Chapter 6
Twilight yawned after a sliver of light touched her face as it poked out of the window's curtain. She happily sat up as she removed the crust from her eyes after yawning. She stretched her limbs after jumping out of her bed and fixed her sheets so they were nice and neat. She walked down into the kitchen and began to make breakfast for herself and Spike.
As she did, Spike was awoken by the smell of the pancakes she was making and she saw him walk in. He grabbed his apron from the coat rack from behind the door and began to help Twilight with the cooking.
Once the cooking was done and they had set the table, they happily ate as she began to recite they were going to do today. Halfway through the meal, however, there was a loud bang as her front door was kicked open. She heard Applejack’s voice calling out for her.
“What’s wrong, Applejack?” Twilight asked as she and Spike entered the Library proper.
Applejack turned around after pulling a book halfway out of the shelf. She replaced it and ran over to Twilight.
“Ya’ll didn’t hear, then?” She asked.
“Hear about what?” Spike asked as he stuffed a pancake into his mouth. He was holding his stack on his other hand.
“Soldiers!” She exclaimed as she began to shake uncontrollably .
“What do you mean soldiers?” Twilight asked with suspicion. “Don’t you mean the Royal Guard?”
“Hogwash ‘bout the Royal Guards!” AJ shouted as she slashed a hoof through the air. “Ah’m talking ‘bout real life Soldiers! Th’ ponies t’at go to different lands or somethin’ like that!”
“What are you talking about, Applejack?” Spike asked as he shoved another pancake into his mouth.
“Jus’ follow me,” she breathed haughtily, leading Spike and Twilight out of their home and took them to the outside of the Mayor’s Office.
Ponies gathered around the stage as they whispered about what was going on. There were lines and lines of ponies in the same type of armor the Royal Guard had, but the color made it look like the armor was made of iron instead of the usual gold, and the clasps that held their pauldrons together were completely different. The first clasp Twilight saw was two crossed spears. She then saw a pony with a white coat running somewhere and his clasp was a red cross, like those of the nurses.She also a fireball, a snowball, a thunderbolt and many other types.
Applejack led Twilight and Spike to Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. As they came to together, they exchanged nods and greetings.
The crowd was finally shushed as a Stallion walked up to podium, and faced the crowd. Instead of the small cloth that sat under the Guards saddle, the Stallion’s cloth was red in color and had a sheen to it while a red cape billowed behind him from a slight breeze. The cape was clasped to the front of his ornate armor on both shoulders. He removed his helmet and set it down on the ground, his red mane draping over his face. The Stallion cleared his throat and spoke in an almost booming voice.
“Fillies and Gentle-colts; my name is Sea Shore and I am Captain and leader of the First Royal Infantry Division. My soldiers and I have come to stand before you today and we ask of you good ponies to help us find a traitor to this Realm, to you and to Princess Celestia herself. We ask of you today to help us find a Pegasus named,” he held his breath for a split second a for dramatic pause, “Rainbow Dash!”
The crowd let out a single gasp before their chatter rose.Then they began to shout but the Captain held up a hoof which began to shush the crowd slowly.
“Yes, I know good citizens of Ponyville. I know it’s extremely hard to even comprehend a fellow pony that you all have probably known most of your lives, especially so for the Pegasi who both grew up with her. But that doesn’t mean anything. Any pony can lie. You all remember the Changling Crisis during Princess Cadence’s and Sir Knight Shining Armor's wedding.” He said as he let that event sink in for a bit. “However, Rainbow Dash has not thrown her lot in with the Changlings. She has not thrown her weight in with the Griffin’s or the Diamond Dogs. She has, however, joined forces with a creature this land has never seen before.
“He has similar characteristics to that of the primate family, like a Gorilla or an Orangutan, but he is stronger, fit, lean, and he has extensive training in the ability to kill anything that gets in his way. He cares not for life save for his own and he wants to wipe out everything we have done by first getting rid of both the Princesses.”
“That is a lie!” Twilight shouted as she made her way to the front of the crowd.
“Ah, miss Twilight Sparkle. Bearer of the Element of Magic. How quaint it is to see you here, along with the Elements of Harmony, save for one. And why do you call me a lier?” He asked as she hopped onto the stage, flanked by Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy as Spike tried to threateningly stand on her back.
“Because I have met this creature you speak and he is not that type of man!” She shouted, her face contorted with rage.
“Ah, then what is he? Please explain because I’m sure the crowd would like to also hear.”
“Hold on a minute here. Ya better tie up yer horses before they begin to buck, Mister Shore.” Applejack said as she moved past Twilight and faced the Army Captain. “Now, Ah don’t know what ya believe this man has done, or care to know, but since Ah am the Element of Honesty, after all, Ah believe my word carries more, let's say: Oomph.”
“Then you have the floor Miss Applejack,” He said with a slight bow.
“Thank ye kindly. Now, when Ah first met this man outside o’ Appleloosa, he looked scary and threatening enough, and he does have a bite once he stops barking, but when Ah fought him, he could,” She emphasised by slamming a hoof done, “have killed me but he didn’t because A: Ah saw in his eye that he has seen enough horrors and B: he never set to harm me. Now, ya’ll might be asking: ‘Did he attack you first?’ and mah answer to that is a simple ‘no’. He did not attack me, but I attacked him because of that intimidation he was letting out, but he did it involuntarily.
“All he really wanted was information on how to get out o’ Appleloosa and he be on his merry way. But we asked him politely to sit a spell with us fer the night and he oh-bliged. He answered every single question we had, and he answered them either vaguely or with gusto. But the one answer Ah’ll share with ya’ll is the one why he is traveling: It’s because he is huntin’ down the murderer who killed his friends and family.” She concluded with hard eyes as she stared at the Captain before looking over the crowd.
“And I shall assume that the rest of them can attest to that?” He asked and they nodded happily. “Good. Seize them,” He ordered and a group of soldiers surrounded them, spears pointed to their throats. “For now, we will have to question about what you know and don’t know. Until then, you all are under the suspicion of being a traitor. Take them away” He said then turned back to the ponies. “Citizens of Ponyville, under the orders of Princess Celestia herself, this town has been put under Martial Law.”
A round of gasps escaped their lips again as the five ponies of the remaining Elements and the baby dragon was escorted away while the Captain rattled off the restrictions while the Division was there.
-
A couple of hours later, Twilight sighed heavily as she laid down on the cot the soldiers had provided her in the white tent they held her as a sort of cell. She saw two soldiers outside the front of the tent, making sure she didn’t escape, their spears held high.
She looked around the small tent for the fifth time and only saw the cot, a cushion with a table sitting on a red rug which was a barrier between herself and the dirt. A small stack of five books sat atop the desk with an ink pot, a quill and a small stack of parchment. In next to the stack of parchment was a small plate of a hay sandwich and hay fries along with a tea kettle filled to the brim with tea, a few cups, along with a couple of cups that held some honey and sugar lumps, respectively.
Twilight made her way over to the table and began to flip through the book on the top of the stack. It was completely blank. She picked two more of the books and found they were also blank. The rest of the books were also blank. She set them back in their spot and began to ponder why the books were all blank, but it didn’t last long as the tent flaps flew open as a unicorn meandered in. His eyes were orange, as was his coat while his mane was a creme colored.
His armor was less ornate than the Captain’s but he had the red skirt that Captain had under his own saddle. The small symbol on his chest was an angled fireball with a small quill and scroll emblazoned on the armor next to it.
“Miss Sparkle,” he said with a slight bow, but his voice was hard without meaning it to be. She returned the bow. “I am Lieutenant Orangesicle and I am here to ask you a few question. Once it is done, you will be free to go back to your home and will no longer be harassed. Will please take a seat?” he asked and gestured to the table as he pulled the cushion to the plate filled with food and moved another cushion to the books and parchment.
Twilight sat down hesitantly as the Lieutenant waited before he sat himself. He asked if she was hungry and wanted some tea, but she declined.
“If you don’t feel comfortable at any time, please, let me know.” He said as he placed the parchment on the stack of books, save for one.
“I will, but if I may, may I ask you why you are searching for the creature and why are you commandeering our town?”
“The only thing I can tell you is that the order came from Princess Celestia herself. I know it is vague, but I’m just a simple soldier, ma’am. The only thing I ask is how high I should jump. Anything else you would like to ask?” He answered in a soft town, but his eyes were still hard, though, it was involuntary.
“No,”
“Ok, and now let us begin with the Q&A,” he replied as he wetted the tip of his quill in the ink pot.
He asked questions about where he met Vic, what he wanted or needed, where he was going, why Rainbow Dash decided to go with him and many more questions that Twilight had no answer for.
It was a grueling hour and half of answering every question, whether it was the real answer or an answer that was a fable, but held a hint of truth in it.
“I have no more questions for you, Miss Sparkle. Sergeant Match!” the Lieutenant shouted as a mare burst into the room, her green eyes hard.
“Yes, Lieutenant?” She asked, her voice sounded unnecessarily tough, as she saluted. He nodded in acknowledgment.
“Please send a couple of Spears in to escort Miss Sparkle back to her home and place her under house arrest then send in Miss Pie, please.” He ordered as he began to placed the questions and answers inside the book on top of the stack.
“Please follow me, Miss Sparkle,” The Sergeant said in a soft voice as she showed the Unicorn out.
Once the flaps were closed, Orangesicle sighed with relief and began to rub his temples with his hooves as he took one of the cups and poured some tea into it, while dropping a lump of sugar into it. He sighed happily after taking a couple of sips.
He continued to copy the questions and the answers until he finally finished, closed the book after filling around one hundred pages and burned the papers of parchment which he just wasted, all one hundred papers.
He set the top book next to the stack and grabbed the second one, placing it in front of him and opened to the front page. He wrote “Q&A; Pinkie Pie” on the very top in bold letters.
Orangesicle, took another sip from his cup of tea as the pink mare named Pinkie Pie, happily bounced into tent and sat down with loud thump. He asked her the same questions he asked Miss Sparkle, but where Twilight was very detailed, Pinkie Pie was going off tangents that Orangesicle had bring her back to the same questions many a time.
After a full hour of hearing her talking about the most random things that nothing to do with the questions, he gave up and had her sent back to her home with another set of Spears.
The next mare of the group he had to question was a mare named Fluttershy. She was timid and either answered a question with a whisper of a yes or a no, or just squeaked as she tried to hide herself under the table. It took Orangesicle so much energy just to try and not get angry, but he couldn’t take it anymore after half an hour. He also sent her back home with another couple of Spears to watch over her.
The mare after that was a mare named Rarity and she was a beauty. However, as soon as she entered the tent, she began to whine about how dirty the tent was, how there was dust on her cushion and many other things that were wrong with the tent’s contents, which turned Orangesicle's mind around.
When the Lieutenant commented about, she became huffy and really began to whine about every single thing. So he apologized and he began to ask her the questions he asked the previous three mares, but every time he tried to ask a question, she would interrupt and start complaining about something. She would demand things his Division did not have, and when he told her no, the Captain would have to intervene until it came to the point where Orangesicle used an old army trick where he sat still and just stared straight past her. It made her extremely uncomfortable until the point she began to become timid and answered his questions.
It took about a full hour just to get her start answering questions, but when she answered each one, her answers were longer and she spoke a lot more quickly than he would have expected and couldn’t keep up, so it took another two hours since they had to go back just to fully write down the questions and then wrote down the answers. When the Lieutenant ordered for two Spears to take her back to her, he hand picked the Spears that would completely ignore her no matter what said, asked or pleaded of them. Luckily, though, the two Spears were mares.
He placed the fourth book onto the stack as the holder of the Element of Honesty came into the tent. She sat down on the cushion and asked if she could eat the food that has not been touched yet. Orangesicle gestured she may and Applejack tore through the food with gusto.
Finally finished with the food, the Lieutenant began to ask her the same questions he asked the other four. She was precise and clear with her answers, though, she still sported her drawl and help corrected when Orangesicle made a mistake. It was quicker than the other four and the questioning only lasted about forty-five minutes. He also sent four Spears with the farmer, two for their farm and two for the stall she had set up.
By the time everything in the tent was cleared out and it was broken down, Orangesicle made his way back to his tent as the sun was setting. He was both bodily and mentally tired as he laid down on his own cot, quickly drifting off to sleep.
-
Rainbow Dash awoke to the sounds of a small scuffle. She quickly jumped up, her wings spread upwards in an intimidating manner, her magenta eyes were alert. She saw Vic shoving a hand under something as he was trying to keep himself breathing. So, she took to the air as high as she could. Rainbow hovered there in the air for a second then dove towards the scuffle. She was reaching subsonic speed by the time the man she saw was over the other, hands on each others throat.
Rainbow quickly her altered course, flying over the small fire Vic had made earlier. As she was about to clip the man, the face was confused as he looked down, but when he looked up, that confusion turned into shock as Rainbow clipped the man with her left shoulder.
She spun away from the fire and tumbled into the darkness.
Vic tried to stand up but fell onto his right side after being thrown off of Mel and onto the leg he was using to sit himself a few minutes before. He saw that his entire arm was limp. He touched his shoulder and his pain blossomed as his vision swam with small stars, pressuring himg to fell onto his back, grasping his arm.
“Are you alright Captain?” Mel asked with extreme concern as he ran to his comrade.
“My shoulder is broken,” Vic breathed as he rolled slowly on the ground. “Go...go and check if that pony is alright. You know I’ve had worse and still survived. A broken shoulder won’t stop me.”
“Aye, sir,” Mel said as he ran off, his black braided hair bouncing on his upper back.
He jogged into the darkness, away from the fire into the supposed spot the pony landed. He looked around and heard a small groan from a voice that sounded tomboyish, but the noise that came afterwards was something like the coo of a dove. It didn’t even sound like a language, but he made his way over to the pony. Mel couldn’t see her well, so he picked her up via the waist and ran her over to the fire as she squirmed and fidgeted, save for her shoulder, which was just flung around wildly. Mel set her down near the fire as she began to try and kick him, but he swatted her back legs away.
“Rainbow Dash!” Vic shouted as she faced Mel down, his hazel eyes gleaming with a childhood memory when he used to live on his grandfather’s ranch out on the Lakota Reservation. He always had fun breaking in wild horses.
Her head whipped around towards Vic, showing blood trickling over her left eye and small cuts and bruises around her entire body. Her front left shoulder hung loosely as she used wings to support her.
She spoke something that Mel didn’t comprehend until he heard Vic’s answer: “I don’t care. He is like a brother to me and you will treat him as such. Besides, he was only protecting his colony that he has here. If you hadn’t done what you did, we’d be meeting more of my friends, but I guess we’ll be spending a room together as we heal. Help me up, Mel. Please,” Vic breathed as he blinked a couple of times.
Mel rushed over and helped his former Captain up and set him down on the log. He gave him his walking stick and shouldered Vic’s pack over his bare shoulders, along with saddlebags before covering the dirt with fire.
It took them a long while to weave their way through the dark forest before Mel found a worn trail that they carefully walked on. Once on the trail, their speed picked up a bit more quickly. It was a longer time, however, to find the wooden palisade Mel and his colony had erected.
A red light flashed onto Mel’s, Vic’s and the pony’s face.
“Who goes there?!” A voice shouted from a palisade that they could barely see as Vic heard the familiar click of a weapon he hadn’t seen in about six years since his colony was chosen to use stone tools and weapons before finally finding a small cave filled with iron veins near their camp.
“It’s Mel and I have a couple of friends here with me who need medical attention!” Mel shouted to the owner of the red light. He was happy to finally find another human as his vision began to swim as he fell forward towards the ground.
Then everything went black.