Author's Note

Starting to get into the flow of writing, not very good mind you, but I’m starting to realize that having a 'what is this chapter trying to tell the reader' is better than nothing at all. Otherwise, enjoy!

(Don't forget to point out any mistakes I made, I'm trying to keep it clear of that, but, well, I do write a lot of words and it's hard to catch everything)

Chapter 4: Hot Pursuit

**3 Days Later**

Twilight levitated the towel over to herself, before drying herself off, enjoying the feeling of being perfectly clean again after having to forgo a proper shower since James’ “impromptu learning session” as she was calling it. Twilight grimaced as her magic flickered, very painful memories popping into her head as she remembered the feeling of the bullet pulling her magic before ripping it apart, causing magic backlash worse than even her flare from when she was a filly. Refocusing herself, Twilight continued to dry herself off as she thought back to what she had learned.

So holding the gun itself is a bad idea, but what about the wrist of the person? No, James and Blake are able to rotate their hands relatively freely, even with their wrist constrained… Hmm… Maybe their whole arm? But then I’d be exerting so much magic that I might not be able to move it much, if at all…

Twilight put the towel back on the rack of the small bathroom, and pulled out the brush and hoo– handheld mirror from behind the mirror that Blake had gotten her as part of her toiletries.

Using the handheld mirror to look at her mane and fur, Twilight used the brush to comb her mane and smoothen out her fur, thankful that he had gotten her both of these ahead of time. The mirror due to the height difference still causing Twilight issues with using the standard human height one, and the brush, well, because she very much doubted either one of them would want to share a brush with her as her’s was already accumulating quite a bit of hair follicles in the bristles.

Double checking her mane and coat, Twilight placed the items back where they belonged, and opened the bathroom door, the slightly cooler air washing over her as she trekked out into the living room and spotted Blake placing groceries into the fridge across the room.

“Thanks for getting more food, sorry I didn’t let you know sooner…” Twilight said, embarrassment on her face for the lack of firesight on her part.

Without looking behind him, Blake responded.

“It’s alright, I should’ve realized there wasn’t enough food for you. Were you okay during the last few days? I know James has been getting you some food during that time from BS, but I just wanna double check.”

“Oh yea, it’s been good so far, though making the food myself tastes better for some reason even though I used to have Spike prepare my meals.”

“It’s probably from how cheap fast food is, it’s good every once in a while, but buying the produce yourself is generally better if you have the time to prep and clean up afterwards. Oh, yea, speaking of every once in a while, what’s up with your magic? I noticed how you barely used it yesterday, and not at all since I got back Sunday morning.”

Blake finished putting all the items away, a fully stocked fridge being closed as he turned towards Twilight and looked at her.

“Ah, well, about that… Ummm… I might have… accidentally hurt myself while using magic, and… well, magical backlash will leave you with quite the headache when it happens, and can even knock ponies unconscious or kill them if it’s severe enough. I learned that fast moving objects do not mix well with magic due to the backlash…”

Twilight avoided looking directly at Blake as she summed up her reason, nervously rubbing her front hooves together. Blake simply raised an eyebrow before shrugging, heading over to the couch and sitting down on it.

“Well, as long as you’re alright. James didn’t do anything unwanted towards you, right? I trust him but I know he can be very rough around the edges sometimes… A lot of the time…”

Twilight looked up with concern on her face as she stammered.

“N-No no! He may be a little… Quite strange in how he does things, but, I think I’m starting to understand how, and why, he does things. It was better for me to learn that lesson while with him instead of when I needed it the most.”

Blake nodded his head as he sat down, a thoughtful expression on his face before he quickly dismissed the idea. But as he reached for the remote, Twilight spoke up again.

“I… I know it may be weird since I’m supposed to be hiding from Merryweather, but… I was thinking that I should learn how to take care of myself… Ju-Just like driving a car, I’ve read about it in the engineering manuals you had in the room, but there’s always a difference between reading about something and experiencing it!”

Twilight gave Blake a nervous grin, shifting her eyes from side to side as she couldn’t look him directly in the eyes. Blake, taking a few seconds to let the silence set in before speaking, gave a slight grin to Twilight.

“You’re bored out of your mind aren’t you?”

Twilight’s eyes widened in surprise, her jaw dropping open for a split second before she coughed into her fetlock to cover up her mistake.

“**cough** I-I-I don’t know what you mean, I just thought, that, you know, since I’ll be stuck here for a while, I might as well learn a thing or two while I can…”

Blake leaned over and rested his arms on his knees as he chuckled at Twilight’s attempt to fabricate an excuse, but a smile gracing his face as he did so.

“Alright, sure, I can teach you how, but let's wait until later tonight when less people are out, that way you can practice without worrying about anyone, alright?”

“Sounds good, let me know when you think it’s a good time to go.”

Twilight grinned as she headed back to her room, a little pep in her step at the prospect of learning something new.

Twilight looked around at the empty runway, the same one where Blake and her had picked up James that fateful night less than two weeks ago. Blake had pulled the orange Picador up in front of the dilapidated hangar and parked it so it faced down the runway, an open, empty ‘road’ that was perfect for learning how to get the basics of driving down. Hopping out of the car, Blake started to make his way around the front of it, looking at Twilight expectantly.

“Well, if you wanna learn, this is the perfect place to do so. There’s normally nobody here after dark, and you won’t crash into anyone out here. Hop into the driver seat and I’ll run you through the basics.”

Twilight eyed the empty driver seat before glancing to Blake who stood next to the passenger door, an excited smile on his face as he waited for Twilight to scoot over.

I asked for this, no backing out now Twilight.

Twilight leaned over, placing her forehooves onto the driver seat before pulling the rest of herself over, slowly adjusting herself as she got comfortable with the steering wheel now cutting into her sitting space. Once she was satisfied, she gave a quick nod to Blake who then opened the passenger door and hopped in.

“Alright, so, let’s go over the basics first. What’s the gas pedal, brake pedal, and how do you steer?”

Twilight craned her head around the steering wheel, barely seeing two foot pedals underneath the dashboard on her side, one wide while the other was tall.

“The right-most will always be the gas pedal, that’s the tall one. Pressing that will engage the engine throttle and cause you to move forwards proportional to how much you press it. The left one… Hmm…”

Twilight looked at the gear shift, noticing it was a simple four speed automatic currently sitting in park.

“This is an automatic, so the left pedal is the brake, if it was a manual, there would be a third pedal to the left of that…”

Twilight scrunched her face as she tried to remember every detail about the driving book that had been left in her room; ‘Driving for Dumbasses’ had been both insightful and strange, like it was almost satirical in its presentation. Blake nodded his head as Twilight talked herself through her memory.

“Alright, you have the pedals down which is the biggest part, now let's try having you drive the car. Shift it into gear and let it coast down the runway.”

Twilight nodded her head without looking at Blake, her focus solely on the gear shift and steering wheel. Using her magic to depress the gear lock, Twilight raised an eyebrow as the gear shift refused to budge, Blake chuckling as Twilight glanced over to him questioningly.

“You forgot to step on the brake, safety feature and all that.”

“Oh, whoops…” Twilight lowered her head in embarrassment, a nervous smile on her face as she grabbed the brake pedal in her magic, slowly lowering it to the floor before tugging on the gear shift.

This time, the gear shift moved easily, dropping into drive before Twilight had even realized that she didn’t need to tug on it anymore. Letting go of the brake, Twilight could feel the car move forward by itself, causing her to gasp as she looked out the front windshield, the sand underneath the car slowly being replaced by the concrete that stretched out before them. Eyes wide, she turned to Blake who merely watched her in the passenger seat as she started to freak out.

“OHMYGOSH OHMYGOSH, IT’S MOVING!!! What do I do!?!?”

Blake’s grin widened as she kept glancing between him and the runway, panic starting to set in for her.

“Relax Twi, you already know how to stop the car and make it accelerate, all you need now is how to steer. You remember how to do that?”

Twilight froze for a second as the logical part of her mind came to the forefront, taking a quick deep breath, she leafed through the mental book before coming to the correct page.

“Right, steering, turning the wheel left or right will also turn the car as well, to stop, press the brake, to move faster, press the gas. Okay. Okay. Easy…”

Twilight grabbed the steering wheel in her magic, slowly turning it clockwise and seeing the car turn right the more she turned the wheel. Spinning it counterclockwise turned it left, a smile on her face as she started to get the hang of how far you needed to turn it one direction or the other. Turning the car straight ahead, she looked to Blake like a student would a teacher, waiting for an approving compliment.

Blake smiled, but looked at the steering wheel as it slowly drifted clockwise in Twilight’s magic. “Make sure you keep the wheel separate from the direction you look, that’s a really easy way to get into a crash by drifting out of your lane.”

Twilight refocused on the wheel, centering it straight down the runway once more.

“Sorry. Don’t turn the wheel when I turn my head, got it.”

Twilight kept her eyes on the runway as Blake continued with his lesson.

“Now that you have stopping and steering, how about you hit the gas and handle the car at speed? Don’t worry about crashing, we have plenty of space around, and I’m right here to help.”

“Alright…” Twilight took a breath before grabbing the gas pedal with her magic, now holding both pedals and the steering wheel, her face scrunched up in concentration as she multitasked three items with her limited magic.

Pressing the gas accelerated the car, an open face cinder block building passing on the right as they gained speed down the runway, the engine revving higher and higher as Twilight pushed the gas to the floor. Feeling the engine shift into the next gear, Twilight didn’t hesitate to push the pedal further, jumping into third and eventually fourth gear as the end of the runway could be spotted a ways ahead of them. Blake glanced at it before looking back at Twilight, a slight grin now blooming on her face as she maxed out the top speed of the car with a manic look in her eyes.

“Uh, Twi?”

Twilight either didn’t hear him, or ignored him as she pressed her hooves onto the steering wheel, feeling every shift in the tires as she kept the car straight and true.

“Twilight?”

Blake glanced out the windshield again, the end approaching much faster than he’d like without him being behind the wheel. Reaching over, he shook Twilight as he yelled in her ear.

“TWILIGHT!”

Twilight snapped out of her adrenaline fueled craze, realizing how close the end of the runway was and let go of the gas, slamming the brake to the floor as the car skidded across the ground and leaving a pair of black trails behind it. In a panic, Twilight turned the wheel hard to the left, sending the car into a drift as it slid into the embankment, kicking up sand as it came to a stop in the sand.

Breathing heavily, Twilight twitched as she slowly took her hooves off of the steering wheel, deathly afraid of the car, and whatever had taken a hold of her as she slowly looked over to Blake. He had raised his right hand and grasped the handle above him, using it to brace himself while his left hand held the dash, a grim expression on his face.

Taking a second to breathe, he sagged into the seat, letting his hands fall into his lap as he laid his head back and relaxed. After a few seconds to compose himself, he turned his head, not bothering to raise it, and looked at Twilight with an unamused look.

“It seems you’ve been taking driving lessons from James, haven’t you?”

Twilight’s eyes widened at the implication, the memory still fresh in her mind how he had violated every single law she could think of off the top of her head. Quickly, and instinctively, raising her hooves defensively, Twilight stammered out an excuse.

“Wh-What?! NO! No no! I swear, no! I just, the feeling of driving, the rush of the car moving at speed only a pegasus could dream of, I just…”

Blake chuckled and held up his hands in surrender, a small grin forming on his face.

“It’s alright, it’s alright, don’t worry too much about it, I just want you to be careful and keep an eye on your surroundings.”

Blake lowered his hands as he leaned forward, sitting upright in the seat as he looked at Twilight with a gentle smile.

“You can drive however you want in Los Santos, as long as you can get away from the cops, that is, but just make sure you don’t end up crashing or getting stuck somewhere.”

Blake’s smile suddenly turned into a sinister grin as he reminisced about something, Twilight raising an eyebrow as he suddenly chuckled before speaking.

“Had to pick up James one time cuz he ended up crashing a stolen car in someone’s pool in the Vinewood Hills, still to this day do not know how the hell he managed that! Found his hiding out by the reservoir up there from the cops, had to grab him and then get back to the apartment without getting spotted!”

Blake laughed, an infectious smile on his face as he hunched over from how hard he was laughing. Twilight giggled slightly at the thought of James of all ponies having to call for help because he crashed his car, although with the way he drove, it wasn’t too far a stretch to see it happening.

“Do you think you’d be able to drive back to the hangar, and resist the need for speed?” Blake grinned at his reference, but unfortunately for him it went right over Twilight’s head.

“Y-Yea, I think so. I know so.” Twilight took a quick breather, pulling her hoof close to her chest before moving it away, before letting off the brake and letting the car shift forward, but not move out of the sand.

Looking at the dashboard, Twilight gently pressed the gas pedal, hearing the engine rev as the car slowly moved forward, hearing the tires spin before escaping the gully that had been dug during the drift. Turning the car to the left, Twilight aimed it back down the runway before letting the car gain speed, the hangar coming into view.

As they passed the binder block building, Twilight let off the gas and swung the car around the front of the hangar, pressing the brake and leaving the front of the car facing the helipad. Blake clapped his hands before he ruffled her mane.

“That’s perfect Twilight! A bit more practice on the open runway and some lessons in proper driving measures, turn signals, stop signs, red lights, and you’ll be 100% certified.”

Twilight clapped her hooves together as she received Blake’s praise, the natural instincts of a student showing through her nervousness. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Twilight turned to look at Blake with expectant eyes.

“Alright, a bit more practice to master the basics and then…” Twilight noticed that Blake wasn’t looking at her as she was talking. In fact, he wasn’t even smiling anymore, his face becoming tense as he looked towards the main road to her left.

Turning her head, Twilight could make out a car that was driving past the airfield, but coming towards them was a convoy of black vans with red rims. Hearing Blake shift in his seat, Twilight turned and saw he was pulling out his micro SMG from his back before checking the magazine and racking the gun.

“You brought that with you?” Twilight asked, surprised he would have it and not even mention it to her.

“Of course, this is Los Santos. You’d be a fool to not carry a gun on you in case of an emergency. And I think this is an emergency…” Blake eyed the cars as they pulled up to the airfield sign, all six of them lining up as if they were waiting for something.

“What should we do? Do you want to switch se–”

“No, stay in the driver seat, we don’t have time for that. If they’re going to do anything, that would be the perfect opportunity to hit us. Turn right onto the runway, and take the dirt path that runs along it, that’ll lead out to the road past the oil fields.”

Twilight nervously glanced between Blake and the vans, panic slowly creeping onto her face as she realized that one wrong move would lead to their potential death. Blake looked to her as she started to hyperventilate, her eyes shrinking to pinpricks as the weight of the situation made itself apparent on her shoulders. Reaching a hand over and placing it firmly on her shoulder, Twilight’s attention snapped to Blake as he calmly looked her in the eyes.

“Twi, listen to me, I need you to drive the car. Just follow my instructions and we’ll be fine, but I need you to help me help you, got it?”

Twilight mutely nodded her head, taking a breath before letting off the brake before pressing the gas, swinging the car back towards the runway and driving down it. As Twilight drove, she heard Blake mutter something to himself as he kept an eye out the back of the car.

“Fucking Lost, what are they doing here…”

Focusing on his instructions, Twilight spotted the cinder block building and what appeared to be a dirt path that ran along the runway. As she turned onto it however, Blake suddenly spoke up, his voice void of any emotion as he barked instructions.

“Twilight, gun it now! You need to move as fast as possible!”

Twilight looked over at him before focusing back on the bumpy road, her voice cracking as she tried to speak.

“Wh-Wha-Why? What’s goin–”

“NOW TWILIGHT, THEY’RE COMING!!!”

The sounds of gunshots could be heard, along with bullets whizzing by the car as the vans approached from behind. Whatever had been stopping them from outright attacking no longer seemed to be in effect as they closed in on their car. Twilight let out a startled ‘eep!’ as she pressed the gas to the floor, causing the engine to roar to life as the car started to race down the dirt road in an impromptu race to salvation.

Twilight heard the sounds of Blake’s SMG firing back at the vans, the shells bouncing off the car floor and clinking around every bump in the road as Twilight struggled to keep the car on the road. Ignoring the noises, she focused on the turn that was ahead as the road turned a sharp right and moved away from the runway. More bullets flew past the car, a few hitting somewhere as Twilight heard a loud ‘ping’ noise with every hit.

“Don’t stop for anything Twi! Maintain your speed through the turn!”

Hearing Blake’s tense but controlled voice helped soothe Twilight's nerves, letting her remember how the car had drifted when she slammed on the brakes and how hard it had been to control. As she approached the turn, Twilight slammed on the brakes before turning the wheel to the right, sending the car into a barely controlled drift as it slid over the compressed sand.

Twilight looked to her right as Blake fired off more shots at the vans, their headlights shining in through the window revealed how close they were closing in on the duo, only a dozen feet between their picador and the lead chase car. Taking her attention back to the road, Twilight gunned the engine as soon as they passed the railing, completing the drift as the road quickly turned left over a small bridge.

Blake fired his SMG once more as Twilight turned left, swinging around the corner and nearly bouncing off the guard rail as she heard a crash of metal on metal behind her. Gunning it over the small bridge, Twilight followed the semi-straight path through the darkened desert only illuminated by the headlights from the car. Shadows danced across the road and shrubs as they flew past them, extending and vanishing within the same second as the five remaining vans chased them down.

Shots rang out across the desert as the passengers from each group fired at one another, missing any critical shots but some still hitting cars and vans nonetheless. Twilight hunched over the wheel, adrenaline pumping through her body as a bullet passed through the rear window and out the front, missing her by less than a foot as Blake fired back, nailing a headlight but not much else.

Up ahead, Twilight could make out a duo of buildings to the right of an intersection with another dirt path. Following the path of least resistance, Twilight spotted what looked to be a paved road coming up.

“Blake, there’s a road ahead! Which wa–”

“Left Twilight! Follow that road until we get into the city!” Blake ordered as he reloaded his gun, muttering under his breath about the limited magazine capacity.

Twilight swung the rear of the car out as she turned left, drifting across the road and into the dirt before managing to overcorrect herself back onto the road. Swerving into traffic, Twilight nearly hit the brakes as she realized a car was coming at her in the oncoming lane with its horn blaring.

Twilight yanked the wheel to the right, managing to narrowly avoid the car and place herself in the right lane, flying through a four way intersection that had a familiar motel on the corner as they passed.

Hearing the blaring of horns, Twilight risked a glance behind them and spotted one of the vans crashing into a car that had driven into the intersection; both cars flipping and rolling as they collided. Twilight pulled her eyes away from the chaos behind them as focused on keeping them on the road, passing other cars and weaving through traffic as the vans closed in on them as they raced down the slowly curving road to the southeast.

Twilight screamed as a van rammed the back of their car, nearly sending them into a spin as she wrestled with the steering wheel to control the car; a van pulling alongside of them before passing and driving in front as Twilight regained control, the back doors of the van getting kicked open as a pair of humans in leather jackets could be seen holding assault rifles aimed at them.

“SHIT, TWI!” Blake yelled as he reached over and yanked the steering wheel to the right, causing them to narrowly miss the hail of bullets that filled the air a second later. The van that had rammed them from behind ended up being the recipient of the bullets, the front grill and tires taking the shots before blowing out. Steam billowed out from the front of the van as they lost control and drove off the road and into an embankment, flipping on its side before coming to a halt down the way. The van that had fired took more pot shots at them as it drove off further down the road.

With Blake holding the wheel to the right, the car swung around a bend that put them on a road that slowly climbed up into the mountains and faced them towards the southwest. Making sure they would at least stay on the road, Blake let go of the wheel before facing behind them and blind firing at the cars that had followed, leaving Twilight at the helm once more.

Even though the slope was a gentle one, the increased resistance only reduced the gap between the two remaining vans and their car. Twilight could see their headlights in the mirrors, nearly blinding her as she could barely make out a pair of cars that blocked the road ahead. Turning to the left, Twilight brought them off the main road and onto a dirt path, following it to the left as the vans followed closely behind them but unable to catch up due to their lack of traction on the dirt path.

Heading east once more, Twilight managed to gain some distance as the vans had to keep correcting themselves, giving Twilight and Blake a well needed breather to regroup.

“Smart idea Twilight,” Blake spoke as he reloaded his gun once more, a frown on his face as he eyed the two remaining magazines. “That’ll give us a little time to escape. Let me call James and tell– Watch out!!! Go right!”

Twilight spotted it as he yelled, the van that had been in front of them reappeared, coming from the left around a lumber warehouse and straight towards them. Twilight turned right, heading straight onto a dark dirt road south and up into the mountains, the steeper slope slowing the car down enough that the three vans were able to keep pace, but still unable to catch up to them.

As they followed the winding trail, Blake noticed how the ground became much steeper the further along the road they climbed, spotting a drop off into the darkness wherever the road faced west. As they looped back to the east again, Blake got ready to put his plan into action as he eyed the vans behind him that struggled with the dirt path.

“Twi, slow down a little once you're just past the curve, I’m gonna try to nail the driver, or one of their tires, and send them off the cliff.”

Twilight glanced at him before focusing on the road once more, clearly incredulous at the instructions.

“Are you sure? Didn’t you sa–”

“Trust me Twi, I’m sure. Just slow down enough for them to be within sight as we round the corner, I’ll take care of the rest.”

Twilight nodded her head and clenched her jaw even though Blake couldn’t see it, his focus solely on the path behind them and the headlights that illuminated it. Seeing the vans finish the turn, they sped up to close the distance as Twilight turned the car around another bend, bringing the car around once more to the west as the vans started their turn of the bend; the lead van taking it slow while the other two caught up to it rapidly.

“Just like that Twi, just a little slower on the next turn and it’ll be perfect…”

Twilight did as he ordered, taking the next turn slowly as the lead van closed in rapidly before braking to take the turn as well, followed by the second and third. Blake grinned as he aimed carefully, firing off his entire magazine into the second van’s driver seat and waited with baited breath to see if his plan worked.

Blake cheered as the second van didn’t slow down in the slightest as it took the turn, instead hitting the rear driver side of the van in front of it, sending both vans off the edge of the cliff into the flickering blackness below. A loud, dual, explosion ripped through the mountain as fire erupted from the bottom of the cliff, signaling that his plan had gone off without a hitch.

“HELL YEAH!!! Only one left now Twi, we got this!” Twilight smiled at his enthusiasm at the situation, but Blake’s face became concerned as he eyed the remaining magazine. “Just one mag left, so we have to make it count. Just keep driving while I call James, he should still be out in town somewhere and can back us up.”

Pulling out his phone, Blake quickly skimmed through his contacts before dialing James and waiting a few seconds while Twilight turned the last turn and onto a concrete road. Taking a left, Twilight pushed the car as fast it would move, spotting the highway in the valley between the two mountains as they rounded the bend and followed the zigzagging road.

“James! The Lost ambushed me and Twi out in Sandy, but we’re almost back in the city! Just gear up and get ready to–”

Blake’s one sided conversation was cut short as a few bullets sailed past, nailing the passenger mirror as they rounded a bend, the Lost van in the rearview.

“SHIT! That was close, Twi, keep it moving! James, meet us over by the Vinewood Hills Reservoir, that’ll be a good enough spot for the ambush. Make sure you’re there!”

An affirmative grunt was his only response before the call ended, Blake keeping an eye behind them and watching as the last van rounded a corner behind them, quickly closing the distance on the straight road.

“Twi, keep following this road, it’ll lead us right to the ambush point!”

Blake eyed the van as pot shots were taken, most hitting the back of the Picador while the rest missed their target entirely, but eventually their luck would run out as a single shot hit the passenger rear tire, a loud pop and hiss was the only warning before Twilight grunted in exertion as she had to fight the car to stay straight.

Passing past an intersection that led towards the highway, Twilight continued with the plan, starting to turn a corner as the rear end drifted out behind them, causing them to take it wide. Suddenly coming around the corner was another car, its headlights flashing as it blared its horn at their car that had drifted into the wrong lane.

Twilight panicked, and turned the wheel to the left to avoid the collision with the innocent car, before trying to swing the car to the right by drifting it with the brake, but the rear tire exploded and caused them to spin out, sliding through the dirt until they hit a the guardrail, a valley in the hill ridge leading to a small service road below that was connected to a few buildings.

Twilight shook her head to clear the dizziness that had taken hold before hitting the gas, attempting to get back on the move before the van rounded the corner, but the popped tire allowed for very little traction on the loose dirt. As they painfully, agonizingly slowly gained speed, it wasn’t enough as the last van rounded the corner, barrelling straight for them with zero intention of stopping.

“SHIT, TWI, BRACE!!!” Blake yelled out as he tried to push himself away from the passenger door as much as he could before the van impacted them, crushing the passenger side of the car before it flipped over the guardrail. The last thing Twilight could see was Blake in the air, the city lights of Los Santos beyond him, and all of it was upside down just before everything went black.

Twilight coughed as she woke up, and immediately regretted being alive. Her head hurt, her neck hurt, her back hurt, even her hooves hurt. She could feel something holding the left side of her face still as she tried to work her jaw, but either her muscles were lethargic, or her face was numb since she couldn’t actually feel what was causing her jaw to have resistance to opening and closing as she gasped for breath.

Blearily cracking open her eyes, Twilight could see twisted metal and cloth tattered around her, resembling what had once been the interior of the Picador. Her head was resting between the driver seat and door, her body splayed out over the center console and passenger seat as she slowly looked up and spotted a few buildings with palm trees looming over her.

No, they’re not looming, but why… What happened…

Twilight gritted her teeth as she moved her body, her bones and muscles screaming in synchronization as they yelled at her for such an action. Testing her horn…

Twilight coughed as she woke up, and immediately regretted being alive. Her head hurt, her neck hurt, her back hurt, even her hooves hurt. Opening her eyes revealed a very familiar sight, twisted metal, tattered cloth, palm trees and gray buildings that sat quietly in the night.

Groaning at the memory of her trying her magic, she instead opted to raise her hoof slowly towards the door latch that sat just a few inches from her face. Sliding her hoof up the door panel, Twilight tried to pull on the latch, but merely gasped from the pain that shot up her leg instead, a silent cry flowing out.

Blinking away the tears that had formed, Twilight gritted her teeth and pulled once more, forcing her body to comply with what she wanted as it screamed in protest, pain flaring across her entire body as the latch slowly moved before a small click was heard.

Unfortunately for Twilight, the door swung open, causing her to lose her grasp as she fell out of the car head first, screaming as the rest of her body followed suit and left her face up, staring blankly into the night sky.

Twilight’s body had become numb from the pain, leaving her with just her mind and breathing as she stared at the unfamiliar constellations that drifted above her before zoning back in closer to herself. Looking at the car, she could see it was sitting at an angle with the passenger side resting on a retaining wall that went the entire length of the road, the mountain looming in the dark above it. The inside of the car was a mess, glass shards and tattered cloth hung from the ceiling and pooled by the driver side door in a river of destruction that glistened in the streetlights. Unfortunately, Twilight realized that was the only major thing in the car, a nagging feeling tingling the back of her pain filled mind, slowly worming its way through her brain.

Why would it be filled? Who was… Blake! Faust, where’s Blake?!?

Twilight tried to speak, calling out for Blake to see if he was somewhere nearby, but instead of speaking she merely croaked out a strangled noise that might have once resembled a whinny being blown through a noise maker. Coughing as a result, Twilight instead turned her head to look around herself as best she could, memories of the chase starting to come back to her.

Need to find Blake, need to get out, need help…

To her left, Twilight could make out an intersection some distance away, the sounds of cars passing could faintly be heard on the wind as she realized that must lead towards the freeway to the east. Turning her head the other direction, Twilight could see the road heading off into the distance to the west, before looping back to her current position.

Probably a parking lot for this place… But…

Panic began to course through Twilight, noticing the distinct lack of anyone around, dead or alive.

Where is he? What happened to Blake? What about James? A phone, I need a phone!

Twilight pushed through the pain that infested every single inch of her, pushing it to the back of her mind as she rolled over, slowly and shakily standing up by using the car door to prop herself up. Looking inside the car, Twilight could see a blood trail that trailed down from the passenger window onto the interior, already starting to dry in the warm fall.

Twilight pushed the voice that whispered to her to the back of her head, focused solely on finding a phone to call for help, looking around the car before spotting a cracked screen buried behind the driver seat. Having to manually engage the seat lever, Twilight gritted her teeth as she activated the level and allowed the seat to drop forward, allowing her easier access to reach behind the obstruction and grab the phone with her hoof, bits and pieces of the cracked screen falling off from the disturbance.

Pressing the power button turned on the phone, but half of the screen was unreadable due to the vertical lines that blocked out the left side of the screen. Luckily, the contacts were still accessible as she pressed it, opening up the directory and scrolling through it, praying she could find James’ name listed, but only one of the contacts was semi-legible, was a contact at the bottom that ended in ‘c.’

Going to the contact above that, she pressed it and hoped for the best, the phone dialing out a few times before the call was answered, a nasally voice speaking as he picked up.

“Hey Blake, what can I do for you today?”

Twilight recognized Lester's voice, smiling as she tried to speak out but instead coughed on her own breath, groaning as she held onto the frame of the car.

“Huh? Who is this?”

“Lester…” she managed to croak out, her voice (just a little) horse as her muscles flared in pain.

“Ambushed… Blake… Missing… James… Vinewood… Need help… Please…”

Twilight stopped talking as she fell into a coughing fit, falling into the back of the driver seat as her muscles fought against her as they seized at every hack and cough. After a bit, Twilight was able to regain control of her body, breathing heavily as she could hear Lester calling out to her from the phone, but another sound soon overtook Lester’s voice.

Twilight could hear the roar of an engine, coming from the direction of the highway as she stepped back from the wrecked car and spotted a black van that steadily came up the road, heading straight for her.

Twilight whinnied as she turned and ran, not caring where she was going, as long as it was away from who or whatever the ‘Lost’ were. Her legs felt like cinder blocks as she stumbled away from the car and followed the sidewalk with the concrete barriers shielding her; moving as fast as she could towards the parking lot, hoping to hide.

Stumbling between hedges, Twilight tried to hide behind one as the van pulled up to where she just was, the engine staying on as it stayed put, voices coming through the car but illegible until they stepped out.

Twilight only made it a few feet before the doors opened on the van, the conversation (if it could be called that) flowing out for Twilight to hear as she pushed herself to move faster.

“–an you should fucking hit them! What if they died? How are we gonna get paid then?” The person in the passenger seat spoke, wearing a sleeveless leather jacket with the logo of an eagle with its wings spread underneath the text “THE LOST.”

Another man appeared from the driver's side, wearing a full jacket instead of a sleeveless with the same markings.

“Who the fuck cares, it and that little shit that’s been fucking with out deals just killed over 20 of our guys in less than 30 minutes, I think that’s reason enough to get a little payback; plus Merryweather won’t care as long as we have proof it’s that crew that hit them.” The driver smacked the rear doors of the van, causing another two humans to jump out with assault rifles.

“Search around for the other fucker, the horse is mine.” The duo nodded at his orders, heading over to the crashed car, a grin on their faces as they searched for Blake.

The driver and passenger regrouped, moving towards Twilight as they continued talking to one another.

“I just wanna make sure we can fuckin’ get paid! Johnny’s been on the ringer lately and everyone else in LS is out to get us, with 50 mill the Lost could be set for life! We could take over the whole state!”

Twilight slowly hobbled her way along the hedge, noticing the building with a rounded top and open side to the west, showing it was an amphitheater of sorts. Trying to make her way away from the distracted duo, Twilight’s plans were cut short as a shot rang out behind her.

Twilight screamed as a bullet ripped through her left rear leg, luckily not hitting any bones, but causing her to seize up and fall over; unable to stop the pain, and blood loss that now afflicted her. Twilight twitched, her body in agony from both the crash, and now the wound as she laid on the ground, her breathing coming in quick gasps.

“Alright, there, ya see? I didn’t kill the damn thing, so shut the fuck up about it ‘fore I put a bullet in your head and keep that 50 mill for myself!”

“Fine, fine. Let’s just grab it and go before anyone else shows up.”

Twilight looked behind her at the two who now stood over her, sadistic grins on their faces as they reached out and grabbed her rear legs, dragging her back towards the waiting van.

Twilight cried out as they forcefully dragged her, the bullet wound flaming up in pain as the muscles stretched and bent.

“P-Please, stop…!”

Twilight begged as tears welled up in her eyes, her skin and hide feeling raw from the friction of her coat on dirt and concrete. The two Lost members paused as they heard her speak, before the passenger spoke up.

“Holy shit, it talks!”

“No wonder they want this crew so bad, you could make a literal fortune with a talking unicorn! Maybe we should ‘negotiate’ a higher price, heh heh heh.” The driver chuckled as he spoke, looking back at Twilight with a gleam in his eyes. “Let’s get this thing back to the clubhouse first, then we’ll think on what to do. JACKSON! ROYCE! WHAT THE FUCKS TAKING SO LONG?”

The driver shouted to the two others who were searching around the car, causing them to look back at him.

“Can’t find shit! ‘S like he disappeared or something!” shouted one of them back to the driver.

“Then let’s go! It’s pay–”

Suddenly a small burst of gunfire rang out from above, nailing one of the goons by the wrecked car, dropping him like a sack of potatoes, the other turning around and firing blindly into the dark mountain above.

“SHIT! HE’S UP THERE SOM–”

Another burst of gunfire dropped the second, causing the driver and passenger to hurriedly drag Twilight onto the road and to the back of the van before grabbing her front hooves and tossing her in like a bag of rice before closing the rear doors.

Twilight cried out as her battered body landed in the van, her body begging for any form of comfort as everything ached, a small puddle of blood pooling under her from the still bleeding wound. Twilight blinked through the pain as she heard footsteps around the van before the driver and passenger side doors opened at the same time, the duo from before hopping in and putting the car into drive.

“FUCK! CALL IN SOME BACKUP, WE CAN’T LOSE THIS!!!” the driver shouted to the passenger as he turned the car around, aiming towards the freeway.

The passenger wasted no time in pulling out his phone, but another burst of bullets interrupted him, sailing across the windshield as the driver swerved to avoid the hail of gunfire. A second later the shooting stopped as they finally drove past, the rest of the van blocking anything else that would come from the mountain, the driver grinning as he drove on.

“HAHA, take that you bitch! Can’t fucking kill the T-Man! LSMC!!! How’s the backup coming?!”

In his cheer, the driver didn’t notice his passenger slumped over, leaning against the door as blood pooled into his lap. Turning to look at him only made him frown as he realized he was the last one left.

“Fuck it, I got the damn horse, I got the van, and I got away! Ain’t nothing gonna sto–”

Looking ahead, the driver spotted a black car, driving full speed at him while firing a pistol, a few bullets missing him but nailing the hood of the van instead. Turning to the right to avoid a direct collision by taking another road, the van wasn’t fast enough to escape being t-boned, the black car nailing the driver side door and pushing the van into the steps leading up to the Vinewood Bowl sign, pinning it to the steps as Twilight cried out in pain.

Twilight slid around the back of the van, the impact jostling her and causing her to hit the back of her head as the van shifted from underneath her; stars exploded into her vision as she heard the sounds of automatic gunfire once more. Then, just as quickly as everything started, everything went quiet for what felt like an eternity before the van doors opened up, a human standing there with an assault rifle aimed directly at her. Twilight pulled her hooves over her head and closed her eyes in an attempt to block the bullets that would come from her, the natural pony instincts outweighing the cold logic of such a vain action, but no bullets came.

The van shifted as the human climbed into the van before gently resting a hand on her head and stroking her mane reassuringly as Twilight quivered in fear from the touch. After a few seconds of continued stroking, Twilight slowly lowered her hooves in the realization that she was still alive. Looking up, she saw James, kneeling over her with a flat look on his face as blood dripped from a small cut on his left eyebrow.

“J-James? Oh thank Faust… Wait, Blake! G-Go help Blake, he’s…”

Twilight coughed as she spoke, before attempting to continue as James put a finger to her lips and silently nodded, stepping out of the van and heading around the corner to the crashed Picador. Twilight relaxed as she laid there, the cool metal beneath her sapping her strength as her body finally could get some semblance of comfort, even if it was only better than the ground. Closing her eyes, Twilight could hear in the distance some shouting, but it sounded years away as she fell asleep.

Twilight groaned, her body feeling sluggish and partially numb, yet painful to move and breathe. Squeezing her eyes to block out the light, Twilight turned her head into the pillow to try and go back to sleep.

Mmmm… This is…

Twilight could feel something was wrong, but in her sleep addled mind, she couldn’t tell what it was.

Why do I have to be hungry… Maybe I should call Blake to get some more food…

Twilight sat there for a few minutes before realizing something.

Blake… What about…

“BLAKE!!!” Twilight shouted as she sat up, terror in her eyes as she remembered the chase, the crash, and The Lost. But before she could do anything else, Twilight cried out in pain as her body seized up and she fell back to the bed, her vision swimming as someone came into the room and held her to the bed. Twilight’s terror doubled as she was held down, causing her to cry out and kick with her back hooves in an attempt to dislodge the person holding her down.

She could hear words coming from him, but she could easily tell it wasn’t James or Blake; his slender frame and buzz cut brown hair were clearly not from either of the two, which meant that he wasn’t someone that she knew and that was enough. Reaching out with her magic, Twilight grabbed the lamp on the bedside table, ignoring the flash of pain and slamming it into the human's head, causing him to recoil from the blow and hold his head, backing away from the mare and towards the door.

Twilight's heart pounded in her ears and a snarl on her face, the idea of being captured again flashing through her head as she got ready to throw the lamp and grabbed another object, an alarm clock, before someone else hobbled into the room on a crutch.

Twilight almost didn’t recognize him at first, his bandages covering most of his chest and part of his face, a cast on his left arm and a splint on his left leg hiding most of his features, but Twilight recognized his hair and eyes; belonging to no one else but Blake. Raising his hands, he slowly and calmly spoke to her while maintaining eye contact.

“Twilight, it’s me, Blake. You’re safe now, you’re back at the apartment.”

“Hurt? She–”

Getting a quick glare, ‘Jonathan’ quickly shut up as he stood to the side and allowed Blake to use his crutch to make his way to her bedside, moving slowly as he made sure Twilight wasn’t freaking out about anything else. After nearly a minute, Blake sat down on her bed and opened his arm while his left arm hung at his side.

“It’s okay Twi, we’re back at the apartment. Jonathan is someone we’ve worked with before we met you. Can you put the lamp and alarm clock down? Please?”

Twilight breathed heavily as she looked at Blake and Jonathan, eyeing the newcomer suspiciously.

“Is he trustworthy?”

“Yep, I trust him to patch me up when we’re out on a job and can’t get to a hospital in time, and I know he won’t tell anyone about you. Right Jon?”

Jonathan’s eyes widened as he realized he hadn’t prepared anything to say, his face flashing with confusion for a split second before he started speaking.

“Uh, yea, I promise not to mention a word about you and your group, and nobody will know I was here. Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye.” Going through somewhat familiar motions to Twilight, although with a macabre twist to them, Twilight relaxed as she placed the dented lamp and alarm clock back on the nightstand, wincing and rubbing her horn as it flared in pain from the use before giving Blake a hug. After some time, Twilight pulled away from the hug before looking towards Jonathan, rubbing her hooves together as she shifted her gaze towards the bed.

“Sorry, I just…”

Jonathan quickly raised his hands in a surrendering motion, speaking quickly as she tried to apologize.

“No no! I’m sorry, Blake mentioned how you two were ambushed and I forgot that you don’t have any experience in this line of work. I should have been more… understanding… of your unique situation.”

Twilight held out a hoof towards Jonathan, nervously eyeing it and him as she spoke.

“Ho– How about we start over? I’m Twilight Sparkle, a trapped unicorn from Equestria…”

Jonathan slowly reached out his hand and shook Twilight’s hoof as he spoke, a small smile coming to his face.

“Hi Twilight, I’m Jonathan, uhh, ex-farmhand and military vet turned crook and impromptu medic. I have a feeling that we’ll be working together a lot more.”

Twilight smiled at the warm reaction, her nervousness dissipating as they spoke.

“I feel like we will, did you patch Blake up as well?” she said while eying the bandaged and casted human who sat quietly on the corner of the bed, watching the two of them become friends.

“No, he apparently got dropped off at a hospital, they don’t ask too many questions as long as you grease a few palms, but if they learned about you, it would definitely cause some noise, and that’s where I come in.”

Pulling back and stiffening his back, Jonathan gave a military salute, reminding Twilight of how her brother used to practice back home.

“97th Airborne division, trained in both combat and field medicine, and certified for basic surgery. Lester called me in when he heard that you had gotten banged up to be your primary doctor.”

Twilight grimaced as she realized the predicament that would put her in, as she already had to worry about the substantial bounty on her head now, assuming what The Lost were talking about was true.

“Yea… Wait… You said Lester called you in to be my doctor. Are you here just for me?”

“Yep! It’s probably because I used to live on a farm back home and we took care of horses, so I have knowledge on how to treat most wounds they could get. Combine that with my medic training, and I know how to keep a secret; I’m probably the best at patching you back up should you get hurt again.”

“Well, thank you, I guess. I do feel quite a bit better than the last time I was awake.”

Jonathan chuckled, causing Twilight to tilt her head in confusion at him before he started to speak.

“That’s probably just because of how many drugs you're on. You were really banged up from the crash, the fact that you were up and running around after that is nothing short of a miracle to be honest. But in regards to your health, I know next to nothing about how your horn works or magic, so we’ll need to go over that to make sure everything is ok. But we can do that tomorrow, the both of you need rest, so we’ll continue this later, alright?”

Jonathan raised an eyebrow while looking between the two patients, who simply looked at one another before Blake held up his right fist towards Twilight, a small grin forming on his face.

Twilight raised her hoof, noticing that while she could easily do so, her hoof felt like it was somewhat moving on its own as she hoof bumped his fist, a smile forming on her face as well.

Blake started to speak as he stood up, a small groan of pain as he shifted his balance to keep the weight off of his leg.

“Then I’ll– ouuu, that hurts… I’ll head on back to sleep, I’ll catch you later Twi, try not to hit Jon again.”

Blake chuckled as he hobbled out of the room past Jonathan, a small blush of embarrassment appearing on her face as she crooned her neck towards the bed.

“I won’t, I promise. Sleep does sound good right about now, my horn still hurts from just using a little magic earlier…”

Jonathan nodded his head as he made his way over to the door, placing his right hand on the knob as he stepped partially out of the room.

“Then I’ll let you get some sleep. If you need anything, feel free to call out since I’ll be here for at least a few days–”

Jonathan was cut off as Blake said something to him, causing him to snap his left fingers in remembrance.

“Ah, right, about James. No need to worry, but he’ll be out working more jobs it seems for now in case you were wondering.”

“Thanks, and thanks for letting me know Jonathan.”

Jonathan smiled as he spoke, a mirthful grin on his face.

“Just call me Jon, and anytime Twi; I see why Blake wants to help you so badly.”

Jonathan closed the door after he finished speaking, leaving Twilight in the semi-lit room from the window as the two humans quietly spoke for a few minutes before silence reigned over the apartment.

Rubbing her horn once more, Twilight couldn’t feel it, but she could feel the pain from it, telling her that magic burnout was probably not the only thing affecting her currently, but sleep was always the best option for issues regarding magic. Laying back down on the bed and getting comfortable, Twilight dozed off contently as she let go of her previous worries, a small smile on her face.