//------------------------------// // Chapter 8–Angry Mob // Story: The Little Pony Legend: A New Generation // by MaggiesHeartLove //------------------------------// “That’s better!” Sprout spent a part of his day sticking a picture of his face over the image of Hitch Trailblazer on the calendar. So far, at least to him, being sheriff was a piece of cake. James, in the meantime, sipped his smoothie. He arched an eyebrow over the image. “You do know you’re only temporary sheriff, right?” James asked. “For now, my friend,” Sprout replied. “But once everybody sees how much better I am than Hitch, it’s only a matter of time until they vote me in office permanently.” “You’re not running for mayor, Sprout.” “What kind of pony you take me—mayor! That’s the best idea I’ve ever thought of! I could run for mayor!” “Please… don’t,” James muttered dryly. “You just wait Jimbo, someday this town will erect a statue in my honor. I’ll be the most powerful pony in all of Maretime—no, in ‘all’ of Equestria! I’ll have this whole country so clean you can eat the grass you step on.” “Maybe you could start by picking up all the pizza boxes on the floor!” James suggested, referring to the mess. “Others work here, you know?” “… ‘Mayor Sprout Cloverleaf’,” Sprout smirked arrogantly. “I love the sound of that!” James rolled his eyes and sighed to himself. Frankly, he really didn’t expect Sprout to last long as sheriff of Maretime Bay. He felt certain he’d choke under the pressure. He gave him, at the very least, a couple extra days to milk it. But even that’s being too generous. Suddenly, the doors sprung open and in came Phyllis Cloverleaf, along with a crowd of ponies clamoring the police department building from the outside. “Mom?” Sprout asked. “Ms. Cloverleaf?” James cocked an eyebrow. Phyllis looked out of breath yet regained her composure the moment she saw her son wearing his shiny new badge. “My, oh, my, aren’t you the handsome sheriff! Look at you. “Yes. Yes I am, mommy,” Sprout chuckled bashfully. It made this pony so happy having mother so proud of him. Of course, she’s ‘always’ been supportive of him since the day he was born. Still, to be sheriff and have their lifelong dream realized, it was more Sprout could ask for. Meanwhile, James kept sipping his smoothie, unamused and just waiting for the train wreck to occur. A partner he may be, but not the most ‘supportive’. “Well, this is it,” Phyllis continued. “It is your time to shine, dear. “Everybody wants to hear from you.” “They do?” Sprout asked. “They do?” James repeated, in complete disbelief. “Of course! You are in charge now,” Phyllis declared, whispering in her son’s ear. “It’s your destiny.” His destiny? His mother never told him that before… ever. Stil, she was right… she’s always right. She’s been right about the unicorns and mages, about the Pegasi and fairies, why doubt her wisdom now? This was hiss moment to shine, a chance to finally prove to everybody in town, both Earth ponies and elves alike, that Sprout Cloverleaf was far better than Hitch Trailblazer. “This’ll end well…” James muttered. James winced following a stiff kick to the knee courtesy of Phyllis. “You show some respect to your partner, young man!” “Yes, ma’am,” James whimpered, from the pain. <> Before the gathered crowd, the doors to the sheriff’s department opened… “Citizens!” Sprout announced. *WHAM!* Immediately the doors slammed in his face. “Ow!” James opened the doors, wearing a bored expression. Sprout stepped out, rubbing his nose. Eventually he cleared his throat before addressing the crowd. “It is I, Sheriff Sprout!” “Sheriff?!” The elves and ponies asked, amongst one another. “Where’s Hitch?” One random pony asked. “We need a real sheriff!” Another waved his hoof. “Tell us what’s going on!” An elf woman declared. “Hitch would know what to do!” A male elf spoke. “Come on now, everybody,” Phyllis spoke up. “Let’s listen to what our new sheriff has to say. But Sprout was silent, suddenly feeling unsure what to say next. James had to ‘literally’ push Sprout with his knee. “That’s ‘you’, genius,” James whispered. “Oh, yeah, it’s me.” “Everything’s gone wrong!” A pony shouted. “What do we do?!” “Okay, folks, calm down,” Sprout spoke up. “There’s no need to be scared.” The poor pony ‘tried’ to sound convince, but in reality he was having a full blown freak out on the inside. What was Sprout even thinking? He wasn’t cut out for this job! Oh… but he couldn’t let everyone down. Worse… he couldn’t let his mother down. “We’re scared, and we want to be prepared!” “The unicorns and mages are coming!” “What do we do?” “What’s your plan, sheriff?” “What if the unicorn and mage come back?” “Where is Keith?!” A random female pony asked. “If anyone should be sheriff right now, it’s him!” Hearing that traitor’s name ignited James’ fury. While he might still believe Sprout was in over his head, at least he was loyal to the Earth Folk. Sprout would never turn on them at the drop of a hat. Kogan on the other hand… “Forget Kogan!” James raised his voice, silencing everyone. “The elf has gone rogue! He and Sunny ran off with that unicorn and mage. For all we know, they could be halfway towards the others… maybe even the fairies and Pegasi as we speak. Like it or not, Sprout is ‘your’ sheriff! He might not be much one of, or act much like one, inf act I still believe he’s completely under qualified—” “I’m standing right here!” Sprout said, pressing his ears back. If his coat wasn’t already a bright shade of red, his face would be blushing with rage right now. “But at the very least Sprout knows where his loyalty lies. “Yeah!” Sprout declared, his confidence rising. “Sunny Starscout and Keith Kogan have turned on us! And you know what, you could all be right. What if they do come back? They could bring the unicorns and mages, and the fairies and Pegasi!” The audience gasped in fear. “We are all in danger, but instead of standing around arguing we should do something! I say, if they want a fight, we should give them one! We are Earth Folk, and its high time we show those monsters who’s boss!” Something is lurking, something is near Something is feeling stranger, stranger Stirring up discord, whipping up fear Whispering softly, "danger, danger!" Outsiders creep up slow and steady Wings glistening, horns at the ready Think what they could do to the status quo Phyllis: “Oh, no!” Sprout: They're gonna steal, plunder, and pillage They're gonna take over the village Don't just sit on your butts and do nothing and wait Let's enter a blind, irrational state Better get nervous, better get tense Better not let them catch you blinking You don't need a reason, fillies and gents This is no time for sober thinking Mob! Earth Pony: Mob? Sprout: M-M-Mob, mob! Elf: Mob? Earth pony and Elf: Mob? Sprout: Angry, angry mob! Earth ponies and elves: Mob, m-m-mob, mob! Mob, mob, angry, angry! As Sprout rallied the citizens of Maretime Bay, their anger and rage increased. Those who once trusted Keith Kogan immediately turned on him. They called him a traitor, a menace like his sister. If he and Sunny ever returned, there would be ‘no’ mercy. Even James began to like this new side of Sprout. Finally, a pony taking charge. Sure, James could’ve become sheriff in Hitch’s steed, but he wasn’t motivated enough for the job. Besides, even if he was, he’d never hear Sprout complain about it. For once, he actually believed this pony could pull it off. In the end, this was what James truly wanted. A measure of payback toward Kogan for backstabbing the entire town including his own department. “Everybody wins…” James declared. Having no need to be part of the rally, he turned to leave when he bumped face-first into Commander Iverson. He looked up toward the fierce gleam in Iverson’s eyes, petrified by the dead man’s stare. Before James could utter another word, Iverson dragged James away from the scene while Sprout was still getting his groove on. Sprout: Fight, see in black and white That's your pony right Time to lift your manes and proudly Throng, numbers make you strong Millions can't be wrong Especially when they're screaming loudly You might not have a bale of hay to borrow Are you saddled with your sorrow? Are you scared about tomorrow? Well, it's all gonna work out painlessly If you follow my orders brainlessly Who are we? Everybody: We're an angry mob! Sprout: What are we? Everybody: We're an angry mob! Sprout: Look at this corn! Everybody: It's on the cob! Sprout: Look at that guy! Rob the elf: Uh, my name's Rob. Everybody: Mob, mob, m-m-mob, mob! Mob, mob, angry, angry! Mob, mob, m-m-mob, mob! Mob, mob, angry, angry! Mob, mob, m-m-mob, mob! Mob, mob, angry, angry! Mob, mob, m-m-mob, mob! Mob, mob, angry, angry mob! *** Back in the Canterlogic facility, James found himself forcibly lead by Commander Iverson through the building. Their journey took them into one of the warehouse supply rooms where most of the tools, supplies, and machine parts were kept in storage. As of this moment, it was just the two of them as most of the other faculty were currently ‘busy’ under Sprouts leadership. Eventually, Commander Iverson moved ahead of James, who followed closely and silently behind. “So, what’s this top secret job your boss wanted me to do?” James asked, rubbing the sore spot where Phyllis had kicked him. At first Iverson didn’t answer right away. The cold silence from Phyllis’s tall bodyguard was more intimidating than his size alone. They passed a row of shelves where several crates sat along on display, as James eyed around slightly nervous. “How familiar are you with the ‘Paladins of Harmony’?” Iverson asked suddenly. “Only that they’re an old folks tale Sunny wouldn’t stop raving about when we were kids,” James replied. “Then you couldn’t be more wrong, soldier.” Iverson said. James looked up toward Iverson, who not once turned back toward him during their whole conversation. How in Equestria could Iverson even know about the legend? James just assumed he was just Phyllis’s newly hired muscle to intimidate those who question her practices. What secrets does he know that James doesn’t? “You’re not seriously saying that those stories are real, right? There’s no way.” “Where do the stories come from?” Iverson asked. “I might look like a meathead, but I’m a lot more cultures than you think, Griffin!” James gave him a salute, though he wasn’t sure why. Iverson’s military speak just triggered the reaction. “Sir, no sir!” “Our ancestors fought alongside the Paladins themselves, but that was before the others races turned on each other. Unicorns and mages with their freaky magic, and the fairies and pegasi with their eagle wings, snatching up everyone in sight! Those paladins were a joke, and they made all of us pay the price for their blindsided worldview. But… some good did come out of it.” Iverson led James to a large door with multiple locks. He pressed his hand on a digital scanner and the locks became loose and the door flew open, making a creepy creaking sound. James followed Iverson into a cold room. Literally, there was cold mist that made James rub his arms for warmth. Iverson stood before a large case, he then proceeded to unclip the lid holding the contents and slowly lifted the lid. A heavy glow suddenly appeared from the container as Iverson and James looked down. James looked at the content with wide-eyed shock, so great his jaw slowly dropped. Iverson, in the meantime, was stone-faced the whole time. “Where did you even get this?” James asked. “Cloverleaf’s secret weapon. A little bit of old Equestrian weaponry, mixed with modern technology. Guaranteed to wipe out all those pesky unicorns, mages, pegasi and fairies if they so much as dare to cross into Maretime Bay again. I always had a hunch Kogan would go rouge, and now that he has, you think you got what it takes to take him down?” It took James a moment more to fully breathe in the offer given to him. Suddenly, it was starting to become clear what he was truly being offered. And while he still could not fathom what was truly going on, but that didn’t matter now. Just as Sprout looked to prove himself better than Hitch, he too wanted a chance to one-up Keith Kogan and what was in this chest was going to help him. Slowly, he looked up from the box and a sinister smile spread across his face. “Oh, you know it.”