The Factions of Equestria

That same day...

Roseluck didn't know what was happening. Ever since two men invaded her home...she had been blindfolded, gagged, and thrown into a silent room and left there.

Suddenly, she heard the sound of a door opening. A pair of boots entered the room, and she heard a masculine voice speak.

"Hm......that one." It said.

She squealed as she felt herself getting harshly pulled by her mane. After getting up on her hooves, she was being guided through a long hall. She could hear the echoes of her hooves and the boots as she walked. Suddenly, she stopped...and heard another door open. She was then dragged inside and she squealed as she felt the gag get viciously ripped from between her lips.

Outside her blindfold, an overweight man sat behind the desk. He wore a specially made red and black uniform, a badge with the initials "FTP" engraved on it. He grinned upon seeing the blindfolded Roseluck.

"Happy hour, already?" He asked the FTP guard who dragged Roseluck inside the office.

"Yeah. We owe it to you after you gave us that useful info. You were right: Eliminating Ponyville's food supply would certainly cripple the town," The guard responded.

"And there's more to come after this."

"Yeah, yeah. So, what do you want done with this one?" The guard referred to Roseluck, who squealed in fear.

"I think I want a 'show'."

"Okay then," The guard knocked on a door on the opposite side of the room, "Bring in the horned one."

Right after he said that, another guard comes in...dragging a mint colored unicorn with him. The gag was ripped from her mouth, and she whimpered in fear.

"You got Lyra, too?" The fat man asked, surprised, "Nice find. Perfect. Okay, now get out! Let me have my happy time."

"Ugh, you make me sick...but you being our best info source, I'm not gonna question," A guard said, a sickened look on his face.

The two guards exited the office, and left the fat man with the terrified Lyra and Roseluck. The fat man pulled a Desert Eagle out from a drawer in his desk and chambered a bullet in it, slowly and loudly so the two blindfolded mares would hear it.

"Okay," He started, "Step towards each other. Slowly."

The two mares stepped approached each other, staggering...still unable to see, until they were nose-to-nose.

"Stop. Good. Now, start kissing."

"B-but, I have a boyfriend!" Roseluck started.

"You're never gonna see him again. Now, start smoochin' before I start shootin'."

They hesitated, before the two began kissing...much to the fat man's amusement.

"Heh heh, yeah." He laughed a deep, grizzly laugh.

A guard entered the room without knocking.

"Administrator! The young Apple Bloom has awaken! It's 10:30 AM" He said.

"Damnit," The fat man started, "Why don't you ever kno- wait...she is?"

"Yes. Don't you want to begin your daily brainwashing for her?"

"Of course! Here, take these two whore-ses back to the mare pens immediately."

"Yes, sir."

The guard took Roseluck and Lyra back to their pens as the overweight FTP member lumbered towards a wooden door in the back corner of his office. He unlocked the door and entered. Inside, a yellow filly with a red mane and tail lay on the floor. She has no blindfold, but she had a gag. The fat man smiled warmly at her and sat down.

"Okay," He started, "Are you gonna be my daughter?"

Apple Bloom shook her head.

"Well, you will. You will love me like a father."

Apple Bloom again shook her head.

"Plus, the sooner you say you will...the sooner you'll be able to eat again."

Apple Bloom teared up, but still shook her head.

The fat man sighed, "I will come back later, and I'll ask you again"

He left the room and sat back in his chair. He pulled out a piece of paper, and began writing on it.

Entry number 1

This is the first day of the brainwashing experiment. Of course, I'll let no harm come to my daughter. I want her to grow up healthy. In order to do that, I will give her privileges as soon as she says she will love me. However, I had to let her starve in that room alone to make her desperate. As soon as she begins saying "yes", the brainwashing will take affect.

Until then, I must get back to work.

Signed, Administrator of the Froggy Bottom Bogg FTP compound.

Meanwhile...

Luke and his entire squad of 24 members marched their way through the Everfree. While Luke studied the map, he lead the whole clan on the trail straight to the swampy lands known as Froggy Bottom Bogg.

"Luke?" Michael asked his captain.

"Yeah?" Luke responded, not taking his eyes off the map.

"Are you sure we're ready for this?"

"What do you mean? We have trained hard for a moment like this. We are skilled soldiers!"

"Skilled, but not experienced."

"...you may be right, but there's a first time for everything. Besides, these guys were just chumps that hid behind their computer screens and talked trash in our world. They're likely too dumb to know how to chamber a bullet."

"Let's not get too cocky."

"I'm just trying to keep my confidence up. I mean, our lives are in danger just going on this trail. I'm scared, you know?"

"You are?"

"Of course! I could possibly die today! However, knowing I could die trying to free a slave, or save a life...is the best way to go in my opinion."

"Wow...that's....deep."

"Heh...that's what she said."

"Oh shut up!"

The two shared a laugh, and continued to walk through the dense forest. Occasionally, a pair of glowing eyes would peek at them through the bushes...but would flee upon seeing the army on the trail. After about an hour of walking, they see a clearing at the end of the trail. The large amount of mud, insects, frogs, and the overall swampy environment told them that they went the right way.

"Well, here it is." Luke said, taking in the surrounding area.

"It's...gross." A female ED member said.

"I know."

"Luke! Look!" Another ED member said, pointing.

Luke looked in the direction that was pointed, and was shocked to see what it was. Far off to the right, there was a large corpse of a Hydra lying in the mud. There was a large hole cut into it, and inside it was hollow. It was reduced to simply a shell made of scales and held up by its skeleton.

"Good god!" Luke yelled, "If they managed to take this thing down...maybe I should rethink what I said earlier."

"They took down one of Equestria's most powerful beasts! Maybe we should just turn back..." Michael said, shaking in his boots.

"No. We're gonna attack them today, and I don't care HOW long it takes!"

For the next thirty minutes, Luke and the ED clan trudged through the thick, gooey mud. Occasionally swatting at a mosquito. After lots of walking, and with tired feet, they finally found the FTP base. It was much larger than they anticipated. They expected a camp, or a cabin...but it was like a CASTLE. Stone and mud bricks alike made up the walls, there were towers that could be seen peering out from inside, there were two small doors on the left and right sides, and there was a big wooden gate in the center.

"Holy crap," Luke said, "It's a lot...bigger than I expected."

"So, what's the plan?" Michael asked.

"Okay. I want you and twelve members to wait by the left door, and I'll take the other twelve to the right door. When I blow the air horn, you will kick down the door and begin shooting all members you see. I'll do the same. Remember, we are searching for the missing ponies...but don't be afraid to eliminate any and all opposition."

"Perfect plan. Okay. I'll take them. Good luck, Luke."

"Godspeed."

Michael took his twelve members to the left, and Luke took his twelve to the right. Luke got in position, hot his air horn out...and hesitated. He took a second to think about everything that had happened in his life: From his fourth birthday, to sharing a bed with Twilight. Suddenly, he realized he still had something important to do. In ten seconds, I'm gonna blow this horn...and it'll start.

Inside the FTP admin office...

The fat man watched his clock, and then the next hour finally struck.

"Oh, good!" He started, "Time to try brainwashing again!"

He barely managed to get the key inside the lock when he heard the sound of an air horn.

"What the-"

Suddenly, the loud sound of gunshots rung out throughout the outside of the complex. An FTP member busts into the room, his nose bleeding.

"Sir!" He started, "We're being attacked!"

"By who?"

"The ED clan! They found us!"

"Shit," The fat man pulled an auto shotgun out from under his desk, "Well, I'll be here waiting for them."

"You chubby motherfucker..."

The FTP member left the room, and left the fat man in his office.

"They will NOT take her away from me..."

Outside...

It was brutal outside. Upon entering, the ED clan fired at three FTP members...one of them suffered a bullet in the head. The FTP and the ED were forced to use the buildings for cover from the massive amounts of lead flying through the air.

"Luke!" Michael yelled as he ducked when a bullet hit a nearby wall, "What now?!"

"Search the buildings! Find the ponies!" Luke yelled as he peeked form his cover and shot at a rather persistent FTP member.

Michael took his squad into a rather large stone building. There was a desk with a set of keys on it.

"Excellent," Michael said as he picked them up.

However, right when he grabbed them, an FTP member jumped out of a closet and popped a bullet into Michael's arm.

"Agh! You little shit!" Michael yelled in anger as he and his squad peppered the man with more lead than a bodybuilder would ever have.

They continued to advance through the building, and stumbled upon a metal door. Using they keys, Michael opened the door and gasped when he saw many mares and a few stallions locked in wooden cages.

"Bingo!" Michael said as he let the other members in.

"Roseluck!" A member yelled as he pushed through the squad.

"Axel? What are you do-"

Michael's sentence was cut off when Axel grabbed the wooden bars and ripped them off, snapping them apart. Axel then pulled off Roseluck's gag and blindfold.

"A-Axel?!" Roseluck asked, hardly believing who it was, "Is that you?"

"Roseluck! Oh, I missed you!" Axel responded as he showered his marefriend with kisses.

"I thought I was never going to see you again!"

"I'd hate to interrupt this heartwarming reunion," Michael started, "but other ponies want to be freed too."

"Executive Michael!" One member asked, "I don't see Apple bloom in any of these cages!

"Maybe she's on the second floor..?"

"We'll keep looking. Come on, keep watch while we open the cages."

Michael ordered his twelve members to guard the first floor, while he went by himself upstairs. On the second floor, there weren't any cages...but there were footlockers. Michael opened them, and gasped when he pulled out one of the objects inside. It was indeed a gun, but he was shocked to realize what it actually was: It was a WW2 era Grease Gun.

"Wait, how come THESE haven't been showing up inside the air drops?!" Michael said as he took the weapon with him.

Walking past the crates of similar guns, he discovered a barrel brimming with soda cans. Upon inspection, he realized they had fuses sticking out of them.

"Hm..."

Outside...

Luke and his twelve members were getting into an intense firefight with the FTP. There were a few that have positioned themselves on the wall, firing down at Luke and his squad, while others took cover behind crates and tree stumps outside.

"They're fucking everywhere! And these shotguns can't do SHIT at that range!" One ED member yelled.

"Use your slugs!" Luke yelled over the loud gunshots.

Without asking a question more, the ED members emptied their shotguns of buckshot and inserted slugs. As if they practiced many times, Luke and his squad emerged from their cover and blasted at the FTP members. The ones on the walls got hit in the chest, and all fell off...the impact killing them if the bullets already didn't. The ones behind other cover suffered a similar fate, minus the fall. Suddenly, it went quiet. Too quiet. Luke signaled his members to follow him towards a building with the FTP's logo spray-painted in red on it.

They entered the building and looked around, surveying the surroundings. It simply lead to a stone staircase that went up. There were rooms on the left and right sides, leading to Celestia-knows-what.

"Six of you, check the left. The other six check the right." Luke ordered his loyal ED members.

"Yes, captain!" they responded as they ran into the assigned rooms.

Luke then proceeded on his own up the stairs and through a hall. His boots clomped on the stone floor as he walked to the door at the end of the hall, his shotgun in his hands. Loaded and the safety off.  He practically snapped the knob off as he viciously opened the door, and walked in.

Luke gasped as he saw the fat man, the administrator, standing behind his desk with an automatic shotgun pointed to him. However, the shotgun wasn't the thing that shocked Luke. It was who the fat man was...

"RANDY?!" Luke screamed as he realized who he was looking at.

"Hey Luke!" Randy smiled at his old friend, "Long time, no see!"

"Randy..? Wh-what is happening?"

"Well, you see...I made the right choice."

"Huh?"

Randy sat in his leather chair, his shotgun still pointed at Luke, "You see...back when we were part of the PAP, I would sneak outside at night with a hole that I dug in the floor. Yes, I do have SOME muscle."

Luke nodded.

"Anyways," Randy continued, pushing his glasses up his nose, "I was approached by some FTP members one night while on one of my walks. Their first idea was to kidnap me, but after seeing that I was unarmed...they offered me a deal that I simply couldn't refuse. In exchange for information, they would give me whatever I wanted. So, I snuck out and met the FTP guys at the Everfree's entrance. They said that they spoke with command, and that command agreed to an exchange."

"Command?" Luke asked, "You mean, you're not the leader?"

"Me? A brony in the FTP a leader?" Randy said as if he was speaking to an idiot, "Dude, I'm simply the admin of this base. When I tell them something they would like to know, they give me things I want. Specifically, the hottest mares in Ponyville."

"That's...awful!"

"Not really. They don't see anything. Only feel." Randy said as he waved his eyebrows.

"You sick fuck!" Luke gritted his teeth, "You betray your friends, kidnap ponies, and rape mares!"

"Well, 'rape' is such a strong word," Randy said, smiling, "I prefer to call it 'struggle snuggle'."

"You disgusting hog, what did you do with Apple Bloom?!"

"Her? Oh, don't worry. She's just gonna be starved until she agrees to be my own daughter."

"Dude...that's...just not right!"

"Why not? With her being like my own daughter, she can have everything she ever wants, her own servants, and power!"

"Dude...you had friends back in the PAP. You were appreciated!"

"Appreciated?!" Randy let out a grizzly laugh, "That's a joke! I was just the bumpy guy who handed you guns! Well, look at me now! I'm successful! Not to mention, you also rebelled from Jack."

Luke hesitated, "True, but we had a reason. Jack was in it for himself. I rebelled for the right reason. And now, I'd devoting myself to keep ponies safe. You could have joined me. How could you have thrown it all away?" Luke asked.

"I have something better than that now, " Randy dryly said, "Power, mares, and guns."

Luke stood there, staring and hardly believing what was happening.

"Well, I think we've been talking long enough. And I think we both know what has to happen next. So...you ready?"

"Burn in hell, asshole!" Luke said as he pulled his shotgun up.

Without hesitation, Randy pulled HIS shotgun up and fired at Luke. Luke took cover behind a crate and heard rapid fire of shotgun buckshot smash against the wood.

"Can't hide behind that box forever!" Randy yelled over the gunshots.

Suddenly, he heard a sizzling noise. Luke turned around, and saw Michael lighting a soda can with a fuse in it. Michael chucked it into Randy's office, and the office filled with smoke.

"What the fuck?!" Randy yelled as he was surrounded by a thick cloud of smoke.

"Motherfucker!" Michael yelled as he and the other members shot into the office.

They weren't necessarily aiming for just Randy, but just shooting into the cloud of smoke. Not stopping until their magazines were empty. Finally, the bullets ran out...and they ejected their empty mags. After a minute, the smoke cleared up...revealing the bloody mess. There, lying lifelessly on the floor, was Randy. He was a bloody mess, holes all over him. Luke had no time to react to it, there was a muffled noise coming from inside the closet.

Luke pulled the door, actually ripping the knob off the door, and opened it. Inside, Apple Bloom was laying on the floor. She noticed Luke and let out muffled noises to get his attention.

"Apple Bloom!" Luke yelled as he ran to her and pulled her gag off, "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?!"

"N-No...he just...left me alone in this creepy room. A-and he kept trying to say that he was my new Dad" Apple Bloom said, shaking.

"Well, you're safe now. You're going back home. Michael! You find the other ponies?"

"Yes, sir!" Michael said, "And one of which was reunited with a special member of our clan."

"Outstanding. Okay. We'll loot this place later. Until then, let's get the mares and stallions back to their homes."

"Say no more."

With that said, Luke picked up Apple Bloom and carried her outside. In the courtyard, they could see that plenty of hours have passed. Nighttime was nearing. Outside, the kidnapped mares and stallions were being guarded by ED members...just in case there were any more FTP members left. Luke stood before them, and began speaking.

"Everyone!" Luke said, "You have all been freed! Please, allow us to escort you back to your homes in Ponyville."

The mares and stallions smiled and Luke signaled everyone to follow. They all trudged through the mud, exited the Bogg, and walked along the dark trail through the Everfree. Normally, ponies would be scared going through the Everfree forest...but with Luke and his army escorting them, they never felt more relieved in their lives. Apple Bloom felt safe being held in Luke's arms as Luke walked on the trail.

"Where'd you guys get that badass weaponry?" Luke asked, pointing at the Grease Guns.

"The FTP had the armory right above the holding cells." Michael responded.

"Heh, idiots."

After more walking, they finally exited the Everfree Forest. They finally reached Ponyville, and there was a crowd waiting for them. When they arrived, the crowd exploded in cheers. Everyone was yelling and cheering upon the arrival of their friends and family members returning.

"Apple Bloom!" A southern voice yelled.

"Applejack!" Apple Bloom responded, jumping out of Luke's arms and right to her older sister.

"I missed you so much!"

"I missed you too! Luke saved me!"

"Well," Luke said, "Actually, if it weren't for my friend Michael here, I wouldn't've been able to rescue Apple Bloom here."

Applejack stopped hugging her sister and approached Michael from behind. She poked him. Michael turned around and before he could say, "Yes?", she got up on her hind legs and planted a big smooch on his lips. She got down and looked at him.

"Thank you, Mike." She said, sincerely.

Michael blushed deeply as Applejack walked away with her sister, looking back at him and winking.

Luke looked around and took in the heart-warming sight of everyone reuniting with their loved ones. Suddenly, Luke fell down and his vision was a blur of purple. He was face-to-face with Twilight, who pounced on him...tears in her eyes.

"I'm guessing you were the one who gathered this crowd?" Luke asked as he stroked her mane.

"It was all she talked about!" A nearby pony said, "She was worried sick!"

"Y-yeah! I was so worried about you! You could've died, Luke!" She said as she held onto him. Her hugging and kissing turned into her giving Luke a punch in the gut.

"Ow! What was that for?"  He asked.

"For making me worried sick about the man I love!"

She went back to smothering him with hugs and kisses, and the rest of the night was peaceful. Luke ordered his troops to keep watch that night...after what he did to the FTP base in Froggy Bottom Bogg, the FTP likely weren't happy.

That night, Twilight spent the night with Luke. They snuggled with each other, until she poked him.

"Yes?" Luke asked.

"I really worried about you, Lukie," Twilight started, "I love you...and I don't want to lose you."

"Don't worry about me, Twilight. I'm devoting my time to make the world a safer place for you and everyone else living in Equestria." Luke gave her a genuine smile, which she returned.

"Well, I don't think you know how much I missed you...and I am determined to show you how much I love you."

"How?" Luke asked, scratching his head.

Twilight's horn lit up, and a sparking noise could be heard.

"What did you do?" Luke asked.

"Sound-blocking spell," Twilight said, smirking at Luke.

"Why-....oh my..." Luke said, blushing deeply.

Twilight turned off the lamp, and...well, let's not get descriptive about what happened next.