Pony Veracity (Return to Mount Aris)

It had been over two hours with no contact from the lightly armed military rescue operation convoy sent to Mount Aris in the sea of clouds in the San Palomino Deserts region of southern Equestria. After being forced to run to the frontier ghost town of Appleloosa, the convoy was attacked by the buffalo herds. The tension at Ponyville, one air and space base, can be cut with several knives to relieve this tension. Shogun Justice Silverlight, the commander of this base, ordered all his family members to take R&R and let the Imperial Alicorns military personnel monitor the situation.

As expected, Shogun Justice Silverlight's family members refused to leave their battle stations in the main tactical command center at the Ponyville One air and space base until they re-established contact with the lightly armed military rescue operation convoy. Furious with this, Justice raised his voice, which quickly caught the attention of his whole family.

Nauseating spurts of adrenaline course through their veins, hearing their father raise his voice at them; this also surprises his mate, Daimyo/Executive Officer Celestia Silverlight. Who has seen every side of her mate Shogun Justice Silverlight since she appointed him her personal guard in ancient Equestria, but this one.

"Foals and relatives, please respect Justice's command…Yes, we are worried about the operation, but there is nothing we can do right now. So take the ordered R&R and let the Imperial Alicorns military personnel monitor the situation for now." Celestia said in a calm and tranquil tone of voice, easing the anger and tension in the main tactical command center.

“Yes, Daimyo Silverlight.” The family members said as the Imperial Alicorns military personnel relieved them.

“My love…you should also follow your command and take some R&R," Celestia said calmly as she rested her hand on his shoulder considerate.

"I am sorry, Celestia…" Justice said, ashamed, as Celestia kissed him on his cheek affectionately.

"Not at all, Justice…I am happy that I didn't get you that mad when you served as my personal guard…I might have had second thoughts about marrying you." Celestia said jokingly as Justice heard the substantial pip-plops of his Alicorn wife's large barefeet leaving the main tactical command center. She was carrying her black high-heeled pumps in her hand.

It's a few hours later. Shogun Justice Silverlight, with his back toward his office door, is much calmer than before. He sits in his fourteen by eighteen-square-foot office and looks out the picture window on the top floor of Ponyville, one air and space-base administration buildings at the new Ponyville.

His ears on top of his head perked up. He heard the door open and the click-clack of a high heel on a Yukon hickory hand scraping the solid hardwood floor of his office. Walking toward his desk was an elegant-looking light blue pegasi mare with a long, sleek, peach-colored mane and well-kept straight tail.

Her 5ft 10in sleeky muscular equine figure was attired in the midnight blue women's standard skirt uniform of the imperial Alicorn tactical infantry civil defense unit. This variation of the midnight blue women's standard skirt uniform allows the mare soldier to wear the pumps on her barefeet or with nude-colored no-show foot covers.

On her ten-inch-long Egyptian-shaped light blue, naturally beautiful, slender, and elegant mare's bare feet, which were black high-heeled pumps with two-inch stiletto heels, if you could see through the sides of her shoes that she had exquisitely shaped arches on both her feet, with moderate arch heights.

If you could see through the toe boxes of her pump, you would also notice that the most prominent feature of her feet was her longer big toes and elegant forty-five-degree downward slant of her remaining toes. This particular aspect of her feet easily accommodates the standard sizes of women's shoes, as her toes are at a tidy, symmetrical angle.

Her elegant and beautiful standard-sized light blue feathered bird wings were folded on her back. This Pegasi mare was Warrant Officer One Thetis Sheer, the adjutant/secretary of Shogun Justice Silverlight, and his most loyal mare since discovering she is the direct descendent of his late Royal maid Diana Sheer from ancient Equestria. Plus a member of the imperial Alicorn tactical infantry civil defense unit.

As for the Tactical infantry Civil defense unit, this is in response to a high number of Terran ponies wanting to protect this new Equestria. The Civil Defense unit is highly trained and motivated. It works hand in hand with Imperial Tactical infantry from the Imperator Alicorn military. The civil defense unit's main job is to be an urban police force for cities without its own protection. These soldiers may only intervene in a city matter if they are requested by the city leaders to do so.

"Miss Sheer…pumps off, please," Justice asked casually as Thetis paused momentarily to slip her feet out of her pumps, knowing that her ancestor wore her shoes on barefeet or nylon foot covers.

“Yes Shogun…" Thetis answers as she pip-plops in her elegant barefeet carrying a holographic computerized clipboard resting on her forearm toward Justice's desk.

"The commander of your tactical infantry desert squad has arrived on the planet of Equus, Justice…she will be coming shortly, "Thetis reports, swiping two of her fingers over the touch screen of a holographic computerized clipboard.

“Thetis…remains at my side. I need you to take some notes for me." Justice said as a small hole big enough for a single mare foot to be inserted appeared on the ground beside Thetis's feet.

"Yes, Justice…" Thetis said, conscientious as she inserted her right bare foot into the hole in the ground. From a second hole in front of Justice appears a single ten-inch, Egyptian-shaped light blue, naturally beautiful, slender, and elegant mare barefoot with crème finished cardinal red toenail polish.

Soon, a smile begins to grow on Miss Sheer's equine snout as Justice strokes her very sensitive, creamy, smooth, light blue bare sole with his single finger, tracing the contours from the gentle round ball of her foot through her exquisitely shaped arch and ending at her supple curved heel before following the same path in reverse, digging his fingers into her delicate toe stems when he reached the top, causing Miss Sheer to stifle a giggle.

The direct descendant of his late royal maid, Diana Sheer, from ancient Equestria, has also developed her ancestor's uncanny ability to quickly read her master's mood and act accordingly. In this case, allowing her master to tickle her very sensitive bare sole has calmed him down even more.

Back at the salt block in the frontier ghost town of Appleloosa, Diplomat Rarity Radiance has returned from the Imperial Alicorn Reverie, which she spend only a few minutes in. But it felt like a few hours of having her incredibly soft and pillowy light gray (more toward the white spectrum) bare soles tickled by Shogun Justice Silverlight as they discuss the situation with Diplomat Twilight Sparkle. At the end of the secret meeting, the two ponies don't decide on Diplomat Twilight Sparkle, and Shogun Justice Silverlight suggests that Rarity play it by ear.

‘Even having that secret meeting in reverie with Justice…didn’t generate any satisfying results for this situation with Twilight…But I did learn that my feet get more sensitive inside the Imperial Alicorn Reverie…which caused me to laugh a lot harder.’ Rarity thought, putting her shoes and socks back on before walking back into the main room of the salt block.

“Staff Sergeant, where did Twilight go?" Rarity inquires as she comes upon an unchanged situation with the long-range communication kit frantically being repaired.

“I saw Diplomat Sparkle sneaking out of town…” an imperial Alicorn mare dressed in a US cavalry uniform answers as the crowd collectively gasps.

"Is she that foolish, Miss Radiance?" Angeletta asks as the mare explains that Twilight waited for the guards to change shifts and slipped out of town unnoticed.

"In ancient Equestria, she would never…But this is a new Equestria, and Twilight is not the same." Rarity answered as Angeletta quickly picked four of her best commandos to locate Diplomat Sparkle.

"By the sun's mercies!! Don't burn the soles of my feet!!!" Twilight's voice explodes out of her as a buffalo warrior holds a lit torch close to the bare soles of Twilight's feet as nervous sweat glistens on them.

"Then talk pony…that lizardfolk say your kind was bring us more guns." The buffalo chief said as the warrior held two lit torches before Twilight's bare soles as sweat ran off them.

“By suns mercies…I don't know what you are talking about? What lizardfolk? I know no Lizardfolk at all." Twilight cries out in a voice raw with terror as flame tips lick at the pads on the underside of her toes.

"Very well, little pony…throws this mare into her cell…Next time, little pony, we are burning those soles of yours….Till you tell us where those guns are!" the buffalo chief threatened as they untied her wrists and ankles, tossing her barefoot into a wooden cage.

The moment Diplomat Twilight Sparkle snuck out of the frontier ghost town of Appleloosa, she was spotted by a buffalo scout, as she had no idea where to look for the buffalo herds surrounding the town.

When Twilight was far enough from the town, a buffalo scout knocked her unconscious. This buffalo scout was very familiar with unicorn magic and slipped a disruptor ring on her horn. The buffalo scout tied Twilight’s hands behind her back. With her still out cold, the buffalo scout untied her boots and pulled them off.

He then proceeded to pull her socks off, exposing her magnificent pair of slender ten-inch-long light purple Egyptian-shaped bare feet with glass-flecked emerald green toenail polish. Before carrying her back to the buffalo camp, the buffalo scout tossed her boots and socks into the gully, knowing that if they finished with her, they would send her walking back to town barefoot with her soles burned.

Once the buffalo scout returned to the camp with the mare, they tied her to a post and tied her ankles to a wooden frame, holding them in the air to torture her feet. With everything ready, they woke her up. At first, Twilight had no idea why her feet were being held in the air like that, but she quickly found out when a buffalo warrior waved the flame close to the soles of her feet. So close she felt the heat come off the flame, causing her feet to begin sweating profusely to cool them off.

"Rarity was right…This, not the old Equestria…not my Equestria." Twilight's voice breaks as tears streak her cheeks, knowing she will be crippled went they burn the soles of her feet if she doesn't answer the question.

"WERE IS THAT MARE!?" the buffalo chief voice carried to edge impatience, finding Twilight's cage empty with her bare footprints leaving the camp and boot prints heading back to town.

(Back at the Salt Block)

"I don't care if you are friends with the Shogun! You jeopardized me, your friend, and my team by going out on your own! Till further notice! You are confined to this salt block, and to ensure that you don't try that again, you will not be issued replacement boots and socks…Miss Sparkle!" Angeletta said sharply as she snorted at Twilight with displeasure.

"From all the desert planets I have been sent to…There is one thing I know: the ground gets hot when the sun is up and cold when it goes down…so walking around barefooted, even for you, will not be a pleasurable experience! Understood, Miss Sparkle! (Nods her head)” Angeletta said spitefully as she gestured to a guard to take Twilight up to one of the rooms in the salt block to confine her.

“Staff Sergeant…I am like Twilight…Are you going to confine me?” Rarity inquires, and Angeletta gives Rarity the side eye when she asks that question.

"The thought did cross my mind, Miss Radiance…I was the imperial Alicorn assigned when you were revived…so you know my answer, Miss Radiance." Angeletta commented as the breath caught in Rarity's throat.

"Indeed, Staff Sergeant…indeed, Miss Glamour." Rarity said, knowing the two mares were discussing the new development with the Buffalo herds.