//------------------------------// // Brought Low // Story: Echoes of Loyalty // by Silent Whisper //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash took a deep breath before parking her bike at the base of the hanger. Golden Oaks Apartments. One of the better apartments the City had to offer, it boasted rooms with ceiling-to-floor windows with the best views of the city, and reinforced glass to protect its non-pegasus customers, of course. Compared to the Nightgill, it was a plain residence. Sure, a few coffee-colored circuits wove their way up the cream-colored walls, circling around ivy that looked as though it’d been freshly watered that morning and therefore had to be fake, but it was shockingly neutral compared to many of the other places she’d been to. That was part of its charm, she supposed. Understated. Quiet. Dull. Some ponies liked that sort of thing, and so somepony had built it. It was a shock that she’d sobered up quickly enough to notice. Effects fading away immediately, indeed. A part of her wished for them back, but it was more important that she keep a clear head during work. Her gaze flicked up to the numbers hovering at the top corner of the screen. Five minutes til 5pm. Barely on time, as far as the Administration was concerned. She always cut it as close as she could, despite their gentle warnings about punctuality. A part of her tried to insist that it was because she could get her job done so quickly and efficiently, she didn’t need the extra minutes, but deep down she knew it was mostly because the less time she’d spend doing her work, the more time she could take distracting herself from it. Of course, that meant she had very little time to get started. She flew up the stairwell in the hanger and burst through the door, skidding to a stop in the apartment’s lobby. A tired-looking stallion beamed pleasantly at her. “How can I help you, miss? If you’re here looking to move into an available room, I’m afraid we’ve reached capacity, along with our sister location, Honey Oaks. Might I recommend the lower apartments down on 14th Street? There’s less of a view and it’s just above cloud cover-” The stallion and Rainbow shuddered in unison. “-but I promise they’ve got plenty of space.” “That’s actually why I’m here,” she said, tapping her visor. One side lit up, displaying her ID to the receptionist. “Rainbow Dash. The Elements of Justice sent me.” The stallion’s visor, an older curved model, flickered to life as he silently checked the digits. “Oh,” he said at last. “Good, then. I’m glad they’ve sent somepony.” A few thin lines of text scrolled across his line of sight as he swallowed nervously. “Let me see… the two-hundreth floor - seventeen floors up - and above could be cleared. We’ve had a few noise complaints from one of the rooms, and another on that floor has been late on their payments. Will that suffice?” His gaze focused on her again, eyes twitching in their supreme effort to look cordial. “That works. Which way’s the elevator?” She tried to sound professional, but a part of her mind was already calculating what she’d need to do. At least this building had windows. She hated working in ones without. There was too little access to the sky, and what lay beneath it. “Left one’s the closest, it’s right down the hall,” he said, shuffling a few paper-thin screens together into a neat stack. “If I’m not at my desk when you get back, I’m probably answering questions from the other residents. Do try to keep it down up there, would you?” Rainbow nodded as she headed towards the lift’s doors. He was lying, of course, about answering questions from the other residents. Most of the front desk ponies coincidentally “went on break” during her work, and she couldn’t really blame them one bit. The elevator let out a cheerful ding as she stepped inside. The second the doors slid shut, Twilight hummed gently into her earpiece. “Your heart rate’s up,” the AI murmured consolingly. “Deep breaths. Looking at the floor plan and current list of residents, evicting this floor should be more than enough for the Administration. Why, they might even note down your dedication to the job for this!” “Great.No really, that’s fantastic.” She slumped against the elevator wall as it smoothly began its ascent. “What I really want in life is to make them proud of my work. It’s what I live for.” Twilight gave a chastising beep. “Your sarcasm is noted. Not officially, of course, but I know you hate your job. You get like this every time. Should I start scheduling in a brief meditation session beforehoof? Would that help?” “No.” Rainbow wearily got to her hooves as she felt the elevator gradually slow and began stretching her limbs one at a time. “Last time we tried that, it only made me tired. What have we got today?” “Your first one’s… oh, it looks like a pretty strong stallion. Might I recommend a more charismatic approach?” A few lights on the corner of her screen danced to form a rough outline of a well-built pony. “I’ve already let his Twilight know, and she says that he’s more receptive to friendly advances than romantic ones. After that we’ve got a few foals, so try to save your energy if you can. The young ones tend to respond less… predictably.” She chewed on the inside of her cheek for a moment before taking a deep breath and summoning all the charm she possessed. This was going to be a long night. After all, if the City was a living creature, Rainbow Dash was a scalpel, whether she liked it or not. Rainbow Dash took a shaky breath as she leaned against the wall. There was next to no mess in the other room; it wouldn’t take the floorkeeper ponies much to clean up and reset everything to the way it was. The old mare hadn’t even put up much of a fight. She was as ready as she’d ever be for the next one, or at least that was what she told herself as she walked up to the door. Twilight’s interface flashed on her screen reassuringly before disappearing. Last one. She could go home after this and drown out the memories in adrenaline until her next job. She gave herself a few seconds to steel her shoulders before knocking on the door. There was a muffled thump as somepony set something down, and a few weary hoofsteps grew louder. Darkness enveloped the one-way peephole for a split second before the door swung open. “Well, well, if it isn’t Rainbow Dash herself!” said the mare, beaming up at her. “Ah haven’t seen ya since we were both in school! Still flyin’ fast?” Shit. As it turned out, she wasn’t ready, but that wasn’t an acceptable reason for not finishing the job, and she was a professional. “Hey, Applejack. I’m doing alright. Mind if I come in?” “Sure, sure!” The earth pony waved her inside, a grin lighting up her face. Rainbow gave her an easy smile back, watching out of the corner of her eye as Applejack closed the door behind her. “Ya should’ve told me you were visiting! Ah would’ve gotten the family together to welcome ya!” She surveyed the room, letting herself relax into a friendly stance. “You’ll have to tell them I said hi, then. I wouldn’t want to bother them, you know?” “Oh, you’re no bother,” the earth pony laughed, trotting around Rainbow towards the living room, shuffling a few reading screens aside to make room on the couch. “Can I get ya anything? Fizzy drink? Heh, remember how you drank so much you thought you’d pop, back when we were fillies?” “I’m fine.” Rainbow fidgeted, walking towards the windows. Her visor discretely flickered to life as Applejack followed. A few readouts dancing around her vision, percentages, encrypted commands. For a second, she thought she saw an apologetic emote from her Twilight, but then it was gone. “I’m actually here on a more professional matter.” “Oh? Didn’tcha make the bike team? Why, Ah remember you were the best in our school year! Ah don’t work in plaques, ya know. If ya need a trophy engraved, I know a mare down the hallway who-” “I’m with the Elements of Justice, actually,” she interrupted, dismissing the final line of code from her visor with a blink before turning to face her fillyhood friend. Prolonging it would’ve made it worse, she told herself. Best to get it over with. Applejack’s brow creased with concern. “Ah don’t understand. Did we do somethin’ wrong? Big Mac’s projects are loud, but Ah didn’t think anypony would complain all the way to the Elements about it.” Rainbow shook her head, gesturing out to the distant neon of the city as she paced. “No, not at all. You’re fine. A model citizen, in fact. We’ve just been having some, um, difficulties with something, and need your help.” A relieved grin split Applejack’s muzzle as she brushed a few locks of mane away from her face. “Whew, well, Ah’m happy to help! Just say the word, Rainbow! No need to get the Elements involved; I’m more than happy jus’ to help a friend!” Her heart pounded in her ears. “It’s about the population measures. You… I…” Dammit, there was no way to sugarcoat it, and prolonging it would only make it worse. “I’ve been sent to evict you.” “Wait.” The smile fell as quickly as it had appeared, and Rainbow could see the concern build in Applejack’s expression as her mind caught up to the situation. “Ah heard a rumor about how… how ponies would…” She looked back out the window and her gaze flickered down towards the inky clouds that pooled beneath the City’s skyscrapers. There was no time for hesitation. Rainbow made her move. Bracing her back hooves, she sprung forward, tossing her head to the side as her chest made contact with the soft side of Applejack’s barrel. The breath left her frie- no, opponent with a heavy oof as she snapped out a wing and brought it up to slam into her face. Rainbow was fast. It was what she was known for, what she was born to be. She’d been scouted for her agility, and it’d saved her hide more times than she could count. It also often meant that the fight would be over shortly after it began. Rainbow was fast, but Applejack was desperate. Teeth closed around Rainbow’s wing as Applejack pulled back with the impact, her muzzle clasping the wiry muscles before she pulled, throwing Rainbow against the glass before twisting her hips. A part of Rainbow’s brain told her that she should roll away, but her legs weren’t obeying her and that was Applejack, and everything was happening too fast and too much at once. It was all that she could do to suck in half a breath before Applejack’s buck connected with her. The glass, built to withstand the mighty winds of the upper atmosphere, didn’t shatter. Rainbow’s wing, on the other hoof, did. A ragged scream escaped her lips as she slumped towards the ground. Applejack was already moving, racing towards the door as fast as her calloused hooves could carry her. Raising a hoof to check the damage to her wing, she spared a glance at the screen on her spiderweb-cracked visor, confirming what Applejack had yet to discover. Twilight’s status was noticeably absent, as she often was during the actual process. “APPLE BLOOM!” Hollered Applejack, her untrained limbs trembling with adrenaline as she fumbled against the door. “BIG MAC! GRANNY! GET OUT OF HERE! THE ELEMENTS ARE COMING FOR US! RUN!” Rainbow grunted as she picked herself off the ground, wincing as her ruined wing dragged against her side. Every second counted, but she needed to get a hold of herself and the pain before she puked. They’d done a lot of things to her in training, but destroying her wings wasn’t one of them. It was like snapping off a unicorn’s horn. Sure, it could be done, but it was a low blow, and most ponies didn’t think to do it until after said unicorn turned them into cinders. She’d have to alert her superiors. Maybe they’d add it for future agents. It wouldn’t hurt to keep them prepared. “Apple Bloom?” Applejack’s hooves pounded against the door, as though not comprehending the idea that it was locked, that somepony else could have overridden the mechanism. Rainbow stumbled, extending her other wing for balance as she waited. “Gr- Granny Smith? Big Mac? Answer me!” Only silence responded as Applejack’s hooves faltered. Most earth ponies could break through normal wood, but the rooms in Golden Oaks, along with many of the other higher-end apartments, were magically fortified. All the better to keep you safe from anypony jealous of your station, the advertisements claimed. The pegasus watched as Applejack came to terms with what Rainbow already knew: she was trapped. Slowly, with horror and fury in equal parts dawning on her face, Applejack turned around to face Rainbow, who was panting but staying upright, trying to ignore the blood dripping down her feathers. “What did you do?” Rainbow didn’t answer. She just stood there, eyes watering and limbs trembling. “Did ya kill them too, Rainbow Dash?” Her voice was low, dangerous, and it sent a chill up Rainbow’s spine. She ignored it. “I didn’t kill them.” Rainbow grit her teeth and forced herself to stay steady. “So long as they survived the fall, they’ll be fine. There’s food and shelter beneath the City. You’ll probably be able to find them fairly easily.” “If there’s enough food for them, why would ya- how could ya-” “Food isn’t the resource we’re worried about,” hissed Rainbow. The room was starting to sway. She looked down. There was an awful large puddle beneath her wing. Blood and bloody feathers. She forced herself to look back up before she joined them on the floor. “It’s space. The higher we build, the less room there is at the top. It’s like a triangle. The base has to be huge to support the tip. But why you, specifically?” Rainbow shrugged, which made her suck in a ragged breath. Shrugging was a bad idea. “The Elements decided that.” And the damned receptionist. “It wasn’t up to me.” “So ya would kill a friend just because they told ya to?” Applejack spat, her ears flattening against her skull. “Ah thought ya were made of better stuff.” “What can I say?” The room wobbled, or maybe it was just Rainbow who wobbled. “I’m loyal ‘til the end.” With an animalistic shriek of rage, Applejack surged forward. Seconds before she connected, Rainbow sent one last command over her visor before flinging herself away from the base of the window, her broken wing trailing behind her. It was as though it happened in slow-motion. The glass pane behind them melted like water as her heartbeats thudded in her skull. Rainbow’s head whipped to the side as she watched her friend’s horrified face, then hooves, then tail pass through the spot where her body had been, before Applejack pitched into the darkness below. It was a few minutes before Rainbow could bring herself to stand up again, and when she did manage to get to her hooves again she stared at the darkness below. It was a clear shot down, at least. Applejack was unlikely to have hit any buildings, at least at the angle she had been falling at, and something usually managed to pad an unfortunate victim’s fall. That was the sort of thing Twilight always told her after each eviction, and at that moment she was clinging to any sort of reassurance she could find. A breeze picked up, rustling her tail as she stumbled over to the door. The world was swimming before her eyes, and she blinked forcefully at the first thing she could focus on to clear her vision. A hat was hanging on the hook, an old style that Applejack had always insisted upon wearing when they were smaller. Sighing, Rainbow carefully picked it up before giving it a light toss out the window. Applejack would probably need it wherever she ended up. Rainbow frowned at the hoof-marks that’d made a few scuffs against the door. This one hadn’t been nearly as clean as she’d hoped, but at least the job was finished for the night. She let herself into the hallway before closing the door behind her. “That went well, all things considered,” chirped Twilight after a sullen pause. The pegasus didn’t answer, she just concentrated on putting one hoof in front of the other. One step, then the next. Straight to the elevator. “I’m sorry I didn’t warn you, I really am, but I predicted an 80% chance of some level of resistance if you’d known that it was somepony you recognized.” No response. What could she say? Twilight was right, just like she always was. “It’s a shame you got hurt. I’ve discreetly called a few medics to the lobby. They should be able to reconstruct your wing, and I’ll have them deliver your bike to the garage. Okay?” Twilight’s voice sounded almost frantic, some sort of artificial pangs of loyalty that made Rainbow’s head ache. “I’m just doing my job, and you’re just doing yours. I don’t want to hurt you, I really don’t! I genuinely care about you, [Rainbow Dash]! You understand that, right?” Rainbow bobbed her head wearily but made no comment as she trudged down the hallway, one wing pressed against her side and the other dragging against the ground. The things I do, she bitterly thought to herself, to feel alive.