//------------------------------// // Once and For Wall // Story: Furry Contraband // by UnweptSchlipps //------------------------------// Fluttershy stood there, staring in despair at the monstrosity Luna had left for them. Suddenly, there was a sharp tug on her tail, and she was pulled behind a boulder, away from the Royal Guards’ view. Glancing over the edge, Fluttershy whispered fearfully, “W-what is that?” “It’s a buckin’ wall Flutters, whaddaya think it is?” Dash replied. And this wasn’t an exaggeration either. Despite how impossible it seemed, there it was: a giant wall separating them from Veneighzuela, complete with barbed wire, spotlights, and a slew of guards patrolling the perimeter. Rainbow was in just as much shock as her friend, although she preferred to show it through puffs of anger. “Of all the...A wall? Seriously. That wasn't here last time, was it?” she demanded, scanning the Great Wall of Luna, which had to have been at least thirty feet tall. “N-no. They must have conjured it up or something,” Fluttershy replied. Clutching her otters near her chest, she asked, “What do we do now?” “I don’t know! I didn’t even know it was possible to make walls like that out of thin air! Isn't this a just a little bit overboard? I mean look at it! That wall's got tighter security than Canterlot Dungeon! Not that I'd ever been…” Looking down the seemingly endless barrier, Fluttershy added, “And it looks like it goes on for miles…” Everywhere they looked, there seemed to be a group of sentries marching along. And since the sun was beginning to go down, searchlights scoured the field, as well as the sky above. Basically, there was absolutely no way of escape in sight. Rainbow Dash saw this, smacked her hoof against the rock, and uttered, “There’s no way we’re going to get through unnoticed. It’s almost like every buckin’ Royal Guard was sent over here. Don’t they have anything better to do? Like, I don’t know, guard things other than a stupid wall in the middle of nowhere? What the hay…” As Dash continued her ranting, Fluttershy never took her eyes off the stone abomination separating them from freedom. They were only about one hundred yards away, and yet they were helpless to anything about it. When this revelation hit Fluttershy, she froze up, her breaths becoming shakier. She sank to her haunches, whispering, “We came so far…” Then, resting her head on the boulder, she closed her eyes and let the tears flow. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Fluttershy, what’s wrong?” the colorful pegasus whispered, trying to hush her friend’s squeaky sobs. She put her foreleg around Fluttershy’s shoulder comfortingly, but the timid mare’s weeping only continued. Even the otters tried to help, placing their tiny paws around her in a furry embrace. Her voice unsteady, Fluttershy replied, “Everything we did…the swamp, the fire, the bridge…it was all for nothing! I’m so sorry Dash, for dragging you all this way just to be rounded up like this. The only thing we can do...is run.” As those words slowly began to sink in, Dash’s eyes widened, and she let out a sigh of disbelief. With her mouth slightly agape, she took her friend in a tighter hug and uttered a single word. “No.” “D-Dash?” “I’m not going to let you do this, ‘Shy. I’m not going let you throw in the towel after we’ve accomplished so much. Even I didn’t think we’d come this far.” Looking straight into her friends eyes, Rainbow declared, “Listen, if you told me we were giving up two days ago, I would have gladly turned these guys in without missing a beat. But now…these little creatures are our friends. And I never go back on my friends. Their lives are in our hooves, Shy. And if we’re going to get caught, then heck, might as well go down fighting, right?” She paused for a moment, letting her words linger. Then, waving her hoof across the gallery of fuzzy companions before them, she finished, “You said I stuck up for you when you needed it most. Well, now who’s gonna stick up for them?” The pegasus stood up, and extended her foreleg for her friend. “I’m tired of running, Fluttershy. This time, we’re hunting them.” Fluttershy gave a teary glance at Dash’s hoof, then up to her face, then back again. Rainbow had that glint in her eye, the very same she had after the sonic rainboom, or during the battle with the Changelings. And with the orange sky as a backdrop, she looked almost god-like. Finally, after swiping away her tears, Fluttershy took that hoof and replied, “Okay. I’m with you.” “Heh. Awesome.” With newfound and desperate resolve, the pegasi stuck their heads out to the side. “So what’s the plan then?” Fluttershy asked. “Plan? I was thinking we just go in there and beat the snot outta ‘em.” “That’s…not a good plan at all.” Rainbow snorted and muttered, “Fine. You got any ideas?” “Um…if we could somehow draw them out in smaller groups and then incapacitate them-.” “So we are going to beat ‘em up, right?” She flinched at the notion of such an idea, but Fluttershy nevertheless affirmed, “Well…yes. But only in a controlled way. That would make a small area where we could fly over and escape before they can catch up.” “As long as I get to kick their butts, sounds like a plan!” Rainbow exclaimed, a mischievous smile bursting from her lips. “I’d say there are about three or four guards for every section of the wall. And it looks like we’ll have to clear at least eight sections to barely get through. So whaddaya say? I’ll take the left four, you take the right?” “A-all by myself?” the shy mare whimpered. “Oh you ain’t by yourself! You’ve got the animals to help you out! See?” The two looked back to see their band of creatures waiting valiantly for instructions, like their own little furred brigade. Acting like a general, Dash barked, “Fluffy and Fang, come with me. But the rest of you, help out Flutters.” To their amusement, the otters actually saluted, and clambered onto Fluttershy’s back. Apparently while the pegasi had been planning, they had filled their bag with stones, twigs, and the box of mice. And with the phoenixes also at her side, Fluttershy gave a brave nod. “Our final stand, the final stretch, where we settle this once and for all! Aw, this is gonna be totally sweet!” Rainbow exclaimed, crouching low. “You ready ‘Shy?” “I think so.” “Alright then, mares and gentlecolts. Let’s do this!” Then, with a young manticore on her back and a snake dangling off her hind leg, she zoomed away from the boulder with her course set on the wall. And Fluttershy, after a brief moment of hesitation, took off in the opposite direction. xxx In the meantime, another pair of ponies stood at the base of the wall, doing what they usually did on sentry duty. Gossip. “So the story goes like this. Cadance gives him a carrot, a box of hoofwipes, and banana-scented lotion. Then she says, ‘Shining Armor, the garden needs some pruning’…” “Hey. TMI. Anyway, we’re supposed to be on lookout.” “Oh please. We’ve got this buckin’ thing to protect the border. Besides, it’s not like trouble’s just gonna start raining from the sky or anything!” Suddenly, there was a loud thud behind them. They turned around to see a moaning stallion lying on his back, his armor dented and his face bruised. “Oh hey, it’s Brick,” one of the guards said nonchalantly. Then, after a few seconds, a light switched on in his head. “Oh shi—,” was all he could get out before he received a flying kick in the back of his head, sending his helmet flying. The stallion fell to the ground, dazed but still conscious. In his blurred vision, he could only make out a light blue figure, with odd patches of color attached to it. It wasn’t until the figure snagged his armor and pulled him close that he realized he was staring into the eyes of a very pissed mare. The other guard was ready to blast her with a spell from behind until Fluffy popped out of nowhere, tackling the stallion to ground. Hearing the growling behind her, Rainbow let out a quaint little smile before head-butting her captive right between the eyes. After hiding the three unconscious stallions in some bushes, Dash dusted off her hooves and remarked, “Well that was easy.” Using the rapidly approaching night as cover, she took her manticore companion and swiftly headed for the next section. With a single guard atop the wall in her sights, the pegasus began to accelerate. With Fluffy barely snagging onto her tail, Rainbow stuck her forelegs out, turning her into a bright blue missile. The guard never saw her coming until it was too late, the air being knocked out of his lungs as Dash propelled straight into his side. Then, skillfully whirling back around, she ended her assault with an uppercut that sent the unfortunate soldier careening over the edge. There was a commotion down below her, followed by a shout of alarm. Rainbow peeked over to see a duo of guards watching her with angry, narrow eyes. Their horns were glowing and ready to fire. “Oh no. Looks like you found me! I must run!” she cried in a fit of mock horror. Pushing off the wall, she began to fly towards the foliage, with the guards in pursuit. However, one guard was so caught up in the chase, he hadn’t noticed his partner had disappeared along the way, nor the scorpion tail that wrapped around his partner’s legs. Finally, Dash came upon a cluster of dense trees, unable to fly through them. Realizing she was trapped, she immediately whipped around…only to find the guard waiting for her. “Whoa, hey buddy! Let’s just calm down for a second, alright?” she said, gently fluttering down into the dirt. “Now this is hardly fair…you’ve got magic, I don’t, come on now!” A bright fireball careened through the air, narrowly missing her head. She could feel her mane sizzling, so she quickly stuck up her hooves and said, “Okay, okay, jeez, let’s not be hasty! How about we settle this a different way, huh? How ‘bout…how ‘bout a staring contest or something? Yeah, that’ll do. Here, I’ll count us off. One…” Her hoof began to slowly lower. “Two…” The guard dug in his hooves. A slight grin began to play on Dash’s lips. “Three!” Another fireball flew, and this time Dash quickly lunged to the side. She tossed something towards the guard, landing right on his snout. The projectile began to hiss, and for just a split-second, the stallion realized he was staring straight into a pair of red reptilian eyes. Then he dropped to the floor, paralyzed. Rainbow Dash walked coolly over to the frozen guard, carefully plucking Fang off his neck. Realizing his eyes were still wide open and following her, the pegasus smirked and told him, “Don’t blink.” xxx While Rainbow Dash did her work with reckless abandon, Fluttershy did business much differently. For the most part, the phoenixes have been doing the brunt of the work, clearing out the first section with ease. They gracefully swooped down in an arch of flame, pecking and clawing at the poor guards below. And as they preyed on the stallions, Fluttershy stood quite a bit back, trembling in horror. She preferred to stay hidden in the shadows, not wanting to lift a hoof in violence, even towards guards who have been ordered to use lethal force. But soon, she heard somepony behind her yell, “Stop right there!” She turned around to find three guards staring at her, poised to fire. One whispered, “Are you sure this is the one? I mean look at her…she’s so cute and harmless.” After trying to swallow with a dry throat, the mare said quietly, “I-I’ve got otters… and I’m not afraid to use them…” “Uh, excuse me?” “I-I said. I have otters, and I’m not afraid to-.” Suddenly her bag burst open, and out leapt three ninja-like critters, each wielding large stones in their paws. Letting out squeals of rage, the unmerciful beasts let out a barrage, pelting the guards with their makeshift projectiles. Anton tossed a rather large stone high up into the air, landing right on top of an unfortunate guard’s head. He crumpled to ground with a grunt, completely knocked out. Then the three scurried over to another and began to bite and claw at his legs, and the stallion began to yelp and dance wildly. However, this left one with a massive bump on his snout to set his sights on the timid pegasus. With steam blowing from his nostrils, he charged toward Fluttershy, his horn pointed straight for her neck. Her eyes widened, and she let out a cry of terror. Time seemed to slow as the brute charged nearer and nearer. Somehow, as adrenaline took over, her muscles seemed to move on their own. She shut her eyes, wheeling her body around without thinking. Then, just as Applejack would do to a tree, she lashed out her hindlegs with all her might. The first thing she realized was that she wasn’t dead. That was good. The second thing she felt were her hooves connecting with something squishy, and then she heard a thud. When Fluttershy decided it was finally safe to open her eyes, she welcomed by the sight of the magnificent phoenixes drawing flaming circles in the night sky, proclaiming victory for all to see. And then there was the significantly less magnificent stallion lying at her hooves with a few missing teeth. As the ruckus of squeaking otters and a yelping stallion continued in the background, Fluttershy cast her gaze on her work and muttered, “That…that felt...good.” When she searched for the triplets, she saw them jumping happily on the torso of the guard they had attacked. The trio of otters slipped onto her back, and Fluttershy told the groaning stallion, “Take that, you…big fat meanie!” A pair of voices shouted simultaneously, “We got you now, miss!” It was two more guards, pegasi this time, hovering high above. The two landed on either side of her, trapping her in a vicious showdown. In a fit of instinct, Fluttershy reached into her bag. The guards flinched, only to see that instead of some kind of deadly weapon, she was pulling out a box of mice, quite the opposite of deadly. “I wouldn’t do anything if I were you. Y-you wouldn’t want to make these angry,” Fluttershy muttered, pointing the box from side to side, shaking up the rodents within. “And what’ll they do, huh? Nibble us to death?” one particularly stupid guard remarked. He let out a chortle that sounded like a gerbil had crawled inside his throat and chomped on his vocal cords. As it would turn out, that was exactly what Fluttershy had hoped he would say. “Would you like to find out?” she asked mischievously. Then, shaking up the glass box for good measure, she slid open the door. “HAH!” But Fluttershy’s shouts of triumph quickly faded away, because instead of the guards falling to the ground in pain, they were doing the exact opposite. The mare stood there awkwardly with a box of mice, while the guards watched in silence. At first, it seemed like they anticipated something would happen. But, after a moment of unusual silence, one of the guard said, “So…is that it?” “Umm…that’s not…it was supposed to,” Fluttershy stammered, bringing the box close to her chest, examining the white rodents sitting complacently inside. “Alright, stop fooling around miss. I’m scared of rats as much as the next guy, but this…this is just embarrassing.” Walking slowly towards Fluttershy, he commanded, “You come with us, now, okay?” “No, you don’t understand. I—.” Suddenly, there was some sort of short, squirting sound, followed by loud screaming and the sound of somepony toppling over. In the space of a single second, one stallion was on the floor, clutching his face and yelling bloody murder, and two mice with their purple mouths wide open. And then there was Fluttershy, trying to take in what just happened with wide eyes. Hearing the sound of shuffling hooves behind her, the mare instinctively whirled around. In doing so, her long tail wrapped around the other guard’s legs, causing his to trip and fall…right on top of his acid-burned friend. The two’s heads collided with a knock, and the duo simultaneously fell unconscious. With not one, not two, but four Royal Guards scattered around her, Fluttershy began to timidly poke the bodies, making sure they were all knocked out. “That was…easy,” she muttered. With the help of the phoenixes and the otters, she dragged the unconscious victims to a shady spot away from the wall. Tucking the mice back into her pack, she said, “Goodbye. Sweet dreams, I suppose.” She started to tiptoe away, paused for a moment to look back bewilderedly, and then continued to move along. After all, there was still much more to do. Xxx Thirty more minutes later and Rainbow Dash was still toying with the guards, flying around with at least fifteen on her tail. A few pegasus guards had taken up chase, but their heavy armor combined with Rainbow’s superior flying skills made evading them easy. On the ground, the rest of the stallions tried shooting fireballs at her, but to no avail. Suddenly, she made a loop-de-loop, quickly turning on a dime. Before the front guard could slow down or react, Rainbow Dash slammed down on him with her back legs. Then, giving a coy wink to the rest of the pegasi, she continued on her flight. “Come on, fellas. It’s no fun unless you fight back!” She soon spied Fluttershy trying to tiptoe by the side of the wall. Letting out a sharp whistle, which startled the sneaking pegasus, Dash called, “Hey Flutters! Oh, hold on a sec’. HYAH!” She unleashed a killer right hook into a guard’s jaw before continuing, “So what’s up?” The guard fell at Fluttershy’s hooves with his tongue lolled out of his mouth. “I…um…I cleared out my side. But I see you’ve…still got some work to do.” Motioning her head towards the guards, who were apparently really terrible shots, Dash replied nonchalantly, “Oh this? Don’t worry, I’ll be through with ‘em soon. Just step aside and watch the master go to work. Ahem… Fluffy!” A small lion-head poked out of some low bushes a few yards down. Clicking her tongue, Rainbow called, “Sick ‘em.” Right on cue, the manticore leapt out of its hiding place and began to wreak havoc on the guards on the ground. Not wanting to miss out on the fun, Rainbow Dash swooped down and unleashed a flurry of head-butts on the unfortunate stallions. The two worked in tandem, almost as though it were rehearsed. Fluffy would toss a guard towards Dash with a roar, and the poor unicorn would be met with a swift buck to the face. Then, Rainbow would smack another across the cheek, and Fluffy would hop over her back and finish the devastating combo. For one short minute, the wall was a flurry of hooves and claws and fireballs and magic. But Fluffy and Dash were a dynamic duo from the air and the ground, and the Royal Guards simply did not stand a chance. The rainbow-maned flier picked up her pet manticore by its hind legs. Fluffy extended his knife-sharp claws, and Dash began to spin around, creating a vortex that literally cut through the air like blades. When it was all over and the shrieking subsided, they were the only ones still standing. “That’s my boy,” Rainbow Dash remarked, stroking the feline’s head. She made her way towards her timid friend, who had taken to cowering behind a small rock. “Welp. I think we’re clear.” “G-good. I’m not quite sure how many unconscious ponies I can take before passing out.” “Aww, don’t be such a whiner. Besides, you don’t need to see any more of ‘em.” “Why?” Flying towards the top of the wall, Dash shouted, “Because it looks like we’re home-unh!” Rainbow was cut off mid-sentence when she smacked head-first right into…nothing. Rubbing her head and staring at the dark Veneighzuelan landscape, Dash tried going forward again. And like last time, she bumped her forehead against an invisible wall, this time letting out a grunt of anger. “What the hay? A force-field?” she yelled, tapping the glass-like barrier. She began to punch it angrily, each time making a small ripple, but the force-field would remain intact. “What’s the point of a wall if they’ve got a freakin’ force-field?” Fluttershy hovered up to where her friend was, asking, “What’s going on?” As she said this, the family of phoenixes spattered against the invisible wall, sliding down the side with a squeak, answering Fluttershy’s question. “Oh no…this is not good. Not good at all.” “Shoot, Flutters. What the hay are we supposed to do now?” “Do you think we can fly over it?” “Worth a shot…” The cyan pegasus began to fly higher, until the air became cold and thin. She reached out, and still there was the barrier, and its tell-tale ripple. Descending back down, still facing the field, she said, “Nope. This thing goes waaay up there. Any higher and I’d be in orbit. Heh, orbit. Good one.” “Um, Rainbow?” “Yeah, what is it?” Dash asked, feeling around the barrier. “I think they’ve called in some reinforcements…” With wide eyes, Rainbow whirled around to see Fluttershy with the exact same expression. Through the darkness, she could see a gang of guards approaching from either side of them, getting ready to sandwich the two smugglers. “Buck me, we gotta find a way to burst through here!” Knocking her head on the field, she muttered quickly, “Uh…think, Rainbow, think! What would Twilight do?” The Royal Guards were still quite a ways off, but with every second the duo wasted pondering, the closer they came. “Uhh…ummm…” They were even closer now; they would surely spot them soon. “Celestia-dammit, what do we do?” Dash could see their armor now, and the glowing horns pointed straight at them. Their eyes were burning with anger; no doubt they had seen the destruction the smugglers had left in their wake. Rainbow couldn’t help but wonder if they’d be annihilated on the spot. Suddenly, Fluttershy blurted, “Well, usually when Twilight casts a force-field like this, a large amount of pressure usually shatters the whole thing. But what can possibly deliver enough force to break something this big?” And just like that, something clicked inside Dash’s mind. Her eyes wide with joy, she kissed her companion on the cheek, shook her happily and cried, “Fluttershy, that’s it!” Blushing in the pale moonlight, Fluttershy replied, “W-what’d I say?” But instead of an answer, Rainbow shoved her furry luggage into Fluttershy’s hooves, saying, “Take the animals and try to get as far away as possible.” “But what about-.” “I’ll draw their attention. Just go!” Without hesitation, the normally-reserved mare beat her wings like she never had before, zooming away from the wall with her animal friends in tow. Once Fluttershy seemed a safe distance away, the other mare cracked her neck and limbs, whispering, “Let’s get this show in the road.” “Hey Royal Snotwads! Don’t you got some royal flanks to be kissin’?” she yelled at the top of her lungs. Despite the fact that eighty or so pairs of eyes were staring at her with the intent to kill, Rainbow Dash wore a smug grin on her face. She let them get a little bit closer, all the while slowly floating upwards. When the flurry of fireballs started, that was when she decided to take off. The pegasus pointed herself towards the sky, with flames chasing her tail. Higher and higher she climbed, ‘into orbit’ as she put it. “Where’s she going?” one of the stallions inquired. “Doesn’t matter, she can’t go too far.” Little did they know, that was not her intent. Once she was at a sufficient altitude, the mare came to a slow halt. Then, pointing herself towards the ground head-first with her forelegs leading, she accelerated. Her wings started to beat faster, just as they had done numerous times before. Her speed rapidly picked up, and soon enough her lips were being pulled back by the intense wind. Tears began to roll from her eyes as she shot through the air like a bullet. Everything was just a crazy blur now; the wind roared in her ears, and the only thing she could make out were the bright flames shooting up at her. The fireballs never touched her, however, deflected by the cone of air forming around her body. The ant-like figures below started to get closer and closer. She was going practically at super-sonic speeds now, and if it wasn’t for the fact that it was night, the guards would see a bright streak of color making its way towards them. With her goal in sight, Rainbow Dash started to utter to herself. “This…” Four thousand feet. “is…” Three thousand. “going…” Two thousand. “…to be…” One. “Awesome.” Boom.