The Storykeepers

Chapter 11: Ready, Aim, Fire Part 2: The Beginnings of a Fire

Pinkie waited quietly as she heard the groaning of slaves and soldiers pulling the catapult.  Once it was clear, she made a dash for the market district.  She hoped and prayed to God that she’d get there before Chrysalis.

Twilight checked around the area.  Her side looked clear, but she had to make sure, especially with Twilight Velvet watching.

“Are my leaves on straight?”  Rainbow Dash said with a smile in the tree she was hiding in.

“Yeah, but you need more twigs.”  Fluttershy replied as the two of them and Applebloom giggled.

“Stop giggling!”  Twilight whispered angrily.  “Trees don’t giggle!”  Seriously.  Kids had to be told everything.  “Any sign of the guards?”

“All clear.”  Rainbow Dash responded.

“All clear, Celestia.”  Twilight responded.

Celestia nodded and walked over to the Christians who’d arrived for the story.

“Many of you ask, ‘How long must we keep telling the stories of Jesus in secret?’”  Celestia started.  “Well, one thing is certain.  They can’t keep us quiet forever.  Anymore than they could keep a blind beggar quiet when Jesus passed by.

“It was on the road to Jerusalem.  Jesus and his disciples had to cross through the city of Jericho, and it was there that they met a blind stallion called Bartemaus.

“Upon hearing that Jesus had arrived, Bartemaus called out, ‘Son of David!  Jesus, help me!’

“Even though the people tried to shuttle the poor blind man away, Jesus stopped them and asked them to call Bartemaus over to him.

“When he arrived, Jesus asked, ‘What is it you want from me?’

“Bartemaus replied, ‘I want my sight back.’

“‘Go home.’  Jesus responded.  ‘Because you have trusted me, you have been made better.’

“And just like that, Bartemaus could see again.”

Just then, a knock was heard.  Twilight approached it cautiously and opened it a bit to reveal a friend from Sombra’s palace, Pinkie Pie.

“Pinkie!”  Celestia called out.  “What’s wrong?”

“Cadence sent me, but I think I may be too late.”  Pinkie said panting.  “There’s gonna be a fire.”

“What?!”  Luna called out.

“She’s right!”  Rainbow Dash called out from the tree.  “We're surrounded!!”

Everyone began to talk excitedly when Celestia calmed them down.

“Friends, please.”  Celestia said as calm as the sea.  “If we panic, it’ll only make things worse.”

“I don’t think they can get much worse.”  Twilight pointed out.

At the hilltop where the catapult was, a flaming boulder was released right at the heart of the district.

“Bull’s eye!”  Chrysalis called out.  “That’ll teach Christians to defy King Sombra’s law.  RELOAD!!”

Meanwhile, at the district, everyone was carrying water to clear a passageway to allow for an escape.

“Keep it coming!”  Celestia called out.

Applebloom tried to help, but the bucket was too heavy for her.

“Applebloom, you’re spilling it everywhere!”  Twilight said angrily.  Leave it to me!”

Applebloom felt like she was about to cry as Twilight took the bucket from her.  Why was Twilight being so mean today?

“Hey Applebloom, I could use your help.”  Twilight Velvet said kindly as she gave Applebloom a smaller bucket she could handle as she held two of her own.

Cadence looked around cautiously when Chrysalis touched his shoulder.

“What are you doing here?”  Chrysalis said angrily.

“Hail Chrysalis.”  Cadence said quickly.  “How’s the fire?”

“So, you’ve come to share in my victory, have you?!”  Chrysalis asked angrily, just as Cadence wanted.  “Well Sombra put me in charge of this operation!  And I don’t need any help from you!  Stay out of my way, and you won’t get hurt.”

As Chrysalis left, Cadence saw Sonata barely pluck an apple from a tree, giving Cadence a fun little idea.

As they prepared to set another boulder ablaze, Cadence walked up and whistled at a guard, who came up and ate an apple Cadence held before quickly walking off, causing the catapult to be pulled forward enough, so that they missed their next target.

Instead, it hit an old bath house, putting the boulder out at once.

The gang breathed a sigh of relief after a good hour’s work.

“We did it.”  Fluttershy sighed.

“For now.”  Pinkie said.  “But Cadence can’t stall Chrysalis forever.”

“Pinkie is right.”  Celestia said calmly.  “We’ll have to evacuate.”

“How?”  Chrysalis asked.  “We’re completely surrounded.”

“We all knew this day would come, and we’re prepared for it.”  Celestia continued as calm as before.  “You kids know what to do.”

Using the aqueduct system and camouflage, the kids were able to help everyone out of the market district of Ponyville.

Back at the catapult, Cadence subtly damaged the rope as it began to fray.

“Perfect.”  Cadence said with a smirk.

“PREPARE TO FIRE!!”  Chrysalis called out.

The boulder just fell idly down the hill as the entire catapult fell over.  Cadence could only smile at the look of horror and rage on Chrysalis’s face.