The Factions of Equestria

The next morning...

It was the loud scream from Sweet Apple Acres that woke Ponyville up at 6:00 AM. While everypony was awake and wondering what that noise was, Luke ordered his ED troops to follow him to the Apple farm.

They were not prepared for what they saw.

It was a mess. There was apple mush on the ground. The dirt in the fields was disturbed, indicating that the veggies that once grew in the soil was harshly pulled up. The trees had bullet holes in them, and brass casings littered the dirt. The chicken coop had blood dripping from the ramp, the pigs were either injured or dead, and the sheep were bald and shot.

"Good lord..." Luke said, shivering at the chilling sight.

The other members were staring...mouths agape. One of them had to turn away from the gruesome display to avoid throwing up.

"Come on, guys. Scout the area." Luke commanded his troops.

The men saluted and walked around the area, searching for the culprits. Luke and Michael went directly to the farmhouse, and saw Applejack crying on the ground. She was curled up, and tears pooled the ground underneath her.

"Applejack! You okay?" Luke asked, genuinely concerned.

"T-they took e-everything!" Applejack managed to choke out, "T-they took t-the harvest...a-all the money....b-but most o-of a-all..."

"Yes..?"

"T-they took my little sister!"

Applejack stood up and collapsed at Michael's feet, and he hugged her.

"Shh, shh. It's okay. Don't worry. We're gonna take care of it." Michael said, holding Applejack close to himself.

"Damnit! Who could've done such a thing?!" Luke said, his rage building up.

"I'll comfort her. You go ahead and order the troops to search for clues."

"Yeah, alright."

Luke got up, cupped his hands over his mouth, and yelled to his troops.

"I WANT EVERYONE TO SEARCH THIS PLACE FOR CLUES TO WHO DID THIS! LEAVE NO STONE UNURNED!" He yelled so loud, the windows of the farm rattled.

The ED troops wasted no time searching high and low around the farm for anything that could identify a culprit. They searched the farm, the fields, and even in the trees. The hunt continued for fifteen minutes, until someone in the farmhouse shouted for Luke. He ran inside, and an ED member held three little triangular objects in his hands.

"What the fuck are those?" Luke asked, raising an eyebrow.

"These are rubber wedges. Someone came in and put them under the doors to stop them from being opened." the member said.

"Someone knew what they were doing, and wanted to keep them contained."

The member pointed to the shattered door, that belonged to Applejack's room. The other wedges must have been pulled out from underneath the other doors. However, Apple Bloom's room was wide open.

"Someone came in, stole crops, and Apple Bloom. But...that's an odd combination of items. Who steals crops and then an innocent filly right after?" Luke asked.

Another voice yelled from outside, calling for him. He took the wedges and ran outside to the man who was calling for him.

"What did you find?" Luke said, frantically.

"This," The ED member said, holding out a loose piece of cloth.

Luke took the object and examined it closely. It was a piece of red and black cloth, and there was a slimy substance on it. Luke sniffed the liquid, and he determined it to be saliva.  Luke thought for a moment, until he determined what it was.

"This is a gag rag," Luke said, "This was shoved into somebody, or somepony's mouth to keep them quiet. I guess one of them got their gags off."

"Who could've done this?" The member asked, his shotgun resting on his shoulder.

Luke unfolded the rag, and upon seeing the three letters that stood for the clan of the most disgusting humans all across Equestria, Luke was seething with rage. He clenched the rag in his fist and roared with anger, making nearby crows fly up into the sky.

"What should we do?" The member asked, "Should we tell Princess Celestia about this?"

"What good would that do? We don't know where the FTP is based, let alone where Apple Bloom could be! We have no guides, and no ideas! All we got is a couple of wedges and rag!" Luke said, a big vein bulged out of his forehead.

"Calm down, Luke. Calm down. We'll get to the bottom of this. We just gotta keep looking."

Again, someone calls for Luke. He hurried to who called him, and listened to what he had to say.

"Luke! Look!" The third member said, pointing to the ground.

Luke looked down and noticed footprints, and long lines on the ground.

"What could those be?" Luke asked the ED troop.

"Those are wheel tracks," he replied, "There are six lines on the ground, indicating there were three...what we can guess would be wagons due to the hoof prints on the ground, at this location."

"I think we can safely say that this wasn't just a random robbery-plus-kidnapping, this was deliberately planned."

"Indeed."

"Come. Gather some troops to help follow these tracks. When you're done, report to me."

"Yes, sir!"

The troop saluted and gathered four more men and they ran on the road, following the tracks.

Luke turned back at the mess that used to be the peaceful farm that supplied food for the majority of the town, but was then transformed into a terrifying scene that was the result of the gruesome and cruel activities enjoyed by the FTP. Luke returned to the farmhouse, where Michael was still hugging Applejack in an attempt to comfort her.

"Mike. We have confirmed the culprits of this deed." Luke said to his trusted friend.

"Let's hear it." he responded.

"The FTP came and raided this joint, destroying what they couldn't take. However, their purpose for taking Apple Bloom is a mystery."

"Well, what are we waiting for?! Let's go kick their asses!"

"Do YOU know where their base is?"

"Well...no..."

"Exactly. We have to figure out where the base is, retrieve the crops, and most importantly...Apple Bloom."

"Yes! But...how?"

"We will discuss it at base. For now, I want you and two more guys to stay here and protect AJ and her family."

"On my honor."

Luke orders two more men to stay with Michael and the Apple family, and takes the remaining two with him back to base. When they return back to their base, they find the five men have returned...and they had very useful news. They sat in the lobby, and Luke paced the floor...ready to ask questions.

"What did you find out?" He asked the members that followed the tracks.

"The tracks go right into the Everfree. DEEP in the Everfree." One said.

"Did you go any further?"

"No, sir. The tracks went to some rocks, and they disappeared."

"Anything else?"

"Well," Another said, "We found and took a piece of meat off the ground."

"What? Meat? As in, muscle from an animal?"

"Yes. The meat appears to be cooked and salted, but that isn't the important part."

"Then what is?"

"The meat has skin connected to it. Or...scales."

The member hands Luke a slab of salted, cooked meat. Luke examines it closely. It is tough, and almost feels like a rock. The scales were tough, and brown. It also let off a rather bad smell when he applied pressure to it.

"We should hand this over to a professional," Luke started, "If we figure out what creature this belonged to, we can determine where this came from. If we figure out where this came from, we can find out where the FTP is. This could be the food that the FTP troops were eating and living off of."

"I will get it checked out right now." A troop said, taking the meat and going outside.

"We will continue the investigation when the results come in. Until then, I want everyone to be on their toes. Be ready for anything."

"Yes, captain!" The troops said together.