Wrath of My Righteous Little Ponies

Greenery lead them through the streets following Striker’s advice, not the same route up that she and the other paladins had previously gone down. Greenery gave a sigh of relief when she spotted sturdy stone walls between the surrounding buildings. She nudged Striker and gestured to it before softly calling back to the survivors, “We’re almost there.”

Striker nodded at the sight of the building and turned back the way they came. “If you’ll excuse me milady, I left something of value behind during our last encounter. Now that I’m sure that you’ll be safe I’m going to go get it quickly.”

“What? You can’t go back by yourself, it’s too dangerous.” Greenery gave him a look of utter alarm as if he’d just told her he was going to bind his wings and jump off a cliff. The other’s paused looking worriedly at the pair. “What could be that important?”

“Oh you probably wouldn’t find it to be so important, but I’m afraid I can’t abide by waste.” Striker said shaking his head as if to wave off the importance of it, but flashed her a smile as if delighting in her worry for him.

“Just leave it, it can’t be worth getting killed for,” Greenery growled intimidating the other survivors rather than Striker who just smiled and flared his wings.

“Don’t worry about me, I’ll be quick and quiet.” And as if to emphasize this Striker took the air without a sound and in a moment disappeared behind a nearby building.

Greenery watched him go, the protest on her lips was wasted as he disappeared. Short of shouting and alerting everything for blocks where they were, there was nothing she could do. She cursed something like ‘feather-brain’ under her breath and turned back toward Defender’s Heart giving the survivors a sharp, “Let’s go.”

The survivors followed her without a word. Greenery’s naturally intimidating features were accented by her frustration towards Striker, prompting them to give her a little more space than before.

Soon Defender’s Heart came completely into view. It was a large squat stone structure that looked as solidly built as any bunker or keep designed to hold back an invading army, which it originally had been. As if to testify its solid nature, the building had gone undamaged even as a large crescent moon shaped fissure had split open within a few feet of its western face and continued to arch up several blocks until it almost reached the city wall. The moat-like protection this fissure loaned to the inn was one reason the Eagle Watch and so many others had taken it up as a haven.

Greenery’s approach was suddenly halted when a crossbow bolt cut down across her path startling her. She looked up the see a pegasus mare with a lavender blue coat and a blond mane and tail flying above her a freshly reloaded crossbow pointed down at here. “Halt and drop your weapons!”

Greenery glared up at the pegasus, but before she could say anything another voice cried out, “Cloudkicker lower your crossbow that’s the commander you idiot.”

Greenery looked down to see an earth pony mare with a golden coat and orange mane come galloping towards them. She was dressed in barding like Greenery’s and glaring up at the pegasus while a second earth pony mare followed behind her. This mare had a cream-colored coat under dark gray barding, a rose-colored mane, and cold critical green eyes. “It doesn’t matter who it looks like, everyone must give the password. Those were your commander’s order were they not?”

Carrot Top glared back at the other pony but before she could say anything Greenery answered, “Silverstrong.”

The rose maned pony nodded at that and gave Greenery a salute. “Welcome back to Defender’s Heart Commander Green Garden. I am Roseluck, Armiger First Class of the Hellknight order of the Wall.”

Greenery saluted Roseluck in turn, but before she could thank the mare the pegasus cried out in protest her voice shaking. “How do we know it’s her, it could be a trick.”

Three glaring sets of eyes turned to her in answer, but it was only Greenery’s fierce cat-like eyes met Cloudkicker’s directly. “You come down here now!” Greenery ordered curtly and without thinking why the pegasus slowly descended until she was standing in front of Greenery.

Greenery stepped forward closing the distance between them and looming over the much smaller mare. “Cloudkicker you’re grounded until I say differently. Flying around like that, are you trying to attract trouble?”

“Y-you can’t do that.”

“I just did,” Greenery snapped back cutting her off and pointed back to the survivors, “Now get these pony’s someplace safe to rest. Send two of my knights out here to replace you.”

Shivering under the draconic glare Cloudkicker didn’t argue any further hurrying past Greenery to the group of survivor and lead them inside muttering as she passed, “Lighting Dust will hear about this.”

“Damn right she will, from me!” Greenery snapped and marched into the building. Just inside the doors two more of her knights stood guard on either side of the entrance. Their face lit up with excitement and relief at the sight of the commander only to fall back into muted seriousness at the fierce look on her face. They saluted Greenery and welcomed her back, she returned their greeting barely breaking stride.

The entrance was empty save for the pair of guards and a scruffy looking brown earth pony with a sun-bleached mane, but as soon as she stepped into the common room the full weight of the inn’s burden hit her. It had been packed with survivors when she had left just a few hours ago, now there was hardly room enough to place a hood as she slowly moved across to the counter where the inn’s keeper limped back and forth his eyes constantly scanning the crowd.

The faces of ponies turned to look up at her as she passed, some distant as if still witnessing whatever horrors they had seen on the streets. Some were angry both at the demons and crusaders like her who had failed to keep them safe. In a select few there were sparks of hope and relief upon seeing her return, but all had an undercurrent of fear running through them.

“Welcome back Commander,” Donut Joe gave Greenery a worn smile bracing himself on the counter with the stump of his left foreleg and saluting Greener with his intact right.

“It’s good to be back Joe,” Greenery saluted him back. The cream colored and brown maned unicorn wasn’t a crusader anymore, but he always would be in her eyes. It didn’t matter that he’d retired when he’d lost his leg. Joe was almost as big as her, something very unusual for a unicorn, and she wished she could have fought with him at least once.

“I see the Wonderbolts and Hellknights have arrived, I didn’t hear about Lightning getting promoted beyond knighthood. Any of the other crusader orders arrive I’d hate to think we’d end up taking orders from those heartless bastards.” Greenery gave a look as if she’d stepped into something foul. The Hellknights were fierce crusaders, but their fury could just as easily be turned on a starving thief as a demon.

Joe shook his head, “Nope she’s still just a knight and those Hellknights don’t have anyone better leading them.” Greenery breathed a sigh of relief at that. “We’ve had just about every order you could name get here, Everbrights, Flaming Lance, Sunrise Swords, Witch Hunters and members of the city guard. But no more than a few of each and nothing better than a knight leading any of them. This is still your show Commander, once you buck them all into line, they all have been arguing over who’s in charge since they got here.”

“What happened to Bon Bon,” Greenery asked worried that something had happened to the knight she’d left in charge.

Joe snuffed her worry with a little shake of his head, “Nothing, she’s in there fighting with the rest of them over who’s in charge.” Joe gestured to a door on the other side of the hall, one of the isolated dining rooms Joe normally rented out for private parties.

Greenery looked at the door and it held her gaze for several seconds it as if it were a balor looming over her. The horrors of the besieged city outside and the hopelessness of the ponies around her fell to the fear of what lay beyond that door, to choose she would have taken the balor.

“Go on Commander, someone’s going to have to straighten this mess out,” Joe said absently as he wiped down a mug in his magic. Suddenly the metal mug slammed down on the counter causing the pony, that had been trying to reach over it while she thought Joe was distracted, to jump and scurry away.

Greenery thanked Joe and made her way towards the door, she was only halfway to it when she heard the first muffled yell. By the time she was reaching for the handle she could hear several voices speaking in a heated debate though the exact nature of what they were saying was lost to her. Pulling open the door all the voice suddenly fell silent and seven sets of eyes shot to her. As she stepped through and quickly shut the door behind her their eyes all lost the surprised look and filled with emotion. A couple were relieved, some looked annoyed while other simply rolled their eyes exasperatedly in their sockets.

“Commander you’re back!” A cream-colored mare with a blue and pink striped mane called excitedly as she rushed around the table to greet Greenery. She wore the same golden barding as Greenery and her blue eyes sparkled with joy and relief. “Did you find Gold?”

Greenery fought to keep her eyes from falling downcast and shook her head keeping her voice even and strong as she spoke. “No, and the others… didn’t make it.”

Bon Bon gave a little gasp at that. her mouth quivering and her eyes growing a little moist before she forced the emotion down with less grace and practice than Greenery.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” a gold coated unicorn mare with a red and blond striped mane said coldly. Her barding was had red edges that curled like flames. She turned back to the table and addressed the ponies at it, “This is why we need to go on the offensive we have to push back or none of us will survive. The demons aren’t going to leave use alone.”

“You know we don’t have the numbers to do that Sunset,” Countered a pink unicorn with a violet and lavender streaked mane. Her barding was like Greenery’s except where hers were marked with the symbol of a sword within a sun.

“We can arm the survivors Sparkler, with barding and weapons they can fight as well as any pony,” Sunset argued back.

“There aren’t enough pegasi out there for use to take back air supremacy, it’s suicide to fight a ground battle when most demons can fly.” A turquoise pegasus with an amber and gold streaked mane argued with a slam of her hoof against the table.

“Humph insisting that flying should be our only concern shows just how much of a feather brain you really are Lightning Dust.” A blueish gray earth pony with a silver and white striped mane said sticking his nose in the air, he wore shining silver barding that looked like it had never seen battle. “And we cannot arm pes- I mean such ponies who haven’t the discipline to act properly when so equipped.”

“No Hoity! Our concern should be finding who among them are consorting with the demon. Yes! The demons did not accomplish victory without aid.” Countered an earth pony with a grayish blue coat and a pure white mane. She wore only a light chain barding under rich looking clothes.

“You all can’t go using those civilians like fodder or accuse them without good reason,” An earth pony with a tan coat and brown mane capped with a black wide-brimmed hat cut in, glaring at both Sunset and Photo Finish. He wore simple plate barding emblazoned with a star over his chest.

“Silverstar’s right.” Greenery cut in before the argument could escalate again. She stepped up to the table and fixed each of the speakers in turn with her piercing cat-like eyes, though none of them shied away like most ponies would and the majority glared back angrily. “We have to protect these ponies until help arrives, survival is our main concern.”

“How am I not surprised that the Eagle Watch’s only concern is to dictate our concerns. The moral busybodies hard at work.” Sunset scoffed and shook her head.

“Humph completely unnecessary the Everbright crusaders will keep ponies from their vices,” Hoity Toity stuck his nose in the air.

“Correct! And we Witch Hunters are far better equipped to seek out hidden dangers among ponykind.” Photo added pointing rather dramatically at Greenery.

Lightning dust scoffed as well but before she could say anything there was the sound of shifting and scraping metal silenced that table. The last pony present, who had yet to speak, leaned forward and rested an armored hoof on the table. This pony’s barding was like none of the others, it was dark almost black, and covered in wicked looking spikes. The armor also covered the pony completely, the design of his helmet looked like a devilish pony, only his cold blue eyes could be seen through the helm. The lack of wings or horn marked him as an earth pony one whose size equaled Greenery’s. When he spoke, it was low and it rumbled through his metal helmet. “The Manehattan emergency governance act gives authority to the senior highest ranking officer present. Like the rest of you, I swore an oath to uphold this rule of law when my order agreed to fight under Manehattan’s banner and within its walls. As such I, Crème Brulee of the Hellknight order of the Wall will follow Commander Green Garden accordingly.” Crème paused and offered a salute to Greenery just as his subordinate had which Greenery returned with a nod.

Then the devilish pony helm and the cold blue eyes slowly swept across the table, “Will the rest of you not respect the law.”

Sparkler and Silverstar eagerly offered Greenery a salute grinning satisfactorily as the others squirmed and seethed, glowering at Greenery rather than the Hellknight. Slowly they each nodded and saluted Greenery as well.

Greenery saluted them all in return, but before she could say anything a bird-like whistling sounded behind her. As one they all turned to see Striker leaning coolly against the doorway. “Thought you all might be interested to know that there’s an army of demons and ponies on its way here.”