“So, let’s make this really easy, shall we?”
Thomas, or “Rainmaker” according to his brothers in the Solarii, was leering down at the crowd of cute, colorful ponies before him. After the initial attack, the Solarii had rounded up most of the ponies, killing those who tried to run. Now, they had the entire population - save one in a stetson that had managed to not only get away, but break the ribs of his best friend Gerald - trapped inside of the town hall. Rainmaker leaned onto the railing of the balcony, his eyes fixed on the one at the front, the purple one with wings and a horn.
“You surrender nice and easy like, and we won’t slaughter all of you. Not like those ones that tried to run,” he gave her a charming smile, one laced with deception. “We really don’t want to do that to you, but we will, should we have to.”
Twilight, for her part, was trying hard not to begin channeling her magic. The last unicorn who had cast a spell against them, a good stallion named Pokey Pierce, had been decapitated on the spot. He wasn’t the first, nor was he the last casualty in the short and bloody conflict that lasted between Ponyville and the Solarii. Despite the pony’s magic and strength, the guns, bows and explosives of the Solarii were just too much for the small equines to handle. More than forty of the town’s population had fallen before the resistance ceased, and they had been herded into the town hall.
Twilight knew that fighting back would be futile, but she had to buy time. Applejack had managed to get away, and had hopefully reached Lara and Rainbow Dash. In order for the three of them to accomplish anything, she needed to give them the time they needed to get back to Ponyville. So, Twilight set a plan in motion.
“I speak for the residents of Ponyville, given that the only other pony in authority was... disembowled,” Twilight gagged on her words, trying hard to forget the sight of her friend’s body. “What are the terms of the surrender, should we choose to accept?” Rainmaker paused, unsure of how to respond.
“I... uh, I’m really sorry, but I’m kinda new at this job. What the hell do you mean, ‘terms of surrender’?” A smile crossed the alicorn’s lips.
‘Gotcha.’
__________
“Lara! You need to slow down!”
Applejack gave her friend an odd look, mostly due to the out of character comment, but voiced her ascent, calling out to Lara alongside Rainbow Dash. The survivor, for her part, was charging back down the path as quickly as she could, only one thing on her mind: Himiko. She should have known that her fears about the queen were justified, but now it was a little late. She had to act.
And yet, she still stopped, waiting for the two ponies to catch up to her. She knew that something had to be done, but rushing headlong was bound to cause more harm than good. As Applejack and Rainbow caught up, Lara sat herself down in the path, resting her head on her hands.
“So... what’s the plan?” She asked. Applejack twirled a hoof.
“Simple. Those varmints have all the ponies at the town center. All ya gotta do is take ‘em all out, right?” Lara shook her head.
“Too easy. The men you described, the Solarii, were most likely brought here by Himiko. Doing that would only provoke her into real action. If we want to take them out and protect the ponies of the town... we need to think smart.” Lara stared at the ground, frowning and pulling an arrow from her quiver to draw in the dirt. “If only I had some rounds for my rifle. That cripples my combat effectiveness.”
As if on cue, Rainbow perked up, a sudden thought racing into her mind. She called the other two to her, fixing their attention on herself.
“What if we don’t go for a frontal assault... but, at the same time, we do?” Lara and Applejack gave her a look of deepest confusion, and Rainbow continued. “We’ve gotta get back to Ponyville, right? Well, there are bound to be tons of guards. We take them all out of the picture, and what are we left with? A small group, guarding the townsfolk. None of them leave, but not all of them die. We get some hostages, use them for leverage. See what I’m getting at here?”
“Rainbow... allow me to be the first to ask,” Applejack took off her hat, staring deeply into the eyes of the cyan pegasus. “Why on all that is good in this world would you have a plan like that stuck in your head?” Rainbow shrugged.
“I read it in a book.” Applejack groaned as Lara burst into a fit of giggles. She didn’t know why, but something about ponies being non-violent and then having something like that in a book seemed very amusing. Regardless, Rainbow’s plan was sound for the most part. Lara didn’t like the idea of leaving Solarii alive, but having hostages did have its benefits. For one, they’d have some leverage over the rest of the Solarii. For another, they could gain some valuable information from the ones they capture.
“Well, if that’s the plan,” Lara grunted, lifting herself back up to her feet and stowing the arrow back in its quiver. “What are we sitting around here for? For all we know, Ponyville’s nothing but ashes by now.” Applejack, who had donned her Stetson once more, smiled and gave Lara a knowing look.
“Not likely, Lara. Not by a longshot.”
__________
“So, let me see if I understand you here...” Rainmaker was sitting at a table across from Twilight, a long strip of parchment in front of them. On the parchment were the terms of surrender that the two had agreed to. Of course, Twilight had tried to be coy and slip in some things that would allow them to easily wrest power from the Solarii, but she didn’t give Rainmaker enough credit. The man was smart, just not educated in the art of diplomacy. Nothing Twilight tried to throw in to help Ponyville got past him. In the end, the terms were not looking good. Rainmaker only reminded her by reiterating what was already written on the parchment.
“You agree to give up, and submit to our authority completely. Ponyville will become a police state, and anything we say, goes. You agree to step down and submit yourself to custody, where you will be locked up, but not harmed. No harm will come to the ponies of Ponyville, so long as they submit to authority and don’t try to run. Unicorns will be forbidden from using magic, and all pegasi will be grounded. Also, Sugarcube Corner will become Solarii property, and the owners will provide Solarii soldiers with free sweets. Seems right to you?” Twilight sighed, but nodded reluctantly.
“Yeah. Everything's in order.” She muttered, her eyes downcast. Rainmaker rolled up the parchment, handing it to one of his subordinates before striding over and laying a hand on Twilight. She jumped, but looking up into his eyes, she didn’t see malice or cruelty. Instead, she saw sympathy.
“Don’t be so down. To be honest, most of the guys don’t wanna hurt you little ponies anyway. You’re all too darn cute. We’re just following orders.” Patting Twilight gently, he turned to two of his men, one of whom was the one with the parchment. “Speaking of which. You two!” The soldiers snapped to attention. “Run that back to Queen Himiko. Ask her what our next move should be!” Twilight’s ears perked up at Himiko, fear creeping into her heart.
‘Himiko? But that’s... oh, oh no.’ She placed a hoof on Rainmaker, pleading with her eyes as he turned back to look at her. “Please! Don’t take that to her! She’ll kill us!” Rainmaker shook his head.
“Don’t worry about it,” he deadpanned, waving the two soldiers to their task. “Himiko’s a mean bitch, to be sure, but she’s not mercile- wait. How do you know how she is?” Rainmaker glared at Twilight, who was sweating bullets under the gaze. It didn’t last very long, as a cry and a thud from the doorway brought Rainmaker out of his death stare. “What the hell is going on out there?”
“I am.”
Rainmaker whirled around to find a woman he didn’t recognize tossing aside the body of one of the two Solarii, the scroll in her hand. The woman was glowering at him, an unnatural fire in her eyes.
“You’ll pay for the deaths of those ponies outside. You, and every Solarii bastard in this place.” The woman tucked the scroll away and drew a bow, nocking an arrow and drawing it taut. “You’ve got ten seconds to make your men surrender. Otherwise, my companions and I kill them all.” The woman looked past him to Twilight. “Rainbow and Applejack have the men outside covered. Think you can handle the ones in here?” With a nod, the alicorn dashed off to deal with the Solarii.
“Who are you?” Rainmaker asked. The woman stepped forward, training the arrow on his forehead. Rainmaker suddenly didn’t feel in charge of the situation anymore.
“My name is Lara Croft. I am the survivor of the Endurance, the one who stopped Father Matthias and that bloody sun queen, Himiko. I am the last thing you want to see, and this town, these ponies, are under my protection. And you... well, times up. I’m afraid you’re dead.” With that, Lara loosed her arrow, putting it clean through Rainmaker’s skull. The Solarii soldier crumpled to the ground, blood trickling from the wound. Lara didn’t even bother with the arrow. She stepped over the corpse and strode over to the door where Twilight had disappeared. As she walked through the door, her ears perked up at the noise of cringing, crying men. The Solarii soldiers - seven in total - were surrounded by a group of very angry, armed ponies. Lara couldn’t repress a smile as Twilight trotted up to her.
“Well, that’s all of them. Friends of yours?” The alicorn shot her a smirk. Lara chuckled, stowing her bow away.
“We’ve had some dealings in the past. Mostly me tearing these guys apart. Now, let’s get these bastards tied up. I want them secure and under close watch. I’m putting you in charge of that, big guys.” She strode up to the two largest stallions of the crowd, a snow-white, muscled bound pegasus and a bulky, stoic red earth pony. “Make sure these gentlemen cooperate. Otherwise... bash their heads against something hard.” The Solarii whimpered in fear as the two stallions, along with a small group of other ponies, led them away. Lara turned back to Twilight.
“I need to go mop up outside, make sure none of the others will be walking away from here. Alert Celestia and Luna, then help these ponies out. Get whoever you can to help.” Twilight nodded, turning to the crowd and shouting out orders. Knowing the ponies were in good hooves, Lara dashed back outside, drawing one of her pistols.
As she emerged from the town hall, she was once again met with the terrible sight of the slaughter that had occurred in Ponyville. Bodies of ponies and humans alike littered the ground. Among the dead, Lara had noticed Nurse Redheart on her way through town. The sight of her caretaker’s neck adorned with a long, gaping laceration was enough to send Lara into a bloodlust. Secretly she hoped that one of the seven captives was the one that had killed Redheart. ‘The things I will do to that waste of a man when I find him.’
Hearing a shout from Applejack, Lara charged off in the direction of Twilight’s library, where the farmpony was currently occupied with three Solarii. The men were all armed with machetes, but none of them wanted to get too close to Applejack. Lara wondered why, until she saw the groaning, crumpled heap of a man sitting at the base of a wall. A single shot put the man out of his suffering. Lara then turned the pistol on the other Solarii. She squeezed off two rounds, puncturing the shoulder and back of the man closest to her. He fell with a cry of pain, and the other two, now noticing the sounds of gunfire, turned to look.
That proved to be their undoing, as Applejack took the opportunity to buck one of them not against, but through the wall where their companion had been felled. Lara whistled as she popped another three rounds into the last Solarii, who collapsed without a sound.
“That’s some impressive strength you have there,” Lara remarked, striding over to the earth pony and kneeling down. “Remind me to stay on your good side.” Applejack gave her a nod.
“Same to you,” the farmpony grunted, turning to face the town. “How’s everythin’ back there?”
“The ponies are safe, and we have our hostages. Now, every Solarii still left is a target.” Applejack shook her head, chuckling.
“While ya’ll were busy helpin’ out the town, Rainbow and Ah just ‘bout cleaned house. Every last one of the varmints is down for the count. Most of ‘em are still alive, though. Ah have a feeling you’ll wanna deal with that.” Lara didn’t answer. She instead opted to turn and walk back into Ponyville without so much as a backwards glance. As she passed the wall again, she turned her pistol on Applejack’s second victim, who was groaning and trying to rise. A single shot ended his life.
“Get back into town and begin what reparations you can. I will deal with the Solarii.”
__________
It wasn’t long before Lara returned to the town center, where a sorrowful sight was beginning to unfold. As some of the stallions began to ready transport for the fallen, loved ones of the slain were mourning. The sound of weeping, from stallion, mare and foal alike, was all Lara could hear. She felt like a monster, blood-stained and weary, wading into a sea of sorrow. Of all the dead ponies she saw, only one she recognized. And, though she was deeply grieved, she was also thankful that none of the others had met the same fate.
Striding over to the body of Redheart, Lara knelt down, her eyes beginning to burn as she fought back tears. Only two other ponies stood by her, and neither one she recognized. The fact that one was a small colt, though, made her wonder if Redheart had once been a mother. Lara never asked, and now she wouldn’t be able to. The colt watched her with watery eyes.
Before any words were spoken between the two, Lara felt a hoof on her shoulder. Turning, she saw Celestia looking down at her, the princess’s face speaking more than any words ever could. Lara stood slowly, wiping her eyes and turning to face the princess. Celestia gestured for Lara to follow her, and together the two walked, joining up with Twilight and Luna a short distance later.
For some time the four walked in silence, heading in the direction of Twilight’s home. Lara didn’t want to speak, because she knew there was nothing she could say. She had no excuses, no justification. The ponies of Ponyville were suffering because of her problem. Himiko had no reason to harm them, and yet the innocent had been cut down. Lara wanted to apologize, to say that she never meant for it to happen, but she felt that would be tactless and cruel. Instead, she chose to remain silent with the group, at least until they had entered the library.
“Lara, you must not blame yourself for this.” Celestia began, but Lara cut her off before she could get any further.
“No. Himiko was my responsibility. I was the one who had to kill her, and I failed. Now, she’s taken the lives of innocents, while I was off on a quest. I cannot allow any more lives to be lost because of me.” Lara glared at the three alicorns. “The quest will have to be put on hold. Himiko has to die. Now.” Celestia held up a hoof and shook her head.
“You underestimate me and my sister, Lara, and I will not allow you to put yourself at unnecessary risk.” Lara rolled her eyes. “The quest is imperative, and nothing else must stand in your way. Leave the defense of Equestria to us.” Celestia eyed Lara, looking at the subtle hint of the golden blade. “I take it your first venture was a success?” Lara nodded, drawing the sword. Luna drew in her breath sharply as the blade came into the light.
“Yes, and let me say, I am very surprised. The raw power I can feel from this blade.... it’s incredible.” She watched Luna, who was staring at the blade with a curious intensity. “What’s up with you, Luna?” Luna turned to Celestia, not giving Lara her answer.
“Sister, you did not tell me...” Luna trailed off, her eyes roaming back to the blade. Celestia sighed heavily.
“I am sorry, Luna. He passed about two years after you were banished. Time has made me forgetful of some things, so I did not remember...” Luna, her eyes welling with tears, walked off into the kitchen of the small library. Lara rolled the tip of the sword down, leaning against the hilt.
“Someone gonna tell me what’s going on?” Celestia turned to Lara, a deep sorrow, one that had been long buried, present in her visage.
“Gladius, the unicorn captain that wielded that blade, was a great friend to my sister. To see it again... I cannot imagine what Luna is feeling right now.” She turned her gaze to the kitchen doorway, trying to hear the sounds of her sister’s mourning. Lara sighed.
“Huh... well, aside from that chimera, I was surprised by what little defense there was down there. Getting this blade was actually really easy.” Celestia’s sorrow vanished, being replaced by a look of confusion and horror.
“What chimera? There haven’t been chimeras in the world since before Nightmare Moon,” Lara opened her mouth to respond, but Celestia cut her off, taking the sword with her magic and glaring down at the human.
“Tell me everything.”
__________
Lara sighed, sitting on the doorstep of the library. After telling Celestia everything that had occurred down in the tomb of Gladius, the monarch’s emotions had taken a turn for the furious. She seemed enraged by the mere notion that a chimera had been placed in the tomb. Even more so when Lara told her about the beast speaking as its life was snuffed out.
Rainbow Dash, who Lara hadn’t seen since the fighting started, had wandered over, and was now sitting next to the survivor. Neither spoke, each of them waiting for something different. Lara was waiting for news of her next assignment. Rainbow was waiting for Twilight. They had some things to discuss about the prisoners.
After over an hour and a half of sitting on the doorstep waiting, the pair of raiders were finally rewarded when the door opened, and out stepped the princesses. Celestia immediately turned to Lara, and gestured for the human to follow. Lara did so, and she, Celestia, and Luna went on their way, leaving Twilight to deal with Rainbow Dash.
“It has been settled. Due to the encounter with the chimera, we have found it prudent to send two of our guards with you on your journey.” Celestia raised a wing, cutting Lara off before she could even begin. “And do not argue that we will need all our forces to hold off Himiko. We can spare two guards. We have many.” Luna nodded in agreement, but Lara still seemed disappointed.
“Really, I already have Rainbow Dash with me. More ponies will only slow us down and make it that much harder to get our work done.” Celestia nodded understandingly.
“Rest assured, these guards are well trained. They will stay out of your way when they need to be, and are only there to protect you.” Lara groaned, knowing it was a battle she wasn’t going to win.
“Alright... fine. When will I meet them?” Celestia turned to Luna, who gave a quick nod.
“You’ll meet them once Twilight and her friends have had their way with you. They want to thank you for protecting Ponyville,” Luna said with a smile. “And, to be perfectly honest, we should be thanking you as well. You did a great thing, saving the lives of our subjects. Even though there were lives lost, you prevented the destruction of an entire town. For that, we are most grateful.” Both alicorns gave Lara genuine smiles. The human felt somewhat odd, not used to receiving this kind of praise. But she returned the smile.
With that, the two princesses took their leave, heading off to prepare their defenses. Lara watched them go, wondering why they hadn’t been more shocked or distressed about the lives lost in the battle. Eventually, her mind shifted to the possibility that the two had seen more than their share of wars in their time. Maybe the losses they suffered here were nothing compared to losses they had faced before. And even though they felt pain at the deaths of their subjects, Lara surmised that they had to save face. They needed to appear strong in the face of this new danger.
A newfound respect for the princesses in her heart, Lara turned back the way she had come, heading back to Twilight and Rainbow Dash and whatever the group of ponies had planned for her.
__________
As it turned out, the plans were dinner at Sugarcube Corner, a brand new outfit, and some defensive spells from Twilight. The dinner was nice, and the spells would come in handy, but it was the outfit that irked Lara the most. She had been wearing the same tank top and jeans since she arrived on Yamatai. But, at the insistence of Rarity and Twilight, she was now at the Carousel Boutique, forced to sit in her underwear, waiting for the dressmaker to reveal her latest creation. The other five of the main group sat with her, each trying not to make her situation more awkward.
“Why do you guys wear clothes all the time, anyway?” Pinkie Pie shattered the tranquil silence. Lara turned to glare at her.
“One: humans don’t have as much hair growing on their bodies as ponies do. We need clothes to keep warm. Two: public nudity is taboo back on my planet. Social norms make us respect rules, even though they don’t make sense to some. So please, just let me be.”
They didn’t have to wait much longer. Rarity emerged from the stairs leading up to her studio, a wide smile on her face and a magic aura surrounding her horn.
“I think I’ve outdone myself, if I might brag a moment.” She stepped aside, levitating in a brand new set of clothing, specially crafted to fit Lara’s frame and lifestyle. She had kept the light blue tank top, but added in a heavy, navy blue coat for contrast. A pair of silver eagles had been painstakingly stitched into the shoulders, as if giving Lar her own pseudo cutie mark. The jeans had also been replicated, but as they landed in Lara’s grasp, she felt a tangible difference in the material. They were much lighter, but felt more durable.
Lara quickly slipped them on, testing their weight and how they felt. She appreciated the care that went into making the clothing, but one thing confused her.
“These feel amazing. But why the coat?” Rarity made a “tut tut” noise and shook her head.
“You said it yourself, dear. Humans don’t have nearly enough fur, so they get colder much easier. Considering you and your group are heading to the far north for the next part of your quest, I figured you’d want something to keep you warm.” She paused, giving the tomb raider a winning smile. “Of course, I also wanted to make sure you looked simply stunning, no matter what you’re doing.” Lara rolled her eyes, sliding all her gear into place.
“Whatever you say. I really appreciate it.” She gestured to Rainbow. “Come on. We got a long journey ahead of us, and I want to swing by the prison. That place is loaded with ammo, and God knows I need some.” She paused, turning to Twilight. “Did you keep all their guns?” Twilight paused, trying to remember what a gun was. She nodded after a moment. “Good. Hopefully there’s a shotgun somewhere in there.”
The pair bade the others farewell and left the boutique, heading in the direction of the town’s makeshift prison. Being that crime didn’t really happen in Equestria, the town didn’t have a proper jail. Instead, in what some would call the cruelest of irony, the basement of Sugarcube Corner had become the holding cell. The place was soundproofed, but not smell proofed, so as the two descended into the basement, the sweet aromas of delicious treats wafted down with them. It was the biggest slap in the face to the Solarii trapped below, who hadn’t tasted sweets for years.
Lara didn’t stay long, instead opting to gather up as much ammo as she could for her assault rifle and pistol, then turning to the line of weapons. Spotting a decent shotgun, she hefted it up, testing the weight for a moment. Satisfied, she strapped it to her back, gathering up as many shells as she could find. Once she was satisfied that she wasn’t going to run out of ammo anytime soon, she gave a nod to Rainbow and the two left quickly, not wanting to stick around the Solarii for much longer.
After some time walking in silence, the pair arrived at the train station, where a single locomotive was waiting. Waiting beside it, a pair of ponies waited at attention, both of them decked out in armor. Lara was most drawn to the pegasus on the right, not because she was grey, or had night blue armor, but because the wings of the pegasus were not normal. The pony had bat wings. A quick smirk crossed Lara’s face. ‘It’s because I’m Batpony.’
The pony on the left, a snow white earth pony mare decked in golden armor, stepped forward and saluted.
“Sergeants Tarnished Honor and Pale Moon, reporting, ma’am.” Lara returned the salute hesitantly. “We are here to provide combat support for you and miss Dash, as per orders. Whenever you are ready to depart, we can head north to the Crystal Empire and meet with Captain Shining Armor. He has agreed to help us with directions.”
Lara lowered her hand slowly, the pony in front of her mirroring the movement. “Um, thank you. You know, you don’t have to be so... formal. I’m not going to bite your head off.” The new pair sighed with relief, sharing a quick smile.
“Thank Celestia. You have no idea how hard it is to do that for hours on end.” Tarnished Honor, the golden clad mare, gestured for Lara and Rainbow to follow her onto the train. As they boarded the lone passenger car, she gave a whistle, signaling the driver to go. “I hope that we’ll be able to help. I don’t know why the princesses chose us to help you out, but from what I’ve heard, you can really handle yourself. That doesn’t mean you can push us around, but we’re actually a little humbled to be working with you and an Element of Harmony.” Pale nodded earnestly.
Rainbow eyed them cautiously. “You two seem way too relaxed to be guards. How do we know you’re not spies?” Honor rolled her eyes, looking to Lara.
“Is she always this skeptical of new arrivals?” Lara nodded, and the train car erupted into laughter. As the train began to pick up steam, the sound of jovial conversation began to fade into the distance. For a short time, Lara didn’t feel any danger. She wasn’t worried. She felt that she could truly relax, if just for a little while.
__________
High upon the mountain, Himiko sighed, shaking her head and turning to what remained of the Solarii forces.
“Your brethren have failed me. Again. I should have realized that my Stormguard would have done a much better job than you idiots.” She turned again, gazing out to the horizon. “There is a city to the east. A large city, but not well defended. You shall accompany me and my Stormguard. Maybe, just maybe, you will be able to redeem yourselves in the battle to come. Otherwise,” she snapped her fingers, and a bolt of lightning cracked down behind her, startling the Solarii.
“I will personally see to it that your internal organs turn to ash.”