie threw several punches that Peter blocked. Peter retaliated by shoving her into the table. He ran up to a stunned Pinkie and smothered her face into a cake she was working on. Pinkie went motionless soon after.
"Whew." Peter breathed.
KONK!
Peter was hit in the head by an unknown assailant.
"Ha, ha. Gotcha!"
Leon was thrown into a cell along with another human. Newton and Neytiri were thrown into the cell across from Leon.
"I'll get you for this!" Leon shouted.
"Nice words. From a Storm Prince." The guard said.
"Is he here?" Another voice from far off said.
"Sure is, your majesty."
Instantly, Newton knew that voice. A long lanky alicorn walked in.
"Twilight..." Leon said.
"Hello, Leon. It has been a long time since we met." Twilight said.
"You killed him! You killed my father!" Leon shouted back.
"That's not nice to the creature that saved Equestria. Now, why are you here?"
"We're looking for a human named Max." Neytiri said. "We saw him head to this underwater base!"
"Oh?"
"Where is he?"
"My friends Applejack and Rarity are taking good care of him right now. You can trust me on that."
"Says a tyrant who murdered all my kin." Leon countered.
"I never advocated for that. You should blame Celestia and Luna for this."
"Well, they're gone now."
Twilight changed the subject.
"I heard from your guys' conversation of Newton."
"And what did you hear?" Newton said.
"That you had a crush on me." Twilight teased.
"Wh-What?"
"I'll give you a deal. I'll let your sister and your friends go if you agree to marry me."
Newton was speechless.
"You'll be a perfect husband. We can rule together you and I."
"Do you think me as a fool?" Newton said. "You're obviously going to kill my friends!"
"Of course I would. I have to keep the Storm Kingdom from rising up. Now let's not dilly-daddle."
Newton felt himself being dragged away.
"Newton!" Leon screamed.
Peter awoke to find himself tied up with ropes. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash glared at him.
"You know, you've been a real thorn on our side. You don't know your consequences!" Dash said.
Peter immediately fired back.
"I'm doing what's right!"
"Ending the ruler of Equestria's life will only cause a meltdown of social order. Creatures will kill each other over survival, villains and thieves will arise and prey on the hungry, burning, looting, no way to raise the sun and moon."
Peter spat back into Dash's face.
"Augh!"
Peter kicked Dash in the stomach, sending her flying into a wall. Pinkie raised a knife at Peter but the latter kicked her in the knee, forcing her to drop it. Peter then moved the knife closer to himself to cut his binds. As he freed himself, Dash and Pinkie charged for him. Peter dodged their attacks and grabbed Rainbow Dash by the neck.
"Go ahead, slit my throat." Dash said.
"Go ahead Peter, make some cupcakes." Pinkie said, getting up.
Peter swiftly knocked Dash out. He charged-tackled Pinkie to the ground.
"Too afraid to kill?" Pinkie teased. "I should've known you better ever since you murdered some of our guards."
"You brought this on yourself, Pinkie." Peter stated.
Peter raised his foot over Pinkie's face. He stomped on her, knocking her out. Noticing keys on a table holding his gear, he grabbed the keys and his gear before leaving the unconscious elements of loyalty and laughter in the room.
Peter swiftly and silently made his way through the castle, knocking out guards and hiding their bodies before heading into the throne room. As he went in, hiding behind a pillar, he noticed a cloaked figure sitting on the throne.
"Okay, what I do now?" Max said.
"You laid all the resurrection tools in the correct spots. Now draw this image." The guard said.
Max drew a flower with each item on one of the petals.
"Now what?"
"We wait."
Peter saw the guards bring the dead body of Chloe to Max.
"How was she killed?"
"She was died from being ambushed by bandits."
"Liar." Peter whispered. "You killed her."
"Now to begin the ritual."
The cloaked figure stepped up and placed its hoof on one of the petals. Noticing the broken horn, Peter knew who it was. He immediately got out of cover and shot down all of the guards.
"Hooves in the air!" Peter shouted.
"Peter!" Max gasped. "What are you doing here?"
The cloaked figure complied.
"Unmask yourself.... Tempest."
The cloaked figure unmasked herself, revealing to be Tempest.
"I knew it."
"Peter, what's up with you? Tempest is going to resurrect my sister."
Tempest unleashed a big blast of magic that knocked Peter into a wall.
"What was that for?" Max said.
"He was going to interrupt our session."
As Peter struggled to get up, more guards ran in to restrain him. Tempest began the resurrection by reading from black spellbook. A black and red aura formed around Chloe's body, Peter noticed the darkness in her eyes as she stood up.
"Chloe..." Max gasped.
"That's not your sister!" Peter shouted.
The ritual was almost fully complete. Tempest made the finishing touches before giving the body to Chloe. Chloe opened her eyes, she seemed completely normal.
"Chloe?"
"Max, don't touch her!" Peter shouted.
"Let the boy go." Tempest ordered.
On compliance, the guards released Peter. He immediately ran up to Max and restrained him from meeting Chloe.
"Max, Tempest is manipulating you!"
"But my sister..."
"Bandits didn't kill her, the guards did! I tried to rescue your sister but the guards kill her!"
Chloe freed Max from Peter's grasp.
"Chloe, finish off Peter." Tempest ordered.
"Yes, master." Chloe spoke in an almost monotone voice.
Peter was knocked down by Chloe's monstrous shove. As Peter struggled to get up, Chloe stood over him. Her hands wrapped around Peter's neck. The squeeze of her hands began.
"Chloe!" Max shouted before turning to Tempest angrily. "What did you do?"
"All I did was upgrade her strength and power. Now you can enjoy your sister choke her best friend to death."
"What?!"
"I gave you what you want didn't I?"
"But I didn't want this!"
Max tried to stop Chloe from killing Peter, but he was met with a swift punch in the stomach by Chloe. This gave Peter enough time to kick Chloe away.
"You okay?" Max said.
"Yeah..." Peter breathed. "But I have to put her down."
"I'm with you."
"What?"
"This isn't my sister! Tempest has brainwashed her!"
"Now do you realize the true colors of the ponies and other creatures?"
"Okay, I believe you now."
Chloe charged for Peter. As she tackled him to the ground, Peter slid a small handgun to Max. Peter blocked all her attacks and restrained her himself.
"Max, shoot her!"
"I can't! I'll hit you!" Max said.
"Do it! You have to! There's no other way!"
Max pulled the trigger. A large bullet hole appeared on Chloe's chest. As she collapsed onto the ground, Max went up to Peter.
"You okay?"
"Yeah..."
The two saw Chloe trying to get up again. Peter took the gun from Max and shot her in the head.
"I can't believe my sister would do this..." Max said, looking at her dead body.
"We're going to avenge her, I promise."
Tempest and her guards already left, leaving Max and Peter all to themselves.
"We gotta get out of here." Max said.
"First we have to find my friends." Peter said.
"Where are Leon, Newton, and Neytiri?" Peter said to some captured royal guard members.
"In the prison cells, down this hall and make a left!" One guard said.
Peter placed his gun on the back of the royal guard member.
"Take me there."
The guard reluctantly took Peter and Max down to the prison cells. There they found Leon and Neytiri.
"You're safe." Peter sighed with relief.
Max took a look at the locks on the cells.
"Who has the key?"
Peter tried the keys he got while fighting Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. Leon and Neytiri were freed.
"Where's Newton?"
"He's been taken by Twilight. And now the Princess of Friendship is going to marry him!"
"What?!" Peter and Max gasped.
Peter turned to the guard.
"Where is this marriage taking place?"
"I don't know! I just work here!"
Peter and Max held him down.
"Tickle him!" Peter said.
Leon tickled the guard until the latter couldn't breath anymore.
"Stop!" Peter said.
"Huh?"
"Let's just leave him in the cells. He's not going to give a response."
"But how are we going to find Newton now?"
The group was left in thought. Then it struck Peter.
"Wait, what do you need at a wedding?" Peter asked.
"Wedding cake?" Neytiri asked.
"A ring?" Leon questioned.
"A wedding dress?" Max added.
"No! Bridesmaids!" Peter said.
Everyone looked at each other.
"You don't need bridesmaids for a wedding." Leon said.
"But it's very likely that this wedding will have bridesmaids."
Everyone started to understand what Peter was talking about.
"Oh, I get it. We can infiltrate the wedding and save Newton that way." Leon said.
"But as bridesmaids and groomsmen?" Neytiri asked.
"We have some ponies who are willing to tell us when the wedding will take place." Peter said.
The group arrived at the gut filled room. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie were there as Peter expected. As Peter searched around for supplies, the group noticed Pinkie getting up.
"Peter..." Neytiri said.
Peter was too bothered to even hear Neytiri. Pinkie sprang at the group and held Neytiri down. The pink pony's eyes were now bloodshot, and she was speaking like a crazy person, her poofy mane now became flat.
"Fresh cupcakes!"
THHK!
Pinkie went unconscious. She didn't see Peter holding a tranquilizer gun.
"Where'd you get that?" Leon asked.
"Pinkie has a lot of weapons in stock." Peter said.
"Does this mean?"
"Guns. Lots of guns."
The group arrived at Pinkie's stock in the next room over. The sedatives that Peter used lasted for four hours. He made sure to collect the entire box to place in his pack. Leon grabbed a trusty assault rifle with little recoil and iron sight.
"I don't know how to use a gun." Max said.
"Here, a little something more your side." Peter said, giving Max a decent handgun.
The group made sure to collect kevlar vests to shield themselves.
"How are we going to get out of here?" Max asked.
"I found it!" Neytiri said after five minutes of searching.
"What?"
Max arrived in the room Neytiri was at.
"Escape pods! Neytiri, you're awesome!" Max said.
"Am I?" Neytiri said with delight.
Leon and Peter arrived carrying the unconscious bodies of Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie.
"Great, let's go!" Leon said.
The group boarded the escape pod. They took off shortly after.
"I wonder where Tempest went." Peter said after sitting back.
"Tempest? She was here?" Leon asked.
"Yeah. And she tried to brainwash Chloe into fighting for her." Max said. "We had to put her down."
"Oh no." Neytiri said.
"At least we don't have to worry about Tempest." Peter said.
"But you just-"
"Oh?"
The group looked out the escape pod window, they noticed the underwater base collapsing.
"Peter, what did you do?"
"I wonder why Pinkie kept remote charges in that stock. Besides, they won't go after us."
The group looked back, only seeing one escape pod making out alive.
"That's gotta be Tempest's escape pod." Leon said, arming up. "Get ready when she resurfaces."
The escape pod was crushed under the rubble of the underwater base.
"Scratch that. We're fine."
The escape pod finally made contact it the air. As everyone climbed out safely, Peter made sure to keep his eyes on Rainbow Dash and Pinkie.
"Hey, you want to say goodbye to your sister?" Neytiri said.
"I already said goodbye." Max said. "I grieved enough."
"We got to head back to the prison and tell everyone what happened." Peter said.
As the group returned to the prison, they first saw heads looking at them from the distance. As Peter motioned everyone to stay back, he came up slowly to the heads. It was terrible sight.
"Oh my god!"
"What is it?" Neytiri said.
Everyone ran to catch up to Peter. There were ten decapitated heads of their group on pikes in front of the entrance to the prison. The four prisoners, Brian, Angela, Mitch, Sydney, Lizzie, and Sophia.
"They were just children!" Leon said, noticing Lizzie and Sophia's heads. "Curse you, ponies!"
"What do we do now?" Neytiri said.
Max turned around to see someone else coming to their location.
"Uh, guys...."
Bright lights shined on the group despite it being daytime. Heavily armed soldiers ran out from all sides. The group had nowhere to go.
"Put your weapons on the ground and get your hands in the air now!"
The group was in shock.
"This is your last chance! Weapons down, now!"
"Looks they don't came here to talk..." Leon said.
Author's Note
Sorry guys, I've been really busy. I had work, and just when I had time to write, a Nintendo Direct came out and I have to watch it.
