//------------------------------// // Wingers // Story: Chain Gang O' Five // by GodOfBBQ //------------------------------// Wingers It didn’t take long for the gang of friends to arrive in the small town. It seemed to be very well populated, on account of ponies entering and exiting shops along the main road. However, the only odd thing about this town was that there were no other species but Earth Pony and Unicorn. No Pegasi to be seen. The girls simply took this as a coincidence but Rainbow and Fluttershy kept getting odd stares of disgust and anger from the ponies who would pass by. As they went on, it got more apparent that there were no Pegasi in the town whatsoever. It was no longer just a coincidence, something was wrong here. Wanting to dig a little deeper into this problem, Twilight stopped a passerby stallion who balanced firewood on his back. “Excuse me sir, but do you know where we could find the leader of this town? A mayor maybe?” She asked kindly. “Well sure, you’d want to keep goin’ down ‘till you find a three story white buildin’. That be the town hall.” He informed to Twilight in a thick, welcoming, southern voice. “Thank you sir!” She said as the stallion walked down the road in the opposite direction. As the stallion passed Fluttershy and Rainbow he frowned and grumbled, “Damn Winger…” The name made Rainbow frown in confusion. ‘He didn’t just use the “W” word did he?’ She thought as she followed Twilight and the others to town hall. ~***~ They finally made it to town hall, it was modest, but had a luxury to it that helped it stand out from the commoner buildings of the town. Though the outside of the building was wood but painted a nice coat of white, the inside was one of a castle’s inside. It had leather furniture, beautiful maroon wallpaper, dark mahogany wood floors, and business mares and stallions looking very trimmed and proper. Being impressed with the proper ways of the town hall, Twilight stopped another stallion, with; like the wallpapers, had a maroon coat of fur with dark brown mane combed over. “Yes Ma’am, how may I help you?” He asked, with the same thick country accent as the stallion before had. “Yes, I request to see the mayor of this town. I wish to speak with her about a situation we’ve been sent here to resolve.” Twilight said formally. “Of course ma’am, but first, do you have an appointment to meet Mayor South.” Twilight paused, Rarity picked up where she left off in the sentence. “Uhm, we don’t have an appointment kind sir. But, maybe you could show us to her anyway. We’re here on Princess Twilight’s order.” “And I’m assuming this is she.” The stallion said, “Well in that case, please follow me Princess. Bring your friends too.” He began to lead the group up the stairs before stopping and turning his head. “Uh, Princess, please be kind enough to leave your… Pack mules in the lobby here. Their kind, isn’t allowed within the office of Mayor South.” “Pack mules!? Listen buddy, you better take that back or else!” Rainbow threatened as she flew up to the maroon stallion. “Please ma’am, keep control or else I’ll have to summon the constable!” “You’re gonna have to summon the whole Equestrian army pal!” Rainbow retorted. “Rainbow, please calm down. He didn’t mean anything by it. Just let Twilight handle this.” Fluttershy begged. Rainbow growled but backed off. “Fine, but hurry Twi. Celestia knows how long I’ll be able to keep calm.” Rainbow said settling down next to Fluttershy. With a nod, Twilight followed the maroon stallion’s lead, along with Pinkie Pie and Rarity. Once they were up the stairs and out of sight, almost every pony in the room looked at Fluttershy and Rainbow, with a face of disgust. “You have some nerve comin’ here ladies!” A mare said from behind the reception desk. “Why don’t you two just follow me outside… Where you belong.” A stallion said as he began to pull Fluttershy with him towards the door. “Hey! Let go of her!” Rainbow exclaimed. “Rainbow, it’s fine. Let’s just do what the stallion says. It won’t take Twilight long, I promise.” Fluttershy reassured. Rainbow growled again, but she began to reluctantly follow Fluttershy out the door. Once outside, the two mares were left with the angry shout from the stallion, “Wingers!” After slamming the doors, Fluttershy turned to Rainbow who was red with anger. “Rainbow, what’s a ‘Winger’?” ~***~ Twilight, Pinkie, and Rarity stepped through the double doors leading to Mayor South’s office. “Mayor South, may I introduce Princess Twilight Sparkle, and her friends Rarity and… I’m sorry miss, I didn't quite catch your name.” The maroon stallion turned to Pinkie. “The name’s Pinkie Pie! Nice to meet you! Hey Mister, we didn't quite catch your name! Would you mind telling us!?” Pinkie asked with excitement. “Why, aren't you an energetic one? Well, my name’s County Document. Or my friends call me Doc. But, please may I introduce you to Mayor South!” Doc announced as he gestured to the stallion behind the desk. The stallion was a bearded, middle aged unicorn with red mane, dark blue fur and pure white eyes. Giving him the illusion of being blind. “Well, welcome to Beaten Path! The town with soul, in a land without none.” Mayor South greeted. “Pleasure to be here!" Twilight said with a smile. "I am Twilight Sparkle, and this is Rarity and Pinkie Pie. Two other of my friends came along. They’re Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash.” “Well aren’t those nice names… So, tell me your hig-” Mayor South was interrupted by Twilight. “Sorry, not to interrupt, but I prefer just Twilight.” Twilight insisted. “Right, my bad. Uhm, Miss Twilight Sparkle, what brings you and your friends to our little town?” “Well, we were actually sent here. We’re the elements of harmony and I’m the princess of friendship so it’s our duty to Princess Celestia to make sure friendship and kindness run through all of Equestria to make it a kinder and more peaceful place.” “I see, well you may have made a wrong turn from down that road down yonder, ain’t nothin’ gone wrong here. Well, nothin’ since the breakout of ‘37. When three of our prisoners broke out of prison a while back. But, ever since nothin’s been happenin’ here since.” The mayor said as he rose up from his seat behind his desk. He waltzed over to a large window that looked over the main road. “Well, there has to be something. The map wouldn’t just tell us to go somewhere that hasn’t had a problem for over seventy years!” “Oh dear, please don’t tell me I dragged my hooves over hot sand for nothing!” Rarity pouted. The room was silent, before Rarity piped up once more. “I said I hope I didn’t dra-” “County Document… What’re those Wingroes doin’ down there? Shouldn’t they be in the fields?” Mayor South asked as he spotted Fluttershy and Rainbow conversing with one another. “Oh, well Miss Sparkle here said they were her friends, I assumed they were her pack mules at first but she made sure to correct me. She said the two traveled with them.” The mayor didn’t make any eye contact, he stayed turned away from the group of ponies in his office. “Miss Sparkle, I understand that being of royal authority comes with it’s benefits but that doesn’t mean you can walk into my town, and disrespect it’s laws. I don’t know why County Document didn’t tell you this before, but I’m tellin’ you now that Pegasi aren’t aloud in these here parts.” ‘This could be the reason why we’re here!’ Twilight thought to herself as an odd sense of excitement for what they might encounter came upon her. “Care to explain why you don’t allow Pegasi in Beaten Trail Mayor South?” Rarity asked. “Yeah! Why don’t you allow Pegasuses-Pegasus, Pegasi? Pegasi! That’s the word! Pegasi in your town? Some of the nicest ponies I know are Pegasi! And I know a lot of ponies! Like, I remember this one time-” As Pinkie carried on with her seemingly endless story, Twilight asked the mayor, “Mayor South, is it a speciest reason why you don’t allow Pegasi in your town?” “You haven’t heard Miss Sparkle? Pegasi are the creatures of the devil! Givin’ them wings so that they can attack the heavens directly! Besides religious points, they’re lazy, they don’t help one bit, and when they do it’s always disastrous. Not to mention, the jailbreak of ‘37 was the doin’s of Pegasi!” “Oh don’t be ridiculous Mayor South, we all know that whole God and Satan word is all myth and camp stories. But how are Pegasi lazy? They control the weather!” “Not here they don’t! The weather is God’s work alone! No Pegasi power behind it! Now, you've insulted my beliefs, my town’s laws, and now you’re trying to defend the Pegasi!? What in bloody hell’s the matter with you Miss Sparkle!?” The mayor exclaimed. “Excuse me? I don’t mean to get loud Mayor South I mean to discuss this in a professional manner, and as Mayor I believe you should act with more professionalism! Now, it’s clear why we were sent here. We have to explain to-” Twilight was interrupted. “Oh now you’re judgin’ how I run this here town huh? Well, I’ll show you what for Miss Sparkle! County Document! Get the constable! Take Miss Sparkle and her friends to the county jail for harboring two illegal Pegasi, for being non-believers, and for defyin’ my words as mayor! They will and must appear in court tomorrow mornin’!” “What!? That’s ridiculous! You can’t arrest me on those charges!” Twilight shouted. “And I can’t go to jail! I don’t belong in jail! I didn't even commit a crime!” Rarity added. “And jail food stinks!” Pinkie exclaimed angrily. “Add defiance to the charges County!” “Right sir!” Mayor South took one last glance at the three friends who wore faces of fear, anger, and confusion. He then said with a smirk, "Welcome to Beaten Trail ladies! May God have mercy on your soul!"