Tybalt, Miura and an impatient Gringore waited outside the Senator’s office.
Senator Royal Flush crouched in the middle of thirty of his personal bodyguards.
The doors were bolted and barred. No other entrance was available.
He was safe.
He knew it.
He was safe.
These mercenaries could not harm him.
They would not obstruct his plans at any point for any reason.
Only death could retire Royal Flush.
And saying those words out loud made him feel considerably less safe.
He waited with baited breath as there came the sound of something in the ducts. A cross between a rumble and a whistle.
It was hard to put one’s hoof on but it was getting louder.
No, not louder...closer.
“Senator! Get down!” one of his guard yelled as a swirling grey mass erupted out of the air ducts and flooded the room in a colourless tornado. The guards emptied their firearms at the storm around them before being swept up, disappearing into the churning shroud.
Senator Royal Flush fell on the ground and lay there, unmoving, eyes shut tight until the noise subsided.
As he raised his head, he swiftly became aware that he was the only pony left in the room.
For a moment there was quiet then the fax machine gave a beep.
He tore it off and read it.
Look Out The Window
Baffled, he did so.
He stared at the Crossfort grounds with confusion.
Then something fell to earth from a great height, crumpling on the ground and lying still.
Senator Royal Flush jumped backwards in fright.
It was one of his bodyguards.
Then another and another and another until the grounds were filled with the broken bodies of his staff, falling from the sky.
The fax machine gave another beep.
With shaking hooves, he took the fax and read it.
Knock-Knock
With a sharp crash and hellish buzz, a chainsaw burst its way through the barred and bolted door which swiftly gave way to the maniacal, pale pony wielding such an instrument, who yelled out in a gravelly tone.
“Hay, Hay, Hay! Stay Outta My Sh...”
“Just shut up” Miura groaned.
“Aw, come on! How have you not seen that video?!” She looked up at the Senator who was edging back behind his desk “This crowd’s more dead that Banana Republic. Whoops! Spoiler Alert! He Dead!”
Tybalt, Miura, Lambasar and Gringore took in the sight of Boulette’s Senator, a pinkish-orange-coated earth pony with an unconvincing platinum blonde toupee and a pasty, pudding-like face contorted with abject terror.
“Wh-wh-who are you ponies?!” he squealed “What do you want from me?!”
“That doesn’t even deserve an answer. But heck, I’m feeling generous” Tybalt chuckled “Cascadius sent us...He’d like a word with you...Didn’t you get his fax?”
“You...you...you can’t do this to me!” Royal Flush bellowed “I...I am Senator of Boulette Royal Flush! I’m the most powerful pony in the outskirts! The most powerful pony in Equestria!”
“Not while we’re around” Miura said flatly “You’ve been very foolish. Selling out those you hire to kill is never a good idea”
“I have the entirety of the Boulette Defence Corps heading to the Crossfort! You can’t kill them all! Our military tech is unparalleled”
“I know. We’re about to have a lot of fun with it” Tybalt said smiling as he reached for a crystal-marked transceiver.
“Wait, what?”
“Shh, I’m making a call” Tybalt said and put the transceiver to his ear “Prince of Cats to Stable Boys. Come in Stable Boys. Confirmed, am currently with Anime Reject, Dishcloth and Buzzkill at House of Cards. Have located Jack-Curd. About to have company. Proceed with Stage 3 of Operation Bank Breaker”
Tybalt caught sight of Miura’s unimpressed scowl.
“You want to make the nicknames, you make the calls”
“Ooh, ooh, dibs!” Gringore waved one hoof in the air “Do you like the name Diekatana?”
“What are you doing?” Royal Flush whimpered “You...you can’t hold out against the entire Boulette Guard”
“We don’t have to” Miura gave a smirk as the city was subject to a warning horn and at various points in the city towers rose out between the buildings and gigantic turrets opened up, ready to fire. From out the window, armoured battalions were making their way to the Crossfort.
“Wha...I didn’t authorise those!” Royal Flush exclaimed.
“We did” Miura said as the turrets steadily turned and pointed towards the gathering battalions lining up outside.
Royal Flush’s dull yellow eyes widened to alarming sizes
“Oh Superbus...No...”
With a noise not unlike heavy percussion, the turrets laid waste to the Boulette Guard Battalions, scattering them in massive explosions as platoons and artillery went up in flames. The city was in chaos, citizens and non-military forces fled from the site in confusion.
Royal Flush stared at the carnage.
“You...you...” he gasped “You’re insane!”
“You know it!” Gringore giggled.
“We’re clear. Send in the pickup” Tybalt spoke into the transceiver before turning to Lambasar “You better search around and bring up anypony still breathing. The airship’s just coming”
Lambasar nodded, his horn flashed a bright amethyst purple and the grey cloth enveloped them.
When it subsided, Tybalt, Miura and Gringore were sitting in passenger seats of a well-equipped airship. Balisong and Bovril leaned over and gave them merry smiles from the cockpit.
“Whee! That was fun! Let’s do it again!” Gringore giggled like a schoolfilly.
“G’day, mates! Sitting comfortably?” Balisong cheered. Behind them Lambasar entered the built-in prison and, rolling out his sleeves nearly a foot wide, deposited a pile of just over two dozen unconscious ponies and a terrified Senator Royal Flush.
“Wha...what the hay are you?!” he stammered.
“Welcome aboard, Senator” Bovril chuckled “Mr Cascadius is dying to meet you. Lovely city you have, I’ve particularly enjoyed testing out your defence turrets. I can safely say they work splendidly. However, I think they’ve rather worn out their entertainment value”
He pressed a button on a remote in his hooves as the turrets shot off a mountain of sparks and exploded in various parts of their structure, causing them to topple into the city with colossal groans and bury buildings and ponies abundant underneath.
“Everypony strapped in?” Balisong pulled at a lever that gave a honk “Beautiful! We’re outta’ here! Home for tea and target practice” She gave the prisoners a murderous grin as the airship powered up its boosters and took off across the skies, leaving the square outside the Crossfort smouldering, the pillar of smoke rising from Boulette City a testament to their competence, guile and total lack of mercy.
*
Celestia and Luna entered Carcassonne’s office to find the scarlet unicorn barking into a transceiver.
“You are kidding me?! How many?! Okay, so who’s left? Okay, now you are curding me! How can that be...Ugh, fine! No, they’re no good. For all we know they could have been involved. Right, listen, until this can be sorted out, Rochelle, Belfort and Lyon are appointed acting-Senator, Civil Administrator and Commissioner respectively. I don’t care if they lost the election, everypony who won is either dead or missing! This is serious! No, of course, I don’t want to send Equestrian overseers!”
She looked up from the transceiver and spoke to the two alicorns.
“No offence”
And went back to it.
“But right now, we can consider the city to be in a state of emergency...Oh for the love of...No we don’t deport anyone...Or imprison anyone. The ones who did this are gone, victimising non-Boulettians isn’t going to bring them back! Now you listen to me, the second I hear of any discriminatory actions being carried out is the second I tell the Princess that you haven’t been taking things seriously! Do you understand that? Good. Yes I’m being unreasonable, deal with it. Goodbye”
She slammed down the receiver, left her desk, approached the two princesses and bowed.
“I’m very sorry about that, your highnesses”
“It is quite alright. We got here as soon as we could when we heard of your troubles” Luna said “Pray tell us, what has transpired in Boulette that justifies such pandemonium?”
“Would the abduction of the Senator and the near total wipe-out of the Defence Force do it?”
The Princesses were quiet for a moment.
“Tell us everything” Celestia ordered.
Carcassonne summed up events as best she could relating the capture of Senator Royal Flush, the deaths or disappearances of most of his staff, the sabotage of their city defence turrets and their turning on their own troops.
“Unbelievable” Celestia murmured “Quite unbelievable...How does the city stand?”
“Unstably, to put it lightly. Your highnesses, I’d just like to start by saying I had nothing to do with this”
“Who would ever believe you did?” Celestia asked sincerely but caught notice of Carcassonne’s humourless expression.
“My supervisors for one. I’m not gonna’ lie, it looks bad. We barely have any military left and our police force is as lawless as our citizens. If something isn’t done, anarchy will rule in Boulette before nightfall”
“Sister, in the lack of any peaceful options, I would recommend sending our own troops” Luna suggested.
“I don’t approve of armed enforcement on our own cities, you know that” Celestia said gravely “I realise Boulette is uncompromising but I would never authorise oppression as a response”
“I understand, sister, but if we don’t act quickly there’s no telling what might happen. While one should not beat foals in the midst of tantrums, sometimes it is necessary to shout a bit”
Celestia gave a sigh and nodded “Take three battalions and put them to work rebuilding the city and protecting its citizens. Their officers will be armed with conventional weapons but the soldiers will bear shields and staves. No blades. Then return at once”
“Of course, sister” Luna said before leaving the room.
Celestia exhaled heavily and lowered her head, not looking at the unicorn she was speaking to.
“How many casualties?”
“This is where it crosses the line between unfortunate and just plain frightening” Carcassonne went over the report “We found on the cameras that no more than four intruders entered the Crossfort at once. And the only ponies confirmed to be in the pick-up airship they used were the pilot and the co-pilot who was playing around with the turrets. We believe a major traffic collision on the nearby street was accomplished by one or more of the four involved. No more than six terrorists entered Boulette city...and yet in the span of an hour and a half, between the traffic accident, the storming of the Crossfort and the sabotage and collapse of the turrets...three thousand four hundred and seventy-two soldiers and citizens were killed, making this the single most destructive act of terror ever accomplished in Boulette and most of Equestria”
Celestia shook her head in an uncomfortable manner, her shoulders twitching, before she stamped a gilded hoof hard upon the floor, cracking a tile and making Carcassonne jump backwards in shock.
“Show me their faces!” the alicorn roared “Show me their names! This atrocity will not go unpunished! We will find those responsible and bring them to justice no matter the cost!”
The scarlet unicorn brought forth four photos caught on camera.
“Rogues Gallery, your highness. All four of them are hardened war criminals facing life sentences, or death as the case may be, in damn near every known region at peace. In war, however, they thrive as some of the most feared and sought-after mercenaries in the world. Tybalt, a crack-shot bandit-leader from the badlands who once laid siege to Sugarcandy City and hung a foal of every landowner upon his leave. Miura, an Iron Sun insurgent with a penchant for taking the heads of her enemies, crossed blades with Lady Snow and several others of note who weren’t nearly so lucky. Lambasar, known as the Veilmaker, a rogue Master Aeromancer from Haissan who may or may not be a member of the formidable Echo Squad. And, real treasure this one, Gringore, homicidal, chainsaw-happy maniac who pops up all over Equestria whenever there’s a particularly gruesome scene occurring. We haven’t been able to identify the airship pilots but we can imagine they’re of a similar disposition”
“What would bring four of these butchers to the same place at the same time?”
“A common enemy. They captured Senator Royal Flush alive. I doubt they’re making their introductions pleasant for him”
“Why would Royal Flush be a target?”
Carcassonne gave the Princess an examined look.
“Alright, why would he be a target to ponies he hadn’t met?” Celestia reworded her sentence “Did they meet him?”
“It’s possible. Throughout the elections, you remember, I was bringing to light various misdemeanours of his. One of them was hiring hitponies to target members of the opposition and victimise foreigners. And...I don’t like to point hooves but he did meet Countess Magnifying Glass at Invitro Hall on several occasions”
‘Damn that demented mare! If it weren’t for the money she owes those monsters, I’d make her pay for this!’
Celestia adopted a serious tone and a weighty but determined posture that came to her in threatening times.
“Representative Carcassonne, I am entrusting you with finding out where and how these mercenaries operated from and how the Senator is linked to them. You have full authorisation to go through his and his staff’s accounts”
“Sweet! I mean...As you wish, your highness” Carcassonne bowed “Also, I’ve had the Boulette City Bureau appoint Rochelle, Belfort and Lyon of the Forbearer Party to fill the gap...until the Senator can be found of course...provided he wasn’t involved with these mercenaries”
“I trust in your judgement, Carcassonne. Take good care of your city”
“I’ll take of this, I promise. Whatever I think about the Senator, nopony kills that many innocent ponies and gets away with it!”
*
“Your magic has failed you, cervine scum!” the armour-plated tyrant bellowed as he paced towards his quarry, spiked mace in his claws “You cannot stand against the unending darkness”
“Yet here we stand. Together!” Princess Alwyn retorted as the gathering of deer, ponies, griffins, zebra, minotaurs and Gud the Friendly Ogre stood firm against the hordes of shrieking Gloombeasts before them.
“You may destroy us, foul tyrant, but you’ll never have victory over the good creatures of the world” Beresymph promised “Your reign will end in ruin”
“We stand as one, against you, Gloomking! And we will die standing if we must!” Dobbyn Dawnblade roared, his sword raised high.
“I give you one last chance, pathetic mortals. Kneel before me. Kneel before Morkhar and I will let you live as slaves in my new woughcoughcoughcough!” he doubled up coughing as the colt providing his voice failed at the impression.
“You okay, Pip? Here” Dinky passed the pinto her glass of milk.
“Maybe someone else should take the part of Morkhar the Malevolent” Tootsie Flute suggested.
Pipsqueak took several sips of milk, shook his head and gasped, his face pink.
“Thank you...ugh, Tungsten always gets the voice right. It’s just like the films”
“What, that really cheesy film that Sparkler got for us with the big posh minotaur with the blue lipstick?” Dinky asked.
“Hehe...I remember that” Tootsie Flute giggled and gave an impression, pursing her lips and narrowing her eyes, craning her head around bizarrely “If you’ll givv meee the drrregon’s eyeeeee...I might deciiiide...to let you die quickleeee...” She and Dinky fell about laughing.
Pip, who hadn’t seen that particular film, looked puzzled.
“No, no, not that one, the Lord of the Horseshoes Trilogy. Best-selling book series, joined up with the franchise. Morkhor’s the main villain” he explained “He only talked in The Hoofling Trilogy though but Cucumber Patch was excellent! He was great as Smogg the Dragon too” He gave a frustrated grunt “If Tungsten were here, he’d do great impressions”
“It’s okay, Pip. I like your own voice” Dinky ruffled his mane.
“R-really?”
“Yeah. You sound so cute when you’re trying to be the bad guy”
At the sound of giggling and bantering upstairs, Derpy Doo smiled and rested in the living room.
They really did grow up so fast.
Seven years taking care of a strange stallion and a young filly should have been a trial for any pony. Instead, they had been the most treasured years of her life. All the little mishaps and ordeals that came with it meant nothing to her. If she could cope with her early life, she could cope with her life now.
She wasn’t old yet.
“Honey, I’m home!”
Gasping with joy, Derpy rushed to where the ‘Timey-Wimey Box’ was materialising and embraced her time-travelling husband with an almighty hug and a passionate kiss.
“Muffins are still warm for you”
“That can be taken wildly out of context” the Doctor said off-hoof “But hay, I’ll take it how it is” He opened his mouth as his most treasured partner placed a muffin inside it.
“Daddy!” Dinky stampeded down the stairs and flew into her parents forelegs.
“There’s my little tea cake” Doctor hugged her warmly as Pip and Tootsie Flute appeared “Hey Tootsie. Hello Pip”
“Mister Doctor! Mister Doctor!” the two youngsters jumped up “Where did you go this time?”
“Griffonia, during the Raptor War. Met the leader of the resistance, saved the Princess of Trotterdam, prevented a genocide, shut down an army of robotic giant eagles and got slapped by Princess Platinum...again”
Derpy and Dinky giggled.
“I’ve missed you so much, my silly little genius” the muddle-headed grey pegasus said as she nuzzled him affectionately.
“Pip, Tootsie and I have been playing Ogres and Oubliettes and we’re gonna’ get Tungsten from Trottingham to do the impressions from the films he’s seen.
“What...the Lord of the Horseshoe films?” Derpy asked with concern “They’re way too scary for a colt like Tungsten to watch!”
“They’re not that scary” Pipsqueak piped up, some few years younger than Tungsten “Though the bit with Lurkh the Spider Queen always has me shivering”
“Um...okay...” Derpy sighed. She knew it would only be a matter of time before Dinky would want to watch those films.
‘Might not be so bad with everypony around...with muffins and popcorn and soda...and Sparkler would point out everything that looks fake...and me and the Doctor would be falling asleep on the couch in others forelegs’
There was a knock on the door. Doctor Whooves disentangled himself from his family’s hug and went to answer it.
As a long-lived pony with a very eventful life, he was never too surprised to see Princess Celestia. But seeing her in his doorway, having to crane her neck downwards to face him, still rather startled him.
“Hey-up, lass” he said breathlessly “Something the matter” He caught sight of her grave expression “...Tia?”
“Greetings Doctor...We must talk”
“Has something gone wrong?”
“I fear so”
“Alright, one sec” the Doctor called back “I won’t be a few minutes love. Just need to sort something out, saving-the-world-wise”
“Okay, Doc. I’ll watch the foals” she answered from the living room.
Derpy never wanted for anything around the Doctor. He never found a good way to repay her for being the wife and lover he’d never imagined. It left a nagging sensation in between his two hearts.
He and the Princess made their way to the crossroads before Everfree Forest before turning to face one another, two millennia-old friends who braved the horrors of the unknown on a daily basis.
“Doctor” she began “You have heard of the incident at Boulette?”
“Yeah” she sighed grimly “I’d say that was one way to solve the problem of its new Senator but...I can’t ignore the ponies who died”
“Indeed not. But I fear even that may not be the worst news. Luna and I have been investigating the perpetrators, mercenaries of unparalleled ruthlessness and lack of regard for life...we believe...”
“Don’t say it” the Doctor groaned “How many years has it been since I heard his name?”
“Not long enough” Celestia grinded her teeth “He has returned, Doctor. That Echo Squad member seven years ago was telling the truth”
“Do you know what he’s planning”
“If Boulette is anything to go by, nothing good. Luna believes he intends to finish what he started and wreak vengeance upon those who stopped him the first time”
“I suppose my name’s top of the list then...and those I love”
“Doctor” Celestia rose her head “I am placing you in charge of Intel. The Elements must know of him and be ready for whatever he can throw at us”
“Nopony’s ever ready for him”
“We’ll be the first. We must be” The Princess stamped her hoof “I cannot allow him to have his way with my kingdom the way he did last time! We had his name removed from history for his crimes but you know, first-hoof, of what he has done and will do to others”
“Are you sure you want the Elements to go after him” the Doctor gave her an earnest stare.
“They have never failed before”
“Neither did the last lot...before they met Cascadius”
There was a pause. Both Celestia and the Doctor swallowed bitter memories.
“We won’t let that happen again” Celestia said at last “I have every bit of faith in them. Their unique skills will be invaluable. Not even Cascadius will be able to hold against their combined strength. Their friendship is unwavering. They just need to know what they’re up against. I admit, this foe will be very different to the one’s they’ve crossed thus far but Cascadius imagines that makes him invincible. We will show him otherwise...and then send him back to where he escaped from and keep him there”
“Okay, Tia...” he placed a hoof on his dear friend’s shoulder “I promise...I’ll make sure we’re ready
*
Senator Royal Flush awoke in a dark room, tied to a chair by his hooves.
Then he realised they weren’t tied at all, they were just cramp-ridden from the flight.
Right before he made to rise, a light flashed in front of his face, disorientating him.
Then hoof-steps. Slow, heavy hoof-steps.
And when he opened his eyes, he found himself looking into the face of death itself.
“Hello, Senator” Cascadius said “How was your flight?”
All thoughts of leaving his seat exited Royal Flush’s head the moment he saw Cascadius’s face.
He wasn’t smiling. That was something he’d never stopped doing when last he met him at Invitro Hall.
That was always something Royal Flush had always found so infuriating. So calm, so in control. As if Royal Flush was the one who needed Cascadius. Cascadius was a mercenary. He needed money. His kind always did. It was Cascadius who needed Royal Flush.
Royal Flush was the most powerful pony in Equestria while Cascadius was nothing more than a job agent for hired thugs. He needed to learn that. Royal Flush had been looking forward to seeing Cascadius’s face when he realised he’d been played.
Looking at it now was not so enjoyable.
He spoke at last, calmly and controlled as always.
"You've been spying on me, Royal Flush. Did you think I would take that well?"
"I..."
"Shh..." Cascadius placed a hoof to his lips and continued "Who were you sending the information to?"
The Senator gulped, hoping his answer would satisfy.
"C-C-Canterlot"
Cascadius took a breath through his nostrils in a manner that suggested either relief or fury, perhaps both.
“You should know that you have made me very angry...I hope you realise what position that puts you in...How serious the situation is”
“Cascadius...” Royal Flush’s hoof rose in front of his face. The sight of Cascadius’s anger was many times worse than his smile “Please...we can work this out”
“Of course we can”
Royal Flush blinked.
“What?”
Cascadius sat down on his own chair opposite.
“You were right, Flush. I need your money. I need your influence. I need your contacts...However...I do not need your survival”
Royal Flush gave a nervous whimper.
“With that in mind, I suggest you work very hard at dissuading me from killing you. Do you understand”
“O-o-of course...of course...thank you. You’re...you’re a very reasonable pony. Don’t worry, I’ll make it up to you, I own Boulette, it’s my city, I’ll have you made-” He made to stand but felt Cascadius’s heavy hoof placing him firmly back in the chair.
“No, you won’t” Cascadius was still unsmiling “Let’s be clear. You are working for me now. Before you had the privilege of being my equal in this partnership. However, now that you took advantage of that, I’m electing to keep you where I can see you. You will have as little say in what goes on in my organisation as possible and when I tell you to do something, you do it, without delay. I’ve already had this conversation with our mutual benefactor, Countess Magnifying Glass. I have plans for her as well. But for now, know that I am no friend of yours. I despise you, you make me feel physically ill, you’re the worst pony I’ve ever met”
“Wha...But you kill ponies!” Royal Flush exclaimed.
“You hired me to kill ponies. That makes both of us murderers but you the only coward. You’re an inept, spoon-fed, pampered fool with a completely misplaced opinion of himself that makes you judge ponies based on how much they resemble you. You are a relic of a dark age that was as stupid then as it is now and twice as unwelcome...You are, however, very useful to me. Rather in the same way as a toilet. I don’t talk about it, I don’t like it, I don’t say I’ve been using it but I need it nonetheless and if it stops working, I send somepony who knows how to make it. That’s you. You are toilet. Understand?”
Royal Flush felt thoroughly uncomfortable.
“Do you understand?”
“Yes...yes...” He broke down, covering his face with his front-hooves “Wha...what are you going to do to me? What do you want?”
“A number of things” Cascadius’s level tone did not change “First and foremost, I want you to come with me”
Royal Flush was led outside. The ground was grey asphalt, like a basketball park or a skating track. Mercenaries of all kinds were coming to and fro, some in groups, some solitary. Many who saw Cascadius nodded politely and some saluted.
Cascadius’s smile was back.
“How...how many mercenaries do you have here?” the Senator stammered, noticing the looks the mercenaries gave him. Unfriendly at their best and murderous at their worst.
Cascadius was quiet as he weighed the question in his mind.
“More every day. I don’t normally hire groups at a time but it’ll help should open combat take place. Before I had a large gang, then the Elements showed up and I had to do a little ‘speed-recruiting’. Only the best here, nonetheless. Each fighting creature you see here is a master at their craft and ready to fight on my instructions”
Royal Flush gave a scoff at the notion.
“You need an army of trained killers to bring down six of those hysteric little mares?”
The shot Cascadius gave him withered his spine and shook his hooves.
The paymaster spoke, growing gradually louder and more infuriated.
“I need an army of trained killers to bring down one of those ‘hysteric little mares’! To underestimate your enemy when you don’t know what they’re capable of, Royal Flush, is unwise. To underestimate your enemy when you do know them to be capable of successfully bringing down the Mad Goddess of the Moon, the Reality-Warping Bringer of Disharmony, the Mesmerising Queen of the Changeling Swarm, The Conqueror of Old Equestria, The Black-Hearted King Of The Crystal Empire, The Cutie Mark-Stealing Time Traveller and countless other horrors on a daily basis all in the span of less than two years is STUPIDITY OF SUCH HIGH MAGNITUDE AS TO NO LONGER BE DESERVING OF LIFE!!”
“...I see...” Royal Flush squeaked.
They passed a firing range. Royal Flush’s brow grew clammy as he saw what they were using as practice.
Survivors from the Crossfort knelt in front of the mercenaries, wearing yokes on which were placed targets no bigger than a hoofprint. They stared, goggle-eyed and helpless as members of Cascadius’s cadre took aim.
The dreadlocked mare from the airship threw a boomerang-like glaive that spun to hit the left target coming round and the right coming back before landing back in her hoof, a ripple-coated batpony threw knives with expert precision and a lithe corvine pegasus took to the skies and took long-shots with a longbow.
A stout blue unicorn mare approached the two.
“Afternoon, Cass”
Cascadius gave her a pat on the shoulder.
“Good to see you, Blue Murder. The information you’ve been sending us is quite invaluable”
“Thank you” Her voice was measured but showed signs of bitterness “How soon can I send Tungsten to safety”
“He’s quite safe where he is. We’ve had this conversation before. Trottingham is not in our path. Would you send him back to North Onageria again?”
“No...” Blue Murder looked away “There’s not much of a North Onageria left anymore”
“I gave you my word, Blue. Tungsten will not be harmed. Not by us. Not by our enemies...Now, is your aim as good as it was?”
Blue Murder did not respond. She simply kept her head turned and one hoof nursing the side of her foreleg.
Then, quick as a bolt of lightning, she drew a gun and fired four times, without turning her head.
The first two shots took the targets off the ‘stand’. The second pair caught both targets in mid-air.
Raising her head, smirking proudly, Blue Murder chuckled.
“Better”
“That’s my mare!” Cascadius hugged her with one foreleg “Good to have you back”
“Whoop, don’t look know but I think Tibs might be taking things a bit too far”
Cascadius rolled his eyes as he watched Tybalt strap a rifle over his shoulder, his back to his target.
“Okay, let ‘em go!”
An improvised greyhound track was set up before him. Only instead of greyhounds, a slim mare that had once been a secretary at the Crossfort ran, terrified and wearing a saddle with a rotating target atop it. Fast as her hooves could carry her, she ran.
“Watch and learn, fellas!” Tybalt yelled as he fired.
“Oooooh...That’s nasty!” Balisong sniggered.
The mercenaries cringed or laughed as Tybalt’s shot fell a little too far off.
“A shame, Tibs” Cascadius said, sauntering towards him “Another second and you would have hit the target. Aiming for where your enemy will soon be is wise but attacking before they arrive is, as you see, quite useless”
“Yeah, yeah” Tybalt sulked “I’m better with my revolvers anyway”
“Not yet, you’re not. You know the rules” the paymaster gave him a firm glance “You fail at the living targets, you’re back with the remote ones. Practice every day for a week without missing and you can come back”
“Ugh, fine!” Tybalt groaned before noticing the Royal Flush staring aghast. He gave him a murderous smirk “Did you see that? I hope you did cause that might be you in a minute”
Royal Flush’s fetlocks gave way and he knelt on the ground, whimpering.
“You ponies are monsters! You’re bucking monsters!”
“Yeah, we get that a lot” Cascadius said shrugging, getting the senator to his hooves “And what does that make you who relies on such monsters? Hay, you practically give us monsters a reason to exist”
“C’mon, Cass, can’t I just wing him? You know how I feel about rich ponies” Tybalt gave his revolver a shake in his hoof.
“We’re paid by rich ponies”
“Doesn’t mean we like 'em”
“It does not. But while he’s rich, I’d rather he remain alive and put his wealth to good use. Good for us, at least, not so sure about him. Come Senator” Cascadius marched on, Royal Flush following on weak hooves.
Tybalt gave them a look of uncertainty before turning to one of the prisoners.
“Clean that up”
Leaving the training area, Royal Flush clutched at his jacket.
“Where even are we?” he asked, more towards himself than his paymaster.
“I’m not sure that’s something that concerns you” Cascadius said flatly “But know that we are quite safe from any known threat and that which is not known is being actively sought out”
They reached what appeared to be a shrine, carved out of stone, about as tall as a dog kennel.
Both Cascadius and Royal Flush noticed the smell before they got close enough to see its source.
A pile of entrails lay rotting in a wooden bowl, stuck with incense sticks that gave off a horrific stench.
Strangely, there were no flies.
A stone boar’s head loomed over the bowl with an open mouth. Tensing, Cascadius placed both forehooves upon the jutting tusks in its lower jaw and pressed inwards.
With a deep, rumbling noise not unlike the grunts and groans of boars, a trickle of oil poured into the bowl and caught fire on contact with the incense.
Royal Flush stumbled back, clutching his muzzle as the foul smoke travelled up into the boar’s nostrils.
There was a click and a grumble of stone as the shrine lowered, spiralling as a staircase lowered out for them, leading to an open door with bizarre runes and inscriptions carved into its frame.
“Come Senator”
Royal Flush knew better than to refuse but this unnerved him more than anything.
These runes and effigies seemed familiar. Back in his more dubious years. But he’d only seen things like these in scribbles and carvings. Never had the group he used to belong to portrayed their beliefs on such scale.
Entering a dark tunnel system with walls carved out of rock, Cascadius grabbed a torch to ward away the pitch-blackness.
Royal Flush stayed close, no friend of the darkness around him.
“Listen” the paymaster said quietly.
There was the faint sound of drums and chanting of sorts, echoing through the tunnels.
“Sound familiar?” Cascadius said with a smirk.
“Please...” Royal Flush quivered as the paymaster’s hoof landed firmly on his shoulder.
“No running. We are quite safe, don’t fret. But there is something you must see”
Light at the end of the tunnel brought no sense of hope or relief to the Senator as they beheld its source.
The tunnel had led to a great cave turned into an immense rotunda where a horde of ponies had gathered, some bearing torches, beating drums or blowing horns but most were collecting in the centre of the cavern dancing and chanting in unison with each other, stomping their hooves on the ground, illuminated by the torches.
The light brought out their most prominent feature. Each pony’s face was hidden by a pig mask. The bodies of the ponies became clear. They were maneless, stripped of hair, paled, pot-bellied and bandy-legged. They were, in every sense, freakish creatures. And were so of their own design.
Royal Flush knew the spectacle well.
“Th-th-the Cult!” he stammered “The Cult of Piggsicorn!”
“I owe them a favour” Cascadius said, intrigued by the sight “Since you leaked their various misdemeanours to the press to save your own skin, their hideout in Slovenly was compromised and they found themselves in need of places to stay. I depend on them largely for information in the Equestrian outskirts. Losing them would mean losing that information and I couldn’t have that. I let them carry out their rituals in the cave systems. Out of sight, out of mind. I find them distasteful, I’m afraid to say, as you did, apparently” He turned to face him and smirked “Don’t look so disgusted. You and your wife, Mink Coat is it, took part in no less than seventeen of these rituals back in Boulette and participated in multiple activities. Separately, of course. You two were never very close, were you?”
“I...I was never a devout member...”
“You were Grand Hogfather. If you weren’t devout, that makes a pretty terrible title-holder. Your family’s betrayal did not sit well with them. They see you as an apostate, a transgressor, you and all your kin”
“Please, they’ll kill me!” Royal Flush clutched Cascadius’s hoof. The paymaster gave a sigh.
“No, Senator, they won’t. As I said, I arranged to keep you alive. I managed to convince the Gorging Ones that your life was worth sparing and to make do with a different offering”
“Oh thank you...thank you” Royal Flush doubled up catching his breath.
“Don’t” Cascadius said flatly “You won’t like what they settled for”
“Wh-what do you-”
“Get your hooves off me! I mean it! Let me go!” a young amber-coated mare with a perfect-through-plastic face and bottle-blonde mane was dragged forward by two huge cultists with tusks on their masks. She was shrieking at the top of her voice as she struggled in vain.
“This is harassment! You can’t do this! Do you know who my daddy is?!"
Royal Flush’s eyes boggled.
“That’s...that’s...that’s Trilby!” He turned to Cascadius who stood watching the spectacle with some amount of curiosity “What have you done to my daughter?!”
“A deal was made. A member of your kin to pay for your treachery, something you seemed all too willing to do judging by how you left them in Slovenly, completely at their mercy, when you went to the press in Boulette. Don’t worry, they’re not going to kill her. She’s been chosen to be their new oracle, the Voice of the Great Sow. This is her initiation ritual. I regret to say it only gets worse from here”
“But...my wife...she was always...very fervent but...she couldn’t have allowed this!”
“Ah...” the paymaster gave a mocking cringe “Yes, about that. I’m afraid she rather fell out of favour thanks to your heresy. But not to worry, she’s still watching over us” He pointed one hoof at an area of the cavern wall where a cadaverous mare hung upside down from her hooves in chains. At this distance, it was impossible to tell whether she was dead or simply close to death but she was a shadow of the high-powered industrial heiress Royal Flush had spent a stormy and largely empty marriage with.
Regardless, she wasn’t objecting to her daughter’s induction.
As Trilby was brought to the centre of the cavern, three obscenely corpulent ponies were brought forth on enormous palanquins. Their bodies were ridden with ulcers and open sores, leaking pus in all directions as stunted cultists no bigger than foals literally shovelled trough-fulls of fermenting fruits into their mouths.
The Gorging Ones.
One them raised a swollen fore-hoof to subside the shovelling and pointed one hoof at the struggling mare.
“LET HER BE MARKED!” he bellowed.
Two cultists brought forth the mark on a wooden platter. Unlike theirs, this mask was not ceramic.
This mask was a skinned pig’s face. The inside of it was dripping with fluids and pouring with fumes as it was brought forth.
Trilby shrieked at the sight as she was brought to her knees and tugged by the mane and held still.
“Please...” Royal Flush babbled “This...this is...undignified!”
“No, Royal Flush, it is nightmarish...for her. It’s undignified for you. Think of others now and again, why don't you. Your reputation will hardly suffer as much as your daughter. To explain, if we win, your family will be completely above the law. Young Trilby’s activities won’t matter. Until then, you’re never going back into politics so what happens here will never reach the press. We see no point in harming your image, it would be like urinating on a rotting carcass. I simply want to prove a point” He paced around him as the Senator stared “This is what happens when you betray me. Even if I can’t kill you, I'll do my very best to make you regret that fact. And I think it’s safe to say, I’ve done just that. So from now on, you do as I say. Your money is mine. Your influence is mine. Your contacts are mine...in short...”
He placed a cold, hard hoof on the quivering stallion’s shoulder and spoke in his affable tone that always seemed so convincing as the screams of Trilby filled the cavern.
“Welcome to the team”
*
“I’ll get it”
The door to Twilight Sparkle’s castle was opened by its resident dragon.
“Hi Doc!” he smiled at the newcomer. The time-travelling stallion had been a source of wonder to him when he could sufficiently prove to his sceptic adopted-mother that time-travel was indeed possible.
“Hello Spike” the Doctor’s tone was serious but he managed to smile “Listen, I need you to get the girls round, I have something I need to tell them”
“Sure thing” he gave a little hopeful gasp “Are we gonna’ be travelling back in history?!”
“I’m afraid not. In this case, history is travelling forward to us”
There was a pause.
“Huh?”
“Look, I’ll explain later”
“Doctor Whooves” Twilight Sparkle appeared. She wasn’t dressed in her princess robes but this was nothing new. Twilight Sparkle was a humble mare and that was one of the many things the Doctor admired her for.
“This is a surprise. How’s life with Derpy and Dinky?”
She didn’t like to admit it but she’d expected him to talk about how stressful it was. Instead he simply gave a heart-warmed smile.
“It’s perfect, Twilight. It’s absolutely perfect”
“Really? Er, I mean...great!”
“S’alright. Listen, I can’t talk about that now, much as I’d like to” He sat down on a nearby chair “I need you to gather the Bearers and listen. The Princess sent me. There is a threat to Equestria resurfacing at this very moment”
“Oh my gosh, which one?!” Twilight Sparkle zipped toward him and stared him in the face “Chrysalis? Sombra? Tirek? The Parasprites? Please tell me it’s not the Parasprites, I still have nightmares of how badly I messed up last time!”
“No, no, it’s nopony you’ve ever heard of...hopefully. That was why the Princess sent me” The Doctor took a deep breath as he recalled the horrors he’d experienced at the hooves of Equestria’s new sworn enemy.
“His name is Cascadius”
Twilight Sparkle was quiet a moment. She wracked her head for any mention of that name in any book she’d read.
Nothing came of it.
“Who is he?”
“The most dangerous pony you could ever meet”