Chapter 23
Zebrica
North west of New Timbuktu
Training Grounds
2:38pm
Twilight was sitting under a private canvas shelter. A group composed of many different species was set up on nearby bleachers. From what she was told by Blueblood and Fancy, most of them were business owners and investors who had risen to power after the fall of the warlords. She didn't like to be singled out and given her own private seating area, but apparently it wasn't proper for a princess to sit on bleachers, so here she was on a expensive reclining couch while the other two nobles rested on large silk cushions. She pulled out her list of important Zebras to see who she could spot.
The first zebra she spotted was in his own box. Her eyes widened when she realized it was General Shujaa. He locked eyes with her for a few moments before she turned away, not being able to deal with his piercing gaze. From what she was told he led the Zebrican militia for years before the Britanians showed up, and likely had a bone to pick with Equestria. His uniform was decorated with a number of medals and was a rich tan brown. She then turned her head to an elderly zebra with a jagged scare on the side of his graying face. He wore a tan suit with a black tie and had a thin pair of glasses over his eyes. If she was right that was the Warden of New Prosost high security Prison, Inkanyamba. From what Fancy had told her despite his fragile appearance he was ruthless with his inmates, who represented the worst of Zebrica. He was a advocate of forced prisoner labor. Finally, there was a zebra mare wearing a number of colorful sashes over her toned form along with a headscarf. If she remembered correctly her name was Amara and she was one of a few great zebra mare industrialists and entrepreneurs. Her money was mostly in textiles with one of her factories out producing entire Equestrian districts. Her wealth made Rarity's own look minuscule in comparison.
That's then she turned her attention to the field. Pulling up a pair of binoculars she had been given, she looked over the field. Test dummy's that had been set up in the fields in different formations. As she zoomed in she noticed that the armor looked familiar.
"That's not some cheap replica armor...that's real Royal Guard gold alloy...who could've got their hooves on it?!" Fancy's eyes widened as he looked through his own binoculars. He zoomed in on the formation, trying to find something that would prove him wrong, but he only notices more evidence; standard issue spears, unit markings, etc.
"Do we have any information on how they will hold up against the weapons during the demonstration? The reports that Knight Summers and Lunar guardstallion Pumpkin Patch gave us were troubling. Their artillery seems to be far more effective the our ballista or even the few Minotaur catapults we purchased last year. The fort was annihilated without any evidence of nearby weaponry, so they probably also have a great range than our own. Then the incredible explosive force that they demonstrated... I shudder to imagine what such weapons could do to our own strongholds. If nothing else we may get a look at what sort of artillery they use..." Blueblood said as he put down his own binoculars and sipped a fruity martini he ordered earlier. The three took out their informational pamphlets, which contained a handy guided on equipment identification.
A troop of what could only be Zebrican infantry marched onto the field. Their uniforms lacked the normal flashiness of Equestrian dress and were a tan color. Their faces were covered with a professional looking bandanna. The oddest thing was how they moved on their hind legs instead of all fours. It was strange since they were used to seeing equines standing normally on all their hooves. On closer look they were all carrying similar weapons that they had seen the Britanians using. While twilight couldn't tell exactly from this distance it looked like the trigger system was modified to accommodate pony physiology, including hoof based telekinesis. While fairly clumsy in comparison to unicorn telekinesis it had allowed the early earth ponies to use a number of tools that the other two races had never even thought of. The question was how they could manipulate the trigger even if it had been up scaled; hoof telekinesis wasn't the most dexterous with such things at times...perhaps a some sort of alloy that conducts magic?
Looking down at the pamphlet, she identified most of their weapons as being Lee Enfield SMLE MK III's. It apparantly fired something called a ".303 cartridge". Looking over the picture in the pamphlet she noticed they had both the original and the modified version that let her get a closer look at the modification to the trigger (they simply lengthed it, making it similar to the trigger of a crossbow), along with a picture of the cartridge. She sighed; she still couldn't figure out how the Britannian's firearms worked. She put the pamphlet back, and watched the infantry salute and fall onto the ground aiming at the mock Royal Gaurdsmen. Looking back down at her pamphlet they were at well over 500 meters (she was still getting used to their different measurements) from the targets; they couldn't possibly hit it, right? She and her two compatriots leaned forward, wondering what was happening until a loud crack made their ears go backwards in shock. That's when the three of them pulled out their looking glasses to see what was happening to the dummies. Their armor was being pierced with frightening ease by the projectiles; pieces of it were already shattered or bow away. All too soon the Zebras ran out of ammo and stood up, saluting with their rifles before they were dismissed.
"With those weapons they could take out our captains with ease leaving the remainder of our forces without leadership...from what they say in the pamphlet those zebra were snipers and many of them can hit targets much further way. We wouldn't even know what happened till our captains were dying on the ground. We're giving these things to the commoners- we've armed the commoners better then our own guard!" Fancy nearly shouts as his face pales.
Twilight eyes widen as well, remembering that she had seen Big Macintosh teaching Applebloom to shoot out in the woods. She shakes the thought from her head as Blueblood coughs, reminding her the demonstration had only just begun. The next group of Zebras came out in the same tan uniforms, armed this time with a Bren LMG and a number of Sten MK II's. Looking back down at the pamphlet she read the short descriptions; the Bren weighed over 10kg (not including the optics and ammo, which like the rifles were also .303) while the Sten's were much lighter at just over 3kg and took a popular pistol cartridge known as 9x19mm parabelum. They even put down the unit cost for the Sten at only 2.3£! Even with her fuzzy understanding of the Britanian's currency (thanks to Filthy often letting the traveling merchants pay using Pounds instead of Bits) she knew that was extremely cheap, especially compared to the enchanted Guard spears which cost nearly 20 times as much just for the low end enchantments.
They took aim at a number of dummies wearing Royal guard armor about 100 meters away and opened fire. The constant cracks of the weapons threatened to deafen them as the Equestrian armor was broken and pierced like paper by the constant hail of bullets.
This continued for a while; apparently, they wanted the audience to get a good idea of the capacity of their small arms before doing a military drill. Luckily, they gave the audience some time to refill their drinks before starting the second portion of the arms expo.
"With this live ammo drill they will demonstrate their military tactics and some of their heavy equipment...this will likely be our chance to see their artillery and how this all comes together." Blueblood looks around as the ground starts to shake under their hooves.
That's when they saw a number of modified Karrier trucks that seemed to have a number of tubes on the sides with one large tube in the center. Twilight looked down at the pamphlet, looking at the description of the truck. It was modified with thicker armor and had a number of mortars fixed to its carriage. There were 6 81mm mortars with one large 105mm mortar. Behind the roaring truck a number of Zebras armed with a mix of Stens and Lee Enfields followed, keeping pace with the rumbling machine. The ground continued to shake under them as what could only be described as a tracked metal monstrosity trundled onto the field. This was clearly the Vickers Medium MK IIA. Three more followed behind, forming a protective triangle formation around the mortar truck with the infantry taking cover behind them.
As they slowly approached the massive formation of Royal Guard dummies they stopped, still far out of range of even Equestria's new catapults. That's when the mortars were fired and hell broke loose. The mortars fired, multiple shells landing in the center of the formation. The target dummies were shredded by shrapnel, but this wasn't enough; the tanks and infantry followed suit, firing into the already destroyed formation with their tracers, setting the remains on fire. The fire suddenly stopped.
The three ponies were in shock. The ability to destroy a formation so quickly was terrifying on its own, but to do it so destructively... just what kind if warfare had the Britanian's teached the Zebras?! It was at this point both Blueblood and Fancy shook themselves out of their disbelief, simultaneously pointing their hooves what has to be the final demonstration. It was a siege tower, just rolling over the hill! A massive wooden monstrosity used by the Unicorns of old as a mobile fortress. It even had a number of ballista in the battlements, as well as iron shingles to guard it's undersides. The massive metal covered wheels rolled over the dry grass before it stopped. They couldn't see what had propelled the massive structure out into the field; however, this soon became a moot point as they heard a loud buzzing in the air.
"Are they going to attack it by airship?" Fancy asked out loud as they looked up into the sky, spotting a number of specks that seemed to be moving at a considerable pace.
"They couldn't have mastered artificial heavier then air flight, could they? Starswirl himself said it was a magical impossibility. Every attempt he made to construct such a device was a failure! How could a bunch of magicless dogs master it?" Twilight shouted while Blueblood shushed her.
"Princess, please, I understand your shock. I too find this incredible, but please hold you tongue with such comments. These Zebras are staunch supporters of the Britanians and saying such things are not wise; especially with Princess Martha arriving later tonight by airship." Blueblood looked around noticing a few of the Zebras on the bleachers were looking at them with glares. "I tell you this not as a prince to a princess but as a friend; please think before you speak while we are here. From what I have heard their opinion of us is far from ideal. We need to watch everything we say or we could lose what trade we have with them. I don't have to tell you what will happen to Equestria without it..." He said quietly.
Twilight slowly nodded as she calmed herself down using the breathing techniques she was taught. She then turned her attention back to the aircraft, reading the pamphlet.
"Those are old surplus SE5a's. They were the most successful biplanes during their wars with the... Dragons. Did you know anything about this? I know that the last dragon migrationnumbers were way off... but a war against dragons..." Twilight and the two nobles shudder. If these Britanians could fight the dragons and WIN, then the Equestrian's stood no chance.
"We are going to a museum later today; from what I have heard they have an exhibit dedicated to the Britanians. I'm sure we could learn more there." Fancy said as the aircraft started to dive heading directly at the siege tower at a steep angle. "Do they mean to ram it...?"
That's when two objects detached from each of the three aircraft and rocketed directly at the tower. They soon figured out they were rockets, much like the fireworks back home. They accelerated for several seconds, as the fighters pull back up. The impact annihilated the tower, reducing it to flaming cinders in the air with none of the original structure remaining.
"They just destroyed one of Equestria's greatest weapons... One of our oldest and greatest tactics that allowed us unicorns to have the high ground in any combat scenario would be deadweight when attacking on of their strongholds. I shudder to imagine what would have happened if we tried to use such a tactic now..." Blueblood said as he continued to watch the remains of the tower burn.
Zebrica
New Timbuktu
Somerset hospital
3:23pm
Fluttershy had lost Pinkie in the crowds as they made their way to the hospital. She figured Pinkie would be ok, since she normally wandered off and came back with little trouble. She shook her head and looked up at the hospital from the gates. It was made of some kind of tan stone and reminded her vaguely of a castle. The widows were fairly large with matching drapes to stop too much light from getting in. She slowly made her way up the steps to the front entrance only for it to swing open nearly hitting her face.
"Oh I'm sorry miss, I didn't hit you did I?! I'm so close to getting my citizenship badge; I can't afford to cause any problems!" She looked down to see a young zebra colt looking up at her worriedly. He had on a uniform that looked similar to the military uniforms many of the zebra soldiers wore but had a sash and bandanna on his arm.
"Oh it's ok...you didn't hit me and it was only a mistake..."she mumbled with an awkward smile.
"Hey wait, you're one of the ponies who came to Zebrica on our new Zeppelin right! It's so cool to meet you!" He smiled up at her, jumping up and down excitedly.
"Yes...I came here to see what sort of medical practices they have... What are you doing her is some pony you know sick? Also what is your outfit; you're way to young to be in the military..." She said nervously.
His smile widened as he stood up on his back hooves and did a salute with his right front hoof raised into the air at an angle. "I am a young cadet!"
"Young cadet...? Is that like the fillyscouts?" She asked while the colt just laughs.
"The fillyscouts? Those wimps have nothing on us! We not only do community service but we also learn survival skills, basic military strategy, and my favorite; shooting! Just last week my troop was sent to help a farmer harvest and protect his crops from pests! I got to shoot two rabbits and a hyena! We even got to bring the rabbits home for supper!" He says proudly while Fluttershy stands in front of him in shock.
"You ate rabbits for dinner?! B-but you're a zebra! Equines don't eat meat! They're vegetarians..." She says in mild shock.
"No, ponies are vegetarians silly. Zebras are omnivores! See?" He smiles showing his two small incisors with his nearly perfect white smile. "In class we learned about adaptation, apparently zebra like me adapted the ability to eat meat since food was often scarce in the past here in Zebrica."
Fluttershy just stares in shock before shaking herself out of it reminding herself that she handled a number of carnivores back home. "C-could you show me around the hospital...?"
"Sure! I bet it would help me get my badge!" He smiles leading her into the hospital "Don't mind the smell; it's just heavy duty cleaning products they use to keep the viruses and bacteria at bay."
The cleanliness of the hospital was the first thing that caught her eye, along with the aforementioned strange smell. She continued to follow the uniformed zebra colt down the hall ways "It's so clean..." They stop at a hallway with a number of separated rooms.
"Oh...Ayo is that you?" An elderly zebra mare sat up from her bed with a number of bandages around her middle. Her bed was up against the far wall at an angle that allowed her to look out the window."I see you brought a friend. Please come in, an old mare like me could always use company" she smiles at Fluttershy who slowly enters the room with the colt sitting on one of the chairs against the tan walls.
"H-hello...it's wonderful to meet you miss" Fluttershy says quietly making the mare smile.
"No need to be shy. I don't bite. I can tell your curious about my bandages, huh? They were the first thing you started looking at" the elderly zebra says as she holds her hoof." Ayo wasn't bugging you was he? Ever since he joined the young cadets he's been driving others crazy trying to get his badges. I swear when he first came into my room I nearly had a heart attack thinking he joined the army! But I suppose joining the cadets was a good thing his grades in school have improved greatly and he's learning important skills. Apparently the whole practice started in the Britanian Provence of Germany. He even fixed my old revolver I bought when this place started looking like a real city. The firing pin was broken but then he came in with a new one and fixed it good as new!" She smiles, looking over at Ayo.
Fluttershy shook her head and decided to change the subject. "S-so what are the bandages for? You weren't attacked were you?"
"What? No I had cancer of the stomach and the Britanian doctors were able to remove it a few days ago. I won't be walking around for awhile but they saved my life so I can see my little grandson grow into a strong stallion" she says, smiling.
Fluttershy's eyes widened "B-but even with magic cancer of the stomach is often a death sentence! H-how could they remove it! Didn't it hurt?" She says in shock while the mare laughs.
"Oh no, they put me under with some drugs. I was asleep during the whole surgery. I don't really know how they did it but you could ask my doctor or the surgeon if you want/ I'm sure they could answer some of your questions if they're not too busy. In fact you could probably find them in there offices on the other side of the hospital. Ayo, why don't you be a dear and show her." She smiles as the small cadet takes Fluttershy's hoof and leads her out of the room through a number of hallways to the far side of the hospital. A number of windows along the halls showed empty observation rooms.
"Hey that's the doctor!" The small colt stops at one of the windowed rooms.
As Fluttershy looked in the window as saw a tall female German Shepard currently talking with someone she never thought she would see again... Rover of the Gem Biters. He was currently resting on a plain white bed with clean crisp sheets. He still had the same tattered red vest and gem encrusted collar but something was different... He looked content as he let the Britanian look him over, jotting down some notes onto a clipboard before resting it against his lab coat and walked out of the room. She stopped upon seeing the two outside, before greeting them.
"Ah, you must be one of the Equestrians visiting Zebrica, yes? Please come with me to my office. I'm sure you have many questions! Ayo, I was also told by your troop leader that you are to report for another harvest." She smiles waving the colt off as he runs off. She then leads Fluttershy to her fairly plain office, with little in the way of furnishings besides a desk and plant. She takes a seat behind the desk and motions for Fluttershy to sit on the chair to the opposite side. She leans forward waiting.
After a few moments she works up the courage to speak. "What we're you doing to... Rover?" She asks.
"Ah you know him yes? Well he immigrated to Zebrica after we sent a representative to his reservation! You should have seen them; on our arrival they nearly keeled over. Apparently, they hadn't forgotten all of there past. While the meeting was to help us reconnect with our brethren it has taken a new turn... sadly when they had first made landfall on the land you now call Equestria many of the ships; if they could be called that; didn't make it, Forcing them to inbreed on top of a number of diseases ravaging their bodies. Don't get me started on the mange and rickets. Luckily by introducing some of my kind to their small gene pool with vaccinations, proper diet, and selective breeding we can rectify it fairly quickly." She said leaning back in her chair.
Fluttershy nodded slowly. Since she had arrived in Zebrica and seen the Britanians up close she had wondered why they seemed to have more refined and upright body's as apposed to Equestria's diamond dogs that looked more like gorillas. "Could you tell me miss more about your medical practice... what are vaccinations? What is a gene pool? And how did you cure that Zebra's cancer?" She asks. The doctor gives her a little grin.
"Please don't call me miss; I worked hard to get my doctorate. Call me Dr. Herta Oberheuser."
Zebrica
New Timbuktu
The Grazing Gazelle restaurant and tavern
3:47pm
Pinkie had lost track of Fluttershy after trying to follow the familiar mouth watering smell. She just couldn't resist fish or crawdads! She smiled, thankful that Applejack didn't stay for the Pie family's after Hearthswarming tradition of loading up on protein after fasting with nothing but tasteless rock soup for a few days to fill their bellies. What really drew her to the restaurant was the spicy smell of the food that reminded her of her Grandma Pie's home made hotsauce. She gazed at the building; the ground floor of the overly elaborate building was the restaurant while a close look showed that there were dwellings above it. While only about 8-10 stories tall its was interesting that it still matched the plain adobe buildings that seemed common in Zebrica. The restraunt seemed to have a whole fancy naturalist and plains theme going on with the massive windows pointing out on the street with traditional hoof made Zebrican curtains on the sides and a number of hoof carved tables covered with colorful mats. The doors were a rich dark color with a number of knots, giving them character. As for the rest of the atmosphere the walls like the outside of the building were adobe but with a number of murals painted on them of the Zebrican plains with plenty of elephants, gazelle, and even a few lions all artfully placed. Even the carpets were a tan color reminding her of dried grass she saw on the plains. She pulled her pink face from the window made her way to the entrance.
She trotted up to the front entrance only to be stopped by a burly zebra with shaded glasses."Do you have a reservation?" He asked out of the blue, stopping her with his hoof.
"No...I just followed that super amazing smell!" She beams at him with her largest grin showing off her pearly whites.
"No reservation, no entrance. The entire restaurant has been rented out and we don't take walk ins." He said plainly.
"Aw come on I just wanna try the food, no need to be a grump!" She says, but he just shakes his head pointing his hoof in the other direction.
She sighs, having learned her lesson long ago about trying to push her friendliness too far from Cranky, and trots away sadly before an idea hits her, making her smile. She continues to trot down the road past a number of Zebras who seemed to be all wearing the same outfits Filthy sold at his store, before turning into an ally between two of the tall adobe buildings. As she entered the alleyway she walked past a number of trash bins and other bits of waste before turning in the direction of the restaurant. She slowly made her way down, having to climb over a number of piles of scraps and other refuse before finding the back door to the restaurant.
She sat there, letting the smell hit her for a few moments as she stared at the plain blue colored door before trotting up to it... Only for it to swing open sending her flying against a pile of trash while a very irate female diamond dog in a full chef's outfit stomped out.
"They do this to me?! After cooking them a wonderful meal from all local ingredients with plenty of my home country's flair, I get a message telling me that the stupid military demonstration is providing food! Sure there stilling paying me but that's not the point! I bought all these ingredients and know I can't do anything with them because they will go bad tomorrow!" The pure white diamond dog continued to scream before she calmed down and noticed what she did.
"Oh my, I'm so sorry miss I didn't mean to send you flying in to the trash!" She helps the currently confused pink mare out of the trash." Here, come inside. I have an employee shower inside for when dust storms hit." She takes her inside, past a fully loaded kitchen with plain while tile floors, more then 40 gas burners, one massive walk in fridge, 3 massive ovens, and one large slop sink with a sprayer to clean dishes faster then by hoof. She heads to the side of the kitchen, before leading Pinkie to an employee bathroom with a tub and shower head. "Just turn the red colored nob a little the hot water here is hotter then you would think!" She closes the door letting the mare have some privacy as she looked arround the blue tiled bathroom with a porcelain sink and toilet before turning on the hot water and stepping in to clean off the gunk from her fur.
In less then 7 minutes she trotted up to see the same snow white diamond dog holding a clear glass cup with hot chocolate. "Here this seems to help... so what were you doing in the alley? Don't you know how dangerous it is back there with the rusty bits of metal and the thieves running around?" She asks, motioning to a stool next to her's as she sits down.
Pinkie made her way over to the stool in the kitchen, sitting down and taking the hot chocolate into her hooves. "I smelled cooking shellfish... It reminded me of home since I could never resist the taste as a filly." She says, blushing a bit.
"Well sadly I haven't cooked that part of the meal yet. but from the looks of you I'm guessing you're a cook or a baker?" The dog says.
"Yes! I'm Pinkie Pie, a proud employee of Suger Cube Corner! The best bakery in Equestria!" She smiles hopping up from her stool. The dog laughs, a small grin on her face.
"Really, a baker? I hope you haven't let your other cooking skills diminish since you started baking; after all a good chef should never forsake their family's dishes" she says, with a hint of pride in her voice.
"Well I haven't really been able to cook most of my family's recipes since there's a stigma back home about eating anything that was alive...except eggs, for some reason." Her hair deflates, remembering what happened when her first employer in dodge junction caught her cooking crawdads.
"We have to remedy this now! We can't let you cooking skills waste away!" She grabs the pink mare's hoof as soon as she finishes her hot chocolate and drags her over to a cutting board where a number of ingredients such as spices, herbs, and vegetables rest nearby. "You start chopping up those Ingredients while I get a large pot on the stove for the lobster! Oh, I forgot to give you my name! I'm Elizabeth David!" She said, smiling, as she pulled out a massive pot filling it with water from the sink and putting it onto the burning flame.
"Lobster?! I haven't had it since I was a filly; isn't it really expensive? Oh, and it superiffic to meet you!!" Pinkie said as she chopped the vegetables and herbs with unmatched speed while being careful not to cut her hoof with the sharp knife.
"Don't worry about it; it's going to go bad tomorrow so I don't want to waste it! Besides it would be far more tragic for you not to be able to taste some of your own cooking!" The dog says, as they continue to cook together.
Zebrica
Outside of new Timbuktu
Wadacobee Farms
4:01pm
Applejack was walking past a number of the livestock on the farm. It was disturbingly similar to her own farm but the cows and steer seemed off to her. Not seeing anypony or Zebra around she trotted up to one of the cows that was grazing behind the log fence.
"Hey, you haven't seen a zebra in a straw hat around here have you? I think he owns this place?" She asked the cow, who didn't even seem to notice her as it grazed. "Hey! It's rude to ignore someone, 'ya know!" She yelled at the cow, who stopped her grazing and looked up at the orange mare with blank eyes.
"Mooooo!" The cow snorted before going back to grazing.
"I wouldn't bother; the cows here aren't smart like Equestrian cows. Just dumb animals." She jumped, turning around to see a tall skinny zebra in a straw hat. "You're Applejack I assume? Ah yes, your brother and I have been talking through the supply lines for a while. Please come with me. Just call me Mas, ponies never seem to be able to pronounce my full name for some reason..." He turns around motioning for her to follow him to one of the adobe storehouses.
As she follows him she takes on last look at the livestock. She shudders; those eyes... "What do you mean they're not like Equestrian cows? I was always taught cows were smart and had feelings..."
He opens the door to the storehouse, letting her enter first as he switches on the electric lights. "Eh, probably has something to do with all that fangled magic in Equestria. Those Britanians have been looking into it to see why but I don't see how it effects me, it's not like we need it here. Them diamond dogs have machines for everything!" He motions to an old table with two chairs on either end, with a number of large crates surrounding it.
"'Ah suppose...." Applejack says, sitting down at the table and looking at him. "So you know why 'ahm here?"
He nodded. "You want someone who can take your bootleg booze and cider and launder it so it looks like it was made in Zebrica so can be sold in the stores rather then in the alleyways. I also hear you and your brother need some more... Intense tools to protect your homestead." He smiles at her, while she just sighs and nods.
"Them Pegasi and Unicorns have been getting to be more and more of a thorn in our sides. We can currently hold them off with our legal guns but it's getting harder because more keep coming looking around for something to smash." She says, rubbing her temple.
"Well, it just so happens I have the thing you need right here in my warehouse. Are you interested?" He smiles, getting up and trotting over to one of the crates. He banged the side of it, letting it fall open to show it's contents "I have a number of Stens and skatterguns but I have something that I think you will really love fresh from one of the new arm's factories" After letting her look at the Stens and large semi-auto shotguns for a bit he pulls a dusty cloth off a number modified mortars. "These wonderful works of Britanian engineering have been turned into the pegisi's worst nightmare! Instead of firing the normal shells they fire shrapnel like Gryphon and Pegasi shot, turning the sky into one massive kill zone! It is still compatible with normal rounds, for use against magical shielding after all what's better then using heavy explosive to shatter shields. I'm willing to part with these if you can increase you production to, oh...300 barrels". Applejack does the math in her head and nods.
"All tell the other bootleggers in Ponyville to up production... You sure you can get all these weapons over the border?" She asked as she looked over the arsenal.
"This is my job; and let's be honest, your country is horrible at locking down its borders. Now let's have a drink and hammer out the rest of the long term deal" he says pulling out a bottle of Ruby scotch and pouring two glasses.
Zebrica
New Timbuktu
Arts district
5:23Pm
Rarity was trotting down to the art district to get her mind off her troubles. She passed a number of bazaars selling a number of colorful fabrics and nicnacks, but she was currently looking for something much more important. From what she had heard there was a bar somewhere around her where all the best weavers met and if the rumors were right a number of industrialists and textile tycoons as well. She could no longer have competitive prices using fabrics from Equestria's now obsolete cottage industries; she needed to move onto the mass produced textiles so she could by them in bulk (even if it sickened her to her stomach), since she normally just bought what ever caught her fancy. As she made her way down the crowded bazaar she spotted the open air bar that was situated in between two Adobe buildings. The furniture was made of bamboo, and a long cloth protected the occupants of the sun. She then noticed one of her friends sitting at one of the tables drinking.
With a sigh, Rarity recognized the drinker as rainbow. However, she seemed to have calmed down a bit. Currently, she was preoccupied with a large mug of some sort of beverage (presumably alcoholic). "Oh Rainbow darling, I thought Twilight and Fluttershy made you give up drinking!" She said as she sat at the table with her friend.
"Ya ya, I know I'm not supposed to be drinking but these bars are everywhere! How am I supposed to resist? Besides its not like it's illegal here, so no big deal" the blue mare took another sip of her mug and looked over at Rarity with a calm expression.
"That's not the point Rainbow. You had be on the wagon for weeks only to throw it away like this?" She says rubbing the side of her face stressed"What if Fluttershy were to find out. She would be devastated!"
"Oh and I'm sure they would be interested in those pills you're always popping? Strange that they have the same blue tint as Everfree spice... wouldn't it be a shame for the girls and your few remaining clients to find out Equestria's supposed greatest fashionista was a pill popper?" Rainbow leaned over with a smug look on her face.
"T-those are just some candies I like!" Rarity says, flustered. Rainbow laughed.
"Then why do you buy them from the flower trio? Odd place to buy candy, especially since they're the biggest spice dealers in Ponyville" she says, while Rarity just sits there in shock. Another laugh escaped her. She sat down her now empty mug, and sat up. "Tell the girls I'm going to a party tonight... If you even try to tell the girls about my drinking I'll tell them about your 'pills'. I'm my own mare! I don't care if Twilight is a princess; if I want to drink it's my choice!" She leaves the bar.
Zebrica
New Timbuktu
Zulu beach
5:39pm
Summers and Pumpkin were trying to find their old friend, Gretchen. She had sent them a message, inviting them to a picnic on the beach. The beach had a sort of pink tint thanks to the coral reefs nearby, and besides a few forgotten umbrellas it was totally deserted. As they looked around they noticed the palm trees framed the glowing city nearby, with a large empty field separating the city and the beach. This served to keep the area deathly quiet.
"Hey guys over here! We're having a beach barbecue!" The two stallions quickly turned around to see the happy owl gryphon. She waved at them as she flew, before tackling them to the ground. "I missed you two so much!"
The two stallions blushed a bit as they were hugged by the hen. Summer's what the first to snap out of his shock. "W-we missed you too Gretchen. How did you know we were in Zebrica?" He asked while the hem just smiled, letting them get up.
"You're both in the papers and the radio, along with those other ponies. I couldn't just not see my friends! Now come on. I have a BBQ set up down the beach in a cove with plenty of food! Besides my friends are excited to meet you!" She leads them down the beach staying on the ground and walking a bit slower then she would like to, since poor Summers was still horribly out of shape.
"Friends? What do you meen friends? I though this was just a late picnic?" Pumpkin said as the beach curved inward, becoming a small cove. He could already see the supposed BBQ with a number of torches lit around it, but what really shocked him were the number of Thestrals, some of whom he recognized from the guard! Along with a large Minotaur working the BBQ pit if he was correct that what the same Minotaur that was accused by the elements of harmony of turning one of there friends into a monster! There where also a few Zebras as well.
"Well, I kinda have been planning this BBQ after getting my nursing license to celebrate with my friends. The Minotaur is Iron Will who now is one of the heads of the workers Union; apparently, they love his speeches here in Zebrica. Then those two Thestrals working out by outlittle bar are Crescent who's the unofficial mayor of Zebrica's fastest growing Thestral settlement and Bluemoon, who works as a manager at one of the textile factory's. The rest of them are from my work at the local hospital." She says as she introduced them to each of the partygoers.
"Do you mind if I go and talk with Crescent and Bluemoon? They're old friends." Pumpkin says, while Summers nods in understanding.
"Sure! While you and the girls catch up I think I'll take Summers over to the BBQ pit to see what he thinks of our hog!" She smiles as she drags Summers over to Iron Will as he glazed the cooking hog.
Pumpkin slowly trotted over to the two Thestral mares as they sweated a bit seeing him. "What do you two think yoi're going?! The night guard have been leaving their posts. An entire garrison is gone already, and we can't afford to lose any more guards! Our princess's hav-!" He was cut off as Crescent lifts her hoof to stop him.
"I still love Princess Luna with all my heart, but you have to face it; despite all she tried to do for us upon her return little has changed, pumpkin. She's tries so hard for us and we all appreciate it but I'm the end because of Celestia, whether she meant to or not, has made it so Equestria will never accept us and I don't want my foal to grow up in a place where it can't run freely without the cruel glares and the horrible things I was forced to endure." She said taking a deep breath afterwords.
"But Thestrals have lived in Equestria for more then a thousand years. The princes-" Pumpkin started, before he was interrupted by Crescent shaking her head.
"Yes, our kind have lived in Equestria for more than a thousand years, but have we ever truly become Equestrians...? No, the nobility and commoners have seen to that. I couldn't take it anymore. The racism, the false promises, and the look Celestia would give me when ever I would eat my ration... I know she didn't really mean it, but her inability to face that we need to eat meat to survive was the hardest thing for me..You can't make any of us go back. I'm sorry; we still care deeply for our princess but whether she wants to admit it or not we don't belong in Equestria! Here we have options that we would never have in Equestria, where our only choices were villain in a play or the Lunar Guard. We even make more then we did there!" She shouts before calming herself down.
Pumpkin's head lowers to the ground, having lost the will to fight them since he too had grown tired of all the insults and racism. "Your right... I'm going to head back to Summers. I'm sorry for yelling at you like that." He starts to trot over to Summers before the two mares stop him.
"Pumpkin don't be like that... We didn't just do this out of the blue.. We had been talking about it for a long time. There's no way you didn't hear the other guards talking about it. If Luna really does care about us she would want us to thrive even if it wasn't under her rule..." Crescent saysm, sighing before letting him go.
After Pumpkin had left to go talk with the mares Summer followed Gretchen over to the BBQ pit where Iron Will was cooking. He was currently adding some drift wood to the fire. Summers braced himself for the Minotaur's trademark voice.
"Yes?" The hulking Minotaur slowly turned to look at the portly yellow stallion.
Summer's just blinked, not expecting the normal speaking volume. "Hello? I couldn't help but notice the mouth watering smell of honey glaze, and if I'm not mistaken the smell of cayenne pepper?"
The large bull smiled down at him. "Yes... Back when I was a calf living on the Islands my mother used to grow them in her garden... She would add them into everything we ate. Breakfast, lunch, dinner it didn't matter to her! It got to the point where I couldn't eat anything unless it had cayenne pepper in it somehow. But after the old Pompeian volcano erupted..." he sighs. "That's how I ended up in Equestria."
Summers nods, remembering the report he was giving about the disaster. "What about your mother? If you don't mind me asking..." Iron Will's expression grew grim.
"We were separated during the eruption. I was forced onto one of the boats while she was likely forced onto another... I thought I would see her when we made land fall in Zebrica, but we were thrown off course." he said as he turned over the hog.
"I understand. My country was far from welcoming to your kind..." Summers says, remembering the panic that ensued when a bunch of half starved Minotaurs made land fall in his country with countless ponies screaming about an invasion. He was thankful cooler heads prevailed in that case with Blueblood in the area stopping the frightened commoners and guard from doing something drastic.
"It wasn't a total loss up until those mares accused me of turning their friend into a monster. I was a very successful motivational speaker! I still don't know where they get off accusing me of being a monster just because one of there friends took my teachings too far... Of course they're over the top, that's the only thing ponies seem to understand! But being run out of Equestria after being accused of trying to corrupt one of the elements turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me! I'm now the head of the workers union and I'm a manager at Striped Steel Works!" He smiles, before once again flipping the hog.
"Still...." Summers tried to say something, only for Iron Will to lift up his hand.
"Don't worry about it. Sure, many ponies seem to freak out about every little thing but not all are like that. I remember this one odd family that took me in after the whole Fluttershy fiasco... The Pie family if I remember right. They helped me through my hard times. Apparently it's part of their beliefs to help those in need no matter who or what they are. They also happened to like spicy food as much as I do" he laughs a bit remembering them. "Anyways, sorry for rambling on like that. I tend to do that at times. Would you like to be the first to try the hog? I promise I have cooked it to perfection!" Summer nods eagerly.
While Iron Will sharpens a knife to cut off a piece, Summers sighs. "You know something funny? Everypony seems to want to be a knight like me, but they can't because only ponies with noble blood can be Knights. Except for me... I want to be a cook! As a young colt I used to sneak into the kitchens to watch the maids and cooks prepare meals. My parents never approved, saying it was my duty to become a knight and not some lowly cook but I always hated being a knight... The only upside to it was I moved around a lot and got to try new foods."
"Really, a knight that wants to be a chef? Why didn't you just become one anyway? Wait let me guess that fact not only the entire culture of Equestria pressures you to follow in your family's hoofsteps but also the fear of your family being shamed?" Iron asked as he started to cut into the meat.
Summer's just nods. "Yeah. Not that it matters; both my parents kicked it shortly after I became a knight, likely because they knew that it was a lifelong job..."
"Doesn't have to be... Zebrica doesn't allow residents to be prosecuted by foreign country's if you were to sign some paper work and renounce your Equestrian citizenship. There would be little Equestria could do..." Iron says while Summers blinks, digesting that information.
After cutting a piece off the hog and putting it onto a plate for Summers the two sat down and continued to talk. Apparently they both had a love of cooking! The two of them sat there and enjoyed their meal, as some of the other party goers came over to cut from the hog.
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Pinkie Pie cooking and eating meat?
I didn't see that coming. So is that dealer who gave Applejack that mortar some kind of veteran? Would explain how he smuggled a mortar.
7049049 well we have seen pinkie eat a fish in the cartoon I just took it farther. While her family is Amish I always wondered where she got her love of spicy food. I should note that we have seen there's a stream and even a river near her family home so I imagined they have Cajun influence with there food. As for meat some people don't consider fish part of that group for some reason. As for the zebra I won't tell he just has contacts..... I'm surprised you didn't catch something else in this chapter.....
While I enjoy the story/premise. It does need some heavy editing before being posted. Other than that, it was an interesting chapter.
7049180 Well with a sore neck and arm, I can't think straight. At least from these past few days.
7049253 what happened?
7049215 my editor has been preoccupied but I think he dies a good job fixing up my work you should see it before I have it edited. I'm bad at editing my self
7049282 Yeah editing isn't easy and it can be downright tedious too. Still, a little more polish and this story would be higher on the fics, I eagerly look forward to updating hehe ^^;
7049282 Football. Enough said.
7049338 honestly Iv been looking for another editor because Cakebomb has been busy lately but it's hard you know? I honestly lucked out because he offered but I think he has been really busy with school. I will admit the next chapter is a bit shorter but throws out what I'm sure your all hoping for.
7049496 football? Wow I didn't think there were many athletes on this site. I always imagined you as a history channel and American heros buff. You know what I mean based on your fics I thought you were more of the army surplus collecting guy you know what I mean?
7049612 Meh, I'd actually join my school's football team if my overprotective parents let me, so I play with some of the players and some friends at a nearby park. The military history side of me was only because my dad was the same.
7049612 I've always wanted to be a professional football player, to be like Troy Polamalu and Ed Reed, but of course my parents denied that by forbidding me from joining any fooball league. I had plans too, to join the USC football team for college and then be drafted by the Seattle Seahawks. Since, that's never going to happen now, all I can do is see where life takes me.
7050677
7050724
7050751 thank you honestly this is my first fic and a few people have said I lay on my dislike of Equestria too thick but that's not what I'm going for. No utopia can exist without causing strife around it. I also always liked the idea that the "Harmony" ponies preach is really just a sort of hierarchy. Not by design however, honestly while I enjoy evil celestia storys I think it's more interesting for her own attempts at creating/preserving harmony coming back to bite her. I also like the idea that she has a sort of savior or ruler complex believing that she should rule over ponies to protect them more like a mother then a sovereign.
7050861 Yea I can see that being true. Harmony isn't bad just they are doing it all wrong sadly... Like in the story you see that they take away important historical context and make fake fairytales to control the citizens. I remember Hitler saying something about if want to control the nation, than control the mind of the children and history.
It's a lot easier to control everyone if you changed their history to a lie!
Now I'm wondering if the reason why Celestia isn't connected to the Tree of Harmony is because it knew what she done and plans to have Twilight & co. to fix what happen. Maybe making her Queen?
I bet when the Tree sents the M6 to areas were they solve the problems is to help the ponies see a better path they were meant to be on and not be this close mind people...
But also give them hope that Twilight would be the answer to save them, starting a new path for the Nation or to make a new one that cleans up the sins of the Nobles & Celestia.
Don't get me wrong! I don't want to see Celestia hurt, she just has a close mind set and hope the Tree shows her sins.
7051449 I just want to make it clear celestia isn't evil I have always liked the idea that she had gotten control of what would be Equestria at a young age. She thought by covering up history and changing it fit her ideals was the answer but she simply covered up a problem she never fixed it so it contained to exist under the surface. So when the delicate hierarchy started to fall apart the problems became apparent but we're always there.
The reason the nobility are so bad is because after celestia lost Luna she reached out looking for help and support and maybe at first the family's were good but over time there power over Equestria grew thanks to the fact they own nearly anything. But know celestia has a chance to break the nobilitys hold on Equestria. But in doing this she may have sealed Equestrias fate as tensions continue to grow between the three races as the earth ponies continue to thrive leaving behind the other two races.
As for the mane 6 we will continue to see them but I will warn you things are changing between the normaly close friends.
7051538 I know she isn't evil, and that you are making sure that she wasn't! I do agree with what you just about her. Also that Celestia & Luna ruled might have ruled when they might have been kids or teens? There was a book about that a few years ago.... (I can't remember the name but I think it is cannon)
I feel like a civil war is going break out between Eath ponies & the other two tribes. It's sad to see all this fall down, but there is hope! Way I see it like you said Celestia would have to make a choice that well change Equestria.
(Question! We're the heck is Discord?)
Well the Tree of Harmony play in any part of the story? Tree seems to know what to do and I'm sure it's been planing to fix Equestria with the M6 somehow. There are stories here that have Tree of Harmony to help ponies look back at it for the truth since they forgotten. Like its knows what to do.
Please in the end the M6 are still friends...
7051538 Bu the way I think in one of your chapters you said something about asking us to add OCs?
7052233 yes pony names are hard because only so many words work together with out sounding off.
7051632 I'm planning for discord to come in a little later and monologue a bit about what he sees. I have never seen discord as evil. I have always seen him as more emotionally stunted then a monster. Think about what happened when fluttershy reformed him. He has a heart but to an extent he's still learning how to use it. He's scared of losing Fluttershy and to a lesser extent (not by much mind you) the rest of the mane 6. I'm planning for him to make an appearance but so far it just hasn't seemed like the right time. I want his appearance to mean something rather then throw him out there because he's my favorite character.
The tree of harmony will also make an appearance later and I plan to show its origins and why Equestria is so incredibly saturated with magic compaired to the rest of the world.
7052283 Sure I can help with some names. Also since you have the Bat Ponies in the story, I was wondering if the Sea Ponies would be in? Also maybe create other types?
I love Discord to and I agree with yea! He is a great character and loves to play pranks and cause a bit chaos at times... I have seen people wrote funny stories for him, I don't see him being truly evil... I would bet he would make sure the M6 are safe but also if a war broke out he would help stop is sense he can turn the weapons into balloons if he wants to.
When you do add him, you got to make it feel really funny & annoying because that's always the best part of him
7052307 I might make a reference to sea ponies but like discord I need it to be the right moment as for other oc pony races I don't want to just dump them all out.
7052367 (I know you deleted that post but I already read it)
There was a story about Discord were he was born from artists statue. His father made strange art that looks chaotic, that explains were he would learn chaos magic.
(Sadly that story hasn't been updated for a long time... Going to have find it again)
But anyways there are others were his life was hard because ponies were afraid of him and went mad with chaos, and some others were the Royal Sisters found him when they were young and were friends with him but the ponies drove him mad because they force the sisters to hurt his feelings about being free to have fun playing with someone...
(Spoiler!)
Have you read the Over Work Alicorn? You would really love that. The guy has amazing lore to the MLP series having many references and making the G1 connect to it. So the Sea Ponies in that story, they used to live in Harmony with the other tribes, but when the Great Divide happen (which is a war that made the 3 tribes). They saw there friends the flutterponies get wipe out, so they escaped deeper in to the oceans. Faraway & hidden from the world.
It would be cool to see a reference like that, also I do agree you shouldn't throw in other ponies but maybe adding references like Wolf & Fire ponies would be cool.
7062984 I can't offer to go on full-time. But I can look over your chapters for spelling errors and try to touch them up for you
7063524 thank you I'll repost soon
7051538
There is magic outside Equestria? I´m surprised Diamond Dogs or other races didn´t try to research it and adquire similar abilities than unicorns.
7071784 magic in Equestria is like Mercury it bunches up so there is a massive concentration there I'm planning on revieling why later but outside of Equestria Magic is rare and nearly nonexistent. I have also shown is a few of the chapters that unicorns and pegisi have been getting bad headaches and finding even basic magic/flight difficult.
7071784 basically it's there but with the exception of hoof telekinesis it's not in useful quanitys for much else.