Sky Captain and the Equestria of Tomorrow

Industry had come to Equestria.

In the city of Manehattan, homeless ponies in tattered quilts and plastic bags wandered the streets aimlessly, looking for refuge from the harsh, poisonous air that had permeated the streets and alleyways like a dense fog. Those without a place to go had lost themselves in the massive forest of skyscrapers that reached their fragile fingers toward the sky in a vain attempt to become goddesses of their own celestial bodies, capable of making or breaking the world as they saw fit.

In one alley, a small green colt coughed up blood, his body leaking precious life essence from a stab wound that he'd been gifted with, his final moments in this dingy, suffocating atmosphere spent reminiscing over a time when he wasn't fearing for his life. He sighed, his eyes closing at last as he gave up his fight for survival once and for all. The city of Manehattan had claimed a life.

Out on the bay of the city, a young filly squealed with delight as she darted ahead of her parents to the wharf. An enormous ironclad ship loomed ahead of her, its whistle screaming as loudly as she was. So caught up was the tiny foal in her reverie of the enormous feat of modern engineering that she was witnessing that she momentarily forgot where she was. Suddenly, she found herself sailing through the air into the river, her lungs swiftly filling with stinging salt water as she lashed her hooves about in a feeble attempt to stay afloat.

The parents of the filly shouted in surprise, the both of them hurriedly reaching the edge of the dock she'd launched off of, the father calling for help while the mother danced agitatedly, fear and hopelessness in her eyes. Nopony came, and the mare sank down to the edge of the dock, tears instantly coating her face as the stallion crumbled to the ground, a haunted gaze adorning his visage. The tiny filly finally ran out of energy, her body sinking swiftly into the water as a single bubble floated to the surface, popping as it reached the oppressive climate that gripped the city. Manehattan had claimed another life.

Thirty stories up one of the corporate palisades, a lone mare opened the window that joined her cubicle to the world outside. With eyes bloodshot and once-elegant yellow-and-white mane now a faded shadow of its former self, she climbed outside onto a small ledge that was just wide enough for her to stand upon. She began singing belligerently, garnering the attention of several other ponies on the floor. They began to exclaim over her bizarre and unproductive behavior.

The mare, for her part, didn't deign to notice her comrades, instead focusing on strolling the tiny buttress and continuing her miserable serenade about days gone by and opportunities lost. She hiccuped, her tan-colored body no longer comfortable with the large amount of questionable drinks that she'd partaken in this morning. One of the earth pony’s legs caught a lip that jutted out of the sill and she stumbled, her vision spinning as she tried to crouch down low to the tiny concrete outcropping.

Too late. One of her hooves slipped off the ledge, the mare quickly losing balance as she toppled over the side of the building. Her vision started to fade as she traveled faster and faster toward the ground, then the contents of her stomach decided to eject themselves. As the unlucky pony continued to plummet toward her certain doom, she unleashed a torrent of foul-smelling bile in a congealed blob beside her, the nasty liquid following her as she continued to fall.

She met the ground with a meaty thud, several ponies exclaiming in surprise as several bones cracked, the vomit she'd ejected crashing down in a pool next to her fresh corpse, mingling the smells of garbage with those of alcohol, stomach acid, and blood. The passersby turned their noses up in disgust, appalled at the inconvenience of having to see such a sight on their early-morning strolls to the respective towers that they worked in. Manehattan had claimed yet another life.

It was in this very city that a lonely mare in a nondescript alleyway was found grinning wickedly, anticipation dancing across her features. Her time had come.

The blind, deaf masses that saturated the streets of Manehattan were something to be expected. Ever since Princess Celestia had announced the new funding on creating machines that ran on oil and steam and promised the ponies a life of relaxation while automatons did their jobs for them, they were awaiting the paradise that had become expectation. With the increasing reclusiveness of Princess Luna, they found themselves turning more and more to their benevolent Goddess of the Sun. It had sounded like a dream come true, but the reality of life had been cruel and uncaring. Now they suffered in the most popular of bustling cities, eyes endlessly on the future that they still dreamed would someday happen.

In one of these nondescript busy sidewalks, a mare suddenly turned about and bucked another mare that was walking by.

The victim stumbled away in surprise, her humdrum routine jarred into reality by a hoof in her face. She fell to the ground, stunned.

The attacker pressed her advantage, leaping atop the other mare and delivering another well-placed buck that cracked against her jaw.

A short ways down the sidewalk, a stallion leaped onto another mare trying to get on with her boring life, the suited pony too shocked to do anything other than let him bear her down to the ground. Once there, he began raising his hooves, letting them crash against her as her head snapped backward and repeatedly thudded against the pavement.

A stallion passing by made a noise of disgust before putting his hoof on the shoulder of the other stallion, stating plainly, “Hey, buddy. Whatever she did, it ain't worth this.”

Rather than receive a reply from the stallion he'd just addressed, the white knight felt a skull crash into his ribcage. He fell down onto the street, his eyes wide as he stared at his attacker. A mare had just headbutted him at random.

A policepony happened to be walking by, quickly noticing a brawl escalating. He approached the warring ponies, his commanding tone barking attention. “All right, all right, break it up! Let's stop this before things get any uglier!”

In response, several ponies who had been passing by turned quickly and began attacking the officer, his look of surprise quickly erased by several hooves and a buck directly to his face. He crumpled to the floor, curling into a ball as he snatched up the whistle that dangled around his neck. He put the whistle to his lips and blew as loudly as he could.

In the midst of the shrill squawk of the policepony's call for help, a hoof crashed down atop the whistle, shattering it and eliciting a shout from the helpless stallion. Three ponies continued to thrash the helpless pegasus who sobbed and wished for an end to such senseless violence.

Slowly, the crowd of fighting ponies grew larger and larger. As the aggressors rippled out in waves, panic began to spread through the city. Ponies in enormous corporate buildings pressed their faces against the windows in a vain attempt to see what was happening outside, all facades of completing any work that day thrown to the wind and whipped away as the fighting mob roiled through the streets.

The policeponies had tried to stem the tide of attacking ponies... until some of the officers turned on each other. Their line quickly crumbled as policeponies joined the mob, sweeping up the hapless citizens in a shocking display of violence.

Dispatchers continued to take in call after call describing the senseless carnage that was occurring on the streets below. All available officers had been mobilized and more officers were being called in for emergency shifts every minute, but still nothing stemmed the wave of ponies that beat innocents senseless.

The Chief of Police sat behind his desk, a nondescript chocolate-frosted doughnut with an innocent bite taken out of it resting next to a cup of slowly cooling coffee as he pointedly ignored them, stroking his bushy grey moustache in consternation.

“Um... Chief Silverstar?”

The stallion shot his head up, his musings interrupted by a small, comely mare. “Hmm? Yes, what is it?”

“The city is in shambles. No squad has reported back since encountering the mob.” Her voice had a very serious tone, one that Silverstar had never heard her use before. “We need help from somepony.”

“Hmm... yes, yes we do.” He stroked his moustache again briefly. “I guess... we should radio her. Not my ideal way of handling things, but I'm fresh out of ideas.” He focused again on the mare in front of him. “Miss Twist, would you please do the honors?”

The secretary nodded obediently. “I will, Chief Silverstar.”

Twist returned to her desk, picking up a radio microphone and pressing several buttons. She cleared her throat and spoke into the microphone, her voice filled with urgency. “Emergency protocol 90206, calling Sky Captain, come in Sky Captain. Repeat, calling Sky Captain, come in Sky Captain. This is emergency protocol 90206, calling Sky Captain....” She continued to repeat the message, her frazzled red mane quivering as she awaited a response.

Twist's words radiated outward and upward, away from the police station to be picked up by all radios. The broadcast reached far and wide, many ponies turning their heads as their music was interrupted by the a mare pleading for help.

A lone fighter plane cruised just above the clouds, coasting along the air currents. Where other birds dared not fly, this one enjoyed itself, the solitude and peace it so avidly desired achieved here. It was free, unfettered by the twisted, gnarled Equestria below. Its simple propellor puttered away happily as the winds buffeted it into a clean and brighter future, the wings tilting ever-so-slightly as it bobbed and weaved around an endless cloudscape of gilded white puffs.

The waves of the broadcast found even this small airplane. A small antenna attached to the outside began picking up the results of what was being said, Twist's voice filling the cabin, shattering the tranquility that had once been held so dearly.

Inside this small airplane, a mare was swathed in flying leathers. She wore a brown aviator's jacket lined with sheep's wool, a matching brown leather cap, and a set of goggles that she peered out of with sharp, cunning eyes. Over her mouth she wore a brown scarf, its warmth her sole companion as she flew to nowhere.

She glanced down at the radio in slight irritation, her simple enjoyment broken by a mare calling for her specifically. She briefly considered ignoring it, but knew she couldn't.

She stuck out an orange hoof, snatching up the small microphone she kept in the cabin. Her voice, bold and confident, spoke reassuringly into the radio. “This is Sky Captain. I'm on my way.”

The lone pony in the sky eased the controls forward, her small plane changing tack to a steady descent in the direction of Manehattan.

With a grim look of determination on his face, an ochre-colored unicorn galloped into another alleyway, the seething masses of senseless ponies following him doggedly.

He had a stocky frame, not really fit for running long distances. He huffed and puffed as he attempted to escape the nightmare surging behind him, the glazed-over, expressionless gazes of the crowd fueling his desire to continue past the point of exhaustion.

He slid around a corner, the crowd briefly losing sight of him. Onward he dashed down the backroads of the city, attempting to lose the ponies that chased him ceaselessly. His pace slowed as the sounds of the strange maelstrom disappeared behind him. He paused to catch his breath, thankful that he had found safety at last.

His normally spiked light-brown mane was now slicked down with sweat, his body covered with the stuff. He sank down to the ground, knowing he’d pushed himself too hard, but not worried overly much. His respectable gut heaved as he fought the wave of nausea that threatened to envelop him.

“Tired?”

Instantly, his attempts to catch his breath were stolen away from him in a single wisp of oxygen, his body overtaken with another shot of adrenaline. His head snapped up to meet the eyes of the pony who’d found him.

Her coat was an electric blue, the white mane a shocking contrast. She was glaring disapprovingly at him through half-lidded eyes; the dark blue orbs within their depths indicated a spiteful mare that was both merciless and cunning. He noted the surprising lack of a horn or wings; despite being an earth pony, she was very fast and stealthy.

“Of course you’re tired. You’re a miserable creature.” Her lower lip simpered cruelly at him, feigning pity at his pathetic physique. “Think you can survive in the new Equestria? The one being born beneath our very feet? It’s rising from the ground, but you won’t be able to join us in the sky. Your life will be lost long before such things happen.”

The ochre unicorn rolled his eyes. “Like I’ve never been insulted for being out of shape before. Go ahead and do your worst, ugly.”

The haughty mare cackled. “I think I’ll let you continue to wallow in your misery. I want you to see things crumble around you some more before you writhe in pain and your heart stops.” She cantered dismissively past him, her sleek tail swishing behind her as she headed directly toward where the mob had been.

The stallion watched her leave with a quizzical expression. Nopony in their right mind would be heading toward such a thing. He lifted himself to his hooves to follow the bizarre mare.

The Sky Captain’s plane beared down upon the city of Manehattan in a low, swooping arc. She gazed upon the sunlight twinkling weakly against the buildings through the cloud of smog which had formed above the once-great landscape, then refocused her sight through the glass reticle which aimed toward the downtown area. She wasn’t here to admire the landscape; there was work to do.

She took her plane down between the monoliths that stood vigil over the dismal land, dropping to where she could get a good view of what was going on. The streets, normally filled with business and bustle, was now rife with widespread panic as citizens galloped and flew away from the apparent mob which she was swiftly approaching.

Suddenly, the terrified mob became a wall of brutalizing ponies. There was no gradual change involved; it morphed from panicked ponies to punching prudes nearly instantaneously. The line was constantly moving forward, with some of the ponies who had just been trying to run away suddenly turning to bash in the faces of other innocents. Pegasi would begin to fly away, then suddenly turn around and fly back into the fleeing ponies. Well-dressed unicorns would tear the expensive suits off their fellows that tried to escape in an attempt to drag them back into the melee. Earth ponies dominated the assault, their powerful hooves ramming into those scrambling away and causing them to crumple to the ground to be trampled underhoof.

She took in the situation as quickly as possible, trying to discern a pattern in the fighting. It seemed ponies at random were being picked out of the crowd and attacking, then, as they fell behind the others, they would fall to the ground. It was simply a wave that was moving forward.

The Sky Captain angled her plane down another street, zooming over the numerous bodies of ponies lying still beneath her, scouting out the entire area.

She quickly found where this wall stopped. This way, only a few ponies lay unconscious, and the rest of the street was desolate. It was as if the wave was only moving in one direction, not all directions. She then pitched her airplane upward, back into the sky.

After she’d ascended the skyscrapers, she fished out a pair of binoculars, a wing unfolding itself to hold them at eye level as she peered to the magnified street below.

From what she could find, there was indeed only the one front to the wave. She questioned why it would do such a thing, then noticed something bizarre: A slight bulge in the line in the middle of the street.

She swept her gaze to the street behind the rioters, looking for something amongst all the fallen. Her eagle eyes picked out the thing she was looking for: A single pony stood well behind the wave, her shocking blue coat making her stand out as she trotted in the direction of the wave. She paused briefly, then looked directly toward where the Sky Captain was observing her, seeming to make eye contact through the binoculars.

Sky Captain lowered her binoculars. It was time to go check out this strange mare. She pitched into a descent once more.

As she approached the location where she’d seen the strange earth pony, she began to get a feeling of unease. She wasn’t certain this was a good idea. However, considering the alternative of letting the crowd run rampant, she didn’t have much choice in the matter. Her plane wove through the enormous towers to where her target would be.

Upon rounding the corner, the Sky Captain noticed briefly that the wave had stopped. Ponies were still running, but it seemed more like a panic than a riot. It seemed like the fighting was halted.

She didn’t have much time to think, however, as she looked down at the street and glanced down at the earth pony, who had her eyes closed.

Suddenly, the earth pony leaped into the air, her hooves rocketing her off the ground and directly toward the Sky Captain’s plane.

There was no time to react. The blue mare reached the hull, her front hooves seeming to stick to the metal as she swung her rear hooves around, firmly planting herself on one of the wings. She began cantering toward the cockpit casually, the wind not seeming to affect her.

The Sky Captain knew what the mare’s plan was: to break into the cockpit and remove her from flying. She still had a few tricks up her sleeve, though.

She pitched the plane into a steep ascent, twisting the controls ever so slightly so it went into a lethargic barrel roll. She formed a wide arc, the wing sticking straight down as she leveled out, then she jerked the controls downward and to the side, causing a quick descent coupled with a suddenly much faster barrel roll. She leaned into the maneuver, becoming light-headed for a moment before she adjusted to the vertigo she was feeling.

The mare on the outside wasn’t so lucky. She hadn’t spent most of her life piloting a fighter plane, and so wasn’t expecting something so drastic. Her head began to spin as she lost focus, then her hooves lost their magnetic grip and she tumbled off the wing to land on the street below.

Sky Captain slowed her roll, evening out her plane to once again fly parallel with the ground, gaining a bit of altitude. Chances were the super-jumping magnetic mare was paste against the ground right now.

A quick glance downward told her that she was mistaken. The mare was gliding lightly downward, her hooves alighting softly on the pavement as Sky Captain watched in disbelief. She then locked her eyes on the front of the airplane, staring intently at something on it.

For a few seconds, nothing happened; then the plane began to lose altitude.

Sky Captain craned her plane into a descent, attempting to pick up speed, but the winds buffeted her plane into a nosedive. Sweet Celestia... she’s stalled the engine. A quick glance toward the mare showed her still focusing, not on the engine, but on the front of the plane. She glanced forward, then noticed that the propellor was no longer rotating.

She looked out the window at the pony who was about to ground her permanently. Beads of sweat stood out on the strange blue mare’s forehead, but there was no glow and no magical devices were laying around. She seemed able to affect the plane just by staring at it.

The orange pegasus then glanced back toward the swiftly approaching ground. At least she was going down flying.

Just as suddenly, her propellor started up again.

Bewildered at the sudden change of plans, the Sky Captain jerked downward on the wheel, causing the plane to shudder as its flaps quickly extended, allowing her to level out the plane. She swooped down, inches from the ground, and the belly scraped ever-so-slightly against the asphalt of the street.

The plane began gaining altitude again, the expert flyer letting out a whoosh of relief. She glanced back toward where she’d last seen the mare.

Standing over the unconscious mare was a slightly pudgy ochre-colored stallion.

“Snips,” she muttered in surprise to herself.

Standing over the unconscious mare, Snips watched the plane zoom away from him. He released a metal pipe with his magic, the bludgeoning object landing to rest once more on the wrecked hot dog cart which had been destroyed in the earlier melee. He gazed wistfully at the retreating ace pilot.

“Scootaloo.”