Upheaval: Breaking Point
Chapter 35: Ambush
It was late night when Vanguard noticed some movement from his hiding place. Even the more populated areas of Bastion City's southern section had gone quiet. More-so the abandoned warehouse he was watching. All around him were crates full of construction equipment, piles of bricks, and scattered wooden planks. Next to him were Nightcanter, and the earth ponies in her squad. Scarlet Rabbit, and the other pegasi lurked the shadowy beams that supported the roof. To the other side of the meeting spot was Blaze Trotter's squad. In addition to Fifth and Sixth Squad, they were also working with Eighth Squad under Captain Hoofbreak, who was hiding next to Blaze Trotter. With three and a half Special Operations squads, they should have numbers, and surprise on their side.
Only a few thinly distributed lanterns from the streets to provide light, leaving the warehouse dark and shadowy. The time should be about right, but there wasn't a Black Rose rebel around. Nightcanter glared at Blaze Trotter's direction. It was his information after all. Vanguard himself was disappointed, but part of him was suspicious of the whole scenario. Three cells did seem too good a catch to be true.
Just as Vanguard was about ready to consider the mission a failure, five ponies entered the warehouse. 'That's one cell,' he thought.
"This is crazy," one of the ponies said. "Three cells meeting in one place is a recipe for disaster."
"We don't disobey dead-drop orders," another pony, this one with a husky voice, replied.
"I'll bet that those ponies still hanging inside the dungeons did exactly that," the first one said. "Four cells have been caught, and executed since we started operations here."
"Quiet!" the other pony whispered harshly. "Somepony's coming!"
A second group of ponies showed up. As Stoneshod had mentioned, individual cells wore featureless, white masks. The two cells that Special Operations had successfully captured had little information to share because of this. These Black Rose rebels were being led by somepony capable of moving multiple isolated groups in concert, something that would take a great deal of tactical mastery, and an incredibly efficient method of communication. It did seem more and more like the hoof-work of the true Black Rose.
"Why is there only one cell here?" one of the new arrivals asked. "Where's the rest?"
"We just arrived here ourselves. What did you receive in your dead-drop orders?"
"Just this location and a mention of an important meeting. Same as you?"
Vanguard frowned. Even these ponies had no idea why they were here. Unless Special Operations captured whoever had set this meeting up, they would be hard-pressed to pump any useful information out of these ponies.
The third cell finally showed up. Like the first two, they didn't know what the meeting was for either. Vanguard tensed. That meant that their leader or, at least, a pony high up in their hierarchy was going to explain.
"Thank you for coming."
Vanguard went for his blade, but stopped midway. Next to him, Nightcanter inhaled sharply. There was a pony now standing in the middle of the three cells. From the voice, it was a mare. But how did she get there? Teleportation? There hadn't seen any telltale flashes of magic. This could very well be the leader of the Black Rose Rebellion.
"You have all been doing well despite the Legion's attempts at rooting you out," the leader continued. "Thanks to your efforts, the movement is at the precipice of getting to Princess Celestia."
Some of the rebels spoke among themselves in pleased tones.
"The next part of the movement's plan is about to commence, and it will require a great deal of magic. In short, we will need mana batteries."
"We lost several in Fangbreaker Fortress," one of the rebels said. "But I know that Bastion City has a few in stock for emergencies. How much do we need?"
"A fifty carat one will suffice."
"Fifty carats!"
The gathered cells argued among themselves. Even Vanguard raised an eyebrow. It took great amounts of discharged magical power, and the blood of magically gifted creatures soaking into the soil to form mana crystals, which were refined into mana batteries. They were more common to the south, where battles between unicorn magi and ophidite shamans were vicious and deadly, but even here, and to the west, they could be found. Even a mana battery half that size was extremely rare.
"We could scour the entire north, and not find one that's even near that size!" one of the rebels said.
"You're asking for the impossible!" another one added.
The leader threw back her hood, revealing a black coat, a long, flowing, crimson mane, and an already glowing horn. "Have faith," she said with a smile. "All we need are fifteen volunteers to give their lives for the cause. You should be honored."
A circle of strange markings surrounding the rebels burst with brilliant, white light. Before anypony could react, arcs of black electricity erupted from the leader's horn, and surrounded each of them. They cried out, and stumbled back, but magic lifted each of them into the air. Several masks dropped to the ground, revealing a lot of horns, and a few faces. Vanguard clenched his jaw. Some of these traitors were legionnaires he knew! "Let's go!" he whispered harshly to Nightcanter. Both of them burst from their hiding places with blades out, and a spell ready to fire. Sixth squad was right behind them.
Before they could close in, the helpless ponies cried out. Their eyes glowed, and luminous, white smoke escaped from their mouths. The smoke coalesced by the leader's horn's tip, forming a large sphere that glowed a soft blue. When the spell dissipated, fifteen dead bodies dropped to the ground.
"Hold it right there!" Nightcanter shouted. "We're taking you in, Black Rose!" There was no confirmation, but Vanguard could only agree with the name's use.
Black Rose smiled as three squads of Special Operations ponies surrounded her. "I must say I'm impressed. I only allowed a single small clue to escape about this meeting, but Special Operations latched on to it as if I had been sending out singing telegrams."
"Oh, shut up!" Scarlet yelled. He aimed his crossbow at Black Rose's head, and fired.
The bolt whizzed unerringly towards its target, then winked out of existence. Scarlet let out a pained yell, and winced in pain. He flapped his wings hard to right himself, and stay aloft. The shaft of a crossbow bolt was buried in his flank.
"I'm so sorry," Black Rose said. "I hope it's not too deep."
Vanguard refocused on Black Rose, expecting a mocking smile, or a cruel sneer on her face. The dissonance between the serene look on her face, and the sight of the dead bodies all around her left him hesitant. Did he even had a chance in this situation? The others drew their circle tighter around Black Rose.
"Please reconsider any more hostilities," Black Rose said. "You are a squad and a half more than I expected, but you are confronting me in a place I set up, and at a time of my choosing. If I feel even the slightest bit threatened, I have a hundred escape routes ready, and that's because I am inclined to be merciful to such brave ponies of the Legion. You may attack, and I will simply escape, or you can settle down for a talk, and end this night on a more productive note. What do you say?"
Vanguard looked to Nightcanter, then to Blaze Trotter, and Hoofbreak. They nodded at him. They were in over their heads. It took Black Rose a single spell to kill fifteen ponies. Though she was unarmored, she was likely surrounded by several powerful defensive spells. Scarlet had just paid the price for attacking recklessly. With a brief signal from their captains, the rest of the ambush backed up, and lowered their weapons.
"Thank you," Black Rose said. "As a reward for this small kindness, I am willing to answer some of your questions before we part ways."
"You killed them," Nightcanter said. "These ponies were on your side, and you killed them because you needed a mana battery?"
"Oh, that's where you're wrong," Black Rose replied. "Thank you for bringing me to an important point I need to make. I didn't start this 'Black Rose Rebellion', and I certainly found it offensive that they went about using my name. All I did was chance upon a group of ponies planning to betray the Legion, then decided to put their foalish cause to good use."
"That doesn't explain why you killed them," Nightcanter said.
"Unfortunately, they were getting a little out of hoof, and needed some trimming. I also wasn't lying when I said I needed a mana battery. You should be glad that I made your job a little easier. Please take this as a sign that I still have, not just the Legion's, but Equestria's best interests in mind."
"You've allowed the wolven to break past our defenses, and you've caused chaos by letting these rebels run about," Vanguard said. "How can you say that you are on the Legion's side?"
"We all have our parts to play, breaker," Black Rose said. "You already know a thing or two about going against something out of loyalty to it, and your part is far from done."
Before Vanguard could say anything else, Black Rose glanced towards a nearby window. "My, it's certainly quite late. I must take my leave now."
"Wait!" Nightcanter called out.
"Tell my beloved that he only has to wait for a little while longer," Black Rose said. "Oh, and tell him not to worry, I'll return your fellows eventually." Black arcs of magic crackled around her horn, then exploded. The flash engulfed the entire warehouse. Vanguard tried to jump aside, but a bolt of lightning struck him on the chest, and flung him several feet into a group of crates. Several crashes followed his. He struggled to stand up, and choked as clouds of dust filled the place. Ponies swore, and groaned around him.
"Celestia drill my backside!" Nightcanter hissed. "She played us for foals!"
Vanguard got to his hooves. "Why did she attack us?" he asked. "If she wanted to escape, she could have done so easily."
"I don't know," Nightcanter said. "Showing off? She didn't need to prove that she had us outclassed. Just refining a mana battery from unwilling sacrifices did it for me."
"We'll see," Vanguard grunted. "Is everypony alright?"
"I'm fine!" Scarlet answered. "My flank's still bleeding, but I'm fine!"
The rest of Nightcanter's squad sounded off. Frowning, she called out. "Blaze Trotter! Hoofbreak! What's wrong?"
There was no reply. The dust cloud settled down, giving them a better view. Scarlet and the rest of Sixth Squad ran up to them. Nightcanter couldn't see a single pony from the Fifth and Eighth Squad. "There's your answer," she said.
Vanguard cursed under his breath.
"We just lost two squads," Nightcanter said. "I hope you're about to get yours back up to full strength soon, Vanguard. We'll need it."
Vanguard looked at the dead ponies. Nightcanter was right. More than that, the Legion needed a unicorn mage capable of matching Black Rose, or she would continue to do as she pleased. His thoughts went towards a particular pony once again. He shook his head. "No," he whispered firmly.
It was close to midnight by the time Rainbow made it back to her quarters. A few of her flight mates had invited her to share a few drinks with them after training, and she had obliged. Following Scarlet's advice, she had kept the boozing to a few glasses. The memory of Twilight being lashed was more sobering than any of the quick-acting cures that her flight proposed. Still, even a few glasses could be made to last an entire evening with the right ponies around.
Being called names like "kid", "newbie", and "wet-wing", was annoying at first, but it did have some upside to it. Rainbow's flight mates were happy to show her around, and tell her how the flight did things. They were also inclined to be a little lenient at times.
Outside duty hours, Dreadwing knew how to loosen up. Ever since the last raid, she was often invited to a little drink after duty. "You showed potential during the first rush, Rainbow, but the last raid was where we could say you were really blooded!" Spring Breeze, one of the senior pegasi, had said. Being praised, and accepted for excelling at something felt...amazing. When she had boasted that she was going to get a Dreadwing insignia soon, they had laughed heartily, and clapped her on the back. No disapproving stares here. No judgmental lectures about how bad she should feel.
It wasn't all just boasting, and praise. In Storm Brew's pub, she was treated to not just the occasional free drink, but also stories of past battles, and incidents. She didn't care much one way, or another about killing. It simply didn't trigger any emotion, so what was the point in lingering over it? The thrill of battle, however: of flying through desperate, nigh-impossible odds, of dodging death by the skin of your teeth, that made her feel...and it felt good. Even just hearing of past battles got her pumped.
Rainbow didn't expect anypony to still be up in the shared quarters as she winged her way lazily towards it. She was wrong. A pony stood in front of the door.
"'bout time you showed up!" Applejack said.
Rainbow landed hesitantly. She didn't like the tone Applejack used, but she didn't want to start anything. "Sorry," she said sheepishly. "My flight went out for a little drink, and I sort of didn't notice the time."
Applejack took a sniff of the air around Rainbow, and wrinkled her nose. "You sure it was little?" she asked. "That's a powerful smell for 'little'. You should be careful with that new drinking habit of yours."
Rainbow's lips twitched as she looked at Applejack. A second later, she burst out laughing.
"What is so darn funny?" Applejack asked. "I'm trying to be serious here!"
"I can't help it!" Rainbow said. "I'm being lectured about drinking by a pony named after a drink!" Still snickering, she tried to sidle past Applejack.
Applejack didn't budge, and there was no getting past her. "Not so fast! I'm not done yet!"
"What do you want from me, Applejack?" Rainbow snapped. "You're ruining my good mood!"
"I want to talk about you avoiding us." Applejack tapped Rainbow's chest with a hoof. "Don't say you're not. You're always in a hurry to leave in the morning, and you're always the last to arrive in the evening. What's going on, RD?"
Rainbow slapped the hoof aside. "I don't know how Infantry does things, but my flight starts its day early, and ends it late. And if I want to go out with my flight mates to relax, that's my business!"
"And what about those things you told us a few days ago? About feeling sorry for monsters, and enjoying fighting?"
Rainbow snorted. "There is nothing to talk about, Applejack," she scoffed. "I'm in the right here. Sooner or later, all of you are going to come around, and stop feeling sorry over a bunch of monsters."
Applejack stared incredulously at Rainbow, before scowling. "Now see here, Rainbow, that's the sort of thinking that's got all of us worried! It's one thing to have to fight, and another to enjoy it. Fluttershy says you've been acting weird since you've been hanging out with Scarlet."
"I have not been acting weird." Rainbow ground her teeth. "It's all of you that have been acting weird. At least Twilight's starting to get it, but you, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity, aren't!" Rainbow stepped back, and gestured towards her surroundings. "Look around you, Applejack. We're not on some vacation. This is our new home! Like it or not, we're stuck here forever. You can't afford to keep acting like a…like a spoiled, candy-hoofed chosen!"
Applejack stared at Rainbow quietly, her scowl only getting deeper. "Your flank has a cutie mark just like the rest of us, Rainbow," she said in a low tone. "Toughening up because of this place is all well and good, but that doesn't mean you should forget the things we learned in the Heartland. Sticking by your friends for one thing. Have you forgotten why we all came here in the first place?"
Rainbow flapped her wings and hovered above Applejack. "I may still look the part, but I'm done being a chosen. Scarlet's right, you have to be crazy if you can't take joy in something you'll be doing for the rest of your life. If you can't deal with that, Applejack, you can run over to Prince Terrato, and beg him to take you somewhere safe." Her lips curled into a sneer. "Like a wuss."
"That's it!" Applejack roared. She jumped Rainbow, grabbing a hold of her neck, and dragging her to the ground. Rainbow's breath whooshed out of her lungs when her back struck the stone pavement. With a snarl, she smashed a hoof to the side of Applejack's head.
They hurled themselves at each other in a rage. Applejack remained on top, pinning Rainbow's wings with her hind legs. She raised a front hoof, and brought it down. Rainbow's vision burst with colors when her snout met hard, earth pony hoof. The back of her head struck the pavement, and blood burst from her nose. Had Applejack always hit this hard, or was it all the practice with those heavy tramplers?
Rainbow clamped her teeth down on Applejack's right foreleg, and tried to shake her off. They remained locked in that position for a while. Rainbow wrung the leg between her teeth until she could taste blood. Applejack desperately held on, and struck the sides of her head with a free leg.
"That's enough you two!"
Twilight's voice broke through the haze of violence. A nimbus of purple magic surrounded, and separated them.
"What in Equestria are you two doing?" Twilight asked. Rainbow wondered if Twilight was angry over the fighting, or because they disturbed her studies. The others were there as well, rubbing the sleep from their eyes, and gasping at the sight. Rarity looked on with disapproval. Pinkie Pie scratched her head, while Fluttershy looked like she just saw a pile of dead bodies at her doorstep.
"You've gone into a very dark place, Rainbow," Applejack growled. She wiped the blood from a cut on her lip, and nursed the bite on her foreleg. "Sooner or later, you're going to pay for it. All of us will."
"Look who's talking," Rainbow said as she wiped the blood from her nose. "You're the one who jumped me. For all your talk about lessons we've learned in the Heartland, you're the one who resorted to violence first. You're adapting too, Applejack. Stop pretending!"
Rainbow turned her nose up and went inside, shrugging off any attempt by Fluttershy to see to her injuries. She heard Applejack strike the pavement hard with a hoof, but she didn't care if that orange nag jumped down Fenrir's gullet. She flung her coat on the floor, and jumped into bed. She pulled the blanket over her roughly, and slept with her back turned on the rest of the room.