The Descendants

by Gherkin

Chapter 7: It's a Revolution, I Suppose

The mood and atmosphere inside Remedy Apple’s Medicinal Supplies was quiet and somber. The purple stallion that had come crashing through the door about an hour ago was still unconscious, and had been tucked into a bed in Remedy’s office. Most of the crowd had dispersed and gone back to their usual activities. The four ‘ex-humans’, however, still sat in the waiting room, waiting for answers.

They all looked up as Braeburn and his mother re-entered the room, the latter looking more tired and overworked than ever. She sighed, and turned to the group. “Does anyone want a cup of coffee?”

Cole raised his hoof, still engrossed in a magazine, titled New Equestrian Technology. Nate suppressed a laugh, causing the conduit to look up. “What?” he asked.

“Oh, nothing,” Drake replied, feigning innocence. “Enjoy your coffee.” He smirked as MacGrath shrugged and returned to reading.

While his mother went into the kitchen to make some coffee, Braeburn trotted over to Cole. “Uh, Mr. MacGrath, can I ask you something?” he asked, sitting down next to the earth pony.

Cole sighed. I can see where this is going, he thought. Closing the magazine and putting it down, he turned to the beige farmpony. “Sure, what is it?”

Braeburn looked concerned. “Well, let me start by saying thank you for saving that poor stallion’s life, but...” He trailed off, looking away.

“Let me guess. How did I do it?” The conduit finished his friend’s sentence for him.

Braeburn nodded. “Half the town saw what you did, and I’d be lying if I said they weren’t a bit wary. I mean, you had electricity coming out of your darn hooves!” He sounded halfway between concerned and awed.

MacGrath sighed wearily and looked away. “Look, Braeburn, we’re friends now, right? I’m not gonna lie to you.” He lifted one of his forehooves up, making it crackle with idle electricity. Braeburn recoiled slightly. “See, I have... powers,” Cole explained, trying to think of a way to describe it whilst not revealing too much. “After a near fatal accident, I woke up and I just had them. I don’t know what to say.”

Braeburn eyed him for a second, deciding what to think, before looking away again. “I just don’t know what to think, Cole. But y’all seem like decent fellas, so I trust you’ll do what’s best for this town.” He stood up as Remedy came back into the room, carrying a tray of mugs. Her son picked up one and took a sip. “Thanks, ma,” he said, smiling.

The older mare picked up another one of the mugs and handed it to Cole. “Here you go, Mr. MacGrath. It’s not the best, but it’s all we have.”

“No, don’t worry, it’s fine.” The conduit nodded and smiled. “How’s our friend doing?”

Remedy set down the tray on the table, before picking up her own mug and turning back to Cole. “You mean that stallion? He’s alright. I did some tests, checked for any abnormalities in his bloodstream, but they came up negative. The gash in his head was bad though; he lost a lot of blood.”

MacGrath shrugged. “Well, I guess we’ll have to ask him what that whole fiasco was about when he wakes up.”

The doctor moaned. “Yes, I suppose you’re right. Just when I thought I was going to have a quiet day...” She glanced up at the clock, before groaning again. “And it’s still only just half over.” Taking a large swig of her coffee, she trotted back across the room to the exit to check on her patient, reeling as the scalding liquid hit the back of her throat.

Cole stretched back and yawned. “You know those kind of days that just drag on, even when you want them to end?” he said to no one in particular. “Yeah, this is one of those days.” He lifted his mug to his mouth and took a sip. Tasting the disgusting liquid, he spluttered and almost spat it out.

Nate looked up and chuckled. “I warned you,” he told the conduit, a smug smile on his face.

Cole set the mug down and looked at the fortune hunter. “Yeah, ha ha, very funny.” He returned to the dusty couch he had been sitting on and lay down, closing his eyes. “Well,” he murmured. “Looks like our friend isn’t going to be waking up for a while, so I think I’m gonna get some well need shut-eye.”

The conduit stretched and settled down, sighing in comfort. He was about to doze off into sleep when he heard the familiar sound of approaching hooves. He opened one eye, and saw Remedy holding up the purple stallion they had seen before. He still looked tired and injured, but, compared to earlier, he was perfectly fine.

It was Marston who was the first to speak up. “Oh, nice of you to join us,” the gunslinger called out to the earth pony, who gave a sheepish smile. “Feelin’ alright?”

The stallion coughed slightly, still clinging to Remedy. “Yeah, I’m okay, I guess.”

John smiled. “Good. Now maybe you can explain that whole business back there.”

Remedy guided the weak stallion towards the couch and set him down, between Ezio and her son. He relaxed, grunting slightly, before looking back up at Marston. “Yeah, about that... Sorry for all the fuss.”

“Don’t worry, it’s nothing,” Remedy reassured him, smiling warmly. “But please, tell these stallions what you saw.”

The earth pony looked towards Marston. “Well, let me introduce myself first. My name’s Iron Hoof; I run the local blacksmith,” he explained. “I was out in the desert, looking for something I lost the last time I was out there, when all of a sudden these... things got the jump on me.” He shuddered, remembering the event.

Ezio motioned for him to go on. “Please, continue.”

“I ain’t never seen nothing like them. They was like the royal princesses, except they looked... wrong. Like they were ponies, but something else, at the same time.”

“Wait,” Cole interrupted him, “Are you saying they were alicorns? Like, wings and a horn alicorn?”

Iron Hoof nodded. “They looked like ‘em. But they were thinner, and their eyes were just the single colour. No irises.” He sighed, looking away. “I’m sorry, but I can’t remember much else. It all happened so fast.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it pal.” Drake smiled, putting a hoof on the blacksmith’s shoulder. “Just tell us where it happened.”

Iron sniffed and looked at the fortune hunter. “Just north of town, about a mile out. It happened a little way off from the trail.” He stood up. “Come on, I’ll show you the way.”

Braeburn stopped him, settling him down. “No can do, sir. You need to stay here and rest.” He turned to Ezio and the rest. “Come on, let’s go talk to Sheriff Silverstar, see if he can’t help us.”

Ezio nodded. “Va bene. Oh, and Iron Hoof?” He turned to the blacksmith. “Just stay here. Get some rest, capito?” He nodded to the injured stallion and lead the group back out into the mid-afternoon sun. Many of the townsponies had returned to their jobs, and so the street was mostly empty.

Braeburn trotted past the assassin. “Come on, let’s go see the sheriff. His office is this way.” He lead them all about halfway down the main street, to a large building with the words “Sheriff’s Office” emblazoned on a sign above the doorway. The stallion they had seen apprehend Mad Dog the day before was lounging outside, chewing on a piece of tobacco.

Silverstar saw the group of stallions approach. “Howdy there, Braeburn!” he called out, spitting out his tobacco. “What can I do you for?”

Braeburn smiled and greeted the sheriff in return. “Howdy, sheriff. I was just wondering if I could ask a favour.”

Silverstar hopped off his chair and stood up to face the apple farmer. “Go on, I’m listening.”

“Well, you know that stallion who came crashing into my ma’s office about an hour ago?” Braeburn asked. The sheriff nodded and motioned for him to continue. “Well, according to him, he saw something strange about a mile north outside a town. And by something strange, I mean something that may threaten the safety of our town.”

Sheriff Silverstar’s eyes seemed to widen at the last part of Braeburn’s sentence. “Safety of our town, you say? Well, we better get on it.” He turned around and poked his head through the door of his office. “Hey, Sure Shot!” he called out.

A younger voice came from the inside of the building. “Uh, yeah, sheriff?”

“Get your flank out here right now, we got business to attend to!”

A few moments later, a small, lanky stallion came dashing out of Silverstar’s office. He was a dark brown, blonde-maned earth pony, and looked no older than eighteen. Upon seeing Braeburn, he gave a goofy smile. “Well, howdy Braeburn!” he said cheerfully.

Braeburn chuckled. “Hey, Sure Shot.”

Nate rolled his eyes and stepped forward. “Sorry to interrupt, but this is kind of important.” He started to trot towards the north edge of town. “So let’s not waste any time, okay?” The rest of the group nodded and followed the pegasus. Many ponies watched in curiosity from the safety of their homes as the group of seven stallions made their way outside of town, down the dusty trail that lead into the seemingly never-ending expanse of desert.

“So, who’s this kid?” John asked Braeburn quietly, nodding towards Sure Shot.

“Oh, Sure Shot? He’s Silverstar’s deputy. Figured he’d be right for the job after he got his cutie mark, about three years ago when the town was founded.” Braeburn informed him.

“Really? And how’d he do that?”

“Colt’s got a fine eye. He was taking part in a rodeo competition, and when the target shooting event came up, he got all of them without a hitch.”

Marston paused. “Wait, target shooting?”

“Well, yeah. We test how accurate your buck is.” The farmpony gave a small buck with his left hind leg for emphasis. “You gotta buck the apples into the targets.”

The gunslinger raised an eyebrow. “Right...”

They were well out into the desert now, and the sheriff and deputy were beginning to get curious. “So, what’s this all about anyway, sheriff?” Sure Shot asked.

“That stallion that made a ruckus down at Remedy’s office says there’s something out here,” Silverstar explained. “And it might be dangerous, so keep an eye out.”

“There.” Cole pointed towards something in the distance, and everypony squinted to get a look. It appeared to be a wrecked stagecoach, with a few small fires still burning around it. “That might be what we’re looking for,” the conduit told the rest of the group. They all increased their pace, cantering the last few hundred meters to the suspicious wreckage.

They soon arrived, however they didn’t seem to be much to see. Sheriff Silverstar, however, was undeterred. “Let’s have look, shall we?” he muttered, hopping up onto the broken wagon. It was almost completely decimated, with pieces of broken timber scattered around the surrounding area.

“Wait a minute,” Braeburn murmured, noticing something strange on a stray piece of wood. “These are scorch marks,” he noted, examining the blackened area of timber. “This weren’t no accident, unless our friendly neighbourhood blacksmith has a habit of carrying a couple pounds of dynamite around with him.”

“Hold up a sec.” John trotted over to the apple farmer and took a look. After a few seconds, his face turned grim, and he looked up to address the rest of the group. “He’s right. Keep an eye out. Whatever, or whoever, did this might still be here.”

"Shit." Nate hopped up onto the wagon next to Silverstar, scanning the horizon around them. The only things to be seen were a few lone mesas dotted about the landscape, and the small frontier town behind them. Unsatisfied, Drake hopped back down to the ground again. He turned to MacGrath, who had one hoof pressed to his temple. He looked like he was in intense thought. "Hey, Cole, you alright?"

"Yeah, fine," the conduit grunted, still focusing. "If I focus hard enough, I can detect a living being's natural energy." He grunted, before opening his eyes and looking at the rest of the group in horror.

Time seemed to slow down as Cole screamed at the others in warning, before diving out of the way. Uncloaking around them were four alicorn-like creatures, like Iron Hoof described. In sheer panic, everyone tried to leap out of the trap, but to little avail. The creature’s horns lit up, and sent them all flying backwards into the burning wreckage.

Cole regained his composure immediately, throwing bolts of electricity at their attackers in an attempt to draw their attention. Thankfully, it worked, as the alicorn-like creatures turned their focus to the conduit. MacGrath smiled. There may have been more of them, but he knew he had the upper hand. “Come on then, you freaks!” he shouted, noticing, out of the corner of his eye, his friends managing to pick themselves up. Wait, it was all of them, right? Cole shook the doubt from his mind, like a dog shakes water out of its fur, and focused on his assailants, who were swiftly advancing towards him.

Four versus one. Cole smirked. Too easy. With the element of surprise, he formed a pillar of ice directly beneath him, launching him into the air. As he flew towards the creatures, he focused on placing his shots correctly. His perception of time slowed down as he aimed his bolts of energy, perfectly striking each of the attackers directly in the head. It didn’t kill them outright, but then again he hadn’t expected it to; he had seen his fair share of people that could shrug off a head shock or two.

What he hadn’t expected was for one of the alicorns to propel itself into the air, tackling him to the ground in mid-flight. Both of them crashed hard, sliding along the desert sand for a few feet before coming to a stop. The beast on top of him growled, and its horn started to glow with energy. Cole didn’t give it the chance, managing to kick it off before it could finish its spell.

Keeping his distance from the attackers in order to come up with another plan of action, Cole smiled with relief when Ezio, John and Drake joined him by his side. “These things came out of nowhere,” he told them.

“Oh really?” Nate asked sarcastically, visibly showing signs of breaking under pressure. “Any other keen observations for us?”

“Fermalo!” Ezio barked at them. “We haven’t got time for this; we need to focus!” He flicked his hoof, smiling slightly as the familiar blade extended from his bracer. “I still have my blades. If you can distract them enough for me to get in close, I can finish them off.”

“I’m on it,” John announced, before galloping around the side of the creatures. “Hey, you big, ugly, sons of bitches! Come and get me!”

It seemed to work, for the most part. One of the alicorn creatures broke off from the rest of the group, charging towards the gunslinger. Without a moment of hesitation, Ezio sprinted towards it to catch it mid-charge. It’ll never see it coming, he thought, smirking. Just as the assassin was about to leap onto his prey, it noticed him and turned around in an attempt to block him. It proved ultimately futile, however, as Ezio knocked the alicorn to the ground and plunged his hidden blade deep into it’s neck. It struggled for a few seconds, before going limp.

“Requiescat in pace,” he murmured to the dying creature respectfully, before hopping back up to face the other three. Drake and MacGrath had them distracted, with the conduit firing barrage after barrage of electricity at two, while the fortune hunter dodged a few melee attacks from the other. Quickly forming a plan, Ezio turned to John. “Cole looks like he has everything handled,” he informed him. “We’d better go give Nathan some help.”

Marston nodded without a word, and quickly made a bee-line towards the dark grey alicorn creature, whose brutal attacks Nate was desperately trying to avoid. Swiftly, John leaped into the air, crashing down hard onto the alicorn’s back with a satisfying crunch. It yelped in pain, and turned around to face its new assailant. Marston jumped off towards Nate, landing next to him cleanly and whirling around to face his opponent once more. “You okay?” he asked the pegasus.

“Yeah. Thanks for the help though.”

Their conversation was cut short as an unfamiliar voice cut through the air. “You ponies, so ignorant.” It was the alicorn they were facing, taunting them. “You know nothing of our kind. Soon, you will all perish, along with every other miserable life force in this la-”

John and Drake hopped back in surprise as the alicorn was pushed to the ground, the Master Assassin shoving both of his hidden blades into the back of its neck. It gave a short squeak of pain, before resigning to its fate.

The final two alicorns, who were struggling to fight the enraged conduit that dueled with them, noticed the death of their companions. With what looked like fear across their faces, they disappeared into the sky, just as quickly as they had arrived, with no trace whatsoever.

“Ah, crap,” Cole muttered, clutching his side. “One of the bastards got a kick in.”

“So,” John said, staring up at the sky. “Is that what we’re up against?”

Ezio nodded. “Must be. They didn’t seem too smart though.”

“Maybe they’re part of a hive mind,” Nate suggested. “They seemed like some sort of scouting party though.”

“Hey!” They all turned around to see Braeburn calling out to them. “Get over here! We need some help!”

Cole’s heart seemed to drop to the bottom of his stomach as his doubts resurfaced. They all galloped over to the remains of the stagecoach, and the conduit’s heart froze when his suspicions were confirmed.

Lying amidst the wreckage was a heavily wounded Sure Shot, who had been impaled by one of the wheel axles from the wagon. Blood poured from his mouth, and he seemed to be fighting just to stay conscious. “Shit,” MacGrath murmured, looking away. “Fuck!”

“Is he going to be okay?” Nate asked Braeburn. The farmpony looked up at him quietly, before shaking his head solemnly.

Sheriff Silverstar was knelt over the wounded body of his deputy, holding the colt’s hoof. “Come on, Shotty,” he was saying. “Stay with us. You’re going to be okay.”

“Please, sheriff,” Sure Shot cried, looking up at his elder with tear stained eyes. “I’m scared.”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry.” Silverstar tried his best to soothe the injured stallion, but to no avail. After another few painful moments, Sure Shot took his last breath, and his body fell limp.

No one dared interrupt the sheriff as he wept silently over the body of his fallen comrade. Braeburn and John put their hats to their chests in a sign of respect, while Ezio lowered his hood in a similar sentiment.

“Is this what it’s going to be like?” John whispered to his four friends. “This revolution the princess is planning, how many ponies are going to die?”

“I don’t know,” Nate murmured, still watching helplessly as Silverstar cried over his deputy’s body. “But I know one thing.”

“Oh yeah? What’s that?” Cole asked him.

“Princess Celestia has got a lot to answer for.”