Becoming Heartstrings

Day 7 - One agonizingly long car ride later.

        Did I mention how much I hate car rides? I’m pretty sure I did, but I think I need to say it again to make sure my point gets across. Its one thing if I’m the one driving, I have to pay attention. But when I’m just riding, its so PAINFULLY boring.

Ok, I’ve ranted enough. So, one long car ride later we had finally arrived in the area the Black van was spotted in. I of course wanted to begin searching immediately, but no such luck. Parks had told me that we needed to stop at the local Police Station so he could check in with them.

When we pulled up the station, he parked along side. Parks asked me if I wanted to head inside with him, but I declined his offer. I wanted out of the car, but police stations still kinda stress me out.

I watched Parks walk into the Station as I got out of the Car as well. I wasn’t too concerned about anybody trying the same trick they pulled on my father for two reasons. First, I had this itchy device attached to my front leg, and second I was sitting RIGHT next to a cop car in front of a station. I hopped out of the car and stretched my legs out and waited for Parks to come back out of the police station.

While I was waiting, I heard some shouting from across the street. Being the nosey person I am, swung my head around to see what the commotion was. Turns out, a smaller child had noticed me sitting across the street and had taken off straight in my direction. The mother was shouting after her, chasing her across the street, desperately trying to catch up to her daughter. Thank the gods the street was clear.

The small girl belined straight for me and gave me a tackle hug. And you know what? It felt nice to get a hug from somebody for once, even if it wasn’t Bon Bon. Shortly after the mother arrived and finally managed to pry the girl off of me and apologized.

“Don’t worry too much about it, it was nice to get a hug for once.” I said to the mother. I extended my hoof and we shook hands/hoofs.

“I’ve heard about this commotion on the news, but I never expected to see one of you Ponies just sitting on the street!” The mother asked.

“Trust me Ms, if this situation we reversed I’ve as about as surprised as you.” I responded back.

“What’s that black thing on your right hoof?” The small girl asked me.

I glanced down at it before explaining. “Well... There’s been some trouble around recently. The Police Officers want me to wear it so they could keep track of me.” I hesitated slightly before continuing. “A.... friend of mine had been ponynapped from me.” I said. “I’m working together with the cops in an effort to try and get him back.”

“Oh dear... That doesn’t sound very nice! Was it Bon Bon?” The small girl asked. The question actually surprised me a little bit, but apparently this girl knew her background ponies. I didn’t get a chance to answer the girls question however, as Officer Parks came back outside.

“We’ve got all the information we need. Lets get searching.” He said to me, before waving at the mother and child. I said my goodbyes to the small child and her caring mother before getting another Hug from the girl, and we departed.

“Made a friend did you?” Parks asked me.

“I dunno if I’d say that, but she was nice. Besides, how can you say no to a hug from such a cute little girl anyway?” I replied back.

Parks turned back to me and gave me a questioning glance. “You ok?”

“Yep! I mean, aside from my father being missing, I’m great! Especially since we’re so close to finding him!”

“You’ve been acting stranger the normal today, that’s all.” He said, before continuing. “Anyway, the local cops haven’t been able to pinpoint the location of our van, so we’ve got some searching to do.”

“Well, we won’t find it sitting here. Lets drive!” I said back

First time I’ve ever been excited for a car ride.

A few hours later

“Ugh, we’ve been all over this place. Where could he have gone?” I said.

“I’m not sure Minty, but we’ve been at this for more than a few hours. We should stop for food soon. Its already dark outside.” He said, looking back and forth between the road and a GPS.

“Stop? But I thought you said he was in this area! We can’t stop if he’s close!” I yelled.

Parks responded back. “Listen Minty, I realize you're worried for your father's sake, but we can’t search forever. We’ll stop for subs at a nearby subway and then we’ll find a place to say.”

“But-”

“That wasn’t up for debate.”

Wow. Now I’m getting talked down to by an police officer like he was my father. Then again, he was probably just looking out for my safety. Parks found a Subway on his crazy Police GPS road map thingy, and we were off towards one in no time.

Sure I was hungry, but my first priority was finding my father. I hated putting myself before others, especially when they were in potential danger, but Parks was the cop, so I don’t really get to argue with him.

A short while later, we found ourselves inside. We both had relatively small subs. I don’t know about Parks, but I wasn’t really hungry. I couldn’t help but stare out the window as I waited for our search to continue. I’d guilt Parks into continuing if I had too, but we weren’t stopping until we found him. Not when we were so close. I’d drive the car myself if I had too!

I ate my sub quickly, and while I waited for Parks I decided to talk to him. It hit me a while ago, that I didn’t really know much about this man who was going well out of his way for me.

“So Parks, how long have you been on the Force with the Police?” I asked him.

“I joined about a year ago. I can tell you I don’t regret a minute of it, helping out people feels good, though I can say you are by far and away the strangest case I’ve ever had.” He replied back.

“I can definitely believe that.” I said, looking back at my own tail and fur. “You know, this thing bracelet thing is a little itchy.” I said while trying my best to itch with hooves. Let me tell you, that’s complicated.

“So Minty, do you have any friends back home?” He asked me.

That’s a complicated thought. “Yes and No. I have a lot of friends on the internet in all corners of the world. If you mean friends I’ve actually met, there’s a REALLY good friend I know named John, and a few others, but mostly I play a lot online. What about you?”

“I... don’t have a lot of friends outside of the force. My parents aren’t anywhere near where I live and work, so I use the internet as well.” He responded.

“Well, tell you what Parks. When I get this whole business sorted out, I’ll come back to your home town and maybe we can chill together. Deal?”

“That sounds like a fine plan Minty.” He said.

The relative calm of the shop was shattered as Parks police radio roared to life.

“Older Male Spotted driving the Black Van involved in the suspected kidnapping of a Pony has been spotted heading near Lake Erie. It’s currently being tracked by a police chopper. All units, please converge to the location.”

That’s all it took. Both Officer Parks and I were off in a flash, leaving our messy table and a small tip that had been laid out earlier.  We wordless left the Subway and jumped back into Parks Police car and took off.

“The Location isn’t too far off from where we are now.” Parks said to me as we flew down the road. “Dispatch, is anybody near the Van at this time?” He asked his invisible partner.

“Negative. The Suspect however, know’s we have a chopper following him and is driving recklessly. Please proceed with caution.”

Parks flipped a switch in his car, and his Sirens were flaring atop his car. “Make sure your buckled up Minty, this ride is gonna get a little rough.” He said to me. Not that I wasn’t already buckled, but I guess he didn’t want to take any chances.

By this time, the sun was down and it was dark outside. Regardless, Parks speed down the streets at speeds I wouldn’t ever dare reach. They teach these cops how to drive like champion racers, because Parks was doing a fantastic job weaving between traffic.

The entire time, I was glued to my seat. I didn’t dare say anything to the man driving this car. Its not that I didn’t trust him, but driving at these speeds had me nervous. I rarely drove over 50, and I’m pretty sure Parks was doing near 90 down these roads.

Before I knew it, Parks had already managed to catch up the Black van. It was indeed headed down the road following Lake Erie.

Parks picked up another mic and spoke out of a loudspeaker attached to the top of his car. “Pull the vehicle over now, or I’ll use force!”

The Man the in Black Van responded by pulling a pistol out of his window and firing it a few times in our direction. I immediately ducked of course. I was already scared shitless at this point, and the gunfire wasn’t helping.

“Shots fired!” Parks yelled into his mic attached to dispatch. I’ll never forget what happened next for the rest of my days. Parks Pulled his pistol out of its holster and aimed it out of his window. While driving 90 Miles an hour down a road, he managed to shoot the Vans back rear tire out.

“Holy shit you’ve got good aim.” I said

“They don’t let just anybody use a pistol you know.” He replied back.

“Back up is on its way Officer Parks, continue pursuit.” Came Dispatch again over his radio.

The van swerved back and forth as the man attempted to maintain control. I can only imagine how hard that must be with a tire down at 90 miles an hour. The Black Van tried to make a quick turn towards a warehouse, only to lose control. It spun out several times before coming to a stop on its side.

The Man inside was quick on his feet however. Before Officer Parks could get his car stopped, the man had climbed out and fled inside.

“Stay here Zeik.” Ordered Officer Parks as he jumped out of his car and darted into the warehouse.

I didn’t listen. Instead, I jumped out of the car as well. I wanted look inside of the van. If that’s the van my father was seen in last, maybe he was still in it! At least, that was my hope.

I ran around the back of the Black Van and tugged the black doors open with my magic. They didn’t budge right away, so I had to use a little extra force. Probably because of the damage the van had sustained. When the doors finally did swing open, I peered inside hopefully. Instead, all I found was a an empty van, a few guns the Man had in the van, and a carpet that had some blood on it.

That immediately made me think the worst. Was my father dead? It was a possibility, the man had a lot of guns and was apparently insane. I picked up a pistol with my magic and closed the doors. If this man had taken my father from me, he’s was going to pay.

At this point, I wasn’t sure if I was thinking straight anymore. I had never held a real gun before, let alone use one, let ALONE with magic. I didn’t think about that when I picked it up initially, but I had it now. I headed towards the Warehouse where I heard gunfire coming from.

I peared my head inside to see what was going on. The inside of the warehouse had boxes and cages all over the place. Most of which were empty, though there was one cage near the back that had something inside it. To the left of the cage, was the crazed old gunman firing officer parks across the room.

Suddenly, the old crazy man spoke. “You should be on our side you pig! These ponies are an abomination! They deserve nothing less than death! They could be a threat to the human race!”

I continued inside and snuck around the  right edge of the warehouse inside. The gunfire was much louder from inside this building, with all the noise contained, my ears were flat against my head and the noise still hurt my poor pony eardrums. This was going to scar me to for life.

Parks responded back while reloading his pistol from behind a box. “Those abominations as you put it, were human once! They still have their human spirit trapped inside of the bodies! Why do you attack them?”

I snuck behind Parks and was slowly making my way to the other side of the warehouse. Had I been in my right mind, I wouldn’t have been anywhere near this scene, but clearly I’d lost my mind. I mean, I was still scared shitless, but I wasn’t about to let this crazy man take my father away. Not again.

The old man responded. “What they once were is no consequence of mine! They are now abominations and are to be destroyed!”

I managed to eventually get to the other side of the warehouse, dangerously close to the man who was very actively trying to kill Officer Parks. I still had the gun, but I couldn’t bring myself to shoot him. I aimed it at him a few times from a distance, but couldn’t do it. I’m not sure why I couldn’t do it, especially since he had every intention of killing me, my father, Officer Parks, and maybe even others.

Instead, I looked up at the cage I had spotted from across the room, and there he was. My beaten and bloody, but still breathing father. My excitement got ahead of me, and I shouted.

“Father!”

What happened next will most likely guilt me forever. Parks noticed my position and yelled for me to get away from the man. The Old man took advantage of Parks momentary lack of awareness and shot him in the chest. Parks immediately fell to the ground in a yelp of pain.

“No, Parks!”

“You little beast you!” The man shouted, and turned the gun on me.

I saw my whole life flash before my eyes. Ponyville, my high school, the bullies, my family, Bon Bon. I saw both of our memories flash in front of me.

I turned.

I ran.

I heard the gunfire go off as I ducked behind a box.

I was too slow, as I felt a blinding white pain pierced into my back leg as I cried out. I kept running away on my three good legs, but he was easily keeping up with me. The Reality of my situation came crashing down on me. I was most likely about to die, and not only was I going to die, but I was going to take Lyra and Parks with me.

All because I was too stubborn to wait in the car.

I tried to duck behind another box when I felt the man’s hand grab my mane. He lifted me into the air, staring at me in the eyes while pushing his pistol against my skull. I could feel the cool metal, pressing up against my fur, and knew I was done for.

I was thinking as fast as I could trying to find a way out of my situation. Then, it happened.

I heard gunfire. But it wasn’t the gun next to my head that had gone off. Instead, Parks had made it to his Knees and managed to shoot the man in the head. He dropped me to the ground, as his blood covered my fur.

I heard Parks yelling into his Mic about something, but my ears couldn’t pick it up. The pain from being dropped 4 feet directly onto my already damaged leg put me in a massive amount of pain. As I lay on the cement inside of the warehouse, more of the local cops finally showed up.

I never got to see if Parks was ok, or if my Father was alive or not. Between the pain in my leg, witnessing a man’s head explode, and all the stress of dodging a firefight for the last 10 minutes finally got to me.

I blacked out.