Ponyville Fire Department

by Rescue Sunstreak

30 - Fight!

Twilight slammed her head into the table for the tenth time in a row. Looking back up at the map on the wall, as well as all of the pins in it and the strings from one pin to another. She looked over at the big fire pony who sat in front of it, eyes tracing one string to another.

“Aaagh! There has to be a pattern. There has to be! Nothing is this random, not even Discord!”

The big stallion tilted his head some, then reached over and opened a folder again, looking at the papers on top.

“I don’t see it, Twilight. We have tracked the purchases, we have tracked the fires, and we've looked at companies from all angles. There is some critical bit of data we don’t have.”

Rescue shook his head and looked back at the frustrated alicorn. “Let's call it a day. We have seven more before he, or she, strikes again. I want to go home to my family.”
Twilight set her folder down. “Okay, you are right. I should check on Spike and get some dinner. Have a good night, okay, Rescue?”

The big draft gave a nod and then a gentle hug to the princess, pausing on his way out as she added. “Oh, and Rescue, remember, we have a picnic tomorrow. You and Ailan were going to bring Pip.”

He gave a nod. “See you then,” heading out home.

---

“Dad, come on, we are going to be late!” Called Pip from the living room. Rescue gave a sigh and picked up his badge, tossing it around his neck, then glanced in the mirror and trotted out.

“Okay, okay, hold your hooves, young man,” he said, offering Ailan a smile before picking up his own set of saddle bags and putting them on. “No one is going to start without us.”

Pip pranced from hoof to hoof. “But daaaad, they said noon, and it's only five-til!”

Both stallions laughed a bit, but Rescue noted a bit of a hesitation in Ailan’s eyes. “You alright?”

Ailan blinked, then gave a nod. “Yeah, sure, why wouldn’t I be?”

“I don’t know, it just seemed like... Well, okay, let's head out before Pip here falls apart.”

Trotting through town, nothing seemed out of place. Bon Bon’s shop was closed, that was a little unusual. Perhaps she and Lyra took a day for themselves, as they deserved it. Heading out at the far side of town near Fluttershy’s place, Rescue automatically glanced at the call box to make sure it had not been tampered with.

Out across the bridge, they trotted, down towards the little lake, spotting all of the mares there already and looked like they had their pets along with them. The foals were playing kickball nearby, so with a leap, Pip took off to join his friends.

Rescue trotted up with Ailan at his side, glancing over to the foals at play. He breathed out gently with a soft smile, a rare thing for him to show in public. Applejack walked up to his side as Ailan walked over to help the girls set things up.

“They are growing up too fast. Ah was just saying so to Granny Smith yesterday. Applebloom was talkin' about wantin' to continue school. I hear tell from the girls that Rumble, Pip, and Diamond have all said they want to go to the Academy when they get of age.”

He gave a nod of his head and glanced at the orange mare next to him, then back out at the foals. “I am aware, AJ, I am aware.”

She flicked an ear. “Rescue, y’all need to hear someone out today. Ah got to admit, we kinda tricked you into joinin' us today,” her lowered ears and hat held to her chest made him frown deeply.

“Applejack, what the—” he cut himself off, spotting four ponies walk up over the hill. Lyra and Bon Bon were walking beside his father. That started a smile on his face, but the last one with them sent that smile crashing. He gave a little soft snarl. “I am heading home.”

Applejack gave one of her serious looks. “You take off, and ah swear to Celestia, ah will hog tie you, Rescue. You gotta talk to him, he is your brother!”

Locking eyes across the hundred or so feet between them, he had not noticed that the foals had gone quiet. He did not take note of the girls all standing, watching. Not even Pinkie was bouncing. No, all he could see was the almost-knowing smirk on the silver-gray draft pony with the crowbar over a flame cutie mark on his flank.

“The Buck I do,” he cursed, making even AJ flatten her ears at that. “This was a dirty trick, I got no interest in talking to him. Ailan, grab Pip, we are—”

His father spoke up, cutting him off. “Rescue, please, don’t do this,” walking over the faded-green pegasus stallion to put a hoof on his taller son’s leg, looking up at Rescue’s face. “We are a family, you and Steel can’t keep this up. Please, hear him out and talk. Let's create a new bridge, okay?“

Setting his jaw, Rescue gave a hard snort. “Sorry, dad, but I told ya before, he has his life I got mine. I don’t want him around my son, or my husband,” he made sure that the word husband was directed right at the other stallion.

“I told you he wouldn’t see reason, dad. Too stubborn, and too—”

Rescue let out a loud grunt, shoving AJ and his father aside, he took only three strides and was right in the other stallion's muzzle. “Go on, finish that, then I will finish what we started in the back of Station Three,” he hissed, eye to eye with his brother, scowl on his face.

The truth of it was, no one was really sure what to do. The mares had never seen this side of Rescue before, Ailan sure had not, even his father was a bit taken back by the show of aggression from the usually quiet and passive male.

Not backing down one bit, Steelhook shoved his face up into his brother's. “You're what, going to take a cheap shot at me again? For Celestia's sake, that was twenty years ago, Rescue. What, a fella can’t change his—”

Rescue did exactly that, taking a cheap shot. He slammed his right hoof into his brother's jaw, knocking his head to the side and snarling “Screw you, Steel!” making the girls gasp, but before anyone could jump in, it escalated in a huge way.

Steelhook slammed his whole body into his brother, kicking out and hitting the dark-colored stallion in the gut. Rescue’s reaction was to grab the other male in a headlock, and down they went. In seconds, they were tied up in a mess of stallion fight. Teeth flared and bit out, hooves slammed and kicked. They rolled down the small hill as they fought and scrambled.

Applejack let out a loud shout and started to charge in to stop them, at the same time Ailan did. Both Rarity and Twilight started to charge up their horns to pull the two brawling stallions apart. However, perhaps as a shock, it was Firehook who held up a hoof. “Don’t,” his frown deep. “Let them, they need to get this out of their system.”

Pinkie gasped. “Bu—but, they are hurting each other!” She whimpered, watching them roll down the hill, off a small three-foot ledge and land in a small marsh of mud and reeds.

He gave a nod. “And you break them up, they will just hate each other more.”

Meanwhile, as they hit the mud, Rescue got in a lucky kick and shoved his brother back a few feet off him. Spinning around, he slung a hoofful of the muck into the other stallion's face. In return, Steelhook got in a shot with his hoof across the chief’s muzzle, sending him down.

With a few feet between them, and both breathing hard, Rescue snarled out. “You bully. You worthless, good for nothing, bully!” lashing out with a hoof, only to have it glance off his brother's shoulder.

Returning the punch, the mud-covered silver pony yelled. “Self righteous, stubborn mule! I tried to talk to you years ago and make up for what I done, and—”

Rescue wrapped his front hooves around his brother's neck and shoved with all his might, sending them both tumbling back into the mud, with him on top. In return, Steel flipped backwards kicking out with his rear legs sending Rescue up and over, to land with a dull painful sounding thud, back first, near the edge of the water. Both laying there now, in the muck and mess, bleeding from the nose and not a few other places where hoof and teeth had done damage. Steel stared up at the sky. Both of them unaware of the tears, the pain, and the worry on everypony’s face.

It was Steel who spoke first. “Are we done?”

Rescue was quiet for a bit, then shook his rear hoof hard enough to send a glob of muck to hit his brother in the side. He laid there, half in the water for a bit, just looking up at the sky.

“Do you have any clue how much it hurt, you telling everyone I was... and hearing them all call me a coltcuddler, and worse? Then, to start that back up when I got out of the military?”

Steel rolled over on his side, putting his hoof to his own jaw and feeling around. “You got a hell of a punch on you,” ignoring the looks from all the mares, from their father, and all of the foals who were being kept calm and together by many of the onlookers.

“No, I didn’t at the time. Hell, Res, you and I were fourteen years old. I had no clue how bad it would get, and once it did, I had no way to stop it.”

Turning his head to look at his brother, sniffling trying to get the blood that was dribbling down his nose to stop, he watched Rescue flip over onto his hooves and trudge slowly with wet, sucking steps from the deeper mud over to where he was, even allowing the other to push his head up with a hoof.

“Elevate your head. Stops the bleeding faster.” He lowered his ears, one dripping blood down his cheek from a small rip in the skin. “What about when I got back and into the Academy?”

Steel glanced out the left eye at his brother, holding his head up high as he did like the paramedic pony had said to. “I didn’t start that one, it was Windowbreaker, remember him?”

Rescue held his hoof up to his ear and then looked at the spot of blood, standing there in muck and dirt next to the stallion who was his brother. “The gryphon? The one who got kicked out for trying to rape that mare?”

Steel gave a snort. “Among other things, yeah. Look,” shifting his head down to look at his brother in the eyes. “Res, I never meant to hurt you. Hell, I had no clue how bad it was tell after we got out of school. I didn’t know folks were picking on you, and I sure as heck wouldn’t have let them if I had.”

His voice lowered some. “What you said to me, last time we talked... what, ten years ago now?”

Rescue flattened his ears, and looked over at his brother's face. “I had no right saying that to you, Steel. I said it knowing how much it would hurt you. I... I am sorry, okay?”

Watching as the other draft pony gave a sharp nod of his head, then let out a groan. “Ouch, damn it, did you have to hit me in the jaw so hard? Come on, let's go face the music, I hear a few sobs. You got a foal and a husband to face and I... well,” glancing over at all of the ponies watching them. “I will face dad, and… why does the pink one seem like she is going to tackle me?”

Rescue gave a glance over seeing tears in Pip's eyes as he stood with Diamond, who had a very upset look on her face, both being held by one pissed-off looking Lyra. “Because, that is Pinkie, and you will be, and then she will throw a party, and do something so outlandish it will break your mind. Do yourself a favor, Steel, just... go with it.”

He looked over at his brother. “Are... we good now?” Watching Steel’s eyes shift to his.

“As long as you are, Res.”

He gave a nod and started to work his way out of the now somewhat sticky mess. “Luna, help me. I have mud in places I didn’t know I had.”

Author's Note:

Part of this fight is a nod to the fight between Picard and his brother season 4 episode 2.

Comments

[Wolfman]

That was an episode or two after Best of Both Worlds, right?