//------------------------------// // 334. Life in Friction - Part 1 // Story: Blaze the Pony Tale // by Wolven5 //------------------------------// The days that followed after the Crystalling and subsequent births of Big Macintosh and Fluttershy's foals were hardly eventful apart from the late-birthdays party Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich threw for the new twins, Belleflower and Sandow Apple. Sunburst settled into the Castle of Friendship, just as Starlight did, but when he asked his new master Midnight what and when their first lesson would be, Midnight told him to get used to Ponyville first. Sunburst spent a whole week checking out the town (and also got his 'Welcome to Ponyville' party) and finding it to be a very nice and welcoming place. He spent some time talking Mystech with Blueblood, doing some magical research with both Twilight and Starlight, enjoyed meeting Chili Spice, Joe, and their little colt Pepper Flake, and making more friends around Ponyville than he'd ever had in the last few years. It was the end of the week where things began to look interesting. Midnight had called his fellow knights to the training area behind the castle, and stated, "Alright, Knights, we all know why we're here. Except for Sunburst, I hope each of you took some time to do some training since our last meeting." Cheese, Blueblood, and Soarin all exchanged hesitant looks while Big Mac and Thunderlane both nodded in confirmation. Sunburst however was a little nervous. "Hmmm, no matter," Midnight shrugged, "Things have been a little intense for a while and we've all just gotten back to how peaceful it can be. You know, when things aren't going crazy. "Be that as it may, it's time to begin honing our skills and sharpening our senses. So, let's start with some sparring. Harmonic Knights, draw your swords!" They all did as their leader bade, though Sunburst was the last to summon his, which didn't escape his master's notice. It was still taking some getting used to the fact that his sword was a part of him and was absorbed into his body whenever Sunburst needed to put it away. "I want you all to pair up and spar. Focus on disarming your sparring partner, for now, and don't worry about harming each other." Midnight cast a spell and everyone noticed the edges of their swords light up and dim almost as quickly. "I've cast a ward on the edges of your swords. They are now blocked by a thin barrier that will prevent them from being able to actually cut anything, but don't be reckless. Even if they can't cut right now, these weapons are still stout enough to inflict bruises and other serious injuries, depending on where they hit you. The wards on your weapons will last until you sheathe them. So now! "Pair up and spar!" Blueblood wound up sparring with Cheese Sandwich, Big Mac with Thunderlane, and Soarin decided to spar with Sunburst. Sunburst technically had an advantage as he could wield his sword using Telekinesis whereas Soarin had to hold his with his hooves, his magic allowing him to grasp his sword's handle even without Manipulation Shoes. During his Wonderbolt training, he'd learned how to manipulate objects with his hooves by concentrating his magic to them without relying on Manipulation Shoes. It'd been a practice in being able to focus and control his mana. Sunburst gulped as he held his sword diagonally in front of him, hesitant to make the first move. Not wasting a beat, Soarin struck first and he struck down hard. Sunburst flinched but held his sword block the attack, which impressed Soarin a little though he could see Sunburst seemed to be wavering somewhat and looked a tad pale. "We're all nervous here. Don't worry," Soarin chuckled in a friendly way. "It's just...I'm more used to books and research," Sunburst gulped. "Fighting's not really my forté." "Well, it's been said the pen is mightier than the sword," joked Soarin, which actually helped Sunburst to crack a smile. "Listen Sunburst, it's okay to feel nervous. Everypony starts fresh when they begin to learn about something new, and they're not gonna get it right at the beginning. "Remember, this is just training, and we're in this together. We're friends now, a team. In some ways, we're also a family." Sunburst's eyes widened at those words as Soarin went on. "To tell you the truth, I'm feeling kinda pressured by all this, too. I never thought I would become a knight! For a long while, I was a Wonderbolt, and although I originally became one to make my dad happy, I won't deny the ups and downs that came with being a Wonderbolt. I enjoyed helping to inspire other ponies but I was also afraid of letting them down or giving a bad example. "Then my captain, Spitfire, turned out to be lacking a little in integrity, same with a few of the other Wonderbolts, and I quit. But it took flying with them again to help me figure something out - That there are somethings we just can't do on our own, but when we work together there's nothing we can't do! That's why I earned the Element of Unity." "I see..." Sunburst gave it a thought and realized Soarin was right. Everypony had to start somewhere, and when he thought about it, he found himself glad. Glad that he was starting out with the help and guidance of his new friends. He smirked as he felt his confidence spark before raising his sword, "Okay! Let's get back into it!" "If you insist..." Soarin raised his sword too... when he felt a familiar buzzing sensation on his flanks and he looked to see, "My cutie-mark! It's glowing!" "Does... that mean something important?" asked Sunburst, when an image of Soarin's cutie-mark floated up and away. "Sorry guys! The Map's a'calling!" Soarin flew off, leaving the rest of the knights momentarily perplexed. "Didn't Twilight say the Map was busted or something?" asked Cheese Sandwich. Inside, Soarin found Twilight, Spike, and Starlight and the Map aglow, "I'm here! Anypony else?" "Hi, Soarin, this is... unexpected," Twilight was scratching the side of her head. "Why, is something wrong?" asked Soarin as he approached. That's when he saw the image of his cutie-mark drifting aimlessly all over the Map. "Well... Starlight and I were just testing a spell to restore functionality to the Map," explained Twilight, "ever since..." She hesitated to finish that sentence so Spike did it for her, "Ever since Starlight messed with the Map so she could go back in time to change history." Starlight winced while Twilight nodded, "Yes. That. Anyway, we did some research and tried a spell to get the Map working again, but it started showing random cutie-marks all over the place until finally it settled on just yours." "My flanks were shivering and I followed my cutie-mark in here," nodded Soarin, "Except... it doesn't seem to know where I'm supposed to go." "Hmm," Twilight looked at Soarin's mark hovering over the Map and noticed it was floating around one area in particular. "What about there? It's not certain, but it seems to be drawn to this area." Soarin took a closer look too, and saw his mark floating aimlessly over the middle-northern part of Equestria, not far from the edge of the Frozen North. "That area... it's along the route taken annually by Cloudsdale as it works its way around Equestria, making sure everypony is distributed good weather. Hold on, I think I might know where I'm supposed to go!" Soarin reached into the Map's three-dimensional imagery and carefully zoomed in, revealing a town upon closer inspection, "There, Stratusburg." "I've read about Stratusburg a few times before," Twilight perked up, "It's the first town that was established by a pegasus after Cloudsdale was founded centuries ago as the pegasus capitol of Equestria. Lots of pegasi who leave Cloudsdale usually go to live in Stratusburg." "Soarin, I just realized that the Map only seemed to call you after we tried our spell to fix it," Starlight brought up, "does that mean the Map is still not working right?" "Actually, this has happened before," Soarin answered, "Thunderlane, Big Macintosh, and Midnight were each called by the map to go on solo missions. But instead of friendship problems, the problems they were sent to take care of were more like... righting a wrong or resolving some kind of injustice." "You could be onto something, Soarin," Twilight found herself intrigued, seeing the dots connecting as she gave Soarin a smirk, "Care to test your hypothesis?" Soarin smirked back as he drew his sword, "With pleasure... Stratusburg, here I come!" It took Soarin a few hours of flying with a couple breaks, but he made it to Stratusburg early into the afternoon. It was a large town, just a little bigger than Ponyville, where the inhabitants lived either on the ground or in the clouds, just like the cloud house he and his Dashie lived in. As Twilight had stated, this was a town founded by pegasi, so most of the ponies he saw as he got closer were winged and flying. "Okay, so how's this gonna work...?" Soarin muttered to himself as he sat upon a cloud and gazed down at the nearest neighborhood. "Do I just wander about, looking for a big problem or does the problem find me?" But then Soarin took another look and realized the neighborhood wasn't looking all that neighborly. Or scenic. He glided down for a closer look and was mortified to see the neighborhood looked like it'd been recently trashed! There were broken windows and fences, yards messed up, gardens torn apart, broken branches hanging off of trees, garbage littered the ground from spilled over trashcans, and the locals were all looking despondent as some of them were endeavoring to tidy things up. He approached a mare who was sadly trying to fix her flower garden and asked, "Excuse me, miss? What happened here? Your neighborhood looks like it's been ransacked!" The mare gazed up at Soarin a little hesitantly before she asked, "New in town?" "I am. I am Sir Soarin of the Knights of Harmony, and I was sent here to resolve a problem," Soarin stated, trying to sound as formal and official as possible. "I've... never heard of the Knights of Harmony," the mare replied before sighing, "But I suppose there's no harm in telling you; Stratusburg is caught in the middle of a gang war." "A gang war?!" Soarin was stunned. "It began only a couple of weeks ago," the mare explained, "a gang of griffons showed up out of nowhere and their leader, a griffoness calling herself Iron Wing, declared Stratusburg was now her turf and if we wanted to stay and live peacefully we'd have to pay her for protection! "But a young pegasus by the name of Cyclone, he immediately rose up, along with some other ponies, and declared they wouldn't be pushed around. At first, Cyclone seemed like he would be our protector... but instead, he and his gang fighting with Iron Wing and hers have caused all kinds of damage and problems to Stratusburg. A few of us complained to Cyclone about the damage he and his gang were inflicting upon our town but he just ignored us! Every few days since, Cyclone and Iron Wing's gangs have fought in the streets, not caring about the damage and harm they're causing to everypony here. They don't even help clean up the messes or fix anything afterwards. They just leave after they're done fighting and go who knows where to lick their wounds..." That definitely explains why this neighborhood is in such a sorry state, Soarin thought as he regarded the ruined area again. "Look, I'm sure you mean well, but please just go home," sighed the mare wearily as she saved what flowers she could, putting them into some flower pots, "You'll end up just contributing to the violence and the damage..." The mare went into her home, taking her potted flowers with her, leaving Soarin perplexed. "This isn't gonna be an easy one... On one wing I can't stand by and do nothing but on the other she has a point. I have to handle this delicately, otherwise things could get even worse." He wandered the neighborhood, puzzling on what to do about this situation, when... "Stop it! Leave me alone!" His ears perked and he immediately took flight to get a better view of what was going on. His sharp eyes zeroed in on the direction he'd heard that voice and he saw a young earth pony stallion being confronted by two griffons, who didn't look the least bit friendly. They had the poor pony cornered up against a delivery wagon, their wings raised to prevent him from trying to get away. "We warned yer dumbass boss to stay out of our business, pony!" snarled one griffon. "Since he's not wising up, we figure sending him one of yer hooves might illustrate our point a little more clearly," added the other griffon before he wickedly sneered, "OR better yet, your head!" "No! No, please!" the earth pony was terrified, "SOMEPONY HELP!!!" Without hesitation, Soarin charged forward as the first griffon raised his talons with an ugly sneer and didn't see the buck in the face coming until it was too late, sending him hurtling into a rose bush, causing him to squawk in agony. "Oh, you are gonna regret that, pony!" snarled the other griffon after the shock of this unexpected development wore off. Soarin didn't respond, only taking a fighting stance and gesturing with his primaries a very clear message, 'Bring it on'. The second griffon growled and pounced, only for Soarin to leap straight up, flapping away while the griffon scrambled back onto his feet after misjudging the force of his pounce tripped him up. Glaring up angrily at Soarin the griffon took flight and chased after him, but Soarin was a trained ex-Wonderbolt, and Silver Lining had made him among the very best of the best fliers in Equestria. He flew back and forth, practically dancing around the griffon, always one flap ahead no matter how hard the griffon tried to keep up and close his talons around him. It wasn't long before the griffon was panting and tired whereas Soarin was smirking smugly, "Oh c'mon! You can't be tuckered out already, I haven't even broken a sweat!" The griffon clenched his talons, growling furiously when he noticed something behind Soarin and sneered, "Is that so? Hard to believe that coming from some has-been!" "Yeah, I'm not a Wonderbolt anymore, but one thing I learned from my time with them....!" Soarin did a mighty flap, back-flipping upwards and easily avoiding the first griffon from behind as he'd tried to tackle Soarin from behind, only to squawk in alarm as he and the second collided and landed in a groaning heap of bruises back on the ground as Soarin landed nearby, "...is to watch your back!" Growling, the griffons disentangled their limbs and shakily got back up, ready for more. Until Soarin raised his crystal and willed it to transform in his sword, causing the griffons to gulp at the sight of the blade as Soarin raised a brow and asked, "Who's up for Round 2?" The griffons growled in frustration before they turned tail and flew away. If Soarin didn't know any better, he could have sworn they were buck-buck-bucking like chickens the whole way away. "Heh, I don't know whether to call them chickens or scaredy-cats," Soarin quipped before turning to the earth pony he'd just helped out. He was young, just becoming a stallion, with a mint green coat and wheat-golden mane, and his cutie-mark was three brown hoofprints sided by stalks of golden wheat. He stood there, stunned and perhaps in awe of what had just transpired, so Soarin chuckled and asked, "You doing alright, buddy?" "...Holy Mother of Faust!" the young earth pony whispered before getting a hold of himself, "Uh- I- What I mean is- THANKS! Um, thank you, for... standing up for me. I thought I was gonna be a scratching post or something." "No prob. Are those griffons with that Iron Wing I've been hearing about?" asked Soarin. "They are, a couple of her biggest bullies," the earth pony sighed before remembering his manner, "Oh! Sorry, my name is Harvest Maize "Nice to meet you, Harvest," Soarin nodded, "So... is there anything else you can tell me about this Iron Wing situation going on here in town?" Harvest suddenly got a tad shifty-eyed, looking to his left, then to his right, and then softly answering, "Follow me." Harvest led Soarin to an old neighborhood where most of the houses were old and no longer occupied, and the few that were housed grungy middle-aged ponies, the types who would come out and shout 'you kids get off my lawn'. Soarin had tried to ask where they were going but Harvest shushed him and asked him to wait until they arrived. Before long they came to a house that was surrounded by old trees. It wasn't a manor, but it was definitely larger than a typical house and had nice architecture. Walking up the steps to the wraparound verandah, Harvest approached the door and used the old brass doorknocker in a series of knocks, which Soarin assumed was some kind of code or signal. The door opened only slightly, held by a chain-lock and Soarin heard somepony ask, "Password?" "Hurricane sent me," Harvest answered. The door shut, there was the sound of the chain-lock coming undone, and it opened to reveal a tall and burly earth pony who gave a nod to Harvest but eyed Soarin suspiciously. "It's okay, Boulder Brawn, he's with me. He helped me out, and I think he could help out with the griffon problem. That's why I brought him here, to meet Cyclone." Boulder Brawn sighed and stepped aside to let them through, "Your funeral." Harvest went in, Soarin following, ignoring Boulder's sudden growl in an attempt to intimidate him, which he found laughable. Silver Lining was a jungle cat compared to this kitten in pony's skin. "Wow, most new recruits turn tail as soon as Boulder Brawn gives them the stink eye," Harvest was impressed as he led Soarin through a hallway. "Take this tip - There's always someone far more intimidating out there," Soarin replied smugly, "But I am getting anxious to have my questions answered." "Trust me, you'll wanna hear them from the Commander himself," Harvest chuckled as he led Soarin upstairs, down another hall, and came to a door. He knocked a few times and waited. "Enter." Harvest opened the door and gestured Soarin to follow. The inside was a large bedroom that was instead used as an office and training room. There was a desk with a large wooden bookcase behind it filled with books, a map of Stratusburg on the desk, and by the window was a pegasus stallion, younger than Soarin, with a grayish-blue coat, his mane blonde with streaks of electric blue, stormy gray eyes, and his cutie-mark a spiral shaped like an electrical current. He was lifting weights, grunting as he said, "Gimme a minute, almost done here...!" Soarin just rolled his eyes at the "Commander". He'd seen his type plenty of times back in the Wonderbolts, grandstanding blowhards trying to show off strength and leadership. Grunting as he put his weights down, the pegasus rolled his shoulders, reached down behind the bench he was sitting on, and raised a water bottle to take a swig. He gave Soarin a glance from the corner of his eye while he drank before finally stopping and commenting, "So who's this clown?" "Clown? Kid, I recommend you choose your next words carefully," Soarin responded coolly with an edge in his voice. "I take it you're this Cyclone I've heard about from the locals?" "Commander Cyclone, Praetor of the Legio XIII Fulminis," Cyclone boasted, standing tall, his chest out, his head held high, his eyes narrowed at Soarin, "And I just remembered who you are. Soarin, former Commander of the Wonderbolt A-Squad. In other words, a has-been." "The last asswipe to call me that, I sent him and his buddy clucking like the chickenwusses they really are," Soarin retorted, narrowing his eyes back. Surprised as he was, Cyclone wasn't going to give Soarin the satisfaction of seeing it. Still, if this guy can scare off griffons as easily as he claims, perhaps he could be useful... "So what's the situation here?" Soarin sat on his haunches and folded his forelegs, "I've been hearing about this Iron Wing and you, and frankly it's painted my view of you in an unflattering light." "It's nothin' we can't handle," Cyclone waved it off, "Just a bunch of yahoos horning in on-" "Let me make myself perfectly clear," Soarin interrupted, his tone and expression as foreboding as a fast-approaching tornado, "I want the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me Goddess, or I contact the local police, the nearest garrison of guardsponies, hell, I'll even call in my old Wonderbolt buddies, and we'll be the ones to clean up this town of everybirdy and everypony making a mess out of it to restore order and peace to Stratusburg. "Based on what I've heard about you, you may be leading your guys to fight off Iron wing and her lackeys, but you're all every bit as responsible as them for the damages and depression plaguing Stratusburg as of late. I don't have time for a self-righteous brat masquerading as some kind of heroic commander who says he's doing good and doesn't care about collateral damage. You're not a commander, your guys are not a legion, and you're not helping Stratusburg. Get the picture?" ... ... ... Cyclone stared with his jaw on the floor, suddenly feeling like a colt being scolded and looked down upon by his dad all over again. Soarin had just issued a clear and deliberate threat, and called him out on his arrogant irresponsibility, and in retrospect, Cyclone acknowledged that despite his efforts to protect his home from Iron Wing, he hadn't been doing a good job of it. Sighing, he sat down at his desk and finally dropped the vaunted commander bit he'd been displaying, "Look... This started a few weeks ago. You know how not too long ago, Griffonstone got its act together and crowned their first king in forever?" "King Godric," Soarin nodded, "Some friends of mine helped him and his Sky Knights out in weeding out his corrupt brother and the local thieves guild. Then someone nominated Godric to be their new king. My friends, Prince Midnight and Princess Twilight, attended his coronation." "Well whoopty-doo for them," Cyclone huffed, "because ever since the new Griffon King started cracking down on the Griffon Kingdom, the native criminals, thugs, and lowlifes have been getting their kitty tails hooved to them and some of them decided to leave the Griffon Kingdom and set up shop elsewhere!" "In other words, Iron Wing was a criminal in the Griffon Kingdom until King Godric's Sky Knights chased her out," surmised Soarin. "Bingo. And now that bitch and her cronies are here, muscling in on my hometown, trying to make it her own little nest," Cyclone slammed his hoof onto his desktop, snorting angrily. The first few days she got here, she flies to town square and calls out to everypony present that she's in charge and if we step out of line she'll gut us like rabbits! She did just that to a rabbit she brought along to demonstrate! Traumatized my niece and nephew..." "And you decided to stand up to her," Soarin gathered. "You're damn right I did!" Cyclone growled, "Look, I get it. I came off as an asshole, but I just so happen to be a legitimate descendant of Commander Hurricane himself, once the ruler of the Pegasus Empire and one of the Founders of Equestria. I've always been proud of that but I never bragged about it... Well, at least until recently. "I started the Thirteenth Legion, called for volunteers and friends and anypony else willing to follow me to stand up to Iron Wing and her gang. Each and everypony here is willing to put themselves on the line to string our rackets with the guts of those birdbrained cats!" "Well, I can respect wanting to stand up for your home but you're going about it the wrong way," Soarin responded, "Gang-fighting in the streets, causing damage to your neighborhoods and scaring the ponies you claim to be protecting? Well guess what, I'm taking over here, and we're gonna settle this with one of two methods: "Method One - Peacefully." Soarin turned to leave the office, Harvest respectfully stepping out of the way, to Cyclone's incredulous expression but then he said, "Hold on a minute, you said two methods. What's the second?!" Soarin paused and looked back before smirking grimly, "Method 2? ...You don't wanna know Method 2."