//------------------------------// // 3: A Fracas From Frivolous Fun with Finagled Fireworks and Fuming Fillies // Story: Redemption of the Fireheart // by Your Antagonist //------------------------------// Disclaimer: I don’t own Friendship is Magic, but I do own your soul. So by default I own your things... gimme. Redemption of The Fireheart By: Your Antagonist (VegaKS03) Chapter 3: A Fracas From Frivolous Fun with Finagled Fireworks and Fuming Fillies Middle District Assembly Hall Ruins Applebloom and Scootaloo trotted through the streets of Canterlot’s Middle District, still enveloped in an endless quarrel that had been ongoing since the pair parted ways with Sweetie Belle in the Lower District. Even an hour later, they were still going at it like champion fencers. “Scootaloo, I keep tellin’ you; you don’t know what you’re talkin’ about! There ain’t no way in hay that Lady Rainbow Dash could beat mah sister in a fight!” “And I keep telling you that Lady Rainbow Dash is way cooler than any of the Senior Knights!” “Ugh!” Applebloom stopped to facehoof before resuming her trot, “For the last time: bein’ cool doesn’t mean a lick of nothin’ when it comes to fightin’!” “Says who?” “It’s common sense you feather-brained— uh-oh.” "Did you just call me an uh-oh?” Scootaloo followed Applebloom’s hoof as her friend pointed to something just ahead of the pair.  “Oh... I was kinda hoping we wouldn’t see them here...” Scootaloo’s vision fell on the pair of fillies who were slowly approaching, with grins reminiscent of a shark circling it’s bleeding prey plastered on their faces.   “Well, well, well; look what we have here, Silver Spoon,” spoke the pink filly who wore a small tiara atop her purple mane, with greaves and a frilly pink saddle for armor. Strapped to her side was a rapier with a special horseshoe handle that resided in a pink scabbard. “It looks like a couple of lower-district blank-flanks got lost on their way back, doesn’t it Diamond Tiara?” Silver Spoon herself wore a pair of blue-rimmed glasses, and a long blue tunic underneath a silver chestplate. On her back sat a giant spoon that glistened in the afternoon sunlight. “Look, we don’t want no trouble, y’all. We were just on our way to report somethin’ to Lady Rainbow Dash and Lady Applejack.” “Well, Diamond Tiara, it looks like they want to talk with our Senior Knights. Do you see anything wrong with that?” “Do I? Psssh, as if you have to ask. Why would our bosses waste their time talking to a couple of lower district noponies? You may as well tell us, and if we think your little plight is important we might just be generous enough to tell them.” “Don’t push us y’all, we’re just tryin’ to deliver some news.” Applebloom pleaded while backing away from the dastardly duo. “Oh, and what will you do if we don’t stop?” Silver Spoon poked. “Keep it up, and you’ll find out!”  Scootaloo shouted, standing her ground. “Oh really?” Diamond Tiara slipped her hoof into the rapier, preparing to unsheathe it. “Let’s see what you lower district foals can do.” “Hi there!” Chirped a new voice from behind the group, irking Diamond Tiara. The irritated filly turned around face the source of the interruption speaking as she did so. “There had better be a good reason for you to intrude on our match, you—” Diamond Tiara’s mouth went dry as she made eye contact with the pink, beaming face of her Superior officer: Lady Pinkie Pie the Mad. “L-L-Lady Pinkie Pie, ma’am!” Diamond Tiara quickly snapped a salute to greet her superior officer, and the other three fillies followed suit, as the pink mare clad in full silver armor, save for the helmet, hopped towards them, lackadaisically returning the salute. “Have you seen my knights?” Pinkie Pie whipped her head ‘round left and right before returning her attention to the fillies and puffing out her cheeks. “I had a whole bunch following me earlier, but I guess they fell down a hole or something.” Pinkie Pie glanced down at the four fillies before herself and gasped as she came to a realization. Pinkie Pie bounced in place as she vocalized  her plans for her newfound followers. “But you can be my new knights! Oh we’ll have such fun! We’ll bake cookies, play games, climb up the clock tower and throw water balloons at Big Mac, AJ and Dashie when they come around, it’ll be a blast!” “Uhhh, Lady Pinkie Pie, I don’t think that’s what knights are supposed to do...” “Not what knights are supposed to do?” Pinkie Pie waved off the concern with the flick of her armored hoof. “Psssh, then how do you think I got where I am today, you sillies?” “That’s a good question...” Silver Spoon mumbled under her breath. “Ummm, Lady Pinkie?” Applebloom piped up. “What is it, my little pony?” “You know Lady Applejack, right?” “Like the back of my pet rock back home! Why do you ask?” “Well, she’s my sister, and I got somethin’ I gotta report to her, and quick.” “You’re Applejack’s little sister?” Apple Bloom nodded in response, and was seized by Pinkie Pie in an air-constricting embrace. “AJ is always talking about how much she misses you and stuff! She’ll be so happy to see you, I’ll take you to her right now!” Pinkie Pie threw Applebloom onto her back before trotting off deeper into the ruins, the other three K.I.Ts in tow. “La, la, la!” Pinkie Pie sang as she hopped along the road, the surrounding scenery growing more and more decrepit as she advanced. “Can I ask you something, Lady Pinkie Pie?” Scootaloo inquired. “Yup! Go ahead and shoot! But you know, don’t really shoot, then the round might go wild and hit somepony, and then Dashie would get furious! And believe you me, you don’t wanna see Dashie when she’s angry, it’s almost like watching Lyra when she gets angry, except Dashie doesn’t stuff her face with egg yolks and—” “Ahem!” Scootaloo coughed capturing Pinkie’s attention. “Oh, sorry, what did you want to ask me?” “What happened to this place?” Scootaloo stopped to gesture at the dilapidated, crumbling piles of white marble, wood, and rocks scattered about. “Oh, right, that...” Pinkie  Pie sighed as she continued to trot along the path. Her once enthusiastic and carefree demeanor drained away in favor of an air of stoic maturity. “Well, how long have you been enlisted in Knight Corps?” “About five months now, before that I was living in the lower district.” “Five months, huh? You ever heard of Sir Spike the Fireheart?” “Spike the Fireheart? Who’s that?” “Oh! Oh! My sister told me about him lotsa times before! She said he was one of the greatest warriors to ever come outta Knight Corps! And he was a dragon to boot!” Applebloom responded with the enthusiasm that Pinkie Pie had lost. Pinkie Pie grinned weakly at the praise of her former comrade before she continued her tale. “Well, your sister wasn’t lying about him being one of the greatest warriors. Spike was the embodiment of an ideal Knight Corps soldier: He always placed the well-being of the kingdom and his fellow knights first, he would never accept defeat even when all seemed lost, and he’d never leave a fallen comrade. Even under heavy cannon fire, even through a hail of arrows and bullets, that dragon would put himself on the line to save even the most naive, disobedient, and reckless K.I.T. That’s the kind of knight he was,” Pinkie Pie explained, wiping a single tear from her eye as a distant memory played in the back of her mind. “Wow, he sounds like one amazing knight, but what does he have to do with this?” Diamond Tiara pressed. Pinkie Pie sighed again. “Well, a couple of months ago there were some dragon attacks in the very area we stand in now.” “Dragon attacks?!” All four fillies shouted in unison. Pinkie Pie nodded again. “Spikey was directly involved in the dragon attacks after he lost control of his draconic greed, and he rampaged through this area, leveling it to the ground. Well, that’s what they say anyway. All we have to go on is some questionable eyewitness accounts, and some odd scorch patterns that the investigators managed to dig up. Anypony who was present during the actual attack was either crushed or burned to death, and even to this day, we’re still digging up the bodies as we excavate.” “So there’s no evidence against him then, right?” Silver Spoon inquired  “Nothing concrete, but nothing that acquits him completely either. It doesn’t exactly help his case that he ran away after being accused of poisoning Queen Celestia either.” “He poisoned the Queen?!” Scootaloo shouted in disbelief. “No! Spikey... Spikey wouldn’t do that. He was in trouble as it was, but he wasn’t the type to run from his responsibilities.” “And yet, he ran away didn’t he?” Interjected a bold female voice from behind Pinkie Pie. “And yet he ran the buck away...” the voice reiterated. “Pinkie Pie, maybe it’s about time you gave up on that criminal, it’s plain as day that he’s the one responsible for this.“         “It’s not true! I don’t believe it, and neither does Twilight!” Pinkie Pie whipped around to face the stern faces of Lady Rainbow Dash and Lady Applejack both of whom wore suits of armor akin to Pinkie Pie’s, the exception being that Rainbow Dash’s armor was black, much lighter in appearance, and had a space for her wings to jut out from, while Applejack’s armor was exactly the same as Pinkie’s, although she wore a stetson hat.         “The difference being that Twilight has prepared herself to do whatever it takes to apprehend and if necessary kill him if he ever shows up again—” Lady Applejack cut her superior off mid-sentence. “Rainbow Dash, that’s completely uncalled for!” “Uncalled for? She needs to wake up and smell the oats, AJ. It’s been six months since that traitor ran, and he hasn’t had the decency or the integrity to show his scaly little traitor face since.” “You, you take that back!” Pinkie Pie sputtered on the verge of tears. “I’ll take it back when he grows a spine and—” “Rainbow Dash, that’s enough!” Applejack commanded as she stomped in between Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. “Now, apologize to Pinkie Pie. Y’all know what you said was outright uncalled for and outta line. I know you’re stressed out from this whole investigation, but takin’ your frustration out on your friends isn’t going to get this job done any quicker.” Rainbow Dash stared deep into Applejack’s eyes and snorted her irritation at the challenge, but inevitably ceded with a sigh. “Look Pinkie, I’m sorry all right? This whole thing has just been getting to me, and I didn’t mean to just vent all over you. Still friends?” Pinkie Pie dashed over to Rainbow Dash faster than should have been possible in the heavy armor she was wearing, and seized the pegasus in a mighty bone crushing embrace. “I told ya my sister could beat Rainbow Dash.” Applebloom whispered to Scootaloo. “What? That wasn’t a fight! Lady Rainbow Dash could totally mop the floor with—” “Interestin’ conversation y’all are havin’?” The two fillies didn’t notice that Applejack had trotted over during their hushed exchange. “Big sis!” Applebloom bounded giddily towards her elder sister, who just as eagerly swept the younger filly into a tight embrace. “Applebloom, what’re you doin’ up here in the Middle District? I thought you were assigned to Lady Trixie.”         “Oh, that’s right, me an Scootaloo were supposed to tell you somethin’ really important!”         Applejack cocked an eyebrow at this and nodded to reassure her younger sister that she was listening. “There was this really strong guy who attacked us down in the Lower District!” “Yeah, he went on two legs and he had this crazy morphing staff thingy!” Scootaloo contributed. Applejack let out a hearty chuckle, “Are y’all sure you didn’t just run into a Diamond Dog with a fancy stick? Those varmints have been rather active lately, so it coulda been your mistake.” Both fillies shook their heads from side to side in unison before Applebloom continued “Uh-uh sis, I’ve seen and gone toe-to-toe with Diamond Dogs before, and I’ll be the first to tell ya, Diamond Dogs don’t breathe no green fire! That guy did!” “Wait, what did she just say?” Rainbow Dash finally managed to free herself from Pinkie Pie’s death embrace, and floated over to directly address the fillies. “Lady Rainbow Dash ma’am!” Scootaloo sounded off with a salute. “The perpetrator in question stood about seven inches taller than this Knight In Training, and he utilized a multi-form staff, that at some point in the battle he spat on causing it to ignite in a blaze of green fire. Shortly after this action, the suspect attacked myself, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle with the weapon, and when we regained consciousness, we awoke outside in the moat, ma’am! Shortly before coming here to address you personally, we sent Knight in Training Sweetie Belle to inform Lady Trixie!” “Green fire, huh? Sound like anydragon to you, Pinkie?” “S-Spikey,” Pinkie Pie gasped. “And why am I not in the least surprised that Trixie’s own K.I.T.s find her to be so incapable that they’d have to report directly to the next level up instead of their direct superior...”   “Did we do something wrong, Lady Rainbow Dash?” Scootaloo hesitantly asked, afraid of disciplinary action for neglecting her direct superior. Rainbow Dash smiled and trotted up to Scootaloo, giving the filly a firm pat on the head. “Not at all kid, you did the right thing reporting it to us,” she said as she began mussing up the filly’s mane “I’ll tell you what though, since you two are in my district, how about I commandeer you two for the day so you can get a feel for the middle district?” “Really?” Applebloom and Scootaloo shouted simultaneously with stars in their eyes. Rainbow Dash nodded to confirm her promise “But, don’t think I’m just going to let you slack off in my district! In the middle district we pride ourselves on our iron-tight security! This is the barrier between the vermin of the Lower District and the soft yellow-bellied royals of the Upper District! If we don’t hold the line, who will? That sloppy pushover security detail at the bottom? No! Those snooty, spoiled ‘officers’  and ‘tacticians’ sitting in their cushy offices complaining about air conditioning at the top? No! That responsibility falls to us, and for today it falls to you, got it?” Both fillies saluted their acknowledgement, and Rainbow dash nodded again. “All right then: Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon! Get your spoiled little flanks over here double-time!” “Yes, Lady Rainbow Dash?” Diamond Tiara called cantering over, with Silver Spoon in tow. “You two are going out on patrol, and you’re taking these two with you, got it?” “Wait for me!” Sweetie Belle’s voice cried out from behind the group. The filly galloped up, and skidded to a halt before her peers, huffing and out of breath. “And you are?” “Lady Rainbow Dash, she’s one of ours! This is Knight In Training Sweetie Belle, the one we sent to Lady Trixie.” Rainbow dash nodded approvingly. “Correction, you’re taking these three with you. I want you five to patrol for any suspicious characters or activities near the entrance gate. I also want you on the lookout for that bi-ped from earlier. If possible, you are to apprehend him yourselves and bring him to the District Prison, got it?” Silver Spoon nodded to answer for the group. “Good, then off with you for now, I’ll be making my rounds after I’ve whipped that shoddy investigation team into shape. Applejack, Pinkie Pie, with me.” The five fillies waited until the senior knights left before their mutual disdain for each other finally boiled over and essentially turned into a spitting match. “Look here, you little lower-district blank flanks, you three better not screw up this patrol, got it?” The pointed remark flew straight and planted itself into Scootaloo’s brain. “What’d you call us? Say it again! I swear to our Queen that I’ll—mmmph!” Sweetie Belle and Applebloom shoved their hooves in Scootaloo’s maw. “Well, its good to know that at least two of you know what’s what around here,” Silver Spoon hissed with an upturned nose. “Come on, it’ll take about fifteen minutes to get to the gate, and then the rest of the day before we an get rid of you three dead weights.” Silver Spoon began trotting off down the debris-ridden path, Diamond Tiara at her side, and behind them three fuming fillies who were not pleased about their situation in the slightest. Middle District Gate There are certain questions that, when asked, have a tendency of answering themselves. At this moment, Spike and crew found themselves standing amongst a large group of beaten, battered, and bruised guards, which provided the perfect vehicle for such a rhetorical inquiry, that Spike himself would vocalize:“You think we overdid it?” “If you have to ask, the answer is probably yes,” Gilda replied sardonically as she picked a fallen guard up by his armor’s collar and slugged him across the snout with her free talon. Pipsqueak bounded up to Gilda with a number of small satchels hanging from his mouth. “Captain Gilda, look at all the wallets I got!” Gilda glanced at Pipsqueak before responding to the colt. “Not bad kid,” the griffin socked the pony she was holding again before dropping her victim and returning to Pipsqueak. “I’m willing to bet you got at least one-hundred bits there.” “Pip, what did I tell you about restraint?” Spike prodded with crossed arms. "Ummm..." Gilda grabbed Pisqueak, and planted the colt on her back before putting the knight’s concerns to rest. “C’mon, lighten up Mr. Former Knight. We’re all fugitives here, what’s the harm in taking a few spoils? Besides, from what I gather he’s been doing it for a while, and it kept you fed in the Everfree for six months right?” “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Spike waved Gilda off with a claw. “Do what you want, just don’t go too overboard in town, got it?” “Aye-aye, Mr. Spike!” “Rover not impressed, these guards too weak, Rover needs enemy strong enough to rival Diamond Dog strength, not some weak pony.” Gilda’s first mate growled with crossed arms. “Of course, there was no way that some lesser gate guard could stop the awesome magic of Lady Trixie: The Great and Powerful!” Trixie bellowed, releasing a wave of red and green fireworks. “Ummm, you guys? Shouldn’t we get moving? I mean, you did just assault an entire gate-guard detail after all, or would you care to make this a battle royale with the rest of the Middle District’s guards?” Snips reasoned to the rest. “Yeah, we’re burnin daylight, eh.” “Equestria to my little dweebs, it’s four in the afternoon. We've got plenty of time to chill. In fact, we should probably go crash at a nearby inn, you know, lay low for a while,” Gilda suggested nonchalantly as she gestured for the party to  migrate towards a different venue. “C-crash at an inn? At a time like this? Are you crazy?” Snips blurted out. Gilda looked around at the incapacitated guards, thirty in total, before turning back to the concerned colt with a single word as her response. “Yeah.” “Why?!” “So we can rest while we plan out our next move in relative safety, I’d assume,” Spike reasoned. “But even if that’s the case, we’d still need some money for the inn.” Pipsqueak threw a couple of his pilfered bit-satchels on the ground by Spike’s feet. Gilda assumed the speaker’s role after Spike began counting the bits. “We still need to gather up some supplies, like food, ammunition and black powder for my pistols, lanterns, and—” “Isn’t that stuff we can just get from your hideout in this district?” Snips asked. “Heh, pony not understand just where we are,” cackled Rover. “Ugh,” Trixie began, “we’re in the middle district, which houses Trixie’s least favorite Knight Corps Officer and the the head of the law enforcement branch: Lady Rainbow Dash the Loyal.” “But isn’t Knight Corps all law enforcement, Ms. Trixie?” Snails slurred. “Look, Knight Corps boils down like this: in the Lower District resides the standard combat soldiers. They may be under the magnificent leadership of yours truly,” Spike had to stifle a snicker at Trixie’s claim, “and campaign expertly, but when it comes to menial tasks such as guarding and patrolling, well... think about how easy it was for you to enter the lower district.”  Snips, Snails, and Pipsqueak nodded accordingly, and Trixie, satisfied that her explanation went unquestioned, continued. “The knights of the Upper District are the officers and tacticians during wartime, and they’ve always been headed by Lady Twilight, and recently Lord Blueblood. During peacetime however, they’re quite lax and carefree, but Trixie supposes that mentality can be attributed to the Middle District’s dedication and determination to their position during peace and wartime. The middle district has and always will house the law enforcement knights, and as a result the security here is impeccable.” “You mean like those chumps we just trashed back there?” Gilda huffed. “No, those were... err... Trixie’s soldiers.” The mare concluded dejectedly. “Anyway, the bird makes a good point: we should lay low, plan, and resupply before making another move. If Trixie and her minions wander around aimlessly in this district, it would only draw unnecessary attention to ourselvesw considering Trixie’s status, and the the fact the she has chosen to travel with two fugitives and a Diamond Dog.” The group stopped in front of a rundown tavern Snips galloped enthusiastically towards the tavern. “Oh good, I can’t wait to get some rest, I’m beat—” He soon found that he was running in place due to the fact that Rover chose to stop the colt’s advance with his claws, before shoving the colt back into the ground. “Hey, what gives!?” Gilda moved next to her first mate “It‘s time you two made yourselves useful, I mean let’s be honest, what exactly have you done for us up until this point?” “Well we—”  “Besides that, the two of you don’t exactly have your faces on wanted posters,” Spike interjected. “Or would be considered A.W.O.L. for abandoning your post.” Trixie concluded. “Sigh... alright, we get it, we get it. What do you need us to get?” “Fortunately for you, Trixie made a list.” The former head of the Lower District levitated a slip of paper from beneath her hat, and allowed it to drift towards Snails. Snails scanned the list, muttering the contents of the paper aloud as he did so: “One pound of gems, extra rubies if possible; two pouches of black powder; one pound of pistol shot, and you’d better not buy the cheap crap either; fruit, but nothing citrusy as that would ruin Trixie’s complexion you simple foals; meat or eggs, because Diamond Dog need protein unlike scrawny pony; and whatever you three want.” Snails looked up from the list and pointed at himself and Snips while counting “One, two... Ms. Trixie, what do you mean ‘three’?” “I’m coming with you!” Pipsqueak bounded over to join the colts. “We figured you’d need some kind of protection if anything goes awry, plus if you can’t afford anything, this kid has the universal sticky hoof discount at every store in Equestria,” Spike explained as he began walking up the stairs of the tavern. “Well, we’ll catch you guys later.” “S’ya...” Snips grumbled, as he Pipsqueak and Snails wandered off in search of the market place. Middle District Marketplace The Middle District Marketplace, in contrast to the Lower District, played host to a less diverse group of creatures. There was nary a Diamond Dog, cow or griffin in sight, as the population of the Lower District was primarily dominated by the presence of ponies and donkeys. Amidst the various vendors tents, stalls, and shops of the Middle Districts Market place “Are y’all sure we shouldn’t be headin’ down to the gate an all? I  mean Lady Rainbow Dash—” Silver Spooned scoffed at Applebloom, successfully cutting her off. “Isn’t here right now, so like, don’t be such a wet blanket.” “Wet blanket?” Sweetie Belle asked. “They’re telling us not to worry so much, even though we we’re under direct orders from a senior knight,” Scootaloo explained. Diamond Tiara affixed a glare a Scootaloo, and snorted in irritation. “You make it sound so bad, you miserable— Gah!” Somepony from the crowd bumped into Diamond Tiara, causing the filly to fall into the dirt. “Oh, I’m terribly sorry Miss, I didn’t see you there.” “Didn’t see me here? Didn’t see me here?!” Diamond Tiara looked up from the ground, her sneer falling on some hapless chubby colt in a monocle and a top hat, his cutie mark reminiscent of scissors. “Here, let me help you up.” The colt extended his hoof to Diamond Tiara, who promptly slapped it aside, as she stood up on her own. “I don’t need your pity, idiot.” Diamond Tiara affixed a scrutinizing glare to face of her offender. There’s something about this guy, but I can’t put my hoof on it. I feel like I know him from somewhere. “Just watch your step next time, or I’ll run you through with my blade, got it?” The colt began backing away slowly from Diamond Tiara’s cold gaze, chuckling nervously as he went. “Uh-heh-heh, got it ma’am, please excuse me.” The colt finaly turned and galloped away quickly, crashing into somepony else but Diamond Tiara’s attention ws already back on her team. “All right, I think we should probably head down to—” “Hey, stop you thieves!” shrieked a donkey shop owner from further down the street. The five K.I.Ts turned just in time to see two colts galloping away from the donkey, leaving small clouds of dust in their wake. “If it isn’t one thing it’s another,” Silver Spoon sighed. “Hey y’all, isn’t that the bandit from the lower district?” Applebloom squinted at the fast approaching colts. Sweetie Belle joined Applebloom, and attempted to identify the bandits as well. “Yeah, I think it is. What’s he doing up here?” “Hey, he might know what the whereabouts of that two-legger from earlier."   “Well, are you three just going to stare or are you going to do something about this?” “What? I thought y’all were supposed to be the ones leadin’ us! Now you want us to all the work? Y’all had best help us out!” “Fine, whatever I’ll stop them.” Silver Spoon stood on her hindlegs and removed the giant spoon from her back, cradling it in an offensive posture with her forelegs as she faced down the fast approaching colts. “I am Knight in Training Silver Spoon, and you two are under arrest by order of Lady Rainbow Dash!” Silver Spoon cried as she drove the head of the spoon into the ground, allowing rocks to collect in the groove before she hurled the spoon’s payload at the pair of offenders. The earthen projectiles flew in a scattering pattern at the bandits, and the blast connected with the taller of the two, sending him skidding backwards, the contents of his saddle bags littering the street. The other thief managed to leap out of the way at the last second. “Mr. Snails! are you all right?” called the shorter bandit as he trotted over to his fallen comrade. “Pipsqueak, Don’t worry about me, eh? It looks like we bit off a little more than we can chew.” Snails, assisted by Pipsqueak stood up unsteadily, a massive black-eye had made acquaintance with the lankier colt’s face. “I’m impressed at your dodging ability thief, but,” Silver Spoon dug her massive spoon into the ground again, “I always ensure that there’s two scoops of justice in every serving of that attack!” the filly cried as she ejected another barrage of rocks towards the colts.   “Uh-oh.” Pipsqueak dropped Snails, while drawing in his legs as he lightly bucked his partner in crime out of the path of the rocks. “Snails, find Snips, and get out back to the tavern as quickly as you can! I’ll hold them off here!” Pipsqueak commanded as he himself galloped straight towards the rocks, bobbing and weaving through as he charged head on targeting the source of the attacks. “Pipsqueak, I’ll comeback for you! Just hold on!” Snails shouted as he galloped further into the Middle, but it fell on deaf ears, Pipsqueak was already engaged in battle. “Oh, so you wanna bring it up close, huh? Well, I can play that game too!” Silver Spoon dashed forward on her hindlegs, holding the spoon from the bottom of its handle. As she neared closer to Pipsqueak, she swung the spoon in a vertical arc, her target: Pipsqueak’s face. Uh-oh! Pipsqueak was in the direct path of the bludgeon.  Thinking quickly, the colt allowed his legs to collapse from beneath himself, resulting in a slide tackle that swept Silver Spoon off her feet, and onto her face. He rolled to a recovery, and re-assessed his situation: at the moment he found himself surrounded by the three fillies from earlier plus one that he’d never seen before. “Hey you, stand down! You’re surrounded, and don’t even think about resisting, you stand a chance against all of us!” Sweetie Belle shouted. Pipsqueak almost melted at the sound of her voice. Under any other circumstances he would have given up and let her take him away in chains, but that would have to wait, for right now he had to stall his pursuers long enough for Snips and Snails to escape. “Now, you can either tell us where your freaky two-legger friend is, or we can beat it out of you! Actually, we’re gonna beat you for earlier anyways!” Scootaloo demanded as she reached into one of the holsters on her holsters and pulled out a hoof full of darts. Well, here goes everything. The colt scraped at the ground with his rear legs and flared his nostrils, bringing about a change in the demeanor of his opponents. “So you wanna do this the hard way? Fine by me, foal!” Diamond Tiara slipped her hoof into her rapier’s horseshoe handle, and stood on her hindlegs with well practiced balance as she withdrew the blade from its holster, pointing the tip at Pipsqueak. Sweetie Belle dropped her clawed horseshoes from their respective saddle bags,and stepped into them, tensing her body and crouching as she prepared to make her first move. A groan from behind alerted Pipsqueak that Silver Spoon had recovered from her date with the dirt, and by the tone of her voice she probably wasn’t too pleased about it either. “You’re gonna pay for that little slight from earlier, you loser.” Applebloom being versed in the way of empty hoofed fighting stomped the ground hard, to prove her determination. Just stay cool Pipsqueak, just stay cool. I If I lose control  it could be the end. Just stay calm and think. “Have at you, thief!” Diamond Tiara was the first to make a move, thrusting her rapier’s tip at Pipsqueak’s head, forcing the colt to duck in order to dodge. Diamond Tiara followed up her initial attack with an upwards moving slash that Pipsqueak narrowly avoided by tilting his head back while jumping away. In his airborne state, Pipsqueak couldn’t avoid the the double leg buck that Applebloom rashly threw out, and the strike caught him in the rib-cage, sending the colt tumbling to the ground. “Now I’ve got you!” Sweetie Belle announced as she pounced at Pipsqueak, claws outstretched. “Whoa!” The claws managed to scratch Pipsqueak on the cheek, but Sweetie Belle’s momentum caused her to crash into the colt sending them both tumbling hoof-over-heels with each other. When they finally stopped, Sweetie Belle's claws were trapped in the ground, and the impact left her straddling Pipsqueak who couldn’t resist remarking on the situation, as they were only inches away from eachother’s faces. “Wow,has anypony ever told you that you have the loveliest eyes in equestria?” Sweetie Belle stared at Pipsqueak for a moment, mulling over his response to the situation, her mind working at top speed to process that a colt actually made a compliment on her looks.“W-w-what!?” Sweetie Belle struggled and strained to remove her claws from the rocks, all the while never taking her eyes off of the love-struck colt underneath her. She finally managed to dislodge the claws from the ground and began thrusting them at Pipsqueak’s head with rapid stabs. “Creep! Take this! And That! And this!” “Whoa!” Pipsqueak jerked his head to the left as the claws destroyed a rock next to his head. “Watch out, you almost hit me with that last one!” “That’s the point!” Sweetie Belle drove her point as well as another claw at Pipsqueak’s head again only to have the colt whip his head to the right this time.“Now, stay still!” “Sorry,” Pipsqueak reached forward with his forehooves and gripped Sweetie Belle’s chain-mail vest, and jerked his upper body to the side, throwing Sweetie Belle off and into the dirt. “But if I stop moving, then this won’t be a very fun game of hard to get now will it?”  “Get this, you thief!” Scootaloo hurled a swarm of darts at Pipsqueak who was recovering from the encounter with his clawed assailant. “Ha! You couldn’t hit the broad side of a pastry sh— “ “She wasn’t aimin' to hit ya!” The delivery of a flying kick ala Applebloom to Pipsqueak’s side proved to be enough to silence the colt and prepare him for his next bout. “She was movin’ ya into my line of fire!” “Well, I can see that now.”  Pipsqueak winced as he backed away from Applebloom, the pain in his ribs shooting through his nerves like a wild fire. Okay, I can take them one at a time but I just need a moment to trot off that kick. Pipsqueak chuckled slightly as he observed that even irony has a twisted sense of humor, as he backed into a nearby doctor’s cart. “Hey bandit!” Well, I suppose  that a moment to rest would have been asking too much. Pipsqueak turned his attention to the roof of the cart he was resting on, and lo and behold Silver Spoon held her giant Spoon head down as she jumped off the cart.“Can you dig it?” Silver Spoon called as she fell towards him. “Oh horseapples, you did not just say that!” Pipsqueak dashed away as quickly as he could from Silver Spoon as her weapon sank into the soft ground below. Soon enough though, the colt found himself galloping on a direct course towards the united front of Diamond Tiara, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle. “There’s no escape! Do you get my point yet!?” Diamond Tiara opened the assault by raining a series of quick short thrusts from her rapier as Pipsqueak effortlessly dodged each one. “Oh, come on is that the best you can do?” Pipsqueak took note that his remark caused Diamond Tiara’s cheeks to flare in color, and decided to push her buttons a little harder. “I haven’t even pulled my sword yet, and besides,” Pipsqueak ducked a horizontal cut  aimed at his head’s height. “You couldn’t catch me even if you attacked me all at once!” “Oh yeah!?” Applebloom and Sweetie Belle shouted as they galloped up to join Diamond Tiara’s side, Sweetie Belle entering the fray with an upper cut from her claws Applebloom reared up, and joined her greaved forehooves together before swinging them down in a club like motion. This is my chance, better not waste it .Pipsqueak swam in between the attacks, and avoided another piercing thrust from Diamond Tiara before he threw himself at all three of the fillies, his dead-weight forcing them into a heap on the ground. “Sorry about that  fillies, but I suppose you can call that pratfall one of my crowning achievements.” “What are you talking about, you weirdo— hey what the!?” Diamond Tiara observed Pipsqueak and noticed that he’d gained some new accessories in the short time between his poorly executed attack and his recovery. More specifially, the colt had gained a shiny new headpiece that glistened in the late fternoon sun. “I wonder how much I could get for this... or this could make a great gift to Captain Gilda!” Pipsqueak readjusted the headpiece slightly . Diamond Tiara reached a hoof to the top of her head and felt only mane and scalp “My.. my tiara! Give it back!” “Oh come on, I’m just watching out for you, wouldn’t want any of you to fall into bits and pieces in the middle of our battle!” Suspended from the thief’s mouth hung a silver Knight Corps pocket watch, and three bit pouches. “Hey! Give back mah watch!” Applebloom demanded “My money!” Cried Sweetie Belle “Heh, heh, Bye!” Pipsqueak, turned around, and in the blink of eye, only a dust cloud in his likeness remained as the colt dashed frantically away from his attackers avoiding passersby on the street as he did so. Much like his fight in the lower district a crowd began to form, but since the battle was constantly moving for a better portion of its duration, he managed to cut through the crowd with little to no effort. “Well, I hope I don’t have to run into those girls anytime soon.” The sound of hooves and wings beating in rapid succession startled Pipsqueak into looking behind himself and he saw that Scootaloo was quickly cathing up to him using her wings to help her gallop twice as fast. “You’ll be seeing us sooner than you think! Take this!”  Scootaloo craned her neck and using her teeth withdrew her boomerang from its holster. With another jerk of her neck, the projectile sailed majestically through the air, making four revolutions with every meter it covered. “Wait, huh?” A whirling sound from behind was all Pipsqueak heard before something struck him in the back of the head, causing the colt to lose his balance and trip over his hooves. Scootaloo buzzed to a halt just in front of him a smug grin affixed to her face, as she caught the boomerang in her teeth and placed it back in her holster. “Thought you could escape us, huh? Well, look at how well that worked out.” Elsewhere in the Middle District Marketplace “Snips! Snips! Where are you Snips!?” Through the busy streets a frantic Snails galloped through in search of his companion, who he spotted standing in front of a fruit vendor’s stand. “Snips! Snips!” “Snails? What is it? And where’s Pipsqueak?” “He’s in trouble with those knights from earlier dude, c’mon we’ve got to help him!” Snails grabbed his partner’s saddle bags with his teeth, and attempted to drag Snips away, but the portly sales-colt didn’t budge an inch. “Those girls from earlier? Are you crazy? They’ll tear us apart in no time at all! Besides, I’m sure Pipsqueak can handle himself.” “C’mon dude, there’s no time to be scared, if we don’t hurry, who knows what’ll happen to him?” “Snails, think about this for one second: they’re knights, and were salescolts, what can we do to them?” “Uhhh, err, duh....” “My point exactly! We’re not fighters, Snails! We should run back to the inn and get the others, they’ll be able to—” “There’s no time for that dude! If you won’t come with me, then I’ll just go it alone.” "Ugh... you know what? Fine,  I’ll go with you, but we need a plan first, we can’t just take them head on, they’ll annihilate us.” “Hmmm...” Snails began scanning every vendor cart in the area, searching for something that would offer the colts some semblance of a fighting chance against the fillies. “Hey, that could work!” Snails shouted before he darted off towards a nearby stand. “What could work? Hey, wait for me!” Out of breath from the short gallop, Snips had finally caught up with his partner, who was staring at the wares on the cart with wide eyes like a foal in a candy store. “Okay, what could have possibly driven you to... gallop... off... with...out...” Snips allowed his sentence to trail off in favor of the wondrous wares the wagon had on display: as far as the colts could see, there were golden packages full of fireworks, that almost seemed to be glowing in the  late afternoon sun. “Snails, you couldn’t possibly be thinking about...” Snails turned his head and cocked a challenging eyebrow towards  his long time friend. With three words, he proved his resolve, intent, and his iron-willed determination “But I am.” Almost instantly, reality reared its ugly headed and sent  forth a messenger in the form of a twitchy light blue sales-stallion with a screw for a cutie mark, and a permagrin attached to his face perfectly complimenting his bloodshot veiny eyes. “Ahhh, so I see you’re interested in my wares, well, you know its gonna,” the stallion leaned in close to the pair, his eyes darting back and forth through the market place “Cost ya.” The pair of colts looked at eachother, then back at the stallion, Snips electing to speak for the pair “Err... how muc—” “15 Bits for the whole cart!” “Wh-what?  Are you sure abou—” “A champion haggler, huh? Well Screw Loose knows how to handle hagglers!10 bits!”  The stallion’s eye twitched  as he tried focusing on the colts. “Haggle? But I haven’t even—” “5 bits. My final offer.” “Sold!” Snails threw a small pouch of coins at Screw Loose, who seized them almost immediately, and took off galloping through the market place barking like a rabbid dog. “Well, that was... odd. But how are we going to move all of these in time to help Pipsqueak?” “I don’t think we’ll have to, look!” Snails pointed to a figure that was galloping and weaving through the foot traffic at great speeds. As the figure drew closer, the pair recognized it as Pipsqueak, and galloped forth to greet him, but halted when he fell and a orange filly halted directly in front of the colt. Snips and Snails retreated back to the cart. “Thought you could escape us didn’t you? Well look at how well that worked out.” A moment later, four other fillies came and joined Scootaloo surrounding the fallen colt in a loose semi-circle. “There’s no where for you to run this time foal, so why don’t you tell us where your freaky two-legger friend is, before you get hurt?” Applebloom shouted “Never!” Even a thief has his honor! I’ll never sell out my friends!” Diamond Tiara retrieved her crown  as well as Applebloom and Sweetie Belle’s watches and wallets, tossing them back to their respective owners before she began chastising Pipsqueak. “Ha, you may have your honor, but you also have your breaking point, as well.  Don’t worry, when we take you back to our base in the Middle District, we’ll make you sing like siren.” Diamond Tiara spat with a sneer. before she stomped on his head with the force of a tyrant, causing the colt to lose consciousness. “You three, grab him, we’re getting ready to move this chump.” Applebloom stomped her hoof to the ground in frustration“Why do we gotta move him? Why cain’t you help?” “Guh, because Silver Spoon and I have to look totally gallant as we parade him around, duh.” “Snails, we have to do something!” “I know, I know, I’ve got a plan, eh, ” “You’ve got a plan? Celestia help us...” Snails nudged Snips in the side and winked at his partner. “Watch this,” Snails turned and climbed to the top of the cart, cradling sme fireworks with his forearms as he went. when he reached the top, he inhaled as much air as he possibly could into his lungs, and shouted at the fillies. “Hey you five, let him go or else!” “That was your plan? Seriously? Cart full of rockets, and you yell at them.” Snips grumbled. Scootaloo heard this challenge and returned fire. ”What are you gonna do about it?”            “Kick your flanks!” Snails bellowed as he aimed two of his rockets at the K.I.Ts. Snips scrambled over t the cart and withdrew some rockets as well, aiming them in the fillies general direction. “What he said!” “Wait a minute,” Diand Tiara squinted hard at Snips, and Snails, nostalgia overtaking her mind. “I’m starting to remember you now. Yeah, I thought you looked familiar when you bumped into me earlier, but I guess it wasn’t a coincidence.” The filly growled through grit teeth. “What do you mean?” Asked Snips “You two are the idiots that blew up the middle district seven months ago! Oh, you made a big mistake in coming back here. Do you know what you destroyed with your stupid little stunt?” “Ummm, alot?” Snails drawled. “You destroyed my daddy’s store, and because of you he lost everything! He put everything he had into that store, and because of you two morons, my family went poor. I had to join Knight Corps to make ends meet because my father was too old to do it himself, and too poor to rebuild. But don’t you worry, I’m going to collect every bit you two took from him, out of your flanks.”  Diamond Tiara started trotting towards the two colts, drawing her rapier with her mouth as she proceeded. “Hey, we’re the ones holding the rockets here, are you sure you want to do that?” Snips backed away uncertainly as she drew closer, undeterred by his threat. “Never been more sure of anything in my life.” Diamond Tiara stood on her hindlegs, and placed the rapier’s handle on her hoof, giving it a few practice swings as she advanced. “Don’t come any closer, or we’ll set them off!” “Go ahead, it won’t save you.” “Ummm, Snails, what should we do? She’s not backing off!” “The only thing we can do,” Snails said. Snails held his breath, and concentrated as hard as he could on his horn, and he could feel a weak surge of magic gather into the medium. It was weak, but it was enough for this spell. With another push of his magic, he concentrated on the pay load of rockets on board the cart, and thought very hot thoughts. This was how he was taught to activate magical fireworks, and this as the surrounding area grew hotter and hotter, he could tell his spell was working. “It’s over for you two!” Diamond Tiara shouted as she began to run on her hindlegs. It was an awkward task for the filly, but she’d learned how to be semi-proficient at it during her fencer’s training as a child. “Snails, hurry, hurry, hurry! She’s getting closer!” “I’ve almost got it, just a little more...” The strain was starting to get to the colt, and just as he felt like he couldn’t take it anymore, the rockets by his legs ignited and flew off in random directions, indicating the spell had been cast perfectly, which meant that the rest of the cargo was ready to blow as well. One of the rockets at Snails’ feet flew past Diamond Tiara’s head, and detonanted inside of a fruitstand, setting the wood work ablaze with a shower of colorful sparks. “If that was your best shot, the two of you are in for a world of hurt when I get over there!” SSSSSSSSSSS... “Snips it’s gonna blow!” “Isn’t that a good thing?” “Well, it would be if we weren’t right next to it.” “Times up you losers!” Diamond Tiara stood within spitting distance from Snips, who could only swallow nervously and back away from the wrath-drunken filly. SSSSSSSS...“Wait, what’s that sound?” Diamond Tiara searched around until her line of sight fell upon the source of the offending noise: the fuze of every fire-work in the cart burning at once. Panic over took Diamond Tiara’s mind, as her blood turned to ice and a lump formed in her throat. The filly dropped her rapier, returned to all fours and began backing away slowly.“You two couldn’t possibly be that stupid! “Don’t you ever underestimate us! Wait... hey—” “Do you know how much damage this will cause?” Snails leapt off of the roof of the cart  a dopey smirk pulling at the corners of his mouth“Nope! But we’re about to find out!” “You idiots!” Diamond Tiara’s shouting was drowned out as the rockets began to release showers of sparks and flame, rumbling and rocking the cart they rested on. Then they stopped, and all was still for a split second. The filly wasted no time getting out of dodge as she galloped back towards her team. “Snails, do you think they were duds?” “I dunno. Hmmm, let’s see.” With each step Snails took towards the cart full of explosives, he violated every safety tenant that he’d learned as an amateur pyrotechnician, and  by Celestia,he was going to learn why they were stressed so heavily in the first place. Almost all at once, the rockets reignited, and with a loud screech followed by techni-colored smoke, the surrounding area  was covered in bright flashes of light, sparks, sound, and bedlam. A stray rocket soared past Snails’ face, its sparking trail leaving a nasty burn on the side of his face before the projectile buried itself into a nearby gunpowder stand and exploded, setting the stock of gunpowder ablaze as well, resulting in a much larger explosion. The foot traffic in the area had been reduced to cannon fodder in the path of the rockets, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders coupled with Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara fared no better since a good portion of the rockets had been aimed at them as well. In their frantic haste to escape from the range of the projectiles, the five left Pipsqueak where he lay in favor of their own safety. Once all of the rockets went, off, Snips and Snails picked them selves off the ground, and began unsteadily trotting towards Pipsqueak. “That was some good planning, huh buddy?” “”Wow, so we actually can fight if we put out minds to it. That was actually kind of fun.”       “Shhhh.” “What is it?” “You don’t hear that?”  Snips closed his eyes, and tok notice that a soft Ssssssss....  could be heard, emanating from the fireworks cart again. “What is that?” “I dunno, but I think we’d best avoid it and get Pipsqueak  out of here as quickly as possible.” “All right, then let’s—Whooa! What the hay was that!? ” The fireworks stand behind them exploded in a glorious blaze of flames, the blast force hurled various chunks of wood, bits of metal, and burning fabric all over the surrounding area. The explosion was so fast, that the two colts didn’t have anytime to react to a particularly large chunk of wood that was sent flying in their direction. With a mighty CRACK! it crashed into both of colts sending them reeling to the ground. Snips hit the ground an d lost consciousness immediately, “P...Pipsqueak...” Snails struggled to maintain a waking state, as he weakly reached a shaking hoof towards the silhouette of his friend who lay on the ground. The air was filling up with smoke, while the surrounding area was beginning to catch fire, and as a result he couldn’t breathe. He tried to move again but found his body had grown completely unresponsive to his mental commands, and rewarded his efforts with a stinging pain that lulled him back into the security of an unconscious mind. As the darkness overtook his sight, and his body grew more and more relaxed, the  So, this is death, eh? Never thought I'd kick the bucket like this. Wait, what’s that?  Admist the flames and smoke,  a single equine figure was slowly approaching the still incapacitated Pipsqueak. The figure picked Pipsqueak up with its mouth, and tossed the colt onto its back, before approaching Snips and Snails.   As the figure approached, Snips could see that it was wearing a cloak, with a hood pulled over its face, but that’s all he could make out as his vision only grew blurrier and blurrier, due to the intense heat. “Who—” Snails coughed “Who’re you?” “Don’t worry, I’m a friend of the Fireheart.” “Good enough for me...” Snails managed to mutter before he finally allowed to the darkness to overtake him. At least now he could rest somewhat easily.   Chapter 3 End.