Of Radiance and Sacrifice

Of Radiance and Sacrifice

Present Day

Manehattan Port

     It was an hour before dawn, the port showing no signs of life save for the boats. Freighters moving in and out, cranes shifting metal crates, cargo containers being pelted with a light, early morning rain. The whole scene looked grey and gloomy.

     Amidst the sea of containers was a warehouse. And a vehicle seemed to be moving towards it. It stopped in front of the structure and out stepped a pony wearing a trenchcoat and a dusty stetson. Grabbing a metal case from her seat, she shut the door and leaned into the car.

     “Keep er runnin. Just in case things get a tad messy.” she ordered the driver. Her accent sounded western.

     She made way for the warehouse door, the rain peppering her coat. Opening the door, she stepped inside and shut it behind her, the sound of the rain hitting the ground becoming muffled. The place was relatively dark only being lit by a few light bulbs hanging above. The pony walked towards the middle of the room where a lone table stood and placed the briefcase she carried upon it.

     Not a moment later, two ponies emerged from the shadows in front of her, one slightly taller than the other.

     “Miss Applejack, we meet again” the shorter one called out in a jovial voice. They stepped into the light. The tall one had yellow fur and a brown mane whilst the other had black fur and a blue mane. Both were unicorns.

     Applejack gave a simple nod “Ain't it true, Glassy. Let’s be quick ya hear. Never know who’s listenin.”

     “Of course, of course” The duo moved up to Applejack and the tall one placed their own case on the table “To business. The key to the container that houses your cider - ” he unlocked his case and turned it towards Applejack “ - for fifty-thousand bits.” It was filled to the brim with gold bits.

     Applejack unlocked her case and spun it around. “Tha key to shippin container EQSU 6346 as promised.” They both closed their cases and locked eyes. Applejack held a straight face with no emotion whilst the buyer, Glassy, smiled.

     The click of a revolver being cocked echoed throughout the warehouse. “Right. We will be taking the key and your money. Oh and your life” he almost sounded giddy. Glassy picked up both briefcases with his levitation whilst his silent associate had the weapon trained at Applejacks head, ready to fire.

     As the trigger was pulled, Applejack ducked and flipped the table on its side. She took cover behind it as two rounds were fired, penetrating the weak use of cover leaving her with one bullet grazing her shoulder. Picking up the table, she charged at the gunman ramming it into him. The force caused him to stagger and throw his firearm into the air.

     Applejack leaped and grabbed the revolver by the mouthpiece, landing on all fours. She aimed for her target before he could get up. One round entered through his eye socket. Screams of pain filled the room as blood poured from where his eye used to be. Bits of both flesh and blood falling to the floor. Another two rounds were fired, one to the chest and another to the head, silencing the shrieks. Applejack then turned the weapon towards Glassy who didn’t move an inch. She bit on the mouthpiece to fire… Nothing… She’d run dry.

     Glassy turned and ran but before he could reach the exit, Applejack pulled her own silver plated revolver out of her trench coat and fired. A round pierced his hind leg leaving a gaping hole in it. He stumbled to the ground, crying out in pain as blood began to pool around his leg. Applejack slowly walked towards her prey, eyeing him.

     “Ya just couldn’t take tha goods and be gone could ya?”

     Glassy began to whimper.

     “Shhh. Quiet now” Applejack ran the tip of the revolver over his lips then put it back in her coat. Using her hooves, she gently lifted Glassy’s head towards hers. Then, with as much force as possible, she slammed it into the ground. A resounding crack rang out alongside more cries of pain. She got up and violently used her hooves to beat his face in, continuously punching it into submission, blood spurting over her face as she did it.

     By the time Applejack was done, Glassy’s face was nothing but paste. She took a step back and sat down, breathing heavily.

     Silence. It filled the building. Nothing but the rain hitting the roof.

     “Well done”

     Applejack’s ears perked up. She spun around, pulled her gun out and pointed it towards the sound of the voice. A cloaked pony with cloth covering their muzzle sat atop a wooden crate eyeing her curiously. Despite the gun being pointed at him, he showed no signs of fear.

     “Red Death” she called out

     “The one and only.” He pulled the mask down “But please, Frost will suffice.”

     Applejack still had her gun drawn which made Frost sigh.

     “Look AJ, if I wanted to kill you, i’d have done it whilst you sat there looking at that poor sods face.”

     She tucked it back into her coat. “That’s fair. So… did ah steal your contract or somethin? Or are you just here to watch ponies die?”

     Frost chuckled at that “Perhaps the former… Or both. Who knows.”

     The thought unsettled her “Well?” Applejack was getting impatient

     “Well… way I hear it, the Apple family ain’t doing all that well. After the war, you turned to cider to make coin. But then the prohibition came along and fucked up the game, ushering you into a life of crime.”

     “Psht. As if ah had a choice. Ah have to provide for mah family. And it didn’t help that tha laws that were supposed to ‘protect’ the innocent now work against em. Fuckin Celestia. Tell me, why are ya really here?”

     “Because I believe that together we can work towards a mutual goal, that in this dark time we can do what this ‘government’ has failed to do. Celestia need to go and we need only strike”

     “Why?”

     “Because it’s right. Because it’s necessary…”

     Applejack took in Frost’s words. From what she could gather, he was looking to destabilize Celestia’s empire. There was just one question…

     “Who are ya running with?” Applejack inquired

     “Princess Luna” Frost responded

     Two thoughts entered AJ’s mind. The first being that Luna wants to take over her sister. The second?

     “Another royal looking to recruit me?”

     “What? Celestia wanted you too?”

     “Yeah. But I happily declined. She looked pissed though.”

     After a brief moment, Applejack spoke again “Look, i'm in. If it means gettin back at Celestia for all tha shit she’s pulling then ahm all for it. That and ah might have some information about tha kind of operation she’s got runnin there.”

     Frost got up “Well then. Shall we vacate the premises?”

     “Lets” Applejack grabbed both the briefcases.

     As they walked towards the door, Frost pulled out a paper and pen. Holding the pen in his mouth and the paper with his metal fingers, he scribbled out a message on it.

     “What’s that for?” Applejack asked

     “An old friend. You know where that abandoned tower in the middle of the city is?” AJ gave a nod “Meet me at the base of the tower at dawn, two days from now.” At that, he took flight.

     “Righto.” Applejack walked toward the vehicle parked outside. Opening the door, she sat down inside.

     The driver looked into his rearview mirror “Where to, ma’am?” he asked

     “Times Square”

     The car sped off towards the city center

     The skies above the Crystal Mountains were pretty clear. A northerly wind blowing clouds towards Baltimare. Snow flakes slowly falling down the mountain with the sun's rays making each flake glisten.

     A group of pegasi pulling a metal cart appeared, flying just below the clouds. One was pulling and there two flanking the container on each side. They were armed with battle saddles and looked paranoid, watching every cloud they passed as if they could be attacked at any moment.

     “Keep your eyes on that scanner!” one called out

     “I am!” the one beside him said

     He was looking at a device strapped around his foreleg. Nothing “It’s clear” then he heard a blip. Multiple blips. Looking back down at the pad again he saw there were multiple red dots scattered around the outside of the screen. And they were closing in on the convoy’s position. “We have multiple reds closing in all around us!” he yelled to the others.

     “Shit! Get ready everypony!”

     The blips got closer and closer and… they all disappeared “What the…” One red reappeared on screen to his right. “To the ri-”

     He was cut off by a bullet ripping through his skull. His body became limp and spiraled down to the surface. A yellow streak flew past, nothing but a blur.

     “It’s her! Fly faster.” the pony on the left commanded

     Each pegasus picked up the pace, one landing on top of the container in a battle stance. “Come on!” she yelled out at the clouds. A second later she felt an impact in her chest, a searing pain causing her to fall on her haunches. “Fuck…” Her body flew off the top of the cart and fell just as her friend’s did.

     “Keep going. We can make the mountain!” A female pegasus exclaimed.

     The white tips of the Crystal Mountains came into view. And so did a yellow pegasus, flying directly toward the pony pulling the load. In a flash his wings had been shot off, blood spurting out of the stumps. He screamed in pain and fear as his body stung and he plummeted towards the ground. The yellow pony flew over the wingless pegasus and grinded atop the crate, grabbing the back before she fell off.

     On the back there were two doors that she opened quickly, swinging inside. There were shelves full of mechanical bits and pieces strewn everywhere. “Come on, where is it?” she mumbled under her breath, throwing parts aside. The two remaining guards had lined themselves with the back of the container and were now firing into it in hopes to kill the one inside. “Shit” Turning around she saw the part she’d come for, mentally hoof pumping as she grabbed it. Reaching into her pocket she pulled out a round object and placed it on top of all the junk.

     Extending the metal fingers within her hoof she punched in a code. Once it was done she spread her wings and leaped out of the cart, passing the two guards still diving towards the load. She turned around, pulled out an smg and with two bullets dispatched the remaining opposition. At the second pull of the trigger the cart exploded, showering the air with scrap and metal.

     Satisfied with the turnout of the op, the pegasus flew up into the cloud layer towards her home.

     In less than ten minutes she’d made it back to her cloud home. This high in the air, no pony would have found it. She stumbled towards her front door, pushing through it. Once it was closed she trudged towards her bathroom, throwing her score on the cloud couch as she passed it. At the sink she flipped the handle and let the water run, splashing some of it on her face. She sighed, raising her head to look at her reflection in the mirror.

     Her yellow coat and orange mane were slightly wet. She wore a white shirt with a sleeveless, grey vest on top “Look at you. Captain of the Wonderbolts to nothing more than a forgotten face. How’d you let it slip Spitfire…” Another sigh.

     Once she’d dried her face, Spitfire headed back for her lounge. Upon looking at the coffee table in the middle of the room she saw a piece of paper  “What’s this?” She picked it up with her fingers and read the note etched on it.

The game is live and with it a shot at redemption.

You know where to find me

-F

     “The game is live… Cheeky cunt” Spitfire chuckled to herself  “I’m in.”

     Walking over to her fireplace she lit the paper on fire and chucked it in, watching it burn.

     “A shot at redemption. We will see about that.”

     Princess Luna faced an empty horizon from an empty tower. She had just lowered the moon and awaited the sunrise. The sounds of a waking city came from below, cars and commuters filling the streets even this early, ready for the day ahead.

     The noise of door hinges squeaking came from behind her and out stepped Applejack and Frost.

     “Why. Mornin Princess” Applejack greeted

     “Good morning Honesty. Thy wasn’t expecting your presence” She turned her head towards Frost who just gave a slight nod. Luna reciprocated the gesture. All was still until a blur flew in through the window Luna stood at, landing next to her. It was Spitfire “Spitfire? Yet another unexpected appearance.” Luna felt somewhat bemused.

     “Oh. Hey Moon Butt” Spitfire dusted herself off and bowed towards Luna who just glared at her.

     “Right.” Luna drew attention back to her “Vinyl Scratch should be arriving momentar-”

     The door hinges squeaked again and opened to reveal the DJ “Aight Luna, i'm…” Vinyl paused. “Woah… Ok. Talk about a reunion. What’s with the whole get together?”

     “What do ya mean sugarcube?” Applejack questioned

     “What do I mean? Correct me if i’m wrong, Applejack… is it? But all of us were present at the Canterlot invasion. You were probs in the castle, I was with a bunch of ponies and Luna, Spitfire and Frost were… you know… fuckin shit up. So blam! Reunion.” Vinyl clapped her hooves together.

     Spitfire just looked at the DJ “Okay?”

     Vinyl looked from Spitfire to Frost and back again. “What’s with the glossy finger shit you two have?” she asked, pointing to their hooves

     “Ask Luna” Spitfire remarked

     Frost had taken off his cloak “Those are nothing compared to these” He gestured to his hind legs which were covered in a brownish cloth. He pulled said cloth up to reveal two legs made of metal from the knee below.

     Vinyl shuddered at the sight “Ok, ok. Enough. Why are we all here?”

     Spitfire raised a hoof into the air “I forward that question”

     They all turned their head towards Luna.

     “Well… We are all gathered here because each of us feel that my sister, Celestia, is abusing her power and her rule must end. Am I correct in assuming such?” Each pony gave a little nod “Then we must do so. End her rule.”

     “Wait, wait wait. You want to fight Celestia?” Vinyl exclaimed. “You said run events and parties not challenge that crazy bitch!” Luna looked over at Frost who just shrugged. “Eh. But hey. There's a first time for everything. I'm down, as long as everypony else is down.”

     Applejack tipped her hat. Frost gave a little nod in agreement. Everyone looked at Spitfire.

     “Psht. As if i’d pass on this opportunity. I’ve been waiting for this from the beginning” Spitfire grinned.

     Luna exhaled “Then it’s settled. Celestia shall fall”

     They all stood in a circle for a minute, looking like idiots.

     “Uh. What are we gonna do?” Vinyl asked, kicking her hoof into the ground.

     “I dunno” Spitfire scratched the back of her head. “It’s not like we even have an HQ.”

     “Or funds” Applejack added

     “No. Not yet at least.” Frost got up “Luna, don’t you have access to the royal treasury?”

     “Had. Tia restricted access once the war ended.” Luna sighed

     “Surely she must have another location holding the some of the bits?”

     “No she… Wait! The Vanhoover Bank. She has reserves there.”

     “How much we talking here?” Frost questioned

     “Five point three million”

      Almost everyponies jaw dropped “In reserves? Aight. Everypony follow me.” Frost commanded

      Spitfire spoke up “What you thinking Frost?”

     “How does a heist on the Bank of Arietis sound?”