Chapters Applejack and Rarity walked down the streets to Sugarcube Corner leisurely while other ponies went about their business. Rarity babbled on and on about all of the gossip she had caught up on back in Canterlot, said unicorn having to repeatedly take quick breaths between sentences as her words jumbled together. While Rarity was talking, Applejack was only half listening while eating a apple fritter until she caught a specific bit of gossip the white unicorn had expatiated nervously.
"Hol' hold up." Applejack stopped and put a hoof to Rarity's mouth, stopping the stream of words efficiently before removing it again so the white mare could speak.
"Oh yes darling Applejack! Didn't you hear? There's been rumors positively flying around all of Equestria!" Rarity then lowered her voice to a sneaky whisper. "I heard that there's something going on with the officials that run Equestria, along with the princesses as well! Why, I'd say we just may be in for some fighting!"
Rarity said it as if it were a joke, but Applejack was quick enough to catch the flash of pure fear that flitted across the unicorn's sapphire eyes for a millisecond. There was something she wasn't saying. Rarity then continued walking at a quicker pace, forcing Applejack to keep up.
"What d'ya mean fightin'? We've been at peace for years an' countin'! It can't be those changelings again... uh, can it?" The earth pony asked cautiously. Rarity threw back her head and let out an obviously forced lighthearted laugh, as if she wanted someone to realize she wasn't the least bit joking.
"No no, it's not those horrid changelings dear! Lots of ponyfolk think it's the princesses themselves that are planning something for all of us. I couldn't find out any more, but it is just gossip, aren't I right Applejack?" Rarity's voice wavered slightly, and her eyes were wide.
Applejack nodded mutely, before replaying the last five year's past events in her mind. It seemed equally suspicious that there were so many things going on in Equestria, that they had more troubling times than good.
The officials were pushing for gun control, as there seemed to be so many more shootings erupting, all aimed at earth ponies; riots and protests breaking out in various places due to the second uprising segregation between earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns.
And to think, there was definitely suspicious military activity, tanks and whatnot being shipped throughout Equestria, as well as militarizing the police force. In fact, the police seemed to be openly patrolling the streets up in Manehattan according to Babs, due to "too many riots".
Rarity's voice broke into Applejack's horrified thoughts. "Dear Applejack, do you mind if we cut this outing short? I am not feeling so well at the moment..."
The white unicorn trailed off while Applejack nodded empathetically. Wishing the farm pony a warm farewell, she trudged back up the path they came. Applejack could only watch, the feeling of tension thickening beyond measure.
Moonlight streamed through Twilight's window, falling on the purple mare as she tossed and turned uncomfortably in her starry sheets. Finally, giving up on trying to sleep at all, she got up and tip-toed down the stairs of her castle to her kitchen to get a glass of warm milk.
Settling down on one of the stools, she sipped the milk slowly. It churned uncomfortably in her stomach as she recalled the last conversation she had with the princesses, just a two months ago.
~~~
"Do you wish to join, Twilight?" Princess Celestia prompted, her vivid amethyst-colored eyes soft. Twilight glanced around in horror to Princess Luna, who was staring at her expectantly, and Princess Cadence, who flashed her a brilliant smile and nodded encouragingly. Twilight swallowed shakily, closing her eyes as pure stone-cold fear lanced through her.
"Y-You're asking me.. to join you, with.. with your depopulation plan.. and implement a 'perfect world' as you all see it?" Twilight stuttered, her mind swimming with all the things these princesses had told her.
Celestia nodded, a soft smile gracing her lips ever so slightly. "Yes, and so much more, Twilight. You will have a place in history if you join us and help create such a world. I promise, it will be for the good of every pony, you must believe me."
Cadence chimed in excitedly, saying, "Twilight, would it not be good to solve the world's problems? You can be Equestria's savior, you will be remembered by the masses!"
The purple mare's jaw dropped in disbelief. "How could depopulating the world and causing, what, a civil war in such a manner help ?"
Princess Luna's teal gaze turned wintry. "If thou does not join, thou shall not be spared, Twilight. Think about it. Does thou want to meet such a gruesome end, with thine head under a guillotine's bloodstained blade? Because it will happen, Twilight Sparkle. There is no running from the all-seeing eye."
Twilight's head spun as she rose to her hooves, nausea crashing down on her mercilessly. "I-I-I can't! You're asking me to kill my neighbors, my family, my friends! You can't do this!" She looked around wildly, tears dripping from her purple eyes. Cadence's stare was full of pity, whilst Celestia's were overflowing with revulsion. She curled her lip, glaring daggers at her former student.
"Very well, Twilight. From now on, know I will not rest until I have you brought to me, and seen you and your harmony friends die in a pool of blood. Watch your back, Princess ." Celestia spat the last word as if it were venom in her mouth.
She had trusted them, she had sacrificed herself countless times over for these ponies. She had helped them when Nightmare Moon struck, when Discord struck, and was made a princess. And what for? So she could be pushed into this inhumane plan? She had fallen for betrayal at it's finest.
~~~
Twilight shuddered, her blood turning to ice. For weeks, she had ordered her guards to consistently follow her anywhere she went (with an exception to bathrooms, of course) and keep watch at any possible entrance in the castle for fear of assassination. She had just recently ordered them to go back to regular duties.
She remembered very clearly though, that Princess Cadence seemed unwilling and sort of uncomfortable during the duration of the meeting. Maybe she doesn't agree, but is too scared to not join! Twilight thought, her eyes brightening.
Suddenly, hoof-steps coming down the stairs startled Twilight, making her almost drop the glass of lukewarm milk. It was Rainbow Dash.
The sky-blue pegasus rubbed her magenta eyes, yawning before catching sight of Twilight, who looked as if she were about to topple over. "Hey, Twi! Calm down, it's just me." She whispered, before trotting over to sit next to the alicorn. Twilight then briefly remembered that the group were staying in her castle that night, due to Twilight's paranoia of the princesses taking out her friends one at a time.
They all agreed happily, trying to cheer Twilight up and tell her that the Princesses couldn't do anything now, but it didn't help one bit.
"What are you doing up so late?" Rainbow asked, staring at Twilight intently. Twilight shook her head, signalling what Rainbow already knew.
"...It's about that, isn't it.." Rainbow murmured, her eyes glazing over before focusing on Twilight again. "Well, they can't get you! They'll have to get through me first!" The mare puffed out her chest, attempting to look heroic.
Twilight blushed, then chuckled slightly, the corner of her mouth twitching. The blue pegasus grinned and sat back down contentedly, before realizing that Fluttershy had been hiding behind the doorway to the kitchen. Rainbow rolled her eyes playfully before beckoning Fluttershy over with a twitch of her ear.
Fluttershy shyly stepped out of the doorway, scaring Twilight so much she crashed into the blue mare sitting at her side. Rainbow and Twilight fell out of the stools and landed on the floor with a thud and a "Oomph!"
"Oh my! I-I'm so sorry Twilight, I should've known you were still jumpy-" Fluttershy stopped talking as she rushed to help the two mares tangled together on the cold, crystal floor. Twilight stood up and brushed herself off gently, shaking her head.
"It's not your fault, it's mine. I shouldn't be so jumpy that when the quietest pony steps in the room, I have a near heart attack." She apologized, before muttering an apology to Rainbow Dash for knocking them both on the floor like that.
"Ah, don't sweat it. But-" Rainbow was immediately cut off as armed soldiers burst through the doorway.
The SWAT began yelling, trying to take the ponies to who knows where, and waking up the other three mares who were sleeping in their beds. Twilight screamed as a sharp blade connected with her hind leg, the searing pain expanding as she felt the cold metal grind through her muscles. Through a haze of pain, she heard the screams of her friends as they encountered the SWAT. "Take that, numbnuts!" Rainbow yelled as she snatched a gun from behind her and started shooting at them. Some fell, but it wasn't enough, as they started closing in once more, the sound of their marching hooves resembling thunder.
Fluttershy had crouched in a fetal position on the floor, whimpering before a soldier hauled her up and attempted to drag her away, but was very much unsuccessful as Rarity chose that moment to appear and blasted him with her blinding blue magic. "Not so fast you ruffian!"
The force was so strong, it blew up the solider. Red liquid spattered everywhere, the sickening sound of wet blood hitting the crystal-clean walls. Organs that were not completely demolished fall to the floor with a wet flop, leaking mystery juices. Fluttershy screamed in terror while AJ took a moment to try and calm the yellow pegasus down before running up to Twilight.
"Twilight?! Get up!! We can't fight them, we have to run!" AJ yelled, sending one SWAT pony flying with a powerful kick to the chest. Twilight nodded, black spots dancing in her eyes as she got to her hooves slowly.
She looked around the scene in horror: Pinkie Pie barely managing to fend them off with her party cannon, Rarity screaming curses and blowing up some more soldiers, Rainbow Dash disappearing under a mass of black camo. Seething rage boiled underneath Twilight's skin, hardening her heart till she knew no fear.
"Twi?" Applejack questioned warily, kicking in another soldier's face as he came close.
I will not let them do this.. Not to my friends, not to my family, not to my neighbors... They'll have to kill me first!
The purple alicorn let loose a battle cry as she charged into the swarming masses of SWAT ponies. She picked up her battered and bloodied friends with her magic and rushed to perform a teleportation spell, hoping she would have enough energy to do so. The room flashed with bright purple light the war-zone kitchen jarred out of focus as she and her friends began to teleport.
~~~
They appeared at their destination, the Cutie Mark Crusader's tree house. Already, in the distance, they could hear the sound of AK-47's and sirens going off loudly.
A few miles off, seven Boeing AH-64 Apache helicopters flew in formation, 30mm M230 chain guns and four hardpoints, which were most likely full of a mixture of AGM-114 Hellfire missiles and Hydra 70 rocket pods, visible from where the Mane 6 stood.
"Damn, those are some big guns if you ask me!" Rainbow whistled, staring at the helicopters both in awe and fear. Rarity glowered at Rainbow and knocked her in the head sharply with her manicured hoof.
"There's no time to be gawking over the enemy's munitions! We need to find the girls! Sweetie Belle!" Rarity wailed, clambering up the steps to the door. The ponies glanced at each other, unsure of what they would find, before following suit slowly.
"Apple Bloom! Are yeh in there, sugarcube?" Applejack called out. Her voice echoed eerily, and all the other ponies all became silent, fearing another SWAT attack. Suddenly, the door swung open, and a hoof appeared from it and pulled AJ into the dark room, cutting off her indignant "Hey!"
"A-Applejack!" Fluttershy whisper-yelled, before charging in after her, pulling the other ponies in with her.
~~~
Everything was dark. They could see the gleam of green, reddish-orange, and violet eyes. The green pair was looking around, probably hunting for the light switch before a thud and a "Ow!" penetrated the darkness. Rarity's relieved sigh came somewhere from Twilight's left as the white unicorn began to talk.
"Oh Sweetie Belle, your okay! I was worried sick about you when I realized the SWAT could be doing this to you too!"
Suddenly, a lantern started glowing brightly, uncovering the Cutie Mark Crusaders in a ghostly amber light.
The three fillies had such horrible injuries on them! A long cut ran down Apple Bloom's side, and even though it seemed to have dried over a smidge, every time the young Apple moved, she winced. Sweetie Belle carried the markings of a vicious choke-hold on her delicate neck, with bruises so dark they were visible from underneath her coat.
Scootaloo seemed to have wrenched a wing while tussling with some-pony, not to mention that her front hoof was twisted so abnormally that it made Pinkie vomit in her mouth.
"Sweet mother of Celestia! What the hell happened here?!" Rainbow shrieked, her eyes widening in shock and anger. Scootaloo sighed shakily before responding.
"They SWAT ponies came in and tried to take us, but after we fought so much they just left us. But it seemed like they were called off by whoever it was who did that.." Sweetie Belle nodded vigorously, rubbing her bruised neck softly.
"They put me in a darn choke-hold! I thought I was never going to breathe again! I actually felt like I was dying.." She trailed off, her huge green eyes watering with tears as she recounted the story mentally.
Apple Bloom cleared her throat before talking. "Well, one thing's for sure. It'll never be the same again in Equestria, will it? We have to fight back! We can't let the nobles do this to us!"
The filly groaned before talking once more. "I just still can't believe the princesses would do such a thing to us! What did we ever do to them?!"
Twilight frowned. "That just might be it, Apple Bloom. I can't believe they would go through with this either. Maybe, just maybe, they actually don't mean it? I mean, the officials and them, I can understand pulling this sort of stuff, but the princesses? Fat chance, in my opinion.."
The room became quiet as everypony mulled the thought over.
"Suppose the princesses aren't really actually evil and blood-thirsty, but are actually being controlled by the wealthy officials and nobles, and cant try anything fishy because if they do, they'll be overwhelmed then killed and so would their families and friends?! " Pinkie Pie shrieked, putting her hooves up to her face in surprise.
Fluttershy was nodding slowly. "I think you're right, Pinkie! The princesses I knew would never do anything of this sort to the citizens, much less to people they love! ...What if, some-pony's got the alicorn amulet again, or maybe some other thing and became more powerful than an alicorn to keep the princesses in check?!"
Rarity smiled warmly at the shy pegasus. "Fluttershy has a point. They could be being threatened by some unknown party and were forced to do this... but let's just wait and see."
Rainbow snorted, crossing her muddy hooves over her chest. "We can't be waiting for this to just dissipate! Cause it won't. In the meantime, we need to fight back! We need to get the hella cool weapons and shoot down those jackwagons! "
Scootaloo jumped to her hooves before almost falling down again; obviously she wasn't used to putting weight on her bent hoof. "Yeah! We should get tanks, and copters, and jets, and machine guns, and-" Twilight put a hoof over the energetic filly's mouth before responding.
"We can't just charge into battle, we'll need to prepare and stock up. I don't even know how we are on food and weaponry, but trust me. We're going to get through this, and we're going to get rid of every-pony that ever started this."
The tree-house was full of bustling activity as the ponies moved around and packed their items for travel. Rainbow decided to get all war-paint and bandanas on everyone, so now, everybody had on at least a bandana. Applejack felt an adrenaline rush as she heard sirens blaring across Ponyville, her heart thudding in her chest.
She grinned, shouldering a rifle she had found under one of the floorboards of the treehouse (Oh Apple Bloom) and turned to the other ponies, pride warming her body as she took in her friends who were ready for just about anything.
~~~
Princess Celestia paced around her throne room, mumbling incoherent things underneath her breath. Her younger sister, Princess Luna, sat near the steps leading up to the luminous throne, her ears lying down with fear and anxiety.
"Sister, do you think Twilight actually believes we are going to behead her??" Luna lowered her voice so it wouldn't echo across the room. Celestia stopped pacing and settled down on the reddish-purple carpet.
"I feel like I was very convincing when I said that. But what could I do? They were watching us, Luna! They might even be watching us right now! If we give any indication that we don't want this for our citizens, they will detonate the bombs placed strategically throughout entire castle, and if that manages to not kill us and the majority of the ponies, who knows what they will do next, having drained us of our power.."
Luna sighed. "They already have Princess Cadence, since she's already voiced her concern about the true outcome of all of this. Lyrica Lilac and Sealed Scroll had her taken to those detainment camps.. Oh, Star Swirl knows what's happened to her by now !!"
Celestia let her head drop with despair. "What can we do now? I've implicitly given orders to the military to not harm as much ponies as they can, but I do not think they have listened. They are rampaging around the streets of Ponyville as we speak, I suppose."
Luna rolled her eyes around in her head while scrunching up her face slightly. "What has become of Mayor Mare, Tall Order, and Lady Justice?" She asked, confident that they were in on the whole fiasco as well. Celestia looked slightly confused before a look of recognition crossed her face.
"Those ponies that are part of the government? Yes, I believe they are MIA at the moment, I haven't seen them for a few days. But all aside, sister, what do we do? We can't turn against the nobles because they'll kill us.. How do we help the ponies?!" Celestia was dropping her formal demeanor and was completely and freely, freaking the hell out.
Luna turned her head towards to windows, watching the explosions go off in various places and make the ground vibrate dully. "The best we can do for now, until our powers return to us, is try not to hurt anyone, whether it be directly or indirectly."
~~~
"Okay ya'll! We gotta get some food and ammunition, and a secret base if we hope to live through these times! So errbody, let's go get em!" Applejack yelled, thrusting her hoof into the air confidently as the ponies voiced their agreement loudly.
Slowly and quietly, the ponies filed out of the tree-house, keeping their eyes peeled for anything and everything. They talked quietly as they walked down the deserted path and back into the paved streets of Ponyville.
"Suppose we raid Area 51 for some jets?" Rainbow was suggesting, a bounce in her step when she trotted. The CMC agreed, all energized and ready as Twilight had healed them all before they left. Applejack was just about to respond but Twilight beat her to it.
"You do realize that we could get caught and taken to their detainment camps?" She snapped, shifting the bag she held on her back with ease. Rainbow chuckled. "But if we can distract anyone guarding the place, we could get one! It would be a great advantage to help fighting those piss-shits."
Applejack clucked her tongue disapprovingly. "We do not use that sort of motherfucking language in this goddamn place!" Everypony became silent and stared at AJ with one eyebrow raised. "What?" AJ asked, confused.
"Nothing. Although-" Twilight was cut off when the sound of approaching jets got louder. It was a jet, or more accurately, eight of them. Rockwell B-1 Lancers soared a way off from the Mane 6, diving and soaring upward around Ponyville. Fluttershy's eyes widened as she pointed to the jets in terror.
"They're dropping bombs!" Fluttershy screamed, her voice nearly lost in the sound of the jets. Rarity rolled her eyes. "Please dear, don't be-" The white unicorn was cut off as a bomb dropped from one of the nearby and hit the ground, sending off an ear-shattering boom and the aftershock.
The ground shook hard as the winds picked up to about 200 MPH, nearly throwing the rebel militia into the air. "Duck and cover!!" Twilight screamed as the force of the bomb dropping roiled through the streets. Fluttershy shrieked as she got knocked into a nearby window, glass shattering everywhere, while Rainbow Dash attempted to hold onto a lamppost with the wind tearing at her face.
Apple Bloom charged after Fluttershy and hopped through the window. The small filly obviously fell a bit short as a yell of agony was heard from the inside.
"Apple Bloom, stay where yeh are!" Applejack bellowed as the wind whipped at her blonde mane, before turning around and facing another bomb dropping.
"Celestia help us!" Rarity screamed, getting jolted off her hooves while desperately trying to cling to the hard-packed earth. Sweetie Belle shrieked as another bomb exploded only about a half a mile away, another aftershock blowing everypony, including ponies that had just come out of hiding from their houses, to the sky. It was a writhing, screaming mess.
Applejack yelled curses as her vision darkened then lightened abnormally before a hard landing knocked the wind out of her. From there, she kept tumbling down and down into a dark hole it seemed until her head struck a rock with a sickening thwack and everything went dark.
Fluttershy whimpered, lying on the cold hardwood floor of the dark house. Her body stung and ached all over, shards of glass having sliced her skin deeply. Blood blurred her vision as a cut above her large turquoise eyes pumped the crimson liquid relentlessly.
"D-Don't worry Fluttershy! I'll help yeh." Apple Bloom groaned, slowly wiping thick bloodstained fragments of glass from around her. Fluttershy shook her head, which immediately sent a jolt of pain racketing around in her head. "N-No, don't Apple Bloom, I don't want you getting hurt any more than you have to."
The young filly raised her head and narrowed her eyes at the shy pegasus. "We are in a war zone now, Fluttershy. And you're bleeding to death. Just hush up and let me help yeh."
Fluttershy's eyes widened before she let them close gently. The war was already taking it's toll on the young ones as well as everypony else, so it seemed. "You're right." She murmured. "But at-least let me help you if you're trying to help me."
And with that, Fluttershy heaved herself upward on her two front hooves. She grunted when pain as sharp as razors drilled into her aggressively. Then, slowly but surely, she began to drag herself towards Apple Bloom, leaving a trail of crimson blood in her wake.
Apple Bloom, who seemed to think she was in better shape than Fluttershy was at the moment, forced herself to go faster and reached Fluttershy in under a minute. She let out a sigh of relief, her warm breath misting the yellow pegasus' muzzle.
"Alrighty then..." Apple Bloom muttered before checking quickly over Fluttershy's body and picking out the most deep cuts. Temporarily, she looked confused, but then a look of determination crossed her face as she yanked off her still somehow-clean bow, started tearing strips off of it, and wrapped the first strip around the cut above the mare's eye firmly.
"T-Thank you Apple Bloom, for doing this. It means a lot." Fluttershy expressed her gratitude.
Apple Bloom nodded and smiled, responding with, "I don't think big sis would appreciate me bringing you back all battered." The two ponies, filly and mare, laughed for the first time in hours while Apple Bloom continued to bandage the cuts.
~~~
Rarity's shriek was cut off as she had the wind knocked out of her violently, leaving her disoriented for a few seconds before the sound of another bomb dropping jarred her back to her senses.
Giant, fiery mushroom clouds erupted somewhere down at Sweet Apple Acres, the screams of horrified ponies charging the air and giving the unicorn no room to breath.
She was pushed around and hit multiple times as all the ponyfolk in this area fled the opposite direction to Canterlot, their hooves throwing up dust. The sound of rotary blades slicing through the chilly air deafened the white mare. Then a new noise, one that seemed similar to the bombs but not in power, sounded continually. The sound of a mare sobbing in defeat faintly rang through the mob of panicking ponies.
An indigo stallion collided with Rarity, sending them both tumbling through the crowd, pushing back ponies and pretty much causing mass panic.
It was Parish Nandermane, the harpist from the Grand Galloping Gala. His lime-green eyes were alight with panic, his bright blue mane scuffed very unprofessionally. Blood dripped from his busted lip, the pinkish-red flesh swelling gruesomely.
"They're taking ponies to be killed by guillotine execution!! I don't want to die here, alone! Celestia save us!" He shrieked before taking a mighty jump over Rarity's head. A SWAT pony armed with a M234 Launcher intercepted Parish and shot him in the head, twice.
Blood spattered all over the hard-packed earth. The witnessing ponies screeched, pushing back against the crowd to get as far away from the scene as possible while the SWAT pony opened fire and shot into the throng of ponies. The thud of bodies hitting the floor now seemed far away, as Rarity's head spun uncontrollably.
She couldn't hold it back. Pale yellow vomit spewed from her mouth, soaking Parish's corpse and any unlucky ponies that managed to be in close proximity. She saw the sousaphonist Beauty Brass's face covered in her vomit and winced.
"My apologies.. I just seem to be getting quite.. sick right now." Rarity apologized between breaths, coughing up any remnants of the vile liquid. Beauty Brass shook her head and wiped most of the vomit off her face with a pristine handkerchief.
"It's certainly a better fate than dying." The light-blue earth pony nodded curtly, though her iris-colored eyes betrayed the shock of seeing her colleague murdered in cold blood.
Rarity rose to her hooves and inclined her head respectfully towards the musician. "I hope you don't die darling. You're one of the good ponies." She said, before turning to muscle her way through the crowd, carefully tip-toeing around the SWAT Pony, who seemed occupied with pushing back the angry and scared mob.
One pony flew down from the overcast sky and dove onto the SWAT Pony, knocking the rifle out of the enemy's hooves and proceeding to use hoof-to-hoof combat to fight the enemy. Rarity smiled at the small show of rebellion before going back to ushering through the frightened civilians.
~~~
Rainbow Dash gasped, feeling as if she had just been immersed in water. She immediately sat up, her eyes burning with the amount of dust blown into it. Looking around, she couldn't tell where she was until she remembered what had happened.
Slowly getting up, she cautiously stepped out from the bush she had conveniently been pushed into and looked around for any signs of enemy ponies. There seemed to be commotion about two miles ahead, ponies jostling each other. A few gunshots rang out and a light burst from the mass, maybe a flare.
She groaned, her rainbow colored mane frayed and dull. Her wings felt cramped, and tiredness twinged in every muscle of her lithe body. A humid wind blew through the mostly deserted village. A pale-yellow earth pony with a raspberry mane and chartreuse-green eyes was sitting, shivering in the shadow of a rosebush in front of a half-demolished house.
A unicorn with a lemon-yellow coat and blue mane trotted up to Rainbow Dash, obviously accepting that the pegasus was not a enemy. The name came to Rainbow's mind in a flash.
"Lemon Hearts?" Rainbow questioned, staring at the mare in confusion. The unicorn nodded before replying. "Rainbow Dash. I heard you were fighting against this martial law? I just came to give you some information."
Rainbow narrowed her eyes before signaling the unicorn to continue with a flick of her ear.
"I managed to swipe the encryption code from the Canterlot Intelligence Agency. If you can figure out how to crack it then you'll be able to find out what the military is planning for the next few weeks. It took a while, and I think they know who took it. It's only a matter of time before I'm captured for treason." Lemon Hearts finished.
There was no fear in her magenta eyes, only determination and purpose. Rainbow felt her throat tighten in fear for the mare.
"I'm glad. Kudos to you for risking your life to fight against this total injustice. But why did you swipe it in the first place?" The blue pegasus asked curiously. Lemon Hearts shook her head in disappointment.
"I knew what those inbred shits were planning the whole time, with the martial law and depopulation. A lot of us did, but we couldn't do anything until it happened but warn others."
Rainbow's eyes widened. "Seriously?!"
Lemon Hearts nodded before pushing Rainbow towards the mob. "One of your friends are there, I think it's the fashion designer. Meanwhile, you need to get as far away from me as possible." The blue pegasus dipped her head in gratitude before launching herself into the air.
While flying towards the mob, she saw the FBI swarm the village a few minutes later and roughly drag Lemon Hearts to a bulletproof van. Surprisingly, Rainbow felt tears prick at the corner of her eyes. She could only hope the happy mare would survive.
Rainbow flew over the mob of ponies, scanning the crowd for Rarity. She tucked her wings in and went for a nosedive straight into the heart of the mob, shoving back hysterical ponies and causing more screams of terror to erupt. She caught a flash of violet in her peripheral vision and snapped her head around, catching Rarity's fleeing figure.
"Rarity, over here!" Rainbow screamed at the top of her lungs, headbutting a pony that was yelling at her for being in the way. Rarity whipped around, her sapphire eyes wild. Upon catching sight of the blue pegasus, she smiled. "I'm coming Rainbow Dash!" She yelled, before weaving her way skillfully through the ponies.
Once they were in close proximity, Rarity screamed, "What do we do now? How are we going to find the others?" Rainbow shook her head, signalling that she couldn't hear bullcrap through all this ruckus. Without warning, she suddenly snatched Rarity up and extended her wings for flight.
The white unicorn gasped. "My gods Rainbow, you made me think I was being swatted!" Rainbow only grinned as she launched herself into the air. Despite the dull but persistent ache in her entire body, she pushed on, flying low and keeping a low profile. They soon arrived at the area that they had been at since the bombs began to fall. Rarity clambered off of Rainbow's back and looked around before catching sight of a lone house that had a shattered window.
"Is that not the window Fluttershy had fallen through when the aftershock came?" Rarity wondered aloud, trying to brush her rugged mane with a broken blue brush. Rainbow followed her line of sight and nodded, grabbing Rarity and pulling her to the window. "Hrk!" Rarity exclaimed, feeling her stomach roil once more.
Rainbow glanced at her uncertainly. "Are you alright Rarity?" She asked, her voice scratchy from inhaling dust and smoke. Rarity gave an unfeminine grunt then dipped her head. "Yes, I am. Just a few stomach issues." The white unicorn rasped before forcing herself to her hooves and blowing down the door with her magic.
Soft whimpers could be heard from the inside, and Rarity instantly recognized them as Fluttershy and Apple Bloom. "Oh, my dears! It's me, Rarity! And Rainbow Dash!" Rarity called into the dark house, her voice echoing dismally. There were a few muttered whispers that made Rarity's ear twitch, but soon, Apple Bloom's face came into view from a dark corner of the abandoned house.
"Well I'll be! It really is them Fluttershy!" Apple Bloom exclaimed, her eyes widening in fascination. Then, unease enveloped her young face as she motioned towards them frantically. "Quick quick, come! Fluttershy's hurt real bad!" Rainbow Dash almost instantly sprang forward, while Rarity followed more slowly.
It didn't take long to find the battered yellow pegasus. Rainbow knelt down, her bottom lip trembling as if she were about to cry, but she bit the inside of her lip and put on a businesslike face. "Right. Rarity, you know how to perform a healing spell?" The mare nodded, before her horn glowed with a light blue aura. Her face, concentrated as if she were sewing the fine seams of a Gala dress, tightened as the blast of blue energy hit Fluttershy's body.
Fluttershy's body jerked and she shrieked while Rarity momentarily lost focus, causing the blue light to turn dangerously bright. "My dear, are you alri-" The light became blinding before it enveloped everything with it's harsh white glow.
~~~
Applejack grunted, her neck pulsing with red-hot pain. Screwing up her face, she glanced up and met two sky-blue eyes that were staring right back at her. "Sweet Celestia!" AJ yelled, falling backward and inviting another wave of agony to consume her for a few horrifying seconds.
"Applejack? Applejack are you alright?" AJ dimly recognized Pinkie Pie's voice and opened her eyes slightly. The pink party pony was staring back at her, eyes wide with anxiety. "Oh thank goodness you are! I thought I had lost you! Well, now that you're awake, I have a plan!"
AJ's head fell back as she let Pinkie's voice blend in to the background. Then, one lone thought wormed it's way into her staticky brain.
"Where.. were yeh when the.. the bombs began t-to drop?" AJ stuttered, wincing as she hauled herself up to meet the other's eyes. Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes up into her head for a moment before responding. "I kept having this really weird feeling that something bad was going to happen. It's the longest time I've gone without talking! As soon as the bombs dropped, I ran down here and huddled in a corner. A few more minutes later, and you tumbled down here as well! I tried to help you, but I think you sleep-kicked me."
Pinkie Pie finished, and for once, AJ noticed her muzzle was encrusted with blood. "You think." Applejack muttered, smiling sheepishly. "Ahm sorry about that, just a reflex of mine. Do you know where the rest of the girls are at?"
Pinkie pursed her lips, bright blue eyes clouding with concentration. "I.. I don't really know. All I know is that they all got scattered from all the air attacks. I just hope everybody's alright! Hey AJ, d'ya think we can get out of this plothole and go find our friends?! Whaddya say?" She chirped, leaping to her hooves energetically.
Applejack grunted before pulling herself upwards little by little. The pink party pony seemed to realize the magnitude of pain AJ was in and told her, rather fretfully, to keep still while she fished around in a nylon pink backpack that seemingly appeared out of nowhere. After a few minutes, the blue-eyed mare produced a canteen with mystery contents.
Applejack gagged violently at the stench of the suspension and began chugging as much as she could before her stomach turned on her. Instantaneously, she felt a warm feeling spread throughout her body, pouring strength back into her aching limbs. Raising her head with a tad more strength, she asked, "Was that magic?"
Pinkie Pie nodded, explaining that Twilight had given her the backpack with needed supplies since the alicorn knew that sometimes the pink pony would sneak off occasionally and might get lost. Applejack sent a silent prayer of gratitude to her best friend before trying to rise up.
Pinkie helped AJ up, letting her lean on her shoulder as her strength returned from the magical chunky liquid. Blue eyes met green determinedly, and from then on, they ascended the steps that led to a war-torn grounds above.
