Brother Against Sister

by CartsBeforeHorses

Chapter 9: Shot In the Dark

Lightning Dust sat inside of her house with Flitter, Cloud Chaser, and Thunderlane. They all stared at the photograph sitting on the coffee table.

“I still can’t believe it,” said Cloud Chaser.

“It does seem unbelievable,” Thunderlane added.

“Pfft,” Cloud Chaser scoffed, pointing with her hoof towards the picture. “It doesn’t prove anything, anyway. I mean, it’s just a picture.”

“But a picture is worth a thousand words,” Flitter responded.

“And those? Those gotta be worth at least two, maybe even three thousand,” Thunderlane noted.

“But look at it, though. So, it’s a bunch of unicorns. Someone could’ve just taken a photograph at a school in Canterlot. It doesn’t prove anything,” said Cloud Chaser, picking up the photograph.

Inside of a barn, five rows of twenty young unicorns each stood. If any of them knew who she was, they could have noticed Pumpkin Cake in the photograph, as it was taken before she escaped.

All the unicorns in the picture had somber looks on their faces. Their flanks with the special brand on them were not visible in the photograph, though it almost didn’t matter. The young unicorns looked more like a funeral procession than a classroom. Beside them, two armed guards levitating assault rifles stood, stony gazes upon their faces.

“Since when do armed guards stand around schools?” asked Flitter, pointing with her hoof towards a guard in the photograph.

“Well, I don’t know, maybe they’ve had a lot of school shootings or magic attacks or whatever the crazy ponies do over there in the Second Kingdom. Maybe that’s made them beef up security?” Cloud Chaser guessed.

“Yeah, sure, they beefed up their security for their school in a barn,” Thunderlane quipped.

“I don’t know,” Cloud Chaser said. “Having school in a barn is odd, but still doesn’t prove anything, to me at least. Okay, so there’s a bunch of unicorn fillies and colts in a barn in Ponyville. Let’s assume that’s true. Even so, how do we know that Equestria plans on bombing them?”

Everypony remained silent.

Cloud Chaser held up her hooves in the air. “Don’t get me wrong, it would be terrible if our military was planning on killing over a hundred children. I wouldn’t stand for it, and I think hardly anypony would. But it’s kind of a stretch to assume that just because this barn is here, and just because the Second Kingdom is holding all those unicorns hostage, Equestria plans on killing them all just to get an advantage. I just don’t see Luna or Twilight Sparkle signing off on it.”

Nopony responded until Lightning Dust finally said, “There’s one way to know for sure. Thunderlane, you’re in the Wonderbolts, right?”

“I am,” Thunderlane said. “That’s why I don’t believe that we could ever kill a bunch of children. It’s a war crime.”

“Do you go back on duty soon?” asked Lightning Dust.

Thunderlane nodded. “I’m on leave right now, but I go back in January.”

Lightning Dust said, “Well, ask your superior about the barn, and ask what they plan on doing. They probably won’t outright admit to anything, but you can read faces, right?”

“I’m decent at it.”

“So then you’ll have a good idea of whether or not they plan on bombing the barn.”

Thunderlane shrugged. “I don’t know how much good it will do, but it’s worth a shot. Cloud Chaser is right. Just this photograph alone isn’t much proof.”

“Alright, then. Go get us the proof!” Lightning Dust ordered.

Thunderlane nodded.

---

January 2022

Thunderlane walked down the hallway at the Wonderbolt base in Cloudsdale. He stared down, glaring at the reflections of the hall lights on the polished floor rather than bothering to look straight ahead as a military officer ought to. He paused every five steps or so to brush his mane off of his forehead.

Thunderlane sighed, a knot at the pit of his stomach. As part of the Equestrian Air Force, the Wonderbolts were a very regimented organization. The top brass frowned upon ponies who went around questioning orders. They were even more upset if ponies got access to confidential information that they weren’t supposed to have. Needless to say, what Thunderlane was about to do had the potential to send his superiors fuming. A serious reprimand wasn’t out of the question.

Hopefully, though, Thunderlane’s plan wouldn’t make him appear to be insubordinate.

He finally reached General Soarin’s office, gulped, and knocked.

“Come in.”

He placed his hoof on the doorknob. After taking a deep breath, he opened it.

Soarin glanced up from his desk and put down the feather pen that he was writing with.

He smiled. “Ah, Lieutenant Thunderlane. What brings you to my office today?”

Thunderlane removed his cap, walked over to the chair, and sat down in it.

“General Soarin, I am honored to serve with Equestria’s most elite flyers here in the Wonderbolts, and I want you to know that there’s nothing else that I’d rather do…”

“Mmhmm,” Soarin muttered, nonchalantly returning to his writing.

“So please do know that I don’t say what I have to say lightly.”

“Yes, yes. Spit it out, Lieutenant!” Soarin urged, a look of annoyance on his face. “I have pressing matters to attend to, you know.”

“Well, sir. There’s this barn on the edge of Ponyville, the area currently under Second Kingdom control ever since the ceasefire.”

“Our scouts have informed me of this, yes,” said Soarin. “What about it?”

Thunderlane gulped. “Well, sir… there are over a hundred young unicorn fillies and colts held prisoner there, to my knowledge.”

“Yes, our scouts have informed me of this as well,” Soarin sighed, rolling his eyes. “How about you tell me something that I don’t know, Lieutenant Thunderlane?”

Thunderlane remained silent for a few seconds, and then finally he spoke. “Sir, I’ve heard… whispers… that these unicorn fillies and colts are part of a rare breed of unicorn who can farm. That they’re being trained to operate farming machinery to meet the food needs of the Second Kingdom.”

This time, it was General Soarin who was silent.

Thunderlane continued, “Given that these young unicorns are a high-value strategic target, I’ve heard a rumor through the grapevine. I have a friend who has spoken to King Blueblood, and apparently Blueblood knows about an Equestrian plan to bomb the barn with these unicorns, thus depriving the Second Kingdom of potential food in an effort to starve them out. Is Blueblood right?”

General Soarin’s eyes widened as all of the color drained from his face. A brief flash of fear shown on his face, but was almost immediately replaced by a stone cold gaze which could intimidate Death himself.

“Lieutenant Thunderlane,” he whispered, leaning forward in his chair until his face was but a few centimeters from Thunderlane’s own. “I don’t know who told Blueblood this information, or who told you. Whoever it is will no longer be wearing a uniform by the end of the week. The contents of that barn, as well as any potential plans by the Equestrian air force, are classified, and I order you to keep it that way. I also order you to file an incident report detailing exactly where you heard this information.”

“B-b-but sir… do you r-really plan on k-killing over a hundred Equestrian children? Please tell me that you’d at least try to rescue them first--”

“I will neither confirm nor deny this. You already know too much. You are dismissed, Lieutenant Thunderlane.”

“But sir, we could never--”

“You’re dismissed, Lieutenant Thunderlane!” General Soarin repeated, slamming his hoof on the table.

“Sir, yes sir!” said Thunderlane, putting his cap back on and hurrying out the door, slamming it behind him.

Soarin leaned back in his desk, sighing. He finished writing his letter, then stood up, put on his cap, and headed down the hallway.

He knocked on a door.

“Come in.”

Soarin entered and saluted.

“General Spitfire.”

“General Soarin. What is it?”

“We have a breach of Level One confidential information. A lieutenant told me that he heard rumors about Operation Barn Buster.”

Spitfire blinked. “Get Princesses Twilight and Luna here immediately. We need to hold a meeting.”

---

Later that day, after Thunderlane had finished his shift, he walked down the hallway, dazed. The reality of his earlier conversation slowly sunk in. It was all true. The Equestrian generals planned on bombing the barn, after all.

How could they do such a thing? Crippling the Second Kingdom or not, killing a hundred children constituted a grave war crime. Though General Soarin hadn’t explicitly confirmed that this was a plan, he hadn’t denied it, either.

No, there had to be another explanation. Anything but what he just heard.

He turned around, and glanced General Soarin and Spitfire walking down the hallway together at a brisk pace, entering a conference room.

Protocol be damned. He needed to know what they were planning. Perhaps Spitfire would be more willing to tell him. He rushed down the hallway to meet them. Thunderlane stood outside the door to the conference room and tried the handle. It wouldn’t budge. He looked around. There was nopony else in the hallway. He started to walk back to where he came from.

But then his eyes were drawn up towards the ceiling.

---

Generals Soarin and Spitfire entered the conference room, sitting down. Princesses Twilight and Luna were already there seated, waiting to meet them.

“We have a grave situation. There may be a spy in our midst,” said General Soarin.

“What’s the problem?” asked Twilight Sparkle.

“King Blueblood knows about Operation Barn Buster,” said General Soarin.

The group remained silent, and Spitfire quietly nodded her head.

“What?” asked Princess Luna, leaning forward in her chair. “But that plan was supposed to be top-secret.”

“Only the four of us know about it,” said Twilight. “Unless the spy is hiding in this room, or unless any of you told anypony, there’s no way that Blueblood would know that we plan to bomb the barn.”

“Maybe he just made a lucky guess, and happened to be right,” said General Spitfire. “Killing a bunch of children is more his M.O. than ours, but since he’s one to think that way anyways… he might assume the worst of us.”

“And be correct,” she added under her breath, frowning.

“We did not make this decision lightly, General Spitfire,” said Princess Luna. “You were there for the meeting.”

General Soarin said, “We’ve been over this. Our planners have looked at it, and there’s no feasible way of rescuing these unicorn children without sustaining heavy casualties ourselves. The barn is heavily fortified and guarded. Any rescue attempt would become a suicide mission that would endanger all of their lives regardless, while also putting our troops at risk. Who knows how brainwashed these children have been, and how many of them would sympathize with the Second Kingdom, and would try to fight back?

“Say we did do a rescue mission. If the rescue attempt failed, which would be likely, then Blueblood would be able to simply move the unicorn children further into his own territory, and make it impossible for us to attempt a rescue of them at all. Then, he’d have a steady food supply for his kingdom, and could drag this war on for years. With the barn, we know where they all are right now, and have the chance to strike.

“Even if we do rescue them and reunite them with their families in Ponyville, what’s there to prevent Blueblood from capturing them once more if he ever recaptures Ponyville? A bomb or two would do the trick much more efficiently, and forever put these unicorns out of his reach. It would deal a serious blow to his kingdom, and hopefully bring this war to a close much sooner. By doing this, we would save hundreds of thousands of lives, much more than the mere hundreds we sacrifice.”

“It’s mass murder!” General Spitfire exclaimed, throwing her hooves in the air. “I didn’t like it when we decided on it, and I don’t like it now!”

“None of us wants to do this,” said Twilight Sparkle. “But it’s the only way. It’s also not what he’s expecting us to do, and he wouldn’t be prepared for it like he would a rescue… or at least, we didn’t think so, until we found out he’s onto us.”

“General Spitfire, you haven’t told anypony about this plan, have you?” Princess Luna asked.

“What? No! I may be against it, but I’m not a traitor,” said Spitfire.

“It must’ve been a lucky guess, then,” said General Soarin.

“So what do we do now?” asked Twilight Sparkle.

Soarin shrugged. “He may know about the plan, but he can’t do much about it. He can’t move the children without violating the cease fire, and he knows we’re keeping a close eye on Sweet Apple Acres. As soon as the war resumes, we’ll carry out Operation Barn Buster, but we’ll just have to be aware that he will know our pegasus bombers are coming and take extra safety measures.”

“Agreed,” said Princess Luna. Twilight Sparkle nodded, and Spitfire leaned back in her chair, gazing off into space.

Thunderlane’s heart pounded in his chest. He hoped that the thumping of his heartbeat wouldn’t give him away. As the four ponies continued to discuss war matters, Thunderlane crawled back through the air duct, having heard what he needed to hear.

---

Lightning Dust and her friends all sat around in Cloud Chaser and Flitter’s house.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” said Cloud Chaser.

“It’s all true. Blueblood’s right. They’re going to bomb the barn as soon as the war’s back on,” said Thunderlane.

“I wonder how Blueblood knew?” asked Lightning Dust.

“He wouldn’t have known. He just took a shot in the dark when he told you that,” said Thunderlane. “Soarin, Spitfire, Twilight, and Luna all were shocked. None of them let it leak, and they were the only ones who knew to begin with.”

“Why did he tell you that, anyway?” asked Flitter. “You never told us how you got to talk to him or anything. All you told us was that he told you this and gave you the photograph. When and how did you even meet him?”

“Well, funny story,” said Lightning Dust. “I was actually planning on assassinating him. I burst through his throne room, pointed a gun at his head, and was about to pull the trigger… but then he convinced me not to. We had a little chat, and he gave me this photograph and told me that I should be mad at Equestria’s leadership instead of him.”

“Oh, well that makes sense,” said Flitter.

“Yeah,” said Cloud Chaser. “I’m sure that the five-year-old that you tested that fake story on totally believed it! Come on, Lightning Dust. Quit jerking us around.”

“Alright, fine,” Lightning Dust conceded. “I demanded that he sign a peace treaty, but he told me that the only way that there’d be peace would be if Cloudsdale split off from Equestria and made a separate peace. This photograph was ammunition for the secession.”

“I’m game,” said Thunderlane. Flitter and Cloud Chaser looked at him with their jaws open.

“What?” he asked, shrugging. “I refuse to be part of a military and a nation that kills children indiscriminately. I don’t care if it’s part of some strategy to cripple the Second Kingdom or not. I’m sure that using chemical weapons on them would cripple them too, but it’s a war crime. If Cloudsdale wants to break off, that’s fine with me. I don’t want to be in the Equestrian military anymore.”

“But we have to stick together,” said Flitter and Cloud Chaser in unison.

“You mean just like how Ponyville’s soldiers came to our aid when the Wendigos attacked years ago? Or how they want to sacrifice Cloudsdale to the moon to save Ponyville? That sort of sticking together?” Lightning Dust scoffed.

“She’s right,” said Thunderlane. “Cloudsdale’s always been a military town, and I guess I’ve been taking for granted that the Princesses were going to sacrifice our city to save the ponies on the ground below, in some sort of trade-off… and I was okay with it then, but now it turns out that the ponies on the ground will be sacrificed too!”

“Yup,” said Lightning Dust. “Well, I’m off to speak to the newsponies over at the Cloudsdale Courier. Thunderlane and I are going to get this on the front page by tomorrow.”

Thunderlane nodded, and they both walked out the door.

---

Spitfire’s head spun as she sat at her breakfast table, reading the morning paper.

The Cloudsdale Courier
January 4th, 2022

WAR CRIMES PLOTTED BY PRINCESSES

Princesses Luna, Twilight, and two of the Wonderbolts’ top generals have plotted to kill dozens of Equestrian children in Second Kingdom-occupied Ponyville, an unnamed whistleblower told the Cloudsdale Courier.

Pictured here is a photograph of the one hundred and twenty young unicorn fillies and colts in a Ponyville barn, whom the Princesses planned to slaughter with a bomb in “Operation Barn Buster.” The unicorns are part of a Second Kingdom plot to increase farming output by using mechanized--

Spitfire couldn’t read any more. She placed down the paper, taking a sip of coffee.

“Spitfire, what’s up?”

She glanced up to see Pound Cake walking over to the table.

“See for yourself,” Spitfire said flatly, moving the paper over to Pound Cake.

Pound Cake read the article, his eyes widening.

“That’s my sister in that picture!” he said, pointing with his hoof towards Pumpkin Cake.

“You guys were going to KILL PUMPKIN!? Kill all those unicorns?” Pound Cake screamed, throwing the paper back onto the table.

Spitfire nodded. “I tried to tell the others on the military council that it wasn’t the right thing to do. They wouldn’t listen. They just wanted to go ahead with this plan. I think they still might do it. They’re so adamant that this will ‘save Equestria’ and ‘save thousands more lives than it kills.’ But will it really save us? Or will it just make us as bad as Blueblood?”

Her eyes watered as she held back tears.

“I have to go save her. She can’t be in there when the bomb hits!” cried Pound Cake.

“Pound Cake, stop. You’re not going to go and storm that barn again. Remember how it went last time?”

Pound nodded.

“Well, imagine twice as much security, and you’ve got Sweet Apple Acres right now. It’s practically a fortress now, and trying to get in would be a suicide mission. Not even our military thinks that they can safely rescue everypony, and they’re trained soldiers. Besides, you don’t even know if she’ll be there. You’d be taking a shot in the dark. If you go to the barn, she might be out in the fields while you’re trying to storm the barn. Or this could be an old photograph, and she could’ve escaped since it was taken. Didn’t you tell me that she could walk through walls or something?”

“Yeah, but I don’t know if she’s brave enough. She wouldn’t escape with me when she had the chance, and I’m her own brother.”

Spitfire shrugged. “Ponies change. I know I have. A year ago, I would’ve signed off on this mission without batting an eye. I think I even told Blueblood during our truce talks that death was better than serving him and his kingdom. But having you here… it’s kind of changed my point of view. I’d never hurt a kid. I couldn’t, not after knowing you. And you’ve changed, too. I’ve been training you, and you’re much more disciplined now. Too disciplined to go on a suicide mission. Pumpkin could’ve changed. She could’ve worked up the courage and gotten away.”

“But you don’t know that,” said Pound Cake. “She could still be there, and she could die when we drop the bomb!”

“You’re right, Pound. I don’t know that. But I do know that we can’t control what happens to her, or if we drop the bomb. Not even I can stop the bomb. What I won’t have is you flying off to your death. You’re too important to me.”

Pound silently nodded, and hugged Spitfire.

---

“This is beautiful!” Blueblood chuckled, levitating the newspaper in his magic. “I couldn’t have planned it any better if I wrote the article myself.”

“A whistleblower, huh?” said General Top Brass. “That’s terrific!”

“As for the bomb, our magicians have been beefing up Sweet Apple Acres’ force field defenses. We’ve also been reinforcing the inside of the barn with steel and concrete. It can withstand a bomb blast or two, which should give us enough time to evacuate them.” said Trixie.

“Speaking of, Trixie,” said Blueblood, “a few months ago, you told me that a young filly went missing. Any luck finding her? Or finding out how she went missing, or if she deliberately escaped?”

“No luck, your highness. I have no idea how she would have gotten past the force field without breaking it,” Trixie responded. “Even if she’d known how to teleport, that wouldn’t have worked for escaping a force field. We checked the perimeter, and there’s no sign of her having dug a hole under it, either. She’s quite the escape artist. But no matter. We’ve shored up our defenses and have yet to lose any more of the young unicorns since she vanished.”

“That’s good to hear,” Blueblood responded. “I trust it won’t happen again.”

“So, what do we do now?” asked Fancy Pants.

“Now?” said Blueblood, leaning back in his chair. “We wait.”

Comments

[PiMan]

I'm favouriting this, but only because I can't stand to half read a story currently sitting at such a dark point. I hope this turns out with something I could call a happy ending.

I also find it odd that Soarin would neither confirm or deny what Thunderlane said. When it comes to war crimes, I'm confident that leaders and military would outright deny it no matter how true it may be. The approach I would have taken would be to have Soarin deny any knowledge of the plan, but appear nervous and/or angry enough for Thunderlane to remain suspicious and subsequently listen in on the secret conversation.

Finally, I hope Pumpkin gains her real cutie mark in the story. I don't know how forceful the magical branding is, but it could be justified that the real one will take precedence.

[CartsBeforeHorses]

3571814 It will ultimately have a happy ending, and peace will prevail in Equestria, but it will be very, very hard fought. Imagine the American civil war plus World War Two with the Syrian civil war thrown in for good measure, and you have what I have planned.

I debated having Soarin flat-out deny Thunderlane's charges, but ultimately decided against it because, in my mind, he was following the standard military leak procedure of "neither confirm nor deny." It might have been wise for him to flat-out deny it, but you are correct that Thunderlane wouldn't have bought it.

Pumpkin's cutie mark will appear over her brand, though her scar from the brand will still be somewhat visible. I actually plan on giving the Cake twins their marks a couple chapters from now. Thanks for the fave!

[CartsBeforeHorses]

3594580 Thanks! Pinkie is pleased, OverPoweredOne

[LuseneXxx]

Now this is getting interesting. Even if Blueblood is a horrible person, he does have his points. If only the Unicorns could research that farming magic... Or somehow break the Equestrian magic preventing them from growing stuff, turning the Second Kingdom into a new Everfree Forest of sorts.