Mission Begins in 10 Seconds

by Wandering Quill

Welcome to Damson City

It's all my fault! I should have known!

Now listen'ere, sugarcube! T'ain't nopony's fault!

But if I hadn't...

Ya did what ya thought was right! Dun matter if... if...

Told ya, AJ!

Rainbow's right, Applejack! If I hadn't left, if... if Rarity hadn't left! Maybe none of this would have happened!

Psh! If she wants to leave so badly, then let her! ...can't do much more damage than she's already done...

That ain't no way to talk to'er!

A lot of ponies lost their loved ones today, AJ! All because two fillies couldn't get along!

You hear me, Twilight? The only reason Pinkie did it was because you left!

WELCOME TO DAMSON CITY

BANG!

The chunky, hard-hatted stallion backpedaled away from the multitude of cavities that marked the dirt at his hooves, as did another stallion with a clear, bulged imprint of a hoof on the side of its face.

A shotgun clicked twice as its owner, a mare whose orange coat was heavily marred by the mud, pulled its farthest trigger back to pump it. An empty magazine clattered to the ground. The hatless stallion immediately cringed at the sight of the stetson atop the armed mare's head. "Now listen'ere, sugarcube, ye best be on yer way before this'ere situation gets ugly!"

The hard-hat-clad stallion, on the other hoof, didn't appear to have been fazed by the threat. His mouth contorted into a derisive grin. "Pfft! What are you gonna d-"

"This gun ain't got blanks, sugarcube," the orange mare continued as she pressed the end of the shotgun in her hooves against the stallion's snout. "Ah can guarantee ya'll'll have a real bad day if it even scrapes yer hoof."

The gun's proximity seemed to have successfully intimidated the stallion, given his nervous gulp. The pickaxe in his hoof clattered loudly against the ground as he stepped back. "Y-You can't just shoot ponies!"

"See this?" The mare pointed at the star-shaped, gilded badge that was pinned to the front of her cowpony hat. "This here badge says Ah can if Ah need to. 'N ye're startin' to give me plenty'a reasons to do it."

The stallion stared her down, as though it would make her admit it was just some sort of twisted joke. When Applejack's stare remained as firm as before, he decided it was time for a different approach. "I'm filing a complaint to VanHoover about this!"

"If ya got any problems, why don't'cha jus' solve'em with me, right here, right now?" The orange mare dropped the gun and positioned herself to fight. She put up her smuggest grin. "You'n me, pony ta pony."

The deal seemed to please the stallion. He tossed the hard hat away and stomped the ground once. "You asked for it, missy-"

The stallion's skull cracked as soon as Applejack's hind hooves made contact with his head. He reeled back, holding his muzzle in pain. He could feel the warmth of the red fluid that stained his fetlocks. Applejack, on the other hoof, continued to sport a confident smirk.

"Ya dun' seem like much of a pony t'me! That all ya got, sugarcube?"

The taunt had been every bit as successful as Applejack had hoped. The stallion leaped forward in hopes of head butting the mare, but his face only met the mud on the ground.

"I know a certain administrator that'll love to know what you're up to, missy," he cackled in his daze, still looking around in search of Applejack. "Not even your brother will save you from that one!"

"Ah didn't get'ere through favors, ya know?" The stallion's eyes went wide. She was standing right behind him. Applejack's hooves kicked his rear as soon as he got up to escape, leaving him to plant his face back on the floor and his muzzle stuck in the puddles of dirt again. The mare walked up to his side and placed a hoof on top of his head. "So Ah damn better not hear squat from the cranky missy back in VanHoover."

---

"Hey sheriff!"

Applejack groaned. Not many ponies called her that. In fact, she had told just about every pony who had to not call her that. There was always an odd one out, however. And she was fluttering just above her head, with her rainbow-hued mane tied up in a ponytail and a triumphant smirk plastered on her features. "Ah told ya not to call me that, RD."

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Need ya back at the train station," the pegasus pony continued, setting down on the mud with an obnoxious splash that hurdled even more dirt onto both of their coats. "There's a new pony on their way here from Canterlot."

"New pony?"

"Yeah, they're sending a new fancy pants pony to oversee the mine shafts."

Applejack gave a chuckle. "Ya really dun' like the administrators, do ya?"

She didn't, she thought regardless of her answer. Not many in Ponyville did. The administrator was just an excuse to make workers in the mines work harder and faster. The selected pony was just a metaphorical whip that lashed out on them every time they felt like production levels needed to go higher.

"Only good administrator that was ever around was Mayor Mare," Rainbow answered. "Then they just kicked her for giving us proper meals."

"Ya ain't got much to complain about. Don't the pegasi get an admin o'their own?"

"As long as Clousdale decides that they're still in control of Ponyville's weather." Rainbow sighed resignedly. "Just leave it to the fat cats back in Canterlot to take over that too."

Despite herself, Applejack giggled. "Maybe ye'll like this one. Hay, I'll have ya know them administrators're good fer keepin' tabs on all of'em troublemakers."

"Pfft, yeah, right. Likely story."

They fell silent as they trotted through the streets. Surprisingly, Rainbow had joined her in the trek. The mud squished under their hooves at very step. The streets were filled with ponies. A carriage struggled to make its way through the crowd, flinging balls of dirt at anyone around it with its wheels. Broken halves of bottles stuck out from the ground, prone to be stepped on by some unlucky pony. If it depended on the ponies in any of the city's watering holes, then more bottles would soon join these.

While the pegasus at her side watched the wooden cottages go by through half-lidded eyes, all while giving off long, bored sighs, Applejack's ears were dutifully pointed up like those of a watchdog. Her eyes were focused on the ponies that she had deemed constant troublemakers. They hung out together in the shade of any alley, ready to pick up a fight with any pony that approached them. They thought themselves tough, grew beards and wore their filthy mining uniforms like the princess wore the crown. It was for ponies like these that Applejack kept extra bullets in the brim of her hat.

Once they were far away from her, Applejack dropped her facade of seriousness, and sighed profusely along with Rainbow Dash. At times like these, the badge on her hat weighed ten times more. The fact that she was the one who held the last word didn't bother her nearly as much as the fact that she was pretending to be able to hold her ground. She was well used to the inane threats that the mentally exhausted miners made. As long as the RECs were in charge, so would she.

The disgusting stench of charred wood entered her nostrils, as she knew it would upon entering this particular area of the city. Just seeing the blackened remains of the street that stretched before her caused the memories of her life to overlap the thoughts of her job. There was no more mud on the ground. It was completely dried up. The ground was hard and ashen, constrasting sharply with the ruins around the pair of mares. They were alone now.

The city's chatter grew quieter the longer they walked. Without the blacksmiths, fireplaces and constant movement to toss smoke and dust into the air, the sky became cleaner. A different sound was beginning to emerge from the wreckage. Her throat felt as dry as the cement she stepped on. She was unsure about how long it had been since those sounds had expressed genuine emotions.

Crossing this area always caused these sounds to surface. She heard laughter and happy voices all around. There were all sorts of pitches and timbres in the mix. She heard young and old ponies. The crunch of grass beneath their hooves buzzed in her ears. Market stalls flanked the streets, displaying their selection of fruits and vegetables while their owners engaged in the bickering that competition always caused. These were good-willed discussions, though. They were nothing like the drunken riots that roused Applejack from her sleep every night.

They were approaching a carousel-like building. The wind carried a very faint whisper of an overdramatic wail, shortly followed by a epiphanic exclamation. Surely a new way to impress the stuck-up citizens of Canterlot.

But the boutique was being torn apart. A unicorn mare was boarding a carriage that was already loaded with bags with more shapes and colors than there were stars in the sky. She donned a kerchief and a large pair of sunshades, as if she wanted to remain incognito. Three little fillies were hugging each other on the lawn in front of the building, exchanging a tearful farewell. Applejack caught a glimpse of the carriage as it prepared to leave. 'Macintosh Co.' was scribbled all over its side.

Perhaps she would be back one day, though. Yes, she would. Not one of the five friends doubted that. She would grow rich, and then return to Ponyville.

They were near a big, empty field now. The land there had been deprived of any sense of order. Heaps upon heaps of dirt, rock, bushes and trees were scattered throughout the fields in the same erratic manner farmer spreads their seeds. Kilometers of rope connected the surface to the bottom of the crater in the middle of the field. Carrying in their mouth the handles of buckets filled to the brim with nothing but mud, ponies flocked in and out of the massive pit.

Far detached from the shuffle, where the brown of the earth met the green of Ponyville, lay a gigantic, hollow tree that was being cut down to smaller pieces of lumber. Its pieces were being carried to the only place with a hint of organization: a very, very lengthy pile of more lumber. As the night fell, the pile grew smaller, as the wood provided the fuel to all of the fires that dotted the crater's edge. Applejack was sure that a pony could see the fiery tendrils all the way from Appleloosa.

Day upon night, nothing changed.

The day came when there wasn't a chance to say goodbye. As she observed the skies in silence, she saw a chariot that was flying off. The only thing she saw of the passenger was a lavender blur.

In an attempt to distract herself, she sought for a gingerbread house. She rejoiced when her eyes were greeted by shades of pink in the distance. Her mouth began to water at the thought of eating a pastry of her choice, fresh out of the oven. She heard a pony singing happily.

Two pegasus mares were entering the shop, a yellow and a blue one. They chattered among themselves in a very low voice, which was surprising when it came to the most athletic one. They pushed the door open, took one last, steeling look at each other, and walked in.

Not long after, the cheerful song that previously filled the air slowly faded away. There was a loud crash and many, many cries and shouts before the same two mares darted out of the building, one reduced to tears, the other a fuming mess. A lot of ponies were leaving the shop now, some of them having very obviously been removed by force. When they finally cleared, all that was left was a pink mare crying at the doorstep. The house was on fire.

A lonesome tear slipped out of the corner of Applejack's eye. She wished it was because of how intense the scent felt now that they were in the middle of the town. There was smoke everywhere. The houses had caught on fire. There were ponies running away all over the place. They came from everywhere, and she barely managed to keep herself from getting trampled underhoof.

All of her senses were being assaulted at once. The taste of the ashes that burned in her mouth as she trekked through the clouds of putrid gases was all that kept her awake in the heart of the furnace. The horrifyingly familiar voices that screamed for help had driven her into a house that her sister had mentioned many times, but that Applejack had never really seen or been to.

It was the home of that little pegasus filly that always hung out with her sibling. The pony's name evaded her much like she dodged the flaming beams that fell from the ceiling, but the desperate cries were unmistakable. Applejack hurdled over the flames that consumed the remains of an old-fashioned table, hoping to find the filly in the section it blocked. Her body reeked of singed fur and leather.

Encountering one of the only two possible paths down the hall blocked by the fire, she took a sharp turn right and bolted up a staircase. Her only wish was that the house could still support her weight. She was getting closer - she could feel it!

She called for her, and fought back a relieved sigh when she got a reply. She'd pinpointed the location; all that was left was to take the fiery wooden beams off of the bed and collect the filly. Without so much as a warning, Applejack reared back on her forelegs and prepared to deliver a kick.

"Applejack!"

Just as she had feared, however, the floor gave in under her hooves, stripping her of her balance. A pitch-black cloud of smog billowed from the new hole on the ground. A loud shriek escaped the mare's throat as she found her hooves ensnared by the jagged tiles. As if the searing pain in her legs hadn't been enough, every breath she drew was painful and more laborious than the previous, like tiny needles were being pinned on her chest.

"Applejack! Are you still there?"

It hurt her heart to even imagine how close, yet how far she was from a successful rescue. More beams came tumbling down onto the bed, casting an opaque cloud into the air. She attempted to find the filly amidst the smog, but came up empty.

There hadn't even been enough time for her to face the reality of the situation. She was just starting to grasp the consequences of the fire when two legs were wrapped around her waist to haul her up.

"Applejack!"

As she looked up, her eyes met two large, magenta pools. The suffocating embrace of the smoke had disappeared along with the charcoal clouds. There were no longer any flames surrounding her or crumbling houses overhead. The sky was as blue as the pony that held her in their hooves and shook her frantically to obtain an answer.

"R-Rainbow?" the cowpony finally stuttered, coming to grips with her lying position on the ground. Her muzzle felt moist, her sight was blurry.

"I'm here..." Rainbow cooed, holding her closer. The pegasus sighed relievedly and rested her forehead against the other mare's. "Applejack, you can't keep doing this every time a new administrator arrives."

"A-Ah can't help it..."

"You're stronger than that," Rainbow insisted, giving the other mare a light shake. Her characteristic raspiness momentarily peaked in a crack of her voice. "I know you are."

"I-It's jus' so much..."

Despite herself, Rainbow didn't react to Applejack's pull. The pegasus allowed the few teardrops that escaped her friend's eyes to mat the fur on her chest. The frown on her lips was entirely artificial, the result of a mask that Rainbow knew she couldn't keep up. This was one of her - if not the - closest friends in a city that had been overflowing with disloyalty and dishonesty as of late.

Her relief was entirely real when Applejack gently pulled away. She brought a hoof up to clear her face. "We should get goin'," she spoke between stifled sniffs. Hints of hesitation were still evident in her voice, but neither mare was about to do anything about it. "Ya know how them administrators get when they dun' have it their way."

By mutual agreement, the ponies resumed their walk. Applejack trotted much faster than before, and Rainbow could guess why it was so.

Not much farther ahead, the train station's tower loomed over them. The background buzz of chatter was slowly returning, replacing the deafening silence that was felt in the midst of the ruins. In the past, Applejack would have been glad to join the conversations, maybe even incite Rainbow to do some tricks.

Nowadays, there was no time for such trivial business, nor were there ponies with the desire to socialize like that. As she crossed the crowds that waited inside the building, safe from the frosty bite of the Autumn breeze, she noticed that these ponies were almost all workers from the mines. They had the same stench that a pony acquires after weeks without the most basic of hygienic cares. They were always holed up underground, chipping away the earth in search of fool's gold.

Even their voices were drowned by the ringing of the station's bell. A pony in a deep blue uniform walked out of the building, the supervisor hat on his head bobbing up and down with his every step. His heavy eyelids and just barely contained yawns made it clear that he had just woken up.

No matter how drowsy he appeared, however, he was well-capable of performing his job. After the usual warnings addressed to those too close to the rails, he announced the arrival of a train from Canterlot, and sat back on his haunches to watch the standing passengers.

True to his word, the locomotive and all of its cars drove into the station in the form of a white and yellow blur. It was the first time in years that Applejack had seen the Equestrian Express. One of the many reasons was the steep price.

The other reason she was sure Rainbow Dash didn't agree with so much. One of the carriages bore the familiar silhouettes of three diamonds on either side, and more often than not, carried only one passenger: an administrator.

That same car was the first one that the supervisor walked up to, as stated in protocol (a protocol that the pegasus should have obliged to as well, but didn't). Applejack and Rainbow stayed behind, with the latter inching imperceptibly towards the door.

The uninformed pony's hoof trembled as it touched the metal surface of the car and slid its door open. Both mares knew he had good reasons to fear breaking the rules.

Rainbow felt her furrowed brow relax as more of the carriage's passenger was showered by light.

"...Twilight?" she managed to mumble in her awestruck condition. She was unsure about how she should be feeling. On one hoof, this was her friend. On the other, this was an administrator. Very unsure. She hated being unsure.

Applejack didn't appear to be any better, if her slack-jawed, wide-eyed pose was any indication. Already she was approaching the carriage, bearing a little shimmer in her eyes and a lot of uncertainty in her step.

"Twilight? Is that... is that you?"

The feeling had been mutual, it seemed. As soon as the lavender mare stepped out of the carriage, she took in the fresh air of the country with a long inhale and looked around, anxious to see her town after such a long time away. What she saw left a lump in her throat, and her mouth hung ever so slightly open.

Her body didn't obey her brain. She found herself standing face-to-face with the cowpony, watching her reflection in the orange pony's damp eyes, and at a loss for words.

"It really is you... ain't it?" Applejack whispered, more to herself than to Twilight. She traced the bookish mare's snout with a hoof, careful to avoid the spectacles, before moving on to the mane. She had grown used to seeing her friend's mane flow freely over her shoulders. Seeing it tied up in a neat bundle behind her head was different. No matter her looks, though, Applejack recognized the friendly smile she was being offered. "It's her. Oh Celestia be blessed, Rainbow, it's her!"

"It's-UFF!" she began, only to be interrupted by Applejack's strong embrace. She spared herself of words and simply relished in the hug's warmth, even giving some back by wrapping her forelegs around the cowpony. Rainbow still stood across them, but now she averted her gaze from the two.

When they broke apart, Twilight did her best to ignore Rainbow's reaction by focusing on Applejack. She hadn't changed one bit since had their last meeting, she thought to herself. She wore the same hat, and her strong body still had the same vigor to it. There was only one thing missing: the characteristic smell of apples and greenery.

She could get over that, though. Above all, she appeared every bit as honest as Twilight remembered. Just like she liked it.

"But... Ah dun' get it," the cowpony spoke. In truth, she understood what was going her - her mind simply wasn't ready to accept it yet. She made the question anyway: "Are ya escortin' the administrator or somethin'?"

Twilight shook her head. "I'm the new Ponyville administrator."

"Heh, now there's a name Ah haven't heard lately." Applejack chuckled lightly. "Bet folks back in the mines dun' even know it."

"Really?"

The cowpony nodded. "Eeyup. Everypony jus' moved further downstream, where the mines were bein' built when ya... when ya left. A downright pig-hole, that place. They call it Damson City." A pregnant silence befell them, with Applejack staring intently into Twilight's eyes as though she expected an answer. When none came, she took the first step: "Ah'm real glad ye're back, sugarcube. Ah really am.

"Ah bet even RD's all giddy inside," she added, turning towards the pegasus. Rainbow just narrowed her eyes and looked away. It was the prompt that Twilight had been needing to act.

"Hey, hum, Rainbow," she spoke, walking up to her old friend. Rainbow didn't appear to pay her any mind, even as the soon-to-be administrator touched her shoulder with a hoof. She had to summon every single inch of will in her being to keep her wings from popping open. "I'm... sorry. For what I did all those years ago. I know I hurt you the most. I wasn't very loyal... But being in Canterlot, away from all of you, gave me time to think...

"If I could do it again... if I was given the choice to go back and stay in Ponyville..." Rainbow's ear twitched once Twilight trailed off. "I would do it again. A little differently, maybe, but I would do it again." The pegasus couldn't control her wings this time. Twilight was rubbing her back. "I just hope you can forgive me for that."

"Words aren't going to bring anypony back." Such had been the sternness of Rainbow's words that the unicorn lowered her head in shame. There was truth in them, to be sure. No matter what she said or did now, nopony would return.

Yet the pegasus was not finished. Twilight felt a hoof under her chin pivot her head up. "But it wasn't all you. For what it's worth, I'm... I'm sorry too."

"Thank you, Rainbow." With a tiny smile on their features, the two mares drew closer and tenderly nuzzled each other's cheek. Just as Twilight felt Rainbow trying to pull away, she decided to say, "So... where's the awesome Rainbow Dash I used to know?"

"Still here. Don't push your luck, egghead."

---

"Damson City, eh?"

"Eeyup. T'ain't much of a sight." Right on cue, a passing carriage splashed mud onto bystanders just steps away from the mares. The drenched ponies were quick to react by chasing the vehicle while yelling all sorts of curses and foul words. Applejack just shook her head. "But Ah suppose we don't have much of a choice. We're dependin' on all these miners to have a city at all."

"Sounds painful." A pained scream erupted from a tavern across the street. Its doors swung open with uncanny violence before an old stallion was flailed into the air without the slightest care. The pony's landing didn't go unnoticed, especially not by those who were unfortunate enough to be nearby. Twilight gulped and focused on the road ahead again. "How do you put up with all of this?"

"Ah haven't the foggiest, sugarcube. Here's hoping ya'll'll be able to help me keep these rascals under control. Oh, would ya look at that. We're here." Because of the cowpony's unexpected stop, the unicorn bumped against her back. The brief sting on her muzzle was further shortened once she got a good view of the building before them.

"It's so... boring." Was all she had to say about the tall, pale blue facility. Its facade couldn't have any simpler decoration: it was a long and tall, empty wall with only one door, but multiple windows near its top. It appeared to be more of a warehouse rather than anything else. The R.E.C. insignia was the only significant adornment, and something told Twilight that the three diamonds were placed on the exact center point of the wall. "And blue."

"Welcome to yer new office, Twilight."

A small set of stairs separated her from the entryway. She was about to open the door when she noticed she was alone. "Aren't you coming in?"

Applejack shuffled on her hooves. "They keep a mighty strict eye on who goes into the administrator's office 'n whatnot. We'll just wait outside."

"Besides," Rainbow added, flying up to the door and pointing at their hooves. Dirt was crawling up their legs like a swarm of hungry ants. "You don't want your new home to be dirty on the first day, right?"

Twilight gave her a good-willed giggle. "I suppose not! Just wait for me here, I'll be right out!"

Applejack and Rainbow exchanged worried glances, but didn't say anything. Twilight hadn't noticed them either, much to their relief. As the door closed behind the ex-librarian, the two mares sighed profusely.

The initial wave of heat that assaulted Twilight as soon as she entered the building had been almost suffocating. She felt a sudden yet fleeting dizziness attack her senses. It wasn't until she recovered that she walked down the plain blue corridor. Paintings were hung on the walls, and each one was labelled equally: 'The Administrator', followed by the pony's name and the period of occupation of the post. There was nothing else to the place; the walls were otherwise as bare as they could be. The more she walked, the smaller the space between them seemed to become. Before long, Twilight's walk developed into a trot. Doors and frames zoomed past her.

Another door met her at the end of the corridor. She was surprised to see they were capable of opening automatically, but kept her astonishment to herself. It was what she saw next that she couldn't keep in.

As Time Turner would have put it, the place was much bigger on the inside. Although none of the chairs in the room was taken, she was sure that she couldn't count exactly how many there were. There was at least one monitor for each of the seats, and all of the machines were embedded in a large table.

Several rows of these occupied the room's floor, with a space worth of three chairs in the middle, forming a corridor that led her directly from the entrance to a massive, semi-circular control panel way across the room. It was facing a wall riddled with screens of all sizes, all of which were lit and broadcasting imagery from all corners of the city and the mines.

Despite all of the screens, the floor and all of the other walls remained enveloped in a veil of blackness. Twilight took careful steps towards the control panel, as though she would fall down a bottomless pit should she misplace a hoof.

"This place is huge..." she muttered. Her eyes were still glued to the multitude of screens. She knew it was impossible, and yet she tried to absorb information from all of them at once. In theory, it was very much like reading several books at the same time; something Twilight was not exactly a stranger to.

"Hello?"

Twilight spun around instantly, startled by the call. There was another pony standing at the entrance. Because the lack of light didn't allow her to see her companion, she walked closer. Deep gray coat, silvery, braided mane...

A gasp escaped her lips as soon as she realized who this pony was.

"You're... you're Silver Spoon." She remembered her. She appeared much older, but there she was. "Where's Diamond Tiara, then? She's always with you!"

"I've not seen her for years, miss Sparkle. And please, call me miss Spoon. I'm here for a different purpose." Twilight didn't dare argue. The other mare exuded an air of seriousness the likes of which she'd never seen before. She was strict and straight to the point. The unicorn trained her eyes on Silver Spoon as a hoof was held out to shake. "I have been appointed by miss Belle to help the Administrator. As long as you are assigned to Damson City, I will be your secretary, miss Sparkle."

Comments

[Sandvich Brony]

This story is toying with my emotions. It's driving me crazy!
I await more...

[Mazamis]

Want... Moar....