Rainbow woke up to the nuzzling of another pony on her cheek, most likely the only pony she would ever let nuzzle her like this. “Twi let me have five more minutes. I don’t want to be cold again.” She heard a giggle come from above her. “I already gave you ten minutes Dash. Please wake up.” Rainbow let out a groan of annoyance.

“Agh, Fine” The pegasus opened her eyes to look at the one who disturbed her slumber. Finding as she expected a lavender alicorn looking at her. Twi had clearly gotten out of the bed at some point. This fact was reinforced by the fact that she had her coat on except the hood. Most likely to let her be woken up by Twi’s nuzzling and not the coats thick insulation.

The rainbow maned pegasus stretched her legs out, letting out a large yawn. Shifting the heavy blanket off of herself. She got out of the bed and stretched her wings as a shiver went down her body at the blast of cold air. “I miss coffee Twi” Dash whined. “As do I Rainbow but we have work to do and it's 5:40” Twi said in a comforting voice wrapping a wing around Rainbow. “Yea yea I know.” Rainbow huffed and leaned it to the wing hug.

Rainbow felt the alicorn tense against her as Twilight's wing brushed against what had to be the pegasus’s ribs. “Rainbow how little have you been eating?” Rainbow sighed and looked away from her marefriend. “I’m fine Twi, Scootaloo needs the food more than me. She has no pony looking out for her.” Rainbow felt Twilight sigh against her.

“Rainbow I understand that but you won’t be able to help her, me or anypony else if you're too weak. You need to eat what little food you're given.” Rainbow felt Twilight warp her lavender wing even tighter around her barrel. “Please Dash, I don’t want you collapsing somewhere in the City and d-dying of hyperthermia.” Rainbow looked at the wooden floor and thought about what Twilight said.

Rainbow knew the alicorn was right, but Scootaloo didn’t have a big sister and brother like Applebloom. Nor parents and a big sister like Sweetie Belle. “Look Rainbow Scootaloo has Sweetie Belle with her everyday at the Coal Thumper. If something happens to Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle will be there to help.” Rainbow took a deep breath then nodded.

“Ok, so normal routes?” Rainbow asked, changing the topic as she left the warmth of the alicorn’s wing. She went over to her coat and put it on. Then grabbed a pair of saddle bags and put them on, last she grabbed her last piece of equipment. A rifle that was anchored to her left side in such a way that it wouldn’t get in the way of her flying if she needed to.

Carrying a weapon constantly had been cool at first. But the novelty of it wore off fast. Rainbow knew why she was armed but it still felt off to her as she wasn’t used to carrying a weapon. But she already used it once to scare off a griffin who had nearly attacked her after being told he was moved to an extended shift at the sawmill. So she was thankful for the gun, but it still felt wrong to her.

“Yea it seems like it.” Twilight nodded her purple eyes focusing on Rainbow. “Dash it's going to be negative fifty today.” Rainbow whined like a little filly at the fact it was getting even colder. “Why isn't it cold enough already?” Twilight rolled her eyes at her marefriend’s whining.

“Apparently not Rainbow, but there are a few things that might change your routes I’ll tell you in the hallway so we don’t wake up the others.” Twilight said as she opened the door and slipped out. Rainbow followed her out of the room without question.

Once they were out in the hallway Twilight elaborated. “As I said it’s getting colder it's going to be negative fifty today. Also a new law will most likely be signed today and it has to do with amputees.” Rainbow’s eyes gained a look of concern, a look she only let her close friends see. “What’s going to happen to Apple Bloom?”

Twilight answered. “She is going to be moved to a new building called a Care House where they will take care of her as the name implies.” Rainbow interrupted “Ok but why are you telling me this?”

“I was getting to that Dash.” Twilight said with a hint of annoyance. “Oh sorry” Rainbow let out a sheepish laugh. Twilight just continued talking “Could you go to the Hothouse early and warn Applejack about Apple Bloom being moved to the Care house.” Twilight didn’t like asking Dash to do this as she knew she was putting Rainbow on the spot. But she didn’t want AJ to return to her bunkhouse and have a big sister style panic attack when Apple Bloom wasn’t there. AJ was also less likely to get physical with one of her friends.

“Sure but she’s not going to like it.” Rainbow said as she knew Applejack would be furious. “I know that but it's better than her just finding out.” Twi said knowingly. The cyan pegasus had to agree with that. “Yea you're probably right, Twi”

“Sorry to put you on the spot like this RD.” Twilight apologized. “You’re good Twilight. Anything else?” Asked the cyan pegasus. “No, Nothing I can think of right now.” The alicorn chose not to tell Rainbow about how they had been caught by the Captain. That could wait till later.

Twilight gave Dash a quick peck on the lips. “You better get going if you want to catch AJ before she starts working.” Rainbow nodded, turned around saying “I love you.”

“Love you too” Twilight replied as Rainbow headed for the door, opened it and went out in the freezing cold.

The freezing cold hit Rainbow like a brick to the face, causing her to almost stumble. “This fucking cold.” She muttered as she regained her balance. The fact it was supposed to get even colder to today did not help her mood.

Looking around the city center she could see a few other creatures that had extended shifts starting to go to work. As Rainbow walked farther out from the bunkhouse a voice called her name.

“Good morning Rainbow, how are you on this fine frozen day?” Looking towards the sound was an earth pony stallion wearing a coat like her, but was colored gray.
He also had a rifle like her. His name was Cromwell, he had deep green fur and a short sandy yellow mane, with bright yellow eyes that she swore they were spotlights. He was one of the few guards in the city and one of the few creatures in the city she would call a good friend, other than her old friends.

“Cold, you?” Rainbow replied, as she started to turn towards the street that led to the hothouses. “Yea same here, Hey are you friends with Ms. Applejack?” Rainbow snorted at that. “Yea you could say that.”

“Wonderful! Would you also happen to know where she is at this time?” Cromwell asked as he caught up to Rainbow as the Generator continued rumbling behind them. Rainbow looked over at Cromwell as he approached. Why did he want to find AJ?.. Eh, she trusted him enough. “I’m going to her right now, she’s normally at the Hothouse by this time.”

“Mind if I follow you to her? I would like to speak with her.” The stallion asked keeping pace with the rainbow maned pegasus. Rainbow answered his question. “Sure just don’t slow me down.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Cromwell said as their hooves went from frozen ground to wood planks. Both ponies stayed to the right side of the road, because of a steam pipe that spit the wooden road in half. A few creatures passed on Rainbow’s left most of them were likely heading to the coal mine and getting their ration on the way.

Rainbow spotted two fillies walking together, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. The pegasus had caught them as they left the street that was between the second row and third bunkhouses. A tired looking Rarity followed the two fillies as they walked down the main road that led to the Generator. Rainbow just sighed as they passed each other.

As both Rainbow and Cromwell got close to their destination the once-apple farmer came into view. She was standing in front of the Hothouse wearing standard city getup and her signature hat on top of it all.

The hothouse grew all the food that the herbivores of the city ate as nothing grew in the Frostland. Thanks to earth pony magic still working they could grow food daily but only in the hothouse as it was aided by something called a Steam Core. A very rare resource from what Rainbow knew.

The building itself was one and a half stories tall and was shaped like a trapezoid with one side going much further out then the other. The building was a mix of wood and steel with bits colored green like all buildings that were related to food in some way.

“AJ I need to tell you something!” Rainbow called out to the orange mare. “Don’t have time to; works about to start!” Applejack started to head into the building. Rainbow needed to get her attention.

“It’s about Apple bloom.” Instantly AJ turned to look at Rainbow with a fire in her eyes that she was not expecting to appear so fast. “So y’all have finally come to throw her out. Right? Well it ain’t happening, unless it's over my cold body.” AJ had stomped over to Dash and had become muzzle to muzzle with the rainbow maned pegasus. A growl left the throat of the element of honesty.

Now there were few things that truly scared her. One was Twilight being angry, the next being the thought of losing her wings, the third being an Applejack ready to fight to protect Apple Bloom. The instincts of a big sister were on full display in Rainbow’s face, to say she was scared would be an understatement. “That’s why you brought him along isn’t it!” The farm pony accused, pointing a hoof at Cromwell. Rainbow now understood why AJ had gotten so mad so quickly.

Rainbow was about to say something to try to calm Applejack down but the guards pony spoke before Dash could. “Miss Applejack I will have you know I am a father.” Applejack snapped her intense gaze to Cromwell which worried the cyan mane as she knew AJ was unlikely to attack her. But with Cromwell she wasn’t sure about that, even with the gun he had.

Cromwell took a step forward challenging the farm pony. “And as a father and the leader of the guard I will never let a foal be thrown out of the city, lest the Captain wants to lose his head. You got that?” He said staring AJ down with his bright yellow eyes. AJ flinched under the intense gaze of the guards pony, but quickly rechallenged him. “Then what’s y’all going to do to Apple Bloom?”

“We are going to do nothing to her Applejack, She is simply being moved to the new care house building, as stated by the new law that will be signed today.” Cromwell answered in a level tone. Rainbow saw this as her moment to jump in the conversation and try to stop any fighting from happening. “That’s why I wanted to talk to you AJ to warn you about Apple Bloom being moved.”

Cromwell turned his head to look curiously at the pegasus, almost ignoring Applejack. “How did you know about the new law?” Rainbow rubbed the back of her head with a hoof nervously. “Twilight told me this morning.”

“Fair, I was sent to do the same thing by Ellis. It seems we were both sent to warn the Queen of the Arena.” Cromwell said with an air of amusement in his voice.

With the tension in the freezing air noticeably lessened. Applejack took a second to calm down. “So what will it be like in this care house?” Asked Applejack as she wanted to know more about where Apple Bloom was being moved to.

“I don’t know the specifics of the new law, but I know she will be eating half rations because she can not work. But she will be in a building that receives medical grade heating.” Cromwell answered.

“Really? We can afford that.” Applejack said happiness filling her voice at the thought of Apple Bloom being warm in this freezing cold.

Rainbow knew the answer to that question. She was the pony who ran production notices from the workplaces to the Captain after all and she couldn’t help but look at them. “We can AJ but barely, the amount of coal we’re making is just enough.”

Applejack looked back at Cromwell, she knew asking a favor from the pony she had just yelled at was not a great idea. But guards were the only ones that could give her permission to be late to work. “Can I go tell Apple Bloom what’s going to happen. I know works about to start and all, but-” She was cut off by Cromwell.“Yeah sure” He said with a shrug of his shoulders “But on one condition.” He stated. “And what's that?” Applejack asked, eyebrows raised.

“I want to fight you in the Arena in two days.” He said with a cheeky grin on his face. “Now that's a condition I can accept.” Rainbow watched Applejack leave heading towards the bunkhouses.

“Well it was nice seeing you Rainbow but I have a job to do, so I’ll be on my way.” And with that Cromwell was off, leaving Rainbow alone to do her job as well. “First stop saw mill.”

The City’s discontent 57/100

Hope in the City 44/100

Author's Note

Bit of a slow chapter. But tell me what you think in the comments below If you’d be so kind.