Chapter 18: Rebellion

My hoofsteps rang hollow as I quickly trotted down the hallway towards the kitchen. The night here was deadly quiet, with the exception of the guards patrolling and the crackling of their radios. My heart thumped so loudly that I was afraid that the guards could actually hear them. I hid behind a stone pillar as two of them walked past, eyeing the door that led down into the kitchens. My journey has been excruciatingly slow, due to the fact that I had to avoid the guard patrols. There was no way I would have made it this far if I hadn’t had the use of my Pipbuck Eyes forward Sparkle and S.A.T.S, both of which allowed me to identify the locations of every guard in the vicinity. After that it was a simple matter of stealth and quickness.

The two guards patrolling the hallway stopped just shy of my hiding spot, around the pillar. They looked around as I held my breath, hoping against hope that they didn’t notice my loud heartbeats. After what seemed like an eternity they turned around and heading in another directions. Ever so slowly, I scooted around the pillar trying hard not to make a sound as I sneaked behind the guards. If I got caught, sure I could command them to look away, but reports will surely reach Blackheart’s ears. I do NOT want to think what would happen after that.

I reached the stairways that led down to the kitchen, and its long descent down into blackness was even more imposing now that the normal orange glow of the kitchen was out. I paused at the top of the stairs, hesitating as I look around cautiously, trying to swallow the nervous lump at my throat. Was I really doing this? Was I really this stupid? What the fuck in Celestia’s name was I doing?! What if this was a trap?

The hallway was dead quiet for now, not a guard or soul in sight. I leaned against the archway to think, staring wistfully at the way back to my room. I’ve already came this far, and Pin had already put her neck on the line for me. What would that say about me if I headed back now? Actually, I think there is no going back now. If not my guards will know the jig is up and a report will be filed, and both Pin and I would be in trouble anyway.

I sighed and wrapped my cloak tighter around my body. Luna and Celestia be damned, if I already had a reputation for doing stupid things, one more couldn’t hurt. I just hope that either I succeed or die this time. Some closure to this messy tragedy of my life would be welcome either way. I darkly thought as my hoofs took the first step down into the kitchen.

The air grew colder the further I descended, not uncommon for underground cellars at this time of night. My hoofsteps echoed frighteningly loud in the dank passageway despite my attempts to move quietly. Luna fucking damn this with her big tits. I quietly but angrily cursed.

All too soon I have reached the bottom, and a large grated wooden door greeted me. Faint whispers could be heard through the gaps, and I placed my ears against the cold wood, straining to hear.

“-what if she doesn’t turn up?”

“Doesn’t matter, the plan will still remain valid. If she doesn’t turn up, then she’s already a lost cause.”

“We owe a lot to her though, the least we could do is try-“

“Hush! I think I heard somepony coming!”

Before I could react, the door jerked open and I stumbled forward. As I almost face planted the floor, a hoof grabbed my shoulder and slammed me hard against the stone wall. The cold steel of a gun barrel pressed hard on the soft flesh underneath my chin.

“N-NO! Wait!-“I almost screamed.

“Stand down, skye! It’s her.” A gruff and dark voice sounded through the darkness. I recognize that voice..!

“I-Ironfist?” I stammered quietly.

A candle lit up and illuminated the kitchen in a dull orange glow, and my eyes widened as I saw the gathering of ponies in front of me. It was the slaves in the kitchen! As well as Three bit, Sunshine Pillows and the other girls! Even a few black armored soldiers were there! But the two in particular that made me joyously happy to see were standing right in front of me.

“Ironfist! Dark sky!” I exclaimed loudly as Sky released her hold on me and lowered her gun.

“Humph! Didn’t actually think you’d do it.” Sky said scathingly as she holstered her weapon. She stared at me a while before breaking out in a smile. Without warning I flung my forehooves around her and hugged. Dark sky, taken aback, hesitated a moment before hugging me back.

“This is cozy and all, but we are fighting the clock here.” The gruff voice of Ironfist replied.

“Oh, sorry.” I said as I relinquished my hold on sky. “How are you two? What’s going on?! Somepony told me to come here tonight-“

“Yes that was me.” Dark sky quickly confirmed. “Just as it was me who stopped that prick from pulling your guts out through your ass.”

“T-thanks,” I nodded sincerely. “But how did you-“

“Get your old Pipbuck software? That was a piece of luck really, but mostly skill on my part.” She grinned.

“So you told me to meet you guys here,” I asked quizzically. “Why?”

“If you’d shut up and let us explain, we will.” Sky irritably replied. I closed my maw, embarrassed.

Ironfist spoke up. “Long story short, we are planning an escape. I, Sky and several others in the soldier corps intend to desert.” He gestured at the other black clad ponies. “We’ve invited your friends here as well.” He pointed at the kitchen slaves and at the brothel girls. Three bit jumped forward and embraced me, squealing. “I’m so glad you’re ok!” She sniffed, “You didn’t forget about us! After you left, a few days later, our food became much more edible. Construction ponies even came to our cells to outfit it with proper beds and sheets. Even new fireplaces! Was that you?!” She wiped a tear from her eye.

“Yes, I ordered those.” I sheepishly replied.” How could I forget about you, about any of you?” I looked at the kitchen slaves, who smiled back.

“Ok that’s enough,” Ironfist interjected. “You can catch up later when we are all free from this place. Need I remind you as long as we are here, Blackheart could find out and we would all be dead.”

“So, whats the plan?” I asked.

“The plan is this,” Dark sky said. “Just recently, as I’m sure you know, Triggerhoof of the Bulletfarms came here to do an agreement with Blackheart. The agreement calls for slave ponies. The ponies here have all volunteered to go as tribute.” She pointed at Three bit, the slave girls and the kitchen ponies. “As for us,” she gestured to Ironfist and the soldiers, “We will be ‘taking over’ as the drivers and guards of the convoy meant to deliver these ponies, and YOU will be one of them.” She pointed at the slave girls. “We will be undercover on the way out. When we are outside and halfway to the farms, that’s when we will gain control of the convoy, by ANY means necessary.” She said.

I listened hard, my heart rate increasing the more she explained. An escape attempt?! Oh holy Celestia! It’s really happening! I’m finally getting out!!

“W-what about my friends? Those being held captive?” I asked nervously. “If Blackheart finds out that I-“

“We know.” Dark sky replied. “The plan is that once we get out, we will have to try to keep our cover by continuing radio contact with Castle Blackmire. Then we will split up. There is a total of 4 vehicles in the convoy. The slave girls and civilians here will take one, establish a rendezvous point of equal distance from the three locations. The rest of us, mainly you, me, Ironfist and the soldiers will divide into three groups. We will infiltrate the three locations at the same time, rescue your friends, and meet up at the rendezvous point. If all goes well, we can do this quick enough before Blackheart notices or reacts.”

“And if we are not fast enough…” I hesitantly asked.

“Then it’s all over.” Ironfist darkly replied.

“I-I see…” I sat down on one of the kitchen chairs. So it has finally come to this eh? “Is this really all who want to leave?” I looked quizzically at the small group of slave ponies. Surely more would be enticed to leave rather than live their lives in this hellhole?

Dark sky shifted uneasily. “I’ll be straight with you here Little Pip. We didn’t exactly hand out invitational flyers on the fact that we are all abandoning the legion. The less ponies who know about this the better. If word of this spreads, Blackheart will surely have caught on and we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now. The ponies here are those that we can be sure of their loyalty to you, which is why I invited them.” She looked intently at me, expectant. I’m not sure what she is thinking or expecting me to say.

I closed my eyes and sighed sadly. If I was an alicorn god like Celestia or Luna, I would have carried all of the slaves out of here on my back if I had to. But reality was much harsher. As much as I wanted to save all of the unwilling slaves here, Dark sky had a very valid point. It wouldn’t be practical or safe to lead a mass exodus of slaves out of the Legion. We would be dead before I even had the chance to say Buck it.

“A-alright, you’ve got a point...” I sniffed. Dark sky looked genuinely surprised at that, but didn’t say anything.

“Alright, if everything is settled, then we move out tonight. In an hour time, the slaves here are to be loaded up and we have to be ready-“Ironfist began, but a horrifying thought struck me.

“Wait! What about Pin?” I inquired, a dark pit of fear welling up deep in me. “She took my place in my bedroom! We can’t leave without her! She’ll be discovered at dawn, and Blackheart-“I couldn’t bear to finish saying the sentence.

An eerie and heavy silence descended on the room. Ironfist approached me, a sad expression on his face. “Ma’am, Pin knew about this before we even invited the slaves. We were the ones who discussed the plan to get you out of there, which is the top priority. She-” he paused. “She knew that this was the only way to take you out of Blackheart’s notice and give us enough time to escape before he reacts. She decided that she would sacrifice herself here to give you a chance to escape. Her job now is to keep up the jig that you are here at the Castle for as long as she could. Hopefully that would give us enough time to get as far as possible away from here. After that she could try to escape, but she and us all knew…” Ironfist trailed off.

“No…nononononooooo…” I couldn’t bear to scream, but this was too much for me. Tears welled up fast in my eyes as I buried my face in my hooves. “Oh Pin…what have I done, why would you…” I sobbed.

Darksky had enough. She trotted over and aggressively grabbed me by my collar and hoisted me to my feet. She brought her face close to mine, and I could see all the scars on her face through my misted vision. The room fell deathly quiet, apart from my sniffing.

“You listen to me and you listen well, Little Pip.” She hissed angrily. “I have fought through countless battles, lost countless friends, and seen every kind of pony here on this godforsaken wasteland. And I’ve NEVER seen a more pathetic creature like you. Your friends willing give up their lives for you and you have the damn gall to sit here and feel sorry for yourself?! EVERY pony here in this damn room tonight are risking their lives, not just for their freedom, but for YOU as well. So stop your Luna damned sniveling and make sure that every single sacrifice made for your sorry hide is WORTH IT!”

I stared into her eyes. Eyes that had seen everything in this Tartarus, eyes that had the fire of determination burning behind it. As I looked, her words started to take shape in my mind. My own eyes widened, as if they were taking in her courage and making it my own. The tears stopped flowing and I clenched my hoof. She’s right! Absolutely Celestia butt FUCKING right! I can’t be wasting time and effort feeling like shit, and I can’t waste time feeling sorry for myself. My friends have given up so much for me, and I’ll be DAMNED if I let it all go to fucking waste! I can’t afford to feel sorry now. There will be a time to grieve, but only when I’ve made sure that Pin’s sacrifice wasn’t in vain.

Dark sky finally set me down after a good 10 seconds of silence. I dusted myself off, and smiled at her. “Thanks Sky. I couldn’t have asked for a better friend.” She didn’t say anything, but went off to collect her gear. I could have sworn I saw a hint of smile on her face as she turned away.

Three bit came up and offered me the slave clothes, the disguise that I was going to wear, along with some bandages for my face so that I won’t be recognizable when we leave the gates. “Just like old times huh?” She joked. I laughed as I quickly put them on.

“Everyone ready?” Dark sky and the soldiers came up to the door dressed in their combat gear, but adorning patches that signified the drivers division.

“Wait,” Ironfist stopped them. “There’s just a couple things I have to give to Pip.”

He handed me a black satchel bag and a holotape.

“What’s this?” I looked at the holotape.

“That is a message from Pin. She gave it to me at our last meeting.” Ironfist answered. He grabbed my hoof before I could play in the pipbuck though. I looked at him quizzically.

“She also said to let you play that message only if you managed to escape the Legion alive. I won’t disrespect her by letting you read it any time earlier.” He said sharply.

I gulped and wiped the last tear from my cheek, and slowly nodded my head. I pocketed it deep in my inventory.

“You should check the satchel though. Its good news for a change, and I know you could use an old friend. I had to call in a lot of favors for this one.” Ironfist said in a more comforting tone.

Curious, I opened it up and audibly gasped.

“Make sure everything counts.” He said.

I looked back at him, the determination evident in my gaze. No words of thanks were needed.

“I will.” I confidently replied, as I pulled out Little Macintosh and began loading it with the rounds provided.

Author's Note

Finally, its nearly time for the climax. :p

Well also just a heads up, school just started and i'll be a bit slower. also there will not be anymore smut beyond this point, i'm afraid. I've exhausted my sick fetishes in my previous chapters. I just wish to finish this thing.

thank you for anyone still following this trashy and slow story. :D