Chapter 9
Applejack looked defeated. After returning to the street to meet up with Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, the trolls had led a push, forcing her and Twilight to retreat several blocks. With troll reinforcements endlessly swarming the city, it now was impossible to break through their line.
“It’s been nearly an hour, Twilight,” said Applejack grimly. “We’re not going to find them in this brouhaha.”
Twilight sighed. “I guess you’re right, Applejack. We’ll go back to the chariot and hope we’ll meet up with them there.”
“That’s our only option. If they haven’t gone back to the chariot, it’ll be impossible to find them. This here city’s just too big for us to search, especially in this darkness.”
“Ironically, the fires actually help us out a bit. As much as I hate to say it, the burning buildings actually make it a little easier to see.”
Twilight and Applejack cantered to the building atop which the chariot was parked, and they were thoroughly relieved to see that this section of the city hadn’t yet been overtaken. They entered the building without problem.
Several ponies were scurrying throughout the lobby. Applejack looked at them and felt sorry for these poor ponies. She’d have to leave them behind, and inevitably they would soon become victims of the troll hordes. She regretted leaving them behind, but there was no way they could take all of these Fillydephian ponies with them. Saving the Princess is more important, she reasoned to herself. Once we bring her back to Equestria, we’ll be able to free this here city.
Twilight summoned the elevator and the two ponies entered, ascending to the rooftop. They held their breath while waiting for the door to open. When it finally did, they found – nopony. None of their friends were waiting for them.
For a moment, the two ponies stood in silence. Either their friends had already been killed by the trolls, or they were still in the madness below, clinging to an impossible notion of survival. Twilight slowly walked towards the chariot; to her surprise, a note lay in the seat:
Dear friends,
I really hope that you won’t be mad at me for this, but I have to do it. The pegasi of Fillydelphia have assessed the situation and realize that victory here is impossible, so they’ve decided to go see if they might have a chance to fend off the trolls at Los Pegasus. Since we were going to be going there anyways, I figured that I would go ahead so I could be there to help the pegagi mount their defense. Again, I’m really sorry if this seems disloyal to you, but I want you all to know that I would never leave my friends. I’m going to help defend Los Pegasus due to my duty to Equestria, but don’t think I’ve forgotten my duty to the Princess or to you. I’ll meet up with you guys as soon as you reach Los Pegasus, and hopefully the city will be secured by the time you get there. I’ll be in the central courtyard every day at noon, so don’t worry about finding me if you want to take your time defending Fillydelphia. I look forward to meeting up with you guys soon so we can go to the troll homeland and kick some troll butt!
Your loyal friend,
Rainbow Dash
Twilight showed the letter to Applejack and then placed it back on the chariot. “Well, at least we know that Rainbow’s safe.”
“That’s sure a whole lot better than not knowin’ nothin’ at all, I suppose. But what about Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie?”
“There’s no way we’ll find them in a city this big, Applejack. We’ll just have to wait here until they come back.”
“And if they don’t?”
“Well… We’ll just have to hope they do.”
Rainbow Dash graced through the sky with a legion of 58 other pegasi, all of whom were on their way to Los Pegasus. Rainbow Dash turned to the pegasus next to her and asked, “Hey, do you really think that we couldn’t have saved Fillydelphia?”
The pony to her right looked over at Rainbow Dash. “Are you serious, kid? There was no way we could’ve saved that city. Did you even look at how many trolls there were?”
Rainbow still wasn’t satisfied. She felt like she had made the right decision, but she still didn’t like leaving her friends behind. “Heh, I probably could’ve taken half of them out myself!”
The pegasus next to her chuckled. “Ha, you’re pretty funny, kid. We’ll see what you’ve got once we arrive in Los Pegasus.”
Rainbow swallowed hard. She was determined to make a good impression, and saving a whole city from trolls would definitely help her resume for making the Wonderbolts. But it would be hard to back up her lofty claim. Her mouth was getting her into trouble yet again.
After less than an hour of flying, the legion of pegasi finally saw a light in the distance. But this wasn’t the light they had been hoping for – alas, it was fire. Rainbow Dash looked ahead and saw the whole city on fire; this had to be the work of the trolls. The same fire-bombs they had used on Fillydelphia now lit the Los Pegasus sky.
“Darn it!” cried a pegasus from the front of the pack. “They got here first!”
The pegasi convened in mid-air to discuss their next course of action.
“Do we still go?”
“Will it be safe”
“Should we turn back?”
Rainbow Dash was astonished by her fellow pegasi: “I can’t believe you guys! I’m so disappointed in all of you. We’re supposed to be pegasi, the best of the best. We’re Equestria’s best fighters, and you expect us to GIVE UP? Who are you!? I thought I was surrounded by Equestria’s finest. Equestria’s most courageous! Equestria’s most talented! Which ones out of you chose to come here? How many of you were forced here against your will?”
Rainbow looked around and was greeted by silence.
“That’s what I thought! We came here tonight because we believe we can make a difference. We believe we can help Equestria. We believe that we can save our comrades! If we don’t go down there and at least try, who’s going to help? Those ponies are down there getting eaten alive by trolls, and there isn’t anypony who’s going to stop them. Not anypony but us. Do you want to be held personally accountable for every single pony who dies down there!?”
Rainbow looked one frightened pegasi in the eye, and then returned to surveying the crowd. “I come from a small town outside of Canterlot. It’s called Ponyville, and it’s where all of my very best friends live. I had to go on a mission to Canterlot, and when I came back, I found that my town was taken over. One of my very best friends was stuck there, and I probably won’t ever see her again. Nearly everypony I’ve ever known and loved was in that town, and now…” Rainbow looked up at the sky, raising a hoof to her cheek as if to wipe away a tear. “And now, they’re all gone. They’re gone to me, and my life will never be the same without them. But there-“ she said, pointing downward towards Los Pegasus, “there is a massive city, filled with hundreds of thousands of scared ponies. I’m just one – just one, and look at what the trolls have done to me. If there could’ve been a legion of brave, courageous, strong, super-cool, fantastic pegasi to come save Ponyville when it needed it most, I…I…I would’ve done anything for that. I would’ve done anything for somepony brave and strong to come and liberate my home. My friend Rarity…”
Rainbow finally broke down, unable to hide her tears any longer. The other pegasi looked at each other, exchanging glances of both guilt and shock. None of them knew who this pony was, but she was sure making an impression. They each thought about their own hometowns and what they would’ve given for some extra help in Fillydelphia. Anything to let their families still be alive…. But now it was up to them. They were the reinforcing legion, the ones who could save the world. They had the power to make a difference in somepony’s life, and they had a chance to save someponies from the awful fate that they had endured.
Emboldened with a spirit of courage, the pegasi descended upon the occupied city.
But courage wouldn’t change the fact that Los Pegasus was the principal troll port city. Courage wouldn’t stop the endless ships of trolls headed straight for Los Pegasus harbor.