Far from home

It was a usual night in the city, like the others. There wasn't anybody on the streets. At least anybody around an old factory's yard. In that yard were lots of people and cars... tuned cars. Cars prepared for a race.

"Are you ready Tom?" TJ, the organizer asked a guy. Tom was a 23 old guy with dark brown hair, and brown eyes.

"Just a minute... I have to find Lily first." Suddenly, somebody covered his eyes and he heard a familiar feminine giggle.

"Sorry, but I was faster than you bro." He turned around and saw the girl he was searching for.

Lily was his little sister. She was 2 years younger than he was. She had brown hair too, but her eyes were light blue.

"So, are you ready?" Tom asked her.

"I'm ready when you are." she answered.

"Then... Let's do it!"

They got in a BMW M3, which had the same parameters like the one in the racing game Need for Speed Most Wanted.

Tom was the driver, Lily the navigator - 'cause her car was in the service. Tom started the engine, and the V8 monster woke up.

They slowly rolled to the start line with three other cars, all lined up with them.

When everybody was at their place, TJ pointed them one-by-one. All of them answered with a loud roar of their engines - which meant they were ready. That was music for everybody's ears.

Then TJ raised his hand. In that moment Tom shifted to the first gear and pushed the pedal to the metal. The engine started to roar and the turbo whistled like a steam train. Then TJ...

BANG!

Tom sat in the car. His sister stood near a black car, with a gun in her hand which she holds near the driver. They were standing on the highway, around them lots of blue-red flashes.

After the shot, she collapsed to the ground and the black car darted out into the darkness.

"Lilyyyyyy!!!"

Tom just sat there, unable to move...

Then he suddenly woke up. It was half a year ago, but he still had nightmares.

He looked around. He was in his house, in the bed...alone...without his sister. He got up and went to the kitchen. He couldn't go back to sleep, so he was just staying awake. It was 4 PM. Fortunately he had three days off, before he had to go to work. He's now working as an air traffic controller, and he finished his night time duty for today (from 7 PM to 7 AM).

He made breakfast for himself, then prepared for the only thing, which helped him to relax...plane spotting. He checked the weather and wind direction and got the batteries for the camera. Then he took everything into a backpack - with 1-2 sandwiches - and headed to his car. He had a black '01 Mitsubishi Gallant VR-4...old, but in a good shape.

Tom slowly arrived at a dirt road, which lead him to a huge clearing - on the other side was a long fence and behind that the runway. He lived in the capital, so he could see lots of plane, from the Cessna to the Boeing 747. There was perfect light, so he decided - he'll make beveled pictures.

As he slowly drove in, he spotted a familiar van. It was TJ's van, so he was here with his son. Tom slowly parked near the van, and went to his old friend.

"Hi Tom, long time no see." TJ greeted him.

"Yeah, that's true...How are you?"

"I'm great thanks, but you look like a bit tired. Another bad dream?"

"Yes, unfortunately..." Tom answered. TJ never saw him depressed like that.

"Hey, Jason..." - he called his son - "..., go and find a better view to the planes, ok?"

"Okay dad." he answered, and went further from them. When he was out of earshot, TJ continued the conversation.

"Look, I know you don't want to do this, but what if you come for a night and..."

"No! I already told you...I don't want to race again!"

"I never told this to you. I just wanted to say, come, and JUST WATCH the race. That's maybe enough for you to relax a bit."

"Sorry, but, I don't think so...Almost always when I try to sleep, I see that race starting again and again. I'm afraid, if I go to a race, I'll see that again."

"I see...at least that show helped you? You know..." TJ looked around, like a spy "The MLP."

"Yeah, a little bit...sometimes." Tom answered.

They not really spoke after that, just photographed the planes. After thirty minutes, TJ and his son said goodbye to Tom, and left.

After two hours Tom started getting tired, so he decided to go home. He was in his car, ready to start it up, when he suddenly heard a loud roar. In the mirror he saw a huge Cargolux 747-8. 'It's worth plus two minutes' he thought. He jumped out of the car, and was ready for the shot, when a huge PURPLE lightning blasted into the ground near the clearing. The plane's crew also noticed this, and made a go around. Fortunately Tom had enough time to take cover behind his car, which saved him from the Super Jumbo's jet blast.

When the plane was gone, he looked to the lightning's direction, noticing three things:

1. Before the lightning the sky was totally clear.

2. Now the sky is covered with dark storm clouds.

3. Nothing caught on fire, where the lightning blasted.

+1 Something orange moving behind the trees.

'Wait, what!?!' Tom picked out the camera from its case and zoomed to the 'object'. When he got a barely clear picture, he didn't believe his eyes. The running thing was orange, it had four legs, but it limped - maybe injured - , and it has purple hair and...tail.

"It's impossible!" he told himself. Then he looked behind 'it'...it was chased by three very angry dogs.

In that moment, Tom made a choice. 'I'm not sure what or who this is...but it needs help.'

Meanwhile a certain orange filly with a purple mane, ran for her life before three angry dogs, in an unfamiliar forest. She didn't know where she was, how she got there - to be honest she knew that, but she didn't have time to think about it -, she knew just one thing...she had to run as fast as possible. Her chasers were close, but somehow she could maintain the distance. Then she did something, what wasn't a great idea...she looked back. Because of this she didn't notice a rock. The poor filly bumped over the rock, rolled over sometimes and crashed into a tree. She hadn't luck...she crashed her side into the tree and it broke her left wing. True, she couldn't fly, but it still hurt. When she managed to stand up, she faced the dogs. They stood before her, growling, getting ready to eat her. She knew, she didn't have a choice...if she tried to run, they’d catch her before she moves. If she stays there, they'll eat her too. So she just stood there, closed her eyes, and waited for the unavoidable. She saw her life's important moments...her idol, her friends, the crusadings...

She started sobbing and waited for a miracle.

Then, she heard another, new sound...

VROOOM...VROOOOOO...

'Great, another beast' she thought. Then suddenly two strong light beams appeared behind a hill near them. Some seconds later a big, black creature - which had four bright white lighting eyes - headed toward the dogs.

BE-BE-BE-BE-BEEEE She heard just this from the creature, than it brushed the dogs and they flew out of the way...fortunately to the other side. When it came to a sliding halt, she realized that it wasn’t a creature, just some kind of vehicle she never saw before. It was black and on the shark shaped nose were four white lights. It still growled just not as loud as before. In the middle were two doors, at the rear two red lights and something like the steam trains' pipe were below the rear side.

Suddenly the right front door burst open and a strange creature appeared from within the vehicle. She was already shocked by the events, but the strangest thing was, when the creature started to talk.

"Come on! Get in, before they come back!" She was paralyzed and couldn't say anything for some seconds.

"Bu-but I don't know who you are!"

"Somebody, who wants to help you, come on!" she looked to the other side above the vehicle...the dogs started to regain their consciousness. 'If I stay here, I'll die for sure...If I get in I have a little hope, so...' She ran as fast as she could to the black machine. The little filly jumped in, and the creature moved a lever between the two seats and pushed a pedal. She heard the same roar from the front, and the vehicle started accelerating incredibly fast, the door closed by the dynamism, and both of them sank a little into the seats.

Needless to say, the dogs couldn't keep up and they easily escaped.

After a few minutes they reached an asphalt road, and the creature slowed down a little.

"Are you okay?" he asked...definitely a male, at least she concluded this from the tone of his voice.

"I think I broke my hoof and my wing." she answered. "And I don't know where I am, but nothing else. A-are-are you…will you hurt me?" she asked, with fear in her eyes. He looked at her for a second, then back to the road.

"Don't worry...As I said, I want to help you." she relaxed a bit...at least, looks like she was safe.

"So...first I'll take you to my house, then I'll get a doctor, and then..." He was interrupted by a growling from the filly’s stomach.

"Heheh, sorry, I guess, I'm a bit hungry." she smiled sheepishly. He just smiled.

"No problem. So, then I'll make you something. But after that...I don't know at the moment. But don't worry, we'll figure something out." She was a bit sad, but at least he wanted to help her.

"Thank you. You really want to help me?" He just nodded.

"Of course...I guess it was the worst thing what happened to us." and he pointed behind them, referring to the wild dogs.

"I hope so." she answered.

"By the way...I guess I know the answer, but...what is your name?" he asked.

"Oh yeah...My name is Scootaloo." and the filly offered her good forehoof, which he shakes happily.

"Nice to meet you, Scootaloo."

"And what is YOUR name?" she asked too.

"Well, my name is Tom. Tom Heartstrings."