Apple Visit
Big Macintosh Apple sit in the Ponyville Express, watching the harsh landscape pass by outside the window as his mind contemplated everything that happened in the past few days.
Annabelle was besides him, a peaceful expression upon her beautiful face as she leaned her head against his shoulder in slumber, both of her hooves wrapped around his free one, the other massive red fetlock propped under the crimson stallion's chin.
It didn't get any easier with time, knowing he'd failed somepony he loved. It had been a while since he'd had a night of binge drinking, or the day after spent being drunk. But that was the thing with drinking, to some, it helped numb the pain, but to others, like himself, it just made the memories all too vivid and hazy at the same time.
Had it not been for the mare beside him hiding the cider, he'd probably still be drunk. He missed Scootaloo, all of them did. Even so, though, life had to go on, even if it was minus one very special family member. Annabelle had done it when Soarin was arrested and disowned by her father, if she could suffer that and the same loss he did now, Macintosh decided that he could too.
Though that wasn't the only thing on his mind.
He turned his attention to Spike, who sat alone across the isle. The drakes arms were folded, a look of concerned contemplation controting his face.
"Please, Mr. Apple. I need you to-"
"AH TOLD YA NO! AH TOLD YA IN CANTERLOT AH DIDN'T WANNA SEE Y'ALL AGAIN!"
The scene replayed over and over again, Uppity had come to the farm to request his presence in Canterlot as a whitness against Cupid Protector, as well as the detained Trotski and Communists for the crimes of Treason and Conspiracy to Commit Murder.
Macintosh was livid as soon as he set eyes on her, knowing what she did, that she was partially responsible for Sin's death. Had it not been for the massive hangover from the ethanol escapade the day before, she wouldn't have walked off the farm that day.
The audacity, the gall, how shameless was she to come right up to his family home and ask for his help after what she did?
That was all he saw in that moment, though, he didn't see the shame in her eyes, the suffering, the pain. He didn't want to see it, he didn't care to, especially not after what she said.
"Please, I know you don't believe me, but I loved him too. Please, this is the best we can do for Sin, to give him justice for what happened."
Macintosh grunted and shook his head, the train rocking slightly from it's rushing through the badlands. Uppity. Uppity was had a hoof in so much suffering in Ponyville. Between her selling out Sin and bringing that... bitch who took Scootaloo here, Macintosh grew to hate the orange unicorn mare, and in that moment, he made sure she understood his loathing.
Sin's note coming to mind, and Macintosh forced away the bubbling anger in his stomach. It was his last request for the apple stallion, that he not be angry with her, that Uppity herself had suffered enough. Mac wanted to not be angry with her in honor of that, but it was hard. How could Sin expect him to not be livid knowing what she did? How could she do that to him? Yea, Sin may not have been the nicest pony in the world, but he didn't deserve that! And the question that plagued him worst of all, why? Why had she done it?
Another look at Spike aided in the stallion's soothing.
Twilight was in Canterlot now, she needed to be to help with the prosecution now, considering Uppity couldn't do it herself since she was now hospitalized.
Macintosh was almost happy to hear about it, until he'd heard what put her there. Attempted suicide, she tried to hang herself with nothing but two notes left behind to explain herself to the world. One addressed to her family and a second letter addressed to him that now sat in his room, unopened and hidden away in his dresser.
If the stallion was ever going to forgive her for what she did, her showing her remorse by trying to end her life was the first step in... something.
Annabelle told him to read the letter, but Mac's emotions were far too conflicted. He didn't want anything to do with her, not right now. Sin's death was still a sore spot for him, and Uppity was the last pony he wanted to hear from for a good long while yet.
And despite Justice's transport to Canterlot, her legacy of bull crap still lived on. The pink pegasus had, prior to being arrested, set up a provision to allow new arbiters to act in her stead if she was incapable of filling the role. Her lackeys, one of which Mac didn't mind too much, were now Co-arbiters of City Council.
Mask was alright with him. The mare made a lot of sense in how stallions were treated in society, what with only stallions being put in the dangerous position of being royal guards and what not. It also kinda bothered Macintosh about how little diversity there was in the council, as well as Ponyville in general. He liked to think the small town was a happy and accepting place, but then he remembered instances of biggotry and exclusive behavior. Like with Zecora, and how the entire town, even Mac himself, was terrified of her for no other reason than the fact she was... different.
Mask explained to him why that was, a culture bias. Ponies were all that Ponyville had ever known, besides some well announced appearances by famous beings like Alicorns, draconequus, a cranky griffon, and a particularly rambunctious, seminar hosting minotaur. A zebra, while not rare in Equestria, was unheard of in Ponyville until Zecora.
Ponies weren't dumb creatures, they had knowledge and the means to accumulate knowledge and dispel ignorance. They claimed to be the most tolerant and loving species on the planet. It was a grave and disgusting disservice with the way Zecora was treated by the town, needing a small filly like Applebloom to expel their ignorance, all because she was different. Jumping to conclusions about her being a witch who hurt others, Ponyville deserved to be ashamed of itself.
When Mac had it all explained to him like that, he agreed with Mask, alot. It wasn't anypony's fault the races were different, they were all still creatures of light and good, so to treat them poorly for differences was stupid and wrong. Sock, on the other hoof, Mac had absolutely no love for. Word had it that the rose marked stallion was in the process of lobbying the city council to revamp the tax system, citing farmers and labor workers rights for extra regulations in pay and security.
The Apples were a self sufficient farm, so they didn't need to worry about the pay aspect, but added on safety regulations? No. Why should he need a hard hat to buck apples? Or safety glasses? Yea, it would be nice for added safety to his head and eyes, but the stallion didn't want to wear those things, and he had a right not to if he pleased.
But that was the thing with mares, wasn't it? Mares were all about safety and compassion, being the gentler sex that they were. What could he have expected when the city council was monopolized by the gender? Stallions, like Mask said, understood the importance of freedom and risks more than mares did. That wasn't to say that males didn't understand compassion and didn't hold it in regard, it was just that they had a better understanding of individual integrity vs collectivized compassion... or so Mask had explained, even if she was a little too forceful in making others see her point of view.
The door to the next cart opened, giving entry to Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and his elder sister, the offensive noise causing Annabelle to stir slightly in her slumber.
"Well be arrivin' in Appleloosa soon." Applejack whispered softly.
Mac nodded his head and returned his attention to the window.
With Twilight gone, Applejack had taken charge of the current mission. Since the girls had experience dealing with this particular issue, Rainbow Dash and Spike were sent to speak with the buffalo while AJ and Macintosh came along to talk to the ponies. Apparently there was some kind of trade dispute between the natives and the settlers, and they were all sent to investigate the matter.
Mac didn't really mind, getting out of town for a while seemed to be in order. Annabelle seemed happy enough about it. The same with Fluttershy, who'd been sweeping the farm daily to find her lost white rabbit, Angle. Mac didn't want to say it out loud, but he didn't hold much hope of her finding the creature, but who was he to deny her her search?
"Thanks." Spike muttered, also returning his gaze outside the train.
Seeing there was nothing left to say, apparently, the three mares took there leave.
A good twenty minutes passed before the small town finally came into view. Mac now thuroughly bored and out of touch, absently took note of all the things he saw as he passed. There was Braeburn's house, cousin Apple Fritter's house, the local saloon, a pair of ponies walking by, the large clock tower, a bunch of ponies gathering around the train platform to greet them, cousin Braeburn, a green earth pony mare with a brown stetson, a dark blue earth pony looking more than a little miffed, a brown, hooded and cloaked pony, a small orange filly with a scarf, an off white pegasus pony with a light blue mane, a bunch of buffalo...
Mac shook his head in shock of the familiar sight and craned his head to look back intently out of the window. He narrowed his eyes to where he thought he saw her, maybe even them, but the cloaked and scarved ponys were no where to be seen.
That... that couldn't have been what he saw. It must have been a trick of the mind, right? Yea, yea of course it was. They couldn't have been here, they were both dead. So...
The stallion shook his head again, trying to get his mind right and surpress the false sense of hope creeping up his shoulders. It was a false hope, even if they were alive, what possible chance was there of finding them here of all places, and together at that?
'Trick of the mind, Macintosh. You've got both of them on the brain.'
He did, after everything, how could he not? Still though, both looked so vivid and real...
The train came to a stop, and Macintosh gently woke Annabelle from her sleep, electing a squeak ending yawn from the mare before she rubbed her eyes. "Are we there yet?"
"Eyep."
Spike walked out of the train behind the Apple family. The dry air already irritating his scales something fierce as he took in the subtle hints of apple goods among the stench of dead desert and sun cooked wood.
There were ponies gathered around the train station as if the greet them, which was odd, considering there was no forewarning of the troop's arrival in town today.
"Cousin Macintosh? Cousin Applejack?" Braeburn called in shock. "Well Ah'll be, what bring's y'all to our fair little town?"
Applejack strode up and explained that they had been sent by Celestia to investigate the issue between the ponies and the buffalo, apologizing for not bringing the rest of their friends to help out.
"Well shucks, cuz. Thanks fer comin' out n' all, but we got all that figured out already." Braburn chirped, earning a slight cheer from the rest of the town.
Spike was floored by the assertion. Figured it out by themselves? What do they mean they figured it out by themselves? Any time he and his friends were called in, they always had to fix the issue. Every. Single. Time!
'Meh, for the best if you ask me. Aren't you kinda tired of helping fix everypony else's problems?'
I guess.
"Spike! Rainbow Dash!" Called a soft and feminine voice.
Spike smiled as Little Strongheart raced forward and embraced him in a hug. It was good to see her again, though he would have been even happier if she was holding a bowl of topaz.
"Wait, so what's going on here?" Rainbow asked, looking between the few buffalo representatives and the group of Appleloosans. "Celestia said you guys were stealing from these guys again." She pointed to each party respectively.
Chief Thunderhooves nodded. "That is true, we have been disrupting Equestrian trains and stealing apples from their orchard."
"WHAT! So it's true?!" Rainbow shrieked, flying into the air and scowling down at the bison.
Sharif Silverstar stepped forward, calling for the prismatic pegasus to calm down and explain the situation. As they were already informed, there was a dispute about the amount of apple products given to the buffalo as compensation for allowing the trees on their sacred stampeding grounds. Though, it wasn't that the Appleloosan's had given too little food, but a unicorn had used his magic to off set the scales the bison used in order to weigh it.
"Wha'? Why in tarnation would anypony wanna do that?" Applejack asked.
Braeburn furrowed his brow. "When the Inquisitor asked him, Professor Cook said it was 'cause he didn't like Celestia, and... well..." He cast an unsure glance at Chief Thunderhooves, who was already shaking with rage.
"He called us SAVAGES!" The mamoth of a buffalo roared, stomping a hoof and blowing steaming air through his nostrals.
Rainbow scowled. "Really? And where is this Cook guy now? Sounds to me like he needs a good old fashioned butt-kicking."
"Well, he ain't here no more. After the Inquisitor found him, he n' his assistant hightailed it outta town." Braeburn informed, adjusting his faux leather vest. "Well, Ah guess he might be headin' tah Baltimare, said somethin' 'bout the rest of 'em headin' that way."
"Them?" Applejack asked before halting everything. "Alrigh' Sugarcube, can y'all start from the beginin'? And who's this Inquisitor guy ya keep goin' on about?"
Spike's interest was caught the moment his description was given. A hooded oak colored stallion in a dark brown cloak and dull icy blue eyes.
He looked over to Macintosh who looked like he'd seen a ghost, the red stallion's face was a few shades lighter for the description. It couldn't have been the same pony they were thinking of though, Celestia swore up and down he was dead. The tale became even more off putting when Braeburn added in that the stallion had two companions with him, one of which being a small orange filly with a deep purple mane going by the name "Angel Wings".
The name caught Fluttershy's attention, but the color scheme caught Spike and Mac's.
Apparently this Inquisitor had began investigating the situation a few days ago, he didn't tell anypony what he was doing other than interviewing Braeburn and Professor Cook. According to the former, he was hired by some rich pony out of Canterlot who sold apples outta Appleloosa.
"Don't know too mucha what he did 'sides interviewin us n' lookin' at Scales' ballances. Boy was Scales' mad 'bout that, but that's what he said he had to do. Then yesterday Ah went to deliver the apple pies n' fritters like Ah said, n' that's when the Inqisitor went n' figured out that the assistant was usin' magic to tip the buffalo's balance to make it look like we weren't given' 'em enough food. At first we thought it was cause they were usin' heavier rocks for weighin', tryna get more food from us, but that wasn't what was goin' on at all."
"Indeed." Thunderhooves said, looking apologetically at little Braveheart and then to the yellow stallion. "On behalf of the natives of this land, I apologize for our behavior and rush to judgement. It was dishonorable of us to... how do you ponies say? Make a hasty generalization?"
Braeburn blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "Aww, shucks chief."
As touching as that all was, Spike peeped up and returned to the subject of Cook, since he seemed to be the main problem in all of this.
"Oh, right. Well, after the Inquisitor found him out, both had this argument about findin' someone named 'Trotski' er some such."
Spike's eyes immediately went to Macintosh, who was already glaring at him in a show of knowing.
"Professor said somethin' 'bout Celestia tellin' us all a bunch a lies, n' that she ain't fit to be a princess. Went into a big shpeal about the ol' Hearth's Warming story after that. 'Course it wouldn't be right callin' professor Cook no more, since he said his name was Smart Cookie."
Spike gasped silently. From what Mac had told him, the Trotski used the names of Equestria's founders in their higher ranks. Commander Hurricane, Prince Platinum, and Chancelor Puddinghead being their leaders. It stood to reason that thier seconds would use the names of the minor heros, which meant they likely had a Private Panzy and a Clover the Clever.
"Pst." Mac made a motion with his head and the two walked away from the girls, all to enthralled by the story to notice their departure.
"Ya thinkin' what Ah'm thinkin?" Macintosh asked, once they were a good distance away for privacy.
Spike bit his lip and shook his head. "That'll depend. What are you thinking?"
Mac cast a skeptical glance back to the group. "Ah'm... not sure. Ah don't think it's a coincidence that this Inquisitor guy is who he says he is. Ah think we were bein' lied to back in Canterlot."
Taking a breath, the baby dragon could see where this was headed and didn't want to hear it. Sin was dead, he had to be. Celestia said so, Macintosh had his bloodied goggles, delivered by Uppity herself.
"Ah don't think he's dead." The apple stallion said skeptically. "'Ah mean, Ah never saw his body er nothin' did you?"
Spike hadn't, not that he wanted to anyways, still though, if Sin wasn't dead, than why was he keeping being alive a secret? That... okay, that would be like him, but still, what was the point? Didn't it matter to him how much pain they were all put in because they thought their friend was dead? Didn't he care?
"Cause he escaped jail?" Macintosh offered. "He was arrested before he was supposed a' been killed right? Maybe that's why?"
Small prickles of hope mixed with rage filed into Spike's chest. That was right, Sin was arrested for releasing the Trotski in the first place, but they turned on him for some reason and sold him out. Still though, that hope and rage died as quickly as it came when the drake had argued that there was no way their friend could have survived. Cunning as he was, he was still in a prison cell.
"'N how do ya think he escaped?" Mac asked, a small smile creeping onto his face before immediately dropping. The stallion slumped and sighed. "Now, Ah feel real low, Spike. Uppity saved him, n' Ah treated her like crap..."
"Don't you think you're making some pretty big assumptions here, Mac?" Spike countered, finding the pony's conviction in Sin being alive a little bit disturbing. "I mean, yea, the description Braeburn gave us does kinda match up, but there are a lot of brown ponies with blue eyes. Like Time Turner back home."
Macintosh looked down at the drake with eyes dark enough to stop Spike's heart. "Because Ah saw him."
Sombra huffed as he and Soarin continued walking, keeping themselves far enough behind their prey so as not to be seen, but keeping close enough to act just in case.
His off blue pegasus companion walked in silence with his ever present scowl. Sombra had done a little reading on the pony prior to their dispatch from princess Luna. Soarin was supposed to be his ideal travel companion. Cheerful, carefree and very much a mare's stallion. The pony walking beside him now was anything but what was promised.
This mission should have been over by now, the two had so many chances to take down the target and return him to his mistress over the past few days, but Soarin wouldn't allow it. The pegasus was too concerned about the target's potential to take hostages, projecting his own worst case scenario onto the situation. They almost had him a couple of nights ago, but that blasted pegasus mare just had to go with him to the buffalo camp.
And so, here he was. Walking through the badlands. Dick thoroughly dry and starved of female attention, body as untouched over the millennia as was a rouge guardspony's regulation scroll. The fell king could still remember the times before he had fallen to the darkness. He could remember his youth, his strive for knowledge garnering the attention of a very special mare. The carassing, the tender affection, the cute faces she made when he rutted her silly...
Alas, Sombra was not one to be tied down. Even before he was king, the unicorn's sexual apatite was nigh insatiable. Mares for miles, he used to say. To expect one to be able to handle his needs was asking too much from anypony, even Celestia he'd guess. It was a cursed existence, but such was the way for males like himself. A curse he was this close to killing his companion in order to indulge.
"Sorain." Sombra said, breaking the silence between them. "Upon the next settlement we arrive in, I shall be parting ways with you for a time. Understood?"
"Why?" The former Wonderbolt intoned.
The black unicorn eyed the pony. "I have needs, Soarin. You may obsess with catching this Sinbad, but I do not. I have interests and demands of the flesh that must be tended to."
Sombra expected the pegasus to contest him, to groan, roll his eyes and explain why the red eyed pony's idea was a bad one.
He didn't. The off white stallion just gave him a small shift of the eye and shrugged. "Do whatever. So long as you're there when I need you, I couldn't give a buck less what you do."
It didn't sit well with the fell king just how serious and emotionally fixated his associate was on this. While he could understand it, such behavior and drive was indicative to a strong will and determination. Though, it was also the same behavior his mistress had in looking for attention in her efforts before her own fall from grace.
That look of utter hatred, of eyes infallible in their search. It was unsettling how familiar they were to him.
"Must you be so callous? What have I done to earn your ire?" Sombra asked, glaring accusingly.
Soarin didn't reply, he just did what he always did when Sombra got confrontational and kept his mouth shut, eyes forward and one hoof in front of the other.
Sombra didn't know how things were a thousand years later, but back in his day, to ignore somepony's question was considered quite rude. Typically, such things were punishable by castigation or challenging one to a physical duel to defend honor, but Soarin acted as if his honor in regards to such things was non-existent. Outside of the chase, there was nothing to him.
It was all sleep, eat, and walk. No talking unless it was absolutely necessary to coordinate a plan of tracking or a plan of attack. No talking about friends, no talking about the past, no talking about love or the arts. Just, the chase.
The fell king would hold his tongue for now, but if this kept up much longer, he could not guarantee the safety and well being of his compatriot.
Luna sat in the garden, her gaze constantly being drawn to the palace clock tower, waiting for the designated meeting time. It had been two weeks since she'd dispatched her agents to track down Sin and bring him back to her, and she could only hope that Conno would remain stay his impatience with her. The lunar princess still had trouble comprehending what he'd done, and how he'd done it.
She looked back and down at her now healed ethereal tail tip. Such pain, physical pain. She'd experienced pain before, living for thousands of years had given her plenty of opportunity for it, but that was different. It felt lasting, as if it would never heal. It did, of course, but it felt like it wouldn't, it felt like it wouldn't and that's what scared her. What was worse was that was only the prototype, she could only dread the potency of the final product.
What was she supposed to do, though? Telling Celestia wasn't a viable option this time, not without putting her own self in danger. The Triple M. were dangerous, they'd subdued her once already when she defied them. How would Celestia fair? It hurt to admit, but even her most trained of guards ponies would be little match for the corporate agents. The black clad griffs were willy, resilient, coordinated and cunning, they had seen combat, real combat. Equestria, for all of her flaws, was the most peaceful land in the nation. The most potent threat she faced currently was a group of violent reactionaries who wanted to return to the old way of things.
Aside from the occasional supernatural, and typically powerful, beasts like Chistalys and Discord -whom were handled mostly by a group of six mares and one baby dragon, mind-, the lands were peaceful and didn't require beings too hardened to govern and maintain order. The insufficient strength of the guard was a thought on her mind all too often after how quickly Canterlot fell to the Changelings. Security had been beefed up something aweful, hundreds upon hundreds of guards ponies over looked the city during the wedding, yet even so, they fell within an hour of the invasion.
This idea only farther worsened when blame couldn't even be given to the element of surprise. The insectoids had been assaulting Shining Armor's bubble shield for a good ten minutes before it finally fell. Ten minutes of knowing a threat was coming, ten minutes of time to prepare, and the guard still fell so quickly.
It wasn't hard to figure out who would come out on top if Luna's forces were put against Conno's, and she'd made enough mistakes with the lives of others already. The lunar goddess wanted to do better by others, and if she had to suffer alone and in silence for her mistakes, she would gladly do so to protect the ponies she loved.
"Greetings, beast."
Luna's eyes shot wide. That voice.
She turned around and flared her wings, eyeing the golden eyes smirking pony before her as he casually leaned on the wall of the castle. "Star Shade."
"That's my name." Shade chirped, pushing himself off and calmly walking towards her, coaxing Luna to lower her head and charge a spell.
"Calm yourself, Luna. I haven't come to fight you. This time, anyway." The stallion declared in a disturbing amount of coherency.
Wait, did he just call her by her name? Shade never called her by her name, ever since she'd met the insane bat pony, he'd always referred to her as "beast". What was going on?
"Why are you here?" Luna growled, keeping her horn charged and at the ready.
Shade's smile dropped, and he eyed the alicorn princess with a scrutinizing gaze. "I've come to do a couple of things, actually. First off, I'm her to help you with your little, mercenary problem."
Dumbfounded, Luna accidentally let the spell in her grasp fade as he mouth gapped. "Y- you're here to help us? Wait how is it you-"
Shade raised a hoof and gave her a knowing look. "You'd be surprised what I know." He turned his attention to the clock tower before turning to her again. "There isn't much time, listen to me. Soon enough, he will come to you and he will come of his own accord. When he does, you will have a choice to make."
Luna furrowed her brow, trying to make sense of what the pony was talking about.
"You will hold his life in your hooves, but he'll have planned for it and he will have your salvation. You will not like it, but he will help you if you let him. I'm here to ask you to help him in return." Shade finished, eyeing the lunar goddess with every bit of somberness he could muster.
"Who will help us? What salvation? What are you talking about?" Luna barked, becoming irritated with his lack of specifics. "And how do you presume to know all of this?"
"Let's just say that I know who Discord works for." Shade said, closing his eyes and smiling. "And he's not going to be happy about me telling you all of this."
Luna's eyes widened. Who Discord works for? What manner of madness was this? No, no he was an insane madpony, she'd do well to disregard his pseudo-prophetical proclamations.
"Looks like you've got friends." Shade said, looking at a trio of black covered figures as they silently flew into the castle garden. Luna motioned for Shade to stay his place while she handled the situation, though, while they were clad in the black leather of Triple M. the beings coming to greet her were not the griffons she expected to see.
"Princess Luna." Said the lead, a mare by the sound of her, but the black helm covered her face and distorted her voice enough that Luna wasn't sure. Her entire body, aside from the wings, were covered in black, with only the red of the visor being any difference to speak of. "We are here to your progress report on the target."
Luna wasn't about to give that information to anypony other than Conno, seeing as he was her main point of contact and demanded to know where the lead griffon was.
"Conno is no longer your concern." The icy and metallic voice answered. "He has been relieved of duty, now, tell me what you have to report on the whereabouts of the target?"
"Do not make demands of me Federalist!" Luna spat. She didn't know this pony and wasn't about to let the pegasus order her around with such importance.
The pony beside the mare in black cleared his throat. "Princess Luna, we are the relief of Conno and his squad. This is our superior Tribune. Would you kindly tell us of your progress with the target?"
Appreciating the polite gesture, and pushing aside her own pride, Luna calmed herself to answer the blue stallion's inquiry. Unfortunately, all the lunar princess could report was that she had yet to find their target. The dream walkers honestly couldn't find his mind in the dream scape, but they did find somepony who did know his location. Oddly, and happily enough to her, Scootaloo's mind was found, and her thoughts revealed where Sin was in Trottingham, but the Nightmare was preventing her from getting an exact lock.
She was sad that she couldn't return the filly home, though. The poor thing had suffered so much and was under so many wrong impressions, Luna only hoped that the filly would come to her senses in time. As much as she wanted to help Macintosh in any way she could, for the terrible acts she'd committed against him, it was best for her agents to sweep up the stallion without his friends knowing he was alive. Luna herself could have gone after him, but she knew that she was always being watched, and the Triple M. agents would likely not let her retake the Nightmare before assaulting her person to get to him.
"Unfortunate." The lead mare declared taking a few steps forward. "My employer demands results, Equestrian, and so do I."
Luna's eyes narrowed and she took in the three ponies before her. Three pegasi, and she saw no other agents around, but that didn't mean there weren't any, she learned that the hard way last time. Still, she saw no reason she couldn't take care of the three ponies before her if she needed to.
"I shall make this clear." The Tribune intoned, reaching a few feet away from her and stopping. "Conno was relieved of his duty for his lack of substantial results, he was too lenient on you for your failures, I shall not be."
Luna narrowed her eyes. "You presume to threaten us, little pony?"
"She does." Shade interjected, walking forwards to join her side. "As I've said, I'm here help with this."
The black clad mare turned her attention to him. "You may try."
Shade gave her a an antogonizing smirk and the result was immediate.
Before he could even process what was happening, the red vizored figure was infront of him, he hoof buried deep into his chest in a deep and downward thrust, cracking and crushing the bones within. Just as he registered the force and pain, she moved again with ungodly speed to his side and proceeded to jab at his ribs. Not only were the jabs painful and too quick in succession to properly quantify, they hit areas that caused him more pain than they should have.
And even then, he barely had time to cough once before she was at his front again, diliving a final attack in form of a sweeping hoof to his face, sending the stallion spin flying through the door of the castle, the wooden barrier exploding into splinters and shards as he crashed through.
Luna was frozen in wide eyed horror at the speed and ruthlessness of what she'd just seen. Shade... a pony who managed to hold his own against her in one on one combat, a stallion who single hoofedly took on an entire changeling army and was capable of fighting dragons... was just dismissed and tossed aside like a rag doll.
This mare, this... thing, it wasn't pony, she didn't know what it was, but such brutality with nothing of provocation but a smirk? How anything could be so carelessly destructive was simply inconceivable to her.
"We shall return in a month." The mare said calmly, showing absolutely no indication of her aggression. Luna's eyes trailed to her, watching as the Tribune slowly made way back to her fellows.
"Farther lack of results shall be met with consequence." She informed, passing by her neutral compatriots and making way for the garden exit.
The cobalt stallion from before released a breath and visibly relaxed at her departure. "Princess-" The stallion said, approaching her slowly and causing the alicorn to tense. "Easy, I'm no threat. I've just come to warn you. The Tribune doesn't like non-results, I hope you will get some for her soon."
Luna forced herself to reply, still partially in shock from what she'd just seen. "W- we are doing all that we are able to."
The blue pegasus' ears pinned to the back of his head and he cringed. "I was really hoping you wouldn't say that..."
And with that, both of the remaining pegasi turned around and followed their leader, leaving the distraught Alicorn to her thoughts.
After a few seconds of processing, Luna quickly turned around and made way into the castle to tend to Star Shade, though, to her great surprise, the battered bat pony was no where to be found.