Subject 30: Rock On
“NOW!”
I had no time to react. Ghost picked me up and flung me across the town square. “WHAAAAAA?!” I landed in a stack of hay nearby. But I wasn’t about to leave him behind like that. “What the buck are you doing?!” I shouted, and started to run back towards the middle of the road where the eight Chimeras surrounded him.
But what followed next would be one of the most staggering things I had ever witnessed.
Every door and window to every building in the square would open up. Each one had a cannon or some other barreled weapon pointed towards the square.
“FIRE!” The earth pony shouted, and the cannons would blast off. As it turned out, each one was controlled by an Appleloosan civilian! I was floored. Never would I have expected to see regular ponies actually standing up for themselves. But they did! They fired off dynamite, explosive bombs, flaming pies...everything.
“YEE-HAW! GIT ‘EM YA’LL!” a mare shouted.
“Who wants the first explosion in their face?!” a stallion yelled.
BOOM!
BANG!
CRASH!
Explosion after explosion erupted in the town square. It was so loud that I had to cover my ears. But even with earplugs, I couldn’t get a proper visual of what was happening due to how much dust and dirt each blast kicked up. All I could hear were the ecstatic cries of the Southern ponies while the Chimeras roared in agony.
“Pressure’s on ‘em, ya’ll!”
“Let’s finish ‘em!”
“Hogtie ‘em!”
I heard more voices shout, some were even as young as fillies and colts! Once the dust settled, I was flabbergasted to find that the hybrid monsters had been vaporized by their counterattack. But wait…were my eyes playing tricks on me? In the distance, I saw a two-ledgged figure wearing a hood. Not unlike the dragon that tied me up on Limestone’s rock this morning. But the next time I blinked, they were gone. Was it just an illusion?
Nevermind that. I had to check on Agent Ambush.
“Ghost….Ghost?!” I ran out to the ashes, and looked around. Within a few seconds, the blue earth pony popped out of the mound.
“Yee-haw, ya’ll! We got ‘em good!”
The Appleloosans all ran out of their homes to celebrate their victory with cheers and shouts of joy. However, it seems that we missed one…
“Hold on, ya’ll!” A citizen shouted, and pointed at the very edge of the town where one of Chimeras limped away slowly.
Just then, we saw a massive rock fly across the horizon and land on the unsuspecting beast. It was smashed underneath the Earth, with only its limbs visibly twitching.
“Wha?”
With confused murmurs among the crowd, we all looked in the direction of where the rock had come from. To my shock, somepony who I never would’ve guessed had showed up at the last second.
“I told you that I wasn’t just some rock farmer, dummy.” Limestone proclaimed, now wearing a green and brown military camo jacket with fur trim around the neck. She had a cannon of her own, but it wasn’t like the one her sister had for throwing parties. No. This was a Rock Cannon. “How could you leave me behind like that? Did you think I wasn’t capable of defending myself? Idiot!”
The rest of the Appleloosans started to celebrate once more in lieu of the last chimera’s defeat. Everypony started to dance and holler, as was tradition after a successful battle in this town.
I could hear Ghost’s casual sort of snicker as he came up to meet us both. “Well now, little lady. I didn’t expect ya to git all the way out here to help us. Butcha did! You impressed me fer sure. Why don’tcha join us for a celebratory drink?”
Limestone rolled her eyes, though I could tell she was interested. “Whatever.”
We entered the nearby tavern, and Ghost pulled me aside for a moment. “Listen, Pale. There’s somethin’ goin’ on.”
“Before you speak, I have to say--the tactics you’ve all deployed to fight off monsters are amazing,” I said as I took a seat at one of the stools, Ghost sat next to me. “I never would’ve expected the Appleloosans to be so...trigger happy. Especially Braeburn.”
“Well, ya can’t rely on them princesses fer yer safety all the time,” he explained with a disgusted expression. “Hate how that’s all ponies seem to rely on nowadays. Ya gotta stand up fer yerself, ya know? Them Elements of Harmony ain’t gon do nothin’ fer ya. That’s why we ‘Loosans have started to develop weapons n’ tactics fer fightin’. Explosives, traps, explosive traps. The works.”
I was in agreement. Relying solely on the power of the alicorns and the elements would make us weaker as a populace. If everypony had a weapon, or could stand up for themselves, then monsters simply wouldn’t attack as often. That would be something I needed to mention to Twilight later. “Absolutely. The more capable you are at keeping yourselves safe, the better. Though, I never would’ve thought Chimera would be all the way out here. This is far from the swamp territory where they normally reside.”
“That’s just what I wanted to speak with ya about.”
I nodded. “I’m listening.”
He looked left, then right, then started to whisper. “There’s a snake in our horseshoes. Somepony’s tryin’a destroy the agency from the inside.”
“Really now? What makes you say so?”
He took a massive gulp from his frothy mug of root beer before continuing. “Ah. Listen. The attack that happened just now? It was premeditated, partner. Chimeras ain’t from ‘round these parts by nature. Someone set us up.”
He was right. Those beasts preferred the swamps in the deeper parts of the forests near the Badlands. There was no logical reason for them to have attacked here. Unless… “But how...who?”
“I ain’t got any idea who, but lately some rumors have been churnin’ like cow milk butter.”
I leaned in, desperate to know what he meant. If there was something happening that could potentially jeopardize the safety of all of our crew members, then there was going to be a problem for all of us. “Tell me…”
He downed his second mug. “I’m hearin’ spicions. ‘Spicions that whoever did this was wearin’ a hood.”
Very suspicious indeed. I had already dealt with three individuals who fit that very description. Was it possible that they had not only inserted themselves among our ranks, but also sought to dismantle the very base of the Agency to throw away all credence I had? Scary. “I see...do you have a potential location mapped out of where they’re located?”
“Ya know Starlight Glimmer, yeah?”
I nodded. “Yes?”
“Mah sources been tellin’ me that they run off due north every time they’re questioned. Towards some small village behinds some mountains.”
Village? Mountains? Where Glimmer used to operate many years ago? There was only one location that fit that description.
“Oh yeah, I know that place,” Limestone suddenly injected herself into the discussion. She sipped from a mug of rootbeer. “That’s the place that Marble’s boyfriend is from.”
I nearly spat out my own drink. Limestone had been listening to us the whole time? “Um--huh. Is that so?”
“Yeah, though it’s not really a village anymore. It’s almost like a city now.”
Ghost rolled his eyes. I suppose he was used to being interrupted, and didn’t mind. “Regardless, I can’t leave Appleloosa. Mah Ma’s sick, and I gotta take care of her. Wanna do the honors of findin’ out what’s goin’ on?”
“Of course. This organization is like family to me. If someone’s threatening the safety of all of you, then I’m gonna handle it.”
Limestone cleared her throat. “Ahem. If some wacko’s trying to harm my sister and her stallion, then I’m obligated to go too. And don’t give me any smack talk about how dangerous it is.”
I tilted my head in confusion. “But what about your rock farm? And Holder’s Boulder?”
“I already knew I’d be gone for a while, so I got Maud to stay back and watch it,” she folded her hooves. This mare was not going to budge on the subject, that much was apparent. “Sounds like you’re trying to make up excuses for why I shouldn’t go. Well too bad. I’m going. With or without you.”
I rested my forehead in one of my hooves. “Ah, fine. I wasn’t going to try and convince you to stay behind anyways.”
Ghost laughed. “Bickerin’ like a couple already--”
I suddenly leaned up in his face with a death glare. “Don’t say that. Don’t you say that bull, Hex.”
He laughed, and pushed me down into my seat in a casual manner. “Haha! I’m jokin’ partner. Thanks for takin’ up such an assignment. I know ya can handle it.” With a tip of his hat, he rose from his seat, “see ya, little lady.”
Limestone replied with a tad less irritation than before. “Bye.”
We finished our root beers, and headed to the Appleloosa train station. The walk there was rather quiet, given that Limestone had grabbed a comic book to read from within her coat. Another Power Ponies one. Nice.
We both got on the train, and I took a seat. To my surprise, she sat next to me. Though, still silent.
As the train got moving, I couldn’t help but feel the need to break the silence between us. “So...rock cannon, huh? Pretty cool.”
“Thanks, I guess. Also inspired by Pinkie. Though Maud almost suggested using crystal shards instead. Figured that’d be fluctuating on the draw during midair flight due to wind speed. Boulders are more consistent projectiles.”
“And you just...have it at the ready whenever you want?”
“Yep.”
“Huh.”
I leaned back in my seat, in silence. But out of nowhere, Limestone lowered her comic book. “Look. Don’t get the wrong idea or anything, dummy. I’m only going up to this town to check on my sister Marble. I don’t care about you or your stupid agency. At all.”
Somehow, those words felt empty. I might have been looking too much into them, but it seemed like she was trying to say something else. I was used to aggressive mares like her, but they were hard to read. “Well, hey, that’s fair. We have our separate reasons.”
And yet, she wasn’t satisfied with that response. Her eyes went up to the top-right. “Yeah well...if you happen to run into her before I do, let me know. I don’t want some creepy, corrupt officer damaging her relationship.”
So she didn’t hate me and she did want my help? I couldn’t understand this mare. I sighed. “Look, if I’ve done something to offend you in any way, I’m sorry. But to be honest, I need to focus on my mission. So if you’re going to go with me, I need you to be helpful, got it?”
“...Yeah, sure. Sorry. It’s...it’s not you.”
I could feel the skeptic bone in my body rise. I raised an eyebrow. “Well what is it, then?” Was it really that difficult for her to express herself?
She rolled her eyes, and finally looked at me directly. “You ever know what it’s like to have a big family that’s better than you in every way?”
“No, but go on.”
She put the comic book down. “One of my sisters frequently saves the world on a regular basis, another one is a successful geologist who got a boyfriend, and then married, and now Marble’s got a whole marble company a boyfriend now. Grrh! It’s like I’m always in last place!” she groaned as she threw her hooves into the air, and brought them down, one over each eye.
I blinked, and simply allowed her to talk. I was no therapist, so I couldn’t act as if I had all the answers. Even so, it was an interesting perspective to gain. “I see…”
“When we were little, it always fell on me to clean up after them. I’m the oldest. So the attention I got got smaller and smaller while the responsibilities and chores got bigger and bigger. Mom and dad didn’t have enough time for just me and...gah, I’m shouting into the wind,” she said with an annoyed frown and picked her comic back up. “It’s not gonna solve anything.”
“Well...I can do my best to sympathize. I was an only child, but I did insane things to get the attention of others.”
She brought her comic back up, and didn’t take her eyes off the page. “Hmph. I don’t want your sympathy.”
“Then what do you want? Out of life? In general?”
There was another awkward silence between us both. I suppose she never thought critically about what she truly wanted from her life. Beyond that, I mused that her opinion would aid me in not only understanding her, but the world at large as well. Shining Armor felt insignificant in relation to his family, and so did Limestone. If there was a way to find a commonality among such sentiment, there would be an easier way to break it.
At last, the sour mare would respond. “...comfort, I guess. Somepony who could appreciate me for being me. I’m not your average pony. I’m not all nicey-wicey and crap, nor do I sing at the drop of a hat or spout nonsense about love and tolerance. I’m Limestone Pie. And if nopony can accept me for who I am, that’s their loss.”
Once more, I didn’t know how to respond to that. All my life, I was taught to be nice and show respect to others, even if I didn’t like them. And while Limestone wasn’t exactly mean, she wasn’t exactly a sweetheart either. Would it truly be okay to force somepony to change just to make it easier for yourself? Or was it better to simply let them stay who they were, and never bothered? Maybe there was a common, middle ground one could reach?
Wow, this mare was a complex rock.
“Well...I respect that. For the record, I do enjoy your tough-as-nails, no-nonsense personality. It makes it easy to hold conversations with you.”
She paused. Her eyes went wide. Her face had a blank expression of confusion mixed with embarrassment. It didn’t last very long, though. “Oh...thanks, I guess?” she replied while she rubbed the back of her head. Her expression quickly changed, though not to her default, sour demeanor. Rather, she simply looked at me with a more...neutral face. “But don’t get your hopes up thinking that complimenting me is suddenly gonna make me your friend or anything.”
Maybe I was wrong. I guess I didn’t get through to her. Oh well. While it would make things easier, it wasn’t the priority. “Nah, I’m above that. I don’t waste time with words. Saddle Rager--also known as Spruce Spanner--has the right idea in regards to that.”
“I...yeah, you’re right. She’s pretty cool the way she takes out villains with nothing but raw power. But at the same time, she's an intelligent scientist who doesn't mess around.”
“Right? Though, Mare-velous is great too, as I said before. That lasso is amazing given that she can control it at will. Doesn’t it also force ponies to tell the truth?”
Limestone responded with a smile, though it came off as more of a cocky grin. “Heck yeah. That’s why I love it so much. If you’re gonna mess up, at least own up to it so I can decide you punish--I mean, bring you to justice, or whatever.”
I chuckled. “Hehe. That’s basically my job in a nutshell.”
“You lasso ponies?”
“Ahah. No. I seek out the truth to find the reality that everyone else wants to desperately cover up. It’s the only way we can grow as a society. If we understand how things truly operate, then we can develop more and more. Whether we’re rock farmers, detectives, or alicorns. Knowledge is power, as they say.”
She rolled her eyes. “Normally, I’d be annoyed by a bunch of talk, but you have a point. Uncovering secrets and exposing the mistakes of those who think they’re always right sounds like wicked fun.”
Oh buck no. I was not about to let such an occupation get idolized. I shook my head. “Not for fun. For justice.”
The train finally came to a stop near the entrance to the mountainous region where Starlight’s old village was located. Limestone and I both got off, and started walking. It was about a good ten minutes of hoofing it until we came upon a--
“Cobblestone…” Limestone sniffed the path beneath us. “From at least a few months ago. Guess they’ve done some paving recently? The Town Square also looks pretty nice. A fountain made of casting stone and ceramic…” she pointed ahead. The town was flourishing greatly now with loads of different shops, and even a school as well as a hospital. Gone were the dirt roads, as they were replaced with beautiful stone ones.
“Lots of...color, too. So many beautiful places…” I mused as I walked along. I counted a flower shop, clothing store, grocery store among other things. But now wasn’t the time to sightsee. “Alright, let’s stay focused. Where would a marble store be…”
“Shh.” Limestone sniffed again, and pointed due West. “End of this block here.”
We kept going, and true to her word, Limestone had found her sister’s store. Marble’s Marvelous Marbels. Huh. Cute name with alliteration on the arched sign. In the display window were marbles made of rare rocks and crystals that were hard to find. “Such a quaint little store, eh?”
“Well, don’t just stand there. Let’s go see if she’s there.”
I was surprised to hear that. “Oh? But I thought you didn’t care about my objective?”
She stumbled over her words and avoided eye contact with me. “I uh...don’t get the wrong idea, dummy. I’m just looking out for Marble in case she knows anything so you can go handle it!” she huffed, and walked up to the shop’s door.
At this point, I couldn’t tell if ‘dummy’ carried its weight as an insult, or an alternative way to address me by name. I was no stranger to that sort of thing. There was a term for ponies who had issues expressing their emotions. They came off cold and annoyed on the surface, but secretly cared for those whom they were around.
Sadly, that term escaped me at the moment.
But it wasn’t hard to imagine Limestone was a very protective and reliant sister among the Pie family.
I followed her up to the door, and out of nowhere, I gray shape dashed out and hugged her. “Limestone! You’re here! You’re here!”
The aggressive Pie was hugged by her youngest sister with a look of confusion on her face. She was surprised to see Marble so...excited. “....what?”
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I think you have an interest in underused/underdeveloped characters. First Tree Hugger and now Marble. Very nice to see. I'm guessing the mole is part of the E gang.
These people don't mess around...
No mercy whatsoever. Its a good thing Fluttershy wasn't there to see all that.
That may explain how Pale was followed so effectively.
Obviously this is a changeling. There can be no other explination.
1; Knew that the Chimeras were brought by some group.
2; Knew that some group was created and secretly plan to destroy Tirek, Cozy and Chrysalis’ freedom if Twilight wants to show Mercy.
And 3; Did Marble Pie outgrew her shyness?!
I can get why Limestone has self-confident issues regarding her sisters. But the other Pie siblings have also their own: Pinkie's hyperactiveness and upbeat personality causing her to be labelled as immature or a loonie, Maud's autism preventing her from socializing, etc...
10429970
Of course. These ponies deserved way more development than what they got.
Lol they don't! They know how to fight for themselves and so does Limestone.
And yeah someone is tailing Pale.
Nope, Marble is tougher now!
10429973
Good observations! Stay tuned for more! And yes, Marble is more comfortable with herself now.
10429992
Yeah, but they all managed to overcome those problems. Limestone meanwhile has not. She's still in a bit of a rut. Hopefully somepony can help her!
Yep. Called it! This group is crazy and hypocritical. They talk about the effects of Cozy Glow's crimes on them from years ago. What about them? Putting civilian lives in danger all to stop one stallion?! And no surprise that there's a mole in the agency. How else were they able to follow Pale so easily without being seen? As for who it is, Quick Draw seems likely because she was the first to talk Pale out of trying to get Cozy released. Seems Marble moved on from Big Mac to Double Diamond. Good on her.
10430133
Yeah you make a great point. Though it's entirely possible that the chimera attack was a distraction. Appleloosa is known for their trigger happy population. Maybe it was done on purpose to evaluate something?
And you never know. Quick Draw has known him and Corkscrew for years since their days at the academy. Why would she betray them?
And yes, Marble and Diamond are a great pair. He's just the type of stallion she needed to help her build confidence!
10430147
Why wouldn't she? Either she's the mole, or she was intimidated by this group into silence. Granted, it could be anybody in the agency. It has to be someone who has, not only a legitimate gripe with Cozy or Princess Twilight herself for that matter, but also with maybe Pale himself. Keep in mind, he has a past he's not proud of. Who's to say that his past won't catch up to him? That's just my theory.
10430194
You make good points! Stay tuned to find out.
I feel like you have been throwing bullshit at him lately just to make things difficult. Things are not connected to each other, chaos every single day and he is dragged all over the country with random investigations.
It's like you don't know how to proceed, bit want to make things hard to create the illusion of him fighting for justice and stuff. And you make him transform into psychologist on every single person he meets, and make him somehow apply his simple one-dimensional troubled childhood as a reference to all sorts of problems.
And you turned him into a harem character too. WTF. I doesn't even feel natural, you made it look like princesses want him and he is special little candy for all mares around. This is getting way too off-hand.
His plot armor is thickening and your puppeteering over the story too.
10757542
Well at this stage of the story, the main driving force is for Pale to convince everyone that Cozy Glow should be set free. The only way he's going to really accomplish that is by his actions, and proving that the justice system of Equestria is flawed. He's going around, interviewing people of interest so he can gauge what to do next. Some support him, some don't.
And really? The intent was never for him to be a harem character. He's trying to break through Celestia's stoic outer shell so he can understand her better. Same goes for the way he interacted with Luna and Cadance. Just because he's a stallion interacting with mares (which is simply the gender of a majority of the major characters--something I have no control over), doesn't mean that he's interested in them or they're interested in him. Sorry if it came off that way, but that's absolutely not the intent here. I don't like stories where the main OC gets with everyone because it's too easy to do.
Lastly, I'm not sure what you mean by "plot armor" because Pale has/will suffer for the choices he makes throughout the story. The purpose of his backstory is to create a parallel between himself and the other characters so he can relate to them in some ways. The only thing I can say is keep reading and you'll find the plot a bit deeper than it is on the surface. But it's entirely up to you.