//------------------------------// // Chapter 20: ASDF // Story: Brother Against Sister // by CartsBeforeHorses //------------------------------// A steely grey sky hung over the city of Fillydelphia as smoke from many factory smokestacks wafted into the air. Ponies trudged around on grimy and sooty roads, down streets, and over bridges, the largest of which spanned the Delamare River. Seedy motels stood all around next to the highways and roads. Billboards advertised greasy food, ambulance chaser lawyers, off-brand cigarettes, and high-proof booze. Fillydelphia was mostly urban sprawl, and didn’t have too many of the chrome skyscrapers of Manehattan or Tall Tale. What it did have, however, were factories, and heavy industry drove the city’s economy. Before the manufacturing boom, it had been little more than a historical attraction, containing some important sites from Equestria’s founding. But the industrial boom brought about by increased manufacturing technology had made the city grow up seemingly overnight, and factories had soon come to employ over half the ponies who lived there. Of course, such progress came with its own problems, as were on display outside the JSUC Munitions factory on this blustery Monday morning, which Twilight Sparkle clandestinely observed from a cloud in the sky above. The factory was a hundred meters square, two stories tall, and had a glass roof with several smokestacks. But nothing came from those smokestacks. On the steps to the red brick building, hundreds of burly stallions--and a few mares--stood, all wearing overalls and grimy shirts. They all held picket signs which had slogans and words on them. “No slave labor! Reasonable hours!” one said. “Benefits for workers!” another proclaimed. ”Safety first, profits second!” said another. One pony, a younger mare with a charcoal mane and lime-green coat, stood on the front steps of the factory, a megaphone in her hooves. She shouted into the megaphone, “My name is Organized Labor, and I’m the spokesmare for Equestria’s largest labor union: the Association of Steelworkers, Dockhooves, and Fabricators! This union demands reduced working hours, increased pay, increased benefits, and increased safety standards for all of our workers. The owners of this factory should be ashamed at the conditions that the employees are working in right now!” The workers cheered. Three ponies who weren’t carrying signs walked down the street and turned to the driveway leading up to the factory. The strikers all locked hooves in an attempt to block the ponies from crossing the picket line.. “Scabs!” they jeered. One stallion spat at the ponies. “Quit breaking our strike!” The three ponies backed off, walking away. Twilight Sparkle took note of this. She would have to be diplomatic in what she was about to do. She didn’t want to inflame tensions. She slowly descended towards the ground as the rioters chanted, “Two, four, six, eight! We deserve a higher wage!” None of them noticed her until they saw that she was standing right in front of the factory doors. The crowd quieted down. Organized Labor turned around, seeing Twilight. “Princess Twilight?” she asked. “What are you doing here?” “Attention, Association of Steelworkers, Dockhooves, and Fabricators!” said Twilight. Organized Labor put the megaphone up to Twilight’s mouth. “It’s okay, I don’t need it,” said Twilight, gently nudging it away with her hoof. She preferred to project her voice with magic. Megaphones were for activists, not politicians. Twilight magically amplified her voice and spoke, “I have recently gotten out of a meeting with Jet Set and Upper Crust, the owners of JSUC Munitions.” The crowd booed. Twilight put up her hoof and they quieted down. “Now, I had this discussion because I, like all of you, have friends who are fighting in the war, and I want to ensure that our country has the planes, warships, and munitions that our troops need in order to be successful against the Second Kingdom. “On a slight tangent, let’s talk for a moment about the Second Kingdom. Did you know that, if they were to overrun Fillydelphia, this union couldn’t even be having this protest? In the Second Kingdom, workers get paid what they get paid, usually barely enough to live, and that’s that. Soldiers shoot at peaceful protestors in the streets. In fact, five ponies were recently shot in occupied Ponyville for protesting. Two of them died.” The crowd murmured. This was the first that many of them had heard of this. “Now, I don’t want to do that. Today, I make the solemn promise that I won’t ever shoot at anypony in the streets for protesting. I want to have a serene kingdom where everypony gets along, and all conflicts are solved peacefully through the magic of friendship. But I can’t do that if Blueblood’s army and Zaporizhia’s navy keep advancing, taking more ground, and threatening Equestria. I want for our navy to fend off the Zebras and save Tall Tale and Vanhoover from indiscriminate shelling. I want for our armies to take back Ponyville, take back Mareicopa, and ultimately, take back Canterlot and dethrone Blueblood. Once we do that, I hope that the Cloud Confederacy reconsiders their decision to secede from Equestria and joins us once more, but that’s their democratic choice to make, and I won’t force them to. Someday, though, this continent will once again be unified as one nation indivisible, and the three races will live together as equals in harmony.” The crowd cheered. “That’s why it’s very important that you all get back to work immediately.” The crowd remained silent. Some of them started to murmur until Twilight cut them off by continuing. “Now, I’ve heard your grievances, and understand that it’s not easy to work sixty-hour weeks. I understand that many of you have mortgages to pay and children to feed, and feel that you aren’t being paid enough, or that you work unsafe conditions. But we never know our blessings until they’re taken away from us, and I guarantee you that if you asked any of the earth ponies or pegasi who now live in occupied Ponyville, they would trade their situation for yours in a heartbeat. “Of course, I don’t expect you to go back to work with zero guarantees. You are all here striking for a reason, after all. I can’t control exactly what the factory owners do, but I can certainly help things along. That’s why, effective today, I am doubling the price that the government pays for the munitions, warships, and planes produced here at JSUC Munitions. This should allow you to be paid more, and should allow for more employees to be hired so that the existing employees won’t be forced to work as many hours if they don’t want to. Additionally, I will institute a state pension plan for factory workers so that you can retire with confidence. Finally, I will be hiring a new safety inspector to ensure employee safety at factories. “I thank you all for your understanding, and I thank you all for your hard work. More importantly, all of Equestria thanks you.” Twilight Sparkle turned to Organized Labor. The union pony blinked a few times. Then, she grinned, putting the megaphone to her mouth. “Back to work, everypony! We have a war to win!” Everypony in the crowd cheered. They all dropped their picket signs on the ground and filed single-file through the doors of the factory. Twilight smiled as she flew off back towards Manehattan. She soared for about ten minutes, and as she glanced back to see Fillydelphia sinking below the horizon, she saw that the smokestack of JSUC munitions was billowing once again. Appleloosa: February 22nd, 2024 Pound, Pumpkin, Granny Smith, and Applejack all sat inside a wagon as Big Macintosh pulled it along a dusty road. “Fourteen years old today? Land’s sakes, I coulda sworn that you two were still in diapers,” said Applejack. “Eeyup,” Big Macintosh grunted, sweat pouring from his brow. “We get that a lot,” said Pound Cake. “‘Cause we’re so adorable! Aren’t we, Pumpkin?” “Yeah, sure, we’re two regular ol’ cutie pies,” said Pumpkin Cake, rolling her eyes. “Well, it couldn’t be a nicer day out,” said Granny Smith, shading her eyes from the sun with a purple parasol. “Been a really harsh winter, but for late February? Couldn’t have asked Princess Celestia herself for warmer, sunnier weather.” “Well, you could, but she wouldn’t hear you,” said Pumpkin. “Oh, now I think that she’s out there watchin’ over us all, even from beyond the grave,” said Applejack. “Just don’t let Princess Twilight know that, or else she’ll hook an electrode to Celestia’s grave and try to study it,” said Pound. They all laughed. “So, what do y’all wanna do? Anythin’ special?” asked Applejack. “Hmm… we could try going to a restaurant in town,” said Pound. The twins had returned to Appleloosa about a dozen times since their arrest, mostly to visit Braeburn at his shop, or go run errands for Applejack. Of course, all of their errands had been during the daytime. As they had been in town more and more, they got fewer and fewer strange glances. Apparently, at least some of the townsponies had gotten used to seeing the two around. But they had never actually tried going out to eat anywhere. “Uh… I dunno, they don’t tend to like unicorns and pegasi in town,” said Big Macintosh. “Ah, that’s not true,” said Applejack. “Not everypony in that town’s a bigot. Just some. Besides, there’s gotta be at least a couple’a restaurants for unicorns and pegasi. Appleloosa is a huge rail stop for travelin’ ponies of all sorts. Empty tummies are empty tummies, and money is money.” Big Macintosh nodded, seeing his sister’s reasoning. They continued on until they reached the city limit sign for Appleloosa. Big Macintosh pulled the cart along and down the streets of town. The first street that they went down didn’t have any restaurants, merely saloons, barber shops, stores, and the like. Pound and Pumpkin noticed that, unlike the other times they’d wandered around town, they got no strange glances from the townsfolk. The Apple family was well-known and respected in town, and if they had non-earth ponies with them, then they must have been decent ponies, too. Or, at least, not the sort to cause problems. Even more curious than that, however, was a brilliant yellow banner that caught the five ponies’ attention, hanging from the building roofs across the street. On the banner was a large picture of a bright red apple with two crossed hunting rifles over it. “Join the Appleloosa Self-Defense Force?” Pound read the words on the banner aloud. “To steal a saying from Applejack, what in the hay is that?” Applejack turned her head sideways, leering at the sign. “I don’t know, sugarcube. This is the first I’m hearin’ of it, too.” “Let’s hope it’s not a lynch mob for non-earth ponies,” said Pumpkin. “Yeah, I’d hate for the two of us to have to whip everypony’s flank and embarrass them,” said Pound, grinning. “Beaten by two fourteen-year-olds. That would be priceless,” Pumpkin chuckled. “I don’t think there’s anythin’ illegal about it,” said Applejack. “The sheriff’s office is involved.” She pointed to the bottom of the banner, where the official star of the Appleloosa Sheriff’s Department was printed. “Huh,” said Big Macintosh. Pound Cake’s stomach rumbled. “Let’s find out later. I’m starving.” “I agree,” said Pumpkin. They continued down the next street and saw a sign that looked promising: “The Spur of the Moment, Bar and Grill.” “Y’all two ain’t quite old enough for the bar just yet, but the grill sounds good,” said Applejack. “Eeyup.” Big Macintosh parked the cart around the side of the building, and the five ponies made their way towards the front door. They opened it and walked in, and the hostess came over to greet them. She was a younger, yellow-coated mare wearing a stetson and cowpony boots, which both had spurs on them. The pun didn’t escape the twins. Particularly Pumpkin, who rolled her eyes. “Welcome to The Spur of the Moment. My name’s Dinner Plate,” she said. “Do y’all serve unicorns and pegasi here?” asked Applejack. The hostess raised an eyebrow. “No, we don’t serve unicorns and pegasi! Why would we do that? We serve lots of food like daffodils, hay fries, grass burgers... but ponies ain’t on the menu! That’s cannibalism!” “Well… okay then,” said Applejack, a puzzled look on her face. Pumpkin groaned. Dinner Plate chuckled, smiling. “Smoking or non-smoking?” After eating a plate-full of spicy daffodil quesadillas, Pound leaned back in his chair. “That’s the best food I’ve had in ages! Uh… no offense to your cooking, Granny Smith.” “None taken! Those mashed potatoes with butter were to die for,” she said, rubbing her stomach. “Thanks for taking us out to eat,” said Pumpkin Cake, smiling. “No problem, sugarcube,” said Applejack. “Anythin’ for my favorite birthday twins in the whole world!” Dinner Plate, who just so happened to be walking by right when Applejack said “birthday twins,” swiveled to look at the Cakes. “It’s your birthday?” she exclaimed, grinning. “You know what that means…” Dinner Plate started stomping her hooves on the ground, as all of the servers and cooks in the restaurant slowly started stomping their hooves and coming towards them. Pumpkin Cake blushed as red as a beet, disliking the attention, but Pound grinned from ear to ear. The Spur of the Moment employees sang, “Happy, happy birthday, you’re older by a year Thanks for comin’ to The Spur to have your birthday here! Happy, happy birthday, we hope this is alright: This ain’t the normal birthday song ‘cause that one’s copyright!” Then, seemingly out of nowhere, one of the cooks pulled out a plate with a birthday cake that had twenty-eight candles on it, fourteen for each twin. Pumpkin raised an eyebrow. “How in Equestria did you know how old we are?” “Call it good ‘ol earth pony intuition,” the cook said, winking. The restaurant employees all walked off and back to their duties. “Mmm, chocolate cake,” said Pound, picking up a knife and fork and getting to work on it.. The twins ate their cake, Pound eating most of it. Just as they were about to leave and be given the check ten minutes later, a gruff stallion came up to their table. “Lunch for the troublemakers, eh?” “Oh, howdy, Sheriff Silverstar,” said Applejack. “I was just takin’ the twins to do somethin’ special for their fourteenth birthday.” The sheriff nodded. “I see. Well, happy birthday, I suppose.” “Thanks,” said the twins. The sheriff narrowed his eyes. “Just don’t start no trouble. Teenagers, boy I tell ya...” “Oh, sheriff,” said Applejack. “While you’re here, what’s that whole Appleloosa Self-Defense Force hootenanny?” The sheriff chuckled. “Well, if y’all are so interested, why not attend the town hall meetin’ about it? We’re gatherin’ in front of the jailhouse at three this afternoon.” “You can’t just tell us now what it’s about?” asked Pound Cake, raising an eyebrow. “I’m explainin’ it there. I don’t repeat myself, young stallion,” said the sheriff with a serious tone. He walked off and out the door. A small crowd of about thirty ponies, mostly stallions, had gathered in front of the jailhouse. The Cakes and the Apples were there as well, standing to the rear of the crowd. Sheriff Silverstar stood on the jailhouse steps and spoke. “Welcome, everypony, to the recruitment drive for the Appleloosa Self-Defense Force. All ponies who’re interested in joinin’ a militia to protect our town can sign up right here at my office, complete a trainin’ course, and be issued a shotgun for use on militia duty.” The crowd murmured, some of them still apparently confused. “Now, y’all might be wonderin’ why we need such a thing in a quiet, peaceful town like this. I’ll say exactly why. Ponyville, a town about half a day’s journey north of here, not much bigger than this town, was invaded by the Second Kingdom a couple years ago. When that happened, the regular army didn’t do a lick of good to protect ‘em. After they lost, the Equestrian Army retreated from Ponyville and went to defend bigger, more strategic towns like Manehattan, Tall Tale, or Fillydelphia. Lots of the pegasi defected to make their own country. That leaves small towns like Ponyville and Appleloosa at the Second Kingdom’s mercy. “So far, the Second Kingdom ain’t seen fit to march south through the desert and hassle us. But this past fall, the Second Kingdom confiscated all of the harvest in Ponyville, and took it to feed the unicorns, on account of ‘em not bein’ able to grow their own food. And ‘cause of that, over a hundred ponies in Ponyville died of starvation this winter alone.” The crowd gasped. “Those dastardly unicorns!” “Make ‘em pay!” Pumpkin Cake glanced around, though none of the ponies in the crowd were looking in her direction. The sheriff shook his head, putting up his hoof. “Now, this ain’t a lynch mob against unicorns. This is a self-defense force. We don’t attack a unicorn unless he fires the first shot or magic beam. We ain’t goin’ off to defend Tall Tale or attack the zebras; this militia ain’t the army. We’re gonna stay in Appleloosa and defend Appleloosa only. Think of it sorta like the police. We’re a peaceful town, and hopefully the war ends without a battle here in Appleloosa. But Blueblood’s actions this past fall tell me that he ain’t just stoppin’ with Ponyville. Next fall, what’s to stop him from confiscatin’ all our apples, too? The famine in the Second Kingdom don’t show no signs of gettin’ no better.” The crowd murmured, while Pumpkin tried to make sense of the sheriff’s triple-negative. The sheriff continued, “My thoughts exactly. The Appleloosan Self-Defense Force will fight to the death to save our town from bein’ overrun. We may not be the regular army, nor as good as ‘em, but we can sure as tartarus arm ourselves and make it a lot harder for Blueblood to just mosey right on into Appleloosa unopposed by the townsfolk like he did in Ponyville.” Pound and Pumpkin glanced at each other. “Unopposed” might not be the right word. There was opposition; it just wasn’t too effective. As a result, the twins were orphans. The sheriff said, “Now, sign-up sheets are inside the office. Those of you who wanna join, come to trainin’ day on the first of March. We’ll show y’all how to fire a gun, how to take cover, and do basic physical trainin’ like push-ups. Tell all your friends and see who wants to join. All we require is combat-ready mares or stallions in good physical health, between the age of fourteen and seventy. Even if you’re too young or too old, we’ll find somethin’ else for you to do like medic or watercolt. We need all the helpin’ hooves we can get.” Ponies from the crowd gathered into a single-file line and walked into the sheriff’s office, waiting their turn to sign up. “Big Macintosh?” asked Applejack, turning towards her brother. “Do we wanna join?” Big Macintosh nodded. “Eeyup.” “Why, I’d join too if I weren’t so old! Curse them bones of mine,” muttered Granny Smith. Applejack and Big Macintosh got in line. Pound and Pumpkin Cake turned towards each other. “Are you planning on joining, Pumpkin?” asked Pound. Pumpkin Cake let out a laugh. “Is that a joke? No way! Remember when that sheriff locked us up for being out after sunset just because we weren’t earth ponies? Why should I risk my life to stick up for a town that cares nothing about me?” “That’s not entirely true. They care a little bit. I mean, they did give us cake,” said Pound Cake, chuckling. “That’s a privately-owned business, though. I’m talking about ponies in power, like the sheriff,” said Pumpkin. Pound shrugged. “Even still, though. We could probably make a difference if we joined. I’m a great flyer, and you’re great with magic. But a bunch of earth ponies armed with shotguns against a bunch of unicorns armed with magic and machine guns? My money’s not on the earth ponies. You remember how easily the Ponyville town guard was overrun. Appleloosa could use a little diversity in their militia.” “Maybe they should have thought of that before they passed a law banning unicorns and pegasi from living in their town,” Pumpkin scoffed, glancing away. “Not all of the ponies here are racist, Pumpkin. Applejack, Granny Smith, and Big Macintosh aren’t. Braeburn isn’t. Those ponies at The Spur of the Moment weren’t,” said Pound, counting them off on his wing feathers. “I don’t even think Sheriff Silverstar hates hates us. Sure, there’s a few racists here and there, but no place is perfect. Ponyville wasn’t. Cloudsdale wasn’t. The Everfree wasn’t.” Pumpkin Cake scratched her chin. “Still, there’s got to be a better place to live than this, and a better place to hold the fort and defend.” “Okay, fine. Still, who cares? Like it or not, we’ve made Appleloosa our home for what, almost a year now? We have ponies who we care about here, and we can’t keep living our lives on the run, Pumpkin. We ran from Ponyville and all the ponies that we knew there. Then you ran from the Everfree and Zecora, and I ran from Mareicopa and Spitfire. When do we stop running? When do we stand up and fight? Will it be now? Or will it be the next town we flee to, the next family we find? Or the town after that? How many towns, Pumpkin?” Pound took to his wings, hovering over Pumpkin, as she started backpedaling as he inched closer, menacingly. “Well, I mean, you could always fly us off to the Crystal Empire--” “Oh yeah, that’ll be great. NOT! You think that the Crystal Empire likes unicorns any more than this town does, after Sombra enslaved them? But okay, let’s say that we go there. Guess what, then Blueblood will invade there, too. And the Crystal Empire doesn’t even have a real army, so they’d be gone in a heartbeat. Appleloosa’s our best shot at stopping Blueblood in his tracks. It’s now or never. Now’s the time to contribute. “And you said it yourself back when we were harvesting apples, Pumpkin. We need to contribute to the ponies who take us in, right? We don’t want to be freeloaders, right? Well how much of a freeloader would you be if you stayed here with the Apple family as long as you could, but then when push came to shove and the Second Kingdom started beating down their door for their apples, you just turned on your intangibility spell and ran away like a coward?” “I wouldn’t do that!” said Pumpkin, stomping her hoof. “I’d defend the Apple family, at least.” Pound pressed his hoof against Pumpkin’s chest. “Then prove it by making it official! March right into that office with me and sign up for the militia!” Pumpkin frowned. She didn’t say anything for about a minute. Finally, she groaned. “Oh, alright. You’ve made your case. I’ll do it.” Pound grinned, slapping Pumpkin on the back. “That’s the spirit, sis!” She rolled her eyes. The twins walked into the sheriff’s office and got in line. After waiting in line, they walked up to the sheriff’s desk. Pumpkin took the pencil in her magic. “What are you two doin’ here?” asked Sheriff Silverstar, raising an eyebrow. “Well, let’s see here, we’re standing in line for the sign-up clipboard. And I just grabbed the pencil. Hmm, I wonder…” said Pumpkin, gazing at the ceiling as she scratched her chin with her hoof. “Y’all actually wanna join?” the sheriff asked, chuckling. “We’re fourteen, so we’re old enough. I can fly like a billion miles an hour, and you could shoot Pumpkin with like a billion bullets and she wouldn’t even get a scratch,” boasted Pound. Sheriff Silverstar turned his head sideways, grinning. “Really? Cause I got some beachfront property in Dodge Junction I could sell ya.” “Well, okay, not quite a billion,” said Pumpkin. “My brother likes to exaggerate. But watch this.” Pound and Pumpkin Cake walked out of the door of the sheriff’s office and into the street outside. The sheriff followed them. He rolled his eyes. “Alright twins, this had better be good.” A loud crack pierced the air as Pound Cake took off. A white cone followed in front of him as he soared higher and higher. The sheriff and all thirty of the new recruits gazed up at the sky in awe as he broke through the clouds merely five seconds later. Then, Pound dive-bombed right towards the earth, the air crackling behind him. Then, he pulled up at the possible last second before hitting the ground. The wind rush hit the crowd, blowing their hats off their heads. Pound hovered for a few moments, and then flew straight towards his sister. “LOOK OUT!” the sheriff urged Pumpkin Cake just as Pound was about to slam into her. But Pumpkin merely stood right where she was, glowing blue as Pound passed harmlessly through her at a blistering speed, whipping everypony else’s mane around with wind. Pound came to a screeching halt within a hair’s breadth of the sheriff, and Pumpkin teleported right next to her brother. “Ta-da!” said Pound. Pumpkin simply nodded. Nopony in the crowd said a word for a minute. Finally, the Sheriff spoke. “Well shuck my corn. If that ain’t the darndest thing I ever saw in my life. And y’all didn’t use that to escape when I locked y’all in jail?” “We’re not criminals,” said Pumpkin. “We kind of just wanted a place to sleep that night,” said Pound. The Sheriff turned to the twins one at a time. “So your special talent is flyin’ really fast and doin’ tricks, just like Lightning Louise? And yours is, what, passin’ through things? Just like Specter the Stallion?” The twins both nodded. One of the ponies in the crowd opened his mouth to say something, but the sheriff glared at him and he didn’t. Another minute passed and nopony spoke. Finally, the sheriff retrieved his clipboard and gave it to the twins, who each signed their name on it and then gave it back to him. The sheriff reviewed their signatures for a moment, and then turned his eyes back to the twins. “Welcome to the Appleloosa Self-Defense Force, Pound and Pumpkin Cake.”