//------------------------------// // Chapter 9 // Story: The Book of Friendship // by BillyColt //------------------------------// Chapter 9 White and Scroll ran back to the mission house. The town had always seemed decayed, but now it looked like a ghost town - the streets were empty and the sky was grey. This was particularly troubling - all of the ponies on Earthquake Island were earth ponies, so that left the question: how was the sky grey? White ran through the doors, followed by Scroll, who shut them. “Pegasi...” he said, “what’re we gonna do?” “Okay, okay...” panted Brother White, “we can do something... we’ve got the earth ponies here, and the pegasi up there, and we can...” “What’rewegonnado?” asked Scroll, “What if they start fighting?” BOOM! Scroll cringed. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! “Oh no, we’re doomed...” moaned Scroll. “What’s that?” asked White, cautiously walking towards the door, “it sounds like... bigger guns?” “Cannons,” Scroll said feebly, as they continued to fire, “much bigger guns.” “Oh...” said White. “Oh, no, no, no, no, no...” Scroll groaned, pacing back and forth, “what do we do?” “Calm down, Scroll...” “Calm down? They’ve already started shooting!” said Scroll frantically, “we’ve walked right into a horrible race war! We, we...” Scroll started wheezing. “I’m hyperventilating again...” “We just need to think...” said White. He sat down, and tried to clear his head. As he did this, however, something else occurred to him. “Clip?” he asked. There was no response. “Clip?” he asked again, “are you alright?” Scroll looked up, an expression of horror on his face. “Clip?” asked White, running to the kitchen. He wasn’t there, nor was he in the bathroom, the bunk room, the storage room, or any room. “He... he didn’t get back?” asked Scroll. “We have to find him!” exclaimed White. Outside, the cannons continued to roar. “C’mon!” shouted White, bolting out the doors. Scroll was so surprised that he didn’t even move, he just stammered to himself before following. “White, wait!” “Clip! CLIP!” shouted White, looking down the streets. They were still empty, but he could see some faces peering from behind windows. As the cannons continued to roar, he looked up and saw them, mounted high on walls, ponies in strange uniforms tending to them - soldiers. The sounds of the firing cannons split their ears - they’d never heard anything as loud. They thought that the guns were loud, but that was nothing compared to this. The closest they could compare it to was a storm. Scroll remembered the first time he heard a storm. The thunder terrified him and his parents were there to assure him that the world wasn’t about to end. He wished he had his parents with him now. White continued calling for “CLIP!” as they ran through the town, trying to shout through the sounds of cannon-fire. Out of the corner of his eye, Scroll spotted that familiar curtain - the makeshift door. He felt something wrench in his heart. “Tap!” he yelled, running into the tavern. “CLIP! Huh?” asked White, stopping. “Scroll, what’re you-?” Scroll burst through the curtain, into the tavern. It was completely vacant, but with bottles and cups strewn all over the place, like they’d all left in a hurry. The fire was extinguished, leaving no sounds by the cannons outside. “Tap?” he asked, “Tap!” “Scroll!” shouted White, running in after him. “What’re you doing?” “Tap!” said Scroll, “Tap and Barrel - where are they?” “They’re probably hiding or something...” said White. “But-!” “Calm down, Scroll...” said White, putting a hoof on his shoulder, “I’m sure they’ll be fine...” There was a clicking sound. Scroll spun around. A door near the back of the room was opening... “What are you two doing here?” asked Tap. “Tap!” shouted Scroll, running towards her, to her great surprise. He stammered, “I-I-I saw the sky and then I heard the cannons and then I worried about, well...” he stopped talking. He pawed the floor nervously as Tap looked at him. Barrel peeked up from the stairwell, eyeing Scroll suspiciously. There he was, sitting and fidgeting with those glasses of his again. “We’re hiding in the cellar,” said Tap, “I’d suggest you find someplace to hide, too.” “We can’t find Clip,” said White, cutting in. “Have either of you seen him since the play today? Have you?” “No, we haven’t,” said Tap, “we thought he went with you.” “Ohh, oh no...” said White, “that was stupid... we shouldn’t have let him out of our sight!” “You gotta get down here!” called Barrel, “There’s no telling when they’ll hit!” “But what’s going on?” asked White, “Are the pegasi attacking?” “Well, duh...” said Tap. “C’mon, there’s no time-” “Uhh...” said Scroll, looking up at the ceiling. “How...” his voice was very quiet, “how long has this building been up?” “Huh?” asked Barrel. “I mean, look...” Scroll said, lifting a hoof to look at the ceiling, “I mean, uh, I don’t- I don’t know a whole lot about architecture, but, um, those beams, they, uh, they don’t look quite...” Brother White looked up. He’d never noticed it before, but the ceiling seemed rather clear - there were less wooden beams up there than he’d expected. He got what Scroll meant - the building didn’t seem well-supported. If the pegasi were going to bring in a storm... “That’s why we’re getting into the cellar,” Tap groaned. “No! Listen!” said Scroll, his eyes wild with panic, “I don’t think it’s safe here. If the building collapses, you, you could be trapped! Listen... come stay at the mission house.” “The mission house?” Tap asked, an eyebrow raised. “They won’t attack it,” said Scroll. “How do you know that?” asked Brother White. “Because I don’t think the Fraternity’s ever needed to rebuild it,” said Scroll, pacing back and forth, “I mean, if they attacked it, they... we’re missionaries, that’d be some kind of crime, right?” “I don’t think that’d stop them...” responded a cynical Tap. “But they haven’t!” said Scroll, “And Brother Sky should be with the pegasi, he...” he stopped, “we need to find Brother Sky.” “What?” asked Tap. “Brother Sky, if we can find him-” “Scroll, soon the town’s gonna be filled with pegasi, and there’ll be a storm. They’re going to have guns.” “Look, guys,” said White, trying to butt in, “we can’t just stand there. You three, get to the mission house. Scroll’s right, it should be safe.” “B-but,” stammered Scroll, “what’re you gonna do?” “I’m gonna find Clip,” said White. “And use the bathroom.” The cannons stopped firing. The four of them looked up intently. There was dead silence. “White, I...” whispered Scroll, “White, I’m frightened...” “Listen, Scroll...” said White, “I want you, Tap, and Barrel to gallop all the way to the mission house. Shut the door, and stay in. I’ll be back.” “Do you promise?” asked Scroll. “I promise. Now go. I’ll be back with Clip,” said White, “after I use the bathroom...” “Huh?” asked Scroll. “Just go!” Scroll bolted out of the door, followed by Tap and Barrel. That left White completely alone in the tavern. The silence was frightening. The tavern was eerily still, and White almost felt that he would’ve felt better with the rhythm of cannon-fire. White quickly trotted to the bathroom. He had to find Clip, but sometimes nature calls, and nothing can adequately drown out that feeling of “I need to go.” He didn’t like that bathroom, though. It was dirty and smelly and the walls were covered in crude drawings of genitalia. He walked into the stall, sealing the bolt with a clink! He was just about the sit down when the ground shook, sending him to the floor. Earthquake Island, he realized. He remembered when the general came to the mission house, and he stomped his foot on the floor. He froze. General Quake was strong enough to make the whole island shake, just by stomping his feet. He realized another thing - the cannons had stopped firing, but there were still loud bangs going on outside - gunfire. He was scared, now. He realized he didn’t really want to use the bathroom anymore. He needed to get out, and he was about to leave, when he noticed something in the toilet. He walked up to it. It was a very simple facility - no plumbing, just a big dark hole that went down into a pit. But there was something shiny down there. Had someone dropped a piece of jewelry or something? He looked at it, and found that it seemed to be glowing brighter. And even over the gunshots, White could hear that there was a growing hum. Then there was a blinding flash of light, and White found himself stumbling backwards. And then in front of him there appeared a stallion - a unicorn stallion. White stared at him. He seemed to be dressed in armor, and there was a gun floating in front of him. In all his confusion, White seemed to be able to guess what it was - it was a soldier. A soldier who then spotted him. “Hey!” the unicorn said, “What are you doing here?” “Huh?” White said in an outrageously high-pitched voice, slowing standing back up, “What are you doing here?” “How’d you get ahead of me?” demanded the soldier. “What?” asked White, his face plastered with a distraught expression of confusion. “Oh, nevermind, just get outta my-” There was another flash of light, and the soldier stumbled forward, bumping into White, who backed into the stall door. Another soldier had appeared. “Hey, what’s the hold-up?” asked the second soldier. “Don’t look at me!” said the first soldier. “I just wanted to use the bathroom...” moaned White. Another flash of light, and another soldier came in. “What gives?!” “This dumbass is holding us up!” White was now nearly pressed against the door, as a bathroom stall is not a great deal of room for four stallions. Another flash of light raised the number to five stallions. Now White was pressed against the wall, the first stallion face-to-face with him. “Open the door!” the first soldier yelled. “Hey, what’s the- woooooah!” shouted the fifth stallion. An accompanying splash and an “eeeugh!” indicated that he had just fallen down the toilet. “Why are we in a bathroom?” asked one of the soldiers. “I dunno, I didn’t set these things up!” shouted another. Brother White was beginning to see why it would’ve been a better idea to do what he was supposed to do, rather than stopping by the bathroom. It was one of those things that seemed like a good idea at first, until it was actually carried out. Granted, White didn’t actually get to carry it out. Now he didn’t really want to use the bathroom. The ground shook, causing all the stallions to shout in alarm. “Fuck it!” said the first soldier, regaining his bearings, taking his gun, and slamming the butt against the lock, breaking it. White fell down onto the floor as the soldiers scrambled over him, not being particularly careful about where they placed their hooves. White, having narrowly avoided being trampled to death, looked up and saw them running into the tavern. White followed them, cautiously - before he could enter into the main room, however, he spotted an earth pony sticking his head through the curtain-door. “UNIC-” he began to shout, but was cut off when one of the unicorn soldiers shot him dead. There was the sound of more voices shouting. “Shit!” said one of the unicorns, “Take cover!” The unicorn soldiers took cover - behind tables, stairs, the counter, and earth pony soldiers started running in through the door. Brother White couldn’t bear to look. He just retreated into the bathroom and sat in a corner, his hooves over his ears. This didn’t block out the roar of gunfire as the tavern turned into a full-blown shoot-out. All he could think about was how awful it was, and how much he wished he could just find Clip, and go back home and be with Scroll... The gunshots stopped. He looked up, taking his hooves from his ears. He looked towards the door of the bathroom - the earth pony soldiers were coming in. Then he heard a grunting, coming from the bathroom stall. “Ugh...” said the unicorn soldier, trying to climb out. When he finally managed to half-way pull himself out, he looked up and saw the earth pony soldiers. “Aww, shit...” he said, before one of the soldiers put a bullet in his head and sent him right back down. “Well, well, lookie who’s here!” said one of the earth pony soldiers, spotting Brother White huddled in the corner. “If it isn’t our faggy white missionary pal.” “...hi,” said Brother White, weakly, as one of the soldiers walked up to him, carrying a rifle in his mouth. The soldier turned his head and smacked White with the butt of the gun, knocking him onto the floor. The soldier placed the gun down, letting the barrel lean against his shoulder. “Whatcha doing in here?” asked the soldier, mockingly, “here in the bathroom behind them horners?” “Nothin’...” groaned Brother White. “Y’know what I think we got here, boys?” asked the same soldier, looking at his pals, “I think we got us a spy!” White’s face shot up. “Huh?” The soldier grabbed him by the shoulder with his mouth, picked him up, and shoved him against the wall. “Just what are the chances that our resident horner shows up in the same room as a whole lot of un-resident horners? Hm?” White couldn’t believe this. “I-I-I-I-I-I...” he stammered, sounding a lot like Brother Scroll. “No, take your time,” said the soldier as his compatriots laughed, “I know you guys are clever bastards, I wanna see how you try to explain this.” “L-look, it’s not what it looks like...” the unicorn tried to explain, “I came in here to use the bathroom, and they just start... they start coming in.” The earth pony released him and turned around. White felt very relieved, when THUD! The soldier had bucked him, knocking the wind out of him. White stumbled to the floor again. “Not good enough!” jeered one of the other soldiers. “I’m telling the truth!” protested White, before finding himself staring down the barrel of the gun. “Wonderful for you,” said the soldier, preparing to pull the trigger, when a dull humming sound started. He took his mouth off the trigger. “What’s that?” White gulped, “I think there’s more.” There was a flash of light from the stall, but none of them could see what had appeared. Except, of course, for the earth pony nearest the door, who was gaping in terror. “Oh shit!” The earth pony didn’t even bother raising his gun, he just turned tail and ran out of the bathroom. The other soldiers, not getting why he had been terrified, readied their weapons. “Oh, what now...” asked the soldier nearest to White, turning around. Then his eyes widened. “Oh fuck...” Out of the stall stepped a tall unicorn stallion. His coat was a deep purple color, and he was wearing armor. Though his flank was covered, the armor had a gold crown painted on it. White’s eyes were drawn to the unicorn’s horn - only the princesses had bigger ones. “Fire, you idiots!” shouted the first soldier, as the other earth ponies started firing. The unicorn smirked as his horn glowed, and a bubble encased him. The gunshots weren’t hurting him, and he nonchalantly walked right out of the bathroom. Something funny happened: White found himself lifted off of the floor, surrounded by a similar bubble, and he found himself floating through the air, after the other unicorn. One of the soldiers stopped firing and just stared at the sight. The bubble kept White from being harmed by the bullets, but it also seemed to dull the sound of the firing, as though everything were muted by a thick wall made out of pillows. The experience was all the more surreal when White could still see the soldiers firing and swearing at the two of them. “Well, you aren’t going to thank me for saving your life?” asked a voice, causing White to jump. He was startled by how loud and clear it was, and then he looked over at the purple unicorn. “Well?” It was a deep voice, with what White could’ve sworn was some kind of English accent. “Umm...” said White, a bit too dumbfounded to speak coherently. “What’s the matter?” asked the unicorn, looking at him. “Say...” his eyes scanned the floating white unicorn, “I don’t think I’ve seen you before.” White was just staring at the purple unicorn, so much that he hadn’t noticed that several earth ponies had poured into the tavern, knocking down tables, taking cover behind them, and firing. “They’re still shooting at us,” White said rapidly. “Ah,” said the purple pony, acknowledging the attackers for the first time. He gave a smirk that White found profoundly unsettling, and his horn glowed brighter. There were several pop!ping sounds, and White saw that the bottles on the shelves were blowing their own corks off, and the liquor was flying out. There was a crash as several kegs on the side of the room burst open. The door to the cellar flew open as well as a river of booze poured in. The torrent of alcohol drenched all of the soldiers in the room, who couldn’t even continue firing. One of the soldiers slipped in a puddle, which prompted White to laugh. The other unicorn gave a low chuckle himself, and a spark flew from his horn. It touched one of the soldiers, who was promptly set on fire. The alcohol that had now drenched the other soldiers was also lit, and in the space of a few seconds, half of the tavern was set ablaze. White’s face turned from an expression of amusement to one of horror as the soldiers screamed, flailing around and desperately trying to grab their guns. The purple unicorn, however, used his magic to grab a shotgun from one of the soldiers, and promptly shot him in the head. The gun proceeded to float through the room, shooting the burning soldiers one by one, until one of them tried to bolt for the door. The unicorn smirked. One more blast from the shotgun, and he dropped dead at the doorway. The curtain caught flame. “Now then,” said the unicorn, dropping the bubble, leaving White to land painfully on his rear, “I don’t think we’ve been introduced...” White didn’t even let out a grunt as he landed. He was just staring in horror at the stallion who had massacred an entire roomful of soldiers and set the tavern on fire. He couldn’t say anything - the smell of burning flesh and liquor filled his nostrils, and it was making him ill, but he didn’t take his eyes off of the unicorn. He knew that it was... “General Monarch,” said the unicorn, “now, what’s a fine young stallion like yourself doing down here with the dirts?” White didn’t say anything. There was no sound but the roaring fire. “Well?” asked the general. “You... you killed them,” said White, scooting backwards on his rear, terrified. “‘They’re shooting at us,’ ‘you killed them,’” repeated Monarch, “you seem very talented at stating the obvious.” White still didn’t say anything, either because he was scared, or because the smoke was starting to make him cough. There was a crash of thunder from outside. Monarch looked up, as though surprised for the first time. “Well,” he said, “that would be my cue to leave.” He looked back at White. “Care to come along with?” White choked a little and shook his head. “Suit yourself,” said Monarch, vanishing in a blink of light, leaving Brother White alone in a tavern that was now half on fire. ___________ Scroll, Tap, and Barrel had managed to make it back to the mission house just as the unicorns had started teleporting in. Scroll was the last in, and he shut the door, but he couldn’t help but watch through the bulletholes. “Why are there unicorns?” asked Scroll, “I thought this was a pegasus thing.” “Cowards,” spat Tap, “must’ve decided to get a cheap shot.” Unicorns were rushing out of buildings, wielding guns and other strange weapons that Scroll wasn’t able to identify from comic books. Earth ponies, also carrying guns, were on rooftops and in the streets. The two groups were firing at each other, with ponies dropping dead like flies. One of the unicorns took something off of his armor, like some kind of ball, and flung it with his magic at a group of earth ponies. It exploded, setting a nearby building on fire, and killing the earth ponies. The ground and the building shook and Scroll stumbled away from the door. It was just as well - he couldn’t take it. He backed away and slumped against the wall. “Oh no, oh no no no no... this is awful,” he said, going into another one of his fretful fits. The rain of gunfire was going off, and he started fidgeting with his hooves. “You probably should consider getting a lock on that door...” said Tap. “What about White? How is he gonna get back? How long will he take?” asked Scroll, “What if he can’t find Clip? What if... what if...?” His voice stammered and trailed off as he considered the horrifying possibilities, his breathing growing more rapid. He was close to hyperventilating again. “Scroll!” shouted Tap. This seemed to snap him out of his fit of panic, as his head snapped over in her direction. “Listen, there’s nothing we can do. All we can do is sit tight and hope that White makes it out alright.” “But I...” “Scroll, please,” she said, walking over to him, “calm down...” Scroll gulped and took a few deep breaths. “I’m just... I’m just so worried...” “I understand, Scroll,” said Tap, sitting down next to him, “just calm down...” Scroll took a few more breaths, shuddering a little. Barrel stepped over to the side of the room, watching the two suspiciously. He didn’t like it. He didn’t like that Scroll had just barged into their home and demanded they come here, he didn’t like the way he was acting around Tap, and he wasn’t comfortable with the way Tap was acting towards him. The gunshots stopped, and Scroll nervously opened the door just in time to see General Quake - he was wearing thick armor and had various threatening-looking guns fastened to his sides. He was in the middle of fighting with a unicorn soldier. The general turned around surprisingly quickly and bucked at the unicorn soldier, tearing his head right off and sending it flying right at the door. Scroll was so horrified that he just stood there, frozen, until it struck him on the head. He stumbled back, dazed from the blow. “What happened?” asked Barrel. “There’s a head...” said Scroll groggily, “there’s a...” he looked down at the floor, and the terrible sight snapped him out of it. “THERE’S A FUCKING HEAD!” He scrambled, going up against the wall and curling into a fetal position. He let out some sort of unintelligible whimper and started rocking himself back and forth. “Uhh...” said Barrel, “he okay?” “Not really...” said Tap, gingerly kicking the head out the door, which she promptly shut. “We’ll just have to sit here and wait it out, like we always do.” “I don’t see why we couldn’t just stay in the cellar...” said Barrel. “C-c-c-c--cc-couldn’t risk it c-c-c-c-c-collapsing...” stammered Scroll, as though he were freezing, before looking up at them, “I d-didn’t want you to g-get hurt if you got tr...trapped or something... you’re my friends.” The silence was ended by a crash of thunder. This seemed to snap Scroll out of his cringing stupor (again). “I need to find White,” he said quietly. “Huh?” Barrel asked, as Scroll scrambled to get up. “Scroll, what’re you...” started Tap. “WHITE, I’M COMING!” shouted Scroll, throwing the doors open and running down the street. Tap and Barrel weren’t able to react in time. “Scroll!” Tap shouted from the doorway, “You’ll get yourself killed!” “I don’t care!” Scroll yelled back. The skies were no longer simply overcast - they were black, tumultuous and rumbling. The streets were littered with the corpses of earth ponies and unicorns alike. “White?” he called, “WHITE!” Terrible thoughts flashed through his head - if unicorns were attacking, what if that meant White was a target? If the earth ponies had turned on White, he didn’t know what he’d do, or how he’d be able to cope. In his panic, he ran down the most familiar path, which went right past the tavern, which was now on fire. He couldn’t even see through the doorway, as there was a huge, rank-smelling column of flame blocking his view. His jaw dropped - his intuition to get Tap and Barrel out of there had been completely justified. On the other hoof... “WHITE!” he shouted, running towards the door. Inside, White could hear the shouting. “Scroll!” he called back. “What are you doing in there?!” shouted Scroll. “Hold on, I’m coming to get you!” “No!” shouted White back. “Scroll, get back to the mission house!” “What about you?” Scroll called, “How are you gonna get out of there?” “Umm...” White said, too quietly for Scroll to to hear. He looked around. The door was blocked by the flames. Maybe he could go upst- no, that was on fire, too. He backed up, and the grave reality of the situation hit him - he was in a burning building. He took a deep breath, sweating. “Okay, Scroll, listen,” he called out again, “I... I’ll find some way out of...” his eyes caught something: the bathroom. There was no fire there. “Scroll, don’t worry, I think I can find a way out of here!” There was the sound of gunshots from outside. “Oh no...” said Scroll, looking up at the sky. He could see shapes descending from the clouds above - pegasus ponies, and lots of them, and the earth ponies were shooting up at them. “They’re coming!” “Scroll! Get out of there!” shouted White. Scroll didn’t need to be told twice, as the corpse of a pegasus soldier hit the ground in front of him with a SPLAT! He turned around and galloped as fast as he could. Unfortunately, the direction he ran in was away from the mission house. Inside the tavern, White ran for the bathroom. He heard a crashing sound as part of the ceiling collapsed in the main room. He ran to the stall and looked down. It was a deep pit, and he could make out the corpse of the unicorn soldier. Taking a deep, nervous breath, had got up on the can and jumped down. Scroll continued running as fast as his legs could carry him, the sounds of gunshots and cannonfire filling his ears. He noticed, however, something odd - around his feet, there were little plumes of dust coming up... His heart went stone-cold. Oh, fuck, he thought, they’re shooting at me! He stopped for an instant, and it was only blind luck that ensured he didn’t die right there. Doing the smart thing, he ran into a nearby building and shut the door. He looked around frantically for something - anything heavy he could use to barricade the door. He seemed to be in some kind of shop, but the merchandise was all put away - the shopkeeper must’ve hid his wares and hidden. He spotted a table. He scurried behind it and pushed it up to the door. Praying that it would be enough to keep the soldiers at bay, he backed up and huddled in a corner. He stared at the door. Anypony trying to get in would have to get through the... He noticed something funny on the door. The hinges, mainly. He then watched, frozen, as the door swung open to the outside. “Helloooo?” called the young stallion, peering in. He was a pegasus pony, dressed in the same soldier getup as the other ponies - not like the pristine, ceremonial, regal look of the royal guards back in Equestria, but instead these uniforms were gritty and functional. This soldier had an orange coat and a black mane. “Well, lookie what I’ve found!” he said, spotting Scroll in the corner. He readied a pistol in his mouth. “Wanna keep running?” Scroll gasped and leaped behind the counter as a gunshot rang out. Scroll didn’t think he’d ever get used to just how loud those things were. Spotting a back door, he made a run for it. Mercifully for him, the orange pegasus soldier was a lousy shot and he managed to swing the door open and shut it without dying. His heart was pounding almost loud enough for him to drown out the gunshots. This wasn’t a bully beating him up and stealing his lunch money and calling him a faggot. This wasn’t General Quake threatening him. This pony was trying to kill him, and if Scroll couldn’t get away, that was exactly what the soldier would do. The back door led to an alleyway. Scroll didn’t stop to panic, but he just kept on running. Funnily enough, he didn’t find himself getting worn out, which was fortunate, as he couldn’t afford to stop and think about it. He didn’t know where he was going. They avoided alleys on their way through town, for two reasons. The first was that they didn’t want to get mugged more than usual. The second was that there just weren’t really a whole lot of doors to knock on. He couldn’t stop and try to figure his direction. He just had to put as much distance between him and the orange soldier as possible, get away from him before he caught up and started shooting again. Gunshots, cannonfire, and thunder were all crashing in the town around him. The sky was lit with explosions and lightning. It was like a nightmare or a heavy metal concert. The alley led back into a larger, empty lot, when a bolt of lightning struck the ground right next to him. The light nearly blinded him, and the sound of the air exploded almost completely deafened him. He fell to the ground, groaning. He didn’t know how long he lay there, but when he looked up, he saw two large pairs of metal boots in front of him. “Well, well,” said a voice. It was a female’s voice - high, cold, clear, and cutting. Scroll looked up. Standing right in front of him was a tall mare. Her coat was slate grey, with a blue mane and tail. Scroll noticed her mane was cut very short, and she wore an armored uniform, with a lightning bolt on the piece that covered her cutie mark. She was looking down at him, a small smirk on her face. Scroll looked around - there were other pegasus soldiers flanking her. “You don’t seem armed, dirt,” said the mare. Scroll adjusted his glasses. “You’re... you’re General Storm,” he said quietly. General Storm let out a snort in amusement. He heard the flapping of wings from behind. “I got ‘im!” shouted a familiar voice. Scroll turned his head and saw the orange pegasus who had been shooting at him earlier. He walked up to Scroll, aiming his pistol. “No, Eagle, you haven’t,” said Storm, “he stumbled right into me. In fact, this guy is so stupid I’m left wondering why you didn’t kill him first!” “I’m not stupid...” said Scroll. “Shut up, I’m talking,” snapped Storm. She looked back down at him. “Now, then, what exactly is a soldier doing out here without a weapon?” “Um...” said Scroll, confused, “I’m not a soldier.” “Ohhhhh,” said Storm, nodding, “awful big for a young colt, aren’t you?” “Umm...” “No, wait...” she said, “you’re an adult?” “Kinda...” said Scroll, looking around. The other soldiers were laughing. “Eagle,” said Storm, looking at the orange pegasus, “what exactly was this young pony doing when you found him?” “Hiding, sir,” responded Eagle. The general grinned at this. “Well, boys,” said Storm, turning to her soldiers, “it looks like what we have here is...” he threw a mocking grin at Scroll, “a civilian.” She turned back to her soldiers. “Kill him.” There were several clicking sounds as the guns were cocked. Scroll had to do something fast. “WAIT!” Scroll shouted. General Storm turned around, sporting a very annoyed expression. “Wait?” she asked, walking up to him. “We don’t ‘wait,’ you miserable little pile of manure. We fly. We fly, and if you can’t keep up, then that’s just too bad.” Scroll realized - for a mare, she was surprisingly big - taller than he was. He found himself backing against a wall as this general advanced on him. “There you are, backing away!” she said, her head locked against his, “And hiding, earlier. You know what you are, you little dirt?” She asked, her voice dripping with disgust. Scroll tried to stammer something out, but he seemed to have lost his voice. Storm swung her front hoof, and the metal boot collided with Scroll’s head. There was a loud clang and a dull clink as Scroll’s glasses broke and he fell to the ground, dazed. “YOU’RE A COWARD!” General Storm roared. She lowered her head to his. “You see...” she lowered her voice, “we on my Stormcloud-” “Do you all name your towns after yourselves?” asked a groggy Scroll. “Shut up,” snapped Storm, “we have standards. If you don’t meet those standards, then you’re worthless. And we all understand this.” She turned to the soldiers. “Right boys?” “Right, sir!” Then, Scroll remembered Clip. They threw him off the cloud... he thought. Slowly, he got up. “Furthermore...” continued General Storm, walking away from him, “we don’t like cowards. Snivelly little whiners who run and hide from a fight.” She looked back at Scroll. “And glasses. He wears glasses, too.” She looked at her soldiers. “Well?” she asked, “Why’d you put your guns down?” There was a chorus of clicks coming from the soldiers. Scroll was more or less completely out of options. “General,” said one pegasus, who seemed uneasy, “I don’t know if-” “Don’t know if what, Sky?” asked the general. Scroll’s head shot up, looking at the blue pegasus. Unfortunately, as he had no glasses, he couldn’t make out Sky’s expression, and Sky didn’t say anything. “Guess that answered whatever question, then?” she asked, when Sky didn’t answer back. General Storm turned back to face Scroll. “Ready,” she began, “aim...” “Look! General Quake!” Scroll shouted, pointing behind them. Hilariously, General Storm and all of the pegasus soldiers whirled around, looking for the earth pony general. Scroll wasted no time and bolted for the nearest open door. A few of the soldiers caught wise and started shooting at him, but Scroll managed to shut the door before any of them got a good aim on him. “Son of a bitch!” spat Storm. There was a crash of thunder, and rain started pouring down. General Storm looked up. “About time,” she said, “forget about him. Move out!” The general and the soldiers took off into the air, flying low, out of the alley and back into the streets, save for one soldier. Eagle was intent on following Scroll through that door. ___________ The tavern, along with a few other buildings, was completely up in flames. Soon enough, the building could not sustain itself, and it collapsed. Once again, Tap and Barrel were left without a home. White was safe, if extraordinarily ill, in the pit beneath the bathroom. He had to share that space with a week's worth of manure, urine, and a newly dead corpse. He found himself thinking it might’ve been a better idea to simply run through the burning doorway. He was stirred from these thoughts, however, when a drop of water hit him on the nose. He looked up and could see clouds from above. He grinned - he’d been right. He’d made a phenomenally stupid decision on the spur of the moment, and he’d been completely right. Slowly and painfully, he climbed the walls of the pit, just like he assumed the late soldier had done. Rain was pouring down, and he eagerly welcomed the cool ammonia-free water. It’d be just like a shower. He reached the toilet, and stuck his head out, gasping for fresh air at last. He looked around - water was pouring down everywhere, and he could make out the shapes of moving ponies. The sounds of gunshots, cannons, and thunder were all around him, and he sat there, hanging from a toilet bowl, like the central character of some terrible absurdist play. He saw one familiar figure, though: the hulking form of General Quake, except this time he wasn’t just a big brown stallion. He was decked in armor bristling with all manner of guns. He remembered what Scroll said about how there were different kinds of guns - revolvers and rifles and shotguns and such, and White could only stare and wonder just how there could be that much variety for a single function. General Quake was stomping the ground, making the whole island shake (White nearly fell right back down into the shit pit). The guns were blazing, and pegasi dropped out of the sky in bloody piles. “GENERAL QUAKE!” shouted a voice, cutting through the sounds of warfare. White’s eyes were drawn to a pegasus mare wearing metal boots - General Storm. She was flying, and with a smirk on her face, she lifted her front hooves and banged them together. White squinted - he could have sworn he saw a spark come from those boots. General Quake spun around to face Storm, just as Storm hurled a massive lightning bolt at him. Quake jumped out of the way of the bolt as it missed him and hit a wooden cart, which was promptly reduced to a smoldering pile of ash. Quake responded by blazing his guns, trying to shoot Storm out of the sky, but she was fast and ducked into the window of a nearby building. One tube attached to General Quake’s side launched something into the window, which was followed by an explosion that engulfed the room in fire. Quake intently watched the room. After a wait, Storm appeared on top of the roof and threw another lightning bolt, which Quake dodged. White now understood just why these ponies were generals. Jerked to his senses by the second lightning bolt, the unicorn pulled himself out of the toilet and ran through the rain. If there was one thing that comforted him, it was the fact that the rain could be just like a shower. Unfortunately, now the situation was worse - how could he possibly hope to find Clip? He ducked into a dark corner where he was sure that nopony would shoot at him. He had the distinct impression that the pegasus ponies didn’t like unicorns any more than the earth ponies did, and the earth ponies didn’t need much of an excuse to shoot him. The rain continued to fall, and he closed his eyes, trying to catch his breath. If he could just drown out the sounds of the fighting around him, he might be able to calm down, just enjoy the rain as it hit his cheek and chin... He opened his eyes. The rain shouldn’t have been hitting there. The wind had picked up, and White stared at the center of town. The pegasus soldiers were there, flying in a circle. White’s eyes widened as he saw a funnel of air form, before touching down. The pegasus soldiers had created a tornado. He watched as the tornado ripped up buildings. He couldn’t understand. Sure, he’d seen tornadoes before, but that was at a Wonderbolts show. They used them as a stunt, and they were completely controlled. The idea that somepony would use a tornado as a weapon was horrific. Then again, in the week he’d been here, he’d found progressively worse forms of “horrific.” “DON’T JUST STAND THERE!” roared General Quake to his soldiers, “GET THAT THING OUTTA THE SKY!” White watched as two soldiers marched down the road. One of them was pulling a cart loaded with metal disks, and the other had some bizarre contraption that White didn’t recognize. The second soldier set down the device and constructed what seemed to be some sort of... long thing on a tripod. He went to the cart and took a disk, placing it on one end of the device, before pulling it back. “Launching!” shouted the soldier, pulling on a lever. The disk flew off the end of the device and at the tornado. As White’s eyes followed it, he could see other disks following. White wondered how, exactly, this was supposed to stop the tornado, but he decided that he needed to get moving. He figured that with most of the soldiers occupied on that thing, he’d be a little safe. He quietly tip-hoofed around the town, looking for some sign of Clip, but it was useless - he had absolutely nothing to go on. Then, something landed in front of him. He let out a scream - it was a severed wing. He looked up at the tornado. Mutilated, bloody corpses were flying out of it. That was how the disks were supposed to stop the tornado. ___________ Scroll saw no shame in being a coward. It was difficult for him to feel shame when he was hiding. He was in somepony’s kitchen. Whose kitchen, he had no idea. While he caught his breath, he wondered just where everypony was hiding? Perhaps they all had underground cellars or bunkers like Tap and Barrel. Maybe they were all soldiers, if Storm’s words gave any indication. He was hiding in a cabinet, with one small knothole that allowed him to peak out. He really found himself wishing that he still had his glasses. There was the sound of hoofsteps, and he saw orange legs walking in front of the knothole. “Where aaaare you?” asked Eagle in a sing-song voice. “Don’t ya wanna come out? Are you scared?” Because Scroll wasn’t an idiot, he didn’t answer. “Hey, man, let’s do this fairly.” There was a dull clinking sound. “No guns. Come at me with your hooves up.” Again, Scroll wasn’t an idiot. “Y’know,” said Eagle, “this is my first battle. Gotta say you’re making it pretty memorable. You’re gonna be my first kill, you know that?” There was a banging sound, and Scroll jumped. “I know you’re hiding in here, somewhere,” said Eagle. “No way out of here. I’ll find you soon enough. Why don’t you face me like a stallion instead of sitting there like a pansy?” There was another banging sound, and Scroll’s breathing became heavier. Then the light from the knothole went out. Scroll saw one gold eye looking at him. “Gotcha.” One thought occurred to Scroll immediately. Actually, it was less of a thought than it was a reaction. He kicked the door open, knocking Eagle back. Scroll scrambled to try to run past him, but Eagle was much faster than he was. Before Scroll could make it to the door, Eagle cut him off. He reared up onto his hind legs and kicked Scroll in the face, making him stagger backwards. “Not running away this time!” said Eagle, a sadistic grin on his face. Scroll backed away from the pegasus soldier. The pegasus soldier lunged at him, hitting him twice with his front hooves. “C’mon!” he goaded, hitting him again. “What, it doesn’t hurt enough?” “Well...” said Scroll, “I’ve had worse...” Eagle snorted. This was exactly the wrong thing for Scroll to say. He lunged at Scroll, throwing a foreleg around his neck. He spread his wings and the two lifted off of the ground. Scroll flailed and kicked at the air, but it was completely futile. Eagle, however, hit his head on the ceiling and dropped Scroll, who hit the ground with a thud. In the time it took for Eagle to get his head cleared, Scroll managed to bolt out the door again. Cursing his flagrant incompetence, Eagle followed Scroll out the door into the alleyway. Scroll was galloping as fast as he could - if he could just get to the mission house, it’d be alright. Eagle, however, took off into the air. No matter how fast Scroll could run, he couldn’t outrun somepony who could fly. Eagle soared above him and then went into a dive, crashing down on him and rubbing his face into the ground. When he lifted his face back up, it was caked with dirt and blood. He gasped for air, and Eagle just hit him again. Eagle snorted, his brow furrowed. It as was though he was angry at Scroll. “FIGHT BACK!” Eagle shouted. “FIGHT BACK! You MISERABLE, WORTHLESS little PUSSY!” “Stop...” Scroll choked. “Please...” ___________ White ran back to the mission house, bursting through the doors. Tap and Barrel had been sitting aimlessly, and they jumped up. White, however, ignored them, and ran towards the desk at the front of the main room. He opened the drawers frantically. “White!” said Tap, “We were worried that you might’ve...” “Well I didn’t,” said White, shuffling through miscellaneous junk. “No, not in there...” he looked up. “Where’s Scroll?” “He, uh...” said Barrel, “He went after you...” “And he didn’t come back?” “No,” said Tap, “he didn’t.” White froze. Then, he suddenly went to the storage closet. “White?” asked Tap, “What are you doing?” “Looking... for...” said White, rummaging through a bunch of junk, “AHA!” He exclaimed triumphantly, brandishing a megaphone. “I don’t think that answered my question...” said Tap quietly as White marched past her, the megaphone floating ahead. White threw open the doors of the mission house, stepping into the stormy weather. Gunshots, lightning, and cannons were still firing, and many nearby homes were ruined. But White wasn’t deterred. He would never be deterred. Circling around the back of the mission house, he found some conveniently stacked boxes - exactly what he needed. Gripping the megaphone in his teeth, he climbed up, onto the roof of the mission house. He stood there, looking at the town. Buildings on fire, rain pouring down, lightning striking, tornadoes, unidentifiable body parts flying through the air... He looked up to the sky, raised his megaphone, and shouted. “GENERAL STORM!” his voice boomed, “I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME! CALL OFF THE ATTACK!” The wind picked up, and White took a step back, placing his feet so he wouldn’t lose his standing. “THAT MEANS YOU, TOO, QUAKE!” he resumed. “STOP THE FIGHTING! STOP THIS ENTIRE WAR!” He stopped again. He felt rather foolish - he planned to make this big dramatic speech, and when he was about to do it... his mind went completely blank. Then something whizzed right past his ear, before embedding itself in the roof of the building - it was one of the disks. “NO!” White resumed, “STOP DOING THAT! THAT ALMOST HIT ME!” Exasperated, he took one deep breath, before screaming at the top of his lungs. “LISTEN TO ME!” He felt the wind pick up around him, and he had to duck to keep from being blown off the roof. He clenched his eyes shut, but surprisingly, the wind died down. Cautiously, he opened them again, and drew back in alarm. The mission house in the center of a swirling column of wind. The eye of the storm, where the air is calmest. He looked up, and he saw several pegasus soldiers on clouds above him, and in the center of them all was General Storm. White picked up the megaphone. “I’ve got a book for you.” The pegasus general leaped from the cloud above and landed on the roof with a CLANG! “Isn’t this a funny sight?” she asked, “I thought you horners cleared out by now. Not like you were able to do a lot with your little sneak attack.” She snorted, amused. “I’m not with Monarch...” groaned White. General Storm seemed completely uninterested, and continued talking. “I look forward to having a direct confrontation,” she said, smiling, “I think we’re overdue for that...” “I want you to call off the attack,” said Brother White, which seemed to get an actual reaction from her. “What?” she asked. “I want you to call your soldiers off. Stop the tornadoes and the storm and go away.” White said, gritting his teeth. “Then you come back when you’re ready to make a peaceful cooperation.” General Storm was dumbstruck. Then her mouth pulled into a smile, and then she started laughing. “Wait, wait a minute... this building is...” she said through fits of laughter. “You’re another one of those Fraternity ponies. Ha!” he looked up at the soldiers above them, “Hey, Sky! One of your friends!” “Sky?” White asked, looking up. “Sky! Are you up there?” he called. “Yeah,” called a voice down, from the blue soldier. “Brother Sky!” White called up, “I-” “He’s one of my lieutenants,” said General Storm, cutting him off. “Huh?” asked White. “He joined us,” she said, walking closer to the unicorn, “not the most... effective soldier,” she said quietly, “but he’s quite useful in certain ways.” White looked up at Brother Sky, who’d retreated out of sight, and then back to the general. Time for him to stick to his guns. “Hello,” he said, “my name is Brother White. I’d like you to read our book.” “No, Brother White,” she said, turning her back on him, “I’ve looked through it, and I can only come to the conclusion that your Fraternity is a collection of pansies. I mean, Fluttershy?” she asked disdainfully, “A pegasus who would lower herself to the level of one of those dirts-” “Really, what is it with these terrible racial slurs-” “She could barely even fly. What use would the Stormcloud have for a pony like her?” “In Equestria,” White said, his eyes narrowed, “we value kindness.” General Storm chuckled at this. “Kindness? Yeah, I’ll bet you’ve been trying that for a while. How’s that working out for you?” “I think it’s working out just fine...” said White through his teeth. “Oh really?” asked General Storm, “Tell me, frat boy, how many new friends you’ve made? How many soldiers have you gotten to throw down their guns and start making fancy floral arrangements? Made any new fillyfriends lately? How about coltfriends?” Her tone grew increasingly mocking. “Maybe you can get one of your friends to wash the stench of shit from your mane. Good fuck, you smell awful. I thought you horners were all about hygiene.” “Call off the attack,” repeated White. “Or what?” asked General Storm, “What are you going to do, little horner, if I don’t call off the attack?” White raised the megaphone. SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! General Storm drew back in alarm, before retaliating. She swatted the device aside with her booted hoof, shattering it, before striking White in the head with the other one. White was knocked down on the roof, and he rolled off of the edge, landing with a thud on the ground below. General Storm looked up, almost a little nervous - she reacted that way to a unicorn with a megaphone. Not very dignified. She straightened her posture. “Boys, we sacked some food?” “Yes, sir!” called a soldier from above. “Managed to break into a few storehouses!” “Good!” said the general. “Let’s get ready to move out!” ___________ Scroll couldn’t do anything but cringe, shielding his body with his legs, as Eagle struck him again and again. Scroll’s face was a mess, sporting a severely bloody nose, a black eye, and several cuts and scrapes. His body was covered in bruises, and he was drenched in water and dirt. Eagle’s breathing was labored, like he was almost winded, but he still had a grin on his face. “Still not fighting back?” he asked, “What, you get off to this or somethin’? Well, that’s fine. I can keep this up all day!” Scroll backed up against a wall. “What’s the matter, pal?” asked Eagle, advancing on him, “I thought you liked this. I mean, you sure aren’t doing anything to stop me, so...” He laughed. There was the sound of a trumpet, and both the earth pony and the pegasus looked up. “Back to the cloud!” called a soldier from above. “But I didn’t even...” Eagle complained. He looked at Scroll, then started fishing through his uniform, looking for his gun. It wasn’t there, however, because he’d left it in the house back there. “Well, you’re one lucky little pussy,” he snorted, “but next time, you’re fucking dead.” Eagle spread his wings and took off into the air. The rain slowed to a more comfortable pitter rather than a patter, and the gunshots slowly died off. Scroll sat there, snivelling and doing his best to hold off tears. He took a deep breath and made a nervous laugh. He had the shit beat out of him, but he was alive, at least. The worst was over, or at least he hoped so. He slowly got up and limped out of the alley. ___________ “Is he alright?” “I think so, I mean... he’s breathing...” “Look! His eyes!” White’s eyes fluttered awake, and he saw Tap and Barrel standing over him. He was back in the mission house, in the lower bunk. “Hi...” he said groggily. “You had us worried there,” said Tap, who was holding an ice pack to his head. “We weren’t sure you were still going to be alive. General Storm did a number on you.” Brother White slowly sat up. “My head...” “Yeah, that,” said Barrel. Brother White groaned. Then he remembered something. “Where’s Scroll?” he asked in alarm. “Right next to you,” said Tap, nodding. White turned and saw Scroll was lying in bed next to him, asleep. “You’ll probably want to wash the sheets...” “What happened to him?!” White asked, seeing how beat up Scroll was. This seemed to wake him up enough to groan. “Bullies happen...” Scroll said sleepily. “He just sort of... walked in here and fell down,” said Barrel. “We dragged both of you into bed,” said Tap, “and we got these ice things out of your fridge. What were you two thinking?” White paused. “Umm...” “You weren’t,” said Tap flatly. “Listen, next time there’s an attack, you hide, like the rest of us.” “Pegasus don’t like hiding,” murmured Scroll, “called me a pussy...” “Your, um...” said White, turning to Tap. It wasn’t easy to say. “Your house burned down.” “Again?” asked Barrel. “Yeah, the unicorns came out of the toilet...” said White. “Well, we’ll just have to build another one,” said Tap, “like we’ve done before. A lot of the ponies will have to rebuild houses. It doesn’t take too long - we’re all used to it.” “Tap...” said Scroll, turning towards them, but not sitting up, “You can stay with us.” “I...” said Tap. “We’re always open,” said White, “I mean, until you get the new tavern up, you’ll need to stay here.” “I dunno...” said Tap, shaking her head. “Please...?” asked Scroll. “Well...” said Tap, looking around to the three faces in the room. “Oh, alright,” she relented. White lay back down on the bed, before shooting back up. “Wait!” he said, “We forgot Clip!” “I’m here!” called a voice from the top bunk. White looked up, and saw the little pink colt stick his head from over the top. “You...” said White, “where were you?!” “I was in here, hiding,” said Clip. “Up here.” White was dumbfounded. “Why didn’t you respond when I called?” “I dunno...” said Clip. “I couldn’t hear you, I guess. I was hiding under the pillow.” White’s face went completely blank, and he fell back down on the bed. His face went into a grin, and he started laughing.