I trotted next to the small group without paying much attention to my fellows: my mind was focused on my next steps; I went through the process of assaulting the factory over and over again. I gave the ponies trotting next to me a quick glance: Scootaloo was still walking next to Applejack who carried Emberstripe on her back without any sign of exertion. I turned my head back and continued to stare into the distance, thinking about all the satisfaction I would feel when finally seeing the factory explode in a huge fireball.
After a few minutes of silently trotting next to each other, Applejack turned her head towards Scootaloo and asked: “So, what are you gonna do now? You’re a free pony, you can do whatever you want!”
Scootaloo sighed deeply and gave Applejack a long, serious look: “What I want? Applejack, you know what I want! I want what you want, what everypony wants! I want peace! I want things to be like they used to be!”
Applejack nodded compassionately: “We all want that. But there simply are things -or ponies- you can’t restore! Every single day, I dream of those times; when everything seemed to be perfect.” She shook her head: “But those times are over. Things will never be like they used to be and we gotta live with it! Be tough or go west!”
Scootaloo sighed melancholically: “Remember when we went camping together?” she asked in a tearful voice, “The three sisters: you had Apple Bloom, Rarity had Sweetie Belle, and I had Rai-“ her voice broke and she broke out in tears. “I miss my sister!” she shouted whiningly.
Applejack hugged her, causing Emberstripe to almost fall off her back, and said: “We all miss our friends.” She sighed, “But there’s nothing we can do; you can’t retrieve those who left us.”
Scootaloo exhaled: “I know. … I only wish I knew how to continue now; I’m left with nothing!”
Applejack gave her a motivating look: “See, I don’t wanna recruit you or anything like that, but if you’re looking for ponies who want to end that war, ponies who will all treat you like a sister, you can join the Republic. I mean … You know what we’ll do next, so I understand if you don’t want to.”
Scootaloo gave Applejack an incisive look. After a few moments, she sighed: “Where else should I go? I’m sure the government of Cloudsdale already hunts for me, and we all know how Princess Celestia deals with ponies who rebel against her system, may it be in Canterlot or in Cloudsdale.”
Applejack nodded understanding: “Alright then. We can ask Luna to let you stay in the HQ if you don’t wanna join the assault. I mean, you may have to face … your former colleagues.”
Scootaloo snorted bitterly: “No. I know that there are duties coming along with a citizenship and I won’t flinch from them. Like you said: Be tough or go west.”
“Alright, I was just worried that you may-“
“Applejack, I know that we haven’t seen us for a long time, but you should know that I’m not a filly anymore! There was a time when I needed support and protection, especially on my first days in the factory, but those times are over now. I can take care of myself.”
Applejack nodded slowly: “Okay. I guess I’m just getting a little over-attached after that thing with Apple Bloom.”
Scootaloo gave her an asking look, so Applejack told her the story of how her family had been taken away from her.
As she was finished, Scootaloo gulped and said: “Oh. Damn, I’m sorry for you.”
“It’s fine. I’ll see them again as soon as the war is over. And believe me, this won’t take long.”
“How can you be so sure about that?” Scootaloo asked.
As a response, Applejack asked: “How do you feel at the moment?”
Scootaloo looked at her, obviously confused: “I-I don’t know. How should I feel? I mean … it’s hot, the sun is really strong today.”
“Guess what, it’s been that strong for about 25 hours nonstop by now.”
Scootaloo looked at her unbelieving: “What!? Are you kidding?”
Applejack shook her head: “Nope. See, I don’t know if you got scent from the war in your factory, but as we officially have war for about one day now, I guess that Luna finally stopped cooperating with her sister. Consequently, there’s no more night.”
Scootaloo gulped: “Really? I mean … everlasting daylight? That can’t go well in the long term!”
Applejack nodded, smiling satisfied: “That’s what I meant! The population already suffers a lot, but the lack of a nighttime will only make the ponies angrier. As soon as we assault and occupy the factory and so cut the influx of rainbows, I’m sure the population will finally be fed up. And they will be enraged about the truth behind rainbows; I’m sure it’ll only be a question of time until Canterlot will get attacked and the Princess will be abolished.”
Scootaloo nodded slightly impressed: “Smart.”
“Sure. But before we can think about the Princess, we gotta take care of the factory; the slaughter has to be brought to an end.”
Scootaloo approved: “Certainly.”
I spotted the silhouette of the embassy in the distance and turned towards the two mares, saying: “Here we are. I’ll go Ahead.”
I stepped in front of the factory and called for a guard. After a few seconds, an armored, grey pegasus appeared on the round path and gave me a skeptical look: “Stop! Who are you?” he asked me seriously.
Without hesitating, I lifted myself up and landed next to him, making him draw his sword and yell: “Hey, don’t you come closer!”
I slowly walked towards him, saying: “It’s alright, Stormtrotter. It’s me.”
He gave me a closer look and his eyes widened: “Y-you’re that pony who wanted to look for his daughter, right? What was your name again? … Right, Fippo!”
I nodded impatiently and turned towards the edge of the round path: “Yes, for Faust’s sake. Now could you please stop wasting time and open the gate for my companions?”
He raised an eyebrow and stepped next to me, looking at the three ponies who waited in front of the embassy.
“Who are those ponies?” Stormtrotter asked me skeptically.
“One of them is a civilian of the Republic, that’s at least what she said. But she’s on our side nonetheless. The orange pegasus wants to join us, she’s harmless too; and that black, tied-up stallion? Well, he’s a ‘souvenir’ I brought from the factory.” I said and grinned.
He gave me an unbelieving look: “So you’ve actually found the factory? You’ve been there?”
I approved hastily: “Yes. Look, I have to talk to Luna immediately, so could you please…?”
He nodded and walked towards the wooden door leading into the embassy: “Of course. You can already go into the basement, I’ll open the gate for them.”
I nodded appreciatively and followed him into the embassy.
A couple of minutes later, I stood in front of the entrance to the smaller house and forcefully opened the door, stepping inside. Luna was just talking to a mare in a heavy armor, but cut herself off as I entered. Her eyes widened in excitement, she stepped towards me and said: “Oh, it’s you! Have you been to the factory? Have you found your daughter?”
Her look fell onto Applejack entering the room behind me. “Applejack; it’s nice to see you again.” She silenced as she noticed Emberstripe and Scootaloo. Focusing them with narrowed eyes, she sharply asked: “Who are those ponies?”
“The orange pegasus wants to join us, but we’ll come to that later on; the black one … well, why don’t you tell her yourself?” I said and turned towards Applejack who dropped the stallion on the ground in front of Luna’s hooves.
She gave him a mistrusting look: “Who are you?”
He looked at her, his red eyes gleamed in hatred as he growled: “I don’t have to tell you anything.”
Her anger seemed to rise as she incisively said: “I asked you who you are! Answer me!”
Emberstripe spat on the ground and grunted: “Buck you.”
Luna gave Applejack and me an angry glance.
“His name is Emberstripe. He used to be the co-leader of the Rainbow Factory.” I explained soberly.
Luna looked at me with a touch of excitement: “So you found it? You saved your daughter?”
I grunted in silence.
“We … came too late. She’s … dead.” Applejack said softly.
Luna looked at me, her voice suddenly changing into pure empathy: “Oh my, I’m so sorry.”
I looked up in determination: “You have no reason to be. Every tear of her, every little bit of fear she felt, will be avenged tenfold! You can already plan an assault on the factory, I’m envious to finish some murderers!”
Luna’s eyes widened: “Murderers? W-what happened in the factory? What is done there?”
“The foals are getting grinded and the spectra is extracted from their bodies. After that, it’s transported into the lower factory and used to produce rainbows.” Scootaloo explained as soberly as she could.
Luna’s face turned pale: “G-grinded? I-is this pony serious?”
Applejack nodded silently.
Luna’s expression turned into a grimace, expressing indescribable amounts of disgust and consternation as she stuttered: “T-this can’t be true! How could this be!? I know that my sister is a monster, but how can she support something like that!?” her look went towards Emberstripe in front of her, “And how can you do that!?”
Emberstripe hunched his shoulders and snorted rancorously: “I just do it. It’s my job, it’s my vocation, it’s my passion. Deal with it.”
Her eyes gleamed and her face turned into elemental anger as she shouted: “YOU ARE A MONSTER! YOU DON’T DESERVE TO LIVE ON THIS PLAN-“ she cut herself off and forced herself to breathe slowly for a couple of seconds.
She took a deep breath and turned towards the guard still standing next to her, her voice quavered: “Please, take care of that stallion: replace this rope around his hooves with shackles and bring him here for further interrogation. After that, we’ll have a tentative court decide about his fate. And tell your brothers and sisters to prepare for an assault; we’ll attack the factory as soon as possible!”
The guard nodded: “Yes, Luna.” She grabbed the end of the rope and, tearing Emberstripe behind her, left the room.
Luna looked after the two disappearing ponies, then turned her head towards me: “Where did his injuries come from?” she asked calmly.
Without hesitating, I dryly said: “I gave him what he deserved.”
She raised an eyebrow: “It’ll be fine this time: he worked in the factory, so he deserves it; but please abstain from vigilantism regarding other ponies.”
I heard Scootaloo jug loudly behind me and turned towards her, introducing her to Luna: “That’s Scootaloo by the way; she used to work at the factory, but decided against a life as murderer and helped us escape from the factory.”
Luna walked past me and approached the young pony: “Scootaloo. It’s been a long time.”
The orange pegasus looked at the ruler frightened and mumbled: “A very long time.”
“So, you wish to join us?”
“Yes, Luna.”
“And you worked at the factory.”
Scootaloo jugged in discomfort: “Yes, Luna.”
“But you want to leave it behind.”
That question seemed to have hit a nerve: Scootaloo looked up, her eyes widened in desperation: “YES, FOR FAUST’S SAKE!” multiple tears dropped from her face to the ground as her expression turned into desperation, “I’ve seen so many things; I’ve been disappointed by so many ponies; all I want is something to believe in; something to fight for! All of Equestria is hunting for me, I just want to have some security in my life!” she whiningly shouted.
Luna stepped closer to her: “You know that you will have to fight when you join us; that you maybe have to face ponies you used to call your friends?”
She nodded drably: “I know.”
“And you are ready to fight for the Republic? To fight its opponents and to make a stand for peace and equality?”
Scootaloo looked up, her look showing new determination as she confirmed: “I am.”
Luna nodded satisfied and said: “Then you can call yourself a civilian of the New Lunar Republic now. Welcome to the flock, sister.”
Luna turned towards Applejack who had been silent all along and said: “Applejack, could you please show her the accommodations? She looks quite exhausted.” Applejack nodded dully and, after exchanging a look with Scootaloo, left the room together with her.
Luna turned towards me again: “So, please tell me more about the factory.”
I looked to the ceiling of the room: “It’s an additional part of the weather factory; foals who are-“
“Of the weather factory?” She asked unbelieving.
I nodded: “Yes, it’s directly above of it. The foals who are brought there are-“ I silenced and choked.
She nodded understanding: “You don’t have to continue. So, the spectra directly goes from the factory into the weather factory?”
I approved silently.
“Do you have any information about the head of the factory? The pony who manages the whole … process?” she asked disgusted.
“That she’ll be dead soon.” I responded soberly.
Luna rolled her eyes: “Could you forget about your revenge for a moment and tell me what you know?”
I snorted: “Revenge is the only thing that gives me power at the moment; the only thing I fight for. … But I really don’t know anything more about the factory, I was more or less stunned after I saw my daughter getting … processed, so the memory is blurred. But you can ask one of my companions, they sure can tell you everything about it.”
She nodded: “I will interrogate this Emberstripe as soon as possible, I guess Scootaloo could use some sleep first.”
“When are we gonna assault the factory then?” I asked impatiently.
“As soon as the interrogations are finished; but I’ll try to start the assault as soon as possible, every second is valuable when it’s about the lives of foals!”
I nodded: “And the earlier I get that manager to my hooves, the better.”
She nodded soberly: “I guess you should get some sleep too, you look almost as exhausted as Scootaloo.”
I stepped closer to her, my eyes widened in disbelief: “What!? You just said that every second is valuable!”
“Yes, but we won’t be able to start the assault within the next few hours; I have to collect further information about the factory and round up all available guards. Apart from this, you can’t assault the factory as a zombie; I don’t want to risk losing you.”
I looked to the side silently.
“Now will you please go to sleep?” she asked and made a gesture towards the door leading into her bedroom.
I held back a surprised comment about her allowing me to use her bed and mumbled: “Fine.”
Yawning hearty, I turned around and slowly trotted towards the door.
“I’ll wake you up as soon as the preparations for the assault are finished.” Luna assured me.
“I hope so.” I said while entering the bedroom and heading at the Spartan-looking bed on the other end of the room.
“Sleep well.” Luna said while I laid down.
I nodded, trying to look appreciative, and closed my exhausted eyes, mumbling: “Thanks.”
Right before falling asleep, I heard the door opening and multiple steps entering the room, accompanied by the rattling sound of a metal chain.
“So, now let’s see what you know about your beloved workplace!” the guard said slightly amused.
“I won’t tell you anything!” Emberstripe’s deep, hateful voice sounded.
“We’ll see about that.” Luna said coldly, a touch of superiority swinging in her voice.
I exhaled one more time and finally got overwhelmed by my exhaustion of this hard day; falling asleep with a deep sigh.
***
I stood in front of the stove and stirred in the cooking pot; the sticky mass of munched potatoes didn’t even look like food any more. Chuckling slightly amused, I shoved the pot aside and walked towards the freezer, taking out two frozen pizzas.
“Looks like she’ll get her way one more time.” I mumbled to myself. “But she really has to watch her weight; she has to stay fit for her test in two weeks.” I turned on the oven: “Well, we’ll just go and practice later on if she wants to.” I shoved the pizza in the oven and smiled: “Who am I kidding? Of course she wants to, she comes right after her father!”
I heard the front door getting opened and steps entering the house.
“Dad, I’m home!” A familiar voice sounded from the hallway.
I felt a big smile spread over my face as I turned around and saw the red filly standing in the doorframe. “Firespark! Welcome back!” I shouted and walked towards her, gushingly asking: “How was flight school?”
She flicked back a streak of her raven hair and looked at me: “Nice! We’re almost done with the lessons though.”
I felt the smile grow even bigger as I took a deep breath and said: “Oh Firespark, you have no idea how glad I am to have you!”
She smiled with a touch of confusion in her eyes and replied: “I’m glad to have you too, daddy. But you don’t have to tell me every-“
She got cut off as I flung my forelegs around her neck and started to sob loudly.
“What’s wrong, dad?” she asked confused.
I whimpered: “I MISS YOU SO MUCH!”
“But I’m right here!”
“BUT YOU’RE NOT REAL!”
“What do you mean?”
“THIS IS JUST A DREAM! THIS ISN’T REAL! IT’S JUST A BUCKING DREAM! YOU’RE DEAD AND IT’S MY FAULT!”
“… It wasn’t your fault, daddy.”
“YES IT WAS! Oh Firespark, you can’t imagine what I would do just to see you one more time! I’ve been hiding behind this façade of determination and coldness ever since your abduction, but-“ I sobbed “I JUST WANT TO HAVE YOU BACK! I WOULD DO EVERYTHING FOR IT!”
“Daddy, you can’t bring back ponies who died! You told me that by yourself, remember?”
I sobbed and nodded.
“And now stop crying, please. We have some time we can spend together, we should enjoy it.” She said with a heartwarming smile.
I slowly calmed down and released her from my hug. Leaning forward, I stroked her cheek with my hoof and sobbed again, tearfully whispering: “I miss you so much.”
Her sad eyes were focused on me as she said: “I miss you too, daddy. And I will always do, but it won’t use anypony when we cry all day. We should live with it and carry on, even though it may seem hard.”
I wiped away my tears and whimpered: “But what should I do!? My life is pointless without you!”
“Don’t say that!”
“Yes it is! There’s nothing I can do without you! You were all I’ve had!”
She gave me a pervasive look: “You will sure find something, just keep your head up!”
I sobbed and looked into her eyes; the green irises seemed to drill right into my soul.
“But there’s one thing I ask you to do.” She said calmly.
I looked up in determination: “What? Just say it, I’ll move heaven and earth to get it done!”
“Please do something about the factory! Not just because of me, but because of every foal in there! Those things they did to us-“ she shivered “It has to be brought to an end!”
I narrowed my eyes in determination: “As the great Faust is my witness: in less than one day, this factory will be laid in ashes!”
She shivered again: “That such a horrible place can be in the middle of Cloudsdale; just unbelievable.”
I shoved her head up softly: “It’s alright. I’m here and I will protect you! You’ll never have to walk alone!”
“I’m afraid to interrupt you, but our time is over.” I heard another, familiar voice coming from behind me. I turned around and saw Luna standing next to the kitchen unit and focusing us with a compassionate look.
My eyes widened: “No! No, it isn’t! I won’t go away from her! I won’t leave her alone again!”
Firespark sighed: “She’s right, daddy. It’s time to wake up.”
I hugged my daughter tightly: “NO! No, for buck’s sake! I wanna stay here! Here with you!”
Luna slowly walked towards us and softly, but determined said: “You can’t sleep forever! You have to wake up and continue your life! We have to talk about the assault!”
I tightened my hug around Firespark and desperately shouted: “I DON’T WANT TO HEAR ANYTHING ABOUT THE ASSAULT! I JUST WANT TO BE WITH MY DAUGHTER!”
“That doesn’t work, dad! It’s really time to wake up!” Firespark said and freed herself from my hug.
I sighed deeply and looked into her eyes: “Will I see you again?”
She nodded: “Of course you will! I’m a part of you, you can always see me in your dreams!” Hastily, she added: “But that doesn’t mean that you can sleep forever! You have a life to take care of! There are ponies who need you!”
I sniffed and felt the touch of Luna’s horn in my neck.
Firespark put on a smile: “Bye, daddy.”
I nodded drably: “Bye, Firespark.”
***
It took a few seconds until I casted my eyes open and drably arose from the hard mattress. Hanging my head low, I shuffled through the door and into the main room where Luna was standing in front of the desk and focusing me with a sober look.
Without a further comment, I stopped opposite to her desk and returned the look, asking: “What did you want to tell me about the assault?”
She grabbed a scroll from inside the desk and unrolled it, saying: “I received a message from Celestia a few hours ago; it seems like your actions in the factory attracted some attention.”
I shrugged drably: “No surprise.”
Luna focused the scroll and read aloud:
Luna.
I have received your declaration of war. So this is how it ends, you really want your ridiculous rebellion to be extinguished to the last pony.
Don’t worry, you may have kept your little ‘embassy’, but believe me: we’ll come again, and we’ll get all of you.
But something different: the next time you send your devious agents to spy on one of my factories, tell them to leave their passports on your dirty moon! I will use the last rest of my good will to stand above this provocation, but I warn you: do NOT dare to draw closer to the factory again! I can assure you that it is heavily guarded and that every attempt of an assault will end with the extinguishment of your army.
You want this factory? You’ll have to fight for it! You and your ridiculous rebellion don’t stand a chance against me! I am god!
Respectfully:
Princess Celestia, the one and only ruler of Equestria.
“Do you know what this means?” Luna asked worried.
“That you got cold feet and now want me to assault the factory on my own?” I bitterly asked.
She shook her head hastily: “No! No, I would never send anypony out there without support! No, what I meant is that we’ll have to expect heavy resistance when attacking the factory: I know my sister; she probably sent her entire army to the factory. We’ll have to break through many guards before entering the factory.”
I choked in disgust: “So I’ll have to take the lives of even more guards. Great.”
She nodded compassionately: “It’s not nice. But remember what I told you a couple of days ago: either they kill you, or you kill them. Apart from this, you’ll have the chance to face the murderer of your daughter Applejack told me everything. I can’t express the empathy I feel for you at the moment.”
I snorted: “It’s fine. You ended my dream after all. But anyways: I’ll face her murderer and destroy the factory; those are the two essentials.”
She nodded slowly: “Alright then.”
“Any more?” I asked.
“Not at the moment, I got all the information I need from your companions. You should take some time off now, the assault will begin in about two hours. But you should visit one of our blacksmiths first: we already have a workpiece of your armor, but it has to be adjusted to your body.”
I nodded drably and turned towards the door.
“Goodbye.” Luna said softly.
I approved silently and left the house.
I looked around the settlement and spotted a small forge next to the main building. I slowly trotted to it and the blacksmith looked up; according to his armor, he was an earth pony, his fur had a yellow tone, his eyes were green and single streaks of orange hair were hanging into his face.
He focused me: “Oh, hello. You must be the pony Luna announced.”
I nodded silently and he grabbed a black, light armor from a nearby table. Handing it to me, he said: “Try it on, please!”
I slipped into the armor and he eyed it with a critical look: “Hm. Looks good so far. We just need some smaller corrections here,” he pointed to a bulge next to my chest, “and here.” he pointed towards another bulge in my front leg. “You can take it off again; I’ll have it finished in a few minutes.” He said.
I handed him the armor and he grabbed a bracelet from the table, laying it on the ground in front of me and gesturing me to put it on. I hesitantly placed my hoof in the bracelet and heard the ‘click’ again.
“Your personal sword; all sharpened and ready to get used.” He commented on the weapon.
I flicked my foreleg and gave the weapon a long, silent look: the short blade shimmered in a midnight-blue; small barbs were crafted into the sword’s sides.
“Is everything alright?” the blacksmith asked me.
I nodded silently, then snapped the sword back in and turned around.
I was done with this world. My thoughts were still spinning and my head cried for some time off; some time to think about the past events and straighten things out again.
My look wandered along the houses and finally rested on a single spot outside the settlement; about half a mile away from the city limit.
Just as I was about to take the first step, I suddenly froze in my movement. “No…” I mumbled, “No, there’s something that needs to be done first.”
Narrowing my eyes, I turned around and focused one of the larger buildings; the one of which Stormtrotter had told me that it housed the central store, as well as the holding cell.
It took me only a few moments to cross the small central square. My eyes narrowed in determination, I passed the heavy metal entrance door and entered the single cell.
It was time for revenge.
I quickly left the small settlement behind and headed at a single spot, about a mile away from the houses.
I sat down after a couple of minutes and sighed deeply: “Time to get some rest, time to think.”