I stood by the top of the staircase while Grass Snake and Caramel said their final farewells to the body of Granny Willow. Applejack and Pinkie Pie were waiting downstairs, ready to get the mission underway. Caramel left first, walking straight past me down the stairs while Grass Snake stopped in front of me when she was done saying goodbye.
“She’s… taking this all very hard,” Grass Snake explained. “She is happy to see you again, really she is.”
“It’s alright,” I assured her. “Once we rescue the others and get you all to Sweet Apple Acres, things will get better.”
“I can’t ask you to do this,” Grass Snake tried to say.
“Then it’s a good thing you don’t have to,” I replied as I started down the stairs, Grass Snake following closely behind. “We’re rescuing the others, I promise you that.”
“You’re too good Rarity,” Grass Snake said, shaking her head slightly. “You hardly know us really, why do you do so much for us.”
“That’s what friends do,” I responded as we arrived back in the hallway where Applejack was prepping Caramel. “Are we all set?”
“Think so,” Applejack replied. “You ready Grass Snake?”
“Yeah, anything I should know?” she asked.
“Just follow my lead, do everything ah tell you,” Applejack began. “And if things get hairy and ah tell you to run, you run.”
Grass Snake nodded firmly, with everypony ready, Pinkie opened the door and poked her head out, checking to see if the coast was clear. Once she pulled back and gave us a nod, we all walked out into the street. Not wasting any time, Applejack led Grass Snake and Caramel down the way we had come from while Pinkie and I set off down a different junction, making for the town square. We crept along in absolute silence, I was a little surprised, but I quickly reminded myself that Pinkie wouldn’t have made a very good assassin if she sang all the way to her target.
We only had to change route a couple of times to avoid patrols, for the most part we were able to maintain a fairly direct route to the northern end of the square. The closer we got, the louder the noises from the square became. There was shouting, screaming and wailing, I dreaded what we would find when we got there. Once we reached the edge of the square, we found it pretty difficult to cross the open space to the back door of the town hall. Our moment came when the shouting at the front of the building intensified and the guards posted around the back hurried around to investigate.
We quickly darted forward and tried the door, finding it unlocked. Slipping inside, we closed the door behind us and continued on our way. The back rooms were mainly used for storage, janitorial equipment and filing that didn’t fit or hadn’t been sorted into the main offices. They were also mercifully empty and we were able to find a ladder that led straight up to the clock tower without encountering a single threat. Once we were on the tower it was a different story, there ended up being four guards posted there, all armed with crossbows, looking out over the square.
Pinkie and I looked at each other and exchanged a quick nod before splitting off in opposite directions around the tower. I came up behind two guards who were standing side by side, looking out over the southern side of the tower. They were both wearing the same green robes and rock like armour as all the rest, I knew that armour was pretty much impenetrable, but I had already seen Pinkie stab one through the back of his hood, so clearly their outfits left a lot of weak points.
I drew two knives, one in each hoof, saving my magic in case I messed my attack up. I crouched low, taking a long, quiet breath, readying myself. When I was sure I could do it, I pounced, bringing both knives down into the two guards’ necks where their spines met their skulls. They both collapsed instantly and I tugged my knives out and looked over their bodies as a deep red stain began forming in the back of their hoods. I started to feel sick, I wasn’t sure I would ever get used to taking lives, but I reminded myself of what was at stake and forced myself to carry on and not collapse like I did at Sweet Apple Acres.
“Nicely done,” Pinkie whispered to me as she joined me, obviously having no trouble with her own two targets. “So, what can you see?”
I drew my spyglass once more, extending it and peering down over the edge of the clock tower at the gathering in the square. My eye was first drawn to the source of the smoke earlier, and I nearly dropped my precious spyglass off the tower when I saw what it was.
“They’re burning bodies,” I hissed.
Indeed the fire was piled high with the bodies of a couple dozen ponies, and it was still burning brightly, smoke funnelling into the sky. Turning my attention away from the fire, I looked to the survivors. They were all chained together, forced to their knees by the many robed ponies infesting the square, they all appeared beaten and bloody.
“That’s weird,” I murmured, more to myself.
“What is it?” Pinkie asked.
“Most of their prisoners appear to be earth ponies,” I explained. “But I thought it was pegasi and unicorns they hated.”
“Maybe those are earth ponies who refused to join them,” Pinkie proposed. “Like me and Applejack, maybe… maybe they burn the unicorns and pegasi!”
“I’m not sure…” I muttered, looking back down.
The chained up prisoners were on either side of the square, all the earth ponies on one side while the few remaining unicorns and pegasi were on the other. That was the first thing that bothered me, there was far more on the earth pony side than the other, which was when I noticed the ponies who were not chained up or dressed in green robes. Besides the two groups of prisoners, there was another large group of ponies who looked relatively unharmed, all corralled outside the Trapper, the tavern where I met Grass Snake.
They were being held back by a line of robed ponies, and they certainly needed holding back as they were trying their hardest to push through and help the chained ponies. I watched the group closely, noticing the same thing about them that I had noticed about the first group of prisoners I had seen; they too were all earth ponies. That made no sense, it was hard to believe all those prisoners were earth ponies as well as these others being held back, it would mean there was vastly more earth ponies living in Pivot than I realistically believed, and it didn’t explain why there were so few pegasi and unicorn prisoners…
My answer came when one of the pegasi was unchained and dragged, kicking and screaming into the centre of the square for all to see. I focused on him as another robed pony made his way down the town hall steps to where the pegasus was being restrained. This new pony had his hood lowered and I could see a crown of laurels resting atop his head. As he reached the pegasus, I noticed many prisoners looked away, clenching their eyes shut while others screamed in objection. The crowned pony turned to one of his subordinates who handed him a very bloody saw, and my whole brain kind of crashed as I realised what was happening here.
Those earth ponies being held in place by the Trapper were the only real earth ponies in the square not wearing robes, the prisoners I had mistaken for earth ponies were the missing pegasi and unicorns. This was what they had meant by ‘castration’, they were taking the captured unicorns and pegasi one at a time, and cutting off their horns and wings in front of everypony. As I looked over the ponies I had mistook for earth ponies, I could now make out the wounds in their sides where wings used to be, and the severed stumps of what used to be their horns.
Shaking, I lowered the spyglass and moved back from the edge of the tower. Pinkie asked what was wrong, but before I could answer I emptied my stomach over one of the dead guards.
“Rarity, what’s wrong?” Pinkie asked again, sounding even more worried this time.
“They’re… they’re cutting off their horns and wings,” I told her, passing her the spyglass with a shaking hoof.
Pinkie’s eyes widened and she snatched the spyglass up and looked out over the edge of the tower, coming back after a minute, a look of fury on her face.
“This is… this is…” she tried to say, her face growing red as she ground her teeth. “Monstrous!”
“I know, but keep it down,” I urged her. “The last thing I want is to be caught if it means ending up like that.”
Pinkie bit her lip.
“What about your friends?” she asked uncertainly.
I could feel the colour drain from my face as I remembered what we had come here to do. Taking the spyglass back, I forced myself to look out again, the pegasus was just being dragged away, adding another streak of blood to the ground beneath him while the crowned pony carried his wings away towards the town hall. I looked first to the group of prisoners that were not yet maimed, praying that I would see Lock Pick, Pixie Dust and Emerald among their numbers. I checked… and double checked… and triple checked before I accepted that they weren’t.
Gulping I turned my attention to the prisoners who had already been dealt with, I felt my heart stop when I saw that males and females of all ages were represented in their numbers. I looked for a few minutes, it was hard to tell because all the ponies were soaked in blood and shared looks of misery and agony, but I found all three of them. Pixie Dust and Emerald were next to one another, while Lock Pick was several ponies down from the pair, none of them had been spared the horrific act. I could feel my own fury building up inside of me, Pinkie was right, monstrous really was the word.
I reported my findings to Pinkie and we sat together in silence for a moment while we thought about what to do.
“We might have to wait,” I said hopelessly. “We can’t take them all on, and there’s no way we’re sneaking down there and freeing them. We’ll have to wait and see what they do, maybe they’ll transport them somewhere else when they’ve finished.”
“Applejack can’t wait forever,” Pinkie commented. “But I think you’re right.”
And so we waited, occasionally I would take another look down to see how far along the prisoners they were. A few times I saw the prisoner that had been brought to the centre, break the hold of the robed ponies. Sometimes he would escape only to be ganged up on and brutally murdered, other times the crowned pony would slip with the saw and cut something vital, and the pony who tried to escape would be left to bleed out on the ground. Once they were dead, they were added to the bonfire, which did suggest they had intentions for them beyond killing, we just needed to find out what those intentions were and hopefully we would be able to devise a plan to rescue our friends from it.
They were almost finished when the newcomers arrived, the crowned pony was in the middle of removing a mare’s horn when a group of seven, striped figures emerged from the main street and began making their way over him. He stopped what he was doing and went to greet them, leaving another robed pony to finish the mare off.
“Zebras?” I stated in bewilderment.
“Excuse me?” Pinkie said from where she sat fiddling with her daggers, clearly eager to get some pay back for the prisoners below us.
“Seven zebras just arrived,” I explained. “They’re talking to the leader guy; he’s… showing them the prisoners.”
“Let me see,” Pinkie requested, I let her look down at the newcomers herself. “Slavers, I think.”
“Slavers?” I repeated.
“It makes sense,” Pinkie muttered. “These ponies treat unicorns and pegasi like animals… no, less than animals. Once they break them it makes sense that they would then use them for slave labour, in this case they’re selling some on.”
I took the spyglass back and watched as the head zebra began picking out half a dozen prisoners from those who had already had their horns and wings removed. It didn’t escape my notice that they chose only mares and fillies, I was sure I might be sick again before the mission was finished. Six ponies had been unchained and passed over to the other zebras who tied them in a single file line with rope, but the head zebra didn’t seem to be done. He looked the prisoners over once more before stopping by Pixie Dust and Emerald, looking them up and down before saying something to the crowned pony.
The robed ponies began unchaining them and Lock Pick screamed out in objection, trying feebly to stand up, only to collapse where he continued to cry out in anguish for the two girls who were screaming and fighting to get back to him. A robed pony came over and began kicking Lock Pick in the face as the two fillies were tied to the rest of the zebras’ slaves. Lock Pick refused to stop shouting though, so the robed pony hit him over and over again until he was no longer capable of shouting.
The crowned pony gave an order to another one of his lackeys who, with the help of the pony who had delivered the beating, dragged Lock Pick’s sobbing body away from the rest of the prisoners, straight out of the town square. The head zebra and the crowned pony exchanged a large bag of money, and the zebras went on their way, whipping the slaves to keep them moving. I pulled back from the edge of the tower and looked straight at Pinkie, only then noticing the tears streaming down my face.
“They’ve taken Pixie Dust and Emerald,” I told her. “Lock Pick tried to stop them and they… they…”
Pinkie pulled me into a tight hug as I tried my best to reign in my emotions.
“They dragged him off somewhere,” I continued. “I might still be able to save him, but I have to hurry. You need to get out of the city, find Applejack and tell her what’s happened. The two of you might be able to ambush the slavers once they’re clear of the city.”
“I’ll make it happen,” Pinkie promised me, darting away towards the ladder without another word.
I placed my spyglass away, took one last shuddering breath before hurrying after her, one of the guard’s crossbows slung over my back. I never caught up with her; once she was out of my sight she was gone, leaving me alone to exit the town hall. I kicked open the door and stepped out to find two robed guards standing there on either side, they both turned to face me, but they were too slow to prevent me from dishing out some justice on them and their twisted group.
Using magic I pointed the crossbow at one of the guard’s face, and shot him at point blank range. His body was propelled away by the force of the bolt, and while the other guard was still reeling from this, I swung the crossbow through the air and smashed it across his head. He stumbled back from the impact and before he could recover I drew my sword and drove the blade through his right eye. I was finding that after seeing what I saw from the tower, I felt considerably less reluctance in killing these ponies.
Sheathing my sword, I hurried across the square to the street where I had seen them dragging Lock Pick towards. I galloped down the street, not giving a toss as to whether I was seen or heard, but I very quickly found my prey. It was a church on a street corner, at least four guards positioned outside it. It was a church to the Six, I had never been fussed on them as I’ve mentioned, I could never understand building a religion around six alicorns when five are nothing but myth. Clearly these ponies cared even less for the Six however, as one was busy scrawling the words ‘false god’ in what I hoped was red paint across the front door, and somepony had previously put the windows through.
Two of the robed ponies were talking amongst themselves; one was busy with his graffiti while the last was the only one who seemed intent on keeping guard. He was the first one I took down, drawing one of the knives that was already stained with the blood of his comrades, and hurling it through the air so it embedded itself in his face. The other guards were quickly alerted but there was nothing they could do. One of the many ruined houses stood directly opposite the church, and a particularly large piece of rubble sat in the middle of the street, it would have been far too heavy for me to lift generally, but my fury gave me strength and the boulder felt like a pebble in my magical grip as I lifted it up and threw it into the two ponies.
The last robed pony stood still at the door, paralysed in fear as I walked up towards her. She tried to draw her Warhammer, but I wrenched it from her grip and tossed it to the side. She backed up against the door, probably getting red paint all over her robes as she did, I reached out with my magic grabbing hold of her and lifting her into the air before punching her through the door and sending her flying into the church. I hurried in, finding the inside of the church empty before rushing to the vestry and opening it up to find Lock Pick lying in the corner.
He wasn’t even restrained; the guards probably knew he couldn’t escape no matter how much he wanted to. I ran over and dropped to my knees next to him, cradling his head in my lap and trying to mop up some of the fresh blood running from his head wound with my sleeve.
“Lock Pick!” I called out. “Please wake up, can you hear me?”
His eyes blinked open and he looked up at me weakly.
“Rar… Rarity?” he said in a quiet voice. “Why… are you here? You need… to leave… before they…”
“It’s okay Lock Pick,” I interrupted. “Nopony is going to find me.”
“I…” he began, tears welling up in his eyes. “I couldn’t save them.”
“Pixie Dust and Emerald?” I asked. “Don’t worry, we’re going to…”
“I failed them…” I continued, I wasn’t sure he was really listening to me. “Just like I failed my own son.”
“Your… own son?” I repeated in confusion.
“He wanted to join the Rebellion,” Lock Pick continued miserably. “He thought I would be proud… of him. I wasn’t… I said… awful things… things I can never take back. He left, and the next time I heard of him… was in a red letter. I didn’t stop him… I didn’t do my duty as a father… and I never even got to say goodb…”
Lock Pick cut off when he went into a fit of coughing. I began patting his back the same way I remembered Grass Snake doing when he went into a coughing fit, although this one was much worse than when they were back in the house and I saw some blood come up.
“I… failed him,” he said once he got his voice back, although it sounded even weaker now. “And now I’ve failed… them too. Please… please… don’t let them suffer anymore. Save them… I beg you.”
“Lock Pick,” I began looked him straight in the eye. “I promise you, no harm will ever come to them again so long as I live. Now I’m going to get you out of here…”
“No!” Lock Pick exclaimed, bursting into another fit of coughs from the effort of speaking up. “I’ll only slow you down… I’m too… ill. Don’t throw your life away for an old cripple like me.”
“But I can’t just leave you here,” I tried to say. “I can’t let them hurt you anymore.”
Lock Pick raised a trembling hoof and placed it on his chest.
“My heart… is right here,” he told me. “You can make it quick.”
My own heart froze as I realised what he was asking me to do. At first I was going to object, but then I saw the pleading look in his eyes. I reached down and drew my third knife, the only one that wasn’t stained with the blood of his captors. My heart came back online, beating rapidly as I prepared myself, my breathing almost as shaky as my hooves. I forced myself to calm down, knowing that if I botched this up he could end up suffering more because of it.
Once I was steady, I held the knife over his chest where he had indicated.
“Goodbye Lock Pick…” I murmured before I plunged the knife in.