Wrath of My Righteous Little Ponies

“How many? How soon?” Greenery demanded turning to face Striker fully. The faces of the heads of the knightly orders all lining with worry, save for the Hellknight who’s helmet stoically shielded his expression.

Striker gave a shrug, but answered, “Seventeen cultists, and half as many demons. I'm not sure what kind, they were all small bloated ape-like creatures with scaly hides. They’ll be here in just under an hour I’d guess.”

“Twenty-five! We don’t have that many knights between all of us. We have to arm the survivors now!” Sunset snapped back across the table to the others, slamming her hoof down on the table.

“Absolutely not, it is still an improper thing to do and it is our job to defend them, not the other way around.” Hoity answered his nose lifting in the air.

“We don't have a choice! Those cultists out there are more seasoned fighters than our privets and most of them are guards, not paladins.” Sunset shot back.

“No!” Greenery turned back to the table fixing Sunset with a hard stare. “We don’t have the authority to force those ponies into service and we don’t have time to debate the matter. Bon Bon, get every knight and guard who’s not doing something and set up a barricade along the unprotected face of the building.”

“Yes ma’am,” Bon Bon saluted her commander, and started to leave, but hesitated and turned back with a questioning look, “Unn with what ma’am?”

“Anything! Loot the surrounding buildings of their furniture if you have to! I don’t care if it’s a line of tables I want something between us and those bastards when they get here!” Greenery snapped causing Bon Bon to jump and rush from the room squeaking ‘Yes ma’am’.

Greenery’s cat-like eyes swept across to the plain unassuming guard pony in ordinary armor. “Silverstar, I want you to arm any pony who wants to fight, we can't force them to fight, but I'm not going to turn away anyone who wants to. And I'm sure I don’t need to tell you that if you think they’ll be a liability out there don’t let them volunteer.”

Silverstar nodded but couldn't answer before Hoity Totty tried to object only to be cut off by Greenery. “I don’t want to hear another word from any of you unless it’s about the defense of this inn. So, unless you have anything constructive to add get out there and help get the barricade set up.”

“Permission to aggressively recruit addition pegasi, ma’am.” Lightning Dust asked with a salute, she seemed to have been cowed back into a deferring role.

“No,” Greenery answered simply turning away, not seeing anyone else giving any indication they wanted to object outside of an angry glare. Lightning began to protest, but Greenery shot back an angry glare and silenced her.

While Lightning cowed away from Greenery glare, Striker leaned in and whispered into her frilled ears. “I think I know how to use the Wonderbolts to their fullest in the battle. If you would afford me the opportunity, my lady.”

“Fine, Lightning Dust you report to Sword Strike from here on out,” Greenery said sharply and gave a nod to Striker before trotting out of the room leaving both Striker and Lightning with looks of surprise on their faces. The others filed out after the draconic mare most fixing Greenery with a contemptuous glare, at least when neither she nor Crème Brulee’s eyes weren’t on them.

“Well that was unexpected,” Striker chuckled trotting over to Lightning Dust snapped her from her stupor and causing her to turned a glare on him. Striker gave her an easy reassuring smile, and she relaxed at his words. “Why don’t you keep giving the orders and just tell me what you think of my plan. Though we might need to convince a few more sets of wings to join us.”

“But the commander said no aggressive recruitment.”

“Well, you just let me handle that. I’m the picture of passive and,” Striker glanced down at his medallion and casually picked up the cord with his hoof letting it dangle and spin in the air. “What Greenery doesn’t know can’t hurt her.”

Word of the incoming attack spread through the inn like a flame across oil. Greenery had barely finish sending the last of the knights off with their assignments when the murmur of the survivors had grown so noisy that she had to raise her voice when speaking just to be heard. Soon the ponies were gathering their courage or fear enough to approach her, panicked sad desperate faces asking what was happening.

“You’re not going to be able to reassure them one at a time,” Joe told her softly from behind the bar she’d been back up against as more ponies pressed in around her. Perhaps it was some bartender trick that allowed him to project his soft voice over the noise of the crowd and allow her to hear him clearly and easily.

Greenery looked back at him with an almost pleading look for help, but he just shook his head reminding her of his earlier words to her about how she needed to take charge of 'her show'. Looking back at the crowd of ponies Greenery took a deep breath and took a second to bite her tongue and steady her jaw before speaking. “Everyone quiet now!” She barked out and like a squad of privates the room and its near two hundred occupants fell silent and stood at something resembling attention. Even eyes that had not been on Greenery before turned their attention to her.

Greenery’s eyes swept coldly over the crowd to make sure all eyes were on her and for a moment her eyes were met by Striker’s, who stood at the far end of the room. For a moment they held one another's eyes until Striker gave her a nod and a reassuring smile. Greenery fought down her own nervous grin and fixed her eyes to the far back of the crowd trying to look at everyone and no one at the same time. “I know you all have heard about what’s coming and I know you're all scared, but you can’t lose heart. Yes, there is a force on it’s way to the inn, but it is nothing more then a group of cowardly demon worshippers and a hoofful of the dretches of the Abyss. My knights and I will protect you from them and any other threat that thinks they’ll find easy prey within these walls. We will protect you until Queen Celestia and the armies of Canterlot arrive to wipe out these vile creatures, and they will arrive soon. Make no mistake we have not been forgotten, not by Celestia and not by our gods!”

The sound of a few hoof stomps gave rise to a dull thunder as most of the survivors joined in, at least those who weren’t driven to tears by their fear or grief. The applause died quickly as most of the ponies quickly moved to secure what little they had and shuffle further back into the inn trying to put as much distance between them and entrance as possible. The few guards still left to keep the peace rushed quickly among the ponies, ears keened for any problems.

“A fair speech commander,” Joe commented still pacing about behind his bar, watching any pony that grew too close.

“I need you out there with me Joe,” Greenery turned back to him saying what she had meant to before the commotion. "You're as good as any knight here."

“Naw,” Joe shook his head and Greenery face dipped a little. Joe’s horn glowed with magic as a crossbow floated up from under the bar along with a bolt that loaded itself into the weapon. “Besides someone’s got to be in here in case anything gets through you lot, and protect my booze from this lot.”

“Nice speech, but you won’t catch me donating my body to that cause,” Striker gave a scoff and nudged the large brown pegasus stallion that stood next to him giving him a jovial smile.

“Cha-ha right, I didn’t sign up to be a crusader.” He laughed shaking his head causing his off-white mane to swish across his face.

“We should get out while the getting’s good,” Striker said with a flutter of his wings, “Just fly on out of here.”

The stallion gave him an uneasy look his own wings held tight to his side, after a moment he gave a weak laugh, “You think so bro, I mean aren’t there still demon flying around out there.”

Striker gave a shutter and shook his head as if trying to throw off a memory. “Aheh, don’t remind me. I saw a mare get ripped apart by one when they attack. I don’t think every piece of her hit the ground, and her friend got carried away, the gods know what happened to her. But things should have died down by now, there no other choice really.”

The stallion stared wide-eyed for a moment, his flanks twitching and his wings clenched a little tighter to his side. Shaking his own head joining Striker in the attempt to cast off the thought, he said, “Maybe we should just stay here, this place is pretty solid and the paladins can hold it. I mean their leader looks like she can take on an army herself and that Hellknight’s her second.”

A grin tugged at Striker’s lips but he resisted it and gave the stallion a critical look, “Come on buddy, way more experienced paladins have all been killed. They’re not going to stop anyone, pretty soon all the ponies in here will be dead or worse.” Striker said waving a hoof at the crowd, the other stallion looked up at the crowded ponies, mostly mares and many of them children and elderly that would be too weak to put up any kind of a fight.

“Look at this stallion,” Striker scoffed gesturing back to a unicorn standing with Silverstar who was outfitting the stallion with a suit of barding. “They offer him armor and maybe a sword and he thinks he’ll get to be some kind of demon slayer.”

The pegasus stallion looked over to the unicorn, his face clearly lined with fear. Sliverstar put a hoof on his shoulder and said something he couldn’t hear through the crowd. The unicorn took a breath and nodded seeming to calm a little.

“If we leave now we can hoof it until the battle starts, any demon around will head straight for the fight and we’ll be able to fly away without a problem.”

The stallion shook his head and shouldered past Striker shoving him back a step as he passed before turn on him with a look of disgust. “Run away if you want to, dude, but I’m not gonna die with my tail between my legs.”

Striker watched as the brown pegasus quickly pushed his way through the crowd to Silverstar. The surprise on the old guard’s face brightened into a grin and gave the pegasus a pat on the shoulder and an almost proud nod of approval. Striker smiled and turned to scan the crowd his eyes landing on a pegasus mare with an eggshell colored coat and a green and pink striped mane. He noted she was standing among a group of similarly colored ponies mostly old and young. As he watched she stepped away from them moving off alone to get something. With light quick steps, Striker moved through the densely packed inn avoiding contact with the other ponies and never losing sight of the mare. He did move directly to intercept her, but Striker knew he'd run into her eventually.

“You gave us no proof of Celestia’s imminent arrival,” The gruff voice of Crème Brulee resonated through the metal of his helmet. Greenery looked back to see the imposing figure of the Hellknight approaching from behind surprisingly quiet despite his massive frame and heavy plate barding. Though she didn’t show it, Greenery couldn’t help but feel the shame and insecurity of a scolded filly at his accusations, “You lied to them to serve your own interests.”

Greenery shook her head in denial, “No Queen Celestia will come, I don’t need any pony to tell me that to know it’s the truth.”

“Faith?” Crème Brulee snorted his obvious disapproval. Hellknights had no faith, not even in the word of law, they were merely its unquestioning upholders; dedicated to it in a degree that the most zealot follower of a deity would find extreme.

Crème Brulee turned to leave, and realizing she might have no other chance Greenery quickly spoke, “I’m sorry about Caramel, I… I couldn’t protect him.”

Crème Brulee paused and turned back to her and there seemed to be no softening in his cold blue eyes at the mention of his little brother. “Did he die with his sword in his mouth?”

Greenery hesitated at the technicality of the truth, it made no difference to her how the young stallion had met his end, but she couldn’t bring herself to lie to such a direct question from his older brother who demanded truth in every word.

“I see,” Crème Brulee took his own conclusions from her silence, accepting it as a piece of mundane news and turned once more to leave.

“He died trying to protect me,” Greenery quickly said, nearly shouting as if defending Caramel from one who was smearing his memory and sacrifice.

To her surprise, Crème Brulee paused again and looked back at her, “Since you survived I guess his life was worth something then. He was never going to be a proud Hellknight, but at least he didn’t die the sniveling coward I took him to be. You have my gratitude for giving him that chance.”

A coppery taste filled Greenery’s mouth as she held her tongue and watched the Hellknight leave. She remembered being assigned to train the timid, clumsy young stallion who had been rejected by every other order in the city. She remembered hearing the rumors of who his brother was and learned first-hand the expectations that were placed upon him. She remembered pushing for his acceptance into the Eagle Watch, she would make him a clerk, he was very good with paperwork. Finally, she remembered how he volunteered to go with her to find Gold, how she justified that she needed his help and that she would protect him. How could she justify condemning Crème Brulee after what she had done?