Equestria
Ponyville
Main Street
6:47 PM
Union and his remaining stallions had joined back up with the main force about an hour ago, having to take a roundabout way from the farm to avoid patrolling Ponyville militia. Though his minor reinforcements from the retreat did little to help the over all mood of the main force.
Who could blame them, beyond some minor resistance no pony expected an organized force waiting for them! Even at this moment the small deserted shop they had taken shelter in was occasionally raked with gun fire. Causing the occupants to wince from the sound.
“I need answers now! How many of the Pegasopolis militia remains?” He growled while many of the stallions looked away.
“We don’t...... know Boss Union.......” The stocky brown pegasus with stubble responded.
“And why in Hurricane don’t you know! I had numerous messengers trained for just this!” He yelled while kicking a discarded can.
“Boss after that opening strike of theirs, we moved into the town only to have bullets flying at us from all sides! Our group barely made it too cover, we’ve been stuck here since then! Any messengers try to send out their become Swiss cheese!” The brown stallion responded nearly screaming in response.
“Well what do you know Crafty?! What is the status of the occupation?!” He growled while the group avoided eye contact.
“There.... isn’t one.... we are more focused on staying alive! We can’t even stick our heads outside with out a hail of lead! We’re out gunned!” The brown stallion responded. “This situation is worse then that time that trotting disaster Derpy work for me!”
“So what your saying is we go back to Cloudsdale tails between our legs!” Union shoved his muzzle into the brown stallions face. “I will not lose to a bunch of mudhooves!”
“We are out gunned! Nearly half our stallions were wiped out before we even got close to this Tartarus pit! We are pinned down like a filly in a back ally!” Crafty shoved his muzzle back into the irate stallions face. “In my business sometimes you get a job you just don’t have the resources for!”
“This isn’t some moving job you were understaffed for! This is the future for the pegasi!” Union yelled back.
“Look around you Union it’s over! Do these stallions look ready to win the day?!” Crafty responded slowly waving his hoof across the room. The faces of the stallions around them were far from the excited cocky looks from earlier. They looked scared, paler, a few were even huddled in the corner hugging their guns close rocking slowly.
“Hey! Pull yourselves together! We are pegasi! You! Get yourself out of that corner!!” Union made his way over to the shaking stallion who seemed to be in shock completely disconnected from what was going on around him. When the stallion didn’t respond Union slammed his hoof into his face. The sound of bones cracking from the impact heard despite the sporadic gun fire outside.
In response the stallion just fell to the side with little response to the attack beyond a rather nasty nose bleed and bruise. Crafty just shook his head. “That colt isn’t gonna come out of it with a beating. He’s completely unresponsive, we’ve been trying to get him out of it since we got trapped here!” Just as he finished talking Union using his wing pulled out a pistol shoving it to the poor broken ponys head. In a split second floor was covered in read while every pony watched in horror.
“I won’t have weakness undermining everything I’v done! I want what ever is peppering this manure shack taken out! Then we’ll take the town!” He growled while the stallions watched him in fear.
“You killed him.......” Crafty said while looking at the pooling blood a blank look on his face.
“I’ll kill anypony who fails to live up to pegasi ideals!” Union looked around the room before his eyes centered on a shaking caramel coated pegasus with three basketballs on his flank. “Hoops! Go draw the fire of whatever’s shooting at us!”
“W-what? N-no way! That thing spits lead like a dragon spits fire! Y-you can’t make me!” The bully of stallion backed up while Union approached him. “Y-you said this was gonna be simple! Dive in, smash a few things, and boom they surrender! I-I didn’t sign up for this! I-I can’t do this!!! I-I wanna go home!!!” He was on the verge of tears scared for his life, which only seemed to sicken Union.
He raised his pistol again pressing it against Hoops temple. “Get up and draw their fire or I’ll spray your brains over the wall!”
Hoops shook his head repeatedly sobbing before Union fired another shot near his ear. The bullet clipped it, with the poor colt of a stallion collapsing to the floor wailing like a scared foal.
“Stop! That’s enough!” The sound of a gun cocking just behind Unions head was head as Crafty aimed. “It’s over Union! Look around, this ain’t no damned army! We have a hoof full of clips between us! Even if we could take that gun, we can’t hold the town!”
“I refuse to surrender to those mud pounders! What would our ancestors think of us if we gave into such inferior breeders?!” Union growled turning around to face Crafty undeterred by the hunting rifle pointed at his barrel.
“What would they think if we died to recklessly! Look, them Ponyvillians are a reasonable lot, we might just be able to surrender with our heads still screwed on!” He shouted back. “Us all dying ain’t the way to save Cloudsdale!”
Unions eyes narrowed at him before raising his pistol. “You don’t have the gu-!” Unions eyes were full of shock as a loud gunshot echoed in the shop, his cheek exploding into red gore, spraying many of the shaking stallions as they watched wide eyed. The stallion just collapsed onto the floor twitching for a few moments while the lights faded from his eyes.
“Y-you shot him.......” Hoops said attempting to pull himself together still sniffling like a scared foal.
“Yes....... alright....... I’m gonna go out there and end this.......” Crafty said looking around at the fearful stallions.
“W-what if they don’t stop shooting?...t-then what do we do?......” One asked stuttering as he attempted to process everything that had just happened.
“....... pray to Hurricane that they do........” he said slowly making his way to the corner of the store near the window after setting down his rifle. “W-We surrender! I-I’m gonna to come o-out s-slowly unarmed!” He then slowly trotted out into the unknown while the others held their breath.
Zebrica
New Timbuktu’
New Prosost Prison
The Pit
7:09Pm
It was late in the day but Rainbow had only just finished her shift in the mines with Gábriel. While she was exhausted from the hard labor she had a guest today. Her “husband” as he liked to call himself waited next to her in the center of the pit looking upwards. Eventually a small metal cage lowered down with two armed zebra standing on top of it. Shining their lights around while a few of the inmates stared at them.
“Inmate 00963 step forward!” One of them bellowed down. In response Rainbow was nearly ready to scream her name but a gentle pat on her shoulder from Gábriel reminded her to keep calm.
“H-here!” She stepped forward while one of the blinding lights focused on her.
“She matches the description! I will open the cage door! You will enter it alone!” The voice bellowed at her while the door to the cage slowly opened.
Feeling uneasy the blue mare made her way to the cage taking a look back at the gryphon who nodded at her. Once she stepped inside the door slammed behind her nearly making her jump. Eventually the cage started to lift upwards, she couldn’t help but look back to watch Gábriel vanish into the darkness below her. As the cage was lifted higher and higher the lights slowly circled around the pit the bright red eyes of bats glowed with gentle chittering.
Eventually she just closed her eyes and counted like she always did when they would take them up for labor. “1...2...3...4...5...” She continued to count avoiding looking at the carnivorous bats around her cage. Eventually when she had reached 357 the cage stopped abruptly causing her to stumble to slam into the bars. She opened her eyes in time to see the cage slowly swing over the top of the pit to a roofless enclosure, the cage lowered down in-front of a small table and chair.
Neither of the striped stallions above her bothered to open the cage simply watching her though the bars. After a few moments the door on the opposite side of the room unlocked before a familiar face walked through. A mare in freshly ironed bright blue Generals Uniform tailored to fit tightly against a brilliant gold coat with greying orange mane looked back at her.
“Hello Dash.....” Spitfire said simply as she sat down in the simple wooden chair looking at the caged mare with little emotion.
Rainbow had mix of toxic emotions flow through her seeing her former superior. But bit her tongue and swallowed any insults or accusations down before speaking. “Hello Sergeant Spitfire........”
“.......It’s actually General Spitfire now...” She sighed sounding tired but continued to look the wingless pegasus in the eyes.
“..... Congrats on the promotion General.....” Rainbow said simply feeling uncomfortable under the mares gaze. “Don’t get me wrong I’m happy for the visit..... but why are you here?” Rainbow asked dreading the response but wanting this visit to be over as soon as possible.
“......I’m here to prove something to myself......” Spitfire said it after pausing as she rested her forelegs on the table.
“....Here to tell me I never had the skills to be a Wonderbolt right?...Not that it matters now anyway......” Rainbow looked up slowly leaning to the side so the scars on her back were visible.
“..... No Dash you had the skills to be a Wonderbolt....and more...” She sighed. “If you had come to us just a few years earlier......”
“What’s that supposed to mean?...” Rainbow was starting to get irritated with the mares attitude, feeling as if she was purposely avoiding something.
“I mean..... that while you were Wonderbolt material..... you weren’t what we needed..... not anymore.....” She sighed.
“Stop beating around the hay bail... what are you saying.....”
“I had two choices....... paying your tuition.... or Avrid’s.......” Her look hardened at the pegasus.
“The that quiet Gryphon immigrant?..... Average Avrid?” She looked at her former instructor in shock. “W-why would you choose him?! H-he couldn’t even keep up with me in during the routines!” She was now visibly struggling to contain herself as a vein started to pulse on her forehead.
“Because..... you saw the Wonderbolts as they were, not what they could be.” She clasped her hooves together having a more serious look form on her face.
“What’s that even mean?!” Rainbows growled as her patience was being worn thin by this slow conversation.
“....Tell me....What are the Wonderbolts?” Spitfire raised an eyebrow curiously.
“Is that a trick question?” Rainbow looked confused shifting uncomfortably from the orange mares gaze only to stop when one of the zebra above her stomped his hoof at her.
“Depends on the answer I guess Rookie.....” Spitfire responded while tapping her back hoof against the concrete floor waiting.
“Well...... your a popular stunt group?...” Rainbow reasoned but the shaking head of her former superior told her that wasn’t the answer.
“That’s essentially the Wonderbolts in their..... modern variation. What were the Wonderbolts in the beginning?....”. She asked while Rainbow stared. After a few moments seeing she wasn’t going to answer Spitfire finally spoke. “In it’s earliest inception the Wonderbolts were known as the Winged Hussars. An elite group of pegisi trained from birth to protect the pegisi tribes, later Equestria after the unification.”
Rainbow adopted a more thoughtful look. “What changed?....” She asked while slowly sitting up in her cage.
“We did, over the centuries of unmatched peace and prosperity, we grew lazy, inefficient, more concerned with our own image then the actual safety of our country.....” She sighed again. “Eventually long before either one of us was born, some smooth talking stallion decided that the name Winged Hussars wasn’t a good fit... and it was changed to Wonderbolts, fitting isn’t it?.... an elite military unit effectively regressed into a stunt troop.”
“T-that’s not true! Your still some of the most-“ Rainbow was cut off.
“We couldn’t stop Nightmare Moon, a nearly starved insect, a hatchling drakes growth tantrum, a childish chimaera, a magic parasite, Tartarus..... we couldn’t even stop a little filly with a mental defect, and the list just goes on!” She screamed. “We have become Stuntponys incapable of protecting the very ponys who idealize us...”
“...I could have helped you know, Iv fought plenty of bad guys, heck I even traveled with Twilight outside of Equestria to find help against the Storm King.” She said attempting to defend herself . “Why didn’t you choose me?....” She sounded more hurt at this point.
“Those were pure luck on your part...... and largely singular enemies, even The changeling invasion was far from an organized assault. From the information we gathered from Thorax, most of the changelings involved with the invasion were poorly trained civilians. As for the Storm King..... did you know Twilight was called in to file a report on that adventure...... and was pressed for EVERY detail? Including the behavior of her friends during their mission to secure military aid against an actual organized force?....”
Rainbows face paled as she realized where this was going.
“During your journey there were numerous examples of your party not taking the situation seriously. The others can be excused as they were civilians placed in a situation they weren’t trained for. But you?..... you had the training, as subpar as it might have been, to know how serious things were! Not just for yourself but for the ponies you were sworn to protect!” Spitfires face seemed to turn red with anger as she continued. “But that’s not even the worst thing you did... after getting the location of the Hippogriffs and securing passage, you preformed a Sonic Rainboom, a feat that can be seen from miles away, to and I’m quoting her royal highness Twilight Sparkle, celebrate making friends with airship pirates.... which drew Tempest, now known as Fizzlepop, to your location, eventually leading to the fleeing Princesses capture after being banished from Seaquestria.” She then looked up at the wingless blue mare who was now struggling to look her in the eye. “Not only did you actions directly lead to the capture of a princess, but had Tempest looked around more closely.... you could have led an entire army to Hippogriffs doorstep as-well!” She slammed her hoof down onto the table.
“So..... I was cut because a lack of professionalism?......” Rainbow deflated while sitting in her cage. “No...... incompetence....” She said bitterly whether if was for herself or Spitfire was hard to tell.
“That was part of the issue... I won’t lie, but their was another. For all your talent in the sky, your a singular mare, I would trade my right wing for an army of you.... but that’s not happening. So I had to choose someone who could look at a Britannian aircraft and come up with strategies to give our ponies a fighting chance. Who can look though the crumbling combat manuscripts and rewrite them from the first page. Incorporate new technologies to our doctrine, giving a road map for how to train the next generation of soldiers!” Spitfire looked up. “You just weren’t what we needed.... you weren’t the mare for that kinda job.....”
“..... and Avrid is I’m guessing?.....” Rainbow spoke you after staying quiet for a few moments.
Spitfire nodded. “.....Princess Twilight is running herself ragged trying to find a way to transfer you over to Equestrian custody....” She paused. “I still owe you for saving my life, can’t reinstate you, but I can offer you work as a custod-“ She was stopped by Rainbow raising her hoof.
“.....I’m not interested Spitfire......” Rainbow raised her head up the corners of her eyes just starting to leak as she struggled to stop herself from crying. “...... there’s no place for me in what you building........ e-even if I took the o-offer...... I’d just be some h-hazbin cleaning up after the recruits........ y-you said what y-you n-needed t-to s-say.....” The tears were visibly streaming down her cheeks. “Please..... just go.....”
Spitfire looked up at the guards watching them and nodded, they moved back to their positions on the cage. “Goodby Rookie....”
Rainbow didn’t even bother to respond.
Equestria
Cloudsdale
Derelict Weather Factory
8:13PM
Organized labor groaned in pain struggling to stretch himself as he woke up, only to wince in pain from what was probably two broken wings and at least one leg. The first thing to hit was the terrible smell surrounding him, the second was the clammy garbage water he had been marinating in for hours. He slowly opened his eyes struggling to see the wooden cover of a dumpster.
“Wasn’t enough to beat me......... guess he had to chuck me away.......” He mumbled to himself as he struggled to sit up on the refuse. He yelped from the pain but continued to work his way into a sitting position. After a few moments of catching his breath he started to push open the lid, rolling himself over the rim before crashing against the cloudstone street nearly screaming from landing on what he suspected was a broken rib.
Laying on the ground for awhile to recover he eventually took notice of a smoky smell. Curious he worked his way back onto his hooves limping through the back alley. As he got closer to the main road a faint orange glow could be seen, curious he picked up the pace ignoring the pain before he was finally out. He was finally able to see what it was.
“N-no........” His eyes widened as his back hooves finally gave out behind him forcing him into a sitting position.
The the condemned Cloudsdale weather factory was situated much higher then any other building in the city. The founders had designed it that way to ensure that all pegasi in the city could look up at see the source of their prosperity and wealth. Now is it was a bitter reminder of better times, with its boarded up windows and crumbling walls. However the vantage point allowed Organized labor to see all of Cloudsdale.
The smell of soot and smoke blowing against his face as he just sat and stared at the blaze engulfing his city. The broken stallion frozen in place as despair overwhelmed him. He didn’t bother crying, he had nothing left to shed even for his hometown.
Equestria
Canterlot
Castle
8:21 PM
Celestia struggled to suppress a yawn as the final petitioners started to mill out of the grand hall. The negotiations combined with her insistence to continue day court had left her exhausted, but luckily her day was nearly finished. One of her guards had just finished handing out tickets so the other remaining ponies could be bumped to the front of the line tomorrow.
She was just about to let out a yawn before the closing doors were forced open by a very familiar pony. Who’s haggard appearance told her everything, the royal guards who moved to stop him were shooed away by her hoof.
“Hard Law! It’s good to see you but as you can se-“ She was cut off.
“This can’t wait! Iv been repeatedly given the run around by your guards, for the last few months, now I’ve been waiting in line since 5:00 am to finally meet with you after you ignored my messages!” Hard Law looked exhausted, angry, and most of all heart broken.
“I apologize but I assumed that-“ she was cut off again.
“Do you even know how bad the Ponyville situation is?......” He asked looking her in the eyes, the princess trying to recall the reports but the last few months had been eaten up by negotiations, answering and fulfilling requests for the Equestrian Embassy in Zebrica, planning the press release of the agreements, and the list went on.
“I apologize they must have been lost.... the last few months have been... trying for the country....” She said gently, the stallion lowered his head before finally speaking to her again.
“We have lost control of Ponyville, the Guard stationed there allow criminals to run amok....The ponies have lost any feeling of connection with Canterlot....” He looked up at the princess who was in shock visibly repressing the urge to say a cliche. “My reputation was ruined learning all I could about what was brewing there...... and you don’t even glance at the report......”
“Your reputation?....” The solar princesses throat started to feel uncomfortably dry. “Surely it’s not-“
“After weeks of being avoided by the locals, I got desperate and latched onto the only lead I had.... I attempted to interrogate one of the local drug pushers..... only for a photo to leaked to the local school newspaper.....along with some secrets of the towns royal appointed mayor..... I was practically chased out of town! I’m not even sure what happened to Mayor Mare! No one in my department wants anything to do with me when word spread!” He lowered his head. “I’ve failed...”
“I see......” She sighed Hard Law was known for getting results in Canterlot, which is why she originally chose him. But it appeared his heavy hoofed efforts were unwelcome in the small town. After swallowing she spoke. “....Do you have any idea what happened to the mayor?......”
“.... nothing concrete..... but...” Hard Law seemed uncomfortable, shifting on his hooves under her gaze.
“But?.....” She raised an eyebrow
“When I boarded the railed wagon.... I could see the burning town hall.... I don’t think their will be much of her to find....” He said while the princess grew far more uncomfortable.
“....Hard Law while I will have to review your actions.... I want you to know you’ve done Equestria a great service... I’ll make sure your well cared for....” She said while he lamely nodded his head much of his anger disappearing over the conversation.
“Thank you princess.....” He bowed and turned to leave.
“What has happened to my country.....” she mumbled to herself making her way to her royal chambers once Hard Law had left. Deciding to find and read that report.... Thoroughly. Just as she was about to climb the steps to her tower a royal guard rushed though the marble hallways.
“Trouble in Cloudsdale and Ponyvillie!!!” He nearly screamed skidding to a halt in front the shocked princess. It appeared she wouldn’t be getting any rest tonight.