//------------------------------// // 4. Sneaky Scouty Party // Story: Order-naries: Storm-chased // by CTVulpin //------------------------------// “Oh, woe is Trixie,” Trixie declared with a dramatic sigh. “To think one so Great and Powerful could be brought to such a lowly state. Trapped in a cage while other ponies try to save the day. They spurned Trixie’s offer of help, and for what reason? Am I not important enough for them? Not a close enough friend to Twilight Sparkle to be considered a worthwhile ally? I may not be an Element of Harmony, but I was instrumental in turning the Changelings from enemies of the state to new allies!” The satyr in charge of the block – a replacement guard for the one the Order-naries had knocked out earlier – marched past Trixie cage and growled, “Shut it.” The command lacked vigor, since it had been uttered at least ten times since the guard had taken up the post and Trixie’s monologues had only grown more impassioned over time. “I was a star on the Manehatten stage once,” Trixie continued. “Not a big one, I’ll admit, but my magic shows filled the house often enough. If only I could have been content with that, but no! I am a traveler as much as a performer at heart, so to the road I returned, and formed a small but varied troupe that drew the praises of Princess Luna herself.” The Satyr guard’s patience ran out, and he stopped in his tracks to turn and give Trixie a piece of his mind. Before he could get a word out, however, a turquoise shape flew in from above and slammed into his head from behind. He fell prone a few cages down from Trixie, the wolf-tailed pegasus Looping Lines perched on the small of his back with a hoof raised in preparation for another blow. The satyr didn’t move, so Loopy held back and inclined her head to investigate. “Oh. He’s already out cold,” she said, a little surprised. She stepped off the satyr and whistled at the end of the street. Gale emerged from behind the corner and approached. “Nicely done, Loopy,” she said. “These hooves of mine pack more punch than I thought,” Loopy said with a modest shrug. “You came back!” Trixie exclaimed. “I take back everything I just said about you Order-naries.” “Ash did say we’d come back for you,” Gale said as she approached the cage and started examining how the door was secured. “Where is Ash, anyway?” Trixie asked, looking around expectantly, “and the twins, for that matter? Looking out for other soldiers?” “Headed for the Crystal Empire in pursuit of a hunch, actually,” Gale answered. “Loopy and I are in charge of things here.” She looked up from the lock and over at the turquoise pegasus. “By the way, Loopy, say hello to Trixie Lulamoon. Trixie, Looping Lines.” She returned to her examination of the lock. Trixie’s enthusiasm faded. “Oh,” she said.“I got stuck with the supporting cast. Typical.” Gale glared at Trixie. “There’s no ‘supporting cast’ among the Order-naries,” she said. “But if you have a problem with who’s doing the rescuing, I can probably find more appreciative ponies elsewhere.” “No!” Trixie wailed, waving her hooves wildly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. Please let me out.” Gale sat back and crossed her front legs across her chest. “I accept your apology,” she said, “but let me make one thing clear: when I let you out, I’m expecting you to help us liberate the city. Are you willing to do that?” Trixie snorted. “Of course I am,” she said. “I’ve actually got a reputation for taking action when trouble befalls Canterlot, you know. The Great and Powerful Trixie always backs up her boasting.” “Fair enough,” Gale said with a small smile, then turned around and bucked the cage slightly above the lock. Something in the lock broke with a sharp crack, and the door swung open slightly. “Welcome aboard, Great and Powerful Trixie,” Gale said. Trixie stepped out of the cage and posed with her head held high. “So, what is the plan?” Gale turned so she was facing the greatest possible number of the caged ponies on the street and pointed in the direction of the castle. “The Storm King himself is in the city right now, holding Princess Celestia and Luna captive,” she said. “Who else will join us to strike back at him, to save your city, your kingdom, and your rulers?” She hadn’t expected every pony to rise to the call, but the defeatist mumblings she heard from every corner of the block still left Gale feeling annoyed. “Come on everypony,” she said, “you’ve seen how easily the soldiers can be taken out when we have the element of surprise, and the Storm King won’t be that much worse.” “I don’t wanna get turned to stone,” one pony said. “Yeah,” another agreed, “I’ll bet you haven’t seen those petrifying bombs Tempest Shadow was throwing around. Nothing the Princesses did could stop them. The Storm King must have the same kind of weapons on him, if nothing worse!” Gale and Loopy shared a worried look, remembering what the Storm King’s staff had done to Ash’s horn. “Well,” Loopy said after a moment, “you’re not wrong but-” “Not interested!” Several ponies exclaimed. Trixie sighed and shook her head. “Forget it, girls,” she said.“It’s a rare pony who’s cut out to be a hero like you or me.” Gale gave her a bemused look, and Trixie huffed. “Remind me later to introduce you to a couple ponies that you can ask about the plundervine incident,” she said. She then gave Gale a measuring look and said, “Now, I hope you have a plan that doesn’t involve an army.” “I’ve got ideas,” Gale said. “Just follow my lead.” A squad of five satyr soldiers strolled down Restaurant Row in silence, paying no attention to the lure of the storefronts or the aromas of abandoned dishes, such was their single-minded focus on their orders: find the ponies who had made off with one of the Princesses. As they passed by The Tasty Treat, a rock struck one of the satyrs in the back of the head, causing him to stagger into his fellows, half-stunned. The squad turned around and saw Gale and Looping Lines standing in the street, each holding another large rock. “Thicker skull on that one?” Loopy asked, seeing the hit satyr regain his balance. “Nah,” Gale said, “just a loss of force due to distance. Hey fellas, mind coming a little closer, so we can knock you out properly?” The satyrs all blinked in bemusement, then the one that had been hit let out a war cry and the squad charged at the pair. Gale and Loopy dropped their rocks, turned tail, and fled down the street. Despite the ponies running all-out, the soldiers narrowed the gap to only a few strides within a couple of blocks.Loopy glanced over her shoulder to see a satyr reaching to grasp her tail and miss by inches. “I have concerns about this plan, Gale,” Loopy said, flapping her wings to get a brief surge of speed. “Just keep going,” Gale replied, flicking her own tail out of grasping fingers. They made it to the end of the third block, and Gale shouted, “Now!” before leaping straight up, bucking the satyr directly behind her in the chest, and then breaking off to the left down the side street. Loopy mirrored Gale’s actions, heading to the right, and the satyrs paused in the intersection to pick their comrades up and look at the retreating ponies with uncertainty. Before they could make up their minds, a smokescreen erupted in front of them and just as quickly blew away to reveal Trixie standing behind a row of fireworks aimed at the satyrs. The normally eloquent showmare merely smirked as the soldiers realized their predicament and started scrambling to find cover or get away. Trixie ignited the fireworks with a touch of magic, and the intersection was quickly filled with colorful sparks, loud bangs, the smell of burnt gunpowder, and five concussed satyrs with ruined armor and future hearing problems. “Well,” Trixie said as Gale and Loopy came back, “that actually worked out ok. What did we accomplish, though? These are just simple thugs, as far as I can tell.” “We made noise,” Gale answered.“Reclaiming Canterlot from the Storm King is the long-term goal, but our immediate concern is becoming a big enough nuisance that his attention goes to us instead of realizing that half the team and Cadance have left the city.” Loopy looked at the satyrs with a frown. “Trixie has a point, though,” she said. “Hitting small groups of the rank-and-file like this isn’t going to draw much attention quickly enough. I think we’ll need to get right up in the Storm King’s face.” “Agreed,” Gale said. “How many more fireworks do you have, Trixie?” she asked. “None at hoof,” Trixie answered, “but I know there are plenty to be had near the Friendship Festival’s main stage. That’s up at the castle, though, and most of the Storm King’s airships are moored there…” Gale nodded.“Sounds like a good place to strike then,” she said. “Let’s go.” “Wha- seriously?” Trixie exclaimed, hurrying to catch up as Gale and Loopy took off. “You do realize how dangerous that might be, right?” “Heroes like the Order-naries don’t flinch at ‘might be’ danger,” Loopy said. “We don’t even flinch from definite danger.” “We?” Gale echoed, giving Loopy a sideways look. “Counting yourself as part of the team now, Ms. Lines?” Loopy stammered and looked embarrassed until Gale chuckled and said, “I for one, have considered you an honorary member for years now.” As the ponies ran up the street, something watched them unnoticed from the shadows behind a restaurant, then slinked out to follow them when they’d disappeared from sight. The trio made their way to the upper section of the city, avoiding ever-larger patrols of the Storm King’s soldiers along the way. A couple blocks short of the castle, Gale suddenly called a halt and pointed to a Royal Guard Station she’d spotted on a street corner. “Let’s make a quick stop in there,” she said. Trixie looked at the building, noting the many broken windows and the singed door that hung ajar off only the top set of hinges. “Why?” she asked. “I doubt we’ll find any Guard ponies just lounging around in there; it looks abandoned, to say the least.” “It’s a bit beat-up, sure,” Gale said lightly as she approached the building, “but I doubt it’s been ransacked much. I haven’t seen any satyrs walking around with any appropriated Royal Guard weapons like, say, gel launchers, after all.” “Ah,” Looping Lines said, grinning, “we’re going to gear up in case we have to take the festival area by force, aren’t we?” “Exactly,” Gale said, shoving the front door aside walking inside. “And, if the opportunity presents itself once we get Trixie’s fireworks, we can try to capture one of the airships. That ought to hold the Storm King’s attention.” Trixie nodded appreciatively. “I like the sound of that plan,” she said. “I could put on quite the show from an airborne stage.” She paused at the doorway and looked up when she heard a low droning noise, and her ears laid back in fear. “That is,” she said, “assuming there are any airships left.” “Huh?” Gale asked as she stepped back out onto the street and looked up as well. What appeared to be most of the Storm King’s fleet was ascending into the sky and forming up facing north. “Oh,” she groaned, “don’t tell me…” “That the Storm King’s probably already figured out Ash’s plan?” Loopy asked. “Ok, I won’t.” “Thank you, Newshound,” Gale deadpanned. She went back inside the Guard Station. Loopy and Trixie shared a look, and then followed her inside. “Ok, I know I keep asking,” Trixie said, “but what are we doing now?” “Same thing as before,” Gale said, marching through the front room of the station and into the back areas, searching for the armory. “Minus the airship capturing part. We don’t know if the Storm King’s going to personally lead the pursuit of Ash and the twins, but even if he does there’s no way he’s going to take every soldier he’s got and leave Canterlot and the other two Princesses unguarded. We gear up, grab some fireworks, find who or whatever’s in charge, and then raise some Inferno et Cocytus.” “Some what now?” Gale turned around to answer, only to let out a small shriek of fright to discover the question hadn’t come from either of her companions, but from behind them. Trixie and Loopy turned to look and were likewise startled to see a short, black, insectoid equine figure with flat purple eyes and two long fangs jutting from its upper lips was suddenly standing right behind them. As Gale pushed past the initial shock, she took a guarded stance facing the Changeling, ready to react to its next move, and Loopy followed suit. Trixie, however, relaxed with a large exhalation of breath and then gave the Changeling a scathing look. “Pharynx!” she said. “What’s the big idea, sneaking up on us like that?” “I’ve been following you since you took out those soldiers at the restaurants,” the Changeling replied. “It’s not my fault you ponies didn’t notice me.” “Trixie, you know this Changeling?” Gale asked. “Yes,” Trixie said in a longsuffering way. “His name’s Pharynx, and he fancies himself to be a great Changeling warrior.” “Hey,” Pharynx said, narrowing his eyes, “I don’t ‘fancy’ anything.I am one of the toughest, meanest fighters in the Hive.Just ask my brother.” “Speaking of which,” Trixie said, not looking impressed by the little bug-pony’s claims, “what happened to you and the rest of the group? I lost track of you all when the airships showed up.” “They’re all fine,” Pharynx answered.“I’m supposed to bring you to them, now that I’ve found you.” Gale raised an eyebrow. “Them?” she asked. “The rest of the Changelings that came to the Festival,” Trixie answered. “The Queen thought it would be a perfect opportunity to show how her Hive’s changed their ways.” “Wait, wait,” Looping Lines cut in, waving a hoof in the air, “I’m lost. Gale, didn’t Ash say that Changelings were an… evil race here?” “Changelings are shapeshifters,” Gale said simply. Loopy mouthed a silent “oh” and then looked over at Pharynx contemplatively. “Still,” Gale said to Trixie, “I’m surprised too. I never figured Chrysalis, of all creatures, would turn over a new leaf.” “Chrysalis isn’t the Queen!” Pharynx exclaimed angrily. “She’s a criminal, a nasty stain on Changeling honor! No, the Queen’s name is Cabbage Patch.” Gale blinked several times in confusion, and eventually shook her head. “Ok,” she said, “that’s definitely a story I haven’t heard yet, but we can save it for later.” “Good,” Pharynx said, “because I’m not a Lorekeeper; telling stories isn’t my thing. Come on now,” he said, turning to the door, “let’s go.” “No,” Gale said. When Trixie, Loopy, and Pharynx all gave her bemused looks, she turned back toward the interior of the Guard Station and said, “I’m not giving up another chance to get a gosh dang gel launcher! We can go after I’ve searched this place.”