V
Reckless Spending

Gilda did not like the Crystal Empire one bit.

Considering she grew up in poverty, the poor girl has never really had to travel outside of Canterlot at all. However, due to her role as Celestia’s Bodyguard, she couldn’t not pass up an opportunity to experience a journey across the country. The mountains surely wouldn’t be that cold, she thought. She thought wrong.

The Crystal Empire is so freezing cold that two percent of its population die every year due to frostbite or hypothermia. Every single house, by local law, had to have heating that could stay active all year round, as the summers were not particularly warm, and the winters were brutally cold.

Gilda was wearing a second hand suit she bought on request from Celestia, six hours before they expected to leave. But with no huge winter overcoat on top, the thin blazer and shirt did nothing to protect her from the arctic level temperatures. Her usual tough girl persona was fractured by her teeth chattering constantly, and her arms wrapped around her sides to try and conserve some kind of heat.

Celestia was dressed far more appropriately, with a long trench coat sweeping her knees over the top of her off-white suit. She routinely checked her wristwatch on her left arm. The two were standing in front of what seemed to be a huge abandoned steel fortress of some kind, the icy doors sealed shut. The time was 16:28, eight minutes after the agreed meet up time, and Celestia was not happy.

“They have two more minutes before I go in there and shoot them all," the boss said through gritted teeth. “I didn’t pay them three million bits to fuck me around.”

“What is taking them so long?” Gilda asked in response, hunched in order to conserve heat.

“No excuse they throw my way will justify. What have I told you in the past when it comes to trade deals, Gilda?”

“Always be on time?”

“Correct, because if you’re not on time, you’re putting yourself on the firing line. Let’s just say I’m being kind to these rodents right now. This is just a very clear mark of their unprofessionalism and I am vexed.”

“Wow,” Gilda choked. “That’s a lot of big words.”

“It comes with an education like mine.”

“Show off.”

Celestia sniffed quite aggressively in response to Gilda’s comment. She checked her watch again.

“One minute.”

“You gotta be kind to these guys, surely,” Gilda suggested. “I mean, what if we end up sparking a huge war across the country with these guys?”

“Eh,” Celestia shrugged. “Sombra and Luna are taking up far too much of my time at the moment, but if it all clears up like I expect it to, I could open up a branch in The Crystal Empire selling hearts. It is the third largest city in Equestria. Be good for money. Thirty seconds.”

“Do you want me to get my gun out?” Gilda said with a quiver.

“Why are you so nervous? You love a good shoot out, do you not?” Celestia asked, snickering.

“I don’t know, I haven’t fired a gun in a while. Plus they’re gonna have lots of weapons and shit, could blow us up if they wanted.”

“Look, follow my lead. And yes, have your gun ready, but hidden.” Celestia smirked.

“Oh dear,” Gilda pulled out her glock, loaded it, turned off the safety and placed it in the waistline of her trousers.

“Okay. I’m ready,” Gilda continued in a slight anticipation. “I’m hella ready now.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah!”

“Let’s not be too rash. Let me speak first,” Celestia shushed. “Also, they are well over thirty seconds by now.”

Suddenly the old steel door in front of the women creaked open with a lot of give. Emerging from behind it was a skinny teen boy with greasy black hair, waddling out rather pathetically. Celestia rolled her eyes.

“What a joke,” she scoffed. “What took you so long?”

“We’re really sorry!” The boy spoke up, almost speaking as if a child to his own mother.

“And really, a child of your age is all they send to me? Where’s Chrysalis?”

“Did you not hear?”

“Hear what?”

“She died in a shootout with the local police last month.”

“Oh shit.” Gilda muttered under her breath.

“What a shame,” Celestia hung her head for a moment. “She was a good friend and confidant. May she rest in peace.”

“Yeah, we don’t have no leader anymore," the boy sniffled. “So we’re just selling on what we’ve got and disbanding.”

“Understandable. Nobody I know this far north was as decent a leader as Chrysalis. I can tell it’s ruined your timekeeping skills.” Celestia muttered.

“We’re sorry about that. Please, come in.”

“Lead the way, follow the Changeling, Gilda.”

Gilda gulped and stepped forward, following the adolescent into the complex, Celestia following a step behind.

The bunker from the inside was impressive, but accompanied the freezing climate of the Crystal Empire. Frost caked the industrial green steel, showing the inside was no warmer than that of the outside. Perhaps the place was used as a barracks, or bunker, or warehouse once, but those days are long gone. What remains in it now are many scared soldiers, the eldest no older than fifteen, running around like mice in a scurry. Celestria scoffed, but continued ahead, knowing there was a great treasure to be found in these vaults. Gilda followed alongside, sucking up to the cold and keeping an eagle eye out, her hand staying close to her pistol, which nestled in her waistband.

The small passage gave way to a stunning, haunted, factory-like hall. At one point bustling with many activities from Chrysalis and the Changelings, now a pathetic, hollow, whimper of those glory days only a few months ago. In the centre of the echoing place, a large pile, hastily covered up with a burlap material. The boy at the door struggled, but eventually lifted this sheet off, showing what Celestia had come for.

Weapons, from the humble Colt to the extravagant AK47, stood like a large pyramid in the centre. Surrounding was technology that made Gilda’s head itch. What on earth does all of this do, she thought. Celestia herself didn’t know the purpose of every piece of equipment she had claimed, but she didn’t care. That was for Pinkie to decipher. She did know, however, that this was a prize that would make Sombra and Luna cower, and that’s all that mattered.

“There’s fewer guns here than what was advertised.” Celestia huffed.

“We sold them to some local buyers. We had to. We’d have starved otherwise.” The boy at the door mumbled. Celestia understood. She wasn’t happy, but she sympathised.

“Thank you, boys,” Celestia announced to the collection of dispersed children, scattered around the room. “You have done Harmony a great service. Chrysalis would be proud.” She turned around and saw the large shutter, practically frozen shut. “I’m going to need this open. We’ll back our truck into here and have these off your hands in no time.”

“Yeah… about that…” The boy piped up, a little more confident than before.

“What’s the issue, punk?” Gilda retorted, getting a raised hand from Celestia to step down.

“Three million isn’t going to cut it. You’re taking the rest of our supply, and we have brothers and sisters to care for. We don’t got no mother anymore, so all of us need enough to get by. An extra two million will be enough.”

Celestia would have laughed, she really could have. But she was sick of their games.

“I wired you three million directly. I don’t have the extra two million in cash,” She said, almost apathetically. “You’re being greedy. You’re lucky you got three, don’t push your luck.”

“Then the deal is off.” The boy was really confident now, it made Celestia sick, and Gilda confused.

“You’re a child. You’re all children! You don’t need five million between you!” Celestia clicked her fingers, Gilda readied her gun from inside her waistband.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Another boy, standing on a higher level, called down.

“Do you realise who you’re messing with?” Gilda blurted out.

“Gilda, be quiet. You’re going to get us both killed.” Celestia turned to her bodyguard and spoke sharply.

“I think they decided that before we came in here.” Gilda said through gritted teeth.

“CHANGELINGS!” The first boy squealed. In a rather sloppy manner, the teens pulled out a respectable arsenal of guns themselves, all pointed at the two women in the centre of the room. You could tell their time without a leader didn’t make them as sophisticated as they once were, but that didn’t deter them.

“Hold your fire!” Celestia commanded. “She’s right. I am the leader of the most powerful criminal organisation in Equestria. If you kill me, hellfire will rain down on you before you can even say ‘We did it.’ We will be taking what we came for now, and nobody is going to get killed.”

“You’re a powerful leader, alright,” The boy chirped up, clearly showing his true demeanour behind his meek facade. “Having you killed will put us back on the map. Nobody will mess with the Changelings!”

“Chrysalis was a friend. Would she be proud of what you’re doing now?”

“We don’t need a mother anymore! We will make a name for ourselves, or die trying.”

“Then die trying you will.” Celestia, in one swift motion, pulls out her trusty Desert Eagle from her holster, aimed and fired in a matter of seconds, catching the boy in between the eyeballs. He dropped down, dead.

Silence filled the room, if just for a few seconds, the Changelings were shocked and taken aback, but knew what they had to do. Celestia turned to Gilda and uttered one word.

“Run.”

They dived out of the way as a barrage of bullets fired where they once stood. Taking refuge behind an old Jeep, Gilda readied her gun. It was cold in her hand, but comfortable. She stood up, and shot down three shooters with relative ease before taking cover again. She looked to the other side of the room, where she saw her boss, calm and collected, more disgruntled than worried, huddled behind a pile of tires.

“Kill them all.” Celestia said coldly.

“Roger that.” Gilda responded. Gilda took a count of the room when they entered. Math was never her forte, but she knew that there were twelve when they went in, and four were down. Eight left.

She stood up and fired again. Only taking out one before narrowing avoiding a bullet from an assault rifle. It made her heart race, which was a good thing. Celestia took down three more on her turn. Four left.

Gilda stood up again, took a shot, but no bullet came out. Shit. She did, however, see a boy not too far from her struggling to reload an M16 that was too heavy for him to carry. This was her chance.

She ran, as fast as her stocky legs could take her, and tackled the boy to the ground, busted his nose, and leant over to grab a weapon from the pile. Her weapon of choice: the Uzi. She simply only fired a couple of shots at point blank and that was enough. The remaining three heard the shots, turned their direction away from Celestia, and towards her bodyguard. Panic filled Gilda’s body. Celestia took this opportunity, and swiftly shot two from high above.

The last target, who appeared to be the youngest, dropped his weapon. He knew he was done. He put his hands up and instantly burst into tears.

“I surrender! I’m sorry! Please don’t kill me!” He wailed.

Gilda stared at the boy, tears streaming down his face. She should let him go, she thought. But a final gunshot was heard, and she could no longer make that decision. The small boy collapsed like a rag doll, and the room fell silent. Gilda looked at Celestia, who’s eyes were fixated on the corpse, her barrel smoking from that final shot. Gilda then looked around the room, and it had dawned on her how horrific this scene was. This was the worst shootout she had been in for years, with mere adolescents, no less.

“They were just children!” Gilda screamed. She never cried. Why was she crying now?

“It doesn’t matter who they were,” Celestia was stoic, she really didn’t care. “We did what we had to do.”

“Fuck me, man. Fuck me!” Gilda got up from the corpse of her own doing, shaking. Celestia didn’t have time to mourn. She had a job to do.

“Back the truck up in here. I will find a way to open this shutter.”

“Can’t I just have a minute to–”

“No. The police will be here in no time.”

“But they were just kids…”

“GILDA! We have to go! We have been here too long. And there’s too much blood on our hands, we can’t take our time.”

Gilda took a breath. As cruel as it was, she was right. She stood up and simply left, barely making a sound.

It took them a mere twenty minutes to load up the truck with everything, and an extra ten to loot the bodies of the dead. No doubt taking the guns that, to any sane person's guess, were not ‘sold to local buyers’. And like that, they were gone. It was a six hour drive back to Canterlot, and Gilda couldn’t stop thinking of that young child's cold, dead eyes, the whole way there.

“They did what?!”

“Well, I don’t know it was them! I don’t even know how they could’ve got in.”

“Well, they did. And the fact you left your goddamn phone out gave them all the intel they needed!”

Sombra paced up and down the shop floor at Carousel Boutique, like a lion stalking his prey, Rarity, who was haggard and weary of so much going awry in the last 48 hours. From any normal passerby, the store looked no different than it had done any other day. But Rarity knew. The alarms had almost gone off, she got it from the report her security system had provided her. But set off on a Sunday morning, and then quickly shut off. Something was wrong. Leaving her phone in the Boutique over the weekend was what. All that connected up. And Sombra wasn’t exactly cheery about it.

“I am tired, boss. I am tired. I am doing my best.” Rarity mumbled, her puffy eyes splattered with mascara.

“Your best isn’t good enough. You don’t have time to be tired. I need you sharp, or I will find someone that will.” Sombra growled.

“I understand.” She nodded.

“They gathered intel almost twenty-four hours before I intended for them to. They could’ve spent that time doing God knows what.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Sorry won’t cut it.”

“But I mean it, Sombra.”

“This is strike two. In less than 24 hours. The fact that you’re fucking up is not something I can have on my team, especially not from an Elite Member.” Sombra was like a ticking time bomb. Clearly Rarity was not the only one that was tired.

“Then it won’t happen again.” Rarity promised.

“I have something else to deal with. My contact from Yakyakistan has been compromised. I don’t know who caused that yet, but we are a prime target right now.”

“Understood.”

“Strengthen the defences to the base. To the Boutique. To anywhere that has my name on it. Make things right and then maybe I’ll forgive you. Understood?” Sombra bartered.

“Yes sir.” Rarity replied. Sombra barged out of the front door. Rarity continued to cry.

A package was delivered in the morning to the Tantabus headquarters, slipped into the bag of a local goon passing by. They didn’t know how they got it, but they swiftly delivered it to Luna. Inside it was a USB stick. Inside of that was hard to stomach.

Luna watched it in private. Not even Rainbow Dash was allowed to view it. Upon finishing the viewing, Luna called an emergency meeting, and the Elite Members had gathered in less than twenty minutes.

“What I’m going to tell you all isn’t going to be easy.” Luna began, almost mournfully. “I received a video from Chaos this morning. The contents were, for lack of a better word, horrifying. The two things to note are that Sunset Shimmer isn’t safe, and that Applejack has been hired by Sombra.”

Some gasps were heard at the table, none louder than Big Macintosh.

“Mah sister is… well, she ain’t my sister no more. But she’s a monster. I can’t even begin to imagine what she’d done…”

“She tortured her,” Luna spoke frankly. “It… it made me upset. Angry. The only piece of good news is that, fortunately, in the video, Applejack confirms some information we had gathered thanks to Sweetie Belle. So we know that if we don’t give into their demands, Sunset will die in thirty one hours.”

The room was silent. Not a sound was heard. Rainbow, who sat opposite Luna, was in complete disbelief, she had no energy to quarrel, she was simply empty.

“Can I see the video?” Rainbow asked, meekly.

“The video is strictly off limits. No one is allowed to view it. Not even you, Dash.” Luna let her down easy.

“What are we gonna do, boss?” Big Mac asked, a bit sharper than he usually would.

“I have a plan, it’s going to involve all of you. So listen up,” Luna laid down a document on the table, with thorough details of everyone’s jobs. At the top of the document, in bold letters: ‘OPERATION: SUNRISE’. Luna continued:

“I will arrive at the southwest entrance to Chaos’ base at 4:30. Big Mac, you will join me. I will have with me a briefcase that will contain a bomb that will activate upon opening, Zekora, get on that.”

“Don’t you worry, it’ll be done in a hurry.” Zekora quipped back.

“Sombra will no doubt open the case in front of us, and will be injured, if not eliminated. Mac and I will take cover and try to escape. If we have to get our hands dirty, so be it. All attention will be on us, so take advantage of the time we have. Zekora and Dash, you will enter the central north entrance into the sewers, and using heat signals, you find your way to where Sunset is hiding. I will arm you both to the gills, and you will get Sunset out alive before they notice.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Rainbow exclaimed.

“Fluttershy, you and Sweetie Belle will be on standby. You will tend to Sunset’s wounds immediately, as soon as she’s recovered and safe. Sweetie Belle, you stay out and ONLY get involved if my guys on the inside get trapped. Zekora will talk you through it. If you come across anyone… run as fast as you can. I’ll have some of my toughest guys with you, they can take a hit.”

“You really think it’s wise to throw a fifteen year old into the line of fire?” Dash retorted.

“I have no other options,” Luna sighed. “I doubt she will be needed. She is only there as backup. I’ve found out that Sombra is upping his defences, however, so we can’t play too safe. Sweetie, is that understood?”

“Yes.” Sweetie Belle answered honestly.

“And remember, if you come across anyone, you run–”

“Run as fast as I can, don’t worry.”

“Do we all understand our roles?” Luna asks with confidence. A chorus of yesses from her team are heard in response.

“Then let’s bring Sunset home.”

Around the same time, Celestia and Gilda were returning to their base in Canterlot. It had been a long night of driving, with the two stopping over in an abandoned parking lot to get some rest, but this wasn’t enough. They were both tired, hungry, and dehydrated. This hadn’t deterred the leader from gathering the Elite Members and several high class Harmony members into the central hub for their arrival. Twilight was the one to greet them, a coffee in her hand, the third of the day. Pinkie and Octavia stood right behind her, with Spike and Scootaloo sat with a couple of the goons, passing cigarettes and energy drinks. They knew it was going to be a long day.

Gilda opened the door, and let Celestia enter first. A wave of shocked gasps echoed through the hall as they saw what had become of their leader. Her pristine white suit had taken on a new shade of dirty red, the blood dried, and the outfit ruined. Gilda looked much the same, with the blood disguising a bit better on her grey suit, but it was obvious that something had gone wrong.

“I’m guessing the meeting didn't go well?” Twilight remarked.

“No shit, Twi.” Gilda grunted.

“Some people were compromised, that I will admit,” Celestia expressed. “But we got what we came for, and neither of us are injured. I call that a success.”

“Where’s the truck?” Twilight asked, jumping to business.

“Outside, where did you think?” Gilda snapped back.

“I do, however, come with some bad news, and some good news,” Celestia raised her voice, so the dozens of goons could hear. “Chrysalis and the Changelings have fallen. We have lost an ally in the north.”

“Yeah. Some ally.” Gilda said under her breath.

“Secondly, after this vehicle is unloaded and the equipment properly stored, I’m going to need you all to step up a gear. I received intel an hour ago that Tantabus and Chaos are in the middle of a hostage crisis. Sunset Shimmer, Tantabus’s assassin, has been taken by Sombra.”

“Why, exactly, does that concern us?” Octavia asked confidently.

“Because I know for a fact that at 5pm tomorrow is when she is due to be assassinated by Applejack. Tantabus are no doubt going to want to get their prized assassin back, they won’t care for much else, and Chaos will be distracted trying to deal with them. This is the time to strike,” Celestia, even despite how tired she was on the inside, gave a damn good speech. “Pinkie, Octavia, congratulations on gathering the coordinates we need. You will be paid for your efforts.”

“Don’t sweat it!” Pinkie chirped up. Octavia simply nodded.

“For the next thirty hours we will work rotationally. All efforts will be placed into preparing a sophisticated battle plan.”

“What about the armour plans?” Pinkie asked sincerely.

“That will have to be done in the background. We will work with what we have.” Celestia spoke plainly.

“Okee dokee!”

“Gilda will reposition our truck, and everyone will help out unloading it. Once it is done, look to your respective bosses and what assignments you need to do. Some of you may leave after unloading, if you volunteer to work through the night. Is that understood?”

A gathering of nods from everyone in the room. Celestia smiled and turned to Gilda.

“Do what you need to do. You can go home and rest after I give you your assignments.”

“Yes, boss,” Gilda thanked. “What about yourself?”

“No rest for the wicked. I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”

Gilda shrugged and left, readying the truck to be brought into the warehouse.

“Elite Members, meet me upstairs,” Celestia commanded. “The rest of you, listen to Gilda, and don’t waste time.”

It wasn’t long until all the Elite members, bar Gilda, were gathered in the meeting room. Their assignments were as follows.

1. Celestia, Gilda and Octavia would be deployed into the field, assisted by Pinkie Pie and a selection of weapons, old and new. The mission: try and push goons away from select pathways of the sewers and claim it as theirs. Several high class goons on Harmony’s side would be hired and take separate factions, lead by a respective Elite Member.
2. Twilight and Scootaloo would stay back at base, holding the fort and only to be called in as back up, alongside the rest of the Harmony goons. All dealing will be called off from 16:00 onwards, so that suspicions won’t arise earlier in the day, but all efforts could be concentrated on the mission.
3. Spike will remain at base no matter what, alongside a handful of goons. They will tend to the wounded as and when they return to base.

When Harmony prepares, prepare they do. Rotational systems are put into place so that no momentum is dropped. The goons work practically in a factory line, punished if they aren’t succinct in their job. Celestia oversees everything, and was, in Layman’s terms, a perfectionist. They are efficient and powerful because of her, and that is what keeps them in the game.

After the meeting had finished, Twilight turned to Celestia.

“Boss?”

“Yes, Twilight?”

“The plan is great, it really is, they always are,” Twilight started, as though she knew how Celestia would react. “But I must ask, this is beef between Sombra and Luna. Why do we need to get involved?”

Celestia chuckled. Twilight was always the one to ask for rationality.

“Because,” she said, calmly and thoughtfully. “This war is three-sided. Like a triangle. If one side of the triangle is removed, then it doesn’t hold its shape. Why would I allow the two people I hate most in the world to tear at each other without allowing me to get in on the fun?” She chuckled again. There was no doubt Celestia didn’t care for much else in the world than this.

“And besides, when else would be the best time to strike when they think we’re taken out of the equation?”

“When they least expect us?” Twilight added.

“I suppose,” Celestia shrugged. “But they always expect us. Just… They perhaps don’t care about us right now. And when they ignore the lion for too long, that’ll be when she strikes the hardest.”

Sunset Shimmer came to. What time was it? Did it even matter? The room was as dark, as rancid, and as silent as it had always been. Save for the sound of dripping water, and the quiet, yet grating intervals of a knife being sharpened.

What was surprising, however, was that Sunset’s mouth was no longer covered by tape. Now was the chance to speak, but she could barely muster up the energy to do so.

“Who’s there?”

“Oh, just me, Sugarcube. Ya surprised?”

“Why are you letting me speak?”

“A few reasons,” Applejack walked around to face Sunset, who cowered at the mere sight of her. She placed a foot on the base of her chair and leaned in. “One. I didn’t want ya to choke on your own blood. As fun as that sounds, I need you to stay alive for another twenty-four hours.”

Applejack checked her watch. Hurry up, she thought, I want to get to the good stuff.

“And two, I know for a fact that you are struggling to speak, let alone scream. Thought I’d be nice for once, yenno?”

“Not really.” Sunset whimpered.

“Ah well, doesn’t matter.”

“I need water.” Sunset sat up. Applejack scoffed.

“Ya really think I’m gonna give you water?” She chuckled.

“You need me alive, remember?”

Applejack paused. For a moment, a small moment, albeit, she was bested.

“I suppose you’re right.”

Applejack reached to the floor, and picked up a half filled bottle off the ground, that could have sat there for god knows how long. She could have a little fun with this.

With her foot still on the chair, she tipped the chair back, causing Sunset to jolt back into her fight-or-flight. She began to wriggle herself back to upright, but she was too weak, and Applejack was too strong. She took off the lid, lifted the bottle high over Sunset’s head, and poured. Sunset tried to get some drops in, but Applejack began to move the flow of water, making it go into her eyes, up her nose, and over her face. She waterboarded her for what felt like an eternity, a series of gargled cries for help cutting through the silence. It only stopped when the water was empty. Applejack flung the plastic bottle at Sunset’s face, making it sting against her still open wounds, and dropped her foot, making the chair come plummeting back to the ground.

“You’re a dick.” Was all that Sunset could stifle out, between gasps of air.

“Thank you.” Applejack answered fondly, before going to sit back in her own chair, continuing to sharpen her blade.

The silence returned for a few more minutes. Sunset couldn’t take it anymore, and wanted to make use of what little adrenaline she had left.

“Why are you doing this?” She asked bluntly. Applejack, almost taken aback, placed down her knife.

“It’s my job, sweetheart.” She answered.

“Bullshit. A job is working retail, or in an office, or something.”

“Ain’t you also a hitman?” Applejack clapped back with a smile. “As far as I’m concerned, we’re competitors in the same field.”

“Yes. But not like this.” Sunset said with disgust. She loathed Applejack, she always had. Not nearly as much as at this moment.

“Oh what? We’re cut from the same cloth! You just use the fact you got a nice figure and speak all fancy-like, I know what you do. You slept your way to the top of the food chain. You’ve taken more dicks than any hooker in Canterlot. The only difference is ya stab ‘em, or ya strangle ‘em, or poison ‘em, I bet. But only after you let them have their way with you.”

“I never sleep with any of my targets.” Sunset scoffed.

“Oh sure. Like I believe that.” Applejack sneered.

“It’s the truth!”

“What a load of horse shit and you know it.”

“It’s not!”

“Alright. Touchy.”

The silence returned, just for a moment. But Sunset wasn’t finished. She struggled through her pain and continued.

“You never answered my question. Why do you do it… the way you do?” She uttered, growing drowsy from her injuries.

“Because I enjoy the job that I do. Don’t you?”

“I suppose. But not like–”

“‘Not like you!’ She says! ‘Not like you,’” Applejack mimicked her prisoner. “I am passionate about my art. I call it art, because it is. I always try, and I’ve tried many times, sweetie, to get a different type of reaction from every person I kill.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s fun! God, lighten up a bit!” Applejack was out of her chair now, pacing around the room like a vulture.

“It’s hard to lighten up strapped to a chair and in pain.” Sunset winced.

“Bullshit,” Applejack slowly approached Sunset Shimmer, meeting her eye to eye. “I know you like it rough, you stupid slut.”

“You bitch!” Sunset spat harshly into Applejack’s face. It was mostly coagulated blood, but it annoyed her captor regardless.

“You motherfucking…” Applejack reached for her knife, held it high in the air, ready to strike, only to be stopped by Starlight Glimmer running into the room, furiously out of breath. Applejack stopped what she was doing and turned to this strange new girl.

“What is it?” She asked with power.

“It’s Tantabus,” Starlight announced between breaths. “They’re willing to come to an agreement. Luna is meeting Sombra at half four tomorrow.”

“YES!” Sunset cheered, almost rising out of her chair. “You hear that, you freak! You’re not gonna kill anyone tomorrow! They’re coming to get me!” Her celebration was cut short by a swift slap on her swollen jaw, making it sting once more.

“What if I just killed you anyway, huh?” Applejack responded.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were–” Starlight piped up.

“Look. I don’t even know who you are,” Applejack shot down. “But don’t interfere with my work. Tell Sombra I know, but I’m staying with the hostage, come hell or high water. If the deal falls through, I’ll kill her on the spot.”

“Yes ma’am.” Was all Starlight could say before making a hasty exit.

Applejack ripped off some more tape and placed it on Sunsets mouth, who had grown delirious to the pain, and didn’t fight back.

“It’s time you stopped talkin’ now,” She exclaimed merrily. “Get some rest. You got a big day tomorrow.”

“Come on, Dash, it’s been a long day. Get some rest. You’ve got a big day tomorrow.”

The sun was set on Monday night in Tantabus’s base. Everyone had gone home, apart from two. Tantabus’s leader, and her right hand.

“Rest. I can hardly do that.” Dash grumbled.

“Where have you been staying?” Luna asked.

“Just upstairs. In one of the beds lying around. I can’t exactly go home, can I?” Dash tapped her foot methodically, echoing around the old castle.

“That’s okay. You can stay with Sunset when we get her back. I’m sure she will appreciate the company.” Luna was never this kind.

“Yeah,” Rainbow smiled, perhaps insincerely. “Maybe I will.”

“But seriously. Time for bed.” Luna instructed.

“Okay, Mom.” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and wandered up one of the many spiral staircases in the lonely fortress. Luna was alone.

She walked outside, the rain was heavy and constant, creating a symphony of noise as each drop danced through the trees and bushes around her. Luna didn’t mind the noise, or the feeling, She pulled out a cigarette and lit it. She had quit months ago. This was the fifth time she had stopped, but something always brought her back. Typically something to do with this world she lived in. She took a few drags, feeling the nicotine pump through her system, that brought her at ease. She could feel her heartbeat through her head. She wasn’t stressed, at least that’s what she thought, but perhaps something different. A tired determination that made her bones ache and her head heavy. She would never admit it, but she cared. This wasn’t business to her. This was her life. What was the need to be the only criminal gang in Canterlot that didn’t sell drugs? She cared. Perhaps a little too much. There was a line between caring for sincerity and caring for selfishness, and Luna walked that tightrope consistently. But that didn’t matter now. All that mattered was the cigarette, in the rain. She tossed it into a puddle, and it hissed when it was extinguished. She looked up a the rain, her face and hair wet, but just enjoying the moment in isolation for a couple of minutes.

All she had to do now was switch off the downstairs power and go to sleep. An easy task, and sleep she will.

She entered back into the base, it was quiet. But not as quiet as before. The muffled, almost electronic sounds of people speaking were heard. Luna was unsure, and confused, but followed the noise. She had no idea what the noise was, but when she was just outside the door which it was coming from, her office, the sound of a scream was heard. Not just any scream. The distinct, pained scream of Sunset Shimmer.

Luna swung open the door. The only light coming from the room was from a laptop screen, her laptop screen. She couldn’t see what was playing, the only thing she could make out in the darkness was the face of Rainbow Dash, eyes fixated to the screen, a single tear of horror halfway down her face.

She was watching the video of Applejack torturing Sunset.

Luna, perhaps out of some kind of maternal instinct, slammed down the laptop screen, leaving the two of them in darkness. Luna reached for the light switch.

“Don’t turn on the light.” Rainbow Dash croaked.

“Okay.” Luna accepted.

“Is that what she did to my Sunset? Is that real?” Rainbow asked, her voice breaking.

“Yes.” Luna responded simply.

“Is she still alive?”

“Of course she is.” Luna didn’t actually know for certain, but she had to remain positive.

“She could be hurting her right now…”

“We don’t know that for certain–”

“If SHE is still with her,” Rainbow raised her voice, pure anger was seething out of her. “She will be hurting her. I’m going to go and get her myself!”

“That’s not wise.” Luna quickly turned on the problem solver inside of her.

“You can’t let her get away with this. I want her dead. I want them all DEAD!”

“We aren’t letting her-” Luna was cut short from the sound of Dash getting up. “Dash! You are going nowhere!”

Luna turned on the light, her eyes had to adjust to the artificial brightness, but she saw the face of Rainbow Dash. This was not the woman she knew. Tears streaming down her face, her nose running and mixing with the tears. But her face was not one of sadness, it was one of pure loathing and hatred. The only thing between Rainbow and the door was Luna.

“Out of my way.” Dash said simply.

“No.” Luna quickly replied back.”

“I warn you.”

“If you try to go now you will just get yourself killed.”

“I don’t care! I JUST WANT SUNSET BACK!” Rainbow screamed in her bosses face, spitting all over her.

“I KNOW! I’M DOING MY BEST!” Luna yelled in response.

The screaming echoed around the hall outside, and died promptly. Rainbow looked at Luna with the eyes of a killer.

“I want her back too, we all do.” Luna said comfortingly.

“What, so she can go back to being a part of your stupid family drama? So she can come back to working for you? Is that it?” Rainbow prodded.

“No. It’s because I care about her. And I care about you.”

“I thought you weren’t my friend.”

“I didn’t mean it when I said that--”

“Just let me go!”

Rainbow tried to push Luna out of the way, who fought back well, keeping a hold of Dash’s wrist. Whilst she may have been smaller than her sister, she definitely towered over Rainbow Dash, who wouldn’t give up too easily. They wrestled for a short while, Dash trying to leave, but Luna not letting her have any of it.

They were brought to the floor, and Dash went weak. She collapsed into a fetal position and began to wail tears; loud, sharp, horrific. Luna simply lay down and cuddled Dash, in the middle of her office floor, who continued to moan and cry. She simply stroked her hair and lay with her for what seemed like hours. The continual screams and unintelligible words of Rainbow letting all her emotion out at once carried through every empty corridor in the base. The crying eventually stopped. Rainbow Dash, due to sheer exhaustion, was finally asleep.

Luna could have gone to bed, but something in her was compelling her to stay. So there they lay, Luna spooning Rainbow Dash, in the middle of the cold, hard floor. And they both slept surprisingly well. After all, they had to.

It’s a big day tomorrow.

Author's Note

Hello all! It's been a while. A long while. But found this again and remembered how much I enjoyed working on it. Maybe you'll get another chapter soon, but life gets in the way. We will see.

For now, I hope you enjoy.

-TheOldRedHills