Warrior

Work went by slow. Not many people came in, so I just worked on a few of my bigger projects. Making rifles for stuffy rich folk is harder than you’d think. I stayed after work for a half hour, which gave me the honor of locking up. Upon taking a step outside the back door, I was drenched in water. There was a ridiculous rain storm tonight. The street became illuminated by a flash of lightning. I sighed and started walking to the parking lot. It was just around the building.

    I always keep a few dog treats in my pocket at work. A small group of dogs living in the dumpster demanded it. I passed the dumpster and expected the dogs to rustle about, but tonight, there was nothing. No noise at all. The last 2 years I’ve worked here there has always been 4 dogs greeting me and begging for treats every single night. I was a bit worried. I thought of these dogs as my buddies. My chums. I walked over to the dumpster and kicked it gently with my foot.

    “Hey puppies!” I said in a more cutesy voice. “Come on out.”

    I heard something shift inside. Something alive was inside, but it didn’t really sound much like a dog. My first thought was a homeless gentleman, but he would have been chased off by the dogs. Slowly, I opened the dumpster. Inside, it was pitch black. With my free hand, I grabbed my tac-light from my pocket and shined it inside. What I saw next stopped my heart for a split second. A little purple creature with big lavender eyes stared back at me. I gasped sharply and dropped the lid back onto the dumpster. I couldn’t believe what I just saw.

    After some deep breaths and collective thoughts, I opened the dumpster again. Whatever this animal was stared back at me in fear. It seemed more scared of me than I was of it. I gently reached out and touched the end of it’s nose. It jumped back a bit and into a corner.

    “C’mere.” I said softly. “I won’t hurt you.”

It looked a bit hesitant but walked over to me and allowed me to pet it. I rubbed its head a bit and down it’s neck. It seemed to calm down by this point so I hoisted it out of the dumpster and onto the street. I could see better now. It looked very feminine and curvy. It had a tattered and dirty mane and tale. Upon inspecting a bit closer I was able to figure it was female, though embarrassing as that is, looking back on it. I knelt down to her, she was soaking wet, and still looked a bit scared. I removed my coat and wrapped it around her and then picked her up, cradling her in my arms. I carried her into my truck I set her in the passenger seat before going around to the driver’s side. I hopped in, started the engine.

The ride was eerily silent, other than the sound of rain pounding my truck. I kept my left hand on the wheel and my right hand petting her. Finally, I broke the silence.

“When we get home...” I said. “I’ll clean you up and get you fed and you can hang out on the couch.” I really didn’t think she understood, but she nodded to me anyway.

The rain seemed to pick up as we drove. Lighting lit up the night and thunder ripped through the quiet. She seemed a bit scared so I rubbed her mane a bit more and smiled at her. A few minutes rolled by and I could see my apartment in the lighting’s flashes.

“We’re almost home.” I said with a warm smile. “I’ll take good care of you. Whoever you are.”

“I’m Twilight Sparkle.” She said. I swerved on the road a bit and slammed on the breaks. I couldn’t believe what I just heard.