//------------------------------// // Give Them What They Want // Story: Appledashery // by Just Essay //------------------------------// In blacker-than-black streaks, three figures leapt and soared across the stellar canvas of night. They did this in brief-but-swift hops, bounding from one tree-top to another... between craggy peaks of loose boulders. Gradually, in a sporadically progressive fashion, they flew their way northeast, trailing the shadow of a floating castle framed in torchlight and dragonfire. "Guh!" Sunset Shimmer hissed, wincing in Romulus' grip. Romulus landed on another tree branch as the two jostled from the impact. "Grfff..." He grumbled. "Keep it together, wizardette." He flapped his wings and took off again. "We can't even pretend to do this stupid mission if you're falling apart at the seams." "Don't mind m-me," Sunset stammered. She clutched a bulky back of crystals to her chest. "I'm just worried about the reagents, is all. Could you be a bit gentler with the—" "Nope." Thwoooosh! Romulus threw them both and landed hard on another tree branch, causing the reagents in Sunset's grip to jostle. "If we waste anymore time, we could risk the dragons flying past the barricade and into Griffon Lands." He scowled. "I'm not about to let that happen." "Yeah, and if you break even one of the crystals, then you risk us wasting even more time while I port back to Equestria to acquire replacements!" Sunset frowned. "Or, even worse—" "Stop whining," Romulus insisted. "And just hold onto the stupid reagents. We're getting this over with or we're not doing this at all." From the back, Rainbow said: "Hey. Goose genius. We're almost in the moon shadow of the castle." "Are the squirrels following us since you signaled them?" Rainbow looked behind her. Deep beneath the foliage of the parched trees, she saw a progressively flouncing train of dim torchlight. "Looks like it!" Rainbow said. "Unless we're being followed by very... very surly lantern bugs," Lancie said, smiling. "Will you get that stupid lawn ornament to shut up?!" Romulus snarled. "I'm trying to concentrate here." "Concentrate on what?" Rainbow's voice cracked. "Look, the castle is nearly above us now." She flapped her wings harder, surging ahead. "I'm gonna go and do some recon and figure out a best way to enter from below—" "Just wait." Romulus held a talon out, stopping her. He stood on a tall, dangling branch with Sunset. "Have you ever scouted out airspace for dragon patrols at night before?" "Well... have you?" Rainbow glared. "Hrmmmfff..." Romulus' feathers ruffled. "There's still a lot of space between here and the floating lair. Best that I go check it out first." "But—" "Then you can lead all of us in finding an entrance. Until then... I don't trust you for a hill of dead mice." Romulus dropped Sunset. "Stay here and watch the mare." "Gah!" Sunset teetered on the branch. She nearly dropped her share of the crystals before leaning on the trunk and steadying herself. "Yeesh! Jerk! You nearly ruined everything!" "Not my fault you have terrible balance." Romulus snorted and flew up ahead. "Friggin' soft-hooves... this will only be ten minutes." This left the two mares and a statue standing on the tree branch. "Goddess, he annoys me so much..." Sunset grumbled, readjusting her sack of crystals. "What's he going to conjure up with his share of the chaos shards? Sausages? Meh... hopes he chokes on them." "H-hey!" Lancie grinned. "That's a great Trot Yorke song!" "Lancie, word of advice," Rainbow muttered. "Only try being funny when you're being funny." "Mmmmf..." Lancie shrugged. "So kill me for trying to shed some light on the angsty mega darkness." Sunset chuckled. Rainbow glanced at her. "You know..." Sunset sighed. "In another time and in another place... ... ..." Her words lingered, and she bit her lip. A grunting sigh. "Never mind." Rainbow gazed at her. After a few breaths, she leaned casually against the tree. "Say... can I ask you something?" "No." Rainbow asked her, "Weren't you once an apprentice to Princess Celestia or something?" "Mrmmmfff..." Sunset rolled her eyes. "Don't remind me." "So... like..." Rainbow squinted. "How does a mare go from being a star pupil of the most powerful goddess-horse in the world... to digging herself a hole beneath Dredgemane and trying to summon an army of ancient floating wheels to attack Equestria?" "I couldn't get access to the mirror portals beneath Canterlot Castle because the young pegasus guard that I was used to seducing suddenly turned freaky-paranoid and rebuffed me." "... ... ... ... ... ... ...huh???" Sunset sighed. "Look. Harmony ain't all it's cracked up to be." She turned to glare at rainbow. "Your so-called 'goddess horse' is actually a cowardly equine afraid to make mountains move with truly powerful magic! Chaos is as equally viable a tool as its polar opposite. And until the head horns in Canterlot embrace that..." She snorted, then grumbled: "Nothing is ever going to change." "Why's that a bad thing?" Rainbow shrugged. "Life in Equestria is awesome." "Yes." Sunset nodded, then frowned. "Aside from dangerous biomes like the Everfree Forest, beasts that need to be locked away in Tartarus, killer Ursas and parasprites, and constant threats of war from griffons, yaks, dragons, minotaurs, and changelings alike." "Yeesh... well..." Rainbow squirmed. "When you put it that way..." She blinked. "Wait." She looked over. "What's a 'changeling?'" "You know nothing, peon," Sunset spat. Then huffed, glaring off at the starlit wasteland. "Nopony ever knows anything. Or if they do... they don't know enough. Princess Celestia thinks she can put a cork on it all... hold back the wave of hunger for knowledge and power." Sunset shook her head. "She can't. Not with just harmony." "So... uhhhhhhh... you decided to become that 'wave of hunger for knowledge and power' by proxy?" "Huh?" Rainbow shrugged. "Just saying. You went full Saturday Morning Special villain down there in Dredgemane. Seems like an awfully dramatic leap from a goody-goody-four-shoes apprentice." "If Celestia dealt with a threat... a legitimate threat to Equestria... then we might see her resorting to powers that previously she wouldn't have," Sunset remarked. "Instead of relying on the Elements or Friendship... we could see her having to do something truly wise to save the future of this realm." Sunset's nostrils flared. "Instead of taking the easy route—like banishing an enemy somewhere—she could finish the problem then and there, slit its throat," she hissed. "And chaos is the dagger for such a measure." "And... you gotta make this happen by going full hay on her?" Rainbow's voice cracked. She gestured. "Why not just... y'know... talk it out? Share your concerns?" "That's stupid. You're stupid." Sunset sighed, her ears drooping. "Besides... it's too late for that now." Rainbow gazed at her sideways. "... ... ... you sure of that?" "Yes. I am." Sunset frowned again. She adjusted the bag full of crystals. "And once my business with Don Canter is over with—" "Assuming the jerkface ever actually gives you a share of the loot—" "Once my business is done, I'm going to enact my latest plan. I swear... I will find a way to make Celestia step it up!" She turned to glare at the pegasus. "And once she crosses that line she once promised never to even look at, there will be no going back. Her and her sister will then have no choice but to protect Equestria at all costs." Sunset smiled, eyebrow twitching. "And there will be no more violence... no more suffering... no m-more unnecessary deaths..." Rainbow's muzzle scrunched. She glanced at the sky... then she glanced at the wasteland... then her eyes darted over towards Sunset. "Like..." She raised an eyebrow. "... ... ... a filly unicorn's parents?" "Huh?!" Sunset's breath exploded. "What?!" It exploded even harder. She spun around, nearly dropping her bag as she snarled at the pegasus. "What did you just say?!?!" "Er... n-nothing!" Rainbow leaned back, smiling sheepishly. "I was... j-just wondering if Celestia was... l-like... more to you than just a 'mentor'—" "She was a fool!" Sunset snarled. "A fool all along! A fool who lied to me!" her voice cracked. "Okay. I got it. Chill." Rainbow leaned forward, wings relaxing. "You got your villainous monologue over with. I'm... satiated now." "Mrmmmfff..." Sunset pouted. After a heaving breath, she stared back into the night's sky. Her hoof rubbed her eyes once... twice. "Friggin' friendship huffer... I would have been better off sticking around with Romulus." "I'm not gonna argue that." Rainbow fanned herself, exhaling heavily. "... ... ... ... ... can I ask you something?" "...?" Rainbow looked at her. "Who, me?" Sunset's shoulders shook. "You heard me." "Uhm... shoot. I guess." "... ... ...after all that happened in Dredgemane, and you got the shard out of my possession..." A glinting eye glanced at Rainbow over Sunset's shoulder. "...why did you use it to wipe everypony's memory?" "Uhhhh..." "Including your friends?" Sunset's teeth showed. "I thought you were supposed to be 'Loyalty'." Rainbow gulped. "Not... all of us are after the shards for power and fame, girl." She cleared her throat. "Or to change the geo-political system of Canterlot, for that matter. Heh." "Then just what are you after?" "Depends on the season." "Are you making fun of my question?" "No. I'm not." Rainbow glared. "If you must know, there's a little filly in Ponyville who's dying right now. Getting another shard just might stop her from biting the bullet." "... ... ... ... ... ...that's it?" "Of course." "You're... lying to me, of course." "No." Rainbow shook her head. "I'm not." She smirked and held a hoof over her chest. "We're ponies, Sunset. We're all about being nice and good." She grimaced slightly, then shuddered. "At least... we're supposed to be." Sunset's eyes narrowed. "Hmmm..." She turned to gaze ahead. "Well, I do hope you remember that." Rainbow fidgeted, fighting a lump in her throat. "Yeah..."