Sigil of Souls, Stream of Memories

by Piccolo Sky

Nightwatch: Street Performance

Author's Note:

Special thanks to The Force for doing edits on this chapter.

As soon as the Huntsman pushed aside the last few branches, the country opened wide in front of them again. Just ahead was a road that started being paved a kilometer ahead, and beyond that were the first few rows of an Appleloosan town. Unlike all the other ones that they had passed, this one still had smoke from a few chimneys, dust down a few roads, and the distant sounds of steam engines and wagon wheels.

Dash stepped out the rest of the way grinning and wiping her brow. “There we are! No sweat! Heh, told ya', I'd get you here!”

An instant after, looking a bit dirty, torn, and with her excellent coiffure half-fallen apart as well as her makeup worn off in several different spots, Rarity tiredly staggered out of the forest in a half-limp (due to one of her heels being broken), looking like she had been through more physical activity in the past few days than she had in her entire her life combined. After taking a few deep breaths, she got enough of her bearings to look forward and see the same sight.

She sighed massively in relief. “Oh, thank heavens…the Macintosh Hills at last!”

“Huh?” Dash echoed back, before chuckling. “Oh, we’re nowhere near that yet. This is just Flaxonville, but we should be past the bad leg of the trip.”

Rarity took this in for a moment but then nodded back. “Well, that will do. So long as it is a town that’s still inhabited, then I know there is at least one thing we can get…”

“A stagecoach?”

“I was going to say ‘a bath’… We look wretched after the past two days.”

Dash frowned, looking at herself. She lifted an arm and smelled under it before shrugging. “No problem to me. My last one was only about two weeks ago.”

Rarity’s eyes widened. “T-T-Two…?” Quickly composing herself, she shook her head and smiled uneasily; now making sure to shy away from Dash a little. “Let’s…let’s just head into town.”

---

The trip into Flaxonville was reasonably uneventful, especially on the road that Dash and Rarity had emerged on. The roads on the north side of town were a different story. While they had reached the other side of the blockade that Appleloosa had erected, they were still so close to it that the town was rapidly filling up with people fleeing in the opposite direction.

As such, on entering the main streets, Rarity found it to be about as cluttered and bustling as the stop she had made where she met Dash. Fortunately, as this was a real town, it was a bit more organized. There was a garrison of Appleloosan soldiers-turned-magistrates deployed there who were helping keep everything under control, and aside from large crowds standing around outside various stores with general goods and services involved in food and travel, to say nothing of many traders and merchants being forced to leave large stacks of their crates on every road and street corner, it wasn’t that bad.

Things grew a bit thicker the deeper they got into town, however. The town’s population had swollen so much that the public square looked like a busy fairground, with many crowds spilling over into the streets. Rarity found the journey little better than the forest as she was forced to push through and around people in her struggle to keep up with Dash.

Finally, it got to be too much for her. After the third time of nearly losing her in the crowd, Dash led them over to the nearest corner where they could pause for her to catch her breath and gain their bearings. Unfortunately, as Rarity soon found out, the only place where she was free to have a front step to sit down on was directly across from a rather loud and obnoxious sight.

A good part of the sidewalk nearby was taken up by a sizable theatrical cart that had deployed a small stage off the back of it. A white-haired and rather smug-looking street magician with a wide-brimmed hat and cloak covered with stars was on it; peddling her trade to whoever would listen in a rather loud, obnoxious, and booming voice.

“Come one! Come all! Shock and be amazed at the Great and Powerful Trixie’s amazing feats!”

She punctuated the statement of her name (rather frequently, as Rarity had not heard her use the “I” pronoun once since sitting), by firing off a chain of fireworks. While bright and colorful, they were also quite loud and on a narrow street. Not only did they spook several horses nearby, they deafened Rarity before dumping eye-burning smoke everywhere.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie,” on the other hand, only grinned all the wider. “Behold! A straitjacket from the finest sanitariums in Manehattan! Absolutely, one-hundred percent, guaranteed to be escape-proof! Now, if I could have a volunteer from the audience…”

Rarity groaned at the trick. It was the first one she had seen on sitting down, and the street magician had tried to escape from it within the span of a single smoke bomb usage. However, that had failed, and she had used a second while the first one was still burning her eyes. She turned around to Dash. “I think I am quite ready to get on my feet again. Shall we head to the train station?”

She shook her head. “Sorry, no can do. The train station is the first place that’ll be booked solid. I'm sure they already jacked up the prices and are loaded up like an oversized cattle car. We want to get out to Macintosh Hills, we'll have to do the last leg by stagecoach.”

“Well, so long as it keeps me off my feet, I won't mind. Where do we go for that?”

“Eh, I'll handle it,” she shrugged. “You take your time and get that bath you wanted, then meet me back on this corner in about three hours.”

Rarity blinked, looking nervous. “This is my first time to Flaxonville… I am not so sure I can find my way around…”

Dash stared at her dully, before jabbing a thumb in the magician’s direction. “You really aren’t going to be able to hear her from anywhere in this city?”

“…Fair point. Three hours it is.”

Dash nodded and turned to head off, and Rarity, ruing getting on her broken shoes again, rose as well. She glanced around for a moment before she picked a direction that seemed less crowded and started walking away.

As she did, she passed a pair of other travelers watching the street performer and chatting to one another.

“I think her greatest power is going onto a crowded street and making her audience disappear…”

“Y’know, there is a rumor going around that out west this one magician killed a Light Eater?”

“Pft. Yeah right. What's your point?”

“You don't think…?”

“The people out west are a lot denser than around here. City folk will buy into anything.”

Rarity rolled her eyes at the very idea as she walked past. “The day that braggart kills a Light Eater is the day I turn into one…” she muttered.

---

Luckily, the crowds thinned out close to the outskirts of town, where residences and buildings became fewer and farther between. Rarity had a moment to enjoy the surroundings and countryside, which, despite all of the chaos going on in the world, was indeed rather pleasant. It did not offer too much to satisfy her current desires, however, until she managed to run into a local that pointed out a place of interest. A bit farther and she finally came upon her destination.

Down one of the older roads in town, where enough trees were growing to turn the skyline of the central part of Flaxonville into just an outline, there was a three-story building. Not quite enough to be one of the larger urban structures from Manehattan, but still far too large to be simply a grand house; although the outside looked that way. As Rarity came up to it, she saw an arched arbor placed over a footpath leading to the front steps of the building and read off the name: “Emerald Coast’s Inn and Breakfast.”

She paused, thinking aloud. “Now where have I heard that name ‘Emerald Coast’ before…?”

After a moment, she shrugged it off and walked up the path.

On reaching the top of the steps and crossing the threshold, she was greeted by a foyer done up with a mounted front desk and a twisting stairwell leading to the upper floors, as well as side openings leading to a hall and a dining room. It was very cozy and quaint. Between the rugs, the crackling fireplace, the vases with fresh flowers, and the small waiting table and dish cupboard, it was almost like walking into someone’s house, and one would have mistaken it for such if not for the ledger and rack for keys over by the mounted desk.

Considering how crowded the town was, Rarity thought it was odd that not only was the front foyer empty but some of the keys were still hanging on the rack. Nevertheless, she approached and tapped the handbell.

As quiet as the inn was, the chime traveled easily. However, after several seconds, she heard nothing and chimed again. She waited longer this time, but still, there was no answer. On the third one, she heard an angry voice from a back room. “I'm coming; I'm coming!”

Moments later, an older woman, somewhat hunched and slow-moving and with a scowl and all-together unpleasant look that made Rarity wince a little, made her way out and to the front desk. She leveled a glare at her as if she had done something wrong. “All right, who are you, and what do you want?”

Rarity was taken aback by that sort of greeting but coughed. “Um, yes, …as you can probably tell, I have had a rather rough trip. I'm just passing through town, and I was wondering if I might use your bath or shower.”

“Did you see anything on the sign outside that said this was a public bath?” she half-snapped back.

“Er, no…”

“If you want to use the showers, you pay for a room like everyone else.”

“I am a little short on money at the moment, and I don't think I can afford a whole room…,” she nervously answered. “Maybe if I could pay by the hour…?”

“I don't charge by the hour; I charge by night,” she retorted even more angrily. “Now if you're done wasting my time, get out of here.”

Before Rarity could say another word, the woman wheeled around and began to return to the back room. She was already there before Rarity could even begin to stammer at what had just happened. Nevertheless, after hanging her jaw a second, she nearly concluded that she was out of luck when a voice called from the stairwell.

“…Rarity? Is that you?”

She turned and saw someone had begun to come down the stairs but had stopped in mid-descent. A middle-aged woman with rose-tinted purple hair in curls, her bag in one hand and a hand on the banister with a bandage over it, was staring at her. Rarity herself paused as her eyes widened in recognition.

“Ms....Ms. Cheerilee?”

The older woman broke into a surprised smile. “It is you, isn’t it?” she laughed, beginning to descend the rest of the way.

Rarity smiled in turn and quickly moved to meet her. “Yes, and I imagine quite taller than you remember,” she laughed back. Both met at the foot of the stairs and put down their own bags long enough to hug each other.

“Oh, it's so good to see you again! I never imagined I would see you this far outside of Manehattan!”

“I could say likewise! Has it been at least…what? Five years?”

“At least!”

The two hugged a bit longer before parting but continued to smile at one another. “Whatever are you doing out here?”

“Oh, I live in Appleloosa now. Southeast of here. I wanted to live someplace quieter after…” A shade passed over her face momentarily, before she shook her head and brushed it off. “Well, you know. However, what about you?” She looked the younger woman over; her smile turning a bit uncomfortable. “Pardon me for saying so, Rarity, but you look awful.”

Even at the worst of times, that was pretty much the phrase Rarity hated to hear more than anything considering the tradtional amount of care she gave her appearance, and it took all of her effort to weakly smile in response. “I've…had a few…bad days. Let's just say I am on a business trip, and it has not been going as well as it could have.”

“I can imagine…” She looked up, brightening a little. “I overheard what you were saying downstairs. I'm sorry about Emerald. I'll tell you what…” She quickly glanced to the back room, making sure the proprietor was not in earshot, and then leaned forward and whispered. “I haven't checked out yet. Why don’t you use my bath to clean up?”

Rarity’s glum attitude evaporated. “Oh, could you? You would be an absolute godsend…”

“It's no problem. Let's head back up before Emerald notices.”

---

Rarity felt like a new woman by the time she was out of the shower. Between the lovely, homey interior of the inn and the feeling of clean water, soap, and towels on her skin, it was almost enough for her to forget the more unpleasant parts of the trip so far. The only part that made her cringe was that she was forced to keep wearing the same outfit, especially when she felt how stiff her undergarments were from her sweat.

Nevertheless, when she emerged from the bathroom into the main room where Ms. Cheerilee was staying, she got yet another pleasant surprise. She was holding out a pair of old yet casual shoes to her.

“I noticed we were about the same size. I might be a little bigger, but I imagine it would be easier to walk on these than a pair with one broken heel.”

Rarity almost felt like crying in gratitude. “You don't have to do that…”

“No, it's quite all right. I've had these for years. They'll do you much more good than me.”

“I don't have any way to pay you back a fair price right now…”

“It's fine. Just take them.”

After holding a bit longer, she finally accepted the footwear, then walked over to the bed to sit down and start changing her shoes out. “If you ever make it to my boutique in Manehattan, anything you want is on the house.”

“So, your business is doing well?” Cheerilee answered as she moved to the room’s desk chair.

“Well, more or less at the moment, but better than it was five years ago.”

“I'm glad to hear it,” she answered as she sat down. “Your parents would be happy.”

“That is what I keep telling myself some mornings… Although the business might be in trouble if I cannot get to the Macintosh Hills and back fairly soon.”

She continued to remove her old shoes for a moment until she realized that Ms. Cheerilee had gone silent. She looked up and saw her looking uneasily at her. “Rarity…you know about what has been going on in the country lately, don’t you?”

She exhaled. “Yes, yes, I know…”

“It's just…well…I won't say anymore. You know what I'm implying-”

“Yes, I do.” Her voice had turned a bit sharp. “And I thank you for your concern, but this is a necessity. It is not just my livelihood but the livelihood of my employees and my hometown.”

Ms. Cheeriliee opened her mouth briefly but shut it again.

“Enough about me,” Rarity brushed off as she pulled on a shoe. “How have you been? I haven't heard anything from you in ages.”

“Oh, me? Still teaching.” She punctuated with a short laugh. “Much smaller classes too, which has been a big help. I'm not as young as I used to be. I can't quite chase after the small ones like I did ten years ago. Although, to be honest, I have been considering retiring.”

She looked up. “Retiring?”

“Well, perhaps that's a strong word. More like…a new career. Trying to do something else.”

“Really?” She smirked as she went for the other shoe. “It's funny… I don't think I've ever pictured you as anything other than a teacher. Then again, I was one of your students. I'm pretty sure I feel that way about all of my teachers. It probably wasn't until I was high school age I stopped to think that they go home rather than wait for children to come back at the end of summer.”

Ms. Cheerilee laughed. “Yes, I think I've had my share of students who thought that. I haven't fully decided yet although…I will say I'm leaning toward it. Being in such a different part of the world changes your perspective. I'm so used to steam engines and smokestacks. Out here, so many things are still done by hand and with horses.” She snickered again. “I'm shocked at how far some of the students walk to get to class.”

“I think I could quite do without thinking about walking long distances for a while…,” she sighed. “Especially if I knew how rough the hospitality was in this part of the world. Although I suppose I can't blame the inn proprietor. With all of the types coming through town, she must be at her wit’s end.”

“Oh?” Ms. Cheerilee looked up again as Rarity finished tying one shoe. “You mean Emerald Coast?” She held a moment; her face turning a bit downcast. “Well…try not to mind it. She's not at her best at the moment.”

Rarity paused as she was about to tie the other. “That's so strange… There it is again: Emerald Coast. I know I've heard that name before somewhere…” She looked up. “How do you know her?”

“Oh, Emerald and I go way back. We knew each other in grade school, although she came back here after she was done. That was back when it was more normal for everyone to go abroad if they did higher education. I ended up heading out to Manehattan and never left, while she stayed in her hometown and ran the family inn. She never did much more than that. I'm guessing you may have heard of her family, though.”

“What do you mean?”

“Have you ever heard of Sapphire Shores?”

At once, Rarity sat bolt upright. “Have I!”

This surprised the teacher in turn. “Oh? You do know her?”

“Why, Sapphire was the client we had that helped the boutique get back on its feet after what happened to mom and dad! I was working on posing a new jewel-themed dress right there in the main foyer that I had just made trying to get my mind off of everything, and she walks right in; looking twice as fancy as everyone in the entire neighborhood. I can barely say a word, but she takes a long look at that dress, and then she finally says she had been looking around the smaller designers in town trying to find a newer style to suit her next performance, and she thought mine was perfect. I…that is, my business…ended up covering her next two tours. We were going to do a third but she canceled, but between how handsomely she paid as well as her reputation it helped us get through the next eighteen months until we could get new clients.”

By now, Rarity was smiling a little, but she leveled off soon after. “It has gotten progressively harder to keep in touch with everyone…but are you saying Emerald Coast is related to her?”

“I would say so. She was her mother.”

The one word caused Rarity’s smile to fade, and a pale look came over her.

“…‘Was’?”

---

Rarity couldn't recall the last time she had been to a cemetery; mostly because she lived in a big city. This one, however, was very pleasant. It was surrounded by trees with birds singing. It was calmer here. The echoes from the city could not reach it. The parts where the grass was growing were quite green and soft for that time of year. The only problem was there was not as much grass there as there could have been considering the number of plots.

One tombstone out of all of the others stood out—not for its size but the response it garnered. It had to be several months old by now as the dirt had settled, but it still was almost buried under flowers. That was even more unusual considering the writing on the stone. The date of death was about five years ago now.

Both women stood before it somberly for some time, with Ms. Cheerilee letting Rarity take it all in before she finally spoke. “Fillydelphia finally started to act on an arrangement to transport some of the non-citizens who died in Cloudsdale back home. At least the ones who…” She winced. “The ones who could still be identified. She was one.”

Rarity continued to stare at the stone. “It was only her manager who sent the letter… I…I thought it might have been her, but I knew the tour would not start for at least a month…”

“Emerald told me she made a quick visit to plan the concert because it was a new venue, and it was at the wrong time. Since many people knew who she was, they were able to bring her remains in about three months ago and have her buried here. I heard Emerald has been like this ever since.” Her head bowed. “I thought it would have brought some closure to her life, but…it seems it was more like reopening an old wound.”

Rarity advanced a few steps, looking down over the flowers. There was an arrangement of sorts there, likely whatever mourners found to be pretty, but half of them were her favorite blossom. The same she picked her signature colors from. She reached out and touched one, staring at that particular color she had tried so hard to match.

“I never knew…”

“It would have just been one more mourner Emerald didn't know if you had. I know her business meant a lot to you, but ‘dress-maker’ probably was not very high on what she would have considered one of her friends.”

Rarity said nothing to that. She only felt the fresh petal and looked over the tombstone.

Ms. Cheerilee walked forward to her side, putting a hand on her shoulder. Her look grew dark as she stared at the stone. “I think if one of my students were here, he would say it best: ‘it's not fair.’” She was quiet for a moment after that. “I have a hard time not saying that myself some times. She lived through the Lunar Fall, the Nighttouched, the Light Eaters, and everything else. What ends up causing her death?” She frowned. “Other people.”

Rarity still said nothing. She kept staring.

Ms. Cheerilee squeezed her shoulder before pulling off. “I'll be over there. It's only been about an hour and a half. You have time.” Without another word, she turned and began to walk back to the footpath; giving the two of them their privacy.

She continued to stare at the tombstone for a while, still reaching out and feeling the petals. After things were quiet for some time, she pulled her hand back and smiled wistfully at it.

“Been a while, hasn’t it Ms. Shores?”

The silence was the only response.

“To think I didn't even know the truth…or thought to look into it. Just one more thing I have to regret now, isn’t it?”

She took a deep breath.

“I guess both of us learned to be more scared of people than monsters, didn’t we? Maybe that's the reason I wasn't scared to come out here. But as for you? I didn't think anything ever scared you.” She smirked. “Except maybe clashing colors. I guess that is why you weren't afraid to visit Cloudsdale not once but twice.”

She exhaled as her smile faded.

“I am sure most of the flowers here are from admirers. I wish I had some of my own to give to you right now…because I guess I'm one of them. I'm not sure if for the same reason, though… No matter how much the world changed, you always stayed the same. You kept treating it like another day. I know some people thought that was callousness or frivolity, but…” She exhaled. “You knew. You knew full well what was going on. You just wanted people to act like how it was before. When they weren't afraid to turn on the lights at night or looking for what weaker country they could gobble up next…or maybe before we all realized, sooner or later, we're going to join you wherever you are.”

She smiled again.

“You helped me think that way, and it helped me when I needed it. I don't know if I was ever anything more than a hired hand to you, but…to me, that made you a friend.”

She paused a moment, before leaning over and touching one of the flowers. She plucked off a single petal.

“Please don't mind, darling,” she said as she brought it back and put it in her pocket. “I want to make sure I don't forget you so easily again. I will pay you back in full the first chance I get. I promise.”

Taking one last look at the tombstone, she turned away and back to the path. Ms. Cheerilee was standing there, waiting for her, and she began to approach.

She only got a few steps before a louder noise echoed over the landscape, coming from the sky. She had heard that noise many times before living in Manehattan, but hearing it out here caused enough puzzlement for her to look skyward. Sure enough, she saw that an airship was not only passing overhead but was descending on the town.

“Very odd…,” she remarked to herself, looking away without focusing on its colors or standard. “I didn't think there were any landing areas in this locale. Perhaps they wanted to move people along faster…”

As she mused this last point and reached Ms. Cheerilee’s side, she crossed her hands in front of herself and absent-mindedly began to itch the top of one.

---

The two were still catching up when they reached the busy parts of town again, although Rarity hardly noticed it this time with her improved footwear and an old friend to walk with. Nevertheless, it did start to get noisier and harder to hear, not to mention harder to ignore the banter of the city folk as they ran by.

Two people, in particular, walking past them caught her attention.

“Hey, did you see that street magician?”

“Kind of hard to miss with those fireworks… What about her?”

“She’s claiming she’s the one who took out the Light Eater over in Fillydelphia!”

“Do you believe everything you hear on the street? That didn’t even happen! She probably made up the rumor to look good!”

Rarity rolled her eyes and groaned at the thought of that performer exploiting the situation. Many people didn't care to hear someone joke about being able to kill Light Eaters, and she was one of them. She tried to ignore it as she turned back to Ms. Cheerilee. “We're almost to my corner. It's just another block this way. Thank you for walking with me.”

“Oh, I am happy to, dear. Nothing else to do but see if I can find a coach to take me west or at least southwest.”

“That reminds me… I do not think I heard why you are traveling yet.”

Ms. Cheerilee hesitated. Enough for Rarity to notice and turn to her. After a moment, however, she held up her bandaged hand.

“I'm...sick with something.”

This piqued her curiosity. “Sick with something? With what?”

“That's just it...I don't know. Nobody locally can tell me either. I was walking around one morning, and something showed up on my hand.”

Rarity’s eyes went to the bandage as she continued.

“It's really strange, whatever it is, but word went around that two other people had gotten these as well. One of them…” She winced uncomfortably here. “Ended up going wild and attacked several people. He…he actually killed two before he was shot to death.”

Rarity let out a small gasp in alarm, immediately covering her mouth afterward as she realized the connotation. “Oh…Ms. Cheerilee, I-”

“It's all right,” she cut off, forcing herself to smile again. “I feel fine right now. I just...just need to figure out what caused it and why. I am hoping doctors in Manehattan know better.”

Rarity continued to look regretful. “This isn't why you're thinking of giving up teaching, is it?”

“Oh no. I will admit I have wondered about whether I would be a danger to students, but I could say the same for anything I ended up doing.” She shrugged. “No, it is just that…that…” She trailed off soon after, looking forward again. Her smile once again faded away.

“Just what?”

She silently walked forward a few more steps before exhaling.

“I think I'm a bit of a coward, Rarity.”

She blinked. “A coward?”

“I saw Sweetie Belle and two other students the day they left. Wished them goodbye. And when I got the news…that's when I packed up and left Manehattan. That's when I moved out here. And for a few years I felt better. Things were good. That far away from the border, I almost forgot that there was even a problem with Equestria. But it only lasted until I saw my first class I had out there get old enough to join the military. And then…”

She slowly exhaled, and silently walked forward a few more steps.

“And then that's when I realized there is nowhere to run from it. Whether it's Nighttouched or other people, in the end, it's always the same thing. The same feeling.”

Rarity looked at her more intently. “What feeling?”

“The feeling that all I am doing for any of these children is letting them play make believe at having a life before they die.”

The designer winced, but Ms. Cheerilee’s face remained somber and looking forward.

“What point was there to my being a teacher if that's how things ended up for them? What's the point…of anything, really? That shadow is growing. Maybe it will take ten years, or maybe it will take a hundred, but it's not going to stop. And one day, it will cover everything…”

“Ms. Cheerilee…” Rarity tried to interject, not knowing whether she was trying to comfort her or stop her from mentioning the fact that everyone was trying their best to not think about.

However, she sharply inhaled and shook her head before turning and smiling at Rarity. “Oh, don't mind me. Just getting more pessimistic in my old age. I'm just really happy you're still moving forward, Rarity. It's important for people like you to be in the world. It's important…”

She trailed off and looked forward, spotting something. Rarity turned as well and was surprised to see Rainbow Dash quickly approaching them.

What surprised her most of all, however, was that this was the first time she had seen her looking nervous.

She didn’t stop, but put a hand on Rarity’s shoulder and began to turn her around. “We gotta go. Now. Right now.”

Rarity resisted for a moment. “Wait what? What’s going-”

“Talk on the way. Move.” She said as she forced her to turn and began to walk alongside her.

Ms. Cheerilee blinked. “Rarity, who is…?”

“Oh, this is Ms. Dash. We're…” she tried to call out, but could not get out anymore as she was forced along and pushed to leave her old teacher behind. She looked back to the rainbow-haired woman with a frown. “Ms. Dash, that was rude. I was just about to intro-”

“I said talk on the way! Pick up the pace!” she said as she pushed harder. “We need to be out of here!”

At last, the insistence in Dash’s voice made Rarity start to realize she was truly afraid about something. After a moment, while continuing to let Dash lead her on, she spoke more quietly. “What's going on?”

“Didn’t you see that airship land?”

“I saw an airship, but I thought it was strange. There is no place around here for them to land-”

“Trottinghamites make their own places to land.”

Hearing the name of their nationality made Rarity pause; some tension flowing into her features. “Wouldn’t the local magistrates or even the army respond to them landing?”

“Who says they didn't? You do not know very much about what happens when they decide to waltz into a country, do you?”

“What…what would they want here?”

“Who knows? But whenever they come around, they always take it. And nowadays, they usually get it. Especially if I recognize that ship…”

She blinked. “What…what's so special about that ship?”

“It doesn't matter. All that matters is we get out of here. The stagecoach is ready to go. We need to get there before…oh no.”

Before Rarity could ask what she meant by that, she ground to a halt and pulled her along with her.

The crowded street in front of them was parting. People were readily backing up to make way for a group coming down the street. Even without immediately recognizing their emblem and colors, it would have taken very little for Rarity to realize she was looking at the very individuals in question.

Living in the better parts of Manehattan had almost entirely isolated Rarity from ever having to look at a modern Trottingham soldier, but she knew enough that conventional weapons and arms had been eschewed for their new line of “steam soldiers.” Most of the individuals in the group were wearing gear that looked like a combination of old armor and technology, particularly around their arms, legs, and bizarre weapons they were holding. They didn't look like any standard rifles she had ever seen. They didn't even look like they were meant to shoot bullets.

The biggest standouts were the two in the lead. They were clad from head to toe in armor that had a compact steam engine built right into their backs. From the way they were shaped, one seemed thin, tall, and lanky while the other was short and squat, but it was moot considering the fact both looked and sounded like they were made of iron as they stomped down the street looking from left to right through their visored helmets. They were quite intimidating to behold despite not having any visible weapons on them. Their armor was menacing enough, especially since the forearms on both were severely enlarged. Definitely meant for something more.

As the splitting crowd made their way to Rarity and Dash, she suddenly yelped as she found herself dragged away to one side with them. As soon as Dash had her back, she whispered sharply in her ear. “Don't draw any attention to us. Just let them pass, and we'll get out of here.”

Rarity didn't argue. Most of the other people soon did the same; pressing up against her and keeping quiet too.

The group continued to march forward, giving the crowd dark looks but also searching them. Rarity realized they had to be looking for someone. As luck would have had it, they stopped almost directly perpendicular to where she and Dash were standing when the squat one let out a groan. “Man, I hate walking around in this thing… This town looked a lot smaller from up in the air!”

“Say Snips…,” the lanky one spoke up. “You don't suppose we're gonna have to search every town like this one, will we? ‘Cause that'll take a while…”

The squat one groaned at the thought. “Enough of this!” He helmet swiveled around, scanning the crowd a bit before he singled out one person. “Hey, you!”

The man recoiled at being put on the spot. “Wha…wha, me?”

“Yeah, you! Have seen a magician around here?”

“A street magician,” the lanky one added.

“Yeah, yeah, a street magician!”

By now, Rarity had a hard time believing half the city had not heard that ruckus from Trixie, although she was wondering why in the world these people would be interested in her. At any rate, the man was so fearful and put on the spot he was only able to stammer. “I, uh…uh…um…uh…”

The squat one groaned and looked to the next one. “Ok, what about you?”

“Who…who me?”

“Naw, your cousin Patty! Yeah, you!”

“I…um…I think there was one…closer to the center of town…”

“Ok, then, which way is that?”

“Uh, Snips?” the lanky one interjected. “I think we're in the center already…”

He wheeled on him. “What are you talking about? If we were there, we would have seen her!”

“But what if she left?”

“What if she…GAH!”

“Hey!”

The two armored Trottinghamites turned forward again. As they did, the ones behind them quickly raised their weapons and aimed, for while the two had been talking a pair of magistrates had come out from the crowd. Rarity imagined them either very brave or very foolish, because they freely brandished their pistols on their hips although they didn't reach for them, and they squared their jaws and stared them down.

“What do you think you're doing here?” one of them shouted. “You can't just cross the borders and come into Appleloosa wherever you like!”

“Eh, pipe down, Granny,” Snips snorted, waving his hand at her. “You ain’t even worth the effort.”

She didn't back down. “Think just because the army is not breathing down our necks you can waltz in here like you own the place? Well, the Appleloosan 16th Division will be making the rounds to Flaxonville within the hour so if you know what's good for you the lot of you will pack up and clear out of here unless you feel like starting a war!”

This seemed to catch the squat one’s attention. He slowly turned toward her until he faced her fully. “Oh? Izzat so?” His voice grew more challenging with a darker edge. The soldiers with them kept their weapons up and drawn. A moment of silence passed.

“Say Snails?” he spoke up before he pointed at the one alongside the magistrate. “What's that on that deputy’s shirt?”

Caught off guard by that question, the magistrate turned and looked at her partner.

She caught only a glimpse of her before a bolt of electricity, looking almost as broad and potent as a bolt of lightning itself, snapped out of the barrel of one of the Trottinghamite’s weapons and smacked her in the chest. Her body was instantly electrified, smaller bolts erupting from her hands and legs before it was sent flying like a missile into the surrounding crowd. Between both the attack and the impact of her body smashing into the onlookers, several people, Rarity included, broke out in a scream. Some were rooted to the spot in terror while others turned and fled for it.

The magistrate herself looked wide-eyed at what had just happened, seeing black smoke now coming from the semi-cooked body of her partner before she began to wheel around. A hand went onto her pistol stock…

She froze on seeing Snips standing right in front of her, his arm extended, and a very long and curve-tapered blade extended from his gauntlet and hovering near her throat while emitting a humming noise.

“I wouldn't do that if I were you,” he sneered in a snarky voice.

Sweating a little now, the magistrate removed her hand from the weapon and slowly raised both it and her other one.

“Hey, you're smarter than the bunch we torched who tried to impound our airship!” he laughed. “And since you're so smart, hows about you help us out? We're looking for a street magician. Tell us where she is, and we'll be on our way.”

The magistrate stared back silently; her mind was racing.

Snips advanced and pressed the weapon a bit closer. On simply touching the lapel of the magistrate’s uniform, it seemed to cut of its own accord.

“Think hard, granny. Because our boss is gonna be here soon. And trust me …you would rather deal with us than her. If you know what is good for your whole town and everyone in it, get my drift?”

She let out a shudder but finally spoke through clenched teeth. “She was performing in the street without a permit. She's at the station by now getting fined.”

“Station, huh? Sounds great. See? Nice and easy.” He pulled the blade away from the magistrate, who quickly backed off, and turned to the others. “All right, boys and girls, we're heading to the station.” He turned back and began to take one step when he suddenly froze. “Now…where is that anyway?”

He paused before his fist clenched in frustration.

“Damnit!”

“Uh, Snips?” his lankier friend suddenly spoke up.

“Not now, Snails! I am tryin’ to think! Wait…what am I doing?” He began to look back to the crowd. “Hey! Granny! Get back here!”

“Snips!”

Growling, he wheeled to the other. “What?”

“Look over there!”

Rarity gave a start a moment later, for she realized that Snails was looking and pointing right at her. Snips turned and looked as well, causing her to cup her hands to her mouth in alarm. She looked to her right and left, but already other people around her were backing off from her and Dash. “Uh…um…are you referring to me?”

Snips turned to his friend. “Yeah, what about her?”

“Look at her hand, Snips.”

“So? Big deal!”

“Didn’t Lady Sunset say she wanted us to knock off anyone who had one of those symbols on their hands?”

Snips turned and looked again. He paused a moment. “Oh yeah…yeah! I knew that!”

Rarity blinked. “Pardon me, but…but did you say…” She swallowed. “‘Knock off’? As in…?”

“And yeah, she's got one right on her hand! All right, then!”

Rarity swallowed again on seeing the rest of the soldiers turn to her and begin to shift their weapons. “I…I beg your pardon, but…you must be mistaken… M-My friend here just injured herself in a, um…hiking accident and-”

“Ha!” Snips cut off. “Think we're dumb? We ain’t talking about your friend, lady!”

Now she really did look confused. “Who...m-me? Why...why, that's ridiculous. I mean, I certainly do not…”

She trailed off. She had been turning her hands over as if to show herself that she had nothing on them, but she went rigid as soon as she did.

The very hand she had been itching on walking away from the cemetery had changed. There were now, unmistakably, deeper lines etched into it. Not the result of just her scratching alone, and as straight and angled as if they had been drawn with a ruler and compass.

“But…but-but…that’s …that's not possible… I just… I…”

“Ok fellas, you know the drill,” Snails announced as he stepped back. The weapons raised toward her.

Rarity was too baffled to speak or react. She could only stand there, stammering in confusion and shock. As the arms raised and clicked their barrels, fear began to snap her out of it. She held her hands up defensively. “Wait…wait! I…I don't know what's going on, but…however, I assure you this has to be some mistake!”

“Let her have it!”

“No! No, wait, ple-”

She was cut off as she felt her body pulled back by the shoulder. An instant later, Dash stood in front of her as a human shield. All of the soldiers hesitated at that.

“Get lost, you walking scrap piles,” she sneered confidently. “You want my client; you go through me. Also, you pull a gun on my client, and you got to the count of ten to turn tail before you never eat solid food again.”

Snips snickered. “I got a better idea, rainbow-head. You run out of there and go get yourself a pot of gold to point to, ‘cause otherwise, we're gonna shoot right through you to get to h-”

He couldn't finish his sentence. With a dozen weapons pointed at her, Dash wasn't waiting for them to get the first shot. While Snips was still issuing his threat, she took off right for the nearest soldier. She panicked on seeing herself charged and nearly raised her weapon to fire, but before she could one of Dash’s arms was swinging out and knocking her barrel skyward before driving her other fist into her face.

The soldier still managed to squeeze the trigger as she crumpled under the blow, but the shot went high. It didn't fire lightning this time but instead a bright, searing ray of heat. It sailed right over the heads of the crowd and impacted the masonry on one of the buildings beyond, but on touching it the bricks and mortar gleamed like pieces of magma for a moment before they exploded. Immediately, two more of the soldiers swung around to shoot at Dash, but by now her first target was on the ground so she ran forward over her. The shots fired where she had been instead, one rifle singing the ground with another bolt of lightning and the other shooting a blue ray that caused razor sharp icicles to erupt along the ground where it touched. As soon as they did, Dash pivoted and pushed off the ground with one foot to drive her leg into another gunner’s side. Despite the battle gear, his body still twisted around the blow.

The other soldiers quickly readied their weapons, but as Dash moved in and quickly knocked out the lights of the injured one before running to another, they hesitated. Rarity couldn’t see exactly what happened next because, at that moment, the crowd around her broke and fled in a panic. The missed shot was sending bits of flaming rubble falling to the ground, pushing tension to the breaking point. Rarity herself was swept up into the mess as people ran all around her. Even if she had the presence of mind through her shock and bafflement at what had happened to her as well as the soldiers attacking, to say nothing of Dash jumping at them, she couldn’t have gone anywhere. When the crowd finally parted, Dash was putting out the lights of a third soldier, but still they hadn’t fired at her. Enough of her wits registered to realize why; their weapons were too strong. If she was going in head-to-head, they couldn’t risk shooting.

Snips noticed this as well and produced a whine-like growl. “Bruisers! What’re ya’ waiting for! Get in there!” He wheeled to his partner next. “Snails! Get ready!”

Rarity didn’t pay much attention to what they were doing next, instead watching as half of the soldiers broke off from the ones who were shooting and began to rush right at Dash. Their own firearms were still stored, but they drew long combat knives instead and shifted them into underhanded grips as they advanced. Rarity also noticed that their weapons seemed standard, but they looked a bit better armored in gear than the others. Dash turned to the nearest one as he rushed at her. A moment later, she ducked under his knife swipe at her head and gave him an uppercut.

For a brief moment, Rarity saw what seemed like the space around the man’s chin seem to actually bend inward a little before the hit connected. To her surprise, it did almost nothing to the soldier. His head barely shifted, and Dash had to quickly recoil as he brought the knife back around. It got worse a moment later when another soldier moved in from the side with a stabbing gesture. She twisted her body around it and slammed the back of her hand into her face, but, once again, the space bent a little and the soldier wasn’t even stunned before she swept the knife back. This time, she cut a gash in Dash’s clothing with it, before both began to advance on her together. When a third came from her other side, she was forced to deflect the blow downward with one hand and again tried to attack, this time using that arm for leverage and pulling herself up to give two kicks to the side of her head, but to no avail. Instead, the first two soldiers before drove their weapons at her together and nearly caught her in a scissor grab. To escape from her precarious position, she had to throw her body back and out of the way before either blade could stab her in the eye; making her lose her balance and fall to the ground.

The three quickly advanced as she snapped on all fours; scrambling back in a crab walk. By now, Rarity saw the tension on her own face on seeing her attacks doing no good. It lasted only a bit, however, before she grit her teeth and hissed. “Having to use it twice in a week…” she sighed before raising her own marked hand. “Captain Spitfire!”

It was just like last time. Once again, her symbol lit up, along with the same light around her.

“What the…?! She’s one too!” Snips shouted. “Hurry up, Snails!”

“I’m trying!” he yelled back, banging away on his own gauntlets. “I think it got stuck up!”

The encroaching soldiers also froze in their tracks, looking just as surprised as everyone else as the aura broke over Dash and again made the changes about her. Yet while they were still forming, she snapped back up to her feet in a flash and charged at them. Crying out, she drove her palm straight into the chest of the first one. There was a momentary rippling of space, before her hand went all the way through and smashed into part of the device strapped around his chest. His eyes widened a moment as he watched it be crumpled like a tin can before the rest of his body was cast violently away.

Quickly, both of the soldiers on either side struggled to drive their knives into her, but she answered by snapping both of her arms out and catching both by the forearms. For a moment, she was perched in between the two, holding both steady as they both were stunned at the speed of her block. Before they could get their bearings, she quickly dropped to the ground and swung her leg out, catching one by the side of their knees. She cried out as she was immediately dropped to the ground, allowing Dash to snap back up, swing her head to one side to avoid the falling knife, and then drive her head forward, through the barrier she protected herself with, and into her forehead.

“Graa!” Snips finally shouted in frustration. “Enough!” Brandishing his own weapon, he left the struggling Snails behind and charged right at Dash. As soon as the third soldier was dropped, two of the gunners risked taking shots at her. The weapons they fired shot the electric bolts from before, forcing her to snap back and away to evade them. Unfortunately, that put her right in the path of Snips, and he greeted her by driving his blade forward for her chest.

Without time to react to anything else, she quickly snapped back and away, narrowly evading the tip. However, he continued to advance on her, not going for her chest again but driving the blade out for her knees and upper legs. As bumbling as he had seemed before, it was a good move; forcing her to keep moving back and never getting the leverage to counter. The gunners again were forced to hold off, but the remaining ‘bruisers’ quickly got ready to move in when they could.

As she kept moving back, Dash stepped over one of the discarded rifle barrels. Quickly, she lashed out with her toe to hook under it and knock it into the air. She meant to use it to deflect Snips’ blade away, but she got another surprise when the metal of the barrel easily sliced apart against his gauntlet-mounted weapon. The blade, apparently, was enhanced to split anything it touched without force. She winced afterward as Snips used her momentary distraction to snap his sword up and slice out for her neck. Her eyes widened, before she quickly snapped into a backward cartwheel to avoid him following up with a killing strike. Even not knowing much about swordplay, Rarity gasped on seeing it. The squat one might have been foolhardy, but he was definitely not a slouch with those blades.

Things got worse the moment Dash snapped out of her cartwheel, because the other bruisers used the moment to move in. She heard one of their heavy footsteps and spun around just in time to see one slicing out for her face. She quickly pivoted to one side, but that only put her right into the path of another, who aimed an upward slice across her neck. She quickly sidestepped this one too, but the third time was a charm as another soldier dashed in and quickly belted her across the face with an iron knuckle. Rarity gasped again on seeing her head snap back and she staggered nearly into the path of Snips’ blade. He quickly rushed forward and aimed a slash at her, but just as he brought it around she regained her footing and dodged to one side, letting the weapon slice by. Quickly she backpedaled to the other side into an opening on the street. She was trying to get clear for her next attack…

At that moment, however, Rarity saw Snails was done fiddling with his gauntlets. He raised them up and pointed at Dash, only now revealing there were some sort of tubes attached to them running to his back.

“Ms. Dash!”

She looked up from her fighting, but the warning came too late. All it served to do was make her stand still for the moment Snails needed to fire. Unlike the shots from the rifles, a stream of viscous liquid shot out. Rarity gasped as it hit its mark and pasted Dash across the back; thinking it was acid, poison, or any other of a host of terrible things. However, something much different happened instead.

Dash reacted to being hit by it…very slowly. She stumbled forward very slightly, and then only slowly turned her head around to look over her own shoulder. When she spoke, Rarity was surprised to hear her voice. “WWWhhhaaattt iiisss ttthhh-?”

She was silenced as Snails, who had taken off as soon as he was done firing, ran at her and smashed her in the face with one of his gauntlets. Her head snapped and she was knocked backward, but she nearly fell over completely as her legs only slowly got underneath her to brace her. And once she was on her feet, she only slowly seemed to realize she had even been struck, which in turn nearly left her open as the three bruisers were already moving on her. One was already slicing out for her neck, and while she tried to move out of the way it was slower than before she even called on whatever power the symbol on her hand gave her. This time, the blade sliced not only through her clothes but Rarity saw a trickle of blood fly up from her chest.

The other three quickly moved in, slashing and stabbing at her again. She managed to pull away and dodge them, but Rarity could see her movements were slower this time. She realized whatever that stuff was she had been tagged with it somehow was slowing her down. Whatever power she had that allowed her to move like a blaze before was now only making her move slightly slower than she had before she used it. She dodged two different slices at her head only to get another stab slicing across her forearm. She tried to deflect another knife moving in from across her, only for her slowed counter to not have enough power to block it fully. As a result, she barely got her head out of the way to avoid a knife that went for her eye, and had to wrap her arm around to intercept another knife headed for her ribs. That, however, just left her open for another punch, making her stagger back again.

And as she kept staggering and struggling against the three attackers, Snips snapped his other arm to side; causing a second blade to pop out and join the first. After that, he quickly began to move in behind the others…

Rarity cupped her hand to her mouth and shook all over. She glanced about, but whatever people hadn’t already fled were cringing and holding back. The only edge at the moment was all of the soldiers that were still up had their weapons trained on Dash, but none of them were firing as she was in the midst of their comrades. None were looking at her. She held fearfully a moment more, before she looked at her hand. That symbol was still there, and looked a bit more complete than it had minutes ago. She glanced back up to Dash and back to it.

She may have barely known her, but she had saved her life twice now…

Thinking she had to be insane, she helplessly shrugged to herself and held her hand out. “Um…er…Captain…what was it…Captain Spitfire…?”

No reaction. Nothing changed around her.

“Cap…Captain Spitfire? Captain Spitfire!”

Still nothing.

Dash suddenly cried out. Rarity looked out and gasped again. While she had been struggling to throttle one of the soldiers, another had moved in. She had tried to twist her body out of the way but was too slow. The knife had plunged into her side.

Agony was now painting Dash’s face along with beads of sweat. Her clothing was rapidly being stained. Somehow she managed to throw the one she was throttling off of her, but as she staggered back the soldier ripped the knife back out. She gave another aborted cry, and Rarity, for a moment, thought she would drop dead on the spot. She had no idea how deep the knife had gone in but she definitely saw more blood fly as she pulled back, and immediately one of her hands went down and clamped it as tight as she could. The soldiers kept surrounding her but didn’t move in. They knew Snips was coming in behind them, and they instead began to part out of the way to let him move.

Rarity’s eyes were pinpricks as she gasped in fear. However, she knew there was no other way now. She held off a bit longer before she finally took a deep breath and made her dainty hands into fists. Then, she took off right for Snips. Just as the soldiers finished parting and he raised both of his weapons, she tried to think of the most serious, strongest blow she could possibly imagine. Something that could really knock him for a loop.

In the end, she gave a mild cry as she lashed out with her boot and gave him a tiny kick to the ankle, causing an almost imperceptible “ding”.

Between her charge out and pathetic attack, all of the soldiers stopped and turned to her instead. That included Snips, wheeling around to her with both blades still humming. It instantly made her step back, especially since she was now close enough to see his eyes through the visor zeroing in on her.

There was a moment of silence as Rarity’s small resolve disappeared. Cringing, she took another step back before smiling sheepishly. “I’m…sorry…?”

She heard a click from her side. She didn’t even need to look; remembering Snails was standing there. She knew what was coming. Instead, she quickly backpedaled. Sure enough, she saw two streams of the thick liquid shoot by where she had been, but she cried out none the less as she tripped and stumbled on some pieces of road broken by the earlier attacks. She was still stumbling when Snips waited only long enough for the streams to die down before slicing out at her with one of his humming blades. Crying out, she stumbled off her feet all together and landed on her rear.

She hardly had time to catch her breath from the surprise when she heard the humming draw near her head. She looked up and paled; seeing Snips already aimed his weapon at her nose.

“Thanks, lady,” he snickered. “When the rainbow woman jumped in, I almost forgot you were the one we wanted ta’ start with. Good thing you reminded me, huh?”

Rarity could only gulp, petrified with fear at seeing the tip of the sword dancing an inch in front of her head. Her panicked mind tried to think of what to do as he pulled it back…

“Hey, who are-UGH!”

The sound of Snails crying out made both Rarity as well as Snips turn around, but the latter got the worst of it as a woman cried out before smacking him alongside the helmet as hard as she could with an iron pipe. The blow was solid enough to jar it askew part of the way, revolving around the squat man’s head. As a result, not only did he stagger back but was left blind and stumbling. He stumbled confused for a moment before he tried to reach up to his head, only to find his blades were still out and preventing him.

“What…? Uh…ugh! Snails! Do something!”

Rarity glanced and saw that Snails wouldn’t be helping anyone at the moment. The first blow from the pipe had knocked him alongside his own head with enough force to send him to the ground and he was still dazzled. However, most of her attention focused on her savior standing fierce and brandishing the pipe like a spear. Her hand, unbandaged, was blazing along the lines of a rune similar to Rainbow Dash’s.

“Ms....Ms. Cheerilee?!”

“They’re coming out of the woodwork!” one of the gunner soldiers yelled, snapping his weapon up. “Kill her!”

Several others quickly did the same, causing her to snap to them. She hesitated; the look on her face showing she had mostly acted out of instinct and panic. However, a moment later, she gave a cry and flung the iron pipe like a missile for the soldier who had shouted. Rarity doubted this was the intention, but as it sailed at him he instinctively crossed his weapon in front of him to protect himself, and as a result the pipe pierced some sort of tank on the side that must have been used for ammunition or fuel of a sort. As soon as it did it erupted in a splash of liquid-like flames. The soldier himself was engulfed and cried out in agony and shock; dropping his weapon and running for it. Yet the resulting splash bathed the area around where he had stood in raging fire; causing the other gunners to pull back.

The three bruisers, however, were still on the other side and spun on Ms. Cheerilee. At that point, however, Rarity finally got enough of her wits to act. She looked around herself frantically for a moment, trying to find any weapon she could, and noticed that, not too far from her, one of the gunners Dash had disabled had dropped their weapon. Not knowing what it did exactly or how to use it, she nevertheless forced her panic down and threw herself forward at it. She seized the gun, yanked it up, pointed it as best as she could at the three as they neared her old teacher, and pulled the trigger.

It ended up being another lightning one, and it snaked out a bolt that narrowly missed hitting Ms. Cheerilee before hitting the nearest soldier. Instantly, her body went rigid as portions of her skin singed from the electricity coursing through it. Rarity actually gasped at the sight and released the trigger, letting her fall to the ground limply. Fortunately, it did the trick. The two remaining bruisers, seeing she was armed with one of their weapons, glanced at her once before turning and running for cover. A good thing too, because she wasn’t sure if she could have done that again.

She remained on the ground panting hard and still holding up the weapon as Ms. Cheerilee took a moment to catch her bearings, before spinning to Dash. She was still conscious and holding onto her side, but blood was oozing around her fingers and she didn’t look capable of standing. She could only give out a ragged gasp as Ms. Cheerilee crouched at her side. The older woman extended her hand to take up a shard of cobblestone, then reached around her back. At first Rarity thought she was trying to pull, but after a moment, as Dash began to move a bit faster, she realized she was wiping Snails' material off.

“Get up…get up…we have to get out of here…”

She shook her head. “Just…just get her to the edge of town… Stagecoach’s waiting…”

Ms. Cheerilee didn’t answer as she started to pull with the arm around her back instead. Her other hand went out and pressed itself against Dash’s own bloody hand, making her wince. “Come on, get up… You can do it…”

She shook her head as she grit her teeth. “I can’t…”

At that, and as Rarity finally got enough of her own wits to try standing, she got another surprise. Ms. Cheerilee pushed her hand in harder, closed her eyes, and began to murmur something. She couldn’t make out what it was at first, but the result was unmistakable. After only a moment, Dash stopped gritting her teeth. She still looked in pain, but the agony seemed to lessen. A moment more, and she was breathing easier. After that, she began to lean up.

By now, Rarity was on her feet as well and moving toward them. Only then did she hear her.

“All better, all better, all better, all better…”

The woman’s brow quirked. That was only something she used to say to small children whenever they got a scrape or a bump. She remembered her saying it to her before, and it had no special power other than that which children gave it. Yet it seemed to be actually working now…

As Dash began to get up, Rarity looked back to the flames. They were still burning steadily and blocking a good part of the road, but the panic that had driven off the soldiers was subsiding. Several of them were regaining their bearings and trying to counterattack. What more, with two loud “shiks”, Snips managed to retract his blades. He was reaching for his head now to try and spin the helmet back. She realized they had to run…

“Rarity!”

The sound snapped her out of it and back to Cheerilee and Dash. The latter was still being somewhat supported, but was getting her feet moving as she ran over to her, beckoning for the weapon she was holding. “Give me that!”

The woman flustered a moment before nervously extending the barrel out to her. “Do you, um, know how to use that?”

“No idea,” she answered as she seized it and brought it over in front of her. “But I’m hoping it does something like the last one did!”

With that, she held a knee up and slammed the weapon down on it around the base, snapping it in half. It started to snap and sizzle, but she flung it in the direction of the bruisers to the side of the roaring flames. Soon after landing, it began to snake out bolts of electricity all over the area, staining the ground black and shooting out with enough force to melt glass on a nearby building window. The gunners and bruisers alike began to recoil from that, leaving that end of the street effectively blocked.

“Now run!” she shouted back, spinning around pushing on Rarity’s shoulder, and forcing her away. “Go!”

With as much adrenaline as was coursing through her now, it didn’t take long for Rarity to comply. Dash picked up speed as Cheerilee slowly removed her hand from her back to run with them. While the street around them was quickly getting torn up, there was a narrow alleyway just ahead. Even if they could push free, the soldiers would be able to only follow single-file. The three of them would have an easier time getting ahead. If they could just make it…

Rarity’s feet touched the sidewalk, and she was only a few feet from the alleyway, when she heard another noise. Out of the corner of the eye she saw someone suddenly fall behind.

Freezing in place, she spun back around.

Dash was pushing on forward, but Ms. Cheerilee, her own eyes widened in surprise, seemed to run in slow motion. Behind her, Rarity could see that Snails had just got enough of his bearings to raise one of his weapons and shoot, and he had gotten her in the back. Unlike Dash, who had the benefit of her faster speed, the older woman was now moving like she was wading in gelatin.

Rarity gasped, taking a step toward her. “Ms. Cheerilee!”

Dash’s hand seized her by the trailing wrist and yanked her back. A good thing too, for Snails had tried to fire at her as well and the liquid barely missed. As for Cheerilee, in spite of how slow she was moving, she saw what happened. For a moment, her wide eyes locked with Rarity’s. Her face, tightened with her own adrenaline and panic, was motionless. Rarity looked back at her. It was only a moment, but it felt like an entire minute passed between them.

Finally, she mouthed something slowly.

Just run.

Rarity stammered. “No…no, Ms. Cheerilee…!”

She was so focused on her she didn’t already see what was happening. Ms. Cheerilee’s body was acting as a shield now, blocking Snails from getting a clean shot, but he was getting up. Snips finally adjusted his helmet, and now looked angrier than ever. Both of his blades deployed again. Meanwhile, more shots went out, and the flames began to subside nearby; the result of the gunners that had ice-based weapons using them to clear a path. They’d be on them soon.

Rarity felt herself being pulled back by Dash. She resisted, but the Huntsman, even injured, wasn’t taking no for an answer. She yanked her back enough to put an arm around her and then pulled her body.

“Ms. Cheerilee!” Rarity shouted back. “Ms. Cheeriliee!”

She saw, even slowed down, the woman’s face change to a smile as Dash pulled her into the alley. After that, she saw her turn around, moving to face the others. As soon as she did, however, Snips was on her, and he brought the blade across.

A splash of red. Gravity overcame Cheerilee’s own speed as she fell to her knees. The last Rarity saw was his other weapon rise again before she was yanked around the corner.

Rarity’s cry was smothered by the sound of a second Trottingham airship arriving at Flaxonville; coming in for a landing.

Comments

[Arkonfleight]

I know there's exactly a 0% chance of it lasting longer than thirty seconds once she sniffs out the lack of mark (Hex Mark? Is there a proper term and I missed it?) but I kind of want to see Sunset have to deal with the endless stream of GREAT AND POWERFUL EGO.

[Piccolo Sky]

9625203
Twilight named it a Promethian Sigil, although even she doesn't know exactly what that means at this point in the story.

[Arkonfleight]

9625217
Interesting. I suppose we'll see if it's for "foresight", "fire stolen from the gods", or "terrifying world of darkness unpeople".
Definitely excited to see where this goes.