We may have been a little later than expected, but shortly after one in the afternoon; the city of Pivot was now in our collective sights. I had visited it a great many times during my lifetime, while not nearly as opulent as Arclight; the whole town had a rustic charm to it. It was located almost dead centre in Panchea, hence the name, as such it acted as the capital and trading hub for the rest of the country. Many centuries ago when Equestria first colonised Panchea, Pivot had been the first major town the settlers built. It had survived ever since, only growing larger and larger, but always maintaining the same colonial style that it had been originally built in, meaning paved streets lined with black iron lamp posts and wooden market stalls, and rows of two or three story terrace houses built from red brick with grey slate roofs and fuming chimney stacks.
There was also the occasional church spire, public garden or grand building dotted about, the latter possibly being a wealthy home or important business such as a bank. At the very centre of the town was a large, circular square where the town hall sat, a large cube shaped building with a wide set of steps leading up to the main doors and a clock tower that overlooked the square and the traders that would often set up stall there. Life in Pivot was always a busy one, the main streets were always bustling with ponies and carriages, you couldn’t walk more than a few metres before arriving next to another store, which is to say nothing of the street vendors.
Even at night it would be hard to find one of the major streets completely deserted as there were still many pubs and clubs keeping the town alive even after dark. Beyond the shopping aspect of the town, there was an abundance of houses across the various districts, perhaps some of the most affordable housing in the country; as such the town was mostly populated by the working class, with very few wealthy ponies calling Pivot their home. That was Pivot back when I used to visit it, so imagine my shock when we arrived and discovered a city of such smothering silence.
Even at a distance, from the hills as we approached the outskirts of the town, I knew something was different. Now that we were walking the streets, the full extent of the change became apparent. No longer did crowds of ponies or carriages fill the streets, no longer were there vibrant shop windows and welcoming signs lining the streets, no longer were there any trading stalls set up, where once you could barely move without tripping over one. Now in the traders places were gloomy, miserable looking ponies, sitting in against the walls of buildings, wrapped in rags and thin blankets.
Shops were boarded up with planks of wood, some buildings had their windows smashed in, others looked as if they had been blown apart from the inside, hollowed out husks of buildings left behind while bits of brick and rubble littered the street around them. The few ponies that did wander around, walking as if they had no real destination or purpose, simply passed by the homeless and stepped over the rubble, all as if it were just another day in the life. Our group walked down the main street in horrified silence, only Hammerhead and his men weren’t fazed by our surroundings, no doubt they knew full well what Pivot was like before we arrived.
Some of the homeless ponies saw us and began shuffling forward, shaking cans and metal dishes in the hopes of receiving a few bits to buy them a meal that they desperately needed. Others saw us and stayed exactly where they were, there was no hope left in their eyes as they cast them towards the ground. A loud part of me really wanted to give them something, even a single bit for each of them, but there were too many and I didn’t have nearly enough, and if I gave some to one but not another I would just feel worse.
As much as I hated myself for it, I mimicked my companions and looked at the ground while quickening my pace. The main street led straight from the outer most reaches of the town right up to the steps of the tow hall, that was where Hammerhead was taking us. As we walked, and the number of homeless ponies thankfully began to thin, I began to notice shops that I recognised. There was a sweet shop I visited as a filly, and took Sweetie Belle to when I was older, it was closed down. There was a textiles store that I used to materials from when I first started out making dresses, it was boarded up. There was even a café that I liked to stop in and get a hot chocolate anytime I was up for business, it was one of the few places that were still open, but there wasn’t a single customer to be seen within.
When we finally arrived in the town square after an agonisingly long walk, Hammerhead turned to face us all. After roughly three and a half days we had arrived safely in Pivot, their job was done, now it was time for them to leave and for us to make our own way to our respective homes. I was a little sad at the thought of Hammerhead and his men leaving, I had gotten quite used to having them as travelling companions, even if they rarely spoke, when they did they were always very pleasant and polite.
“Right,” Hammerhead began in that same old soft voice. “Welcome to Pivot. I’m sure you’ll be able to find your own ways from here, but for us this is as far as we go. It’s been… interesting escorting you all here, it’ll be a shame to say goodbye to some of you.”
I had to smirk slightly at that, even as a number of the ponies in our group began getting in a tizzy with him, demanding compensation for the loss of their luggage or the delay in arriving in Pivot, some even demanded that they continue to escort them as far as their respective home towns. While that was happening, me and Lyra broke off from the group, there would be time to say goodbye to Hammerhead personally once he had rid himself of our more annoying companions.
“So, I guess this is where we say goodbye,” Lyra began in an unnaturally serious voice.
“You’re leaving so soon?” I questioned.
“I think I should,” she replied before gesturing to the mother who was glancing our way. “Yesterday I offered to travel back to Arclight with Marea, she needs to get her kid home soon so we really shouldn’t delay.”
“I guess that makes sense,” I agreed a little solemnly. “How will you travel there? Do you really feel safe on the roads?”
“Not particularly,” Lyra admitted. “But I used to know a guy here in Pivot, ran a sort of taxi service. I’m hoping he’s still about, although considering the state of this place I won’t be surprised if he isn’t.”
“Well then, I wish you all the best in your travels,” I began, feeling my chest tighten. “And maybe one day we’ll see each other again.”
“I would really like that,” Lyra agreed, moving in for a hug. “And I hope you make it to Mule safely too.”
As we pulled apart I spotted something glisten at the corner of Lyra’s eye, although I couldn’t tell for sure before she blinked it away.
“If you do ever find yourself in Arclight,” Lyra finished, starting to back up slightly. “Come and find me in Cadance Avenue.”
“Same if you’re ever in Port Mule,” I added. “Number forty-two in the Botanic District.”
As Lyra nodded and turned away, making towards Marea and her daughter, I turned my attention back to Hammerhead who had just managed to disentangle himself from the rest of the group.
“So what will you do now?” I asked him as he approached. “Will you be escorting the next… shipment?”
“Should be,” he replied, glancing around to make sure nopony was listening in. “Although the next lot isn’t due for about three months, so until then we’ll just be heading off to see where our services can be required. Times like this, there’s a lot of work to be had for mercenaries.”
“Don’t you have homes to go back to?” I asked, a little concerned.
“Maybe,” he replied in a distant voice. “I used to live in Cragsburg, I was a stone mason there, but after the war… I just don’t feel welcome there anymore.”
There was an uncomfortable silence, a part of me wanted to probe further and find out what he meant, but the more reasonable part of me knew it was none of my business.
“I suppose you’ll be heading off now as well?” he asked, quickly changing the topic. “You live in Port Mule right?”
“Yes,” I confirmed. “And I’m not sure if I will head straight off. Lyra is getting a carriage to Arclight, makes me think I should look around for transport myself. It would take me days to reach it on hoof, and I don’t think I’d be particularly safe on my own.”
“I’d offer to come with you and help,” Hammerhead began. “Really I would, you’re definitely one of the more pleasant members of this group, but I have to stick with my men and we can’t afford to be doing jobs for free…”
“And I don’t have nearly enough money to pay you all,” I finished. “It’s fine really, you’ve done more than enough getting me this far. I’ll find my own way from here now, thank you.”
“No worries Rarity,” he replied with a polite nod. “It’s been a pleasure.”
He turned and began walking back towards his men, but stopped after only a couple steps and glanced back.
“If things ever get better,” he began. “And we should ever run into each other again, would you fancy going out for a drink together.”
The proposition took me by surprise, but what was even more surprising was that I responded to it more favourably than with the last stallion.
“That would be nice,” I replied, giving him a smile.
And that was that, another chapter in my journey had come to an end. We reached Pivot, Lyra had gone on her way, Hammerhead and his men set off, all the other ponies I had been traveling with separated onto their own paths, and I was left on my own. I was on my own with very little direction, I knew my next and hopefully final destination was Port Mule, but it was many miles to the south. It used to be I could turn a full circle and somewhere along the rotation I would have seen somepony offering rides to other towns and cities, things were a little trickier now.
I was already at the town hall; perhaps if I went inside I could find some record of businesses that were still up and running following the war. I might even have found somewhere I could sell the arrows and bolts I was still carrying, I wasn’t exactly short on bits yet, having kept them all in my satchel so none were lost with my suitcase, but it couldn’t hurt to have some spare should things go south. With a short term objective in mind, I began making my way towards the town hall, mounting the steps and trotting up to the front doors which stood open.
The inside was surprisingly well intact, either it had been spared the same destruction that most of the town had suffered or it was one of the few buildings that had been restored. There were more ponies inside the entrance hall than there were walking the streets, there were a few guards in varying levels of armour, posted haphazardly around the room looking rather bored. Most ponies were cued up waiting to get to the front desk and talk to one of the secretaries, seeing no other information point I decided to join the back of the cue.
It took an unbearably long time for the line to thin out; I would only be able to shuffle forwards a few inches every several minutes. It got to the point where I was thankful when someone further along than me got frustrated and left, bring me one place closer to the desk. Eventually I was second in line, and I could hear the discussion between the stallion store owner and the secretary mare in front of me.
“I need something done!” he exclaimed. “You have to move those tramps away from the front of my store, they’re damaging my business.”
“Sir, we have no power to send anypony anywhere,” the secretary tried to explain.
“Aren’t there shelters for them to stay in?” he asked. “It’s always the same ones camped right outside my front door, and they won’t move when I tell them to.”
“All official shelters are full,” the secretary informed him. “Like I said, we don’t have the power to force them away from your property as long as they remain outside it. If they came into your store then we could do something, but they’re completely within their rights to sit outside it.”
“But I need them to go!” he insisted. “I haven’t sold a single shoe in weeks! I have almost no money left; I’ll be forced to get the planks out soon.”
“Sir, we cannot do what you are asking us to do,” the secretary stated firmly. “And even if we could, there’s no guarantee that having the front of your shop free of homeless ponies will improve anything. Now I must ask you to move on if there is no further business as you are holding up the line.”
The stallion began to object but quickly shut up when he saw a nearby guard moving in. Hanging his head low he slouched away from the desk and began moving towards the exit.
“Next!” the secretary called, and I stepped forward.
“Excuse me; I was wondering if you might have a list of businesses that are still open?” I began as politely as I could. “I just arrived in town and I need to know if there is anywhere I could hire a carriage to take me to Port Mule. Perhaps also a store I could trade in some… random items and maybe an inn with a room for the night.”
“You can go over to the records office,” the secretary said, gesturing to a corridor behind her. “Although I’m not sure you’ll have much luck, places close down so regularly these days that it often goes unrecorded.”
“It will do for a starting point, thank you,” I replied, stepping back from the desk before walking around it towards the corridor the secretary had indicated.
The corridor was wide, with various office doors along each side and one very official looking door at the very end, flanked by a trio of heavily armoured guards. The records office was about halfway down the corridor on the left hand side, I noticed the guards watched me suspiciously all the way, stopping only when I made to enter my destination. The records office was a cramped and dimly lit room, the walls obscured by filing cabinet after filing cabinet; there was a single desk in the middle of the room where an ancient pony lay snoring at.
I tried briefly to wake her, but gave up when I noticed an empty bottle of whiskey lying under the desk and realised I was just wasting my time. I then set about trying to find the files I needed myself, surely it couldn’t be that hard… after about five minutes however I realised how wrong that notion was. The place was a mess, nothing was in order, most of the documents I pulled out were massively out of date or were covered in scribbles as if somepony had tried to update and amend them all by hoof and really hadn’t been all that enthusiastic about doing so.
It really was an embarrassment, it was no wonder the town was falling apart if this is the shoddy work that took place behind the scenes. I was sure things couldn’t have been like this back before the war, Pivot used to thrive, something it could never have done if this was how it had been run. I guess the whole thing made me angry, I could accept things being difficult during the war, but now it was over, there was no excuse why the mayor, whoever they were, was allowing this happen right under their nose. Frustration bubbling away inside of me, I slammed the drawer I was sifting through closed before storming out of the room, making for the door at the end of the hall.
This was easily one of my most foolish moves, even as I drew close and began to recognise the armour the trio of guards wore, my mind was too clouded to think straight. Of course they moved straight in, one blocking my path while the other two moved in behind me.
“Where do you think you’re going?” the guard in front asked, his voice cold and his eyes even colder.
“I… I need to see the mayor,” I began, frustration already ebbing away to be replaced by regret.
“The mayor isn’t seeing anypony at the moment,” the guard continued. “You’ll have to leave and make an appointment.”
“I… This is really important,” I tried to say, but my voice was already beginning to quaver.
“I’m sure it is, so why don’t you make an appointment?” he asked in a threatening tone, moving in even closer so I had to crane my neck to meet his gaze.
“Alright, I’ll just leave then,” I tied to say, backing up only to be met with a solid wall of steel and muscles from the two guards behind me. “I said, I’ll just lave then.”
But they didn’t move, the guard in front smirked while the two behind chuckled darkly.
“Sorry little lady,” the guard continued, not sounding sorry at all. “But what’s to say you didn’t come here with evil intentions? I think we might have to escort you downstairs and ask you all about why you needed to see the mayor so desperately.”
“I haven’t done anything wrong!” I squealed, panicking now. “What kind of guards are you?!”
“Guards?” he repeated. “Who ever said we were guards?”
If I didn’t recognise their armour before, I certainly did then. It was the very same steel armour that the pegasi who had attacked us in the pass wore; only this armour was in top condition. I was surrounded, not by a trio of town guards, but soldiers. My racing thoughts were interrupted as I felt a hoof running up along my hindquarters. I screamed and reared up, bucking the groping soldier right in the face. I don’t know if I had done any damage, but the soldier in front was not amused by it, and he expressed as much when he raised his foreleg and smacked it right across the side of my face, the force sending me crashing into the wall of the corridor.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” one of the soldiers said in a grim voice, I couldn’t tell which one it was as my vision had gone blurry. “Now that questioning we promised you will end up being a little more…”
“What the heck is going on out here?!” a sharp voice demanded as a door was thrown open.
“This crazy mare attacked Tumbler,” one of the soldiers answered quickly. “She must be an enemy, came here to get you Sir.”
There was a moment of silence, during which I could see the blurry outline of the new figure examining me.
“She’ll be fine,” the figure said at last, their voice sounding bored. “And she’s no threat.”
With that the figure turned and began to walk down the hall, the three soldiers reluctantly falling into line behind them. I couldn’t believe what I had just heard, he was just going to let those soldiers get away with what they had tried to do, and he was also going to leave me lying there after what they did do.
“Who… the hell… do you think you are?!” I shouted as I tried to stand up on shaking legs.
The sound of hoofsteps stopped abruptly.
“Excuse me?” the figure said in a venomous tone. “Are you saying you don’t know who I am?”
“I’m guessing you’re the commanding officer to these cretins,” I replied as I clutched my head and tried to focus my gaze on the group standing at the other end of the corridor. “And if you’re just going to let them off after they were going to do to me, then I guess that makes you a cretin too.”
The corridor was deathly silent, more than that; I couldn't hear a single noise from the rest of the entrance hall beyond. As my vision cleared I could see that there were still many ponies crowded within the town hall, but they were all facing my way, looks of horror on my face. Even the three soldiers looked slightly scared, while their commander finally came into focus. To my surprise it was not a ‘he’ after all, but a ‘she’, a tough looking mare admittedly, an earth pony with a pale green coat, and soft pink mane and tail, both spikey and cut short. She wore no armour like her subordinates, but her mere figure radiated power and authority.
“You really don’t know who I am, do you?” she asked again, this time actually sounding surprised. “I guess you really are no threat, because only a coward who hid away in their homes while we fought for your freedom would not know who I am.”
I wanted to respond by telling her I was no coward, but she wasn’t wrong, I hadn’t fought in the war and the last thing I wanted was for her to know where I really had been hiding during it.
“Then tell me who you are,” I demanded, refusing to be intimidated by this mare, even though everypony else seemed to be. “Tell me why you’re not a cretin for ignoring the fact that your soldiers are nothing more than thugs and molesters.”
There was yet another long, painful, fearful silence following my demand, but the mare remained composed.
“My name is Sufferthorn,” she finally replied. “Marshal and second in command of the Rebellion army.”
I really had trod on the wrong hooves, but I wasn’t about to lose face at that point, I refused to show any fear even though I had basically signed my own death warrant.
“These men will face the consequences of their actions,” she continued, taking me completely by surprise. “That I can promise you, but I would strongly advise that you avoid ever crossing my path again, for I will only ignore your disrespect this one time.”
With that she turned on the spot and marched out of the building, her soldiers following closely behind, occasionally casting furious looks at me. Once they had left, everypony turned their gazes back to me, staring at me in stunned silence. For a moment I was completely frozen in one spot, snapping out only when I heard a coughing behind me. Turning I saw unicorn stallion standing in the door to the mayor’s office; he was balding and wore delicate spectacles as well as a tweed suit.
“Excuse me Miss, but could I have a word with you?” he requested hurriedly.
“Are you the mayor?” I asked sternly.
He nodded in response; I glanced once more behind me at the room of stunned ponies before facing him once more.
“Sure,” I replied, narrowing my eyes at him. “Let’s talk.”