ACT III
One month later…
Baltimare
“Are you sure about this, Boneless Two? This places seems a little…edgy,” Cheese Sandwich commented, the tone in his voice becoming smaller and smaller with each hoofstep he took. Cheese looked back, noticing the rubber chicken slightly droop its head to the left.
Cheese snorted, facing the dark city ahead. “Alright, I’ll take your word for it, smartmouth.”
And so the two wayward travelers set off towards the location, the party location that the rubber chicken placed upon Cheese’s back suggested. While Boneless Two’s head swayed back and forth with each step Cheese took, the party stallion set his uneasy eyes on the dark city ahead.
Baltimare.
Decepticon territory.
The shivers Cheese Sandwich felt was not from his Cheesy Sense.
Storm clouds covered the early morning skies, blocking out all forms of sunlight from entering the black city of Baltimare. It was to rain soon enough, whether or not the storm was enacted by the Pegasi. Cheese didn’t really know. He gave the storm clouds little thought, his eyes far too focused on the city ahead.
Cheese reached a blocked gate, a massive barbed wire fence stretching across as far as his eyes could see on both of his sides. The fence reached about ten feet high with numerous watchtowers scattered alongside the wires. Cheese stopped.
The tank behind the gate aimed its gun at him.
Cheese could’ve sworn he heard Boneless Two gulp. Turns out it came from himself.
The gate slowly opened, and a recognizable pony covered in black and red armor stepped out. Cheese Sandwich recognized the symbol resting on the pony’s shoulder. It was a capital “A” resting behind the Decepticon insignia. Definitely Alliance.
The mare looked Cheese up and down, her eyes hidden behind the red visor.
“State your name and business or we will fire on you,” the Alliance mare ordered, her feminine voice strong.
Cheese offered a friendly smile, to which the mare replied with a blank frown. He reached up and removed his hat, placing it over his heart.
“Name’s Cheese Sandwich, ma’am. I’m an officially licensed party planner, and I heard from a little chicken that there was a party going on down here in Baltimare,” Cheese explained, leaning forward. The mare leaned her head back, her glare strong behind the visor.
Cheese whispered, “I normally let my Cheesy Sense tell me where the next party’s at, but Boneless Two insisted on it.”
The mare looked back to see the chicken for herself. Boneless Two stared at her blankly.
“O…kay,” the Alliance mare muttered, looking back at the stallion’s grin. She stuck out her hoof and said, “I’m gonna need to see your license then, ‘party planner.’”
Cheese placed his hat back atop his head, reaching into his poncho and pulling out a gum-covered license. “Sorry if it’s a bit sticky. There’s really nothing the poncho could hold so I had to improvise with chewed gum I found over my travels.”
The mare grimaced in disgust, but observed the license nonetheless. After baring her teeth, the mare sighed, stepping aside and handing the license back to the stallion.
“You’re good,” she told him, facing the watchtower directly overhead. “Open the gate!”
The barbed wire gate split in half, allowing the rust-colored stallion to slowly enter the city limits. Cheese Sandwich didn’t look back, only casting one last glance at the tank still pointing its gun at him, still not trusting him.
Cheese counted the seconds until he had disappeared behind buildings and away from the tank’s line of sight. He released the heavy sigh he built inside his lungs, his hoof pressed against his beating heart. Cheese Sandwich finally faced the road ahead, his smile quickly dying.
He was in Baltimare alright, but it was not at all what the newspaper articles said it was. On his travels, Cheese caught a glance or two at the newest edition of Equestria Daily. It announced the new order, showcasing Alliance ponies shaking the hooves of smiling families within Equestrian cities.
Everywhere he looked, ponies were walking around either visibly terrified or miserable beyond his comprehension. Trash filled the streets alongside very few abandoned carriages. Nopony bothered to pick any of it up. The darkness of the skies was nothing compared to the city, practically pitch black. It was only lit up by the few street lamps and the flying drones constantly overhead.
The drones.
One flew up to Cheese, scanning him in a blue wave of energy.
Cheese Sandwich backpedaled in surprise, but stood his ground as the energy waves continued to scan his body. The drones were no bigger than Cheese’s own body, but delivered quite the punch to ponies that got out of line. Cheese witnessed that firsthoof back in Dodge Junction.
He eyed the machine gun mounted on the drone, silently gulping.
The scan died. The drone spoke in a deep, robotic voice.
“Welcome to Baltimare. Law applies to all visitors. Do not cause any trouble with locals or authorities. Do not steal. Do not be out on the streets passed 9 pm. If you have any information on the whereabouts of the resistance fighters, contact local authorities at once. Aiding the resistance is punishable by death. Do not put yourself at risk. And as always, enjoy your stay.”
The drone flew right by Cheese’s head, allowing the stallion to finally breathe again.
Cheese Sandwich eyed the darkened city with even darker eyes.
It had been a month since the fall of the Royal Sisters, and in its wake the strongest military force on the planet took command. The Alliance of Alien Activity…or the “Alliance” as they now called themselves, were partnered with the dastardly Decepticons to bring in the new order to Equestria. Cheese didn’t like them one bit. Neither did Boneless Two.
Cheese Sandwich was no pony for politics; it was all just too boring for him. He was a traveler, admiring all the wonders that Equestria had and even giving the land his own bit of wonder. However, over the past month he had noticed a great deal of change sweep across Equestria and the ponies that lived in it.
Baltimare was just an example of many other cities he had visited previously.
It was all the same. All around him, on every building, propaganda posters depicted the face of the Decepticon leader Shockwave with the words “ALWAYS WATCHING” underneath him. Wanted posters of the Autobots also littered the walls with quite a hefty amount of bits for each bot. Cheese didn’t know them, the rumors being his only guide.
There was Optimus Prime. His location was unknown, wanted dead or alive, and the price over his head was over five hundred thousand bits.
Another Autobot named Bumblebee. His location was unknown, just like all the others, and his price was one hundred thousand.
Cheese only saw one more as he walked by. Its name was Drift. Location unknown with a price of two hundred thousand bits. Cheese whistled quietly in awe. Somepony really wanted them dead. Possibly the Decepticons, but Cheese didn’t know for sure. The alien civil war didn’t really catch his interests that much.
He brought his eyes back to the building sides.
Graffiti littered the walls as well, saying “All hail the princesses!” or “Rebel for freedom!” More drones flew over Cheese’s head. Decepticon troopers and Alliance soldiers filled the streets, harassing or assaulting innocent ponies that walked by them. Cheese could tell the part of Baltimare he was walking into had a lot of crime.
Cheese looked to his right. On the other sidewalk, Cheese could see a pack of three Decepticon troopers laughing with joy as they kicked a poor mare around, the pony merely trying to pick up the bag of groceries the Decepticons made her drop.
“Leave us alone!” the mare squealed with a mixture of fear and anger, as if referring to not only herself but everypony in the city. A Decepticon replied with a heavy kick to her side, sending the mare into a group of trashcans. They all laughed after that, leaving the alleyway and crushing the mare’s grocery bag as they did so.
Cheese watched the injured pony pick herself out of the trash, crying silently and scavenging whatever remained from her crushed food. He felt something he hadn’t felt in a long time: anger. Cheese turned his angry eyes towards the three Decepticons leaving the area, smacking one another in the back as if playfully.
He took a step towards them…but stopped. Numerous drones flew over his head once more, several stopping to see what kind of action the orange-colored pony in the poncho was about to do. Cheese saw them…and backed away slowly.
The drones flew away.
His eyes cooled down, his head lowering in realization. Who could stop them? They owned the city now. Equestria was taken over and everypony’s freedoms were stripped. As for Celestia and Luna, Cheese didn’t even know what happened to them. They could be dead, they could be fighting with the resistance, or they could’ve fled the country and leaving everypony to fend for themselves.
Cheese Sandwich didn’t believe that. He knew they were alive, fighting, believing.
But what could he do?
Why was he there in the first place?
The party. There was no party. What kind of party would Baltimare need, especially in the current state it was in? No happy party, that was for sure. Ponies, his own race, were under constant watch of the evil Decepticons. Traitors, like the Alliance, were part of the evil. They were sad, all terrified, all broken. The ponies of Equestria…under the rule of true evil.
Cheese sighed, his hat covering his eyes in darkness.
“Why did you think it was a good idea to come to this place, Boneless Two?” Cheese asked, his deep tone slowly returning to him.
Cheese looked back. Boneless Two leaned his floppy head over to a far-off wall.
He followed his friend’s directions, noticing a colt no older than ten spray-painting the wall in pure white. His spray-painting caught quite the attention, because no sooner an Alliance stallion covered in glowing red armor yelled at the colt. The young pony’s eyes grew wide, and he took off into the nearest alleyway with the Alliance soldier galloping right after him.
Cheese brought his eyes over to the wall. The message read “Join the resistance!”
The resistance.
Cheese managed a sad chuckle and said, “I don’t think so, Boneless Two. This party pony ain’t no freedom-fighter.”
A disappointed squeak emanated from Cheese’s back.
The party pony let loose one more sigh, facing the dark road ahead that led to even more pain and even more suffering. At least he wouldn’t be facing that pain alone.
He left that city. There was no party needed. There was no party wanted.
Canterlot Airspace
Nemesis
Noctune watched from the darkness as Princess Twilight was tortured before his eyes.
Her cries of pain were like scratches of needles against a chalkboard. Painful, bloodcurdling screams erupted from the Alicorn’s jaws as she was again and again beaten, cut, electrocuted, and having faced unreachable levels of pain.
A month’s worth of nothing but torture and she never gave in. The princess was tough, tougher than the others. Noctune admired that.
The Decepticon responsible for all the pain Princess Twilight endeared was none other than Shockwave. He found great joy in making the Alicorn’s life as miserable as possible. Noctune saw nothing wrong with that. She deserved it. She deserved every bit of pain for following in the light of the evil sisters.
Flashes of bright light filled the darkness of the Nemesis, all of which emanated from the electric device Shockwave gripped in his right palm every time he drove it into the princess’ abdomen. Noctune hated to admit it, but even though his technology was the most advanced Equis had ever seen, the Decepticons’ technology wiped his completely off the board. He really hated to admit it.
After continuous minutes of pure screams filling the dark room, it all ended. Shockwave placed the device back onto his floating stand. Backing away only slightly, it gave Noctune the front row seats he had been waiting for since Shockwave began the third hour of breaking the princess.
Twilight Sparkle hung like a puppet whose forelegs were forever held up by the twisted puppeteer. Her breathing was rapid, uncontrolled, small weeps escaping her muzzle whenever she didn’t need to breathe out properly. Both of her wings were broken and hung limply at her sides, and many cuts were spread across her chest and lower body. The blood coated across her body was all dry, the scars being the only remnants of her past torture that would remain on her filthy coat.
She looked horrible.
She was still breathing. That’s all that mattered to Shockwave. He could beat her, slice her open, and even continue to electrocute her. All he really needed was to keep her alive.
And her magic, of course, was under control. Shockwave had installed a very interesting device around her horn. Whenever the Alicorn would send off any magical pulse, the energy would be sucked right out of the spell and transferred to the electrical currents flooding through the chains wrapped around her hooves. Any magical spell, any form of resistance, would result in a very, very painful shock.
The princess lifted up her head shakily, not forgetting to send a horrific glare towards Shockwave’s emotionless face.
“Always resilient,” Shockwave hissed. He jammed his hand forward and gripped Twilight’s chin, forcing her to look at him, at his eye. Twilight glared right back, her jaw clenching in both pain and anger. Due to Shockwave’s lack of facial features, he could do no more than stare at her with his lone, haunting eye.
Twilight eventually gave up, her ears falling flat and her eyes growing more fearful by the second. Shockwave shook his head, clearly disappointed.
“Yet you still fail to not express fear. And yet, as I speak, the ponies of Equestria chant your name outside the walls of this flagship…” Shockwave muttered, leaning his head closer to Twilight, “…only to be mowed down by our Heavy Soldiers.”
Twilight tried her hardest to not let the words burn her heart. Shockwave was only trying to break her, just like he had been trying to for the past month and failed each time. It was a little victory for Twilight, one she would not lose.
The Decepticon leader backed away from the princess completely at his mercy. She hung like the last Prime, in the same cell, the same type of torture, only this mare wouldn’t have her inner workings tampered with. No, Shockwave didn’t need her blood spilling and mixing with Prime’s Energon. He didn’t want the scavenging Insecticons to acquire the taste of blood, thus possibly losing the princess to their hunger.
“You won’t let me get to you, that’s admirable,” Shockwave stated, having caught the attention of the injured princess. “But sometimes you just need to realize the facts, your majesty. Your world as you know it is gone. All of your friends, your family, the Autobots, they have most likely met their fates since the hunt began. The resistance will fare no better. Our soldiers are better equipped, very well-trained, and have strength in ways you cannot imagine.”
Twilight managed to capture a bit of red glowing in Shockwave’s purple eye.
“This world has seen evil, villains trying to rise up and make a change,” Shockwave ranted, his arm and cannon relaxing behind his back. “Nightmare Moon, Discord, Queen Chrysalis, King Sombra, and even Lord Tirek are all failures. Never once did they succeed. Never once did they win, because they are not real threats. No…they just opened the path for truth…my truth. That truth is coming, your highness...very soon.”
Shockwave turned to leave, the automatic door sliding open for him.
He stopped.
Twilight spoke the first words she had in over a week.
“Your truth…is a lie,” Shockwave turned his head back. Twilight continued, grunting as she said, “You can beat us down, break us apart, strip all of our freedoms, but you will never, and I mean never crush the spirit of friendship. As long as I know my friends are still alive…then you’ll never win.”
Twilight flinched at Shockwave’s quick response.
“You know nothing!” Shockwave hissed, facing the exit and making a quick retreat. Noctune watched on from the darkness of the room, though somehow Shockwave still saw him.
“Noctune, follow me. We have important business to deal with the striking slaves in the Energon camps,” the Decepticon spoke, his voice so shrouded in darkness that even Noctune could barely find it. The stallion sighed, straightening his black coat and turning towards the exit.
“Why are you doing this?”
The pony stopped. He slowly turned his head around, knowing no other soul was in the room but one other.
Princess Twilight stared down at him, her teary eyes mixing with the dried blood on her cheeks.
Noctune stared at her as if she just asked the dumbest question in the world. “Why? This world needed change, that’s why!” he shouted, now starting to approach the hanging princess. “Is that not what we brought? Is that not what the Alliance has delivered to the suffering in this country? We have finally brought true peace and protection to the ponies of this land!”
“All you’ve brought them is more pain and torment than we’ve had before!” Twilight responded, her voice crying out in sorrow.
“We’re protecting these ponies!”
“You’re killing these ponies!” Twilight cried. “How could you possibly let the Decepticons kill innocent ponies, the same ponies you swore to protect?! You know this isn’t right!”
Every word was a pain for the princess to sputter, but she needed to let him know, to break him out of the evil trance Shockwave had implanted in his mind. Like Celestia said, there was still good in him, it was just hidden deep inside.
The words he responded with did not offer any light to the goodness in his soul. If he even had one left.
“Sacrifices were to be expected for the path to peace,” Noctune muttered, his lifeless eyes staring into Twilight’s horrified ones. He sighed, shaking his head slowly. “As long as the resistance still breathes, the path to peace is blocked. So you see…we’re far from peace, Princess Twilight. We’re far from finishing our mission, and if that means a thousand more ponies need to be sacrificed…then we have no other choice.”
Twilight couldn’t even begin to fathom the words she had just listened to. No immediate thoughts came to mind, but as she stared into his eyes, his eyes so dull of life and understanding, she knew what to say. The only thing she could say was just an understatement to the true evil standing before her.
“You’re a monster…”
Instead of replying instantly, the stallion shook his head once more. He slowly turned around, making his way over to the exit.
“There is much more to it than that, princess,” Twilight heard the stallion mutter as he was by the doors. She lifted up her head, straining to keep her blurry vision focused on the disoriented stallion.
He said, “You don’t understand. You will never understand my pain.”
Noctune left, the door closing behind.
Twilight was relieved they finally left. She didn’t want them to see her cry. Just another reason to try and break her some more.