Rainbow and her friends were now traveling down the hill accompanied by a large group of mares and their children, along with a small troop of soldiers.
Pinkie looked at the group as they continued down. “I’m not complaining,” she said, “I wouldn’t want them hurt… but Rainbow you were supposed to get civilians, not soldiers.”
“I was able to save more ponies this way.” Rainbow replied. “Besides, they can fight alongside if we come under attack on the way down.”
“Not really… they’re all earth ponies. I mean, so am I, but half of Fire’s forces are pegasi and you’re in no condition to fight alone.”
“Ya have a point?” Applejack asked.
“Maybe not…” Pinkie sighed, squeezing her eyes shut. “I just- I hate this, everything about it. Did you hear what he shouted to the soldiers to make them fight for him? They had their children taken away. So that was their choice, fight to get their families back and betray their country, or fight for Celestia… who betrayed them?” She shook her head as she kept walking. “We’re supposed to fight against them right?”
“I guess we have to fight both,” Rainbow responded.
“And fight FOR what?” Pinkie replied.
“You know… it’s possible Luna isn’t involved in all of this.” Rarity said, coming alongside them. “Not sure where she was…”
“Training exercise in the Crystal Empire,” Rainbow noted. “Well known in the military. Regularly scheduled. Probably one of the reasons Fire chose today to attack. Truth is, he probably had this in mind for a while.”
“Cn’ ya fly ahead Rainbow?” Applejack asked. “Maybe we cn’ git word ta Torkuda in Ponyville. He could get ta Luna pretty quick.”
“And ask her to do what? Subdue two powerful armies all on her own?” Rarity asked. “Or are we siding with Celestia now? Because after all this, forget it. Flip a coin for who I want to win.”
AJ cut in. “One thing at a time girls, we need ta get allies, and Luna is a good enough bet. Rainbow, cn’ ya get ta Torkuda r’ not?”
Rainbow looked at her wing. “It’s actually starting to throb. I can go, but not very fast. Even Fluttershy’s salve isn’t doing much… Flutters… hope she’s okay.”
A cold wind started to blow. Pinkie shivered looking up into the on coming snow flurries of October. “I’ll say this much. If those were the refugees you met Rainbow, at least they won’t be stuck out in this.”
“Well not all of them anyway,” Rainbow pointed out. “You see-“ but the group overheard yelling ahead of them in the convoy. “I’ll go find out what that’s about… guys I can’t leave. You’ll have no defense against an air attack if I do. Hate to say it, but we’re on our own right now.” She flapped her wings and went over to the commotion. She found three mares yelling at one of the soldiers. She flew alongside and landed. “Okay, what’s going on?”
The stallion had a dark coat and the golden armor of the day guard. “Nothing really.”
“Nothing?!” an orange mare shouted. “You’re covered in that warm padded armor, while we mares and children are forced to go in just what we have on our backs. All I asked was for you to stand to our side and protect us from the cold.”
He shook his head and kept walking. “And my commander ordered me to stay ahead and take point of this group. The armor isn’t to keep me warm, it’s so I can fight.” He shook his head, “If you envy my armor so much, you can wear it, I’ll gladly run behind you when the enemy comes.”
“That’s not helping,” Rainbow said.
“Apologies,” said the stallion.
“You’re just going to have to bear it girls,” Rainbow said, turning to leave.
“I beg your pardon?!” asked the same mare. “He’s a soldier; his code is to serve civilians. Our lives take priority, or doesn’t he know that- heck the way he’s treating us he’s probably one of those traitor misogynist jerks.” The stallion looked back, wanting to comment about how he doubted they were so pathetic their lives were in danger from a cold wind, but then rolled his eyes and looked forward. “Oh but I’m right aren’t I? You entitled creep. What, didn’t get to see your little colt or filly enough times so it’s time to overthrow the government?”
“Whatever his politics ladies, he’s protecting you.” Rainbow said, starting to get agitated. “If he is with Fire Sky he’s putting his life on the line to help you just because you need it,” Rainbow said, trying to calm the mare down.
“Oh please, he probably realized this isn’t going to work so he’s doing this to look good. Really if that’s how it is, I hope he never sees his children again, I’m sure they deserve so m-“ SLAM! In the blink of an eye the soldier tackled her to the ground.
“You wanna know what happened to me brat?” the soldier demanded. “My wife has been telling my little girls that I’m a monster for three years when she’s the one who hit me before she split the family when I went to serve. Now I have to pay her child support and I have no say in how my own children grow up because the queen bitch back there decided that’s somehow the best way to run things.”
“Get off of me thug!” he obliged her, but spat in her face before he did. She got up continuing to yell at him. “How dare you! You treat a mare like that?! See, see how he is girls?”
The three started to yell that the guard be kicked out of the group, Rainbow putting her hooves over her ears. “Are we honestly doing this?” she asked.
“You’re tolerating mare abuse?!” demanded the mare with spit on her face. “give him the boot or-“
“You’ll have to boot me too!” A red mare ran over and pushed herself between the group and the soldier. She was holding an infant, but still kept pace with the stallion. “He pulled my baby out of a fire.”
“He thinks he can spit on mares!” the orange mare shouted. “All those with me sound off!”
Behind her came several shouts from mares alright, “Shut up!” and “Over privileged brat!” “C’mere I’ll spit on you!”
The orange mare pulled her head down. Rainbow landed beside her grinning. “Oh no girl, I think you should keep going, you were winning them over!”
“He had no right to! I am a mare, how dare he-“ the orange mare started.
Apple Jack however, interrupted. “Alright that tears it!” she yelled running up to that part of the group. “Ah don’t know how anyone here expects ta be treated, but till we get back to civilization, ya’ll r just ponies ya got it? It’s like we do on ma farm. No mares, no stallions, just ponies!”
They continued down. Rainbow flew over and walked beside the soldier pony. “all the same,” he said, “It was nice to not need to get my fellow soldiers to back me up.”
Rainbow nodded her head. “I’d imagine.”
(***)
A hour had gone by, Fluttershy following the colt named Fire Sky around the castle. Fire was good to his word; she was not attacked.
Fluttershy suspected she was a prisoner, more an object of amusement than someone important. Still, if she had a chance to get through to Fire, she had to take it. She sensed she had made progress since changing her tact and their conversations were continuing. She was listening rather than just challenging , which felt more natural for her anyway, and she was able to make Fire look at things from a different angle. Still… she was indeed feeling sorry for him, but she just couldn’t respect him. He allowed very little common ground between them, basically pretending only those like his even HAD problems worth considering. His plan was short sighted, his ideas half baked, he spoke forcefully and with confidence- but only until he was challenged by kindness. How can you really get through to someone, you ultimately look down on?
As they proceeded down one of the halls of the palace, he sighed. “Tell me Fluttershy… if I fail, and the kingdom is just retaken, do you think Celestia will rethink her laws, or just double down on them?”
She thought. “Well… I mean you probably forced her to realize what she’s doing has consequences. So… maybe.”
“How much of a maybe is that?”
She looked down and off to the left, thinking again. “Well… you never explained anything to her. You just attacked and now you’re forcing everyone to see things your way. I wouldn’t expect anyone to take your side really… I mean unless they’re already on it.”
“You… you want things to change, don’t you?” he asked.
“I already did.”
“Thank you for being honest,” He sat down. “If just this could have changed things for the better, maybe it would have been best to give up now.” he sighed. “However I feel about you mares, my stallions aren’t well served by war…” Fluttershy decided to take that statement as a small victory and gave a reassuring smile. “But, if I accomplish nothing without full victory, I have to push for it. And I certainly can’t do it like this.” Fire looked at his small child like hoof. “There is a magician in my ranks who told me of a spell that can fix this… one that can grant incredible power actually- one that I’m ideal to cast with… I’m just worried about losing myself if it is cast. But, if I have to in order to win… I guess I will do what I must.”
“I don’t know what it is then… but I can tell you, magic solutions often back fire.” Fluttershy noted. “A friend of mine knows all about that.”
“Riddler Magic,” he called. A light blue unicorn with a large beard walked into the hallway.
“Evening sir,” said Riddler. He carried a large dark book under his left foreleg. “Ready to accept my offer?”
Fire looked over and Fluttershy and hung his head. “Over just this small amount of time with you, mare, I wish all mares were like you. I can sense it, you’re not just being nice to me out of fear, you don’t hate me… even after all I’ve done to earn it. Maybe we wouldn’t need to fight if-“
“We don’t need to Fire, this isn’t even about mares and stallions really. Just about those playing us against each other. Think about it, can’t we work together?”
“No… maybe I can learn something from our conversations… but there’s no going back.”
The unicorn lead the two of them out of the palace, a strange smile on his face. Fluttershy started to feel a strange urge to protect Fire from Riddler, but she really didn’t know how or why.
They finally came to a graveyard. Fluttershy looked around, backing up. “Fire… I don’t like this.”
“We’re not friends mare, we’re enemies, what makes you think I care what you like?” he responded, his voice nowhere near as sure as his statement.
“I don’t know what it is you’re about to do… but think before you do… are you even sure you’re going to help those you want to help?” she asked.
“I hope, but I’m not sure.”
“Then stop!” she shouted. “Let’s talk about this.”
The magician started to chant “Your sons, your daughters removed-“
“Fire…” Fluttershy said, trying to talk over him.
“your bodies have been bruised, each mind underwent such torture, your lives…, hell was a relief. Rise, tell us your stories, victims of this world, give us the power of your hate, your sorrow, your lives cut short by cruelty, unite your spirits with this willing vessel…”
Blue lights started to come out of the ground around Fluttershy and the colt. “Fire… stop this…” the lights started to form into images that started to move. They started to show visions of stallions hanging themselves, being killed in battle, watching as their families left them and clearly giving up. Fluttershy started crying. “Fire, stop, stop-STOP! What was done to them was wrong, but you can’t take on their pain, whatever this is-“ The lights shot into the air and then came down, swarming around the colt. Fluttershy watched as panic came to the child’s eyes, like he was suddenly realizing the danger. He reached out his hoof to her, her quickly reaching out to him. The colt screamed. “STOP!”
Fluttershy was blown back.
She slowly got back to her hooves, hearing the laughs of a very adult Fire Sky echoing around her. Black mist swirled around where the colt had been, Fluttershy watching in dread.
Fire Sky appeared, his full grown body now resumed with a large black crown on his head. He looked at her with a lazy eye. “Fire?” she asked.
“So you want to change me do you?”
“You want to help your stallions, war won’t do that… I don’t know what that was-“
“YOU WANT TO CHANGE ME!” he shouted. Fluttershy backed away, swearing she heard more than one voice. Around her she watched several pink lights shoot into the air and fly away from her. “I’m never good enough am I?” Fire demanded, getting up and moving straight for her.
“What?”
“It’s a game to you isn’t this? You like the drama. You yell at me over and over- always telling me I’m stupid- that I’m fat and ugly- that you can’t bear my stench, you can’t bear to have me in the same house!” His face was inches from hers. “All that, and yet you think you have the right to tell me not to speak to my friends- wouldn’t be so bad if you were my friend- WHY?!!!”
Fluttershy shook her head and backed up to a head stone. “You can’t do this Fire. You’re getting confused, your wife never acted like this- did she?” he just looked at her. Her fear was about to return, but the look in his eyes kept her fear in check. He wasn’t like a monster, he was like a wounded animal. “I’m sorry if she did, but I’m not her. You’re consuming yourself with the pain of others.”
“Their hatred has power… they were never even allowed to cry for help… they want their revenge!”
The yellow mare jumped to the side and took off into the air, terrified that Fire Sky had lost what was left of his mind. Black mist spread around him a she flew out and away as fast as she could. She stopped and looked back for a moment, hoping to see some sign that he was still there, the colt she thought maybe she was getting through to. His eyes were now completely black and his smile, which she had only glimpsed a few times, was now filled with jagged teeth. Fire started to laugh, the laugh echoing out as tears streamed out of his eyes.
Fluttershy tore away into the air.
As she flew, below her the city of Canterlot started to be blanketed in a dark mist. Fluttershy could feel something as she flew, like a thousand angry stares looked at her. She had heard about this from Twilight, but she had never felt it before. This was a mass of spirits who never found peace, could never find help, they had died in their suffering… this was a grudge.
She chanced to look back at the ground. The city had not been transformed… or had it? The buildings below seemed normal, but when she blinked, she swore she saw them change into mangled black spiked versions of themselves, the walls turning to large sheets of black glass. It was hard to process the grudge city, as it appeared and disappeared quickly after each blink.
Finally she saw two ponies coming after her.
Fluttershy wasn’t a fast flyer, but she had learned a few tricks from Rainbow Dash. She tucked into her wings and dove head first down the side of the mountain. It was one of the fastest ways to fly… it was just going to be really hard to stop...