Cape and Cowl III: Showdown

by Artimae


Chapter Six

1

“...Miss Snow… it’s time to wake up…” a deep voice said from the darkness, a gentle touch coming down on her shoulder. “You need to take your medicine.”

No, she tried to say. I don’t need it. All that came out of her mouth was incomprehensible mumbling.

“Almost there, child… try a little harder…” the voice said in a kind and supportive tone.

“Go… way…” she muttered, trying to wave her hoof at the voice. She found, for some odd reason, that she couldn’t bend it at all.

“Very good, Miss Snow,” the voice said in a thick Zebrican accent, slowly growing a face as Snow opened her eyes. She focused her vision, seeing a pair of soft turquoise eyes attached to an older zebra stallion sitting next to her bed, a bright white lab coat contrasting his black stripes. “My name is Doctor Uponyaji Kugusa,” he said, introducing himself. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I-” She paused, considering her words carefully. “Like I overdid it on working out.”

“Good,” he said, giving a small smile. “That means the medicine is working. You have a broken foreleg, my dear. Quite a bad one, at that…” He opened a folder on the table next to them, drawing a photocopy of the X-ray taken. Snow winced at the sight; her wrist and pastern had severe fractures in multiple places, chips of bone dotting the image. “The fact that you are in such good shape is what prevented the break from being worse than what it is. The muscle kept most of it in place, but some muscle did tear.” He then locked eyes with her. “The injury is still more complex than I would like. I feel that surgery may be required to repair the damage to an extent that your foreleg will be useable.”

“Surgery?” Snow blinked, frowning at that. Surgery was never good news. “But when can I get back to… working out?”

“If you accept the surgery, three to six months. If you decline the surgery… possibly never,” he stated seriously.

“I can’t do months!” she said, balking at the very thought. “I need to get back out there now!

“‘Now’ is not an option,” the doctor replied firmly. “You go out there and even so much as step wrong and you could give yourself a spiral fracture up to your elbow or worse. Regardless of your choice, you’ll be in that cast for six to eight weeks.”

“Oh, come on!” She grunted, trying to sit up in her bed. “Doesn’t this place have some unicorn who could magic up my leg in no time?”

The zebra merely rolled his eyes at her comment.

“Using magic to knit bone back together is both excruciatingly painful and extremely dangerous. If the unicorn were to lose focus for even a second, the spell could go wild and cause bone growths through your entire body, effectively killing you. I would assume that isn’t what you want, correct?” the doctor said, raising an eyebrow.

Snow Storm sighed. “Look, let’s just say I really need all four of my limbs, and I need them immediately. Can’t you do anything better than this?”

“The only thing I know of that could come remotely close would be the shamans of my homeland… but that sort of practice is pure myth. I would not get my hopes up, Miss Snow,” the doctor said as he stood up. “I will be back in an hour to check on you.” He shut the door behind him, leaving Snow Storm to stew in her irritation.

“Yeah, thanks… for nothing,” she added under her breath. It was then that the doctor’s words had registered in her mind. A shaman. From his homeland. A zebra shaman. She closed her eyes, thinking back, remembering seeing another zebra when she was in Ponyville getting the suit tailored…

Applejack said that she was no stranger to magic and medicines. Her younger sister was some sort of apprentice to this zebra… As far as Snow was concerned, that was her best bet.

A new question arose - how was she going to get to Ponyville in her condition?


2

Lieutenant Murdoc stopped outside of the barracks, looking uncomfortable. He had sent Amber a note telling her to take the day off, mostly to keep her away from the inevitable hell that was about to break loose.

“How bad is it, sir?” Joules asked, sidling up to his commanding officer.

“We’re about to find out,” Murdoc said dryly.

Every Lieutenant, in the war room, now!” the Captain’s voice boomed throughout the barracks, causing a collective wince from the guards. “That goes for all the Sergeants present at last night’s fiasco, too!” He slammed the door behind him, nearly rattling it out of its hinges. Joules swallowed hard, his wings tucked tightly at his sides as he slowly limped to the door labeled ‘war room,’ feeling as though he was being lead like a lamb to the slaughter.


Murdoc sighed, his face somber as he followed close behind Joules, the two taking a seat next to each other in the war room. Across from them sat Captain Gilded Leaf, his face expressing a mix of disappointment and anger.

“I took off early last night,” the Captain said, barely restraining the fury in his tone, “so I could have an entire evening to spend with my daughter, confident that my Guard could handle themselves. It came as quite a surprise, then, that I should walk into the Barracks to find the nurses working overtime, half of my entire Guard injured, and a report on my desk saying ‘Shipment lost; Red Hoof.’ Now, I am going to ask this once, and only once: How did this happen!?

Everypony in the room squirmed in their seats, mumbling. “Everything was going exactly as we planned it out, sir…” Joules spoke up. “It wasn’t until about fifteen minutes after we left the station that they threw bombs into the street in front of us. They forced us to divert into an alley where more of the Hoof’s thugs were waiting…” he trailed off, thinking back. He then spoke again. “There was another pony… a Neighponese stallion. He… he single-hoofedly defeated the Mare do Well without so much as batting an eyelash. Once he defeated her… he turned on us and wiped us all out,” he explained.

“You’re telling me that an entire group of my best Guards cannot handle one stallion!?

Joules sat back in his seat, bowing his head slightly. He had no response for the Captain. He knew what he had seen, and the others had witnessed it as well. Out of both respect and fear, he decided to remain silent and let Murdoc handle the situation.

“It’s the truth sir,” Murdoc added. “This stallion was unlike anything we’ve ever encountered. He moved so fast our eyes couldn’t keep up with him. He struck down the Mare do Well with almost minimal effort. He made her look like a child playing pretend… then, like Sergeant Watts said, he turned on us. He took down every last one of us until it was myself and Joules left. The only reason we’re still standing is because I relented. What’s even more terrifying is he was just an earth pony. No magic, no wings, just natural speed and strength…” Murdoc said.

He then looked the Captain straight in the eye. “I know this isn’t a good time, but I think it deserves to be said that these ponies fought hard last night, even if we were beaten. Sergeant Watts stared down this stallion without a second thought, ready to fight for both me and the carriage. He showed exemplary bravery and service to the department last night. Frankly, all of these ponies did. I wanted to make sure that it was known and that credit was given sir,” Murdoc said, taking his seat once more. Joules swallowed hard. While it felt fantastic to receive praise from his commanding officer, he had no idea if it would mean anything once the Captain spoke again.

“...” The Captain sighed, pacing the war room. “Has the gravity of this situation even hit you? The Red Hoof has our weapons! I don’t care how ‘naturally good’ this Neighponese stallion is - he’s not immune to a crossbow bolt.”

Murdoc wanted to respond, but elected not to. He understood exactly what the Captain meant. The gravity of the situation was being felt by all that suffered the loss from the night previous. They all knew that their jobs had just gotten a lot harder, and were now severely set back in protecting the citizens from the inevitable wave of violence that was soon to come.

It was then that Joules shocked everyone in the room by speaking up. “With all due respect Captain, you weren’t there. You didn’t see this stallion. He was right out of a nightmare. I saw him cleave a bolt in half, mid-flight. We didn’t stand a chance. What we need to do is redouble our efforts with the ponies we still have and consider maybe bumping up some of the Cadets. We’re in dire straights and yelling at us over it won’t fix anything,” he said. Joules then realized how forward and brash he had been due to the expressions of all the other Lieutenants and Sergeants, and immediately began to panic internally. I’m so fired, he thought.

“What we need,” the Captain growled through gritted teeth, “is to find out exactly where they’re at. And now. It’s time to go on the offensive, before he does.”

“Yes sir,” Joules squeaked in response. At this point he had become so nervous it almost seemed like the poor pegasus was about to shake every last one of his feathers off.

“... Well!? Does anypony even know where that is!?

“Rumor has it that there may be something happening at the Rind house,” Murdoc spoke up. “I overheard a goon mention it during the fight. That’s all we know sir.”

“... Can anypony confirm? I don’t want to be marching on some farmer’s land based on a ‘rumor’.”

“We’ll have the information on your desk by shift change tomorrow evening,” Murdoc stated.

“Good. Now get out of my sight, all of you!

With that, all of the Lieutenants and Sergeants morosely shuffled out of the war room, thoroughly drained both emotionally and mentally. Joules quietly trotted out with his tail between his legs, deathly afraid of the Captain calling him out on speaking out of turn. It was then that Joule’s fears seemed to come to life as the Captain spoke up.

“Watts! My office, now,” Leaf said as he exited the war room.

I’m done. It’s over. My career is over, he thought as he acknowledged the Captain with a small nod, following close behind him. Once they entered his office, Leaf locked the door and sat at his desk, Joules sitting across from him. Leaf bored into Joules’ eyes, almost burning a hole through them.

“Give me your badge,” Leaf demanded.

Joules felt his heart sink. He quietly slid it out of his pocket, placing it on the desk in front of him and hanging his head in shame. He then quietly got up, making for the door before Leaf stopped him.

“I never said you could leave,” Leaf said. Joules turned around, seeing the Captain polishing Joules’ badge. The Captain then hoofed it back over to him. “Good work last night.”

That’s it? “Y-Yes sir.”

“Keep it up, understood?” Leaf said, pulling documents out of a drawer in his desk.

“Yes sir,” Joules nodded.

“Good, now get out,” Leaf said. Joules saluted, turning to leave. “Oh, and Sergeant?”

“Yes sir?” Joules asked.

“If you ever speak out of turn to me like that during a war room meeting again, I’ll personally paint the walls with you. Are we clear?”

“Y-Yes sir…” Joules said, swallowing hard and quickly making his exit. Leaf gave a small smirk, rolling his eyes as he began the paperwork to explain the massive loss they had taken to Canterlot.


3

Hano stared at Charade from across the room they were in, watching her move back and forth. He had to play this out in just the right way or risk causing more issues for himself.

“Where were you last night?” he questioned.

“Out,” she said simply, not making eye contact.

“You were there during the fight. Where did you go?”

“Wherever the hell I wanted to. In case you didn’t notice, our employer has ponies watching us already. And since he already knows, you don’t need to,” she said simply, wanting that to be the end of it.

“What he does know, is that you were fighting for the wrong side. Care to explain?” Hano questioned, his gaze trained directly on her face.

“If it had bothered him that much, I wouldn’t be here right now. So, no, I don’t think I would care to explain. Not to you.

“The fact of the matter is you attacked his subordinates. Needless to say, you need to stay away for a while,” Hano warned. “Lay low and stay out of sight.”

“Funny how you seem to care again all of a sudden. Or did he order you to give a shit?” she said coldly, glaring at him. “And after I’m done with this stupid mission, he can kiss my flank goodbye, because whether it’s on a train or in a body bag, I will leave this city, and I’m never working for that rancid sack of shit ever again. Whether he threatens me with you or anything else.”

Hano grit his teeth discretely. He wanted to yell at her, scream at her, to try and make her see reason, but he couldn’t. Not yet

“Whatever the case may be… for your own well being, stay out of sight,” Hano said, trying to keep the plea out of his normally stoic voice. “I am giving you this warning to show you that I have not forgotten our history.”

Charade walked over to her liquor cabinet, pouring a shot and downing it in a single gulp. She shuddered, turning to him with something in her eyes he hadn’t seen there in a lifetime.

“...What happened to us, Hano? How did everything get so… wrong?” she asked. “Is it karma? Are we being punished for our past? Because it sure as fuck feels like it…”

Hano’s expression softened ever so slightly, the stallion lowering his gaze. “I… cannot say for sure.”

“All I wanted was a regular life, like everyone else. But all I could do is fight… in the end, it always came back to fighting. Sometimes I hurt bad ponies…” she said, pouring herself a second glass, “sometimes good. The ponies I’ve hurt, I wish I was still haunted by their faces, their screams… but I’m not. I’m just numb. Truth is, some nights… some nights I wish you’d killed me all those years ago. Woulda been doing me a favour,” she said, throwing back her second glass.

Hano looked away, clenching his jaw. Her words cut him deep, but he could say nothing. The risk was too great.

“Worst of all is a part of me just misses you,” she said very quietly, turning away. “And always will. But the Hano I knew… I think he’s gone. I guess Red sunk his claws a little too deep,” she said, her voice cracking in a way it never did. “I miss that stallion.”

Hano had heard enough. Any more and the outcome would not be to his liking. “It is as I said… stay low,” he said moving away from her and towards the nearby door. “...and stay safe…” he said under his breath, low enough that only he heard it.

“Be careful out there,” she whispered, turning back after a moment.

But he was already gone.


4

Snow Storm grunted as she tested how much pressure she could put on her injured leg. The lower half of the leg had been put in a cast, and the bottom had foam several inches deep, making it awkward for her to walk.

She mumbled under her breath as she limped along, adding more and more weight with each step. She couldn’t see what the big deal was; her leg felt fine, even after that horrific blow last night.

That Neighponese stallion… She had underestimated him, and she told herself she’d never make that mistake with anypony again.

You grew complacent. You thought you owned this city. Why? Because you took up a little martial arts as a filly? You’re not the only pony in the world who can fight.

True, but she thought she had been for the longest time. The possibility of competition never crossed her mind. She had begun to believe she was invincible.

Her casted foot came down on a patch of ice, causing her to lose her balance as the leg went one way and the rest of her went another. She reeled, trying to regain her composure, putting far too much weight onto the bad leg. The sudden pressure caused a bolt of pain to rocket upward from the joint, causing her vision to blur and her entire body to seize up as she bit down on her lip to resist screaming out in agony.

Nearby, Joules Watts shook his head, still unable to comprehend that Leaf had still been so easy on him; that is, until he relieved everyone of duty for the weekend for the screw up… without pay. As he walked, he noticed a white mare in a cast, almost ready to topple over. He quickly made his way over to her, holding her up before she fell. “Ma’am, are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” she barked at him, steadying herself against a wall. “It’s just slippery out.”

“Are you sure about that? You don’t look well,” he said, examining her cast. “I should probably get you to a clinic.”

“I just came from one,” she said, breathing deeply. The pain was subsiding now, falling back into an uncomfortable throb. “They hardly did anything at all.”

“Well then we need to go back, you’re obviously not well enough to be discharged,” Joules said.

“No,” she said flatly, beginning to walk again, the train station fixed firmly in her mind.

“Ma’am, you’re hurt, you need to go back to the clinic, and I’m not leaving you alone until you do,” Joules said, moving past her and blocking her path.

“That sounds a little creepy,” she muttered defensively, glaring at the stallion. “What if I start screaming?”

“I’m a member of the Royal Guard,” Joules said, flashing his badge. “All it’s gonna look like is an ornery mare yelling at an officer that’s trying to help her.”

“I want the next patrol pony to confirm you’re a Guard,” she demanded. “Otherwise, step aside before you get hurt.”

As she said that, a Sentry passed by.

“Afternoon Sergeant Watts,” the sentry said, saluting him.

“Afternoon Sentry,” Joules nodded.

“Everything alright, sir?”

“Fine, carry on,” Joules said.

“Acknowledged,” the sentry said, leaving the two alone. Joules then looked back at the mare in front of him, who looked angry enough to break her other foreleg against a nearby wall.

“Clinic. Now.

“Or what? You’ll arrest me? I’m not going back there because they have no idea what they’re doing in the first place!”

“And you do? I showed you my badge, show me your medical license,” Joules retorted. “I can always call for a medical carriage and they’ll cart you off by force… not like you can run off anyhow.”

“... Fine. What if I walk in the general vicinity of the hospital? Will that make you happy?”

“In the doors, checking in, waiting to be seen,” Joules demanded, his patience wearing thinner and thinner by the passing moment.

“Don’t you have better things to do than harass a limping mare? Like finding a missing caravan or finding my family?

Joules narrowed his eyes, his expression serious. “...How did you know about the missing caravan?”

“Read a paper for once in your life. It’s all anypony can talk about this morning.”

“That information was supposed to be kept under wraps. Only the ponies that were actually there were the ones who found out it got stolen,” Joules said. He then reached to his hip, grabbing a pair of hoof-cuffs. “You obviously know more than you’re saying, so now you have two options. You can either go to a clinic and I overlook this, or I bring you back to the precinct for questioning. I have tried to be nice, I have tried to do my job the right way, but after the night I had last night and the day I’ve had today, I am running just the slightest bit low on patience, so make your choice before I make it for you.”

She tapped her good hoof against the uncast part of her other leg in mock applause. “Nice speech, now here’s mine. I’m not having a very good month, and I just so happen to be very well acquainted with your boss, Captain Leaf. And I just so happen to have something he’ll most definitely want to know. I’ll even tell you it, as long as I don’t have to go back to that hospital.”

Joules rolled his eyes. “If I had a bit for every time an angry pony said they knew my boss I wouldn’t be living in Manehattan,” he spat, having had enough. “I don’t care which hospital you go to, and frankly, I’m getting to the point where I don’t care where you go at all. I did my part, so you know what? Screw up your hoof. I don’t care. I’m sick of ponies like you thinking we Royal Guard are nothing but a nuisance,” he said bitterly. “Do what you want, I’m outta here,” he said, angrily brushing past her and slipping the hoof-cuffs back on his waist.

“Fine! But tell Leaf that the Oranges are being held on the Rind’s property for me.”

“Tell him yourself if you know him so well,” Joules barked, raising his right wing and curling all the feathers but the longest, essentially flipping her off.

“Well if you won’t save my family, then I will!” she shouted.

“With what? A crutch? A cane? Please…” Joules said, stopping in his tracks to face her. All sense of courtesy and professionalism had exited his mind, the pegasus walking right back up to her. “You’re crippled in your current state. You couldn’t take a lollipop from a foal.”

She opened her mouth to retort, but the voice in her head stopped her just in time. Don’t bother, it’s not worth it. He was right, though; tell Leaf yourself. Then get healed.

She nodded to herself, limping in the direction of the Barracks. I might even tell him about the rude encounter I had…

Joules felt a small pang of guilt well up in him, watching her limp away. Rrrgh… damn it! he thought, turning around and trotting up to her. “Look… I’m sorry for snapping at you, alright? I didn’t mean to be rude.”

“Of course you didn’t,” she growled, gritting her teeth. “You’re just a pegasus.”

“Excuse me?” Joules said, cocking an eyebrow.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she spat sarcastically. “What I meant to say was you’re an arrogant, hotheaded jerk who probably polishes his armor every night.”

“Look lady, I don’t know who crapped in your cereal and frankly I don’t care, I’m just trying to be the bigger pony here by apologizing for being rude. It’s just gonna keep making you look worse,” Joules retorted, folding his forelegs over his chest. “And for the record, I’ve gotten cited for not polishing my armor enough, so, nice try.”

“... You’re still off-duty, right?”

“What of it?” Joules asked, uncertain of what was coming.

She rolled her head towards him, smiling sweetly, and threw a lightning-quick punch to his shoulder. “You can’t hold that one against me.”

“The hell I can’t!” Joules yelled, whipping out his hoof-cuffs and slapping one around her pastern and the other around his. “Alright, you’re coming with me. You’re under arrest for attempting to assault an officer,” Joules said angrily.

“No, she’s not,” came Lieutenant Murdoc’s voice. He looked every bit as disgruntled as Joules felt. “I thought I heard petulant whining. Release that mare, at once.”

Joules grit his teeth in pure anger, using the key to release her. “She’s your problem now, sir. I was just trying to do my job. Not like any of that matters,” he said. “I’ll see you on Monday, sir. I’m leaving Manehattan for the weekend. I need to get out of this city before I snap.”

“I’ll let Leaf know,” Murdoc said coldly. He rounded on Snow Storm, glaring down at her, raising an eyebrow, not saying anything until Joules was well out of earshot. “There any reason you decided to rile up my officer?”

“I gotta keep myself sharp,” she said, then hung her head. “I’m sorry… about last night. I couldn’t do anything.”

“I understand, and believe me when I tell you that my officers feel the same way you do. Try not to piss them off, alright? The Captain laid into all of us today, so we haven’t exactly been having a party back at the Barracks,” Murdoc said.

“I haven’t exactly had the best time, myself. As I’m sure you know.” She looked up at the Lieutenant. “But it’s about to get better. I know where my folks are now. I was just on my way to tell the Captain.”

“I’ll go with you,” Murdoc said. As they walked, Murdoc looked over at Snow’s cast. “How bad is it?”

“That wooden sword shattered my pastern - if I even step on it too hard, it feels like my leg up to the shoulder is being dipped in molten lead. I can’t fight like this… or at all.”

“Is there any reason you checked yourself out of the hospital then?” Murdoc asked. “I mean, unless you’ve found another way to fix it, you’re gonna need to have surgery to get that taken care of.”

“That’d take too long!” she said, raising her voice. “I can’t sit by and do nothing! Not when I need to save mom and dad and take down the Red Hoof. They didn’t even try using magic to heal me.”

“The break is probably too bad to do so,” Murdoc said. “Even if they did, the recovery time is still similar, because the bone will still be weak, so you’d still be out of commission for a while,” he added. He then turned to face her. “I get you want to save your parents, but doing it on a broken pastern means you’re risking yourself and them. You need to fix yourself before you fix anything else.”

“I know… Hey? Could you deliver a message for me? The sooner I get to where I’m going, the sooner I’m fixed.”

“Sure, what’s the message?” Murdoc asked.

“Tell Captain Leaf that the Oranges are being held somewhere on the Rind homestead. And I’ll bet my life’s savings that’s where you’ll find the lost armaments. I’ll even go so far as to say it’s where the Red Hoof himself is.”

“Joules overheard a goon saying something to that effect last night during the fight. Your statement all but confirms it,” Murdoc said. “I’ll deliver the message if you do me a favor.”

“Anything… sir.” She blinked, surprised at herself for using that word.

“Next time you see the stallion that you were dealing with earlier, say you’re sorry. I get you were frustrated and upset, but that doesn’t mean you get to take it out on a pony that was just trying to help,” Murdoc said.

Snow Storm nodded. “Of course. I’ll be heading to Ponyville, for your information. I’m not sure how long…”

“Whatever you have to do to get better,” Murdoc said, patting her head. “We’ll do our best to hold the fort while you’re gone. You just focus on fixing that hoof,” he said resolutely.

“I will. And… stay safe. Whenever I leave this city, something bad happens. Pretty sure I’m cursed.”

“You and me both, kid. You and me both,” Murdoc said, giving an almost morose chuckle, shaking his head.


5

Joules angrily slammed the door to his shared apartment behind him, tossing his armor aside into its usual corner of the living room.

“Bad day, Joules?” a male voice said from another room.

“Terrible,” Joules said.

“Well, I made some lunch. There are leftovers in the kitchen,” the voice said, emerging from the dining room. A bright green pegasus stallion with a jaw-length, deep green mane and gold eyes with glasses emerged. “You look pissed.”

“That’s ‘cause I am, Kilo. Last night blew ass, today blew ass, and some mare with a serious attitude problem just made today worse,” Joules said.

“Heh, always lucky with the ladies, aren’t ya?” Kilo said with a smirk.

“Shut up,” Joules said, rolling his eyes.

“What, I can’t give my little brother the business?”

“...”

“I’ll take your silence as a yes,” Kilo replied, nudging his little brother’s shoulder. “C’mon, buck up.”

“I’m going to have lunch,” Joules said. “And you’re going to go back to doing whatever Kilos do.”

“Oh, you mean balancing the checkbook and making sure we don’t get evicted?” Kilo said.

“Right, sure, whatever,” Joules said, pushing past him to the kitchen. “Tera still at school?”

“Mhm. She should be getting out soon though,” Kilo said. “I’m gonna take a shower. I’ve got plans tonight.”

“Oh?”

“Yup, gonna show my little brother how to actually get a mare,” Kilo said from another room.

“If I wasn’t beat up I’d kick your ass!”

“If you weren’t beat up you still wouldn’t be able to,” Kilo’s voice responded.

Joules rolled his eyes, deciding to focus instead on his lunch rather than let his brother continue to get under his skin. A short time passed, and Kilo emerged from the shower, towel around his waist.

“By the way, I’m going out of town for the next couple of days, so let Tera know,” Joules said.

“Oh? Work related?” Kilo asked.

“You could say that,” Joules replied.

“Alright, just don’t catch the clap. I’m not paying for your pills,” Kilo warned.

“Kilo… is that honestly all you think about?”

“The fact that it isn’t what you think about troubles me,” Kilo said. He then took a seat across from Joules, looking him straight in the eye. “...Are you sure you’re not gay? It’s okay if you are…” Kilo then reached across the table, taking Joules’ hoof in between his. “I’ll always love my little brother no matter where he sticks his junk,” Kilo said in a mockingly sweet tone, batting his eyelashes at his brother. Joules merely stared at his older brother, wondering what Kilo would look like with his head facing the opposite direction.

“Yes, I am sure I am not gay,” Joules said flatly.

“If you say so…” Kilo said, leaving Joules alone to his thoughts and his lunch.

I get crap at work and I get crap at home. Whoever’s up there that’s crapping on me, please stop, Joules thought as he took another bite of his food. Whatever… some time away will do me some good. Maybe Ponyville. I liked that town last time I was there…


6

The Red Hoof’s ear twitched as the door to his private room opened. “Sir?” a nervous stallion said, barely peeking his head into the room. “I have news. From the train station.”

“Speak,” the Red Hoof replied, staring into his fireplace.

“The mare you told us to watch has boarded a train to some backwater village. Should we follow?”

“No, let her leave,” the Red Hoof responded, turning to face the pony. “If she truly is who I think she is… then this city will soon belong to me, and when she inevitably returns, we will be waiting for her.”

“Yes, sir. There was only one other thing. This morning we caught a suspicious vagabond asking far too many questions and snooping around the acreage. What would you have us do with him?”

“Is that so? What did he look like?” the Red Hoof asked.

“Well… if you’d like, I could bring him to you?”

“Hmm… no, not right now. Let him sweat a bit,” the Red Hoof said. “I will be down to see him personally once I feel he has suffered enough.”

“Understood, sir. The only thing he’s said to us so far was that he came here to get a couple of oranges.”

“We shall see… perhaps I’ll bring Hano with me if he decides to be dishonest,” the Red Hoof chuckled to himself, to which Hano looked over from his mat next to the Hoof’s desk.

“Master, if you wish, I can go see him now,” Hano said simply.

“No no, I want to be there when we get the truth out of him…” the Red Hoof said with an unsettling grin.

“Understood Master,” Hano said, bowing his head slightly.

Freakin’ spooks, the messenger stallion thought, quietly slipping away and shutting the door behind him.

“I can’t help but wonder what our little captive will have to say when we have our little chat with him...” the Red Hoof smirked, reaching forward and hitting the button on his desk, the built-in microphone turning on. “Merry Weather, send someone from the cargo team to my office please…”

“Yes, sir,” the voice responded. Minutes later the door creaked open again, and a unicorn entered.

“How goes the offloading process?” the Red Hoof asked pointedly.

“Completed. You wouldn’t believe the things we have.”

“Excellent, I knew I kept you ponies around for a reason,” the Red Hoof nodded. “Now, I want you to distribute half of what we captured to our grunts. The Guard is weak, and the Mare do Well has been severely crippled. We need to strike while the iron is hot. We are going to be launching an attack on the Royal Guard Barracks. Here are the battle plans.” He levitated a folder towards the stallion, who grasped it in his teeth.

“Would you like me to lead the attack, Master?” Hano offered.

“No, I don’t feel you’re necessary for this mission. These weapons should be enough to take down the Barracks. We strike in twenty four hours. Am I understood?” the Red Hoof said.

“Sir!” the stallion acknowledged, saluting and running out the door.


7

Snow Storm looked out the train car’s window, barely paying attention to the passing winter scenery. She gave a heavy sigh, watching Manehattan shrink in the distance as the train made its way towards Ponyville.

I’ll be back soon… just, hold on until then… Snow thought, closing her eyes. As the memories of the night previous as well as recent events filled her mind, her frustration and anger took hold briefly. She slammed her good hoof against the wall next to her, causing the passengers to stir uncomfortably.

“Could you keep it down over there? I’m trying to read the paper,” a familiar voice said from the seat across from hers, behind a newspaper.

“Sorry,” she growled, rubbing her hoof. “Bad month.”

The stallion shifted at her response. “Like we ain't all got problems,” he grumbled.

“Somepony sure woke up on the wrong side of the bed today,” she commented wryly, hoping he’d take the bait. She could use a good fight to vent out some steam.

“Speak for yourself, you’re the one with the attitude,” the stallion retorted, never lowering the newspaper.

“With everything I’ve gone through, I deserve to have an attitude, buddy.”

“That so?” the stallion said, closing his newspaper. “Not to be nosy or anything, but uh… you wanna talk about it? It’d probably help to let you vent instead of just being moody.”

Her eye twitched as the stallion closed up his reading material, revealing the face of that insufferable Guard from before. “Are you following me!?” she demanded at once, glaring icily at him.

Joules looked up, rolling his eyes. “Oh. It’s you.” He sighed, rubbing his forehead. “Me? Follow you? Don’t flatter yourself. Like I’d follow some crazy mare that made my life more difficult when I’m trying to get away from the city. If you’re looking for a fight, you’re not gonna find one. Now, if you wanna talk like a civilized pony, then I’ll be more open to that.”

Snow Storm scrunched her face into a half-pout, half-snarl, ready to continue the argument until she realized most of the car was looking in their direction. “Fine,” she said, “I’m sorry. About now and earlier.”

“See? That’s much better,” Joules said, nodding his head. “For the record, I really was only trying to help you. I can understand your frustration with your folks and all, though. We’ve been working around the clock trying to find ‘em,” he said with a small sigh. “Sorry we haven’t produced any results. I honestly thought we would have had something to show for it considering we spent...” he then did a bit of mental math, “...something like, eighty of the last ninety-six hours trying to map out possible locations around the city,” he said. “You wouldn’t believe how uncomfortable sleeping under a desk can be.”

“It’s fine,” she said, flashing a smile. “The Captain knows where they are now.”

“Good to know,” Joules said, giving a yawn. It was then that Snow could see the exhaustion in his eyes beyond the bandages from the incident the night previous. “I’m guessing you didn’t end up going to a clinic, after all?” he asked with a small smirk.

She rolled her eyes. “What, you mean this isn’t a hospital train?”

“Real funny,” Joules said sardonically. “That aside, where are you headed?”

“Ponyville,” she said. “To see a shaman about my leg.”

“Huh, that’s where I’m- wait, did you say ‘shaman’?” Joules said, raising an eyebrow. “Speaking of, how’d you bust it up that bad anyway?”

“I got into a fight with a squirrel in the park,” she said, smirking coyly.

Seriously? he thought. He decided not to pursue it and upset her. He was finally able to speak to her on a normal level and didn’t want to risk another fight. “That… that sucks, yeah,” Joules said, nodding his head. “Well, I hope you get better. I’m guessing you’ve got a place to stay in Ponyville?”

“Yep! Though I don’t plan to stay for long. As soon as I’m fixed up, I’ll be back here.”

“Yeah, I was only planning on staying for a couple of days myself,” Joules said, shifting in his seat and ruffling his wings slightly. “Let me know if you find this shaman pony, I wanna see some voodoo magic,” he said with a grin. “Now that I think about it, we haven’t actually introduced ourselves,” he said, extending a hoof through the hole in the partition. “Joules Watts.”

“Snow Storm,” she responded, shaking his hoof.

“Snow… that’s a nice name. It suits you,” he said with a small smile. “Well Snow, I don’t know about you, but I’m gonna take a nap,” he yawned, settling into his seat and lowering his head onto his forelegs.

“Just don’t snore.”

“No promises,” Joules said. He then watched her settle into a similar position, but struggling to get comfortable. He then slid the pillow that he had been resting on through the partition, offering it to her. “Take it, you need it more than I do.”

She was already asleep, snoring ever-so-slightly, her body twitching.

“Okay then,” Joules said, slipping the pillow next to her in case she needed it, the stallion turning to lay on his side as he drifted off into sleep as well.