Chapter 14- Home Away from Home and Interrogation
Well, I've caught up in the Episodes and am now officially waiting for season 3. Got to say, the season 2 finale was unbelievably outstanding.
So now I can actually have more up-to-date references in this story.
I also appreciate all of the reviews I've gotten for my last chapter (six I think), so thank you to everyone who either read, or who reviewed and read, my story so far.
I hope you enjoy this next chapter, and I only own my OC's.
And if you thought everything so far was dark, you haven't seen anything yet.
Ryan's Hotel Room
"I told you I wanted cider with this breakfast, and now you're telling me that you're out?" Ryan hissed with an irritated tone at the room service server that had stopped by with his and Rainbow Dash's breakfasts, or brunch, as it was almost noon, and Ryan wanted a burger.
"I'm sorry sir, but we're out." The deliverer said. Ryan sighed and shook his head.
"No apple juice either?" Ryan asked.
The server just shook his head, "No, apparently you picked a day when people had a craving for apples, sorry."
"Whatever, thanks anyway." He grabbed the cart and started to pull it into his room when he stopped and handed the server a small tip, pointing at the deliverer sternly, "Just so you know, though, my friend's going to be pissed off, she's obsessed with cider."
"Well there's nothing I can do sir, we're out."
Ryan nodded, "I know, I just thought that I'd give you a fair warning."
The server gave Ryan a confused look, "Erm...thanks?"
Ryan then walked back into the room and shut the door. He went over to the bed to see Rainbow Dash lying laying down in a rainbow tie-dye t-shirt looking at the food tray that Ryan brought in with desire, for she was starving.
"Thank Celestia the food got here, I'm starting to hear my stomach growl." She said, looking down as a small noise emitted from her stomach. "He-he, speaking of which."
"Well, the savior has arrived in the form of a cart of food." Ryan smirked before giving a small bow as if he is presenting some great, holy relic to Rainbow Dash.
"Thank you again Ryan."
"No problem."
"You know it was really cool of your mom to give me this shirt." Rainbow Dash said while looking down at the tie-dye shirt, "she's really warmed up to me."
"Her an my Dad both," Ryan said as he wheeled the cart over to the bed, "I'm actually shocked at how well they're dealing with everything. Our house was destroyed, along with their concept of reality, and we're being hunted by a group of anarchists, yet they are acting like we're on vacation. Truly unbelievable, but I guess denial is a potent thing. Either that or bravery…or both."
"Yeah they're pretty awesome." Rainbow Dash giggled. She crawled over to the cart and looked at what was on it, eyes scanning the surface for something specific. When suddenly she looked up at Ryan with a confused look on her face, "W-where's the cider?"
Ryan rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "Yeah Dashie, about that…"
Rainbow Dash's eyes went wide and they seemed to twitch a bit as her mouth quivered while she tried to say something, "They're…they're out!" Ryan nodded and Rainbow Dash face-hoofed and fell back against the pillow in dramatic fashion before letting out a groan. "Ugh, why is it every time I want cider it's gone? Why is the cider always gone!"
"Because, Captain Sparrow, the writers thought you're addiction and subsequent anger at being denied the drink would be funny."
Rainbow Dash grumbled a bit, "Stupid writers using my pain for entertainment purposes, if I ever run into them, they're going to be sorry." She stuck her hoof out and punched it with the other, as if she was symbolizing "to pound them".
She sat back up and got off of the bed before trotting over to the cart to see her food, which consisted of cantaloupe and some cereal. She licked her lips, "Well, at least the rest of this looks tasty."
Ryan shrugged, "For hotel food I suppose. Hey do you want me to get anything from my parents' room? Maybe they have some apple juice or something from the store that you can drink instead of cider."
Rainbow Dash's disappointed face turned into an appreciative smile, "That'd be great, thanks Ryan." She said before she plunged her face into the dish to eat the cantaloupe. Ryan smiled and exited the room and went next-door to his parents' room. The hall was mostly quiet, as Wilmont wasn't the place where rowdy kids would go for vacation. The only hotel guests usually were people who stayed in town either for business purposes, or family matters. Once he reached his parents' room, he knocked and waited until his father answered.
"Hey Ryan, do you and Rainbow Dash need anything?"
"Yeah, did you and mom get any apple juice or something similar at the store yesterday?"
Ryan's Dad thought for a second and then smiled, "Actually, I think we did. Honey?"
"Way ahead of you." Said Ryan's mom as she walked to the door with a jug of apple cider.
"Whoa, you actually got cider?" They nodded and Ryan grinned, "This is perfect Dashie's going to love this, thank you very much."
"She likes apple cider?" his father asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, a lot. Wait! This is non-alcoholic right?" Ryan asked, pointing at the jug that he was now holding. Both of his parents nodded and Ryan smiled, "Brilliant."
"Yeah you're lucky we got it this time, it's probably the first time in years that we've gotten cider." Ryan's mother said.
Ryan shrugs, "Better late than never I suppose, plus you picked the right time."
He was about to turn away when he heard his mother call back tom him, "Oh Ryan! Another question, why do you keep calling her Dashie as opposed to Rainbow Dash? Is that her nickname? Because I don't want to keep calling her Rainbow Dash if she prefers Dashie."
"Rainbow Dash is fine, I call her Dashie because we're close friends. Either name works for her I think." Ryan said with a smile before he turned and continued down the hall. His mom then added, "You two can keep the cider by the way, after all Rainbow Dash is our guest and if she likes cider as much as you say she does, she'll want to drink all of it. Plus it's the least we can do, she's really a polite girl…er…pony."
"Glad to hear you like her, I was nervous she would freak you out too much when you first met her." Ryan said before he proceeded to his room. Once back inside, he shut the door and walked over to Rainbow Dash, whose eyes were closed as she lay back against the pillows with her hooves on her stomach, patting it in satisfaction as she smiled warmly. She also had some cantaloupe juice and milk on her face from her messy eating.
Ryan's jaw dropped at the sight of her and the empty plate and bowl on the cart, "You already finished eating?"
She looked over at him and gave a small chuckle, "He-he, I eat pretty fast. Sorry if I look a bit messy."
"Nah that's cool. Besides, you look adorable right now." He said as he walked over to her and handed the jug to her, "Here I've got something for you. Thought you might like it."
She looked at the jug, then back at Ryan, before looking back at the cider. "Is…is that…."
Ryan nodded "Cider."
If Ryan could describe Rainbow Dash's face, he would say it looked like Jesus was handing her the Holy Grail. Her face curled into a smile and her eyes were almost bulging out of their sockets as she raised her hooves to her mouth to cover them as she broke out into her "fan-girl" spasm.
"Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh!" she said in the same cute manner that she had after meeting the Wonderbolts, "Thank you Ryan! Thank you!"
She grabbed the jug from Ryan and used her teeth to remove the cap. She spat the cap to the ground before holding the mug up and chugging it. After a few gulps, she removed it from her lips and let out a satisfied sigh before holding it back out for Ryan, who held out his hand to reject it.
"This is really good. Not as good as the stuff AJ makes, but it still hits the spot." Rainbow Dash said before taking another swig. She then removed the jug from her lips and smiled, "Well then you can take it back to your parents if you want. I don't want to drink all of it; tell them thanks for me."
"They said you could have the whole thing."
Rainbow Dash's face fell to show her disbelief before she suddenly got serious, "Ryan don't tease me like this."
"I'm not teasing you." Ryan said with a chuckle.
"I'm serious Ryan, if you're lying to me about this as a part of some sick joke regarding my love of cider..."
"Drink it Dashie, I swear my parents said it's okay." Ryan said with a reassuring smile.
Rainbow Dash then beamed, "Ryan, you and your parents are the coolest."
With that last statement, she chugged the rest of the cider before lying back against the couch with her eyes closed. Ryan walked over to her and got next to her, rubbing her stomach.
"Well coming from the coolest girl I know I take that as a compliment."
She laughed and they kissed.
Carl's House
Brett walked out of Carl's house with an expression plastered on his face that can only be described as "pure aggravation". He and the others found out nothing other than the fact that Carl and his family were not home.
Also present at the scene to help search were Lawrence, Sean, Lance and some other members of the Milites Chaos who continued to search the home from top to bottom, making sure that they had not overlooked anything, and that Carl's family was truly gone.
All around, the neighborhood was being torn apart by other members of the gang. Houses began to burn and explosions could be heard over the familiar, eerie Latin chant that had accompanied them into Leigh Heights two nights before.
Once outside, Brett pulled a cigarette out and began to smoke it when his phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and answered. He spoke to the caller for a second before his angry expression subsided only to make way for sadistic jubilance that he hadn't shown since after he killed Bright Illusion. He hung up and called Lawrence over to him.
"Yes sir?" said the anarchist teen.
"I want you to organize a group and head over to where Ryan is staying and take care of him and Rainbow Dash, I've got something else that I need to attend to."
Lawrence smiled evilly, "Yes, sir. But, what must you do, if you don't mind me asking?"
"Based on who we have in custody, the wording of your question is quite ironic," Brett chuckled, referring to the "if you don't mind me asking" part before he replied, "Officer Cantor told me he has one of the punks in custody, as well as his little mare-friend. I'm going to pay him a visit and see if I can get him to sing like a canary."
Brett walked off to his SUV. Lawrence smiled and turned to the others, who were busy pouring gasoline all over Carl's house. Sean had a match out, ready to be lit so the home could be set ablaze with the rest of the neighborhood.
"Hey idiots! We have a job!"
They turned to look at Lawrence, who just smiled at them.
"Let's get a group together, I think it's time we caused some more pain to little rich-boy Ryan and his sky-blue, pony friend Rainbow Dyke."
They grinned and with that, they headed off, but not before Sean lit the match and threw it into the gasoline, which eventually set Carl's entire house ablaze. The three anarchists went off to find some other members of their mob to help them in their mission to "take care of" Ryan. Finding other people to help them out wasn't going to be too hard of a task, as the Milites Chaos were all around; ransacking and burning homes left and right, killing people who resisted while letting those who sat idly by and watched their possessions get stolen and burnt, were allowed to live.
After all, they were mostly middle class and, therefore, not the main targets of the Milites Chaos.
Alex's Motel
Applejack was lying in bed nervously as she waited for Alex to get back from making his phone call in town She stared up at the ceiling as the afternoon rays of light shone through the blinds and landed across her face. The ceiling fan kept spinning above her, blowing her blonde mane around a little bit and providing her with come cool air in the otherwise stuffy and humid motel room. Her forelegs lay across her stomach; her hooves were pressed together due to her anxiety, much how people wring their fingers when they get scared about something like the medical boards.
She let out a sigh and turned her head towards the door, her green eyes staring at it with an expression that was both lonely and concerned. She was uncertain about his arrival, hoping that he would get back as soon as possible so she could know for certain that he was okay.
"Where are ya Alex?" she thought with apprehension.
She let out a deep sigh before turning onto her back and she continued to stare up at the ceiling fan. She wasn't used to being this protective of anyone or anypony, the only one being Applebloom, and that was because of her young age. She had hoped that Discord's men did not track him down, and she certainly hoped that he was able to reach his parents in time to tell them to get out safely.
A moment later, the door to the motel room opened up. Applejack looked over to see Alex standing in the doorway, looking down at the ground and his face emotionless. He shut the door but did not move from where he was standing.
Applejack sat up with a concerned look on her face, "Alex?"
When he didn't respond, she got off of the bed and trotted over to him so she stood right in his line of sight, his green eyes were clearly holding back a plethora of emotions that his poker face only veiled thinly.
"Alex, what's wrong?" Applejack asked.
"My mom…..Discord's…men they…they…" Alex closed his eyes and leaned back against the door and put his face into his hand and let out a deep sigh, trying to hide his tears from Applejack, "…they have her and I abandoned her….I didn't want him…to get you so I abandoned her." Alex lowered his hand and looked at Applejack, his eyes were red and tears formed in the corners. His voice was only slightly shaky though, as he was often one of the more stoic guys in the group, and often would vent his emotions when he was alone rather in the presence in others, explaining how he was able to sob in the car rather than now. "I….I won't ever let them get to you but…I just…let them take my mom."
Applejack got onto her hind legs and got up to Alex's chin level, which was as high as she could get and looked directly into his eyes, even though they weren't looking at her.
"Alex look at me." Alex looked down into Applejack's eyes, which were full of concern, "Ya didn't do anythin' wrong, Discord gave ya a choice that was a double-edged sword, ya couldn't win either way." She then looked down sadly, "But…if it makes ya feel better ah'll turn myself in if it gets yer mom back." She looked up at Alex sadly.
Alex shook his head, "No AJ, I won't let you do that. I love you more than anypony, and I won't ever betray you or let you turn yourself in for any reason. I'd die before I stand by and let that happen."
They hugged each other and Alex closed his eyes. He didn't cry audibly, due to his previously mentioned strong-willed nature, but he still did let out some quiet sobs into Applejacks' warm, soft shoulder. He could feel her hoof rubbing his back as she tried to comfort him, "Shhhhhh….It's okay Alex, ah know you would never betray me, and ah'm serious when ah say that ya didn't do anythin' wrong. Ah don't lie to anypony, and ah never would lie to ya about this."
Alex nodded while his face was still planted in her orange fur, "Thanks AJ, I really am glad you're here to get me through these moments."
They both slowly fell to the floor so they were in a sitting position, but they still embraced each other. They remained in their hug for at least another hour. Alex did not want to let go of Applejack for any reason whatsoever. He didn't want to separate from her warm, welcoming body that made him calm as he felt her heart beat in unison with his own. So they remained together, not moving, for a long while.
After a while, they both decided to move on and call the others. Alex called Carl to let him know what happened. Carl was clearly sympathetic for Alex, but didn't know what to do other than think over a plan. Alex agreed and after he hung up the phone, he and Applejack sat at the small table that was in their little motel room. After a while, Alex's sadness subsided, which was mostly due to Applejack's successful attempts to get his mind off of it by discussing her life on Sweet Apple Acres. She also gave Alex her own personal synopses of each episode that she was in or, in her case, each of the best adventures that she had with her friends. Alex had to admit that it was awesome to hear the episodes told by her, that is when he was actually listening to her speak. Every now and then he'd find himself drifting off to either his mother, which she often noticed and would tap his arm to bring his attention back to her. He also often found himself becoming lost in Applejack's green eyes. Regardless, though he still thought about his mother's safety, Applejack really did make him feel less depressed about it by talking to him.
"And that's how we bear the changelings and saved Shining Armor and Princess Cadence's wedding." Applejack concluded, "And, well, that's the last thing ah can really talk about."
Alex nodded, "You know it's actually much better hearing the story come from you than seeing it."
Applejack giggled, "Good ta hear."
"Thanks for cheering me up a little." Alex said, still with some sadness in his voice.
Applejack put her hoof onto Alex's hand, "Don't worry Alex, we'll get yer mom out of this mess, ah promise."
"I know we will," Alex nodded sadly, "Thanks AJ."
Police Station (James interrogated)
"Hey, punk wake up."
James was suddenly jolted awake when he felt a sharp pain shoot through his head. As his eyes opened, he looked around to see his surroundings; he was in a grey interrogation room with a single light located on a desk that was directly in front of him. He looked up to see the familiar face of the police officer that had tackled him and knocked him out after he left his house to go after Fluttershy.
"I'm sorry for the rough treatment, but I just couldn't allow you and your little mare friend to get away." The officer said tauntingly, "My name is Officer Cantor, bit if you'd like to know, my Equestrian name is Shaded Wind, and yes I am a unicorn if you must know."
James tries to lunge at the officer, but realized that he was restrained to the chair that he is sitting in by rope. After he gives a few more attempts to get at the officer that was still flashing a very smug smile, James gave up and leaned back against the chair. His chest was expanding and contracting quickly as his breathing rate had increased significantly.
"It's always good to see a prisoner accept his fate," Officer Cantor laughed, "Obscure will be here soon to deal with your and provide you with a proper means of punishment."
James clenched his fists together; even though his arms were still plastered to his sides by the rope he was able to do this.
"Where's Fluttershy?" he growled.
"She's safe," Officer Cantor said, "for now. If I were you I'd make sure not to piss off the wrong person or pony in here. For your sake as well as hers."
James' face turned red and he made another lunge at the officer, angry that he was openly threatening such an innocent creature as Fluttershy, especially since James cared about her so much and had just recently expressed his feelings of affection to her. Officer Cantor just continued to smile arrogantly at James, knowing that he would never reach him from the chair that he was bound to, before he turned and walked out of the room. He shut the door, leaving James alone in the room with another officer that James didn't recognize.
But he didn't really take notice, he was too busy fuming and shouting at the closed door.
"Get back here! If you do anything to her I'll kill you, you fucking ass-hole!" James shouted from his seat, scooting towards the door in the chair until he fell forward onto the cold, hard ground.
He looked up and saw the other officer slowly making his way towards him, his hand glowing with aura and a demonic smile growing on his face.
James tried to get free, but it was no use. The officer pulled his chair up off of the ground so he was back sitting up. He then placed his and to the James' head.
"Where are your friends?" he asked as his aura-engulfed hand slowly turned into a hoof.
James looked at the man and spat, "I…I don't know.'
That's when the officer pushed his hoof into James' head, sending horrible pain throughout his entire body. James screamed like as he felt like he was being mutilated, pain shooting through every nerve and muscle, radiating into his bone marrow and burning his skin. Every conceivable portion of his body screamed in agony as the "police officer" continued to use his apparent Unicorn magic to cause pain to course through his body.
Through all of this, James did manage to have one recurring thought flood into his mind.
"When the fuck did all of these Unicorns get here?"
Ryan's Hotel- Evening
Ryan and Rainbow Dash were both sitting on their bed watching television, as there was absolutely nothing else to do. Rainbow Dash wanted to go swimming in the pool downstairs, but Ryan talked her out of it by saying how dangerous and risky it would be, as their cover would be blown. She later begged Ryan to let her go across the hall to pull a prank on a girl that had called Ryan a "shrimpy nerd-bag", due to his shorter size and more thin frame. But, again, Ryan didn't want her to blow their cover so he told her to stay put, which Rainbow Dash only rolled her eyes at.
So, here they were, bored out of their minds with nothing to do. That is, however, until Rainbow Dash suddenly thought about something that had been on her mind for the past few days.
"Um Ryan?" she asked as she twiddled her hooves together nervously.
"Yeah, what's up Dashie?"
"When are you going to tell your parents about us." she said looking up at him with her big, red eyes that melted his soul, "because we can't keep it a secret forever, and after meeting your parents, they seem cool. I think that they'll will be fine with us being…you know…. romantically involved."
Ryan closed his eyes; silently wishing that Rainbow Dash hadn't asked that question yet, as he was still wasn't comfortable telling them.
"I…I know you're right; that I have to tell my parents soon, but I'm still not confident that they'll handle it well."
"Ryan, look at me." Ryan opened his eyes and looked into Rainbow Dash's own. She placed her hoof onto Ryan's shoulder to reassure him, "Just like I was there when you first showed me to them, I'll be there to help you tell them about us. And if things get ugly in any way, I'll have your back."
Ryan smiled and gave Rainbow Dash a quick kiss on her forehead before he sighed, "My parents better accept you, and if they don't, they'll have to kick me out because I don't ever want to be with any girl other than you, and my parents won't be able to convince me otherwise."
Rainbow Dash chuckled, "You're so cheesy."
Ryan shrugged and got off of the bed and walked over to the small table to grab his wallet.
"Dashie, I'm going to Carl's place. I want you to stay here until I get back, got it? That means no going downstairs to the free buffet or to the pool, and I especially don't want you to pull any pranks on that girl in 302."
Rainbow Dash's expression became disappointed, "Aw come on, she called you a shrimp, that was mean! At least let me pour some water on her head or something!"
Ryan glared at her and she rolled her eyes, "Fine, just this once I won't defend your honor." She raised her right hoof up and put her left hoof across her chest and closed her eyes, as if she was giving a formal pledge in front of a judge. "I promise I'll stay put."
Ryan nodded, "Thank you Dashie, I appreciate your restraint."
He started out of the room when he heard Rainbow Dash call after him, "Also think about telling your parents while you're out, you know, if you want. Maybe being away from me and them will make it easier to think of a way to tell them."
"Dashie I'm not sure if I'm ready yet."
Rainbow Dash shrugged, "I know, I'm just suggesting that you think about it. Nothing else."
Ryan nodded and gave her another smile; "I will, Dashie. I'll see you in a little bit."
And with that, Ryan left the room to go get the car keys from his parents. Rainbow Dash looked outside through the window at the parking lot, waiting for Ryan to go out to his car.
As she watched him leave, she waved to him and, surprisingly to her; he actually looked up in the direction of the window and waved back.
She gave a small giggle and pressed her face against the glass, "Ryan, you've been so great to me, I love you so much. I know you may not like what I'm about to do, but in the long-term I think you'll be happy. If things go as I think they will. I don't want you to stress about it."
With that, Rainbow Dash pushed herself away from the window and walked back over the bed to think over her plan to tell Ryan's parents herself as Ryan continued off towards Carl's house.
Neither knew the horrors that they would face in the next few hours.
Carl's Hotel Room
The group had arrived at the hotel about a few hours before. Louis and Rarity were in one room. Pete, Pinkie and Pete's parents were in another, and Carl was in the last room with his mother, sisters, Spike and Twilight.
Yes, they got a huge room.
Carl's mother was across the hall talking to Pete's parents about the situation that they were in, and why they had to evacuate. Carl and Twilight were both laying on one of the beds, looking over the small, green box that the Princess had given them. They were looking at the face of the box that had the cutie marks on it. Like before, only Rarity's remained faded and un-glowing.
"So until Rarity forgives Louis, I guess it won't glow."
Twilight nodded, "When she does, it should open and we'll get to see what's inside."
"Do you think it'll help us?"
"It better," Twilight said, "I mean, the Princess went out of her way to give it to us, so it should."
Carl kept looking at the box until he saw a tear land on it. He looked up to see Twilight looking down with tears in her eyes. Carl didn't even know that she was upset until that moment and instantly became concerned.
"Twilight what's wrong?" Carl asked as he put the box down onto the table.
Twilight shook her head, "It's just…I'm still sad about my Uncle Bright. I guess putting off my emotions for a few hours always manages to catch up to you." She said with a weak smile before closing her eyes. She buried her face into her forelegs and started to cry again. Anna, Lisa and Spike all turned around as they heard Twilight's starting to let out small sobs.
"Twilight is everything okay?" Spike asked as he jogged over.
"She's fine Spike, she's still just upset about her Uncle." Carl said, "let her get it out, she's held back this long to help us get to safety, she needs to vent her emotions."
Spike nodded in understanding as Carl stroked Twilight's back as he did before to relax her. The door to the hotel room opened and Lauren walked in. She shut the door and looked to see Carl stroking Twilight as she cried. Everyone was too busy watching the crying unicorn to notice that she had come in.
"Twilight what's wrong?" Lauren asked, walking over to her.
"She's still sad about her Uncle dying."
Lauren walked over to Twilight, "Twilight it's okay." She said as she got down onto her knee and looked at Twilight in the eyes, even though they were closed. "We're here for you.
Now Spike decided to ignore Carl's statement about her being okay and walked over to make Twilight feel better.
Anna and Lisa also joined, making Twilight finally open her eyes and look around.
She slowly sat up, "I'm…I'm sorry that I'm such an emotional wreck." She wiped some more tears away from her eyes.
"Twilight don't worry about it," Lauren said, "All of us are here for you."
She looked around to see Carl, Spike, Lauren, Anna and Lisa all giving her reassuring smiles. She suddenly felt much better as she noticed how much everyone in that room cared about her.
"Thanks everypony…er I mean, everyone. I need to work on that vocabulary, he-he." She said with a small, sad chuckle.
"Twilight," Carl said so she looked up at him, "all of us will help you get through this."
"Yeah. You are a part of our family," Anna chimed in, "after everything that you've gone through with our brother, it only makes sense that we are there for you no matter what."
"Everything will be fine." Spike added, trying to give her his own comforting smile.
Twilight nodded and gave everyone around her a slightly happier, and very appreciative, smile "Thanks...thanks everyone."
"Hey, you got the term right that time." Lisa chuckled.
Twilight wiped some tears away from her eyes, and Lauren finally realized something. "Twilight, I just realized you and Carl have the same eye-color."
Twilight nodded, "Yeah," she looked up at Carl with a face that showed more gratitude than anyone had ever shown to Carl, "I know, we're connected like that." She jumped up and hugged Carl, "Thank you for everything Carl."
Carl smiled and hugged her back, "Anytime Twi."
Now, Lauren was no fool. She could tell that there were romantic feelings between Carl and Twilight simply based on how they acted around each other. All Lauren could do was smile at this. She didn't care that Twilight was a cartoon pony from another dimension, all she cared about was that she and Carl were in love with each other, and were obviously there to support each other.
She didn't say anything, but felt happy that after years of not finding a girl that he could be in a long-term relationship with, her son finally found a girl that he had such a connection with.
Louis' Hotel Room
Louis and Rarity were both in their hotel room on opposite beds. Both were looking away from each other. Louis had a thinking face on as he tried to come up with something to say that would properly convey to the pony how bad he felt, but he couldn't think of anything else to say to her that he hadn't already said. So for the time being he remained silent.
He looked over to see Rarity's face still had the same stubborn scowl that it did for the past few hours. Even though he knew was mostly an act, he let her keep it up because he knew that he deserved to be snubbed by her after the way he had treated her and hurt her feelings. But he still felt like he needed to apologize, so he decided to give it another shot.
"Rarity, I…." he started before she held her hoof up to silence him.
"Don't even bother with the apology Louis. I am sorry but I can not forgive you that easily." She said looking over at him with her scowling face, "I will work with you to defeat Discord, but that is all. I am doing this for your world and the others. Not. For. You." She pointed her hoof with each of the last three words to add emphasis to them. "Understood?"
Louis nodded, "Understood."
Rarity turned back away, crossing her for-legs and staring at the wall next to her, and opposite the bed that Louis was laying on.
"But I am truly sorry," Louis continued as he looked at the ground in shame, "you're my favorite character on the show and I treated you like dirt. I don't deserve your forgiveness."
Suddenly Rarity's ears perked up and she quickly turned around to face Louis with eyes that showed some excitement. She pointed a hoof to herself, 'I'm…I'm your favorite?"
Louis looked up at her and saw her interested face. She still was not smiling. She even still had the same hint of anger that she had since Louis went back to Carl's house to ask to join them in their quest to defeat Discord. In this case, however, her eyes betrayed her and gave away her true attitude, which wasn't anywhere near as angry as she made herself out to be.
"W-why am I your favorite?" she asked, as if she didn't believe it.
Louis shrugged, "I don't know, you're pretty funny and cool for being the "girly-girl" type. Also, you have the generous nature that I want in a girl, and, well…."
"I have the generous nature that you want in a girl? Why Louis, what are you getting at?" she asked with a sly, teasing smirk and eyes that seemed to be prying into Louis' mind as if she was trying to get him to admit something to her that he didn't want her to know. He raised his hands in frantic defense.
"No, not like that! I just, you're just very generous and everything and…well, I like your work ethic." He said, "You have a passion for designing clothes and you go all out, I…I just wish I could be like that, to do what I want and excel at it."
"But darling you do love…er…" she puts her hoof to her chin in thought as she tried to remember the name of the sport that her elemental partner played, "…that sport you play with the ball and…"
Louis chuckled at her confusion, "Soccer."
Rarity clapped her hooves together once in a light bulb moment. "Soccer, yes that's it. You are great at that, and you appear to love it, you should be happy."
"Yeah I guess." Louis said with an uncertain tone that did not go unnoticed by Rarity, who suddenly gave Louis a perplexed look.
"Why in Equestria would you say that with such doubt?" Rarity asked, "I thought you adored soccer…or whatever it's called. I mean, the newspaper wrote that extensive article on you and your astounding abilities to play, not to mention how good you looked when you were at the park that day."
"I do like it, Rarity. Hell, I love it. The feeling of competition and being with friends, it's really amazing." He said with a smile before his expression slowly fell and he looked down, "But that doesn't mean I want to do it for the rest of my life, I have other interests."
"You mean you are only doing it because…you're good at it?"
Louis sighed, "I want to do my parents' memory's proud. Everyone says how I'm supposed to brings the national spotlight onto the Wilmont sport's scene since I'm the first big athlete to come out of it in years. If I quit, I let everyone down."
"But that's no reason to do something you don't want to." Rarity said as she leaned forward in her bed, looking directly into Louis' eyes, "Louis, darling if you don't truly have a passion for something you shouldn't do chose it as your profession."
"The thing is I do like it." Louis muttered, "And I love the fame it's brought me, and what it might bring me in the future. But as a game itself, I don't know I guess I like that my playing makes so many people happy rather than me. And my parents would have wanted that."
"Oh that's right, your parents. Dear I am so sorry that you had to go through such a terrible thing at such a young age." Rarity said as she got off of the bed and walked over to Louis, putting her hoof onto his thigh, "but your parents would have wanted you to do what you wanted, not what others wanted."
Louis nodded and Rarity got off of his thigh and hugged him. He slowly hugged back.
After their embrace, Rarity broke off and looked at him, "And I'm sorry I was so stubborn earlier, I do forgive you for acting like a brute…no offence."
"None taken Rarity. I'm sorry for acting like I did as well; there was no excuse for that. I was just being selfish." Louis said looking at her with a smile.
They hugged each other one last time before Rarity's eyes shot open and she pulled back, putting her hoof to her nose as if she just smelled a port-a-potty that was in constant use, "Oh Louis, I really must suggest that you change out of these filthy clothes."
Louis looked down and remembered he was still wearing the sweat-drenched clothes that he ran in Actually, the sweat had dried off and they smelled horrible.
"Oh, damn. You got that right." Louis laughed a little before he stood up and started towards the bathroom before he stopped, "Oh wait, I don't have anything to change into."
Rarity closed her eyes and smiled, "No need to worry," she got off of the bed and walked over to a white package that was on the counter, "I actually wanted to give this to you as a gift after we first met, but since that didn't work out, now seems like an appropriate time."
She handed him the package, which he opened to see an exact replica of his St. Mary's soccer jersey and shorts.
"Wow Rarity, this is unbelievable. How did you…"
"It was nothing," she said with a wave of her hoof as if to brush off her accomplishment, "I simply copied what I saw in that newspaper article of you. I do hope it fits you, after all I only had the picture to go by."
Louis held the jersey up and saw that it was a near perfect fit. He also held the shorts up and saw that they, too, fit extremely well. He looked up at Rarity, "This is perfect Rarity, thank you so much."
"Anytime Louis, now go shower so I can burn those dreadful things." She said, gesturing to the clothes that he was wearing. Louis nodded and with a grateful smile, headed off to the bathroom.
Rarity watched him go and once he was inside the bathroom, her face was beet red and she fall back onto the mattress giggling like a school-girl that had a crush on the star athlete.
She didn't know that in the bathroom, a very flustered Louis was getting undressed with a big smile on his face as he thought about Rarity, and how happy she made him feel, just like she had whenever he watched the show.
Pete's Room
"So what do you do again Mr. Pete's Dad?" Pinkie asked with a big grin.
"Mr. Reynolds." Pete's father corrected the hyperactive pony, "and I work for an advertisement agency."
"Oh that sounds really cool. Does that mean you put billboards up? And make commercials?" Mr. Reynolds nodded. "That is so awesome! Hey, could I ever star in one of your commercials?"
"Sure Pinkie, maybe in the future when all of this chaos goes away."
"Yay!" Pinkie said, jumping about ten feet into the air. And with her it was literally ten feet, that isn't a hyperbole for the sake of storytelling.
Pete was helping his mother unpack their clothes as he heard Pinkie continue her friendly interrogation of his father.
"That Pinkie Pie sure is energetic." Pete's mother said with a smile as she pulled one of her shirts out of the bag.
"Yeah, I know. But that's what makes her who she is." Pete chuckled, "and honestly I wouldn't want her to be any other way."
"You two are really good friends, aren't you?" Pete's mother asked.
Pete nodded, "Yeah, we are. Then again we sort of have to be," Pete grabbed a pair of jeans and threw them onto the bed he and Pinkie were using. "We are the same elements, and the only way for them to work effectively is to be unified."
Pete continued to unpack as he watched Pinkie bouncing around happily with his father.
"I guess I can tell them about us tonight." Pete thought as he continued to unpack. "It looks like it'll be fine."
Once Pete finished unpacking and walked over to Pinkie Pie. His parents were both out of the room for a minute so he used the chance to break the news.
"So I'lm telling Mom and Dad about us tonight." Pete said.
Pinkie grinned, "Great! This is great, then we don't have to keep our relationship a secret!"
She hugged Pete and he returned it. "Yeah, I just hope my intuitions are correct and they accept it."
Pinkie Pie giggled and pulled back, "Oh Pete, your parents are very kind. I know that they'll love you no matter what and telling them this won't be a problem."
Pete nodded and stood back up, "Then it's settled."
Police Station- Fluttershy's Cell
Fluttershy had been awake for about an hour inside her cell. She was terrified by her surroundings; the damp, concrete walls, the large, metal bars that prevented her escape, and the sounds of James, the boy that she loved, screaming in agony from the mysterious torture that he was receiving.
"Oh, James, I'm sorry I caused you to get stuck in here." Fluttershy muttered to herself somberly as some tears fell. She pressed her face against the bars, her sadness grew as she heard James' cries of pain and agony that continued to reach her ears, made her cringe as she thought of all of the painful things that they could have been doing to him.
Suddenly a door opened and Fluttershy looked up to see two men walk over to the cell. One was Officer Cantor and the other was another police officer. Both had knowing and, borderline evil looks in their eyes as they approached the helpless yellow mare.
Officer Cantor smiled, "Fluttershy, we need to borrow you for a second."
They opened the cell and Fluttershy backed away nervously, looking from side to side as the two men approached her. She walked back until she was pressed against the wall. Officer Cantor laughed, "No more room to hide, eh?"
Fluttershy didn't look up at the face of the malicious police officer. She shut her eyes and looked away. She was so frightened that she didn't resist when the two officers grabbed her and started to pull her out of the cell as her hooves dug into the floor in her attempts to stay put.
Interrogation Room
After a couple of hours of pain at the hands of this sadistic, and apparently unicorn, officer, James was left slumped against the chair, blood trickling from his nose and his eyes barely open. His chest felt as if it was being stabbed by an invisible entity, and his head felt worse than it had after a heavy night of drinking. He could barely move a muscle, but with every ounce of strength that he had left, he lifted his head to see the officer talking to another man, this one with a black suit on.
He didn't know who he was, but he knew that he wasn't a good person.
The man walked over and smiled at James, "Hello there James, I'm sorry for any inconvenience that my late arrival may have caused you."
James would have given the man the finger if he could lift his hand, but that was impossible with his hand tied to his side and the feeling of complete exhaustion coursing throughout his body, including the muscles in his arms.
"My name is Obscure Darkness, and like many of the officers that work here, including my personal chief of police Officer Cantor and the other officers here, we are not as we appear."
James glared at the "man", who just walked over to James and squatted down to he could look at him eye-to-eye.
"You know I have orders from Discord to torture you until you spill what you know," Brett chuckled as he patted James' shoulder, "but we're running short on time, and I know it's going to take a lot more torture for you to start talking."
James didn't respond, he just kept staring at Brett with a stare that was filled with hatred.
"So I have decided to offer you an ultimatum, if it were." Brett stood back up and looked down at James with the upmost seriousness, "and you must chose one of the options I give you. Nothing else."
James kept glaring for a few more seconds before he managed to say in a raspy, tired voice, "What…what choice….do I have?"
Brett smiled, "Well the first choice is to tell me where your friends are right now." He walked over to James and continued around him, pacing in a circle that had James' as the epicenter. "And yes I promise not to harm, kill, maim or do anything to your friends if you tell me where they are." He raised his hand up, "I swear to your God."
James didn't change expression but he answered, "I'm an agnostic…I don't have a formal God."
"Then I swear to Celestia, how does that sound?" Brett asked. James, like he was doing before, did not respond with so much as a syllable. "Good? Good." Brett nodded before walking over to the door that led to the interrogation room and pressing a button, "Yes you can send her in now."
James looked at Brett with initial confusion before his mind began to piece together what was going to happen. His eyes went wide and he shook his head, "No…."
Brett just smiled as the door to the interrogation room opened and Officer Cantor walked in with another officer, and in-between both of them was Fluttershy, who was being dragged in by her back legs. She was crying silently and shaking like a leaf, the very sight of which made James' heart shatter, and his mentality snap. He started to lunge towards her; shouting and fuming in a rage he never thought he was capable of having.
"You bastards! Let her go!"
"Don't worry James," Brett smiled, "there's a very good chance she won't be hurt. But that's up to you and what you chose to do for me right now."
James shook his head, "No…you….you wouldn't…."
"If you tell me where your friends are, none of them, including Fluttershy here," he walked over to Futtershy and with a creepy gentleness. He slowly stroked her mane before he brought his hand across her tear-streaked face. She whimpered and turned away, her eyes closed and tears continuously flowed. Brett continued to make his ultimatum with James, ", will be harmed in any way."
He then turned to face James, "But if you keep playing the martyr and remain silent," suddenly Brett's hand turned into a hoof and was surrounded by the familiar-looking black aura. "I will kill her right here in front of you."
James shook his head, his eyes wide in horror and his body shaking. "No…please don't do this…torture me….k-kill me! Don't do anything to her, please!"
"That's not one of the options you have now Mr. Carson." Brett muttered coldly.
"Please don't."
"I don't have a choice," Brett said with a smile, "but you do. Tell me where your friends are."
James didn't know what to do, his body was shaking in fear and anxiety and he began to sweat. Brett gave a small nod, "As you wish."
He turned and proceeded towards Fluttershy, who was still trying to pull away, her eyes wide in fright and tears gushing down her face.
"No sir…p-please…" she whimpered as she kept trying to scoot further and further from Brett. But it was hopeless. Officer Cantor and the other man held her firm in place as Brett inched closer and closer to the petrified mare. James was torn; he knew that he was fucked either way, but he knew that he couldn't sit back and do nothing while Fluttershy was being murdered right in front of him.
Just before Brett reached out and touched Fluttershy's forehead with his hoof of death, James shouted out.
"Wait! Stop!" Brett stopped moving just mere centimeters from Fluttershy's head. Her eyes were closed until James spoke up. She opened one eye to look at her friend, who was reduced to a mass of sobs.
"I'll tell you." James muttered as the tears ran down his cheeks and landed on his blood-drenched shirt, "they're at the hotel off of 4-90, the…the Holiday Inn, they're there. Just don't hurt anyone...or anypony."
Brett smiled and slowly turned around. Fluttershy seemed to relax a bit, and looked at James with sad eyes, still glossy with tears, as she now saw James, the boy she loved, reduced to nothing more than a sobbing child.
Brett nodded, "Thank you for cooperating. Trust me, no harm will come to any of your friends of their famiies."
Brett turned and ordered Officer Cantor and the other officer to carry Fluttershy out of the room and back to her cell. She looked over towards James and saw that he was looking down, still crying.
Once outside, the door to the interrogation room shut behind her and she closed her eyes, "James….poor James. What have we gotten ourselves into?"
Meanwhile, back in the interrogation room, Brett slowly walked back over to James and lifted the boy's head so they were looking each other in the eye. James' eyes were red as tears continued to flow.
"I promised I wouldn't hurt your friends," Brett said, "but I didn't promise not to hurt you. You are about to feel pain that you've never felt before in your life. Maybe then you'll realize how futile your attempts at stopping us are."
James' eyes suddenly changed from sad to terrified as Brett pressed his hoof to James' skull. James screamed in agony as more pain than he felt in his entire life shot through him. He felt as though each individual muscle, each nerve was contracting and contorting in the most uncomfortable positions. Brett smiled as James' face scrunched and he screamed until he could no longer find the strength to do so.
Yes, just so you know, the next chapter will be extremely dark.
Very dark, actually.
So don't say I didn't warn you.
Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter.
And, as always...
Go Giants! Go Rainbow Dash! (That one's for you C0DEW0LF lol glad you like my Giants messages)