"I want you all to listen up, and listen up good." I say firmly as I stand in front of the large group of my acquired friends, both human and pony. Tonight is the night that it all goes down, and let me just put in on the record that my blood is pumping so fast I can feel my body literally shaking from the sheer force of it all. Everyone is present except for Mr. Brown, who is somewhere upstairs, probably sleeping or something. Otherwise, pretty much everyone up to this point is here with me, and they all have determined looks on their faced.

"Tonight, we don't just take back our friends, we aren't just taking back some innocent kids. No, tonight, we take back OUR family! We are all in this together, and we're going to do everything in our power to free our family!" I say with a loud, yet stern voice as I pace in front of the group. "Now, as you probably expected, I want all of you to come with me, and that means ALL of you! However, once we reach the warehouse, we will split up. Some of you will wait outside as backup, while the rest of us go inside. I'm doing this only because I feel like those staying outside are not really fighters, no offense to them. So, the only ones that will do in with me are Alex, John, Rainbow, and Twilight. The rest of you are going to stay outside, keeping an eye out for any stray gang members that may be lurking around. Alice, you're going to have Alex's cell, and you'll call me if you see anyone that might spot us before we can get inside. That's really all there is to it. Oh, and John and Alex, you'll be using these." I toss each of them a loaded pistol, of course, with the safety on. "I'll be using this." I say as I pat the rifle on my back. "Rainbow, we'll see if we can get you a gun when we get there, and Twilight, I trust that we can rely on your magic as both a weapon, and a defensive mechanism. Alright, any questions?"

"Yeah, can we get going already!? I'm going to jump out of my skin if we wait around any longer Matt!" Rainbow complains as she flies in small circles around me.

"Alright, alright. Lets get out of here. We have a family to save!" With that, everyone cheers and pumps assorted limbs into the air. We run out of the front door, and out into the cool night air. We could have taken the trucks, but we'd be seen from a mile away. So, while running may take a while, it is so much safer than driving.

I can tell it is taking Rainbow everything in her to keep from just zooming off without us, but thankfully, she doesn't. She hovers next to me as I jog down the empty quite street, the only sounds being us breathing softly, our footsteps, and Rainbow's wings flapping. I look over at her, and she looks at me. I expect to see anger, maybe nervousness in her eyes, but instead, all I see is desperation. I nod at her, already knowing what she is thinking. She nods back, and we continue making our way down the road before coming to a stop about ten minutes later to take a breather.

"Why are we stopping!?" Rainbow hisses out in a loud whisper.

"Because... we're humans... we don't have your stamina." Alex huffs out as he bends down, placing his hands on his knees. I'm definitely not any better off than him, because my lungs are on fire as well. John seems to be little better than us, only resting his hands behind his head, taking in long, steady breaths. It isn't much of a surprise that someone like him would be in pretty good shape.

"And it doesn't help with this thing on my back." I grunt as I point a thumb back at the rifle strapped over my shoulder. "These things are kinda heavy to lug around while running."

"Yeah yeah, complain later guys. Night won't last forever, and we really need to get there before sunrise. We have a couple hours at best, and it'll take almost that long to get there, so we need to get moving like, now." John states as he looks up at the sky.

"He's right, we really need to get moving guys." Twilight says as she starts moving forward again. Even though I know they're right, I can't help but look back at Alex and sighing as we continue forwards again. This is just like gym class all over again. Strength? Got that. Speed? Got that too. But stamina? Ah hell no! That's one thing I have always lacked and could never seem to increase.

"You know, if we weren't running into hell itself, I'd say this view is pretty damn beautiful." I say between breaths as I continue to jog forward, looking up at the night sky through the tall trees around us.

"It is, isn't it?" Rainbow responds as she flies next to me. "Makes ya just want to keep flying up and up until you can just... touch it." She says rather quietly as she eyes the sky.

"Have you ever done that before?" I ask.

"What? Touching the sky?"

"Well, not literally of course." I say with a small grin. "I mean, have you ever just kept flying up and up until you couldn't anymore? Just to see what it was like?"

"Yeah, I have plenty of times, and let me tell you, it is the best feeling in the world! You can just see everything around for miles and miles, and you can even see the planet curving over the horizon!"

"That sounds beautiful. I'd love to see that one day... Too bad I can't fly huh?" I say with a light chuckle.

"Maybe, somehow, we can get you up there." She responds with a little smile.

"Boy, that would be amazing huh? Just you and me, up in the clouds, watching the sun set over the horizon, nobody around to bother us... Gees, you're getting me all worked up over something that'll never happen." I say as I elbow her in the side, almost knocking her off her flight path.

"Hey, never say never Matt. Anything's possible, you're the one who told me that."

"I did, didn't I? Alright, how about after all of this, we try to live out that dream in any way possible?"

"Heh, deal." She says as she holds out a hoof at me. I make a fist and bump it.

We keep running through the darkness, the only light coming from the moon and stars. Thank God we have John with us, or we would have been lost a long time ago, even though this is just one long straight path.

"There." John says quietly as he points into the distance. "We should split up here guys before we get too close." He says as we come to a stop. Alex hands Alice his phone, and tells her how to unlock it before walking over to our group, the ones who will infiltrate the warehouse. The backup/lookout group hides off to the side in the thick vegetation of the forest.

"So, what's the plan genius?" Alex asks as he nudges me in the side. "You're the only one who has seen this place before, what do you remember?"

"Well, first off, it is huge, like HUGE. There are a ton of rooms, and I was just lucky enough to find my way out because I was in the main area, the loading docks I think. Anyway, that place will probably be heavily guarded, not to mention how exposed we would be just walking into the front entrance. There's the roof, but only Rainbow and Twilight would be able to get up there, the three of us would be left on the ground, so that's out of the picture... There's most likely a back door, which would probably be our best option." I explain everything as we slowly approach the back of the warehouse through the forest, hoping not to be seen.

"And what if there's a guard at the back door?" Alex whispers.

"Then we... y'know, deal with him." I say quietly as I hold the rifle out in front of me.

"Hell no. We don't have silencers, and if we tried to use a knife, we wouldn't be able to get close enough to take the guy out before he shot us or alarmed someone." Alex responds.

"Ahem." John coughs. We all look over at him to see him pointing directly as Twilight's head. "Magic. She does magic right? We can probably use that to our advantage. Maybe she can teleport us in or something?"

"Teleport? No, can't do that. Not only would it take a ton of energy to get us all inside, I can't do it since I don't exactly know what the inside looks like. I have to visualize the destination before I can teleport there. However, I could use my magic to maybe drop something on the guy?" Twilight suggests as we get ever so close, close enough to spot a back door with a single guard keeping watch.

"Yeah, like a rock or something." Rainbow whispers, now landing so she won't be seen. God, she better stay low, or we'll be seen for sure. Doesn't matter how dark it is, that mane is just too colorful and bright to not be spotted.

"Or just hit him with this." Alex says as he tosses his pistol over to Twilight. She catches it in her magic before it can hit the ground.

"But you just said it would be too loud, so why-"

"He's not saying to fire it Twilight, he's saying the hit the guy with it. A pistol whip." I explain as we crouch down in a bush just on the edge of the forest. There is about twenty maybe thirty feet of open area between us and guard.

"Oh, okay. So just... side of the head or what?"

"Yeah, side of the head. Right here, really hard." I say pointing to my temple. Twilight nods and gulps before levitating the gun towards the guy, taking a path around him so he doesn't notice.

The poor guy barely noticed the floating gun next to him before it knocked him out cold. We all rush out, and press up against the wall of the building, Alex recollecting his gun. I take my rifle off my back, and hold it out in front of me. I took the scope off earlier, as it would have no use in close range combat, leaving me with the standard sights of the rifle. I check the ammo, making sure it is full before nodding and holding up three fingers. I start counting down, and when I get to zero, I place my hand on the door knob. I let out one big sigh, and twist, expecting it to be locked for some reason. To my surprise, it is open, and an alarm didn't go off, at least, not one we could hear. Twilight and Rainbow begin hovering, as their hooves would be too loud on the concrete surface below them. The three of us humans tip toe quietly, trying to make little to no sound as we make our way through the complex.

I hold up a hand when we reach a corner, telling everyone else to stop. I can hear voices around the corner, and I stick my head out to take a peak. What I see makes my heart stop.

Jack, and like, ten other guys standing around Star and Emily, the former in some cage, and the latter tied to a rusty old chair. They seem to be mocking her or something, can't really tell from here. Whatever is happening, it is making my blood boil

"Um... Matt." Alex squeaks out from behind me.

"Shhh." I whisper back to him, keeping my eyes on the scene in front of me.

"Matt..." He says again, fear in his voice.

"What!?" I hiss back at him, still not turning around.

"Sooo, remember how we left Mr. Brown at home... and how we brought everyone with us..." He whispers, his voice cracking.

"Yeah, so?"

"We may have left Trent behind..."

"What?" I turn around, and see why he had suddenly gotten a tone of fear in his voice. There, behind him, with his own glock pointed at his head, was Trent with and evil little smirk on his face, one hand on his stomach where the bullet hit him. "Oh... shit." I mumble as my shoulder slump. Alex has his hands in the air, and John has his gun pointed at Trent.

"Don't!" He whispers at Trent. If you shoot, this guy dies, and your cover is blown, and you wouldn't want that would you?" He says, a look of insanity in his eyes.

"I thought you were on our side!" Rainbow grunts as she hovers next to Twilight, both of them with their forelegs in the air.

"Really? You fucking fell for that? Are you that stupid!?" He laughs out insanely. "Don't tell me you think that we didn't see you on the road last night! Getting shot was my idea you idiots! A way to get inside, a way to let the rest of our group knowing that you were coming! Oh, and don't worry about your pops John, he's in a better place now! I took care of him myself!" Now he's yelling. Of course, this doesn't help him at all, as it makes him close his eyes and lose focus for just less than a second. And that was all the time John needed.

*BANG*

It happened in slow motion. The bullet leaving his gun. His head exploding like a balloon. His blood splattering against the wall. His body going limp on the ground.

"Get them!" I hear Jack himself yelling from the main room around the corner. He must have seen us before the gun even went off. Fuck, this is just what we were trying to avoid, an all out battle.

"Matt!" I hear Emily yell out as we all run into the room. John, Alex and I all cock our guns and aim them at the group before seeing just what was going on.

"I wouldn't do that Matty boy." Jack says with an evil grin as he points a pistol at Emily's head, causing her to squirm around against he bindings. "I've got your precious little sister Matty, what are gonna do? Shoot me? Because you know what'll happen if you do."

"Jack, just let her go man, she's just a kid!" I grunt, my gun still pointed at him. Alex and John as slowly rotating, keeping the rest of the gang members in their sights. Rainbow and Twilight are hovering beside us, though nobody seems to notice the faint glowing of Twilight's horn nor the small glow of light behind Emily where her hands are tied up.

"Just a kid huh? Now Matt, you know I wouldn't let that keep me from s-" Jack gets cut off as Emily jumps out of her chair, and biting down hard on Jack's arm, the same one holding the gun. He screams and the gun fires, hitting another gang member directly in the back of the head.

"NOW!" I yell as I start unloading into the group. The lighting is horrible though, throwing off everyone's aim. Rainbow and Twilight melee brawl with those without guns, while the rest of us take cover around the sides of walls, peeking out every now and then to take shots at the gang members. Jack storms over to the cage with Star in it, and makes a mad dash for the exit, passing by Emily who ducks to avoid flying bullets as she runs over to where I'm taking cover.

"Matt!" She yells out as she wraps herself around my waist.

"Oh God, Emily." I choke out, dropping my gun, hoping that John and Alex can hold the others off for a minute. "I missed you." I say quietly as I embrace her against my chest.

"Star, Matt you have to go get her!" She says pointing a finger towards where Jack ran off.

"Oh, right! I'm on i-"

"AGH!" A scratchy, familiar voice yells out from the room where shots are still being fired. I step out from around the corner to see nine bodies on the ground, and one still standing, smoke trailing from the barrel of his gun. I swipe my head to the left, and see Twilight on the ground holding a blue figure with a red path on it's leg.

"DAMMIT!" I yell as I fire three rounds into the last guy standing. "Rainbow!" I slide on my knees, and stop next to her and Twilight. I almost push Twilight so hard that she falls backwards so that I can get a look at Rainbow. What I see both relieves and angers me. Anger because she got shot, but relief that it only hit her in the leg.

"I-I'm fine. G-Go get Star." She mumbles out, trying to force a smile.

"But Rainbow, you-"

"I said get her! We didn't come all this way just to let Jack get away with her again!" She barks out at me. I stutter a little before standing and nodding.

"I'll take care of her. Go!" Twilight demands as she points a hoof towards where Jack ran off to.

"Matt, I'm going with you." Alex says as he runs up next to me, along with John and Emily.

"Me too!" Emily pipes up in a determined voice.

"No! You all stay here!" I say firmly as I take off towards the door that Jack disappeared behind. I expected it to lead outside, but instead found myself in a stairwell. I follow the stairs up about three stories before reaching a single door at the top. I force it open with my shoulder, and point my rifle around as I find myself on the roof of the structure.

"Where the hell is it!?" I hear Jack yell out from the other side of the roof. He's standing at the edge, looking for something in the sky.

"Jack!" I yell as I point the rifle at him, slowly walking in his direction, no fear in my system since I know he dropped his gun back downstairs.

"Wha? Oh son of a bitch, you're still alive!?" He yells out over the wind.

"Yeah, and I want my daughter back!"

"Well, I was supposed to meet a guy up here with a chopper, but it seems that he was a no show. Too bad, I could have made big bucks off this little shit head." He says as he grab Star out of the cage, throwing the hunk of metal over the side of the roof. "So go ahead, shoot, but I'll take the little horse thing with me." He says as the wind blows his hair around violently.

"Just fucking put her down you asshole!" I yell back as I keep my rifle aimed at him.

"I don't think so. You ruined my life, you know that Green? Breaking my nose was one thing, but then you went and completely fucked up my arm! I had scholarships Green! I was gonna go pro, and you ruined that! You ruined my life! Everything I've done, is all because of you, you! YOU! THAT'S WHY I'M GONNA TAKE WHAT YOU LO-"

*BANG*

Jack somehow manages to not fall backwards after the bullet enters his chest. The only thing is, I never pulled the trigger.

*BANG* BANG*

Two more shots ring through the night air, causing my ears to ring from the sound. I turn my head around, and see a shaking Emily holding Jack's gun, which is spewing out smoke from the barrel.

"E-Em?" I whisper quietly before looking back at Jack. He gives me a confused look, then one final desperate look of hate.

Then he falls.

"Star!" I drop the rifle and run over to the edge, expecting to see two crushed figures on the ground. Before I can even reach the edge, a small figure emerges from the side, flapping it's little wings furiously.

"D-Daddy!" She whimpers as she lands on the metal roof.

"Oh God... oh God... Star..." I whisper as I drop to my knees, grabbing her up in my hands. "I-I guess he didn't know daddy taught you how to do that huh?" I whispers through my tears. I feel something embrace me from the back, and see Emily with tears on her face.

"I- We found you guys. We fucking did it..." I cry out, not even caring what I say around the two. We hold each other tightly, Emily and I crying in relief, and Star crying in what I guess is fear. They both feel so skinny and thin, like they haven't been fed in forever.

The metal door to the stairwell slams open, and everyone runs out towards us, except for Rainbow who is riding on Alex's back.

"Where is he!?" John asks as he points his gun around, looking for Jack.

"T-Take a look..." I whisper as I point to the edge. We all crawl to the edge, looking down at the ground where a bloody, mangled corpse lay in the grass.

"He's..." Rainbow chokes out before seeing Star in my arms. "Oh Celestia!" She jumps off Alex's back, crying out a little when she lands on her bad leg which is now patched up with what looks like part of John's jacket.

I hold between us as Rainbow embraces the both of us, and soon, everyone but John joins in. I look up at him, and give him a smile, waving for him to walk over to us to join in.

"C'mon, this is your family too. One big, weird family." I say with a smile as a few more tears make their way down my face.

"Ah... fuck it." He says as he pocket his gun and gets down on his knees to join in on the embrace. After a few minutes, I reach down and pull out my phone, and call Alice who responds almost immediately.

"Matt!? Are you okay?" She asks, sounding somewhat worried.

"Y-Yeah Alice, mission accomplished." I sigh out in relief before remembering what Trent said about her and John's father. "But... I have some bad news..." I say solemnly as I look up at John who begins to tear up at the mention of it, as he already knows what I was talking about.

"What!? Is everyone okay?"

"I'll explain in person, it'll be better that way... Hang in the Alice, we're on our way back..."

*5 Hours Later*

The only sound is that of shovels breaking through the dirt as Alice, John, Alex, and I dig out a hole in the backyard of the Brown residence. The seven ponies and Emily watch in sadness as we lower the body, covered in a white sheet, into the hole in the ground. John makes a cross symbol across his face and chest with his hand before getting down on his knees and peering into the hole. Alice kneels down next to him, and they both start to sob as they embrace. Rainbow, who is now patched up, flies over to me, embracing me in a tight embrace, her own warm tears soaking my shirt. I hold her tightly against me, letting my own tears flow out of sadness from the loss of the man who saved not only my life, but Rainbow's as well.

"Say hey to mom for me..." I hear John whisper as he wipes his hand across the dirt around the edges of the hole. This only causes Alice to sob even harder, but it seems to calm John down some.

"I'm sick of it Rainbow." I mumble into her ear as I pat the side of my pants, feeling the cube in my pocket.

"Sick of... what?"

"This world. This messed up, crazy world." I say as I let her go, letting her hover in front of me.

"I am too, but it's our home Matt."

"No, its my home. Your home is in Equestria..." I say as I put my hand on her shoulder.

"A-Are you saying I should-"

"Yes, I want you to go back with Star."

"But, Matt-"

"And I'm going with you."

"W-What?"

"Like I said, I'm sick of all the violence, and corruption, and death that just plagues the entire planet. I want to go back with you Rainbow. We can start over there, a whole new life together with Star."

"Lets go it! I'm all for it Matt, as long as you're there with me!"

"Alright then Rainbow, lets go home and pack, then start our new lives together. Lets begin a new adventure, as a family."

*Epilogue*

In the end, everyone was reunited, with the loss of Colton Brown, and man that everyone would remember in their hearts for the rest of their lives.

Emily went back to living with her parents after they were released from the hospital. There, she led a pretty normal life, making plenty of friends, and even a very special friend by the name of Henry.

Alex returned to Jacksonville where he and Skyler attended college together. They continued to love each other to death, and there were even rumors floating around about a proposal coming soon.

John and Alice, though devastated by the loss of their father, continued to live in their cabin in the woods of Georgia. They both take care of the house, pay the bills, and keep an eye out for any more gang members that may still be lurking around.

The ponies that accompanied the gang of friends all returned to Ponyville where they continued living out their normal lives as if nothing had really happened. However, some were still obviously affected by the events that transcended back on Earth.

As for Matthew, Rainbow, and Star, they all said goodbye to Earth for good after returning home from Georgia. They packed and said their goodbyes before heading out to start their new lives. Matt had to practically pry Emily off of him when he said he was leaving, and the same went for his mother. His father wasn't excited about it either, but had faith in his son that he was making the right decision.

The three made their way into Equestria, saying goodbye to Earth one last time. The only time they would ever come back would be on important holidays or birthdays. Matt was realized as a national hero by Celestia herself for closing the rifts that threatened both worlds. He was even offered a place to stay in the castle for his works, but he turned it down in the end.

Matt and Rainbow ended up buying a small, cozy cabin at the edge of Ponyville, Rainbow selling her old house so they could afford it. Shortly after moving in, Matthew finally felt like he was at home, truly, at home.

It had been a crazy two and half years since meeting Rainbow, and he didn't regret anything. He'd go through it all again if it meant getting to this point. He was finally satisfied with his life, for the first time in forever. This was the thing he was looking for all along, the same thing we all look for in life, just someone to hold and love us. That was exactly what he found.

"I love you ya know." I whisper into Rainbow's ear as I hold her against my chest as we lay back on the roof of our cabin, looking up at the Equestrian night sky.

"Oh trust me, I know." She giggles back to him.

"Its funny really when you think about it."

"What is?"

"Us! I mean, a human, like me, and a pegasus like you, actually fell in love? What are the odds?"

"They seem pretty high to me, and I guess we have Discord to thank for that."

"Huh, yeah, I guess this is all his doing isn't it? Well damn, I gotta thank that guy if I ever see him."

"Me too. At first, I was so upset that he did what he did by sending me to Earth. But now? Now I couldn't be more grateful, because I never would have found you."

"And I never would have found you." I say as I touch my lips gently against her's.

"Love ya you dorky human." She giggles softly as she rubs her nose against mine.

"Love ya too Rainbow... love you too..."

*THE END*

“Only once in your life, I truly believe, you find someone who can completely turn your world around. You tell them things that you’ve never shared with another soul and they absorb everything you say and actually want to hear more. You share hopes for the future, dreams that will never come true, goals that were never achieved and the many disappointments life has thrown at you. When something wonderful happens, you can’t wait to tell them about it, knowing they will share in your excitement. They are not embarrassed to cry with you when you are hurting or laugh with you when you make a fool of yourself. Never do they hurt your feelings or make you feel like you are not good enough, but rather they build you up and show you the things about yourself that make you special and even beautiful. There is never any pressure, jealousy or competition but only a quiet calmness when they are around. You can be yourself and not worry about what they will think of you because they love you for who you are. The things that seem insignificant to most people such as a note, song or walk become invaluable treasures kept safe in your heart to cherish forever. Memories of your childhood come back and are so clear and vivid it’s like being young again. Colours seem brighter and more brilliant. Laughter seems part of daily life where before it was infrequent or didn’t exist at all. A phone call or two during the day helps to get you through a long day’s work and always brings a smile to your face. In their presence, there’s no need for continuous conversation, but you find you’re quite content in just having them nearby. Things that never interested you before become fascinating because you know they are important to this person who is so special to you. You think of this person on every occasion and in everything you do. Simple things bring them to mind like a pale blue sky, gentle wind or even a storm cloud on the horizon. You open your heart knowing that there’s a chance it may be broken one day and in opening your heart, you experience a love and joy that you never dreamed possible. You find that being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure that’s so real it scares you. You find strength in knowing you have a true friend and possibly a soul mate who will remain loyal to the end. Life seems completely different, exciting and worthwhile. Your only hope and security is in knowing that they are a part of your life.”
― Bob Marley

**SEQUEL NOW OUT!**
https://www.fimfiction.net/story/331345/falling-stars#comment/7271235

Author's Notes:

I-Is that it? A-Am I done!? YES! Finally! I'm free from the bondage of writing every day!... Wow, that's really depressing actually. I'm finally done with this story, and I'm not sure whether or not to be happy!

This does mean I get to start a new story though, with tons of new ideas, characters, and plot twists! So of course, keep an eye out for that!

I say this a lot, but I gotta thank you all again for supporting me so much through this journey, and I can't wait to start a new one with all of you! I really couldn't do any of this without your support, so I just gotta say... well, Thanks! Lets start a new adventure together, what do you say? Alright then, lets go!

**SEQUEL NOW OUT!**
https://www.fimfiction.net/story/331345/falling-stars#comment/7271235