Domestic Politics

by DontSweatIt

Chapter I: Adventure

Part I: Unify

“Can you comment on the controversy revolving around your Crop plan?”

“Let me say this. Equestria, Canterlot included, has always been a place of haves and have-nots. Our economy by nature allows the few to collect mass amounts of wealth, while the majority hold only a small sum. The wealth gap has been thinning, with the creation of a healthy middle class through the spread of industrialization within our nation. What’s more, Equestria has signed a trade partnership with both Saddle Arabia and the Griffin Kingdoms for the first time, ensuring economic prosperity for many years to come.”

“But?”

“...We can take all the strides towards wealth and comfort we want, but it doesn’t really matter. Because there will always -- always -- be the have-nots. There are 7,000 homeless ponies living in Canterlot alone, and of that, half are foals. These statistics remain stubborn, despite our efforts to provide job opportunities and housing through traditional programs.

“‘Traditional’ ways of addressing this issue are no longer sufficient, considering the unwavering number of starving and destitute. It is a crime to allow so many of our own die in the cold, no help available from the government -- or anypony for that matter.”

“And that’s where the Crop comes in?”

“Yes. Real progress has been made in Dupont, the northern sector of Canterlot where our Crop prototype was implemented . The Crop program, designed by Luna and myself, provides housing in the emerging towns and communities of Equestria, where job growth is the highest. This provides the two things needed here most -- a home, and a job. Before Crop was utilized, Dupont was home to over 600 homeless. Now, we are very proud to say that zero remain in the cold in that area.

“Today, it is my honor to present a plan for a large-scale implementation of Crop, throughout the city of Canterlot, and based on its success, Manehattan.”

“The economics of this…”

***

11 months later; 257 Days until Collapse

Feather Tress shook her wings out, snorting at a few leaves that swirled around her trembling form. She was exceptionally small, so the harsh wind cut right through her. The only way for her to stay warm at all was to hop from hoof to hoof, which made her feel like an idiot amidst the crowds of bundled-up aristocrats and designers.

She was standing in Bobigny Park, in the Hampton crew territory. Tress had taken position under a large bronze statue, depicting a very heroic Celestia, in the hopes that it would keep the wind from reaching her. Of course, this had only resulted in a shift of wind direction so that it once again met her head-on. She was inevitably brought to bear against the oncoming winter.

“Oh, Bone. Where are you?” She said between chattering teeth.

She was waiting for a friend. More than that, really -- family. Bone was perhaps the nicest pony she had encountered. Tress had run away from home after her father had started caring more about his flask than her. Because of her father’s hobbies at the bottom of a bottle, she was used to negligence and indifference. In fact, she too had hardened her little heart to the world when she disappeared into the inky night, not knowing what the next day or week would bring.

Actually, it had only been about three days before she had reached her breaking point. Starving, hooves sore, stomach empty. The relentless heat of the summer and nothing but endless hunger rapidly drained her, making her wish to be back with her father. She was on her last legs, with nowhere to go, and she was lost and desperate. She had stumbled into an alley just before nightfall, hoping to just curl up and die while she slept.

Instead, in that alley that she had been so prepared to perish in, she had found life. Sitting on top of a dumpster, hooves crossed and a curious look on his face, was a hardened yet empathetic earth pony. Bone Sew had taken her in, given her food and somewhere to recover.

He had taught her that ponies really could care, and that some were worth investing some love in. After seeing so much numbing pain and suffering, this gift was one she truly treasured.

Tress and Bone had been inseparable ever since. Well, it had only been a few months, really, but she liked to think they'd be as close as family for the foreseeable future. He had shown her how to survive, and how to enjoy the freedoms that the law usually restricted.

The only trouble was, they weren’t in a crew. Crews brought stability and food. If you were in a good crew, you knew exactly where you were getting your next meal and where you’d be sleeping at night. Tress supposed that Bone just prefered to fly solo, having taught her that sometimes a pony can only really depend on themselves.

This was all fine in theory, but when the going got tough and winter rolled in, a pony needed warmth and sustenance. Bone told her that on nights after a bad snowstorm, as many as 20 homeless died, alone and hungry.

So naturally, being in a crew was a good thing as far as survival went. The problem that the duo faced was that most crews stopped recruiting with the threat of winter, not wanting to take on freeloaders. They were effectively barred from any and all crews. Bone had berated himself nonstop for his lack of foresight in not joining a group earlier in the year, when recruiting was still going on. He hadn’t let up since. That is, until word of a new gang in Dupont had reached his ears.

Word was, this gang was hiring. There was the minor issue that they were allegedly based smack-dab in the middle of the northern half of the city, which presented a couple difficulties. One, since it was in Dupont, it was a great distance from where Tress and Bone usually operated, and travel was a very involved and sometimes dangerous process.

Travel, especially long distance travel like the trip to this crew would require, could take a pony through all kinds of places. Hostile crews, the Guard, weather, and hunger in general all posed very real threats to travelers. Well, only homeless travelers. Messing with somepony who the Guard would listen to wouldn’t do the pony who jumped them any good.

Tress and Bone specifically lived in the southern end of the Old Town, pretty near Bridgetown. This meant that going north would mean skirting the edges of both the territories of Boulder’s crew and Scoot’s crew, and it was anypony’s guess whether they’d try to stop northbound trekkers or not.

Boulder controlled the western edge of the city, including the Financial District and much of Old Town and Bridgetown. They only controlled one of the bridges of the five though, which was a point of tension between Boulder and the Hoe Boys. The Hoe Boys (shortened to ‘Hobos’) was taken from myth regarding homeless Humans. The Hobo crew aimed to control all five bridge so that they had a securable border between them and the rest of Bridgetown.

Scootaloo, on the other hoof, held the eastern end of the city, which included a lot of Old Town and Bridgetown. There were about 15 blocks separating the two, and only a few crews were suspended in that middle ground.

The second issue presented by the northern location of the new crew was that even if Bone and Tress did get to it, there was the issue of the Guard. For about a year, Bone had told her, homeless had been up and disappearing as a result of Guard deportations in Dupont. Nopony on the streets knew what happened to the abducted ponies, but none of the speculation was optimistic. It had been common knowledge that nopony operated in Dupont any more, until word of this new gang started getting around.

Effectively, the northern end of the city was a no-go zone for almost every crew in Canterlot. There was no guarantee that a pony’d get out of there once they went in.

So this new crew, as promising and inspiring an opportunity it was, held some risk. Bone, being as caring as he was, had decided to minimize as much risk as he could by finding out the details of this crew -- to see if the rumors held any actual weight. After all, a trip past Embassy Row, the natural north-south border of Canterlot, should be avoided if possible.

Bone had heard that the leader of the Hampton crew, whose territory Tress was in now, had some information.

This source of intel, Bone said, was unpredictable and not to be trusted. Based on this, he had made the decision to talk to this pony alone for Tress’ safety, leaving her in the middle of Bobigny Park underneath a great bronze statue, shivering.

She was perfectly willing to wait, actually. She had grown up fast in the past few months, and didn’t need anypony to hold her hoof anymore. Be that as it may, she was still 7, and patience was not something she specialized in.

Of course, one of the first thing a mind does to entertain itself is think. Thinking, as wonderful an invention as it was, did not help in this situation. All she could keep her mind on was the likelihood of Bone abandoning her.

The worst part was, she couldn’t blame him if he actually had. They were about to start across Canterlot for the northern end of the city, and they had to get there before the first snowfall. Really, if they didn’t get somewhere warm by then, they’d die. Tress would just be dead weight until then, though (and after, for that matter). Another mouth to feed.

Tears were stinging her eyes from a combination of the sharp wind and the very possibility that she had been left behind in this park.

Tress stopped her efforts to squeeze body heat from her tiny frame and shivered almost immediately. Like pinpricks, she felt goosebumps running up and down her legs. The whole ordeal was becoming more than a little uncomfortable.

She scanned the leafless tree line and the walking paths that spider-webbed the park, hoping to spot a familiar face. There were ponies with bright scarves and puffy coats, trotting and playing in the dead leaves that carpeted the cold ground.

All of these ponies who probably had houses, beds, and best of all, a family to go to. No worries about what the night would bring, about where the next meal would come from. They were happy. And why not? She wasn’t their problem, and nor was Bone or any of the other ponies who littered the streets.

Sighing, Tress sat herself down. She moaned lightly at the frigid concrete that met her bum, and tears once again washed her eyes clear. Self-pity filled her, and the inevitable questions flooded her mind like they had those many months ago.

Why did I leave? I could be in a warm bed--

“Boo. Hope I’m not interrupting anything, you look kinda busy lying on the ground like that.” The warm, deep voice screamed its way into her head, and elation soon replaced dread.

Tress squealed, “What took you so long, ya big doofus?”

Turning to face Bone, a second involuntary cry escaped her lips. Placed deftly on his grey head were two hats, and around his neck two scarves.

“Picked these up for us, should make our adventure a little more enjoyable, huh?” He said with a smirk.

His face was hard and square, though the ever-present half smile he wore did a lot to make his features more pleasant. Atop his head was a short crop of black hair, shaggy and untidy in the harsh wind. At 15, he was very large, with a strong set of shoulders and a heavy chest. He was a brilliant fighter, from the little that Tress had witnessed.

There had been the time that a much older pony had tried to take some of the food that Tress and Bone were stocking up earlier in the year, and Bone had beaten him back in a flurry of hooves. He had been very careful to keep her sheltered from that kind of thing, however, and she liked to think that he really did love her in a sister-brother kind of way.

“Picked them up, or stole them?” Tress asked, moving towards her friend.

“What do you think, munchkin? I totally paid for these.” He put on a sarcastic grin, “Too bad I’m keeping them for myself, they’d look good on you.”

Tress laughed, making a go for a yellow scarf that hung around his neck, but he was faster.

Sidestepping, he chuckled, “My dead grandma could move faster than your sorry flank!”

Tress was about to lunge at Bone again when a third pony entered the ring. Short and solid, King was Bone’s best friend. He was the one who had told Bone about the new crew, actually. He had been in Scootaloo’s crew as a fighter before deciding with Bone that they would all go north together. He was light red in color, with a blonde mane that hung short.

"You pick up somethin' for me too? I'm very fragile, you know." His voice was a little high-pitched, and his humor crude, but Tress had grown used to it in the past few weeks. He was another friend.

"All your blubber'll keep you warm, ya loaf." Bone opened fire. They'd never stop now.

"Oh yeah? I happen to know firsthand that your mother is very fond of flab. Says she likes bein' put in her place by a real stallion."

"That'd be true if you were a stallion at all, asshole."

"Why don't you try tellin' her that yer --"

"Pardon, I don't mean to come between you two, but shouldn't we get a move on?" Tress nodded her head towards the sinking sun, her eyes betraying sarcasm.

Her two companions grumbled their assent, and they turned northwards. Bone tossed a red hat and the yellow scarf to Tress, who smiled widely. The articles of clothing brought her ears and neck immediate relief from the wintry air, and put a bounce in her step.

They walked in silence out of the park, King and Bone thinking of how to piss the other off most efficiently. It was Tress who decided to disperse some of the tension.

"So, what were you doing besides getting this stuff and dragging lard-butt over here? What did the crew leader say?" King shot daggers with his eyes at Tress for the jab.

"I talked to the guy. Colt named Atlas who used to run around with Scootaloo, an' he was telling me about the crew we’re headin’ for in Dupont. Said that around a year ago, right when the Guard started rounding ponies up, a little guy who used to be a supplier for Scoot ran north. She didn't want him goin' to the Guard about all the shit that went down back then, so they chased him all around Canterlot.

"Atlas says that when they finally caught him, the squirt got cut up pretty bad. Couple ponies started to threaten calling the whole damn military, so they ran. They came back a few times lookin' for him, and never found nothin'. Atlas thinks that the little guy got nabbed by the ponies in uniform, but Scoot swears that he's still alive. Which is probably why she wants whoever's runnin' this crew up north on the end of a stick." Bone swung his head around to meet Tress' gaze, who looked back at him with big, wondering eyes.

“Wow. You should totally write that down, Boner. So that way we can read it whenever we want and stuff, it was that good” King said.

"Look, the point is, Atlas told me where I could maybe find this guy, if he's still around. ‘Cause he’d know for sure where this crew is, if he isn’t already in it. Up by Canterlot Music Hall, in Ruder Square. It's about an hour's run north of Embassy Row, Atlas says. Which puts us at about a five hours walk all the way, since we're so far south. I timed it so that we'll be past Embassy Row by nightfall, that way the Guard can't see us. Kapeesh?"

King broke in, "Man, you're retarded. The Guard wouldn't stop us during the day up north, but we're, like, 10 times as suspicious at night."

Bone rolled his eyes and kept walking.

Tress looked at her hooves as she walked, thinking about the upcoming journey. She had thought it would be a lot longer than 5 hours, to say the least. It was just that Bone and King made such a big deal out of it before, and it had seemed that the trek would be more daunting than five hours. Was it really that dangerous where they were going that they go through all this preparation?

“Hey, Bone?”

“What’s up, Tress?”

“If this trip is really so short, why did you make such a big deal out of it before we left?” Tress looked up at Bone, curiosity spelled out in her eyes.

“Uh… I didn’t know we played it up that much. Look, the thing is, nopony we know has ever gone north, except for Scoot and the guys who were in her crew a year ago. That was all before things up there really started gettin’ bad. Atlas told me that the north is like the Badlands. No rules; no big crews holdin’ everypony together. Down here, most everypony’s in a gang, and everypony who is has gotta job to do. Get food, or get money, the list goes on. Atlas said that up there, it’s everypony for themselves ‘cuz there’s only the one crew.

“So I guess we was just stressin’ it so much ‘cuz we don’t wanna be underprepared. That’s just the fact of the matter.” Bone articulated the last sentence with his hooves, and he nodded excitedly at his answer.

Tress still had another question, “Wait, aren’t you in Scootaloo’s crew, King? Or, were, I guess. Anyway, wouldn’t you’ve gone north with her?”

“I wasn’t with her a year ago. Like Bone said, only the guys in it back then went uptown.”

Tress frowned, “What about how Scootaloo got mad at the pony who first ran north. You know how she chased him? Why doesn’t she get mad at us?”

Bone laughed, “I reckon Scoot’d probably want our heads, yeah. That is, if she actually knew what we were doing.”

“What was her crew like, King?”

“Celestia, you don’t shut up, do you?” King rolled his eyes and grumbled. Tress shrugged.

King continued, “I dunno. Like, I was a fighter, so I was kind of a big shot compared to all the other guys. At the bottom are the suppliers, who basically operate on their own except they give all their shit to Scoot, in exchange for part of the cut of food and protection. Those guys make up the biggest part of the crew. Above ‘em is the fighters, who keep control of the soup kitchens and fight for territory sometimes. There were only, like, 20 fighters when I was there, including me. 'Bove us it’s Scootaloo and her friends."

Tress nodded, showing she understood.

“The problem is that when winter’s comin’, the suppliers start bringin’ in less and less loot, so you have to rely more and more on the kitchens. With that, the kitchen can only feed so many ponies, so eventually somepony’s not gonna be eatin’. Nine times outta ten the ponies who go hungry are the suppliers, ‘cuz they’re smaller than everypony else. I dunno, I just think that’s really shitty, to let some guys starve while Scoot and her friends who don’t do nothin’ eat like royalty.”

Tress scratched her chin, taking it all in. What if this crew they were going to worked the same way, and she was the one who went hungry first? That was a legitimate risk, right? This just made it more apparent that this trip north was a huge gamble, so their current crewlessness must’ve been a lot more dire than she had first realized.

Tress was looking at her hooves as she walked, thinking about all that King and Bone had told her. So deep in thought, she didn’t see that Bone had stopped ahead of her. She bumped into him suddenly, which put her on her butt.She let out a loud grunt, and looked around to see what the hold-up was. Then she saw it, the Hyatt Hotel, which pretty much marked the farthest Tress had ever traveled north.

It was a total of six stories tall, whitewashed with dark, tinted windows. A neon sign above the covered entrance announced that it was indeed the Hyatt, though the place held no real significance with any of the three except her. Even when she hadn't lived in the alleys and among the rats, she had never strayed far from home or school, and her father never cared enough to take her someplace worthwhile. The most exciting part of her week, actually, was shopping at the grocery, because that alone did enough to break the monotonous cycle of the first grade.

"You ready for this, Tress?" Bone looked into her eyes, concern thick in his voice.

"Born ready, doofus." Tress put on a mask of stoicism, trying to be tough for Bone.

They stood like that for a time, Tress acting tough and Bone trying to call her bluff. He'd never make the trip past the Hyatt if she didnt want to go.

"Do you guys, like, want me to take a picture or something?" Tress rolled her eyes and looked at King, who giggled haughtily. Bone punched him hard in the shoulder, his eyes most definitely rolling.

“Whatever, asshole. Let’s just get goin’ Tress.” Bone started towards the Hyatt, north bound once more. Tress stayed at his side, sticking her tongue out at the King.

For his part, King nursed his injured shoulder, pouting dramatically. He finally noticed the shrinking forms of Bone and Tress, making their way uptown.

“Wait, you’re not going to leave me here, are you? Hey!” He trotted after them, a hoof outstretched.

***

“Son of a bitch, this is all your fault.”

“Are you kidding me? You’re the one who insisted on checking out this buckin’ square!”

“I didn’t know this buckin' shit was happening!”

“Guys, shut the hell up. They’ll hear us.” Tress interceded, her voice a harsh whisper.

They were crouched down in an alley, darkness enveloping them. The East Falls building, which served as the soup kitchen for the East Falls crew, burned across the square. It was not a church, but was gothic and had stone steeples that stuck out above the thick smoke. Stone bricks turned black by soot and the air choked with smoke, the building was ablaze. Smoldering support beams collapsed in an almighty roar, and the arching roof caved in. It sent thousands of sparks and jets of flame shooting towards the stars.

The windows had long ago popped from their frames under the intense heat, so tendrils of fire licked their way into the cool night air, as if beckoning for somepony to come near. Come near they did.

Not Tress, nor Bone or King, to be clear. Five small ponies stood near the burning kitchen, grinning at their handiwork. They were young, fillies and colts at least. Too young to be arsonists, one would think.

Closer to where Tress was hiding were two more ponies, though much larger than the little criminals that watched the fire. These ponies were armed, large sections of pipe held in the crooks of their hooves. They stood watch, guarding the burning building as if somepony could stop it if they tried.

Bone had led them nearly to Embassy Row when King had spotted the dazzlingly bright lights that had shone from a block over. Stupidly, King had walked them right into the square they were parked in currently. They watched, horrified, as the youngsters torched the place, throwing matches into a decidedly gas-soaked building.

One of the big ponies must’ve spotted them before they had ducked into an alley, considering the careful watch that kept them rooted to the spot.

Tress swore under her ragged breath, hoping against all hopes that the thugs wouldn’t think to look in their alley. Her little heart made up for its size with volume, pounding in her head with vigor, creating a sort of sadistic song that matched the fire as it roared.

The armed ponies stared hard into the night, determined to hang high any intruders. Any witnesses that lived to tell the tale and the Guard would do the same to them.

Their faces were cast in shadow by the light source behind them, but Tress could see enough to make them out. They were mean looking, scars dotting their coats as if they were patterned quilts. One was a dark blue, with no mane and a torn left ear. On his face was a scowl that could scare a bogeyman.

His partner looked much gentler looking, with light brown coat and black mane. He didn't wear an ugly frown like his cohort, but looked just as serious. Of course, Tress couldn't overlook the fact that they were both wielding blunt objects, assumedly for hurting. That made them slightly more intimidating than they had already been, and they'd be plenty scary without the pipes.

“How do we get out of this?” Tress asked feebly, trying to keep her voice from being heard by the sentries.

“If we knew, do you think we would still be here, you twit?”

“King, shut up. Bein' an ass won’t do anypony any good. We just gotta think about this.” Bone’s collectiveness calmed Tress, and silenced King entirely.

Silence filled the alley for a moment while the friends tried to outfox their oppressors.

Bone snickered before continuing, “Actually, there’s jack we can do right now. We gotta wait it out, guys.”

King groaned, beating his head against a wall behind Tress.

They didn’t have to wait long, it seemed, as the thuggish ponies decided the coast was clear. They shouldered a sack of cans, probably from the smoldering kitchen, and walked over to the group of foals by the fire. They had apparently had the decency to rob the charity before burning it to the ground.

The congregation of thugs whispered amongst themselves before retreating onto a street across the square. Bone, King, and Feather Tress waited another few tense minutes as the flames continued their march towards the stars to see if they came back. Tress’ heart still pounded, the sight of the armed ponies with the great inferno behind them etched in her mind forever.

Finally, Bone decided they were safe.

“Well shit. Good call on waiting it out, bud.” King patted Bone on the shoulder as he passed him, heading out of the alley.

“Wait up. Who the fuck were those guys, King? I’ve lived out here for a long time, an’ I never saw anything like that.”

“No clue, compadre. I’m just glad I live to tell the tale of the 'Dickholes Who Burnt Down a Charity'.” King laughed, leading the party once more, "Seriously, who the hell does that? The East Falls crew... Celestia, dude. They're gonna go hungry for a while."

Their shadows danced on the buildings to their right as they walked, the fire's light making them look huge. Smoke still choked Tress' lungs, but she didn't want to cough to clear her airway in case somepony heard. It was an irrational fear, considering King and Bone had been talking freely only moments before, but Tress was frightened. Besides the rare tussle between a thieving bum and Bone, she had never seen a great amount of violence on the streets. The greatest threat to she and Bone was hunger, and the very real possibility of starving.

And now, she had seen a few ponies just condemn an entire crew to that fate by burning down the kitchen. Hell, that building had been the crew's namesake. Maybe what Atlas had said was right, maybe this part of town was the badlands in comparison to everywhere else. What's more, they weren't even past Embassy Row yet!

It was while Tress was thinking these things that she heard the first fire whistles begin to fill the air, and shortly after, Guard whistles. Somepony had reported the fire, and if they had seen the trio near there, they might be blamed for it. This could spell trouble.

As if on cue, a gruff voice called out from the darkness, "Hey! I found 'em!"

It wasn’t a guard, though.

A buff pegasus colt stepped from an alley beyond where Tress stood, two more ponies behind him.

“This is the East Falls crew, Bone. I seen ‘em before.” King whispered to Bone, who nodded.

“Hey, guys. What’s up?” Bone’s methods of diplomacy were less than perfect, evidently.

“You fuckers know 'what’s up'. What the fuck is wrong with you psychos? Seriously. Burnin’ down our damn kitchen? Not fuckin’ cool.” The lead pegasus said, an intimidating grimace on his face. The colt’s voice was surprisingly calm, as if nothing was uncertain, and punishment had already been dealt.

“Well those’re some pretty heavy allegations. What d’you have to back it up?" King challenged the pegasus, stepping in front of Bone.

"What proof? Buddy, you see any other ponies out here?"

Hey, we was just passin’ through, an’ we saw your building burning.” King said, a threat at the edge of his voice.

“Yeah, ok. And who do you suppose burned it down, passerby?”

“Man, I don’t know--"

"Bullshit. Why shouldn't we beat your buckin' skulls in right now?"

"Alright, alright. We saw five ponies standin’ next to it, two of ‘em armed. Couldn’t tell if it was a crew or not.” King’s words made the lead pony’s ears perk, a fire in his eyes.

“What did they look like? The armed ones, I mean. Prove you saw ‘em.” His voice wasn’t even anymore, and gravelly adrenaline lined his speech.

“Er, one of ‘em was bald and had a torn ear, and the other was pretty normal lookin’, I guess. It was dark out.”

“Torn ear? Hey, filly, you see a torn ear too?” The pegasus turned to Tress, his eyes boring into hers.

“Eh, yeah, one did. Like he said, it was hard to see.” Tress tried to sound as confident as she could.

The air between the two trios of ponies was silent for many seconds as the pegasus considered Tress. She was afraid she had said something wrong, and she felt insecure with the pegasus scanning up and down her face.

The two ponies behind the lead pegasus looked ready to hurt somepony, hoofs clenched tightly and their eyes slits. The unending silence while the pegasus wieghed Tress made her wonder whether they could take this crew if push came to shove. Bone was an excellent fighter, which was also King's job in Scoot's crew. These ponies looked tough though, with scars criss-crossing their sides and anger all over their faces. Plus, Tress certainly couldn't fight.

She decided that it was an even match, even with her as a liability. She just hoped it wouldn't come to that, but it all depended on if the pegasus believed them or not. Finally, he nodded.

“Yeah, I know who you’re talkin’ about. Sounds like somethin’ he’d do, too.”

Tress almost jumped for joy, and she could see that the two ponies behind the pegasus looked relieved, too.

Bone chuckled, “So who are they? We kinda found it hard to believe somepony’d burn down a kitchen.”

“Part of Scoot’s crew, they wanted some of our fighters and the East Falls bulding, but we fought ‘em off earlier today. The asshole with the torn ear is named Motivator, Celestia knows who came up with that buckin’ name. Didn’t motivate us none.”

King laughed, “Eh, that guy sounds like a big softy. Don’t see why you didn’t hand over those fighters. What’s your name, captain?”

The lead pegasus smiled, “Doppler. Named after weather equipment, yeah? Doin’ me a lotta good out here on the streets." Tress laughed at this.

The pegasus flashed her a grin, "...an' these two are Cleaver,” Doppler pointed to another gruff pony with a buzzed mane, “and Eden.” Doppler gestured towards a light green earth filly.

“Hey Eden, Cleaver. These two troublemakers are Feather Tress and Bone Sew. We was just goin’ up to Dupont, ‘cuz we heard a new crew up there is hiring.” King bumped hooves with Doppler.

“Alright, pleasure’s all mine, ponies. What with our burned down kitchen, we gotta go up to that crew too. We know those guys pretty well; figure they could give us a hoof or somethin’.”

“So they do actually exist? Shit, King, you were right. I’m glad, too, or we woulda been bucked for winter.” Bone punched King in the shoulder, relieved laughter spilling out onto the streets.

“Yeah, well. We should probably get movin’, the Guard’ll be here soon for the fire.” Doppler said, “The rest of our crew is already sleepin’ for the night, so why don’t you fellas come with us to the Dupont crew?”

“Yeah, alright. Let’s get movin’.” Bone, King, Tress, and their new companions set off, northbound once more.

As they continued their journey, Tress couldn’t keep a feeling of elation from rising in her stomach. Things were starting to look up after all.

***

Author's Note:

Now we're gettin' somewhere. Again, thanks a bunch for reading this, even if you didn't necessarily like it. If you have any constructive criticism, please feel free to leave feedback.

Thank you also to Squeaky for partially editing this. Stay safe out there, brother. In other news, I am in need of a reliable editor.

Ya'll have a good day.

Comments

[DontSweatIt]

3276124

Extra! Extra! This dude is pretty chill!

Thanks for the write-up compadre.

[Punguinhelper]

I enjoy this take, kinda like A Star Called Henry

[Conflicted Squeaky Belle]

"I am in need of a reliable editor" yeah, I don't blame you. Sorry for not being reliable at the moment. Things are getting better and I'm getting a computer from my school so I should be back on the saddle (wink wink) and ready to edit for you by next Friday at the lastest.

[faglordfluffykintz]

is now your editor

[Conflicted Squeaky Belle]

3281548 and as I said, it's Friday and I have a new PC. Told ya so.