Bad Future Crusaders

by TonicPlotter


Chapter 26

        Many years ago
        A short distance outside of Ponyville, Equestria
        “Rarity! Wake up!”
        Sweetie Belle put all her weight into it, nudging her sister with her shoulder. It was morning; the sun wasn’t up but it was morning, and it was time for her to be awake.
        Why won’t she wake up?!
        Sweetie Belle still didn’t really understand what had happened over the past little while. Everything had been so different after the recent tragedy surrounding Princess Celestia’s passing. The adults had their hooves full trying to keep everything the way it was supposed to be. For her and the foals her age the day-to-day events had mostly gone unchanged. Like any other day she had finished her homework, she had played with her friends, and she was spending the night at her sister’s house and getting ready for bed. It was a fairly normal day until her sister had ran into her room and yanked her out of the bed.
        “Rarity, come on! We have to go!” She nudged her sister again, this time under the chin with her muzzle. Rarity didn’t feel right; her body was cool to the touch like the morning air and simply felt wrong when Sweetie Belle made contact.
        With Sweetie Belle clinging to her back, Rarity left the house and ran blindly through the town of Ponyville. At one point Sweetie was positive she had heard Spike’s voice but it was quickly drowned out when the terrible racket started. Out of nowhere horribly loud noises and the sounds of screams filled the once silent air. The darkened sky was lit up by bursts of magic from unicorn horns; some of them were navy blue and normal while others were terrible and black and reminded her of a witch’s bubbling brew. She quickly learned to fear them both; they both did the exact same thing when they hit something. They both exploded the instant they hit something and one had hit close enough to throw Rarity through the air just as they reached the outskirts of Ponyville.
        She said she was fine.
        Rarity was breathing funny after she stood up, but said she was fine. She walked funny, with an uneven step and her head down and her ears drooping, but she said she was fine. There were no cuts, no blood; she was fine! The two of them had walked for what must have been a couple of hours, with Rarity reassuring Sweetie Belle every step of the way that she was fine. They finally stopped to take a rest and Rarity quickly fell asleep.
        Only now it was morning, and she would not wake up. Sweetie Belle nudged her again, and again and again, and she would not wake up. With nothing else she could do the little unicorn laid down and watched her sister sleep. She watched her sister lay motionless with her eyes closed, and hoped she was dreaming of peaceful happy things.
        Except she wasn’t breathing.
        Present day
        The sight of those two old friends of hers had triggered those old memories, bringing them out to cloud her thoughts like the murk from the bottom of a lake that had been disturbed by a swimmer. It must have been a couple of hours since they had left, but those old memories had taken root and continued to haunt her as if they had happened just yesterday. Sweetie Belle hated thinking about the past, and the unwanted reappearance of her once dear friends had positively ruined her day.
        No doubt I just feel guilty.
        Always the one to take pity on the less fortunate, perhaps it just hurt her to see the two fillies that might as well have been sisters of hers reduced to what looked like a jaded bounty hunter and a filthy hobo. Apple Bloom had done okay from the look of things; although chasing bounties was only a couple of rungs above the criminals they chased in Sweetie Belle’s opinion, at least they took care of some of the scum and reprobates of the world.
        No shortage of them on either side of the law these days, either. I wonder which side she was working for.
        Scootaloo was an entirely different story; as much as Sweetie Belle really didn’t care if her friends had accepted her offer or not, she came this close to feeling bad that Scootaloo had declined. The little thing looked as though she endured physical trauma as part of her complete breakfast, and she looked so torn after Apple Bloom had stormed out. She almost chose a better life, but ultimately she went with her misguided sense of loyalty.
        No helping some ponies, I guess.
        The little pegasus still wore her CMC cape and a set of Wonderbolts goggles, no doubt once belonging to that speedy blue pony she loved so much, and the earth pony wasn’t much better with her sister’s filthy old hat crowning her head. Why didn’t those two realize all their pain came from their inability to let go? Loved ones had died that night and yes it was the Queen’s fault. Even if nopony dared say it, it was a simple and painfully obvious fact to anypony who knew any of those ponies personally. Unfortunately, the cold hard fact was clinging to the past would not accomplish anything. There was no happy ending for those who walked down that road. It was a road of nails that would prick you with every step, until you had bled too much and lost the strength to stand, and would finally collapse and die. In that regard, it really doesn’t matter which story is true. Whether Sweetie Belle’s instincts and knowledge was right and the Queen started that fight, or the propaganda was true and Nightmare Moon had tried to rise again. It. Didn’t. Matter. The Wonderbolts tried to stand up against the Queen, and so did the Crystal Empire. All that accomplished was a very bloody aerial fight over Hollow Shades, a frozen ruin in the north, and a populace of crystal ponies that were for all intents and purposes annihilated. Fate as it seemed was forever cruel: it seemed their empire had only returned for a fortnight before being silenced once more and forever.
        Such a shame, too. They truly were beautiful. What I wouldn’t give for a coat like that, even for a day. An hour, even.
        She looked around the room, at everything she had accomplished in her life, and found herself smiling. With nothing more than a woman’s touch and an appeal to common sense she had whipped these once savage brutes into a pleasant and rather productive little society. She had made the greatest desire of a pony come true in Miss Daydream, a feat most ponies will never know, which in turn had helped countless ponies across the land. Where would she be if she had clung to the past? If she had never gotten past her sister’s death? Or her parents? No doubt covered in scars, unhappy, and trotting stupidly toward her untimely demise like a moth toward an open candle. It was a decision that had caused her pain, but nothing in life worth striving for is without pain and sacrifice. Hopefully Scootaloo and Apple Bloom will see that one day. They have each other, and perhaps they’ll learn as she did to use what you have rather than fight for what you’ll never reach. Perhaps their friendship with each other will help them see that. If they’re particularly lucky they’ll never find that cousin of Apple Bloom’s; even Sweetie Belle herself had been hurt to see that Manehattan mare that one time, all grown up and parading around with a group of guards in matching black armor.
        Then again she always was kind of a bully. Perhaps she found her true calling as well.
        With a heavy exhale she leaned back into her chair and fluffed one of the pillows with her magic. Just like everything else, what happened happened. Period. Her former friends could shuffle off and live their miserable little existence of self-loathing for as long as they saw fit; it’s not like there was anything she could do to convince them otherwise. Closing her eyes, she pushed happier thoughts into her mind. The thought of her Diamond Dogs acting so delightfully canine came to mind and she smiled widely; no matter how civilized they became they delighted in the same simple pleasures as a pet dog. She had learned years ago one could even make them kick their hind legs if one scratched the small of their back, and no matter how articulate they spoke they would be reduced to an incomprehensibly excited babble if one waggled a ball in their face. Both acts never failed to greatly amuse her.
        She had almost fallen asleep when a crude tap to the shoulder jolted her rudely from her rest. As she expected when she opened her eyes she was greeted by the emotion-devoid face and red braided mane that was Twist. “Twist!” she said sloppily, rubbing at her eyes in an attempt to collect herself, “Ah, Twist darling. You were gone much longer than usual; I was beginning to worry. Do tell. How is Miss Daydream?”
        Twist offered only a shrug of complete disinterest as her response, as was her typical answer to such a question. The redhead had been a crucial cog in Sweetie Belle and Miss Daydream’s operation from day one, typically acting as a go-between to keep the two radically different ponies connected while allowing Sweetie Belle to avoid the company of Environment Equestria as much as possible. She couldn’t stand bureaucracies, and as fond as she was of Miss Daydream a little of that loony earth pony went a very long way. She loved to talk and, once she got her hooves on you, you were not going anywhere for at least several hours.
        And last time I was with her she… sang.
        “Good, good,” said Sweetie Belle. Her friend’s usual silence was clue enough that everything was fine; no doubt the hold-up was thanks to Daydream’s latest inane banter or screwy weather theory. Another cruel joke of the powers that be: Twist had been rendered mute in an accident of some sort. Of course, Daydream adored Twist because she could ramble off non-stop without fear of being interrupted and Twist, having the patience of the average paper weight, would sit and hang on her ever word with thinly veiled disinterest.
        Sweetie Belle’s train of thought was interrupted by Twist’s face, which was leaning in uncomfortably close with a raised eyebrow. When Sweetie Belle averted her eyes Twist moved to be in her line of sight once more. The voiceless pony’s message was clear; she could tell something was wrong. “Oh, Twist…” lamented Sweetie Belle, “You would not believe the day I had. Do you remember Apple Bloom and Scootaloo? Somehow, they tracked me down.”
        Twist furrowed her brow. She thought about that for a minute and sat down; she was still listening but it was clear, as always, that she couldn’t care less about those two popping up.
        “They’re long gone now, of course,” said Sweetie Belle. She didn’t care if Twist cared or not; it was somepony to talk to. “I thought they’d understand that we’re doing something big and important here.” Her head hung so she could stare down at her own belly. “To be honest… I didn’t think I’d care this much.”
        Twist stared up at the skylight with her typical expressionless gaze, and ultimately turned to offer a rare sympathetic smile. Sweetie Belle smiled back with a nod; as cold as Twist was she was always willing to listen and could often be a source of comfort. With that Twist stood up and slung her quiver, no doubt off to take a nap after her trip—
        —and CRASH!
        Broken glass rained down from one of the skylights as an unrecognizable shape flew through the twinkling shards. Twist spun on instinct, knocking an arrow as she did, but was too slow; the shape revealed itself as a pegasus as it hit the ground in front of her, twirling on its front hooves and kicking her savagely with its rear legs. Sweetie Belle was motionless, held back and silenced by shackles of fear and confusion.
        “Yeah. That’d do it, alright,” remarked the pegasus as she took a moment to study the arrow Twist had dropped and then turned her head towards Sweetie Belle. She was young; appearing to barely be out of her teens with a drab coat draped over her almost raspberry colored coat. “Hi,” she said nonchalantly, “Sweetie Belle, right? Big fan of your work, sorry about the window, just came to have a little chat with the company you keep. She picked up Twist’s bow and draped it over her shoulders, and then waggled the arrow. “We yanked an arrow just like this from our friend’s shoulder.” As Twist struggled to stand, the pegasus leaped over to her and grabbed her in a headlock. She wrenched her leg harshly into Twist’s throat with each pause as she spoke, “So I think… your amount of suffering… should be equal… to how much I like your answers!”
        “Do you have any idea who you’re messing with?!” spat Sweetie Belle angrily as she stood to confront the pegasus.
        With that two more pegasi flew in through the window, one yellow and one pink, and took matching defensive poses in front of their comrade.
         “Where’s the Captain?” said the almost-raspberry pegasus in a disappointed tone.
        “Stopped to help an injured,” said the yellow mare.
        “One of ours?”
        “Civy,” said the blue stallion.
        “Ugh. Typical,” said the off-pink mare who taunted Sweetie Belle with a proud “Ooooooooooh, reinforcements.”
        “Ooooooooooh, the great equalizer,” remarked Sweetie Belle in a scolding tone, brandishing the halberd she kept behind her throne in a glow of green magic. The reinforcements both rushed her and she reared to her hind legs and readied the weapon in her front, supporting it with her magic so she could lean on it and maneuver confidently on two legs. With two swipes she wiped the cocky smile off of the raspberry pegasus’ face; she thrust the blunt end of the handle into the stallion’s stomach and knocked the wind out of him, slapped the mare across the face with the flat side of the blade, and sent both of them flying back where they came. As they hit the ground stunned from the blow, Sweetie Belle glared and took a few steps forward. “You have until I’m within range to take your hooves off my friend before I bury this in that tacky three-tone mane of yours!!!”
        The pegasus thrust her empty hoof into her jacket and pulled an R.E.A.F. bomb out from beneath the folds. “Consider yourself equalized! Oops!” she chirped, letting the bomb drop and hit the ground. Sweetie Belle cringed but no blast came; only a resounding clang as the triggering mechanism vibrated from hitting the cold stone floor. “Well, that was lucky. Let’s try again—”
        “STOP!” yelled Sweetie Belle as she slowly let her weapon drift to the floor. If that thing went off it would take her, Twist, and half this mine with it, and from the looks of things this pegasus couldn’t care less if she went down with it. “Alright. You win.”
        “Attagirl.” The pegasus’ gaze fell to Twist, who was glaring angrily up at her. “Now then. I guess you think you’re pretty clever, huh? You’re lucky Dust went after the Lieutenant’s killer. Me? I might let you go, if you tell me what I want to hear. Sound fair?”
        “Stop it!” yelled Sweetie Belle in desperation. “Twist can’t talk!”
        “Really, now?” said the pegasus with an eyebrow raised in interest. “Well maybe you can help me out. I want to know who paid off the dummy here to go after my friend. Tell me and I don’t break her neck.”
        “I…” said Sweetie Belle as she trailed off, unsure of how to answer. The look on this pegasus’ face, the uneven smile that topped off her disheveled face as she choked Twist, was evidence she was savoring every second of Twist’s suffering. She was not bluffing.
        “Sweetie Belle…” said the pegasus in a sing-song voice. “Speak up; ponies can’t hold their breaths for that long. I want to kill this problem at the root. You weather jocks are cogs in the government; you wouldn’t do something like this on your own. Red here’s just a lackey; probably wanted to line her pocket better than the paycheck you guys give her. Now I’d bet my left wing the pony who paid her off is the same one who hired the thief to break into the palace and who got the bounty hunter to shoot the Lieutenant.”
        “Apple Bloom!” blurted out Sweetie Belle in a whisper. There couldn’t be two bounty hunters in Equestria who used those shooting… things from overseas. “What have you gotten yourself into?!”
        “Apple Bloom, you say?” said the pegasus in a disgustingly delighted tone. “Alright. Change of plans; forget Twist, forget the root, I want her. Where is she?”
        “What do you want with Apple Bloom?” said Sweetie Belle darkly.
        “Family matters. Nothing important.”
        “I… look,” said Sweetie Belle, defeated. There was nothing else she could do, and she couldn’t let Twist suffer any longer. “Me and Apple Bloom used to be friends a long time ago. She came here a few hours ago. Just to catch up. She didn’t… she didn’t say anything about all of this.”
        The pegasus loosened her grip. “And…?”
        “And…” said Sweetie Belle, feeling tears form in her eyes, “and I don’t know where she went when she left. Please… that’s all I know. Just stop choking Twist. Please…
        “You know something?” said the pegasus as she let Twist drop to the ground, who gagged and wheezed with as much sound as her damaged throat could manage. “I believe you. As far as I can tell you’re a victim of circumstance.” She waved the arrow she still held back and forth. “Deal’s a deal; I don’t snap her neck,” she said menacingly as she reared back with the arrow—
        “NO!!!”
        Twist threw her head back in a look of agonized horror and a scream as silent as death as the raspberry pegasus thrust the arrow deep into her side. The only sound she managed was a horrible almost yawn of a wheeze as her life slipped away.
        The murderer flew back out the skylight the way she came, cackling like a witch casting an evil spell, and was slowly followed by her one cohort who was slowed down by the weight of his still-unconscious partner across his shoulders. Sweetie Belle didn’t care about any of them right now; all she could think about was Twist. The redhead looked up at her, trembling, and giving a weak ghost of an expression that almost seemed apologetic. “Shh-shh-shh…” said Sweetie Belle as she tried to comfort her friend. She ripped her vest off and rolled it like a donut, wrapping it around the shaft of the arrow to try and stop the bleeding. “Hospital,” she said as she wrapped it tighter, “There’s a town very close, with a hospital. I’ll run all the way, twenty minutes tops. Twist, all you have to do is hold on.”
        Twist’s head rolled lifelessly and almost nodded in response as she was levitated on to Sweetie Belle’s back. Nothing else mattered; Sweetie Belle had to get her friend to that hospital fast.