Chapters 'Paradise?'
“Freedom” no other word greater describes what it is to be a Pegasus. I can travel impossible distances at the flick of an ear, I can soar high over the ground and all at a whim. I am just one of the dwindling numbers of pegasi left in Equestria now. I am becoming somewhat of a rarity. I see my brothers and sisters of the sky and feel a gentle breeze of peace as I imagine their beautiful wingspans spread across the sky; blotting out the sun. I then look solemnly at my reflection in a liquid mirror in the dirt. We however are not free anymore, far from those crystal spires have we fallen, far from our blood right to fly, we are all fallen.
My reflection blurs further as ripples ebb from a passing ponies hoof. I do not speak to them however; they are my better. I dwell on my past, my lost freedom, and my friends… my friends. No more. My days which were once brimming with excitement now sour in the maw, beautiful days but alas no longer. I am a lonely soul, treading carefully in this alley so opposing to my home above. I wonder from this hovel I now call my bed and board and brave the cursing light of a brand new day. Skies lay empty, they are but paintings now. I scrape a hoof off on a sharp paving slab to remove the muck which clung like plaster to it. I feel as if I have lost purpose, lost reason, lost any motivation to go on. I have a creeping feeling like I am meant to be doing something but cannot remember. So long have I been grounded, the sky and all my hopes, they are nothing but dreams now. Great banners flutter about in the faint breeze as if their joyful movement was only to mock me. I then catch myself in a frosted shop window; winter didn’t seem all that fun anymore. Looking back at me was somepony I could not recognize. So dull, so lack lustre and grey, this couldn’t be me. But despite my denial it is me, even a mare as vibrant as I is grey from those polluted skies. I look sharply from this reality, my reality, the one which aims to break me. Those windows I spied are also just dreams now. No cupcake shall touch my lips, no hay fries shall I enjoy, and not even pittance shall be mine. The world is darker now, no bright manes light up the sky, no smiles shine down over pony ville.
I turn to return to my cold and unwelcoming dorm and continue unnoticed till another wing flap sounds behind. Dust clouds blow meekly across my path and a face enters my sight. But still I will not speak, I have nothing to say. I know my place. I know the mare, maybe only vaguely. She is familiar nonetheless, perhaps she hails from my previous life. Her subtle dirtied yellow coat is something of a clash against the dankness of the underworld.
“Umm… He… Hello” She breaks the silence.
“Leave me alone” I whisper back
“But… but Rain…”
“I am not the pony you knew, that part of me is dead now”
The more I become cold the more she warms
“Rainbow you need a friend right now”
I had the urge to fly, but the cost. The cost was more than I could bear
“I am not her anymore Fluttershy” I spit through gritted teeth
“I don’t understand” she whimpers back
I rear up and kick my back legs out as warning
“Fluttershy! I said I am her no more! Now leave me be. Leave me be!”
She fails to hide her teary eyed expression, she turns and walks away. We all have wings still. But none fly. Not the common pony anyway. I once again turn to my beckoning urine covered mattress and yield to its call. I finally grant myself rest for it is the only thing I still have, what I still have from before. I test a hoof against the fabric before committing to the sleep, creatures scurry about my dwelling; nibbling at the cardboard walls of what I called a home. What is home? Is it a place where you are safe? Because this, this does not feel safe. I am out, a lonely grounded Pegasus, in the shadow of the factories flanking where I lay. I catch a glimpse of my cutie mark before drifting off.
‘Waking’
I wake up to the reeking pestilence I had grown to endure. The sun was just dipping behind the horizon; evening had fallen earlier than I am used to. I shake myself frigidly to dislodge the snow that had fallen whilst I was sleeping. I wonder back out of the alleyway to the street, much quieter now. I am desperately hungry. I haven’t been able to beg for morsels in some days now. A chill creeps up my spine which spurs me to check behind me; I had the oddest feeling I was being watched. I then saw my filthy hoof prints in the snowy canvas, I am so cold. I catch sight of the market, well where the market would have been if I hadn't slept another day away. But I have however caught the scent of some overripe apples. I follow my snout; hoping it might gain me something. Soon I find something, such a find. I creep as quietly as I can up to an open garbage cart. Some of the apples were poking out of the concrete of rancid slush. I tentatively move my hoof up to snatch a meagre portion of food when I slip on the compressed snow and collapse onto the floor. A stallion stands over me; his face told me I was not welcome.”
“Get away from that you filthy urchin!” he shouts
“I… I’m so hungry” I plea, trying to gain purchase in the ice.
“I don’t give a flying feather! Don’t mess with my stuff!”
“Oh please! I need the food. I’m starving here!”
“It’s not my problem winged rat! Now clear off!” he shouts once more before taking his position at the front of the cart and wheeling it away. I grip onto my emaciated stomach. Heaving as I do I climb to my hooves and pursue the cart. As I hurry my pace I can feel my hooves slipping beneath me. I daren’t fly, the risk, the risk is always too severe. I can tell I am falling behind, in my starved and tired state I cannot muster the energy to keep up. The cart pony ahead turns around a corner sharply and to my pleasure the cart topples and the delicious nectar tumbles out of it. I take my chance and dart towards the fallen bounty; I progress quickly till a sudden pain in my cheek hinders me. I turn to see another dirtied, hungry Pegasus rearing up for another kick. I am far to dazed by the first strike to even consider dodging the second. Blood erupts from my open face wound. I fall to my stomach again and tightly close my eyes in fear of more unpleasantness.
“Cloud Chaser?” I call after the out of focus shape in the distance.
I hear them laughing at the grandeur of their plunder, that they might live to see tomorrow. The cart pony tries to fend the group off but is attacked brutally with teeth and hooves until he drags his dishevelled self away.
“Hey lookie here it’s Rainbow Crash” one of the stallions says as he approaches me
“Just don’t laugh at me okay? Just leave me be. Just leave me be…”
“Hey you look hungry Crashie… Don’t you want one of these apples?”
“No I want nothing from you”
He holds the apple tantalizingly close to my muzzle before snatching it away; leaving my teeth slamming shut.
“She actually thought we would share? You’re no better than us now Rainbow. On the ground you’re nothing!”
“I just need to eat something… I don’t know how much longer I can…”
“Aww too bad, it’s a dark and scary world Crashie. Pegasi are starving every day. What makes you so bucking special?”
“I don’t think that…”
The large stallion placed a hoof on the back of my neck and presses down.
“Go back to hole you crawled out of. Leave us to our feast” he orders as my face sinks further into the snow. I concede however. I leaver myself back to my hooves and drag my sore face and pride back through the winter battered streets back to my piss stained cardboard home. What is one more day without food? It’s been months now…
‘Punishment’
I wake to a heavy flurry of snow. I also wake to a horrid feeling of nausea. I feel as If I am about to be sick, and so surely. Shortly I am sick, only bile though. I haven’t eaten in weeks. I have made up my mind; if I don’t eat today I will die. I hobble out to the empty streets. A baker wheels his pies towards his shop. Why was he out so early in the morning? I try to sneak up on him. My time runs short. He takes a cautious check over his shoulder and spots me, he spots me as I stalk him. He pushes his trolley as fast as he can but he can’t escape me. I decide I need to eat today, it was worth the risk. I open my wings and try to take off, I fail at first. But flying runs in my blood, it is my right. It is what gave me my cutie mark. I eventually take off and swoop down on the trolley and relieve him off some of his pies. I fly out of sight and land back in my home. I have what I need to get through another day. Stale apple pie is on the menu, there is only one thing on the menu. I begin to dig into the pie before I hear the ill-fated squawk which sounded the end for most of my flying brethren.
A shadow licks across the rooftops until the great sharp talons come into view. I trot then break to a gallop but the griffin above still relentlessly pursues me. I try dodging through the tightly knit streets of the slums but it simply stalks me from above. How poetic. Now I was the pie, defenceless. And there was me, a hungry desperate mad mare. The Griffin closes in as my chase once more leads onto the wider main streets. I am running as fast as I can before I take to the skies and try to best the beast. I flap my wings tirelessly; every beat only exhausting me more. The talons finally meet my soft back and drag me down onto the ground. I cower as the long sharp blades pull out of me and rest back in the snow. The griffin leaves a parchment on my back and lets out a final squawk before returning to the skies. After I am sure he is gone I roll over and investigate the note. It has the Celestial stamp emblazoned on it. I peel the wax seal away carefully before ripping the cover off.
“You have not paid your flight tax. You cannot fly without this. Any flight whilst not taxed or insured will result in a fixed penalty of 17 bits. Failure to comply will result in a custodial sentence to be served on the moon”
I let the letter drop out of my hoof. I then let a tear drop from my eye. Why did Celestia decide to put a price on freedom? Freedom, no word is more out of place in this new world. I cast my pain to the side for it has no place here either. If I let small scraps like this stop me I’d have died weeks ago. I make my way back to my ‘home’ and allow myself a blessing of rest. I had eaten, if only a small morsel. I would still live to greet the new morn. But nights, nights are the stuff of chaos…
‘Goodbyes’
Nightmares, they used to be so rare. But now I feel they are the only dreams I have. I can no longer dream of those happier times; no longer can I hope to see my friends and their smiling faces. I drag myself off my piss stained mattress and once more brave the morning bright. I still hear screaming from the back alleys and hidden hells where my brothers and sister sleep. They scream from the terror of what finds them, this is no day for laughter. They send out their dogs to check on us strays, even though they put us here. Slobbering jaws and even viler attitudes they are here only to scare us. They mean to keep us weak, though we had so little strength to begin with. My assigned mutt scans me with this bloodshot eyes, he smirks.
“You’ve been flying again haven’t you?” he interrogates.
“No I would never!” I say, pressing my flank against the wall
“Do I really look that gullible? Do you think me that stupid?” His rhetoric spills, he makes gestures to himself as he speaks.
“I haven’t been flying, you are mistaken” I square up to him.
“I’m not out of the loop you know, I sent the Griffin myself” he grunts, thrashing his giant paw into my face.
“Then why do you ask you slobbering meat-brained fool”
“Because it’s funny to watch you squirm”
“Okay so you caught me, now what?”
“Seems you don’t really have a leg to stand on here” he says with his teeth now bared.
“Not again Brutus”
“But I thought we got along so well” he leers, his paw brushing through my tattered mane
“No” I shout. I knock his offending paw away and bare my teeth
“Then enjoy a stint as a resident of her majesty’s royal prison! Then…”
“At least I’ll eat or at least I’ll be safe from you! You bucking mongrel!”
He clenches his paw and strikes me down. I feverishly pull myself away before I feel him grasp my tail. He wrenches me back to him and places a collar over my neck. A chain unravels from his shoulder and this clips onto my indemnifying collar. As soon as I am attached I am dragged away. All through the streets I resist but the mutt is too strong, he simply pulls a little harder and I soon fall into line. Eventually I am thrown into a Pegasus-pulled carriage. Off course the Queen’s royal caravan can afford the flight tax. But most Pegasi cannot hold down jobs in this unjust existence; 5 bits a week is too steep. A sack is positioned over my head before a whip cracks over the flanks of the two Pegasi. I am in two minds over my lengthy incarceration, will I be fed or will I just stand as an example for any Pegasus who wants to step out of line and be starved and die just like I would on the streets?
The carriage is carried off into the great expanse that lies between our lowly PonyVille and the blistering heights of Canterlot and its gleaming golden spires. As we near the place where my trial will air I hear the jubilant sounds of the bustling utopia. This elegant ambiance grows until it becomes far too overwhelming even for me. At last the carriage touches down to the sound of clattering hooves and roaring crowds. This was somewhat of an entertainment for the masses; well I did always want to be the centre of attention. Finally I am allowed the privilege to see the mess of faces that stare back. They chant the words, the words which I cannot place a reaction to. They chant.
“Send her to the moon”
And they chant it in rounds, so rehearsed and perfect. It is just like most things in this heaven on Earth show these idiots have all grown to believe. A detail of guards carve a path through the screaming masses, the masses wanting my blood spilt that day. Brutus, my ‘escort’ strikes a whip hard against my side. I fall into line again, with great urgency I scrape myself off of the paving slabs and start down the path made for me. I am still in severe pain, my every stride a particular torture on my worn out hooves. More betters shout out bitter torments and digs at my expense, some try to trip me up. They parade me in front of the thirsty herd now not much dissimilar to cackling hyenas. I am placed on a shallow stage and allowed to rot a little longer under the judgemental stare of the unholy Queen.
“My Royal Subjects, one has been betrayed on this most woeful of days. This, this pathetic rebel seeks to undermine my laws, she seeks to turn others against me!” she addresses her willing public.
“Punish her!” The crowd explodes
“She is the cloud that dims the light I bless you all with; she is the devil to the Goddess before you. She is a Luna sympathiser and a traitor to my empire” she preaches. She stabs her shined hoof at me.
“All hail the Celestial empire!” reply the crowd
“Cast this bad seed away, cast this child of the moon to where she belongs! My loyal ponies, she will never leave our perfect prison”
“Send her to the moon!” They all chant once more
“And what does it have to say for itself?” she asks he public, her tone quietens. She turns her head down to my height.
My heart sinks far from where I can reach it, and in this moment I need to speak from my heart. I look around me and notice the blinding glint off of sharpened spears and honed blade. The crowd still grows in the animosity they hold towards me. I’ve not a friend for miles, and all who attend here come only to see us punished. Celestia holds her bejewelled hoof into the sky and proclaims.
“Bow to my empire. Be my follower! Or face the cold empty loneliness so many of your rebel brethren have enjoyed so!”
Soon after she finished her rehearsed lies she makes the sun shine brighter than ever before, as if she means to turn me to dust in front of the engrossed audience. Through trembling hoof, covering my eyes; I finally make my plea.
“Ponies everywhere are dying. But only the Pegasi die. Only the Pegasi starve. Only the Pegasi sleep on the streets every night wondering what awful evil this cruel dictator will unleash onto them next. Ever since the other alicorns disappeared Celestia has grown mad with power! Can you not see the evil she has cast over our once peaceful lands? Can you not…”
I am thrown in my speech as a rock smashes against my head. More objects are thrown by the brain-washed crowd. The Hyenas out there laugh in their thousands, each wanting me to suffer. Not a single one of them knew me, or at least they could not remember. I look back to where Celestia had been enthroned and step aback as her fake smile hovers over me. Her grace has seen fit to return the sun to its normal state so at least now I can see clearly. She riles the willing onlookers with her false charm and her endless repertoire of lies. She then settles to my level and places and hoof under my chin.
“Join me Rainbow Dash, become my enforcer and you need not face this fate” she lends her contempt bathed hoof.
“Not in a thousand years!” I deny her any glory, any release in seeing me fear her.
“My ponies you have seen she will not see reason! You have seen first hoof she will not be rational! Now does anypony here see any reason why this traitor should not serve her punishment on the moon?”
“No” they obediently shout
“Bring me the brander, she may have had some purpose before but now this anarchist shall face indignation for her betrayal of my fair rule”
She utters a few orders to a royal guard and he returns with a burning hot branding iron. For once he places the instrument upon her hooves do the patriots cheer. And they cheer for blood and pain and they will soon be granted with this reward.
“You have cut my heart child of the moon. You have made me look a fool in front of my loyal ponies. Your talent for flight and intrepid adventure is yours no more! Forever be known the child of the moon for your own mark shall be one you share with her”
Before I can deny my ensuing torture the glowing iron presses into my flank. I tear at the feeling of my coat being burnt away and my skin underneath being scarred. The brander is kept there until the Queen nods for release, the iron pulls away and I am left stamped with the mark. A metal device is strapped around my throat before I they cajole me away from the satisfied crows. An event they relish so greatly had gone better than they expected. A touch of drama and a dash of tragedy, this was stuff of theatre, not a trial in its simplest description. The device is released and Brutus is let loose to suffer me for my so called betrayal. I am beaten to within an inch of my life before I am finally tossed aside to rest only against a brick wall. The detail of guards returns to protect their exulted queen. They form a horseshoe shape around her and a few raise their spears in pre-empt of an attempt upon the God-Queens life. She does not bless me with any more of her well-thought out speeches and instead just ignites her horn with a pillar of light.
“To the moon with you!” She bellows. The light of her horn glowing more intensely before it out-competes the sun.
The more things change...
‘Joy’
Clouds whip past me. Faster and faster, my wings flap effortlessly as I take the lead. Other’s around me flail and flounder but not I. I reach such speeds a vapour trail imitating a rainbow coils out behind me. I feel as if I still have more to give when a frightening blur cascades past. She is another Pegasus, my rival, my nemesis in this field of battle. She turns back to insult me, hoping her words might tear me up.
I have no time for this pettiness; I reach deep inside and catch up to Lightning by using the slipstream she has ploughed through the sky. Her confident face falls to more of an enraged one as she comes to grips with my triumph. I see her desperately try to keep up, but there was no catching me. This was my element, my Raison d’etre. Nopony could best me in anything that involved my wings. Not even Twilight and her wings are pretty impressive. The finish line draws nearer, I can nearly taste it, my friends are all watching from the hot air balloon. Even Fluttershy, sometimes I swear she forgets she is a Pegasus. I took one last smug glance over my shoulder and feel the pressure as Lightning gains a little closer.
“Too little too late” I gloat, my wings furling into my sides. I look to see my cheerleading squad of friends descend lower in the clouds to where I stand. Twilight wasn’t there however, she had been so busy. Lightning doesn’t hang around for the crowd’s boos and hisses. She doesn’t get the best kind of attention around here.
“Cloudsdale’s finest” Applejack courteously remarks
“Well I don’t know about that” I modestly reply
“Best in Equestria I would say”
“Why thank you Fluttershy” I gleam.
Pinkie is so overtaken by the sudden joy that she bounds straight out of the balloon and slips cleanly through the cloud floor. I look around to see I have an audience and comforted by that knowledge I leap into action. Gravity is no match for my pure awesomeness; I dive thought the amalgamations of condensed water droplets towards the blissfully unaware Pinkie Pie. My nose burns from the barrier of wind which fights me back; I continue regardless. Terraferma quickly approaches, time is growing precious. I finally catch up just enough and scoop up the completely oblivious pink earth mare before she got too friendly with some rocks below. The others return safely to the ground in the hot air balloon. Pinkie shakily puts weight back on her hooves before returning to form and skipping back towards the basket. Fluttershy climbs out of the basket first, I give her an evil glare.
“Fluttershy! You’re a Pegasus remember” I accuse, raising an eyebrow
“I don’t always have to fly do I?”
“I know but you never do”
“Oh now don’t be barking up that tree RD” says Applejack
“I find you do pick on fluttershy a bit too much” Rarity buts in
“And why shouldn’t I? I never bully her anyway. She just needs a push in the right direction. We were both in the Clousdale flight academy together” I say whilst admiring my wings
“Now see here. Plenty of pegasi are the same as Flutters here. It’s more a mode of transport than… well ummm…” Applejack begins
“It’s a way of life AJ; personally I don’t know how all you ground ponies don’t go stir crazy”
“Pfft there’s not anything bad about being an earth pony, or a unicorn or a Pegasus. We’re all just different” Pinkie surmises all the while bouncing happily around the basket.
“Well you don’t miss what you’ve never had” Applejack says
“I guess so. Sorry pal. I just, I don’t think I’d be the same pony without flying” I finish
We separate after this, all needing to return to our jobs. And me especially, I was already behind on the cloud clearance that morning.
‘Living’
Finally I get back on task, clouds need clearing and I need bits. It looks reasonably overcast; my quadrant of the sky however is inundated with the white fluffy intruders. Celestia sent orders for a clear, bright and sunny day. She provided the sun so it’s up to us pegasi to take care of the rest. I ascend through the cloud layer until I reach the outer limit of my section of sky. It’s ever so rare to have a job you truly enjoy to do, and I did love doing it so. But for some reason I was still late most days. I fly backwards in order to achieve a good speed. I then launch into the dense blanketing of clouds. Each little marshmallow pillow gives way to my effort as I kick, punch and fly through anything that stands in my way. Not long after starting and my work is done. Another day is complete. I have purpose. I land safely back in the market square to sort a hankering for hay fries I’d been getting.
I trot into a nearby café and ordered some food before returning to the table I had chosen on the veranda. I shuffle around on my straw seat to make it more comfortable. Not long did I spend alone before Applejack joined me at the table.
“Do you ever show up for work on time RD?” she asks me, her front hooves rest on my table.
“You don’t have to when you are as awesome as…”
“Now hold your horses Missy. Celestia has really clamped down on the cloud clearance gig. Do you never read the Pony Ville Gazette?”
“I only read things I wanna read… And how do you mean?”
“Rumblin’ is they’re laying off huge numbers of Pegasi workers, poor results apparently”
“Huh? Well my work performance is flawless! Not a cloud left in my sector” I say, pointing a hoof to the sky.
“Yeah well she also checks punctuality, attitude and professionalism”
“That’s a pretty long word country mare”
“No jokes, no distraction! RD you need to focus, this is your livelihood we’re talking about”
“Don’t worry about it AJ I got this, I’ll just be on time for now on”
“Well you do that… I best be off, the west field needs ploughing”
“Don’t be late Apple slacker” I jape.
She shrugs off my playful banter and canters off towards sweet apple acres. I sit alone a while before a whimsical chirp chimes in my ear. I turn to the noise and see my good friend fluttershy. She has a few birds perched on her back. Not really an odd sight when your friend is somepony like fluttershy. She sits opposite me and whispers something undetectably quiet to her feathered friends; they understand and disperse into a few branches overlooking us. My shy friend leans across the table and confides in me.
“Dashie. What are we meant to do?” a calming voice asks, it’s weighted with worry.
“How d’ya mean Flutters?” I ask; my tone of concern.
“They took everything!” she says. She lets a tear drop on the ground
“Who took everything? What’s the matter pal?”
“My cottage, my animals, everything” she raises her voice
“Who did this!?”
“They said they were doing it on behalf of a Celestial decree”
“What from the princess? On what grounds?” I hasten with hoof smashing against the boards of the table.
“They said I was unlicensed, they said I wasn’t fit to look after wild animals”
“How could they? You are so good with…”
“They demanded documentation! Medical history, vaccination history…”
“They never needed this before”
“Well the Celestial empire has integrated international trade. Animals all have to be tracked and counted…”
“What are you gonna do?” I ask again, my head now resting on my hoof.
“I can’t do anything. The powers that be decree that I cannot look after animals. So that’s it. I guess all that is left is being a weather operative. Do you know if there are any openings this side of Appleoosa” she complains, her normally neat and flowing mane looking greasy
“I don’t know for sure Flutters. It’s… it’s up in the air at the moment. Celestial orders again I’m afraid, checks for all new cloud clearers are to become much more stringent”
“But… but what will I do to get by?” Fluutershy confides with her tail gripped between her hooves.
“I can take you in, at least until you pass the exam. It can’t be that hard right?”
“Oh thank you thank you thank you! I can’t explain how much this means to…” she exhales, the birds tweeting in unison overhead.
“Only till you pass the exam… I can’t keep a roof over your head forever”
“You serious” I protest, the tip pushed towards the edge of the table
The serving stallion returns to my table and fiddles with the tea towel draped over his arm.
“Is something the matter Miss?”
“A twenty per-cent tip on top of the bits I paid for these undercooked fries? No, no way! You delivered my meal late, you made me wait, and I wasn’t even served a water picture! It’s 40 degrees out!”
“I am very sorry, we’ve been very busy”
“Yeah well excuses, excuses. I only pay tips when they are deserved. Now leave me to pay my bill in peace” I say before throwing the request down to the floor.
“If you say so”
“I do say so yes! I don’t need to have my buc…”
“Oh do mind my friend, she must have gotten a tad flustered” A voice coos from behind me. I turn to see Rarity sporting a lightly frilled parasol. She strides to the table and places a hoof full of bits down. “I do hope this will cover it” she continues as the serving stallion returns and takes his tip.
“Much obliged m’lady” he says, doffing his hat on his way back to the café. I look up to Rarity and she looks back disapprovingly.
“How dare you!”
“How dare I? You must learn some manners Rainbow Dash” she patronises, the parasol she hold twirling gently in her hoof.
“It was poor service! If I get graded and inspected at work then so should everypony else!” I say
“I am ever so sorry. But whatever are you talking about?” She replies
“Celestia. She’s changing things around; a little too much if you ask me. Radical regime changes, poor job security, not to mention what they did to Flutters”
“What have they done to our dear friend?” Rarity questions, laying her parasol on the table beside me
“It’s not enough to just tell you!” I sneer as I leave the table and usher for her to follow. I coax her to follow me towards Fluttershy’s cottage. Only there was no building there anymore. We notice the bulldozed home, the numerous suit wearing ponies inspecting the land, measuring it for something.
“Yah see Rarity? This is all down to the royal pain Celestia!”
“Now Rainbow that is not how you refer to your better” she replies, fixing her slightly out-of-place mane.
“Power’s gone to her head. She’s breaking this system one pony at a time. But you’ll only care when it happens to you. And you represent generosity”
“I am being generous Rainbow, I’m doing so well at pretending to care”
“Just think about it Rare. How long till the gemstones are regulated? How long until the carousel boutique goes under huh?” I say, my hoof poking at her chest.
“It won’t. I am a business pony” she shrugs, whipping my hoof away.
“There’s no talking to you sometimes. Just get out of here. I have some questions I want answering”
“Well suit yourself Rainbow Dash. I have better things to do than squabble”
She prances away and leaves me facing the officials alone. I break into a gallop towards them. I don’t know what to say but I know I am meant to at least do something. I run on pure rage until finally I reach a line of tape which protects the site. I duck underneath the barrier and once on the other side I am confronted by a mare.
“What do you think you are doing here?” The mare asks
“I’m just checking what you parasprites are planning on building here”
“Excuse me young mare? It is none of your business. Now kindly leave the premises” the official looking mare argues.
“Leave what?! You destroyed my friend’s home. You wrecked my friend’s life. What in Equestria are you building here?!” I demand
“The future, Pegasus, we are building the future”
I am about to do something stupid when a procession of trumpets sound in the town centre. I leave without a word. I vacate the building site hastily and make tracks for the town. The town hall is surrounded by PonyVillians. The mare takes her spot at the podium and taps on the mic”
“Good afternoon PonyVille. I have only this morning received a message, the news I am afraid is not good. This once peaceful town is to be developed upon; tourism has increased in this part of Equestria ever since Twilight and her friends became celebrities. To accommodate this influx of residents more houses will be built, more buildings shall be established. This all raises the value of this land. And as a sad result a tax is to be introduced for all Ponies living here. A statutory rate of 2 bits a week is to be paid to the Celesial Central Reserve. This tax will in turn help preserve our town as it grows. I know this will not be received well, but know this was not my decision”
The mare leaves her stand and ambles back to her home. I wait for the other ponies to leave before flying up to the top of the town hall and resting on the tower. I have time to think now. But my thoughts grow darker. I imagine what it would be like to share my house with Fluttershy, now that I would be paying Tax for living here, it almost makes me want to leave and plant roots elsewhere. I’m a victim of my own success. The more amazing things I do, the more tax increases. And the less I can afford to live here. To put it plainly, we weather pegasi are paid 6 bits a week, and taking 2 away. We can’t last on anything less. We were already on the breadline. The mail pony zips by but not before stopping momentarily.
“You have a letter waiting at your cloud house Miss Dash” Derpy informs me
“Oh thanks for the heads up. I’ll check on it soon” I reply. I look towards my home, and then sigh deeply. Flutters thinks she can rely on me. However, sooner or later… Letting her down is just a matter of time.
‘Home’
I touch down at my cloud-bound home. My hooves press gently into the plush cotton floor. I pry open my mail box and discover the letter. I peek at the title.
“First Class Priority Phoenix mail” it read. I am thrown into more disarray, are they to boycott the Pegasus mail service too? The stamp of approval from the offices of Celestia is also burnt to the letter seal in a sticky red wax. I slip my hoof tip under, breaking the seal; I then clutch the information within.
“Attention Cloud Control Operative 115088. You have been selected to take part in a mandatory four week course in weather management. You will not be paid for these weeks of education however. Your work quality has been called into question. This is the first warning and you will not receive a second. If the quality of your work does not improve after this process you will be unable to apply for a position in the Equestrian Civil Service for a period of 9 months. I hope you prepare for the class and have a good day. Yours sincerely Avant Guard, Pony Resource Executive, Equestria Civil Service”
I am dumbfounded; things happening recently have become hard to believe. How dare they question me? Why the hay should I conform to this bureaucratic nonsense? I look to the sight of PonyVille below, how many others would receive this news? I fall on my haunches and then my side. I quiver lightly as I hear her sombre tones behind me.
“Umm what did the letter say?” my yellow coated house guest whispers.
“Oh it’s you. Nothing important” I lie.
“If you say so, I just… I’m a little hungry”
“Oh why didn’t you just ask? I’ll go get you something”
“I don’t want to be a bother”
“It’s fine. What are friends for after all? Just stay put and I’ll be back before you know it”
I can’t believe I have lied to my most doting friend. I leave my cloud-bound home and head for the market. But then something crosses my mind, those officials, they were planning something. I switch my flight path and take my journey south to where her cottage used to be. I look down, horror, what horror awaits me. They have made the animals flee; the ground is destroyed by their great iron monsters. I look away for but a second but once I turn back I am grounded. I struggle to free myself from the netting that encases me. An official approaches and pulls the trap off.
“Authorized personnel only, can you not read?” A burly stallion says.
“I can read fine thank you. Who do you think you are? What gives?” sprawl my endless questions.
“I am under no obligation to answer your questions, this zone is strictly no flying and I strongly suggest you leave”
“Not till I know what’s happening here!” I rebuke. Not giving an inch.
“The first step… That is all you need to know” he plays back his riddles to me.
“What are you fools planning? Don’t walk away from me!” I shout after him more but my words lose all meaning and become mere noises. I look upon my person and see I have only 3 bits to my name. And remembering the letter I know I cannot keep my guest. I can scarcely feed myself. I will not let her down; she’s been bucked over by these changing times too. The orange glow of the evening bathes my coat before I turn back to the market and return to the sky. The dimming light scares me, would the market be open? I swat these worries and unfounded nothings from my head as I land in the centre of town.
. I can see Rarity collecting some items from a confectioner, I totter over to her.
“Hey there Rare, umm they look good” I comment.
“Oh these little cupcakes you mean? Oh yes they are quite exquisite” she returns, her gaze planting on me.
“They sure are… I don’t suppose any are going spare?”
“You know I often over prepare for these things, I think one or two just might be” she says while waving a hoof over the purchased cakes.
“If it’s not too much trouble of course”
“No trouble at all, I know how tough it is for you flying ponies right now”
“Oh okay, I guess you heard the mare. And thank you. I’ll repay this kindness as soon…”
“Perish the thought Rainbow Dash. I will have no such speak, now trot along.”
“Thanks” I exchange, lifting back off into the air and scorching back towards my home amongst the clouds. I land back at my doorstep with a cupcake held firmly in each hoof. I bow as I enter my own home, I feel a stranger, how is this normal? Fluttershy is sleeping on my bed; she has some spittle dribbling from her muzzle. I place my hoof under her long pink mane and lift her head up. She stirs and looks up at me like a filly would her mother. Those big puppy-dog eyes, I couldn’t be selfish now, she would eat both. I place the treats down at the bed stand at her feet before backing away and heading back to my sitting room. I sit by candle light, dwelling on my frantic day. How do these things happen so quickly? I roll onto my side and hold onto my grumbling stomach, if it could speak, it wouldn’t have a kind word to say. My eyelids however are heavy and I let myself drift. I fall gently back to sleep.
‘Clarity’
A tapping at my door pierces my peaceful slumber. I rise from my sofa and approach the source of the racket. The taps become thrashes and the door bends lightly to the impatient visitor. I peer through the letterbox and see a pair of eyes looking straight back at me.
“Excuse me it’s Tax collection day. Would you mind opening this door?” says the unknown visitor.
“I would rather not. Can’t I just slide the bits out through the letterbox?” I suggest.
“A mite unconventional don’t you agree?”
I recognise the southern tone of his voice. Was this? No it couldn’t be…
“Big Macintosh is that you?” I ask, doubting my own words as I say them.
“Eeyup, this is what I do now”
“How do you visit my house in the clouds?”
“Huh? No I’m standing in the grass” He answers with a perplexed tone.
I risk the confusion and push the door open with my nose. He is right however; my once floating abode was now anchored to the ground.
“How can this be?” I question as my illusions die.
“It’s a new tax Celestia is Introducin’. If your home is in the sky it is technically flyin’, in short, you need to pay the flight tax or risk having your house anchored. Just like what’s happened ‘ere” he explains with his hoof gesturing et certain intervals.
I step out of my doorway and am shocked as the moist dew on the grass blades licks my pasterns. It’s surprisingly cold.
“Don’t you work at Sweet Apple Acres anymore?” I say, tilting my head slightly.
“Oh that, with the amount of land we have, I had… I needed to take this job to help keep the farm. We’re paying over 16 bits a week and to only have a duty stamped on any cider we produce! It’s daylight robbery” He rants. His hoof digs into the ground as if reluctant to carry out his work.
“But what about Applejack, She must be overworked?”
“Welcome to the industrial age Miss Dash. Life’s not as simple as it used to be. I know I am abandoning her but I also know I have to do this, or we lose everything. No matter how much I hate giving out this bad news, no matter how much I hate seeing ponies thrown out on the streets, no matter…”
I place a hoof on his snout
“Shush now Mac. Wait… What in Equestria is flight tax?”
“Look I’m runnin’ behind as it is, ask your local government representative if you want to know about all recent changes”
I wave as he canters away with my two bits. Only one bit left…
‘Our acres’
Good morning glorious morning. And then I see my monumental task, east field’s set for ploughing and the south field needs to be picked. The sun has only just risen, as is always the case with my profession, I rise before the rooster. I rush out the door, not a second for breakfast, no time to waste. I break straight into gallop and head for the barn. On reaching the door I find a notice nailed to it. I snap off the head of the nail with my back hooves and peel the notice off, I take a read.
“Norflanks Building inc.
Invoice regarding recent repair work:
To owner, on Monday 4th July repairs were finished on the large grain silo on the northeast side of your property. The price of both labour and materials is for the sum of 23 bits, you may wish to take out building insurance in the near future. Thank you for your business and I hope you are satisfied with the results”
I let the invoice fall to the dirt before nearly fainting. I still had not time for worries; there was still so much yet to be done. I push the doors apart and immediately find the cart I need, as well as the plough. We had lost a vast portion of our task force since all these taxes were introduced. It’s just not worth owning anything nowadays. I opt to pic first so that maybe I don’t have to wash the crop so thoroughly when my muddy self gets all over it. I fetch a basket form where it hangs on a hook and put it on the cart. I secure the pulling bridle about my mouth and set off towards the orchard to be harvested. The earth is hard and unyielding I notice as I step hurriedly over the sun-baked mud. Soon I arrive at my destination and my burdensome cart is set in the centre and my bitter bridle spat aside. I busy myself with my task, bucking each tree sufficiently for the crop to fall. I only push the cart now; the strain on my jaw is sometimes too much for me. I miss Big Mac.
‘Fairness’
I was in minds to go and check on Applejack, maybe I could help… maybe I could get a job. I saw advertisements in the market about sprayers needed for the Acres. I hoped upon hope that my ability to fly would somehow make me more favourable for this position. But alas, there are so many alike to me who need work and can fly. I decide my selfish agenda can be put on the back burner, my friend needed help, even if she wouldn’t admit it. I set to the skies momentarily before I remember the flight tax. What was it? I’d have to ask about it later. I run as fast as my legs will carry me; my route takes me directly through the market. I have one bit left, and I am so hungry. I yield to the mild pain and go to purchase a bowl of hay.
“That’ll be two bits” the pale earth stallion informs.
“Two? But last week it was only one” I say, my voice becoming higher.
“Stallion’s gotta make a living. Celestia has us market folk paying for licenses now. Its two bits or nothing”
“But I only have one” I admit, looking down at my hooves.
“Well then stop blocking my stall. I have plenty of paying customers waiting!” The stallion shouts and gestures a hoof.
I am shoved aside by eager hooves pining for the delight I shall be denied of. I am a pony, I can just eat grass. But it plays havoc with our digestion and makes us awfully fat. I decide I am without a better option and bow my head down and chew on the dull tasteless grass. It is hard to chew and hard to swallow as is my defeat that day. I didn’t even try to haggle; it’s like I was losing my flair. I rush past Sugar cube corner, Pinkie is crying outside but she often does random things so I continue to the acres. I reach my sweat covered friend who is struggling with her bridle. I get her attention.
“Hey AJ do you need any help with anything?” I ask eagerly.
“Ahhh certainly do. No reason to hide that fact” She surprisingly retorts.
“Well I was kinda hoping you would maybe consider me…”
“I’m sorry RD… I already hired somepony for the crop sprayin’”
“Who?” I ask, panicked. I take a few measly steps forward.
“Ehh you’re not gonna like it”
“Finished with my work today boss” a familiar scratchy voice says.
“Wait… her?” I say, looking up at the orange Pegasus above me.
“I can’t be favouring you over any other applicants, Lightning Dust was the best candidate we had”
“But Applejack, I’m gonna lose everything” I beg.
“Yeah? Well aren’t we all, Ah have so many bills to pay and Granny Smith is going senile. Ah can’t afford to help you out, I’m sorry RD ah truly am. But you’ll have to find work elsewhere”
I don’t reply for I understand her plight. I take my leave and wonder out back toward the town and my house now anchored down. I walk slowly with my head held low. I had one bit and nothing else and I was so much tougher than Fluttershy. It had to be done, she needs this more than me. I am about to go when I hear Lightning Dust gloating as she does.
“Sooo you didn’t get the job huh?” Lightning asks.
“Yeah, you heard about that”
“Well I’m the gal that got this sweet gig” she gloat, looking pleased with herself.
“Just clear off, second rate flyer”
“You’re just jealous! I’m on 12 bits a week and you’re eating grass off of the floor”
“Just back off Lightning! I don’t have the patience for you right now”
“See you in skies sometime Dashie… Oh wait no I won’t. Earth pony”
I turn a cold shoulder and slump away. She’s right. I might as well be an earth pony. I turn my attention to a sobbing Pinkie pie. Seeing her like this was completely out of character, I thought she might have just been overreacting. I was wrong, something was up.
‘Letting go’
Ah the sweet sugary fragrance of a well done blueberry muffin, it’s simply magical. I think this while I chew ravenously through one I had left over from the day before. But then, unusually, comes a knocking at my door. I speedily answer the call and soon see my land lords behind it. They look like they want to tell me something but they don’t look at all happy. I shuffle backwards and wave a hoof to show they are welcome in my home. They do not move, Mr Cake reveals a document from his person and hoofs it to me. I don’t do well to hide my non-interest in reading. But still I give it a gander.
“Rent, what is that?” I gleefully ask them.
“It’s a kind of agreement. We can’t have you living here for free anymore” he replies.
“But I work for you guys… I thought the flat was part of the deal”
“We by law have to start paying you a salary Pinkie” Mrs Cake adds.
“But then how much do I have to pay to stay here?”
“We will start paying you at 9 bits a week and the room rent is…”
“What?”
“It’s a large flat Pinkie… It will cost 12 bits a week for you to stay here”
“So… I can’t stay?”
“We really need the bits right now Pinkie. Our small shop is being undercut by larger mass confection making industries. Were really sorry Pinkie, we hope you find somewhere else soon”
“But you’re throwing me out?” I begin to tear up
“Don’t say it like that Pinkie. If this was our choice we would never do this but the decision has been made for us”
I shove past them and gallop down the stairs until I am at the doorstep of the shop. I break down in a miserable depression and cover my face with my hooves. I briefly spy Rainbow Dash trotting past but she looks in a hurry so I don’t bother her. Mrs Cake hurries down the steps and sit down next to me. She wraps her caring hoof over my withers and stays there a while before standing up.
“Don’t cry Pinkie, you’re still our friend” she comforts.
“I know… But I don’t where to go”
“I’m sure you’ll find somewhere Pinkie. I know you; you don’t let a thing like this ruin your day”
“I get it, I do. Pinkie’s all happy go lucky and devil may care. But actually, I’m incredibly insecure about being on my own, why do you think I try to make so many friends?” I say, looking away and holding my head lazily in my hoof.
“I’m trying here. Ok just go, I have no more time for your feeling sorry for yourself!”
I get the message and leave the sweet shop behind me and all the great memories I have. My tears fall a bitter cocktail of sweetness and regret. I crawl, nearly sliding on my belly across the ground as I make my way to the estate agents. I peer through the window and in the corner of my eye I find a notice. There is no room to let, no houses for rent. I see my hopes go up in smoke and I lie down at the door of the shop. Where else can I go? I feel wrong being so far from the Sugar Cube Corner so I return to sleep at the doorstep.
‘Sweet nothing’
She doesn’t notice me; even my forever rumbling stomach won’t give me away. I tap her ear with a hoof and leave a hoof down to help her out. She accepts the Pegasistance and rises to meet me.
“Hey Dashie” She whispers, wiping tears from her eyes
“You alright Pinkie, why aren’t you at home?” I ask her.
“I… Don’t understand why”
“Oh umm I don’t really have much to go on here” I say, hoping to see her chipper attitude return.
“I can’t afford it. I don’t have any place to go”
“Well to tell the truth, neither do I” I say, settling down at the step next to her.
“Well what will we do?”
“I’m going back to my folks; I could ask Rarity if she’ll put you up”
“Really, you would? Thanks Dashie, this means a lot”
“Ok you can hang out at my, well what used to be my house. Here take this bit, it’s not much but it’s all I have to give”
“Oh that’s super terrific of you. I’ll be as quiet as a mouse” she assures me, taking the bit and running away back to what used to be my home.
I turn again in the direction the Carousel Boutique. I waste no time in getting there and nearly bash down the door. Rarity answer the door, she is covered in some sort of mud and has cucumbers over her eyes.
“Hey Rare?” I exasperatedly ask.
“Oh Rainbow Dash, your manners are certainly diminishing”
“I’m not here for an etiquette lesson” I say, my expression turning to anger.
“Well hopefully not, you’d fail” she says, plucking a cucumber slice from her eye.
“It’s about Pinkie”
“What about Pinkie?”
“She’s been thrown out of her home, and I…”
“Let me just stop you there. Of course I can help Pinkie and perhaps even Fluttershy. But what happened to you was your own fault”
“I’m not asking for you to help me. I’m going back to my parents with my tail between my legs. But thanks again Rare, I’m gonna miss you” I say, fighting back my tears.
“Surely you don’t have to leave”
“I’m not living on the streets Rarity. I’m going back to Manehatten. End of it”
I have nothing to take with me, I don’t even want to say goodbye to my two friends staying in my home. I give one last deep sigh, take in the smells of PonyVille before I unfurl my wings and break a law I would live to regret.
‘Vagrant’
I have flown for some time now, my shoulders ache and my wings feel as if they are going to break. But soon I see the great overbearing tower blocks and skyscrapers that tell me I’m home. I touch down before I reach the hustle and bustle, just in case I am spotted and they ask to see my flight papers. I can still remember where my parents live in the urban sprawl. I begin my lively trot through the busy streets before a newspaper slaps me right in the face. I claw the pages off of me and place the paper down.
“Luna Missing, royal consort place blame as the Princess of the night mysteriously goes missing…
Canterlot in disarray… Ponies already complaining of violent nightmares… Future of Equestria now shrouded with doubt”
I leave the paper where it lays and continue my trek through the twisting maze of streets. I keep taking note of signposts and road names, I can’t remember exactly where the road was, but I knew the name. I carry on with my search, scouring every angle and every direction till finally my efforts are rewarded. The name of the road was Cadence Street. I pelted down the intricately paved sidewalk until I found my home. But it was not what I remembered at all. There was a family inside but it was not my family, there was a home there, but it was not mine. I cautiously approach the door and knock politely. A young mare answers; perhaps she is still a filly.
“Who are you?” She asks
“My name is Rainbow Dash. I umm… I used to live here”
“We live here now” The young filly exclaims, her attention turning to her parents.
“Josephine who’s at the door?” sounds a concerned father
“Umm hi I was just wondering if you know what happened to the previous owners of this house.”
“I couldn’t tell you, we never met them. This house went on sale and I just snapped it up”
“So okay thanks” I say unenthusiastically.
“Anything else we can help you with?” the father asks.
“Umm no it’s fine; hope I haven’t ruined your evening”
“Don’t worry little mare, I’m sure you’ll find your parents”
“How did you know…?”
“Because they must’ve left in hurry, there were some photos of you in one of the bedrooms”
“Oh that’s worrying… I’ll go now.”
The door shuts but something in my mind opens… This city is far more advanced than quaint little PonyVille. It stands to reason that the changes we were experiencing have hit this place too only sevenfold. A police cart blares its siren a few beats before pulling up next to me. Two officers leave the carriage and one confronts me.
“It’s awfully late to be out miss” a stallion says with an Irish accent.
“I’m just on my way home”
“Really? You don’t look like you’re from this neighbourhood”
“I was just taking a short-cut” I continue to lie.
“You think us a couple of ninnies love? We are officers of the law. We saw you begging at that house just there” he explains, pointing to the house.
“I wasn’t begging… I was asking directions”
“So now you don’t know where you live? I tought you were taking shortcut”
“No I just got a little lost, this place is huge”
“Well regardless of the circumstances I’m gonna have to write you a ticket. Who shall I make it out to? Any papers?” he requests. He has a notepad and biro quill ready.
“Not on me no” I lie, patting down my person.
“Then let us not catch you flying. Flying without flight insurance and proof you have paid your flight tax is a crime. Quite a serious crime at that”
“OK I’ll just be going then” I say, I start down the road.
“Hold your horses little missy, I’m still yet to get a name. For the ticket”
“Oh then it’s… My name is Lightning Dust”
“Well just let this be a warning t yah. You shant be getting another one” he warns, passing me the ticket.
I shy away and return to my search. Who can I ask to find ponies? I walk down the road a little way before I spy a glass box. I open the door and look inside. There is a strange contraption attached to the inside of the strange room. I lift the smaller component of the device and as I do I hear a weird buzzing sound inside of it. I then read something else, most things I read these days just remind me of how poor I am. One bit per minute, I had nothing. I leave the strange glass box and begin to panic. I gallop back to the main streets and dart down an alleyway. Police are swarming everywhere. Where could my parents be? I try to hide as a flashlight beam aims at me. A few more police officers steadily approach my useless hiding spot. One holds my wings down while the other swings a baton into my cheek and knocks me out.
‘Kin’
A painful clanging wakes me from my nightmares. I look at strangers faces through prison bars, they look at me like I’m a criminal.
“Good morning” I address them
“DCI Bailer at your service” the Irish officer asserts.
“Nice to meet you…” I wearily answer.
“So you are Lightning Dust? Am I right?”
“That’s my name”
“Well I just got off the phone with the International Identification Database and they say you are not who you say you are”
“I don’t know why I would lie”
“Cut the crap Miss Dash. You are not fooling anypony. Now you are in trouble. Serious trouble, do you have any idea why?” he demands, pressing his nose up to the bars.
“I don’t know”
“You were flying without insurance and without flight tax”
“How could you have known about that?” I ask, shaking my head.
“We have eyes in the sky you stupid filly!”
“I didn’t mean to, I had no other way”
“Do you think we make these laws for fun? Do you think we push ponies around because we enjoy it? No! We do this because Princess Celestia decides it is the law. Now fall into line, consider this a warning. But don’t be found loitering in my streets again”
The uniformed stallions leave me to the stagnant cell for a while. I get off the faecal straw and climb up to the rudimentary bed. I lay there for as long as I stay in the cold prison cell. The one who called himself Bailer returns and opens the bolted door, allowing me to feel sweet freedom again. I am given an escort to the front foyer before being kicked from the door.
Bailer spits something out and then warns.
“If I find ye on the streets tonight I’ll personally recommend you for execution. Now git away from here, travel as far away as you can. And never again make my beautiful city look like a doss house!”
“Wait! My parents? Do you know where they are?” I say, struggling to my hooves.
“Daimler and Rapide Dash, they became homeless but three days ago. Are you sure you want to see them now? Now that you know they are just screwed as you”
“I don’t care what they are, I care that they are my parents. I at least want to see them before the winter takes me”
He nods and hoofs me a map
“We’ve been able to track down where they are staying. You won’t like what you find”
“I’m not scared of anything. I just want to see them” I say, half-truths becoming a second language to me.
“Good Luck Miss… Dust, take care”
“But I’m Rain…”
“Your secret is safe with me, I know how dire it is out there. Besides, some rules are made to be broken”
I give a final smile and gallop away with the location now in my possession. I open the note when I have put enough distance between me and the police station.
“422 North 31st street”
I read this and automatically feel as lost as I was before. I thought it necessary this time to ask directions, but with my appearance ponies might give me a wide birth. I then remember what a ghostly hour it is. No pony will be wandering the streets except the ones who call a cardboard box a home. I continue on up the streets until the tall and pretty sky towers are replaced with grotty, derelict hovels and nests. I search about the filth-ridden streets. Each corner I turn brings a new smell; the smell of desperation, the smell of poverty, the smell that clings to me. I see the great unwashed wondering from their daytime hiding places. They light fires with scraps that they find just to keep the cold at bay. I am scared to talk to them; even though I am them I still feel they are a threat. I evade their gaze for I do not wish to become an interest. It may not be their fault they are out here but I still know they have the basic needs of stallions. I start up the precarious street; I check all the signs along the way until I am fruitful and see the street name I seek. I bolt down it, my extravert actions noted by the dullards watching from behind. I count down the numbers until my heart flies. This was it. This is where my parents are. I push through the hard wooden door and race up the stairs. Some of the noises in this place make my skin crawl. A few rooms are filled with coughing and possibly diseased ponies. I put an ear to the door I am to walk through and hear noises which do not but turn my stomach. It sounds as if ponies are struggling to breathe. I ignore my premonition of what lies past the door and enter the room. I put on a false vale of confidence and make myself known in the centre of the shared living space.
“I’m looking for Daimler and Rapide”
“Who the hell are you?” a rustic looking stallion demands
“My name is…”
“Could it really be you?”
A mare approaches me. She rubs her eyes with a hoof and then places a caring hoof on my face.
“You’re hurt, my beautiful daughter”
“Mum? I’m so glad to see you” I say, throwing my arms around her
“Oh my little Dash, you’ve grown so much”
“Umm mum, where’s dad?” I ask, backing away and looking confused
“Oh we have so much to talk about…”
“No mum! Where is dad?” I insist, my hoof crashing on the concrete floor
“We have so much to catch up on! I’ve missed you so much”
“Mum! Where is d…”
“Dead”
“What did you just say?”
“Your father Dash… He’s dead”
“But it’s only been a few days”
“It doesn’t take much Dash. He tried to protect me, to shield me from this darker side of life”
“I just… I thought it might be different”
“Oh were you expecting to come home and everything would be fine? Well welcome to the real world Dash! Ponies fight to survive, ponies kill for food, and ponies die”
“I don’t know what to do mum”
“Leave here Dash. Forget you found me, forget me completely. I have some bits I was saving for a rainy day, you should have them. Get a train back to PonyVille. Don’t think about this Dash. Just go”
“No mum! I don’t wanna spend the rest of my life…”
“I said don’t think”
She hoofs me the bits and looks about the room.
“Run Dash! They will smell the metal, and they will try to stop you. Just never look back and catch that train”
I finally do what I was never able to do. As I am told. I head down the stairwell and am immediately set upon by pairs of starving hooves. I duck under a putrid stallion as he nearly catches me and continue down to the front entrance. I buck the door out of my way and avoid yet another desperate soul who seeks the small change I now have. I try to outpace the pursuers who run for me relentlessly. But It soon becomes old news that there are too many of the downtrodden ponies to escape. I am forced to turn into a corner where I continue to gallop before I reach a dead-end. A dirtied hoof grips at my flank as I try to climb the fire escape. I fall back down. I flail my hooves to deter the vagrant who still possess the basic need, the need to breed. I am caught off guard by a stallion who forces my rear legs apart. He lowers his head; it nears closer and closer until I scream. I cannot move. More tramps huddle around me. More eyes fix on my slight form. I hear somepony yelling from the street.
“Get off of her” the mare screams as she plunges a kitchen knife into the soft neck of one of the vagrants. She tears the knife away. He falls; a dead weight on to the shattered dreams he may have once had. She evades a few grasping hooves and eventually reaches where I am trapped. She is grabbed from behind and is incapable to do everything, just I was. The vagrant nearest to me turns and reveals a strung together blade and inserts it deep into the Pegasus’s stomach.
I climb out from among the perverted intentions and then I stop fearing the pointless laws and open my wings. I hover just out of reach and then through some divine blessing the light sifts through this darkest corner. With this light I can see my saviour, though this blessing now betrays me and takes the form of a curse. For it frightens me the face I see, for only just now I had seen the same one.
“Mum?”
“It’s better… “My mother coughs. “It’s better to just forget us Dash. Don’t ever come back here”
“Mum I… I… I wish I could do something”
“Just go, you are my greatest accomplishment”
“I don’t wanna leave you”
“It’s too late” she begins, blood pouring from her gaping mouth. “My time is up. Fly! Don’t run. Fly! It’s all we have left”
“I’ll make them pay mum. I promise” I say as the life creeps from her body and she flops to the filth below. I launch up above the roof tops and head back for PonyVille. I see the police station far below, Bailer is there hindering the pursuit Pegasi from following me.
“This was no order from me. Now take your insubordinate asses back to my office” he orders
“She has already been warned sir. With all due respect, but we don’t let celebrities off of the hook. Everypony gets the same treatment”
“I’ll hear none of it! Now her father was Daimler Dash, a prolific police officer. He lost his home and everything. He even died to save his wife. Now he was a hero have some bucking respect for his progeny. Fly true Rainbow Dash! Fly True”
‘Down and out’
My coat drapes over the arm of the recliner and I am not there to drink the coffee perched daintily on the coaster. Instead I am losing my head over a torrent of bills that spill through the post like water. My short blue mane is scruffy from me constantly scratching my forelock. Ends refuse to meet and this recent bad news only digs our pit further. My wife is still hard at work; we both work without end to make it in this city. Well at least I used to… being laid off in this most perilous of times has hit our small family with incredible force. Taxation is a matter most ridiculous here, the kind of bits we are charged for our little slice of mediocrity is laughable. If we don’t laugh we only end up crying. I find myself suffering greatly from four walls syndrome, I cannot explain how much I miss being in the police force. I switch the TV set on and I catch a brief glimpse of a documentary looking into the Missing Princesses. Those affairs have never much weighed heavily on my mind and so like most things that don’t concern me I ignore them.
I hear hoof step on the other side of one of the four walls. I think maybe it could be my Rapide, the soul breadwinner thanks to me. I curry favour with her by being somewhat of a house husband. But our Dash lives far from us, and the other. She died so young. So I keep myself occupied with little chores and such I do about the home, but when she returns I make it my personal mission to ensure she does not lift a hoof. The hoof steps sound as if they getting closer, my heart leaps in my chest as the tap, tap, tapping sounds at my door. Why would my sweet knock? The door is never locked when I am at home. The awful tapping becomes much louder, my curiosity takes president and out my hoof to the door handle. It opens, my heart sinks back to its hiding place.
“Are you the homeowner?” a stallion with a clipboard requests.
“What reason do you call now? We’ve paid our tax for this week” I contest him.
“It’s a matter we’re attending to sir” he says, looking at his clipboard.
“Yes, and what is this matter so darn prevalent?”
“I’m here on behalf of the NYPD. Can we talk inside?” he insists.
“I’ve nothing to say. I no longer work for them” I patiently explain.
“Please, if you would just allow me the chance to talk you through some things”
“I don’t think I can be any clearer…”
“There’s a warrant for your arrest, I did suggest we talked inside…” He drops the board and places his hoof on his holster.
“You have no uniform ‘officer’. What crime am I accused of?” I reply, eyeing the corner table draw.
“Fraud Mr Dash. Forged bank statements”
“What, I have no part in this and I will not be your scapegoat” I persist, resting my hoof on the doorframe.
“Oh believe me Daimler; we have a lot more on you than you think”
“I… I was… It was tough. We were struggling to get by. We…
“Does this stuttering story have some sort of ending Mr Dash?”
“Rapide, she was working herself to death” I reply solemnly, shaking my head and looking down.
“These are harsh times I agree, but as a stallion once of the law you must see the error of your ways”
“My error was not taking more. So many in this town do so little but lie and are given so much in return”
“A personal vendetta…” he accuses, he walk towards with me in an ill-deserved swagger.
“Cast your aspersions elsewhere! I know what I did. I can’t atone for it. Ever”
“Yes but what of your family Mr Dash? What will they think of what you’ve done…? Not so much a hero now…”
“None of us are heroes, but the villains are all too real” I say, getting ready to slam the door.
“Is that so? Well please point one out to me”
“I’m looking at one”
“Always the joker, but now you’re the butt of this joke…”
“Is this back and forth really getting us anywh…”
“Money”
“What?”
“Bits, coins, payment Daimler… And the whole case disappears” he says, throwing in some over the top hoof gestures.
“So it’s… Blackmail?”
“Sharp as a tack, I knew you would see things my way”
“No deal. No lying, enough lying. I won’t give you a dime”
“I gave you a choice Daimler, and you spat it in my face” he says with his weapon now drawn.
“My family will understand”
“400 bits”
“I can’t stamp that up”
“Tomorrow, there’s a safe deposit box in the central bank. I know you know your way around the bank. Or just be an honest fool and spend the rest of your waking days rotting!” He digs once more before turning his back to me.
I have grown weary of his forked tongue. No pony would have known he was here. I take my side arm from a draw in the hall and blast him once in the head. He collapses into a pile of bad news; I peer around to see if anypony noticed. Of course there were witnesses, every day I see their twitching curtains and their tweaked blinds. I feel like I’m in an episode of the Truman show, many mindless cameras, they sit in wait. Then comes around the most inopportune occurrence, Rapide sees my folly and means to run away. I think to give chase but what can it be worth? In my moments of distraction she must have arrived, she must’ve seen me pull the trigger. She was just another part of my audience now. Though not an Oscar can be awarded for my performance, only prison time will act as my after party. I walk back to my slice of mediocrity and leave the door to swing. I imagine the nosy neighbours nearly racing to turn me in to the boys in blue. I make a decision at this point, family is what mattered above all else.
I fetch my gun, the murder evidence and head for the edge of my lawn. I unroll my wings and give a powerful stroke with them to propel myself far above the city streets. I have to find my sweet, my only silver lining. She was only on hoof, her wings have been awfully sore lately since huge smoke stacks starting popping up here and there. I think of who to blame but the only pony I can place it on is me. I continue through the evening hush, searching for my Rapide in a sea of faces.
‘Cold’
We hit up the sirens as a report plays over the radio. Our carts quickly speed through Broadway towards Cadence Street. I arrive at the scene and find fortune that I am first there. I call of the other cars and approach a still pony lying on a well-kept lawn. My partner tries to walk ahead of me but I pull at his shirt and tell him to stow it.
“Looks to me like second degree murder” my colleague concludes.
“You know Arable we didn’t see anything” I reply.
“You pulling my tail sir? I’m not covering for another one…”
“Not covering constable, just giving him a head start”
“Well I aint being culpable in this shit. I’m calling this in now”
I rip his radio from his lapel and snap the aerial off
“You will do as your superiors order”
“You know what Bailer? You used to be a great cop, then… now you’re just a putz”
“You wanna make me cry Mr Arable? Then get my stepmother on the phone. Now get your rump back in the car and give Dash a chance”
“A chance? I’m not a bent cop!”
“Are you questioning my judgement?”
“You’re damned right! This is straight up perversion”
“You can stamp any fancy term you want on this”
“They’ll stamp your P90”
“Dash was 10 times the cop you ever were. You’re here to fill his boots. But you… You’re not even fit to wipe his arse!”
“Car 128, car 128. Requesting backup”
I storm over to the cart and near enough rip the door off of its hinges. I grab my inferior, insubordinate officer and drag him from the cockpit.
“You’ll go in front of a court for this!” he yells.
“I don’t know if you know this Arable but this is Manehatton. I do golf with the Supreme Court justice. Make an attempt to make me look bad and you’ll be the one shovelling shit”
“This aint just!”
“Then quit Zachary, I assure you, the higher up you get. The more shit you let go!”
“Well you’re pal got his head start. But the streets are about to light up with whole patrols looking for him. He’ll be in a nice cosy cell before morning”
Soon as promised the streets do effervesce with a blinding aura of police brutality. They attack all the downtrodden citizens, beat them to a bloody pulp. Soon we are the monsters because we let this happen. The majestic creatures die on my streets every day and now it’s become a pandemic. I look to my constable, he look pleased with himself. I draw my Glock and drop him in plain view of my associates. Some come to arrest me, some will say I went mad with power. But neigh, I went mad for the world around me is doing exactly the same.
“DCI Bailer I arrest you on suspicion of first degree murder and perverting the course of justice. How do you plead?”
“My plea is this. When this is all over, and balance returns will you be able to look at yourself in the mirror without hating what you see?”
“Take him in, lost his bucking mind”
“I speak more sense than those laws you tell me are just! I feel like an executioner for a once beautiful part of our pony population. You make me kill these unfortunate souls, for this is your law. This is your order. Not mine” I rave, the doors slamming on the back of the prison cart. I know I’ll be given pardon, the system doesn’t work anymore.
‘Uprising’
Another arduous flight drains me so I let myself glide to the ground. My breath is drawn painfully, but still it must be used for I have much to tell. I rise above the precipice of one of the mountains surrounding my fair Ponyville and see something new. Most things that have been changing have only complicated life in Equestria, but what I see, it aims to make life dangerous also. I hear great roaring upheaval and see mighty infernos eating at my once safe home. I gallop at break neck pace to make the small blurry fragments I saw from a distance take on more detail. I finally draw close enough to see the riots streaming through the dirt paths and clean green pastures. I smell the odour of burning brimstone as if the betrayal here made us alike to demons. It has been so long since I have bothered looking up to the heavens, for some time now we Pegasi have just stayed grounded; stranded on an alien plain. But above lives a maelstrom of Pegasi playing to their strengths; fighting fierce battles with the cloven Griffin abominations. I take a few more steps towards the centre of town before my advance is halted by a familiar beak.
“Never thought you’d see me again did you?” The griffin demands.
“Get the hell off of me!” I shout as my wings are held down by her talons.
“So you don’t remember. Oh I think I might cry”
“Why do you assume I know you?”
“I’m Gilda, brainiac” she says.
“Oh… right. What are you freak birds doing here?”
“And ponies with wings are normal? We’re just providing… a service”
“What?” I ask, pulling a puzzled expression.
“We’re here to keep you pleb Pegasi from blocking her glorious sunshine” she insults, forcing a talon into the ground next to my wing.
“What are you talking about?”
“I don’t remember you being this dumb. I blame the parents”
“Don’t ever talk about my parents” I shout, kicking my back hooves into her abdomen.
“Aw you spiteful little ingrate, you’re messing up my feathers!” She scolds, fixing the mess I made.
“Why are you doing this?”
“Orders from the big cheese, I think you know her. You know; stupid colourful mane, weird little shiny hoof boots…” She says, making reference to my hooves.
“Princess Celestia?”
“Ding ding ding we have a winner! And no, how dare you. It’s Queen Celestia”
“Queen?”
“Wow you must’ve been dropped on you head more than once”
“Just get off of me!”
“Not just yet. First I need to ensure you won’t use those pesky little toothpicks you call wings” she says as her claws begin to cut into me.
I cry out in pain and think of just accepting being grounded. There was nothing I could do now. She raises her cruel arm above her head and slashes her talons across my face. I shut tightly my eyes and await the inevitable. I enjoy my last strained breath before I go softly into the sweet beyond. This end however does not arrive, I feel as though the weight of Gilda has been lifted. Did she spare me? I open one eye slightly to survey the damage, a Pegasus stallion is there, his hoof offering me assistance.
“Who… who are you?” I ask, confused.
“I didn’t know you were an owl” says the mysterious stranger.
More of my focus returns and I make out his distinctive uniform. The lightning blue costume with the thunder bolt details, this could be…
“Are you a wonderbolt?” I ask again, rising slightly on my front hooves.
“What gave me away?” he says while bushing dust off of his spandex outfit.
“Why did you help me?” I ask, leaving my hoof out.
“Cause I need you Rainbow Dash” he begins, pulling me to my hooves. “The Pegasi need you”
“But what can I do? I’m just one mare”
“Everything that we do to hold back this prosecution is important”
“But I’m…”
“We must stop the pain! We must kill the Queen”
“How? The griffins are so much larger than us” I contest; drawing his attention to the skies above.
“Cause if we don’t do something. Then why not just cut our own wings off now? Why not just sell our fillies and colts to the slave camps? Why not just lie down and die?!”
“We’ll die anyway”
“We’ll die fighting and flying! Not cowering and hiding. This is the revolution Rainbow Dash. Join us!”
He evoked such patriotism in me, a step up from my fall-back of loyalty. I raise a hoof to my forelock and salute him. He then turns back to the storm of wings and claws hanging over us and re-joins the fight. I look up and see that night has fallen. The moon drifts there, alone. I then remember what I read. Luna has gone missing, Celestia is now a Queen. This has to be more than simple coincidence. I flair my wings to the sides and join my brothers and sisters in the sky. As soon as I am a foot off the ground I am targeted by a bloodthirsty lion-eagle abomination. Its beak nearly rips some strands of my tail but I manage to out manoeuvre it around a set of smoke stacks. The cumbersome creature cannot turn the angles I do with ease and collides with the brick tower. The wonderbolt flies back down to meet me, from where I hover, his blue mane glows angelically.
“Take this Dash! And kill it!” he passes me a blade; it’s curved and has some reticulated prongs on the back.
“I don’t think I can”
“Then leave this army Dash. We are here for blood!”
I weigh the item in my hoof, it feels as though it would cut through the sinew and flesh like it was butter. I swoop down to the disorientated foe and drive the blade though it’s shoulder. It shrieks and it squawks and now it’s grounded just like I was. It looks back to me, its eyes fearing death. I avoid its clawed arm and wrap my hoof around its neck. I look back to the wonderbolt; I see a griffin drop near him. I take an action to never be reversed, I plunge the knife sideways into the griffin’s throat. It cries in pain as I try to free the blade for a second strike. It isn't needed. As I pull at the handle to regain the blade the neck yields and the griffin falls dead, its head hinging on what was left of its neck. I do not feel sorry for it, they do this for bits, so I gladly decommission them. I leave the first blood and head back into another fray where I see my Pegasus sister having a griffin bear down on them. I fly straight at the open beak of the predator and before it can harm me I buck it in the face before raising my blade in front of me and running it down the belly of the beast. It took no effort at all, the speed of the creature spelled its fate. As I leave the defeated foe behind another griffin blindsides me and we both nose dive down to the ground. It slices through my squishy pelt as it panics. I take a few gauges to my side and a glancing blow to my chest before I can break through its defences. I place my hooves around its throat and propel us faster towards the ground. Soon uncoils a rainbow from behind me. It tries to fight me off but I am more driven by my hatred of the Queen that it is by the bits in its pocket. We finally impact the dirt path below and a shockwave ensues. The creature lies and convulses on the ground.
“We shall not be grounded!” I shout as I slit the creature’s throat.
I get back on wing and fly low to the ground, lest I by spotted. I choose a silhouette above and ascend rapidly to take it down. As my hooves grip on its underbelly the creature rolls and thrashes in an attempt to peel me off. A crude attempt at most. It rolls on to its back and then I unleash a flurry of stabs to its ribcage before finally rupturing the heart. It leaves a cloud of blood as it plummets down on to another corpse. A griffin bursts through the cloud layer and grabs my rear legs with one arm and readies its beak around my wings, ready to shred them. However, almost as a miracle, another griffin fighting of a Pegasus collides with the one who has me. The creature loses any aerial mastery it once had and spins uncontrollably. It tries to regain lift so releases my legs. I hook my legs around its head as we tumble and jam the point of the blade straight into its bird-brain. I leave it, another of my victims, to re-join its comrades. I turn my attention to another of my sisters of the sky. She is flying with an injured wing and looks as though she might be soon a fatality. I use the griffin’s trick and zip through the cloud layer. I return and kick the griffin pursuer hard in the beak, so hard that it rips it away slightly from its head. I gain purchase on the beast by threading my hooves through its thick feathering. I hold my blade with both hooves and place the point just under where the beak has ripped away. I use a small bit of pressure and the beast shrieks in agony; its beak now hanging by a tendon. I reposition myself in the same way I had before and wrapped my legs around its neck. Only this time, this creature has injured my sister, has possibly made her flightless. I hold on to the tufts of feathers on either side of the head and twist the neck, using all my body weight. I hear a dull crack and the daft creature’s tongue rolls out. I let go and watch it to fall to the ground. Poetic in a way all of this; they wanted us to stay on the ground and now they are the ones stuck down there. I see the wonderbolt fall and a griffin follow him down. I rush over as fast as I can. I do not fly, flying will attract attention. I traverse the hurdles of sprawling cadavers that have tried to block my way. At last I find the champion. He is a little worse for wear and falters, falling to his knees.
“Oh Rainbow” the wonderbolt wheezes.
“Oh my gosh are you alright” I ask, rushing to his aid.
“Just some bumps and scrapes”
“You look like you hit the ground pretty h…”
“Now that was some flying. You made those flocking idiots look like they wanted to die” he complements, tripping over himself as he tries to get up.
“But they are just soldiers, we need to take out the Queen”
“Precisely, we must” he begins, violently coughing. “Or rather you must”
“You’re fine, you said so”
“I didn't want you to worry about me. Just tell Spitfire, that…”
“That what?”
“Tell her we still have a ch…”
“Don’t die on me! Soarin’ don’t die on me!”
“I didn’t think you recognised me. I… Take us forward Dash. Bring us freedom”
Only now do I see the huge fissure in his neck and the glazed over look in his eyes. He can no longer stand and he lets himself drop.
“I’ll try Soarin. I’ll do my best”
“That’s all I ask…” he chokes. “Take us back to the skies…”
These were the last words he would speak. I close his eyelids out of respect and fall back onto my rump. I can’t be a leader; I can’t send ponies to die. Another Pegasus lands beside me. She pats me on the back with her hoof before saluting her captain.
“Fair thee well Soarin. You’re up in heaven now”
“Lightning? What happened here? I thought that only a few had lost everything”
“I’ll show you Rainbow. We’ve been replaced”
She takes to flight and flies low, I follow her. We soon reach where Fluttershy’s cottage used to be. But what stands there now, it’s a question I don’t have the answer to. A tall construct of great chimneys and gears and dials and vats and steam pours from every pore.
“They’re everywhere” Lightning says.
“What are they?”
“Our replacement…”
“Bu… whu…. What do they do?” I ask in a concerned murmur.
“They produce, they destroy and they regulate clouds. A cheaper solution for weather control, we’re obsolete” she explains,
“But we do other things. Like mail delivery and other stuff like that”
“Phoenixes deliver letters now. You must’ve received one about the train…”
“Yeah I did. Stupid me… What about derpy?”
“Well she still has a job…”
“And that is”
“A… well… the closest thing I can think of would be a clown. A jester…”
“She’s a joke? That’s down-right insensitive!”
“That’s why we fight Dash. That’s why I’ll die for this cause. That Celestia can’t tread on us no more”
“She’s certainly trying”
“They call us Lunaletists. They say she started the revolution. We need to find her. Right?”
“I read about Luna going missing”
“Yeah? It’s all a conspiracy. You see. Luna’s fair, she’s gone”
“And the nightmares”
“You get them too? I thought it was just me, we don’t get much of a chance to talk anymore”
“What you and me?”
“No, all Pegasi. If we get to know each other it only makes it hurt more when they’re gone”
“I’m so sorry”
“Don’t be, just promise you’ll lead us to Canterlot. Promise we’ll take down that Queen”
I look down at my battered and bruised reflection in the pool of blood which creeps along though the dirt. I can see clearly that I have changed. I cannot see any of my friends here. What if they are my enemies too? I have to take the reins of this operation, I have to be the leader. I turn to Lightning dust and clear my throat.
“Return to battle soldier, I shall tend to out wounded”
“As you wish” she complies. “Spitfire is a prisoner of the Queen, thought you might like to know that before committing”
I watch her disappear into the maelstrom once again. I scour the dirt lanes, searching for something. They had all been staying at the Carousel Boutique bar Applejack and Twilight. I keep on searching and as I do lifeless corpses both of the revolution and of the Queen land around me. Some of my kin of the sky still groan and complain; I see each one in turn and send them to the next life. I pick up the pace of my search; I frantically stare down the lanes full of the dead and still see none of my friends. I see this as a blessing, maybe they fled. I come across the splintered remains of the market. I look under my hooves and see the sign for fresh hay bowls. This is where I had been ripped off previously. I look beneath the rubble and catch sight of the stall owner. He is cut up and bleeding profusely. I take some timber off of his chest and let his suffering stop. I draw my blade from his neck and wipe it on my hoof; blood is now my trappings for war. I finally recognise the ruins around me; I’m standing in the Boutique.
A hear the rushing of wind before I am struck by another griffin.
“I knew I’d find you looking for you ‘friends’” Gilda yells, landing another slash upon my muzzle.
She is missing an arm, must’ve been Soarin’s work. I use my wings to catapult me to where I can lodge the blade into her arm socket. She screams and takes another swipe but I simply fly underneath her and take a chop at her other arm. Her head lurches to attack me but I kick it away from me. I then hold the reticulated side of the blade in the cut I have already made and quickly sever the arm. She makes a noise so hideous it made my ear want to stop working. The armless bird backs away and tries to escape to the sky. I let her get some distance while I visit the remains of a hardware store. I grab a good thickness of chain as well as a wood axe and fasten the axe to my back. I then set off after the coward; her loss of blood has noticeably slowed down her flight. As I fly I masterfully dodge a couple of slashes and swipes at me until I finally greet Gilda with a fully deserved stab in the wing. She falls again so I glide back down to earth to wait for her. She lands anything but gracefully and then tries to run off again. I make a loop in the chain and lasso her beak with it; pulling her onto her back and out of the sky. She flails and thrashes and makes all sorts of threats. I take my blade and use it to pin her to the wooden beams beneath her.
“Rainbow Dash you don’t want to kill me” the vestigial creature lies.
“And why not?”
“I’m your friend” she tries to convince.
“Correction Gilda” I say raising the axe and walking towards her shoulder. “You were my friend” I finish as the axe swings down and her head separates from her body.
I hold blood drenched axe in triumph before raising it above my head and launching back into the fight. I then reveal Gilda’s head to the other griffins, blood rains out of it.
“Tell your Queen that this fate awaits her!”
The masses, the flocks they are coloured a shade of yellow by this challenge. Most of them leave except for their commander. One griffin remains; he is dressed in chainmail and has a bloodied mace hanging from his talon. But as his odds have drops so have the odds favoured us. My brethren they pour from the sky a hail of javelins. Each one takes a chunk out of his armour, and some slice at his flesh. Soon he is overwhelmed by our numbers and tries to flee. I fly down and assume a position on his back, he is too beaten to knock me off and so it is easy to thread the chain through his beak. I look down at my soldiers and feel proud.
“Pegasi! Take the fire from our burning town and rob this fiend of his wings” I order
Not long after my comrades equip the torches and fly for the griffin. The ground beneath me ignites with a barrage of fire arrows that catch the wings of the commander. Slowly the feathers wither away and we slowly descend back to the ruins below. He shouts in pain as the muscle and sinew in his wings melts into a homogeneous wax. We hit the ground, and his body slides a little way. Lightning holds the mace the fiend was brandishing earlier and her and a few other keep the wretch’s mouth levered open. He tries to talk, they let him talk, and he is held down.
“You will all burn for this” he declares.
“Dear princess Celestia…” I begin.
“It’s Queen you fucking moron” he spits.
“Today I learnt that alone we’re not that tough…”
“Just let me go! I’ll never come back”
“I’m getting to that bit… Hold your horses”
“Your pathetic revolution will never win!”
“That’s where you’re wrong pal. I’m on this team, we’re gonna win”
“I’ll see you all bur…” he begins before Lightning levers the mouth back open and stuffs the mace in to act as a gag.
“Thank you Lightning. As I was saying. Dear Princess Celestia. Today I learnt that alone we’re not that tough but together we can do anything. And also today I learned that killing a flatulent warmongering bird brained monster is all the more the fun when we kill him with his own weapon”
I turn my back to the handle of the mace, the business end is already firmly trapped in his gob. I buck the handle twice and hear the griffin gurgling blood. I kick a few more times and I see a fragment of his beak jettison past me. I kick one final time and hear an appallingly loud crack before the creature lies there lifeless. I look to my army and then to the sky and nod. We all spread our wings and reclaim the sky as our own. We revel in this victory for what seems like ages. Only we thought the Queen weaker than she really was, she had more than one way to make us fall into line.
‘Eternal day’
We continue to reap our reward, the sky, at least here, was ours. Then a couple of my comrades point to the horizon, I follow their focus. The night abruptly ends to a sudden dazzling sunrise. But there is something still approaching on the horizon. A swarm of phoenixes fly at impossible speeds, their beaks rip through anything that isn't metal or wood. The sun shining from above is brighter than ever, even some fires below re-ignite. In a blinding haze we cannot see, only endure every agonising wave of evil beaks. Then as a cloud passes over head I witness my soldiers burst into flames and writhe in pain. I see that this greater intensity of light is moving towards me.
“Fall back!” I order
As many as can be saved flee alongside me. But we could not outrun the sun. This is how she would crush our rebellion. She would turn all to ash. I fly ahead of the others, and I see them being swallowed up by the deadly rays. I push myself as far as I can to escape but even I can’t avoid the reach of the Queen’s power. The glow finally catches up and I am lost in the light. I fall unconscious.
I wake in a daze and a fit of sneezing. It was not the light that made me sneeze but the ashes of my fallen brothers and sisters of the sky. I raise a hoof over my eyes to block out the hateful glare but it seems as if the light can penetrate straight through me. I nudge a pillar of charcoal from the door way and venture out to what is left of PonyVille. The light has scorched the earth; I am now at the bottom of a vacuous crater. Some embers still glow, some small flecks of dust blow around in the wind. Some of my comrades were not just dust however; they were burnt so severely that large pieces of their pelts have melted and fused to other corpses as well as the white hot timber. I walk past a rebel who begs for death. Their jaw is misshapen and become a gum like consistency. She begs for death, and I am kind. I slice her throat to end the torment. So many others try to find a way to die but I do not find them all. I had failed in this respect. At least it seems that only the town was targeted, the pristine pastures over yonder were not untouched, but they are in better shape.
I limp out over the lip of the crater and examine the death toll this revolution, our revolution had caused. I start to run up the field towards the barn home of the Apple family. The field before the home is a mess, it burns and grass dies. The flame licks have only just reached the home, perhaps there’s still hope. I kick through the softened wood and shout for a reply, but I hear none. I look in every room till I see Granny Smith. She is dead. She must have breathed in too much smoke. I close her eyes and a tear gently drops onto the wooden floorboards. I dust covered mare approaches from what looks like the kitchen. She stops and looks briefly at the dead body before looking at me. She looks me in the eyes; hers though are cold and lifeless.
“Is that you R…?” The dust covered mare asks though the clouds of smoke.
“Applejack? Why didn’t you run away”
“Cause this is my home. I’m not leaving” she says, clearing the dust from her face.
“And her…?” I ask, gesturing to the lifeless green earth pony.
“She’s been dead for hours. Thanks to you flying types” she accuses, poking her hoof hard into my chest.
“This is not our fault, this…”
“How do you mean by ‘our’?” Applejack demands, fiddling with some knitting left on the side table.
“If I don’t do something I might as well roll on my back and die”
“You mean you were part of this?”
“We Pegasi want freedom” I decree, taking confident steps towards her.
“You… Get your pansy ass out of my house! Go on git!”
“AJ what the heck is wrong with…”
“Don’t be turning this around! I can’t find my sister or my brother and my grandmother is dead!”
“It’s the price we pay in war”
“What war RD? Your war, Soarin’s war? Not my problem”
“You must have seen what has happened to my brothers”
“We are all victims of the Princess, or the Queen or whatever”
“The Queen”
“… But only you spineless bird ponies made a big deal out of it”
“You’re the one with no…”
“Oh you think me a coward? It takes strength to do nothing, an’ to just carry on”
“Yeah… well…”
“Jus’ look at yourself… You’re covered in blood, and scars and gashes. How long till you don’t just bounce back? How long till ah I have to bury another friend?
“Another friend?” I ask, frightened of the answer.
“Look out in the field RD” she insists, pointing to the hole in the wall. “Find out for yourself”
I leave her and search the field for a grave. It doesn’t take long to see the grey headstone in the oceans of green, well yellow. I approach the grave and read the epitaph, it has been warn away by the heat, only written in paint. I turn away before I hear a voice familiar.
“Hey there Rainbow Dashie” I hear Pinkie’s voice.
“Uh hello?” I reply as I turn around.
Poking out from the grave is the top half of Pinkie Pie’s torso.
“Pinkie?”
“Hahahaha” it cackled out of sync. “No you stupid bitch!”
“Who are you?” I ask, rearing slightly at the gruesome nature by which Pinkie moves.
“I’m just using your friend here as a prop” the voice explains, it makes Pinkie walk towards me but she only walks on her front hooves, the bottom half of her body is missing.
“They could never find her legs. Pity really…” the puppet says, swaying and making the spine and intestines move as well.
“What…? Who are you?” I ask, stopping myself from being sick.
“And you brought down my commander. No, where are my manners? It’s me Celestia” the puppet explains. It brings a hoof of the ground to hide a giggle and fall onto its side.
“Why are you doing this?”
“Boredom mostly… It’s a good party trick for scaring ponies at the cemetery. I make them all sing sometimes. It’s so much more effective with foals”
“No I mean why are you doing this to the Pegasi?” I demand. I grip the handle of my blade.
“Oh never really thought about it, it’s just business” the puppet says, scraping its open torso on the dirt before ‘standing’ back up. From the fall some of the intestines have worked their way free.
“And what business is that?”
“I used to pay 600 thousand Pegasi to the clear the sky and now I don’t have to pay nearly as much. And it’s more reliable to boot” she says, making the puppet anchor its spine into the dirt.
“Yeah but…”
“Oh yes. Well you can’t stop me. I just killed your little rebellion” it says, making the Pinkie puppet stick out her tongue.
“You will be stopped”
“And who may I ask is going to stop me” it asks, dragging the spinal cord through the mud.
“You didn’t kill me”
“Well to be frank little Dashie… The source of these problems is a bit closer to home than you first thought”
“But… Why… Why are you killing us?” I demand, grabbing onto the Pinkie puppet and shaking it.
The voice ceases to speak trough Pinkie’s corpse and lets her flop onto the floor. Applejack startles me as she sneaks up from behind.
“Now you know” she says, tipping her hat.
“But how did it happen?”
“Pinkie. You know what she is like, Pinkie jumps around and does all sorts of stupid stuff. But uhh now it seems her Pinkie sense didn’t do her any good”
“Yeah but where’s the rest of her?”
“Your guess is as good as mine partner. She ruffled the feathers of one of those griffins”
“And now I’m half the pony I used to be” the voice speaks through the corpse one last time before leaving for good.
“So how are you gonna save us all?” she asks again. Tears stream down her face, she throws down her hat.
“The griffins have to sleep somewhere. I’ll find it, and I’ll burn them all” I reply, trotting to pick up the hat.
“What about the legions of royal guards and whatnot? They’re gonna tear you a new… Uhhh never mind” she says as I try to hoof her back the hat.
“I won’t have any trouble with them” I say now placing the hat on my own head.
“Yeah, they aint as dumb as the bird brains” she rebukes. She snatches the hat back and holds on for a second.
“I told you AJ. I got this. I can’t let them down”
“It’s a shame to be as honest as me at a time like this” she says, rubbing the back of her front leg.
“Why? You think I can’t do this?”
“I’m just waiting for you to be the next example the Queen makes. She has done some awful things to those who stand out”
“Thanks for the vote of confiden…”
“Go on RD. If I aint changing your mind then go ahead. I aint stopping you”
“Are you gonna bury her?”
“Eventually, I’ll get around to it”
“How long was I gone AJ?”I ask, my voice exhibiting a strain.
She doesn't reply and returns to her burning home. I leave and walk back to the grave. There is a spade at the side, I take it in my mouth and dig the grave again. I pick up Pinkie’s oozing corpse and gently place her back in the grave. I hear a thud behind me and I quickly spin around. A flock of phoenixes disperses to reveal Lightning dust. She is being pecked to pieces by the little fire birds. I go to help her. Then the clouds tear open with another column of light. The light bathes her at first. Then she screams to me as the heat melts the skin from her bones. She cries out for me to make her death less painful. I can hear the Pinkie speaking from inside the grave.
“Consider this a warning little Dashie…” she speaks through the Pinkie puppet.
I look back to the melted body of Lightning and it is reanimated.
“Where are those so called friends now little Dashie?”
“Just keep up the party tricks Bitch. I’ll have your head” I say, picking up a stick from the ground and poking the corpse.
“You have no place here. I will wipe your race of off this Earth” she finally threatens before letting the dead fall where they lay.
I see the skies open up to the burning punishment she sent before. Everything the sunlight hits burns to a cinder, the advance of the wall of fire is slow however. The corpse of Lightning dust is carried by the Alicorn puppeteer.
“Why don’t you try and save dear sweet honest Applejack?” it speaks as the Lightning puppet’s jaw stretches out of shape before eventually falling off.
I bite the bullet and head towards the inferno. I dive back through the wall and find Applejack trying to carry Granny Smith down to the basement.
“What are you doing AJ?” I ask in panic.
“I’m savin’ her” she replies, looking coldly back at me.
“She’s dead. And you’ll be joining her soon if you don’t hurry”
“No! This is my home. This is mah family!” She argues, taking another step down to the basement.
“Yes I understand. But you need to let go” I say, approaching the trapdoor she was disappearing into.
“Let go? I can’t…”
I reach a hoof forward.
“Come on pal. I’m not having another friend die either”
“I don’t wanna go” she says, tearing up further and fastening her hoof around her Grandmother’s mane.
“There’s no PonyVille left. Just look around, it’s just charred buildings”
“An’ festering corpses”
“Please Applejack” I scream as I take her by the hoof.
She hears her Grandmother’s head smack against the step and tries to turn back. I turn her away and pull her toward the fresh air. We both run from the abode as the sunlight reaches it and it burns down in a matter of moments. The light continues to advance; I shove Applejack into the crater and follow her down just as the ground beneath me is reduced to dust. My friend is out of breath so I allow her rest bite to regain her composure. I then think about Manehatton, where would Applejack go?
“AJ I don’t know where is safe anymore” I admit, brushing dust from my coat.
“Nowhere is safe RD. She is the day”
“Do you know where Twilight is?”
“We didn’t see ear or tail of her before things started breaking down”
“Wait. Do think she plays a part in this?”
“I have no idea. Ahm just gonna leave. See how I do in the wilderness”
“Good luck”
“Yeah, umm you too, good luck with the revolution. I’m gonna miss you Rainbow Dash” she says as she warmly embraces me.
We part ways, she heads for the everfree forest ironically and I head for Canterlot.
‘Spitfire’
Soarin’s death will not be in vein. I will find the head of the revolution. I will find Spitfire. I am among the clouds now, my eyes dart from side to side looking for anything else the Queen will send to intercept me. As expected something is sent, more of the phoenixes are sent out in murders to stop me. I avoid as many as I can but soon I am faced with an impassable wall of them. I am cut shallowly across most of my body as I fight to stay aloft, the creatures though they continue to take nips out of me. I hover on a spot for a few moment, my injuries are taking their toll. I unsheathe my blade and clutch it between my teeth; I bite so hard on it that my mouth bleeds. Far below the mountains of Canterlot lie the Caverns where they keep the trouble makers. Far below the erudite heights do ponies come to starve and sometimes they are even tortured. I let myself plummet toward the shores of Canterlot Prison; I use my wings as an air break and settle calmly on the ground. A royal guard sees me; he assumes a defensive pose and holds his spear in front of him.
“Visitors are to report upstairs” he advises.
“I’m no visitor hay for brains”
“This is off limits to the likes of you”
“Me? Whatever did I do?”
“Lunaletist, you must be stamped out” he yells, thrusting his spear towards me.
I skilfully dodge and run the blade through his knee. I turn back around and duck under the spear as it soars over my head; cutting a strand of my mane. I bring my hoof into his cannon, forcing him to his knees. I then slide the blade in front of his neck.
“You must be Rainbow Dash” he gasps.
“Oh my legend precedes me”
“Queen C said to watch out for you” he says, his voice breaking part way through.
“She’s pretty smart” I smirk, lacerating his throat and kicking him over. I inspect the armour he has on. Only the vambraces will fit me. I throw the helmet and greaves down to the murk below and attach the metal armour plates to me. I also pluck the spear from the stash and soldier on. The caves are dimly lit, the small trickling of light dances on the shallow canal in the middle of the hall. I walk towards a junction in the caves where a shadow grows and bends around the corner. I force myself into an alcove at the side and wait for them to pass. The guard fortunately does not deviate down this route but he does have a rather clever looking weapon. I leap over the water to ensure it does not spell my death and tip toe up behind the guard. I ready the spear for a sure and true lunge; I press my closer hoof down and it breaks a few small stones. The slight noise alerts the guard who turns to face me and as he does he pulls the trigger on the weapon he holds. I feel a deep and urgent pain in my side as I gain enough ground to skewer the guard straight through the heart. He holds the spear and stumbles a few paces before accepting his fate and coming to a rest balanced upon the spear.
I hear more shouts and orders emanating from down the hall, I clamber over the recent dead and snatch the weapon he had used. I then adopt a quick pace to continue up the hall, the shadows and shouting grow larger and louder. I see a snout pass the apex of the corner and I pull the trigger on the weapon. Nothing happens. I retreat away from the danger and make a mad dash for the spear still safely tucked in the guard’s chest. I see one guard round the corner at the end of the hallway; he calls for others to assist and they join him in the dank corner of the cave system. Luckily they only have spears. I hear one bellowing a war cry as he charges behind me. I cannot budge the spear so snap the head and part of the handle off and turn around just in the nick of time. The momentum I have from my turn easily takes me far enough to thrust the spear head into the guard’s neck and take his spear in the process. I give them a taste of their own medicine and charge towards the stragglers. I point both spears forward; the first guard I reach parries my full spear away but leaves himself open to a drive from the short spear. The chiselled tip tears his throat open; I leave the spear embedded in him. The other guard swings his spear for my head but I navigate under again and bring the butt of my weapon into his diaphragm. He bends from the winding. I toss the spear at the cave wall and deliver a kick to it. It splinters into two separate parts so as the fool swings his spear back I parry with the blunt side and finish him with the business end.
I peek around the corner where another canal runs through. I then spot the incarcerated rebel at the end of the hall. One of the dismissed soldiers stands up thanks to the Alcorn Puppeteer.
“Go ahead little Dashie… We’ll only capture her again”
“Just stay dead”
“Why Dashie, I’m starting to think you don’t like me”
“On don’t get me wrong Princess…”
“I’m the Queen! The Queen of Equestria!”
She drops the cadaver and the door opens at the end of the hall. It all felt too simple. I gallop to the end of the hall and reach out a hoof to Spitfire. The image flickers and then vanishes. I look to my side. There stands the Princess, her eyes glow black with dark magic.
“Oops you found me” she giggles, placing a royal hoof over her mouth.
“I’ll kill you” I shout, launching towards her throat.
I hit an invisible wall and hang in the air, unable to move.
“You want to kill me? Go ahead mortal” she challenges, scowling as she does.
“What are you getting from this?”
“Huh… I wouldn’t want to spoil it for you”
I am dropped from the stasis. She throws a stream of energy around me and laughs maniacally.
“You’ll barely remember any of this! You’ll just be another ghost on the streets. Ahahahaha! I won’t kill you though, I can’t deny I am fond of…” she says. The light in the cave shrinks so I can see only her before...
Nothing.
‘Memory’
I trot gleefully down a dusty dirt path. I look around for my friends. I venture to the Carousel Boutique and nopony is there; gowns and frocks hang isolated with no pony to buy them. I leave this place and find myself at Sugar Cube Corner. I feel as if I have not travelled at all to reach here, curious. I look through the frosted window but just like before there is no pony to be seen. I knock on the door but nothing happens. Not that no pony answers, I expected that, but my hoof makes not a sound as I tap it against the door. I cup my hooves in front of my eyes to get a better view. I stare into the shop again but instead of the pink flamboyant décor I see books all neatly laid out on shelves. I see an Alicorn in the middle of the room; she hums a tune over and over. I push the door and it breaks from its hinges and flies across the library floor. I follow it in. The Alicorn hums louder as I approach her; it then notices my presence and turns to me.
“…Houses on the treetops… houses on a cloud” the dark lilac Alicorn sings.
“Twi?”
“…You’ll never see them as they go around. They place the silken letters all under our snouts. And they ask so little, there are so many about. They work all night they work all day. They never get any time for play…” she continues to harmonise.
“What are you singing about?” I ask, growing impatient.
“…But never was there a soul so lonely… Celestia bless the mail pony” The shadow of an Alicorn sings.
“Are you ok Twi?”
“Clouds run amuck and you best chance you luck. Little filly don’t be silly, up above clouds to buck… You better be humble, respect; please do miss. Do well to remember your local Pegasus” she begins to sing a different song.
“Twilight why are you ignoring me?”
“Rainbow Dash is the seed of doubt. She will not let us be” it sings still, its voice brims with glee.
“Can you just cut it out?!”
“For she comes around, breaking anything in her way here in my house in a tree”
“You’re really starting to creep me out”
“She cannot remember what she has unleashed. My Queen so supreme, I’ll follow you always. But we will have to wait and see. Here in my house in a tree”
“Ok enough! Twilight? Where have you been?” I ask, as I do Twilight’s eyes and mouth light up with an eerie lilac glow.
“I’ve always been here Rainbow Dash” she says.
“No… No you haven’t”
“You are just too selfish to notice me”
“That’s a lie!” I snap.
“I was just sitting quietly here and you broke into my house”
“That door was...”
“…But never was there a soul so lonely… Celestia bless the mail pony” the Twilight looking creature sings again. This time she reveals a puppet she has on her hoof.
“Derpy?” I choke, feeling vomit rise in my throat.
“I love her, isn’t she just a doll?” it asks, jagged teeth revealed as she smiles widely.
“This can’t be happening”
“Why not little Dashie…? Wouldn’t want to pull the wool over your eyes…”
Twilight turns away from me and hums once more. I prod at her shoulder, she doesn’t budge. She places the Derpy puppet over her shoulder and the humming dulls. Before long she is silent. I look behind me. I’m in sweet apple acres. The whole family is there and they are smiling. Then something turns and one by one they decompose into nothing. Maggots wriggle from the rotting husks as they melt into the soil. Out, alone in the field I can see Applejack. I rush over to her but once again I am there without even taking two steps.
“Appleja…”
“Shhhh. They’re watching us” she warns.
“What i…”
“Shhh” she whispers still, a hoof pressed against my lips.
She turns to face me. I see a weird bulge in her neck. She smiles to see me and as she does a beak burrows out from her neck. It pecks in-affectionately at her chin.
“Aaa…” I murmur, unable to get a word out.
“Yes RD?”
“Yu…. Your neck Ap…”
“What? I can’t hear you”
I look over my shoulder and when my gaze returns I see two pink hooves on either side of Applejack’s head. I try warning her but she can’t hear a word I say. I then see the glowing grin of the Pinkie Puppet; it grows wider as Applejack’s neck snaps. The disfigured corpse of Pinkie steps around her dead friend and summons a saw from nowhere. She rests it against the orange rump of Applejack and begins to hack away at it.
“I like ‘em better this way” Applejack laughs from beyond the grave as her cold, dead hoof helps Pinkie saw through her.
“Nooo!” I scream, I open my wings and try to move but something has me anchored to the ground.
I look over my shoulder again and this time I see Fluttershy with a sad look in her eyes. I pull my hooves up with all my might but no matter what I try I cannot move.
“What’s the matter Rainbow Daaaaaaash? Not the same pony without flying?” the yellow one sneers.
“Please! You’re kind. Help me out of…”
A blade appears in my hoof and it feels like I have no control over myself. I use whatever will I have left to pull my hoof away but I could not stop it. I plant the blade at the base of Fluttershy’s wing and hold it steady with my jaw. I saw through her wing before regaining control and dropping the knife. I convulse, I want to be sick. I am not. The Fluttershy fades away, leaving me with the two half pony puppets. They both rise and start talking.
“What do you care?!” They demand in unison”
“I do…”
“You only look out for yourself” the Applejack puppet screams.
“Call yourself loyal?” The Pinkie puppet adds.
“We’d all be better off without you”
I return from my nightmare to only find myself in another one. I paw a hoof over my face and coat and feel scars all over me. I get shakily to my hooves and examine where I had been sleeping. I’m in a small cardboard box, I have only just slept but I am still tired. I look up and then wince at the blinding sunshine. I consider going back to sleep but dread to lie on my cardboard sheets again. I am in-between two buildings; I walk from the alleyway and look up and down the path. There are ponies working and fillies and colts playing. But not a single one of them is a Pegasus. I scratch my pasterns as it seems they have been irritated by something. On further inspection I notice indentations, small marks dug into my legs. I try to ignore it for now.
A feel a warm sensation on the nape of my neck, I peer behind me and discover a huge slobbering mutt. I try to back down the alley but get blocked by the dog’s leg.
“What do you want from me?” I ask. I feel some animosity towards the dog but have no inclination why.
“Weekly inspection, are you okay Dasher?” the mutt asks of me.
“Inspection for what? I’m no lab rat” I argue.
“Course not, that’d be a job now wouldn’t it” he says, fighting back a chuckle.
“So why are…”
“Ah you’re just stalling. What’ve you got back there?” he interrogates, trying to look around me.
“I don’t have the faintest…”
“I’m gonna be blunt with you Dasher. You’ll have another strike against your name” he says while pointing to a quill in behind his ear.
“What are you talking about?”
“Look, have you…” he begins, his eyebrow raised.
“What? What is your problem?” I ask, trying my best to hide me weary eyes.
“Have you been taking illegal substances?”
“Excuse me! My body is a temple” I say, my arms folded.
“Just let me take a butchers’ down to your board and then I can mark you as passed”
“Fine” I yield, moving out of the mouth of the alley.
He blunders down to the small cardboard box and the moist cardboard sheet and begins throwing things around. I turn to see what he is doing and poke my head with trepidation around the corner. He patters back to me and takes one last glance at the tattered cardboard strips he has made of my ‘home’ before clearing some phlegm from his throat.
“You’ve had the rats in again” he informs, shaking some substance off of his leg.
“RATS?” I shriek in terror.
“Yeah, found some leavings as well as plentiful supplies of their piss all over the shop”
“Can I get a new cardboard box then?”
“If you can find one… I’ll mark you as passed for this week” he generously proclaims before disappearing down the street.
What appalling conditions I put up with. But where exactly am I? I trot towards a hail of voices which argue and converse down the lane. I start to see the makers of the noise and immediately wish to return to the rat-infested hole I crawled from. One elegantly dressed unicorn notices me and ushers their fillies to play elsewhere. A fine art merchant shoes his crowd and closes the shutters on his stall. I look into a puddle below me and see I am filthy, I see I am nothing. I approach another step and more stalls close for the day and more ponies back away from me. I ignore the behest of the town folk, and then I march confidently into the market. An apple peddler remains; they might not have as high standards as the rest. He gives me a dirty look and points his hoof to where I came from.
“We don’t serve you here. Back to your pit” he says.
I single him out as an easy target and head for his little apple selling business. I read a sign above the stall.
“PonyVille finest apples FFB”
I then confront the clerk.
“Lotta ponies seem to be afraid of me… What gives?” I say, leaning an arm on his stall.
“Your kind aint welcome here” he says, he flicks at my hoof.
“Yeah? Well you’re not welcome here either” I antagonise, my hooves now grip to the posts on either side of his stall.
“You got a screw loose honey?” he asks, straightening his sign.
“No. Why are you selling apples and not swee…?”
“Let me stop you there. They haven’t sold apples here for nearly a year now”
“What about the…?”
“The acres are run by the owner and proprietors Ernest Flim and Daniel Flam”
“Those creeps?!” I say. Facehoofing.
“Look can you just clear off, your stank is making my apples overripe”
“You are picking on the wrong Pega…” I begin as a rope loops over the superstructure of the stall and pulls it down.
I hear a dull click and though the clearing dust I see the glint of a muzzle. More of the piece comes into view; the revolver churns to select another bullet. A hoof reaches from the dust cloak and takes the stall owner by the scruff of his shirt.
“Now don’t you be calling any guards” a thick country accent addresses.
“I won’t honest” the weak stallion pleads.
“Heh, you can play that song all day dirt bag” she says, pushing the tip of her hat with the gun she has in her hoof.
“Just take what I have, there’s a dozen or so left… I can…” he says, shivering and gesturing to the boxes of apples behind the stall.
“You can call yourself a lucky motherfucker now keep you bit grabbin’ hooves behind your head”
“AJ?”
“Oh my… Rainbow Dash is that you?”
“Shut the fuck up” she orders the stall clerk, the gun now pointed at his head.
“What the hell happened here AJ?”
“I’ve not time to explain now RD. Follow me” she advises.
Applejack gathers a clutch of apples as do I, before we both take our leave from the market. She leads me from the callas streets and into the forest beyond. We trek through the woods a while until she stops in a clearing. She props up a stick to open the entrance to a tent she has built under a large willow tree. She enters but turns to stop my progress.
“Not enough room for two” she explains.
“Oh, okay, it’s nicer out here than in the town anyway” I say, padding at the soft soil.
“Not even RD. No I’ll fix you somethin’ up”
“Okay thanks pal”
Applejack leaves the tent and calls for me to follow after her again. I dutifully walk in tow of her before she tells me.
“We’re here”
I look around us and see nothing special. Regardless, my hooves are worn and my eyes grow heavy so I sit back on my rump.
“You wanna know what happened?” She says, kicking some loose scree off of the cliff.
“Why not? Right”
“After PonyVille was rebuilt, built much larger than before, there were many laws introduced. They shut down my farm, they robbed many a pony of their livelihoods”
“And why am I…? You know…”
“You have been homeless for some years now. But I’ve said this all before”
“What?”
“I have told you this all not four months ago RD. You just refuse to remember”
“Why would I lie to myself?”
“My guessin’ is something happened to you in Canterlot”
“Canterlot? I went there?”
“It’s too hard to explain this to you RD, you will just forget again”
“I promise I won’t. I won’t forget”
“Only if you’re sure” she concedes, calming her tone.
“I’m sure”
“The skies screamed with the pain of a hundred Griffins. You made them scream RD”
“What because they were happy?”
“Yes RD, they were ecstatic”
“Oh phew, for a second there I thought…” I begin, wiping the sweat from my brow.
“You murdered them. You lead a rebellion against the Queen” she says, she looks longingly over the edge.
“The Queen?”
“I am not going through this again”
“But you sai…”
“Four months ago… When you still had some self-respect left”
“But AJ I don’t remember”
“Then for Luna’s sake just go back in to hiding. Go back to your hole”
She draws the revolver and squares it at me.
“Stay the fuck away from me cyan!”
I retreat a few steps before cantering away, how can I take in all this information at once? It doesn’t take long for me to find myself lost in the everfree forest. This place plays by a different set of rules. However something seems awry here. Small tropical birds fly upside down, they fall asleep mid-flight and drop out of the sky. Owls hoot out of tune and grip onto the bark of the tree with their beaks. I walk a little further and see a mole burrow from the ground; in broad daylight. The owl sees the feast and swoops down to feed. I close my eyes as to not see the natural ritual. Through my curiosity I peek with one eye open to a strange discovery. The mole is partially visible as it digs back underground; it has not been eaten by the upper link in the food chain. I thrash my head from my side to side, looking for the owl until I see it gnawing on a fern. I take a glance up at the sky, the sun has not moved since I woke. I delve deeper into the web of timber and shrubs until even the lights so bright far above does not pierce the thickest of the canopy. Here I see a tiny spec of normality; carrion attracts a young fox that has strayed from its mother. I walk past the banquet and realise the young cub feasts upon its own mother. I see her sleeping eyes, her cold dead eyes and spur myself to push onwards. The terrain rises up again and as I leave the protection of the canopy the world flips over on itself again and animals again act strangely. Some comfort is gleaned from the shades and hues that mark my path into the dark and lonely streets I see afar. But they fade quite instantly as I see the smoke billowing from tall oppressive chimneys.
I reach PonyVille and remember how I was shunned. It isn’t through my impeccable memory that I recall this, but through the repeat of the same events. More families, not a Pegasus in sight I might add, avoid me like the plague. I see ponies actively changing their plans in order to stave off having to face the reality that I apparently have lived every day. I wonder back to my empty alleyway, I at least won’t be judged there. I feel as if I am walking along an adverse camber but I am mistaken. I fall onto my side and cough violently. My throat feels like a vessel for a bountiful flow of lava. It spills from my muzzle and melts into the ground before me. I’m in my ‘home’ now, I must’ve crawled here. Through the small gap in my closing eyes I watch the sun sit there in stasis before I fall to sleep.
‘Lost’
Morning lands on me like a tonne of bricks. I heave myself upwards and again approach the alienating streets. I this time head up the opposite direction, maybe I’ll find something better. I walk a while before I am startled by my growling stomach. In my haste to find out details from Applejack I had neglected my hunger. I glance briefly at a passing filly; she has a toffee apple on a stick held loosely in her food. I wouldn’t steel from a child, I however have sustained my stair for too long. A disgruntled parent makes a wall between me and the filly.
“Don’t infect my filly!” He shouts at me.
“I I I’m so sorry” I stutter.
“Keep on walking pegashit! Ruin somepony else’s week”
I hide within myself, his words cut me deep. I raise a hoof to ask for some food from a burdened mother retuning home with some groceries. She quickens her gait and doesn’t even bless me with a fake sorrowful look. My breathing becomes erratic, must be panic setting in. I shy away from the bouts of insulting ponies and put myself back in my place. I head through another alley, only this one is home to another Pegasus. I put a hoof on their withers to garner some attention. She doesn’t stir.
“Umm hello?” I ask, in the same manner as Fluttershy would.
Again, not a sound does she make. I then start to put pieces to together in my head, the puzzle all fits neatly into place. This soot covered, waif of a mare can be no pony other than…
“Fluttershy?”
“…”
Still nothing, I then try something underhoofed.
“I don’t see an angel anymore” I say, tapping a hoof on the concrete.
“Angel?” Fluttershy whispers.
“Oh so you do talk” I scold, moving round to where I can see her face.
“Who are you? I don’t want any trouble”
“It’s me…”
“Brutus…? No I don’t want to do that anymore” she cries, retreating further into herself.
“No it’s me, Rainbow Dash” I say, pointing to myself proudly.
“Do you remember?”
“I can’t” I begin, tears streaming down my face.
“You made promises”
“I didn’t…”
“Empty promises!” she says, spitting something out onto the floor.
“I ca… I can’t remem…”
“Just! Just forget it… its fine” she quietly accepts.
She slumps away and shrugs off the conversation. I pursue her but then cannot follow as she glides up above the thatched rooftops. I try to fly as well but something stops me. I don’t know what. I almost collapse back to an inconvenient slumber when a procession of cornets plays in the town square. I sneak into the background where I am accompanied by the shadows. The assembly all stand with eager ears, something is happening on the stage up front. Two stallions stroll onto the stage… they start…
…Singing.
“What say what a beautiful day dear ol’ brother of mine?” one says.
“I think I’d have to agree with you, it’s incredibly fine”
“Oh dear brother I’m sure these immaculate ponies will agree”
“To what my brother?”
“That we grow the best darn apples in this reality”
“Absitively posilutely, best darn apple in this entire reality” the crowd joins in…
“Oh come along every pony”
“I don’t think they quite get the gist”
“How about it folks”
“Best darn apples to ever exist”
“Forget the apple family, they never cared for you and me” the crow pipes up
“They were just a bunch of liars”
“They made poison of our cider”
“We’ve innovated, experimented”
“We built the working glider”
“And that’s ingenuity…” Flim explodes.
“Cause we…” The carols of voices stop.
A soot-covered Pegasus lands in the middle of the enthralled crowd. The brother sporting the moustache exits the stage and walks up to the injured creature.
“Ah what a bucking shame, fillies and gentle co…” Flam begins.
“Get you slimy hooves away from her” I defend.
“They positively breed like rabbits! How disgusting” he riles the crowd.
“We’re disgusting…?” I begin.
“This whole display is a joke!” Fluttershy yells to my surprise.
“Oh the little fallen rat speaks” Flam says.
“You undercut my friend! You took her farm away from her” Fluttershy continues to contest.
“The farm burnt down. She couldn’t foot the bill” Flim intervenes having left the stage as well.
“So you two just saunter in…”
“We tried to be nice before, even do business with the lowly earth ponies” Flam says.
“If there’s one thing that Pinkie taught me is that we are all the same” Fluttershy says
“Ah yes we are all the same. But some of us are the same in a better way” Flim adds.
“And Pink…”
“Oh and by the by… Your little candy-coloured pal is no longer buried in Flim Flam fields”
“What are they talking about? Why is she…?” I demand.
“Praise the Queen! The guards are here”
“You didn’t answer my question” I plea.
I turn to the point of a spear; it is fashioned from gold and precious stone. The guard doesn’t utter a word as he presses the spear into my chest. Another guard points to Fluttershy and whispers something to Flim.
“He wants to know if you’ll be taking the trash out with you”
I don’t gift him with an answer. I walk to my fallen friend; disgusted faces turning as I walk past them. I place my hoof atop of hers and nuzzle her forelock. She doesn’t move; she doesn’t look into the disapproving gaze of the public. I push my head under her belly and lift her up on my withers. I skulk away, her frail body slipping off of me as I leave. I take her back to where I found her in the alley and leave her propped against the side of a building. She sniffles and grabs onto my tail as I walk away.
“I shouldn’t have… I should have remembered” she regretfully sobs.
“What happened to you?”
“I usually remember, Pinkie made up a rhyme”
“I… I couldn’t fly earlier”
“Oh hello feathered Pegasi on don’t you scream and don’t you dare cry. For your friends will never have to say good bye, as long as you stay out of the sky”
“We’re not allowed to”
“She’ll see us. She hates us”
“Who?”
“You’re the only one that ever met her, Applejack said”
“I’ve gotta go now. I’m starving”
“Boo hoo, I haven’t eaten in weeks”
I feel bad leaving her, but I lied about why I was leaving anyway. Again my stomach could wait; I wanted to see Flim Flam fields…
‘Prophet’
The acres, they ache. The barn is gone, the sheds are gone. Now all I see are factories. The orchards of trees grow in tall expansive greenhouses. The homely hoof written sign is gone as well. What replaces it is a sterile steel construction. I notice a herd of young earth ponies on a guided tour of the ‘fields’. At first glance they are earth ponies, their backs are carpeted with bandages. Some of the bandages become loose on a passing ‘earth pony’ and reveal rows of little bones; all covered in blood. Were wings once attached here? I shudder at the thought of a young Pegasus being robbed of their identity, their birth rite. I consider a second that I could throw on this false guise… Lose myself. Just to be something.
“I heard a screaming as she burned to death…” Applejack confides.
“AJ? What fire?”
“You would not let me save her” she closes her eyes to fight back bouts of tears.
“I already told you…”
“You said we’d have never made it…” she says, looking back up at me.
“What burnt the barn down?” I ask, digging with my hoof in the ashen dirt.
“You really don’t remember this?” she asks, breaking character and crying a little.
“I do…”
“I thought some things might stick in that thick skull of yours”
“I don’t remember anything!”
She allows the revolver to hang from her hoof.
“Take this RD. If you’re going in there kill those bastards”
“I’ve never… I could never…”
“You have and you have to. Please Rainbow Dash. Do me this solid” she begs, thrusting the gun closer than before.
I take the gun and play with the barrel.
“What is this thing?”
“It’s one of the many innovations the brothers have given us”
“But what does it…?”
“One well aimed shot… And all your problems are gone…” she says while imitating the actions required when using it.
I take the gun by the handle and look down the iron sights. When my gaze returns my friend is gone. Was she even there? I look behind me and a leather strap is dangling off of the branch of a tree. I unhook it and wrap the strap around my waist with the buckle it has at one end. The gun fits snugly in the oddly shaped pouch. I spread my wings; they ache as if they have been furled for ages. I leave the ground beneath me and propel myself up above the ‘clean green pastures’ of steel and chrome. As soon as I am airborne a beam of light flashes, only missing my wing by a micrometre. I employ an evasive flying pattern as it becomes clear that something means for us not to fly. I dodge and weave a few more superheated streams until shadows dance above me. A griffin soars above me; it has two great iron contraptions strapped to its back. I hear a whirring cacophony and through some miracle instinct I take cover behind one of the greenhouses. The contraptions start firing heavy rounds of iron through the hydroponics plant that flanks my left. The guns seem to need to time to warm up so I continue my flight path. Soon the griffin overcomes the obstruction but by this point I have hidden myself in one of the intensive trees behind the shattered glass. I see the gormless beak of the fiend sweep past me. I see the yellow of its eyes through the gun sights but wimp out and let it pass. For a moment I thought it had clocked me, maybe it would bring reinforcements. I let myself relax for now. I holster the gun and gently flutter down onto the wire mesh flooring. I hear a thunderous crash and shrapnel flings past me, I duck down in the nick of time as a bumbling bird brain totals a whole line of the Flim Flam Fields production. Its talons narrowly miss digging into the back of my head.
The creature swings around to find me flying upside-down. It rolls back onto its feet and revs up the cannons again. My hoof has snatched the gun from my side before I can tell it to do so. I pull the trigger and a high pitched whistle sounds before a mighty explosion. The griffin drops onto its side, dead. A crater is bored in the tarmac behind me; I flinch as more shadows curse the skies. It flies so close to the ground that the wake throws me towards the freshly made corpse. I drift on my back, staying completely calm I raise my gun to meet another beak. The whistle of steam percolates through the valve system but the explosion does not happen. Another griffin come out of nowhere and sends me into a fit of pirouettes. It is so close that it instead reaches with its talons and grasps at my barrel with them. The gun escapes my grasp in the spin. I see it catapult towards a sea of broken glass and leaving me soon no option but broken bones. The griffin has me in its clutches. It rams me through what is left of the glass panes. I scream out, for no other reason than shock, it doesn’t feel like anything. I rip a large chunk of glass from my leg and send it gracefully through the griffin’s thigh. I am let go, I forget my own air abilities and hit the ground. The gun tumbles ahead of me; it ricochets across a forecourt full of carts. I ignore the trauma and go after the gun. I feel the warm breath of my pursuer bake my back legs when I finally reach the resting gun. I leap and catch hold of the elevated handle as a squawk sounds behind. I touch back down on my back and fire another steam driven round. I roll to the side to avoid the weighty creature crushing the life out of me. I let the barrel roll until I hear the click before using the fallen griffin as cover. The one legged creature bears down on me. The whirring rings in my ears. Rounds randomly pelt the ground just beyond me but I know he will get an angle on me eventually. I take a peek at the pair of cannons still glued to the back of my ‘living’ sandbag and take note of the thick pressurise canister that rests between the turrets. As the final cretin draws nearer my cover become littered with a hail of bullet. Blood sprays out from the numerous holes but still I hold my ground. I wait; I count down the moments till I am sure he’s close enough. I know the risk but if I do nothing I am most assuredly going to die. I rest the muzzle of the gun over my cover and fire one round into the steam canister. It explodes; the griffin is caught in the explosion.
A high-pitched tone is all I can hear. The first thing that comes into focus is the open barrel loader of the revolver. I crawl over to it on my belly and grab it and as I do another hoof does as well. I look up; it’s Applejack.
“You got two shells left partner. Make ‘em count”
“AJ! Who am I? What am I?”
I look down to prepare the gun and when I look back she is nowhere to be seen. I climb to my hooves. I cannot bear to stand for more than a few seconds; I cling to my barrel and fall back down. During battle I was numbed to any pain but now it came back to bite me again and again. Where the bird had grabbed me it had torn strips out of me. I force myself up and gallop towards the offices governing the field before I am caught and hoof-cuffed by the ground guards I had run in to earlier. I feel something smack against the back of my head and then...
Darkness…
‘Bad seed’
I wake up and see a blurry figure watching me. A row of bars emerge in the foreground. I am exhausted, I feel a warm iron tasting liquid under my tongue. I drop my head and some blood drips from my muzzle.
“Don’t you just love a good dungeon?” the blurred figure giggles.
“I don’t” I say, clearing some more blood from my mouth.
“Because I do, even the ones that don’t exist” she says, failing at holding back her cute laugh.
“Don’t… Exist?”
“You see what I tell you to see” she says, she brings her head through the seemingly impassable bars.
“But…”
“You think I would waste valuable tax bits to keep your kind in my prison?”
“Then where am I” I ask.
The scenery around me dissolves and it lessens my resolve. I take a step forward and find it stuck in the gaping mouth of a dead Pegasus. There are hundreds of them strewn along a dark canyon. I tread carefully between the bodies; I try my best not to mutilate them any further. I look above and see a small bird unable to leave the grave, a shield has been conjured to stop any who might escape. One of the heads in the sea of extremities turns to me. Unlike the empty eyes and cold skin that the others have it radiates warmth and glows. The body pulls itself out of the mass grave with its head hanging tenuously from its broken neck.
“What’s the matter little Dashie? You look like you’ve seen a ghost” the puppet asks.
I recoil, this cannot be real.
“Oh but it is real little Dashie… I like to keep all you little annoyances out of the way”
I back away from it. What other word could describe this monstrosity?
“Now where do you think you’re going?” it demands, the glow draining away from it.
“Get away from me!”
I turn away and gallop along the piles of corpses. I feel I am gaining ground when more bodies reanimate and rise to greet me.
“It doesn’t…” one begins as I hurry past it.
“Matter where you” another thing says.
“Go, I’ll always be there… I will always…” further dead Pegasi chant in unison before I bump into somepony.
“FIND YOU!” it screams.
I shake my head from the collision and examine the last cadaver to speak to me. The shining golden coat, that ferocious mane, the few shreds of material left attached around her hooves… It’s spitfire.
“I bet you had many the restless night thanks to me” the puppet sneers.
“Whu…?”
“You know? Your fantasies about me” it speaks, dragging itself nearer to me.
“I have no idea…”
“You had such a hard on when you thought you found me in that cage”
“What cage? You’re dead”
“Oh Dash” it says tuning its limp rump to me. “You can take me bloody”
I back away and the body is dropped. I hear a fleshy thump behind me. I spin around and another fleshy thump echoes where I was just looking. I see a hoof poking over the top of the canyon, it jiggles slightly. I feel something grab on to my hoof; it’s cold. I look down and see a lifeless hoof draped over me and it shortly joined by another. The more thuds fill the canyon and then I realise what is happening. From over both sides of the canyon falls an avalanche of dispatched Pegasi. I try to get out of the way but there are too many bodies. Soon the weight adds up and I am entombed under them. One more head glows with a dark omen.
“Stay with us little Dashie… It’s more comfortable than a dumb cloud. And you are surrounded by your friends” it ominously says.
I then have almost an electrical shock of a flashback. I am in PonyVille. There is a dogfight raging up above me. I see Soarin. He looks down to me; reality begins to bleed into the fantasy but I still see him between the bodies. He is like a guiding light.
“We’ll die fighting and flying! Not cowering and hiding. This is the revolution Rainbow Dash…”
He plunges his hoof into the torrent and reaches down to me.
“…Join us…”
I feel a sudden burst of energy, a new drive which I so desperately need. I climb up through the mounting toll of bodies until I am free. The shield has been lowered in order to dump the new ‘inmates’ into the hole. I do not fly. I know there must be more of the aerial guards up there. I throw myself at the canyon wall and try to gain purchase on the outcrops and alcoves. A body flops down above my head. I push myself close to the wall and wait for it to be clear again. I continue the ascent from madness and finally summit the climb. I keep low but still it’s hard not to be dumbfounded by the scene around me. Griffins drop more and more corpses either side of the canyon before a team of buffalo push massive scoops to send the dead down to the pit. I weave in and out of the rolling Pegasi; I keep low to the ground. I make very slow progress, the effort is fatiguing and the smell most repulsive. I make it to the base of one of the scoops and am stumped. What now? If I break from the volley of Pegasus corpses they’ll see me for sure. I travel along the line of defence until I see where the forest meets the buffalo line. Then a tired bull lets his head drop down, he might be falling to sleep. I attack this window of opportunity and break into a gallop and head into the trees.
‘No going back’
I return to PonyVille, the canyon I was in was Ghastly Gorge. A few ground guard patrols are already alerted to my presence; they all brandish spears of gold and harbour hatred for me. But what concern is it of mine if they want to chase me with their landlocked hooves? What concern at all are these mud ponies to me. I know I can outfly the griffins, I know that the beams of light aren’t fast enough to catch me. I leave for the skies. I quickly tick the miles off to Flim Flam fields and disperse with the negotiations.
I have no plan, I rarely do. I fetch a rock on the way to the skylight and drop it through into the executive office. I catch only one of the brothers. He is getting friendly with some ditsy earth mare. I clear my throat and the bald-faced stallion turns to me, he is not best pleased with my intrusion. He opens the door and shoves the mare out. I reach under the desk as he approaches me. I locate a cold metal object under the table. I grab hold of it and bring it to my shoulder. It is a gun. How convenient. I point it at him…
“Now we had a bit of a misunderstanding. How about we start of on a better hoof” he says, thinking I will chicken out.
I pull the trigger. Only one remains. I vault the desk and land on a peculiar rug. I rush to the window but vomit before I can reach it. The rug on the floor was Applejack. I can’t leave her here. I didn’t even know she was… Wait I was talking to her… She had given me the gun. She had stolen those apples… Why would I…?
Disjointed thoughts curry for favour in my mind. They will have to wait for now for comes a knocking at the office door. I keep the weapon ready. I put my back to the wall and wait.
“I’m glad you see things my way Miss Mare” he chats.
“I don’t see why we shouldn’t burn the bodies… The smell is rather pungent. What if house prices…?”
“Shut up!” I order.
“Flim?” Flam whines.
“Oh gosh, it’s one of those!” the mare cries in fright.
I shoot Flam through the eye and then grab the Mare by the bob of her mane. I take my hostage out into the hallway. In both directions the way is blocked by royal guards.
“Back off! Else this bitch doesn’t walk out of here!”
None of them move a muscle. I put the gun to the Mare’s head and drag her with me to the door. I pick up the mare and shoot back into the sky. In the flick of an ear I am hovering over the spire of town hall. I can see the griffins hurtling towards me. I plant the witch’s jaw on the sharpest point and run her down to the roof of the building below. The spire threads through her head. I look out to the starving members of my race and declare.
“We will return to the sky!”
‘Routine’
Here springs a brand new morning under the towers of gold. A Godlike pony urges the star to thrust into the sky. I watch my sister as she performs this awesome feat and she turns around to me and she says so humbly.
“Oh my sister, you must be so tired”
“I am, but the night was fraught with nightmares”
“Such a weight on your small shoulder, are you sure you are doing alright?”
“I have to my sister, for I have wronged all these fair ponies. It is only right I bear this burden”
“You speak like you are alone. You have your sister, Luna. You have your sister”
I let her return to her duties, there are many letters piling up on the doorstep. I think I should allow myself a sleep but I still have many niggling thoughts. I look out over the railing of the lonely balcony and imagine the ponies waking up from their prolonged slumber. I have done my best to keep the demons out from their dreams but some may have eluded my detection. I pull back my head as a young phoenix chick blitzes past me. I am not angered by the darling bird; it only does as its nature dictates. I also have tasks that need my attention, chores my elder sister sets me to keep me occupied through the days that drag so. I smile a little smile and make my way back down the stairs to where my chores are waiting. I leave the staircase and see the rows of hoof shoes that need to be shined. I fetch a brass bristled brush and push a stool over to the work station. I take the first set of boots and bring them close to me; they have some slight tarnishing on the instep. I turn them over and cannot contain my enthusiasm. The bottoms of the shoes are caked, literally caked in cake. Must’ve been from the parties and royal occasions she frequents, none of which I am invited to. I clutch the brush and work it into the boot. I finish one set and put them to the side. I set my eyes upon another set and groan through my boredom. I turn one of the boots in my hooves and reach the end of my tether.
I scrape at a stain on the boots. It doesn’t fade, why must she eat so many of them? Perhaps they are a good source of potassium; perhaps she finds the shape to be amusing. No matter her reason for obsessing over them, the bananas had become a problem. I abandon the task for now; need to get my head straight. I walk a few steps before my hoof is attacked by a paper bag. Her laziness knows no bounds. I rip the bag off with my teeth and stuff it in the bin. I retreat to my room and take solace in my bed. Still no time for sleep, still tonnes to do and day’s a burning away. I scan over some letters my sister has left for me to reply to on the bed stand. They are the only ones sent to me, the rest go to the favourite. I read a passage from the letter on top. There are some long rambling soliloquies about how some pony’s foals have been having nightmares again. When will they realise I am just one pony? I do possess unimaginable power but still there are millions of ponies all sleeping at the same time. I bang my head on the stand and venture back down to another super fun chore awaiting me. A note is stapled to the fridge, the fridge is full bananas. Ugh I’m distracted again. I read the note.
“Don’t forget to buy more bananas…
Celestia X”
There is a purse of bits on the side; I’m not allowed my own money. I take my, there’s no other word for it, bib from a hook near the window and set off for the shops. In my short flight to gather the potassium rich provisions my sister so urgently needs I ponder life without the annoying cake munching, banana mulching sycophant and continue with my errand. I arrive at the market and low and behold the fruit stall owner is elated to see me.
“You come for the bananas?” He chortles.
“Oh yes of course. How many do you have?”
“It’s fairly early in the day, four dozen…” He cheerfully exclaims.
“Umm in English if you would be so kind”
“Ah mind my idiocy. I’ve 48 bananas”
“I don’t think I’ll need as many as that” I sigh, having second thoughts.
“Are you sure? Just last week your sister purchased 600”
“That’s kind of worrying”
“Bananas are a good source of pot…” He begins, I cut him off.
“I know. I get it. How much?”
“I usually do her a deal for seven for the bit, since she makes such a beautiful day for me”
“7 bits then…” I posit.
“As close as”
I pay the merchant and take the haul of bananas. I float the basket with my manna and make the dull journey back to the castle tower and my doldrums of chores. I put the bananas in the fridge and return to the lonely balcony. A hyperactive Pegasus lands at the post next to me and is about to plop a letter into the mailbox. I take the envelope and tear it open.
“Not nearly enough… There’s a long winter.
PS: Don’t forget to clean the boots.
PSS: Don’t read my diary (again).
PSSS: Make sure to get some sleep”
How could she know what I had just retrieved from the market? I had only been there but three minutes ago. Make sure to get some sleep, they think I don’t try? I haven’t been able to sleep for weeks now, something to do with the winter solstice marked with a little frowning face on my bedroom calendar. I look up from the letter and see the mail pony is still there. They look lost. I tickle the mare’s chin and sing to her, to let her know she is appreciated. It is a song my mother told me when I was having trouble sleeping as a filly.
“Houses on a treetop, houses on a cloud…
You’ll never see them as they go around. They place the silken letters all under our snouts. And they ask so little, there are so many about. They work all night they work all day. They never get any time for play. For never was there a soul so lonely, oh my daughters bless the mail pony”
The mare smiles as she is made humble by my singing. I wave her away as she flies off to other mailboxes. I turn from the rail and bound down the stairs for down there still wait my sister’s affairs. Her boots still lie filthy, with cake and other such smut. I take back my seat and chose another pair. I work through each set, no break to be had. I place each clean set on a shelf on the farthest side of the room. The sun is now dipping under the hills; I wait for my dear sister to return to me. She must perform that feat again, so that I may make the moon rise for the long dark night. I pace up and down the hallways all gold spangled and detailed with diamonds. I tap at the panels across the hall until my sister returns.
She makes a scene as she saunters back in. She beckons me with a royal tone so I leave my chores and rush to her. She doesn’t speak; we’ve done this operation many times before. For now we change the guard for I rule the night and her day is done. She drags the sun down in a bazaar miming act, she then nods to me, we are meant to be equals. I clear my mind and throw a spark up my horn. I find the lunar body drifting lonely so far away and command it rises. It obeys and takes centre stage in the theatre of the night. Not long as the sun been gone has my sister lost her angelic sheen. She mopes, puts her head down and sours away, back to her bedroom at the tip of the tower. I walk back to the precipice of the lonely balcony and again let my horn come alive with a luminescent glow. I can see where every pony sleeps; I can see them as they wonder into a land of dreams. In my warped view of reality I can derive whether a pony is calm or stressed as they sleep under my watchful eye. I see a warning ‘light’ blinking on a PonyVille citizen, the inhabitants of Canterlot seem to never have restless sleep. I follow the red flashing flair down to a quaint confectionary in the town square. I phase through the mortal coils which restrain the common pony and find the distressed sleeper. An earth stallion lies next to his unicorn spouse, the colour are unreadable in this light, or perhaps the lack of it. I enter into the proverbial cloud of the mind and investigate what troubled the earth stallion.
His dream plays back like some gritty crime drama. I look around for the subject in the dream. I hear a loud crying emanating from an alleyway, I wasn’t aware PonyVille had these. In spite of my speculations I head down into the alley. A unicorn holds something away from a stallion. She is screaming for him to go away. There is a small bird skeleton lying, half-submerged in an upturned bin. The stallion is trying to take something from the mare. She pulls the parcel away, I inch a tiny bit closer in my ghostly form and come to a painful realisation. The stallion has blood on his muzzle and tiny downy feathers clinging to his lips. The skeleton submerged in the bin is no bird but a young Pegasus. I think to intervene, to help put an end to this grim facsimile. I see the bundle closer and it is foal, an infant unicorn. I have no qualms now to cut into the procession. I put myself between the couple but they both look straight through me, as if I were made of cellophane. They continue arguing, I am powerless, and perhaps this dream was not just a nightmare but a reality these ponies could not escape. I was sure we were between some ordinary buildings. I am to be proven wrong as the things that barricade us are not just bricks and mortar. They are two unquestionably huge pink hooves. I look along the hooves, hoping that maybe pony anatomy had some hold in the dreamscape and am pleasantly surprised. It is a pony, a mare I know. She is one of those one’s my sister rants on about every waking hour of the day. Its pinkie and she is salivating down to what was once the alleyway. And then all becomes clear. The stallion and Mare are keeping the foal away from her. Their words start to make sense, talk of starving and living on the streets. I never thought it pertinent to ask another pony the nature of their affairs but I had long questioned the living arrangement of the pink party mare. I know it is not place, I know I should not tamper with the way things are. Knowledge can be a burden. I do take the initiative. I turn to the two and hush their row.
“If you can’t afford my sisters tax then let the pink one take the flak”
“But we can’t throw her out” They defy.
“And if you do not, this dream will soon break through and destroy all that makes you wonderful, all that makes you… you”
“She is our friend” They protest as one.
“She will kill you in time my dear friends. Mr and Mrs cake; stop playing pretend”
I phase out from the scape and vacate the quaint confection castle and once more scan my augmented reality. I see another disturbance flaring up in a vibrant rounded building. I head over to understand the cause of the distress. I enter into the niche boutique and walk on the tips of my hooves up the narrow stairway. One nearly pinches oneself for being such a fool; I transit into the snoozing mare’s dream. My pupils instinctively constrict to the laborious display of satin gowns and pretty shiny things. Blaring spotlights act as pathfinder for the mystery mare behind the stage curtain. Overzealous tympani of drums and strumming of harps welcome the entrance of the not-so mystery mare. Low and behold it’s Rarity. But what ill omen doeth preside in her dream? She looks fairly happy; she is in the sycophantic construct of her one-track mind. The lights swivel to illuminate Rarity who is now visible on stage. She is… She’s naked. How impractical, but this is her nightmare. I go over to remedy the mistake. She’ll have none of it.
“Aaaaaaaa” She screams. “What have you done with my clothes?”
“I’m the princess Rarity; please get back behind the curtain”
“Oh you’re a princess? That does not give you the right to ruin my fashion show!”
“Princess… Of the night, I am in your dream. Ringing any bells?”
“Luna… How are you going to fix this?”
“Put clothes on…” I say before exiting stage left from the egotistical machination of pettiness.
And I pop out of this dream also. I look to the obelisk standing proud in the town centre. The Mare must be having a lot of trouble sleeping; I have been involved in a number of her dreams now. I leave the thinking for later and ascend up to the open top-floor window. The curtains tickle my sides as I pass through. The Mare tosses and turns in another nightmare. I roll my eyes at my disdain for frequenting her dreams every single day before letting go and falling in. And thou it is yet a repeat of yesterday’s escapades. A further stale, tired office set in a really boring version of PonyVille. A frustrated mare thrashes her hooves against the desk as what I perceive to be a pedestrian problem. She has mountains of paperwork bowing her desk. She has lots of work to do, she always will. I wish she would quit her cheese snacking midnight habit. She will always have this dream; to be busy is her life. I find myself useless and am about to leave when something different happens. In the schedule of the mundane where everything has a place a free radical flies into the room. It literally flies into the office. It is a Pegasus. It looks tired, it smells something terrible. It is exasperated and lulls onto the matted floor of the office.
“What is wrong with him?” I ask.
“Oh you needn’t worry. It’s a weather thing” She mumbles.
“A weather thing?” I question, pondering the meanings of this explanation.
“Yes, do you want to ask me any more stupid questions? “
“I’ll go on the negative with that one. Do you not see the unconscious Pegasus?”
“I told you it’s…”
“Yes, yes I know. A weather thing” I concede in annoyance.
“ They've been dropping all morning” She adds.
“How do you mean?”
“The Pegasi, it’s a weather thing. I’m sure it’ll clear up” She repeats.
I go to the window.
“Why are there Pegasi falling from the sky”
“It’s a weather thing… Could you please leave? I have paperwork to finish” she passively orders.
I see I can make no impact and again skip merrily out of the dream.
I think about the odd change of events in the dreamscape. Quite artistic, poetic in a way; it reminds me of something I saw once in New Yoke. Ah, bespoke galleries with valet cart-parking and complimentary cranberry juice. How could it not be heaven? These flies of the minds grasp my attention momentarily before I can get back on task. I look over to our apple purveyor and make haste to another blinking beacon of restless sleep. I make not attempt to take in the views as I go and don’t even nosy around the house when I get there. I pass through the floor of a basic bedroom with not a thrill to be seen. Applejack is so uncouth she has fallen from her bed. Still she has a hard head so I don’t reach for the phone or dial the emergency services. Do we even have emergency services? The dream war still rages so I pep myself up before diving into the nether.
I look around; I am in a bed that is not mine. I roll over and pull the duvet off of me. I’m amongst four thin walnut posts in a bed that feels like it is full of straw. I note a tear in the fabric and am delighted to confirm that the bed was indeed full of straw. Despite the homely welcome I drag myself from the bed. I feel weird, one cannot place a hoof on why but I assure myself it’s just part of the dream. I try my darnedest to avoid the squeaking floorboards, it is a fantasy however, all the floorboards squeak. I walk into the door, not through it. I nurse my sore snout and open the door. I hear a mumbling in the other room. I am not ofay with the mapping of the establishment, although I end up where I need to be apparently. It strikes me as a tad peculiar that I haven’t seen Applejack in the dream yet. Hmm, is she so modest and altruistic that she dreams of others? Either that or she has personality issues. I am in the room with the elder of the Apple bushel. She is making breathy, prejudiced and slightly racist remarks. I almost look down to avoid the awkward encounter but then stop myself. I never look down when I am in this state, the vile repercussions of seeing through one’s own body is enough to turn the strongest of stomachs. I am meek. I walk towards the bed and then hear the voice of the south-country mare.
“…It’s better this way AJ. Better she goes quiet than suffers in one of those God-Forsaken homes”
The words spew from my own muzzle. I have not control of my faculties. I risk a quick look down and almost vomit from the ensuing realisation. I am not me, I am not in my own coat, I am not even an alicorn anymore. I look down. I am Applejack, her stout orange hooves trail beneath ‘me’. I am now without control of anything. She takes her hat off and gases into the hood of it. She closes her eyes and by a knock-on effect I am blinded also.
“You said your goodbyes when she was in that hospital bed. She doesn’t even know who you are. Be honest with yourself now AJ. She goes tonight, she suffers no longer”
The well of the hat fills with her tears, it glides to the floor. I am just an audience to what happens now, I cannot change a thing. Perhaps her will was so strong that my influence faltered. I hear a crackling of static in her ears as she leans over her grandmother and picks up a pillow from her side. The static roars louder, louder to the point I can’t see straight. Her vision distorts all the surrounding colour of the room blend into one. The only pigment that remains is the cursing mare writhing on the bed. Applejack presses the pillow over her grandmother, smothering the air from her lungs. I can’t just watch, it is heart-breaking. I physically pull myself away from her eyes, I have to claw my way out of her dream. I can feel her grip leaving as I feel I grow distant from her. I am back in the bedroom. I am me again. It feels like I have taken part in the running-of-the-leaves, I can hardly catch a breath. I peer over the quilt and am behoved to see no Applejack sleeping there. I hear a grunting, choking and grunting, like if somepony was… Suffocating? I canter through to the elder’s board and abandon my ghostly alter-ego. I see the dream not just bleed through, but become reality. The orange mare looms over her sleeping grandmother, she is holding the pillow tightly as not to let go. I take a few steps before throwing my hooves around her barrel and jerking her away from the atrocity she means to commit. I lower her carefully to the carpeted floor, she is still asleep. Whatever troubled her in the day had followed her into her nightmares. I would have never thought Applejack to be a sleepwalker let alone a sleep murderer. I don’t know her story, only that she is another of the ponies my sister speaks so fondly of. I place the pillow under her head and kiss her snout as I leave.
‘Expectations’
I take my time on the journey back. I know she will be there. Maybe I should take a peek at what my butter-wouldn’t-melt sister fantasises about. I land on the lonely balcony and see that my sister has postponed her sleep in order to catch me. Her agenda is nothing new to me.
“What do you call this?” Celestia demands.
“Call what my sister? I have procured the items you requested…” I begin to explain/
“Is that a fact? Well I am woefully low on…”
“Bananas, I know. I bought the entire stock off the merchant” I assure her.
“Is that all I mean to you?” She asks, her ego growing three times in size.
“I can’t make bananas magically appear. You know how conjuration works”
“Then why did you not check the market in Appleoosa? Quite the contrary to the name, they have quite a huge supply of bananas”
“The merchant said you purchased 600 the other week. How was such an amount possible?”
“We have an understanding”
“So you really expected me to fly out to Apple…
“Off course not, you should have teleported there”
“You know I’m no dab hoof at that”
“I shall fix your laziness in the morning sister. Now back to work” she pontificates.
She leaves me reeling from her extensive vocabulary and astute annunciation. I decide a quick powernap is in order. I trot to my room and open the door. I am then snowed under an avalanche of hoof boots. There is a note attached to the soul of one but I know what it will say; a nicely worded yet dreadful punctuated dig at my character, nothing noteworthy. I suspect she wants to awaken to her perfectly polished Thursday hoof boots. She even has allocated days for the bloody things. I coil up on my bed, nothing special, but I like it. I feel I have earned some shuteye and let my weary eyelids fall where they may. I hear a muffled voice and a poking in my shoulder. It is most unwelcome. I stir nonetheless, like some common house pet. I am under no illusion that my sister had poked me but she is not there anymore. I stumble from my room, my lack of sleep catching up with me. She is waiting around the corner, ironically the tower is round, and where are the corners? She is tapping her hoof on the floor, a hoof with no boot. It must’ve been a message. She plants another sticky note on my forelock and totters back to her bedroom.
“If you want your bucking boots cleaned then hire somepony. Hire a Pegasus, although you seem to have a vendetta against them”
“I don’t have the slightest clue what your sleep deprived brain has concocted. Goodnight sister”
She pops her head around the corner and shines a little grin.
“Oh and don’t forget the boots”
I stop myself from saying what I want to say go back into my bedroom hollow. I slam the door behind me and open my large panoramic window. The stupid little accessories are still strewn asunder about my personal space. I find the absolute edge of the carpet and pull it up around the boots. I tie it all up together and levitate the load out of the window and tumbling to the ground below. She can deal with that in the morning. One more blinking mauve beacon shines on the horizon. I can so no more, how am I to govern all nightmares when I can at a stretch manage only PonyVille? Time travels at a different rate in the dreamscape. It is true that I am not the only one who can change the course of dreams. My royal guards who pull my chariot as well as the security detail who guard my room, they too can play the night piper and let the ponies of Equestria sleep at peace. They however cannot sustain this activity; the energy it takes to propel oneself into a mind and then tear oneself away is much more than the semi-mortal wards can muster. The night is young; I open my wings and once more set off for PonyVille.
A house in a tree is my destination. It is hollowed with beautiful Victorian style windows. I touch down on the balcony and find the doors to be closed. In knowing this particular mare I surmise the doors are locked as well. I am correct. I phase in through the physical boundary and appear again in a room so organised it could have been a laboratory. A mare wracks her brains in the sober bed. I tip toe over to her side and tuck her escaped leg back under the quilt. I find it calming to listen to them sleep sometimes. I lower an ear close to the warm breath and feel tranquil. My tranquillity is spoilt as the petite alicorn lets out an almighty chorus of snoring. I fall on my rump, embarrassed at my unprofessional conduct. I enter the dream.
I rematerialize back in the same room. Twilight has moved, well I don’t expect ponies to dream about dreaming. I go to a small alcove which leads out to a balcony overlooking the town. The architects of the world we both imagine and the one we live are not the most inventive of ponies. Whenever they can they will add a balcony to a new build, some sort of craze. I push the doors apart but they disintegrate at the touch of my hooves. Twilight turns around and sighs deeply.
“Don’t you see it Luna?”
“See what my umm little sister?”
“Can’t you hear them burning?”
“I can’t see anything. There is nothing down there”
“No, for now you can hear it, when the day comes you will see it”
“What am I supposed to be seeing?”
“See them burn” She replies as the sun rises.
What imagining is this? The thoughts of an innocent and young mare should not conform to this. Below lay the writing few, for most lay dead in the morning dew. They grasp at the air waiting for death’s sweet release but this release never comes. They are left the witnesses of whatever has befallen the townsfolk. They are left to learn the example that the dead have set.
“Why is this happening?” I beg of her.
“It’s all I can see Luna. Every dream for months now, they have all been this exact same one”
“Why do you see such things?” I calmly request, the stress of the situation is noticeable in my tone.
“For the failures of pony-kind”
“How have we failed?”
“They fail because they do not fear her” She preaches, gesturing her hoof to show she means every pony.
“Who is this ‘her’ you speak of?”
“I cannot speak any more. Be gone Luna”
“I am night princess, this is my domain” I correct her, but my hubris has no place here.
She lights her horn and sends everything spiralling down a metaphysical plughole. I am spat out from the reverie and slide across the floor. It was like I had been ejected forcefully from the dream. I look behind me to only see the photoflash aftermath of Twilight teleporting away. Had she woken just from me being in her dream? How could a dream be so lucid? I turn back to my natural heading and walk straight into Twilight.
“Leaving so soon?” She sneers.
“You told me to. Forgive me for being cooperative”
“I won’t. Now on your way”
The mixed messages do nothing but sow more seeds of doubt. I fly back for Canterlot Castle and the royal tower which reaches up for the heavens. It’s at least as close to heaven then any of us will get before the bell tolls for the final time and we go into the night.
I had hidden in my room till night faded; the end of the gloom. A knocking sends a tremor to the tip of my spine and it runs back and forth till I head for the door. I draw one cold breath as I apply pressure to the handle. The door swings away and I am struck by sister’s gaze. She only mouths words to me. I can vaguely make out a few vowels.
“Was I not meant to throw them out there?” I ask, rhetoric rasping in my voice.
“Your little hissy fit killed ponies” She scolds.
“No… You’re making that up” I tell myself more than her.
“Why, must all ponies stay inside?”
“Of course not, it was the dead of night” I rebuke her allegations.
“Seems appropriate”
“I didn’t… I would never hurt anypony my sister”
“You’re an embarrassment; you always will be”
“But my si…”
“Do not refer to me as you sister ever again! The very sight of you just reminded me of last night’s dinner”
“I… Please, it was an accident” I plead.
“Yes you accidentally killed a young family on their way back from the infirmary. Well done”
“I…”
“Letting you stay was a mistake. You were a mistake”
She ignites her horn, brighter than ever. I had seen this once before. Back when I was nightmare moon, when I was evil, I remember that light. I feel an enthralling presence pulling me off of the ground. I try to fight it, but there’s not hope for me now. I am lost. I transport myself through the ether, I cannot travel far by these means but I have escaped the spell. I blink back into existence to the side of my sister. I balance on my front hooves and launch a kick into her jaw.
“Argh! You Bitch!” She screams.
I leap from the open window, over the lonely balcony and free-fall towards the ground. I pick up speed in infinitum as I plummet, my sister does not lose sight of me however. She is too on wing, heading down the heaven reaching tower. She charges her horn up and launches some form of solar beam; it only just misses my tail. The girth of the beam grows at it concords towards the ground. It leaves a molten crater in the crazy paving pavilion on which our home sits. I strafe to evade a further two volleys of the highly charged primordial spell before I let my wings spring out and fly as close to the ground as I dare. Down here the moon’s guiding light has no say; I cast an illumination spell to help me through the street made maze. I see my sister is the more adept flyer as she gains ground on me. We are close to one of the many market squares of the Kingdom; I give everything I have to gain a tiny advantage. I snatch a tethered applecart from the recesses of the square and send it back to my eager sister. I turn sharply as I hear splintering wood and smell smouldering concrete slabs behind me. I didn’t think it would stop her. I soar through the grove at a blistering pace. I check behind and see no shadow hanging over me. As my gaze reverts to the front I am blinded by the iridescent aura of my sister. She has teleported ahead of me, clever girl. I shoot past her but know I am not out of the woods. A hot cage of energy burrs into my pelt and soon grounds me in the pleasant palace green.
“Please sister” I beg. “Don’t send me back there”
She says nothing, only her actions speak for her. She reels the cage back to her. I have to ignore the pain; I throw another spark up my horn and teleport from the cage. I am however not the greatest at the art of magic. I try to walk after ‘escaping’ but cannot for I am snagged on the cage. In my haste to be free of the bars I have phased my leg into the burning gold of my sister’s trap. I feverishly pull my lacerated limb away before risking another teleport and freeing myself completely. The glow in the darkness is extinguished as the spell is ceased. I turn and prepare to flee again; I am then shunted in the face by a pair of shined golden hoof shoes.
“I polished them myself, had to get the blood off first” She intimidates.
I spit the blood from my muzzle and square up to her. She is no longer there. I hear a voice of perhaps an echo so I turn and buck without looking. I am subjected to another clout to the cheek bone as I fall for the cheap trick. My vision blurs at the force of the kick. I spin on a spot to ensure she can’t sneak up on me. I recognize the tell-tale sign of her retuning to kick and myself teleport to get out of the way. I flash back and deliver a final kick to the bridge of her snout before she takes control. She blinks in and out, reappearing at the breadth of my shoulder and grabbing me by my horn. I struggle her lose but she will not budge, I consider transiting away but she had a counter-spell for that. She lets fly small sparks of magic which dash my concentration so I cannot escape. She is much stronger than me, she is older. I jar my neck one way the next to shake her but she will not yield. I feel a dull pain coming from my horn and increase my efforts. I throw my back up into her solar plexus and toss my head back in an attempt to injure her. My horn slices through her cheek. She backs off and pets her cheek, pools of blood filling beneath her. I fire up a protection spell as she blasts a solar beam at me. The protection spell creates a reflective mirror which bends the course of laser into the sky. My eyes follow the path of the light as it penetrates the heavens. I am brought painfully back to earth when a hoof catches my throat and I am brought to my knees. I feel her hooves around my neck again, one attaches to my horn and begins to lever it off. I try to fight but I am too weak. I am too tired. I lunge my head forward before the pelt on my forelock is torn open and the horn snaps away with a stomach-churning crack. I cry out, no pony will hear me. She lights her horn up and takes us both away.
Hooves hit the grass, we are in a cemetery. She walks ahead of me to three freshly dug graves.
“Oh poor little Timmy, Poor little Ophelia and poor, poor little Francis” She says.
“How are they already buried?”
“They tend to bury new-borns a soon as they can”
“That’s why they were late back from…”
“Yes my, sister. They’d only been alive but thirty minutes”
I hang my head in shame; blood still spilling from my ruptured horn.
“But what would they say? If they could have said something what do you think their last words would have been?”
“I cannot know that”
My pearlescent sister’s eyes burn with a dark purple glow. She sends a translucent stream of energy down to the three graves. The floor gives to a resurrected trio of once cold lifeless corpses. They are held there, as if strings bow from the heavens to give them the illusion of life. Their skulls are caved in. The pure weight of the solid gold hoof shoes would have been enough to kill the hardiest of stallions. But they are oh so small, they hadn’t a chance to escape, they were bound in linen and a towel for the cold winter breathes down their necks. What pony am I to assume innocence when the repercussions lay puppets on the strings of my sister’s hooves?
“Why would you do this to us?” A frail filly foal asks.
“We never did anything wrong” Came another sigh from virgin lips.
“What went wrong Nightmare Moon?” The third riles.
“That is not! That is not who I am anymore” I protest.
“What changed? You still act selfishly”
“I do not. I am humble, I am caring…”
“You are of simple needs. You are lazy and you are selfish”
“Stop this, my SISTER! We swore never to use the ocre magicus”
“But they have so much to say sister. Can’t you hear them?” she says, hiding a giggle.
“I can hear you talk for them. This was unlucky, not malice”
“Was it a freak accident? You threw you responsibilities out of the window! Just like you did before, just like you always will”
“It would have never happened if you weren’t treating me like a child all the time. We are the same age!”
She illuminates her horn with particles of light, I am encompassed under her spell once more and this time I have no way to escape. The glowing rungs of entrapment coil around my appendages before coating me entirely and sailing me off to space.
“I warned you, you undermined me! Now sleep off your ruinous thoughts on the cold lonely prison of the moon!”
I am launched towards the satellite. I travel at such a rate that everything becomes a blur. Soon I am a star, shooting through space. I see my friend the moon expanding and thanks to the one on the ground I am powerless. I collide with the powdery surface of moon and am captured in the vice-like embrace of its loving arms. I am pulled into the vestiges, the inner depths of the giant and can feel the life fading from my soul. I scream but nothing comes out. I am one with the moon, I am her again. I can feel everything that is me fusing with the body as we drift together through the vast empty void.
‘Aliases’
The Pegasi have taken back small pastures of the azure fields. From the smoke walks a hero of our times. She once flew happily through the sky, her only care her reputation. She is now reborn; the revolution her cocoon. A metamorphic change has befallen all of the followers also, they have no thoughts for what tomorrow will bring, only what glory they can die with. She joins her followers in the azure field and raises a hoof to salute. A stallion, her loyal soldier, stops the motion. He admires her greatly, she has been their shepherd after the casualties and losses, and she leads them despite the task at hoof. An immortal being stands on their freedom, on their rights and on one cyan mare’s last nerve.
“I am her no longer. I will not be named this name of a coward. In this war I demand anonymity. For now on you will refer to me as Blinding Fire. I will be the light that guides you all, but I will also be the torch to burn down her kingdom”
“What is wrong with you name?”
“My name stands for complacency and rashness; I will not be respected by these ponies for much longer”
“I don’t quite follow…”
The mare now changed flies affront her troops and gives a gesture meaning for them to follow.
“What now Blinding?”
“Our brothers and sisters not able to fight today still face the threat of homelessness. We will shut down the corporations which govern who have the right to a home. We will bring safety and security back to our elderly and disabled kin of the sky”
“And how shall we shut down this demon?”
“We will find the head of the monster and we will remove it. Remove it by force!”
“And who stands on our right to live safely” The cohort adds.
“Avant Guard!”
The flock are synchronised down to a heartbeat as they career towards PonyVille. It will take some time for them to reach home but their convictions are pure and their hearts purer. They will not abandon the cause. Enroot to the nest they had witnessed and ignored vile displays of prosecution. No more will they turn a blind eye, some break from the flock and aim to thwart the deviants. It is some theatrical joke to make an example of wayward pegasi who do not fall in line. Things like this were bound to happen in the more religiously driven sects of society. As one soldier flies they draw a snub-nose and lay out an executioner for all to see. A rebel mare unsheathes and knife and cuts the ties of tyranny around one of the young Pegasus’s legs. Even in times such as these the mare retained her motherly instincts and sails the youthful Pegasus away to safety. Another stallion from the flock detours downward and breaks down the struts of the apparatus on the stage. He frees the remainder of the captives and sends them on their way. The congregation, once applauding the brutal pantomime now cower. They are inebriates, every one of them. How else could they have lived with themselves in the morning without drinking till they can’t feel feelings anymore? The rich stench of whisky percolates in the air. The lone-wolf snatches a lantern from the wreckage he has made and smashes it down amongst the congregation. A fire rages without a second’s respite. The drunken masses try to gallop from the barbeque of flesh but none can weather the storm. They rasp out their futile last breaths and fall dead. Blinding Fire returns to the wolf and urges him to leave, what could the campaign be worth if they become what they fight? The blemish is left to burn as the two re-join the flock.
I register the amount of Pegasi at my wing. I turn and order some to go and search for more followers, to spread the word and to bring the false promises I tell.
The centuries of Pegasi separate, a beautiful display. It is perfectly choreographed, as if the theatre of the sky were being watched by millions. Not a hoof is put wrong. One hundred or so flyers still race for the pleasant Ville below. They descend on the streets like a meteor shower. The leader, Blinding Fire, pulls ahead as they descend. She randomly darts about the dirt lanes and squares, searching for something. Elsewhere the followers start to put the frighteners on the head of the beast. They take down various tax collectors and hold them at gun and knifepoint. They demand restitution; they break the sacred oaths they are entrusted with. The leader still scours the land for a particular collector. She finds a shy example of a stallion dragging a hoof through the mud.
“You need to get out of here McIntosh”
“I know what’s comin’. I also know you brought it”
“Please! You need to leave now!”
“What purpose can there be for me living to see another day? They’ll find me eventually”
“But Mcin…”
“Enough! Rainbow Dash let me die with some dignity”
Before I can reply one of my brethren cut into the red flank of the earth stallion. The hold in the blade and twist as to cause as much pain as possible. The muzzle of the assailant drips with froth.
“Do it! Do it now, just don’t make me beg!”
“Big Mac, you want to die?”
“I lost everything, don’t make me wait. Let me join them. All my family is dead”
“But…”
“They were all too stubborn; they would not leave their businesses”
“OK can I kill ‘em already?
“Just do it!” he yells, taking the gun from the other’s saddle and placing it flush against his skull.
“Mcinto…”
I am unable to complete my sentence. The gun drops to the ground along with the dead weight of Applejack’s brother. I break down; saving face is not an option.
Blinding Fire stares in disbelief, she goes to close the stallion’s eyes but it is soon apparent that he was prepared for this. She is now the enemy of the state, she will go down fighting or not at all. The flock continue to terrorize the tax collectors. They lay waste to the market stalls as more messages need to be sent. The created monster leaves the kill and returns to his homestead in the sky. At last the effort gleans fruit; the one they seek leaves his rabbit warren and heads for an awaiting chariot. The royal Pegasi guard were still loyal to their Queen. They wouldn’t lose a wink of sleep over what they will do next. Blinding Fire must leave her friend, no grave shall be his. She rallies a few others to pursue the fleeing patron of woe. Avant Guard in a normal circumstance would be dressed to the nines, fine suits and pastern-links; the whole kit and caboodle. He is however amidst a revolution now fought for over a year.
My sisters and I make short work of him. We break his legs at the knee and add a tapestry of blue and purple to his pristine complexion. The royals glide down to us, spears at the ready. They have a look of both fear and determination in their eyes.
The rebel lead is pounced upon by a guard and is sent hurtling into the PonyVillian backstreets. They do not just behold swords but guns as well, steam driven killing machines. Lead flies across the market clearing. Both guards and rebels grip tightly to their firearms and hold their ground. With so many supersonic missiles flying and spears clashing against gardening implements, soon members of both sides are added to the death toll. Bones splinter to the pounding of medieval war clubs, rounds of lead plant themselves in skulls of both allegiances. The ever foreboding blight of the singing light above blinds the rebels against the shine of the royal attire. Hooves rise to block out the shine, but hooves have no chance at stopping the tapered points of the royal shells. The royals and the rebels stick to the ground for the sky has not a modicum of cover for them to use. Any who strayed into the azure would be made a corpse before long.
I am at the foot of a hardware store. I seem to remember it in a kinder light but cannot for the life of me recall why. I take a peek through the window; a wood axe sways just inches from where my snout presses against the glass. I kick the front door in and take the axe in my hooves. I see a shadow stalking around the corner. As the glint of his rifle passes the apex I swing the axe up, ready. He turns swiftly around the corner, his sights squared on me. He is a trained soldier and has no trouble countering me. I swing the axe down to meet his mouth until his gold clad hoof parries it away.
A few of the braver patriots attack from the sky, their wings are turned to Swiss cheese by the rebel arms. Some rebels suffer the same hubris and acclimate themselves with the sky blue. The leader is thumped hard in the jaw by a lone patriot. The soul soldier picks the mare up with one hoof, the other dangling at his side. She plants her hooves on both the wall and the offending gauntlet. The rebels were vastly outgunned, regiments of the royals could be there at beck and call but the rebel numbers were harshly limited. Weapons to fight the royals were only stolen or fabricated, the enemy was equipped handsomely. More and more of the rebel soldiers breathe a last breath in the burning ember light of the eternal day. More flashings of metal ricochet off of the bannisters and wooden crafting about the town, the rebels cling to the cover but bullets drill through the wood as if it were butter. One unfortunate soul hides in the shadow, waiting for a break in the gun fire. His target reloads the weapon, an opportunity like no other. The rebel wraps his head around the cover before his throat is torn through by another plug of lead. There was no question that ponies were full of blood as it spills across the battlefield. Growing desperate, rebels charge at the oppressors, forks and hoes held with violent intent. But low, this war has gone on for far too long. The patriot force is wise to any strategy the rebels employ. They head for a lone stallion guard; he has his sword drawn ready. The unlucky couple’s ‘spears’ are so close that the prongs of the fork are touching the throat of the royal. Unlucky they were, he takes a wing assisted stride backwards and draws a steam propelled sidearm from a special compartment hidden on his thigh. Two clicks of a trigger and two more families to whom the news must be broken.
The stallion has revelled in this torture. He will not offer me death’s sweet kiss and he will not give me freedom. The pressure on my throat is unbearable; I choke out a plea which never comes to be before he finally lets me down. He drops to the side, a pair of ponies, a colt and a filly, leave him for dead. He has a length of chicken wire run through his neck. I take his gold spangled rifle and try to follow the two youthful recruits. They are soon out of my grasp, where could they have gone?
Back in the battlefield, ponies fall to a hail of gunfire and the incision of swords. The rebel alliance is losing any hoof-hold they once had. They cling to the cover as best they can but the introduction of small phosphorous phials renders any cover useless. The fight is not just between the supporters and the naysayers but the petrified onlookers. The young and aged are caught in the crossfire. Supersonic led pellets tear through window panes, tear through walls, and tear families apart. Many a lounge is left with relatives bleeding out on the floor. The rebels needed a miracle, they needed a unicorn. But all who supported the rebel cause were to be subjected to the same fate. A fair distance from the onslaught a sniper lies in her nest. She has waited there since the harbinger of doom of the Pegasi flying over the horizon. The rebel leader again stands amongst her followers. She sprints across a kill zone to a piece of cover. The breaks between the volleys of shots are few and far between. Once the opportune moment casts its ugly head the rebel mare leaves the safety of the cover, she lets fly a clip from the stolen royal rifle.
Time seems to travel in slow motion as I strafe the armies of the Queen. I take out three of the royals before I am forced to take my spot back behind a low brick wall. The metallic shells cascade over my head and hammer down upon the shield I take refuge behind. I rest the gun on top of the wall and fire blindly into the royal forces. A guard approaches, he means to flush me from my hide, and he looms over the wall and readies his bayonet. My rifle runs dry. I throw it to the side and unclip the two revolvers I have strapped to my sides. He tries to take cover but it only takes me one squeeze to send him down to his judgement. I fall backwards from the kick of the revolver. As I land awkwardly on my back I spot a head checking around cover. I utilise my uncompromised reaction speed and blow a hole through his face.
The revolt has a promising turn for some of the wilier rebels have thieved a great haul of royal weaponry. With odds evened slightly the rebels find a firmer hoof-hold. They fight back, no prisoners are taken. The better flyers of the ranks are tasked with dropping the chemical phials onto the unsuspecting rabble below. This new tactic makes the thinning of the rebel ranks happen much faster for the royals. Blinding Fire takes to her wings, she does not fear grounding, not anymore. She soars over the top of the chaos, her eyes fix on the munitions cart. A thrust of her wings sends her through barrages of anti-air fire. The phials blast the rebels from behind cover to be bestowed a quick death. The leader had made progress through the walls of lead pellets. She nears ever closer to her target. One stallion stands to defend the modest trove of guns and grenades to be had. The rebel, Rainbow no more, slices up through the clouds before flying back a falling comet towards the one guard. She lands with her hooves digging into soil, her rear legs are left to buck the otherwise facing guard. He wobbles before crashing to the ground.
I am so close I can taste the precious metals. I flip the catch on the door out of the way and help myself to the contents. I have only taken a few phials when some unknown force propels me back towards the town. I fight to regain orientation before skidding to halt against a stack of barrels. I shake off the impact and clamber out of the mess. A blinding light stuns me like a deer stuck in the headlights.
The rebels have sussed that the phials explode on contact with anything. They fire at the red packages as they are flung. Elsewhere, Blinding Fire shies away from a unicorn guard. He is covered head to hoof in steel armour. He carries no weapon. The white coated stallion brings the rebel leader towards him at the flash of his horn. He strikes her down with one cold metal hoof before pressing the same hoof on her chest.
“What are you doing Rainbow Dash?”
“Don’t call me th…”
“Are you mad? The Queen will have your head for this”
“She won’t kill me, she enjoys this too much”
The pearl tinged unicorn repels the mare into the wall backing the barrels she had just climbed from. The mare, beaten but not bested gallops to pick up speed before launching at the stallion in flight. She turns her body at the lost conceivable moment and places a kick on his snout. The kick has nearly now effect for the unicorn has caught her with his magic touch. He places her back down.
“Leave”
“You’ll have to kill me first” she defies.
A pillar of light emits from the stallion’s horn. He takes a final sorrowful look at the mare in front of him and arches his back, lowering his head. He fires a superheated stream of magic at Blinding Fire. The mare is too quick; she dodges to the side with a little help from a sideways sweep of her wing. She quick-draws the heavily kicking revolver and fires a shot at the obscuring helmet of the stallion. The magical skill of this unicorn is hard to beat. He snatches the bullet out of mid-air; jus as the point begins to burrow into the crown of his helm. The mare, through slight of hoof, has grasped the other revolver and fires a round off. This projectile too is caught in the arcane trap of the majestic beast. Both bullets hover there, mocking the rebel leader. She leaves the floor below and spears towards the stallion. He releases the frozen bullets and sends them at the befuddled mare. One misses, the other ruptures the cannon of her front leg. She falls back to her hooves and trots with a kind of hobble to greet the stallion. She ducks under a further stream of energy before turning on a coin and smashing the armoured mask off of him. His galvanized hooves cup around Blinding Fire’s back legs and keeps her harnessed there. The mare twists around until his butter hooves loose grip and she brings the nose of the gun up to the chin of the stallion. No, he is not just a stallion.
I look in disbelief; the stallion I mean to kill is my best friend’s brother. He is none other than shining armour. I push the muzzle into the cleft of his jaw.
“Shining? What are you doing?”
“My job”
“Why wouldn’t you tell me who you were?”
“Personal, she says to never make things personal. Make yourself distant…”
“Who says?”
“Our Queen”
“She’s a princess, and she is not my queen!”
“Suffer for your insolence”
The stallion can smell the weakness in her breath, can feel the tremble of the gun, he is under no threat. He stands to overwhelm the mare; he brings the honed tip of his shoe into her diaphragm before whipping his horn across her face. A cut runs from ear to cheek across the mare’s face. She stumbles off, rubbing the fresh wound. The stallion arches his back and prepares another magical beam. He this time lets his back legs slip, he lowers his body to the ground, his horn vibrating from the capacitated energy. All is lost.
The dull racket of the gunfire prattles in my ears. All noise is dull now, for I am soon to die. Accepting the end I close my eyes, my soldiers were busy fighting, my friends were busy rotting in the ground, no hope was there for me. I again am not dead. I dare to peek out my darkest eyelid.
As the mare wallows at the mercy of Shining Armour a Pegasus, second in command to Blinding, lands a forceful kick on his horn. Shining reels back, he clutches at his wounded feature. His suffering is not long lived; Thunder rips into Shining’s neck with the unicorn’s own displaced horn. The bloodied bone bounces off of the dirt a few times before coming to a rest. He turns but not a word is shared, the two have still much to do.
'Cuts too deep to heal'
I had to find the two youths who had saved me. I hate to admit but I need them. My troops need something to aim for, something to give them the spirit to go on. Already so many are fallen, so many will not live to fight at my side. I head back for the backstreets; I navigate the labyrinth of stiffs to where my calling card still lays. The sunken in door marks where the two had found me. With the mighty magic of Shining gone the foes fall with so much less work. The ambience of gunshots dies down and so to must the rival force. I follow where I had seen the young one run to. My nose leads me down a constricting alleyway which in turn leads to a jagged hole in the wall. I step through, trepidation eking my every step. I recognise the duo from the backstreet and show them I mean now harm. They have reservations about me; they canter away into another room. I hear the door “click” lock behind them.
“Hello? Why did you help me?”
“We’re not supposed to talk to strangers”
“Oh not it’s fine. I understand” I comfort, showing them I am a Pegasus.
“It’s too dangerous”
“Doesn’t it hurt?”
“…” they pause. “… We are not to talk to anypony”
“You’re talking to me aren’t you?”
“Go away!”
I realise I am causing distress and back away from the dorm. They both had looked like earth ponies in the dankly lit corridor, only the precursors of the welts on their back told me we were one in the same. I take my time to leave; worrying thoughts catch up with me. In all the excitement I had lost track of Fluttershy. Was she dead? Had she run away? I feel a sickness rushing over me as I contemplate the mere notion of losing my last remaining friend. I had not seen hide or heel of Rarity either, I assume she skipped town.
I circle the building till I find a dilapidated sign hanging from a wire at the front.
“St Luna’s Orphanage”
One of the windows this side is cracked; there may be enough room for me to gain access. I sheepishly ascend to the opening and gauge my fit by trying to squeeze my bulbous head through. My test is an utter success; I then hook my fore hooves over the panel and pull myself inside. It is dark and there is a smell of urine thick in the air. I dread to imagine how many homeless idle foals this death trap plays host to. I move quietly though each room, hoping not to see too many self-mutilated Pegasi. I enter a room, a classroom of sorts, I adhere to the shadows. I see the two youths I knew and carefully sneak along the cold marble floor towards them.
“Did it hurt when they took your wings away?”
The smaller colt turns, his eyes dead pools of salty tears.
“We had no choice”
“How do you mean?”
“We want friends, Pegasi like us are not taken away”
“Taken away?”
“The slave camps, did you think Soarin made it up?”
“Never”
“Some black markets will pay bits for wings”
“Whut…? What would they want them for?”
“We don’t know. All we know is that we do not want to be in the camps”
I back away and scan the walls; against every one of them quiver more of the brutalised Pegasi. Then I see a young mare hiding beneath a table. She still has her wings.
“How are you doing buddy?”
“Outside… it’s so loud”
“I’m real sorry about that”
“What do you want?”
“Nothing, I just wanna talk”
“Talk about what? My dead parents?”
The last few volleys of gunfire caress my ears, then… silence. They’d given up, they had retreated back to the bosom of the Queen, and they had understood the message. The frozen filly is a ticket to the next step of the plan. I leave for now.
I am on my way back to the remnants of my rebels when I am hit by a supersonic parasprite. I have a pet name for the impersonal bullets now, makes them seem friendlier. My breathing becomes rapid and my heart rate slows as I fall limply to the dirt. The blighter has run me through, straight through the connector of my wing. I uselessly stumble towards Thunder whom still pays for his actions. He has not moved at all since I left him. I tap him on the shoulder and he turns to me.
“Do you know where Fluttershy went?”
He gives no answer. I’ve asked so much of him already.
“Did Fluttershy go with another with the other rebels?”
He moves his head slowly up and slowly down. I place my hoof on his withers.
“Remember you are not alone my sky brother. For when you fly, you will always be with me”
I kiss him gently upon the nose before turning to face the music. The location I had sent the other section of my flyers to was Manehatton.
‘Kindness’
Blinding Fire flies alone through the azure field. She is not alone long for more royal pests tend to her bleeding wounds. They appear from thin air, hunger fills their eyes. A spear drives towards the mare’s spine; she beats her wings faster to stay out of harms’ way. She faces another near-death experience as a Griffon Pegasus paladin shoots past, missing her wingtip by a hair’s breadth. The Pegasus wields something a bit more like PonyVille flavour. A crossbow bolt barely grazes the mare’s coup as she evades and flies down to the ocean surface. She skims the briny expanse, fish only just visible deep under the waves. The Griffon mount flies as close as she dares, her talons outstretched, she fishes for the sought mare. She ploughs across the opal surf so to evade the shadow leering overhead.
I partially drag my hooves in the sea as I reach for the phial nestled in my gun-toting saddle. I wait till the Griffon opens wide its beak and leave the phial behind. It catches the payload on the crux of its tongue before squawking in pain and dropping its head into the water. The creature dies, the Pegasus dismounts but he is still yet to reload the crossbow. I draw my revolver and quit my filly games. I cock the barrel to a live shell and let the steaming squeak sound before the stallion drops into the murk along with his pet. I knew I didn’t need to risk crossing the body of water for the risk of such a decision I was about to discover. For though the skies over land now fill with Pegasi royals, the ocean territories still belong to the Griffon. Even though it seems impossible the sun is blocked by the flock encircling above me.
The great feathered demons rage in the sky. They fly over and under each other, an accursed trapeze far above the rebel lead. Blinding flaps her wings till the friction with the wind blisters the very feathers of them. She has no intention to slow down, the diving beaks from up on high nearly catching at her flailing thighs as she makes her heading for good ol’ apple pie. The island makes its debut over the horizon, the griffons have not even touched the cyan coat of the fleeing mare. She crosses the threshold which separates the land from the sea and glides all a quiet to the rhythm of the city. The little mare loses her air expertise and submits to gravity.
I am overcome by a migraine; something eats away at me. The headache worsens as my gaze registers a road sign.
“North 31st street”
I retch, I lunge my head forward, vomiting copiously into the tarmac. My rumination ends for here too do my rebels agitate the gravel. This city is more advanced than our humble rat-run, it has a structure of law, it has famine ridden streets, and it has a memory, but I cannot remember it. Something in this town stirs bile in my gullet. And from up above rain the bloods of the fallen, the Pegasi here were weaker than ours, they had been starving and exposed for longer than even they can remember. My view of all things has long been warped, I do not hear the fleshy pounds as bodies fall lifeless to the ground, and I do not see the fading glow of willing fodder to my pointless crusade. I struggle to make out the line once drawn between what is just and what is wrong, I see it fit to take life from my enemy, but what choice do they have? The Queen couldn’t care less for these souls; she sends her dogs of war into Manehatton, her Griffons wielding turrets of iron. As they do descend so do my brethren fall with less fight, more of them fall, but where is the yellow one?
The squadrons carpet the skyline with nails of lead and iron; they bathe the ground below with their shadows. Blinding Fire joins the company up above, she dizzily ascends through the built up smog. Her flight’s usual grace is replaced with a clumsy stupor. About the rooftops fly a mighty variety of Pegasi, but none, no not one is the one Blinding searches for. Fearsome brawls curdle the azure foam; the mare must fight for now and the search will have to wait. The legions expedite from the sea territory in order to squander the plans of the rebel Pegasus force. The sky is a hum with the cantus of whirring cannons. The mare finds herself out of her depth as the shells fly, decimating the lead woven slats.
Rebel mettle faces up against the steely defence of royal armour. Pegasi leave the good fight and divert to the other side, they lose any faith they have in Blinding Fire’s cause. The odds tip even further in the favour of the Queen’s stallions. The numbers of the pegasi rebels dwindle, the battle here most assuredly a foregone conclusion. Blinding cannot see an edge; she can’t see a sign that things will improve. A peppering of cannon fire rattles towards the rebel lead; she undulates through an industrial sort of rooftop to escape. She skips over the top of innumerable alleys and rat-crawls. Her eyes fix on the ground below, she takes fervent stabs with her wings against the air to push onwards.
She searches and searches, she’s at her wit’s end, but nowhere in the colossal war in the sky is her friend. Blinding powers onwards, she can hear the distant squawks of the tanked griffon curs who mean to break her spirit. The leader looks to her troops and orders them.
“Take positions on the roofs; don’t let them get the better of you”
The defiant Pegasi do as instructed, they take up arms on the tips of skyscrapers and the large roof plateaus. With more to hide behind the winged soldiers glean a better hold on the situation. Brass coated royals curse the skies; they join the sufficient force of mutant freaks and throw the table of odds off of its legs. Blinding Fire heads down to the concrete plane, she switches back around and heads up into the middle of the royal forces. She breaks through the barrier of brainless fools and draws the rifle she has spare. Up above the griffon she has no fear of their mounted cannons; she pulls the gun into her shoulder and fires down into the steam billows below. The sky runs rife with concussive blasts.
“Aim for their backs my brothers! Do not pussy out on me!”
I turn, through the smoke emerges a chariot. I finally see my friend, but it isn’t the one I was looking for. She is draped in royal purple; her hooves are shine to the point where she could check her reflection in them. Rarity’s gown is fastened by a familiar treasure.
“The alicorn amulet?” Blinding demands.
“You must be Blinding Fire… Your revolt is disgusting, it’s positively revolting”
“Tell your Queen that we will not fall still”
“Yes, she said you might be like this, talking in a riddle and what not”
“We cut your fools down in PonyVille. We’ll do the same here!”
“Oh really? When this armpit of the world crumbles you may join our recruits”
“Not in a thousand, not in a million years”
“And yes, I do have the amulet; Celestia says that it will make you bow to me… I mean her”
“I see your angle, you’re a terrible liar. You’re…”
“If you please Miss Fire, give up on this. You will only lead these ponies to their deaths”
“They know what they signed up for…”
“Aww, but still you look for sweet innocent little Fluttershy. I thought casualties were a necessary evil”
“Not… Not her”
“Double standards, oh my cyan Pegasus, you do make me cry”
“So why did the princess send her pampered little pooch?”
“Because I am here to end this, you may think you have a chance but you don’t. I hope you prayed this morning you pain in the horn! Now melt to the dirt with your pitiful army!”
Rarity’s horn burns with its normal pearl tinge, she is the epicentre of a humongous shockwave of energy which radiates across Manehatton.
Blinding Fire turns to look behind her, she feels as though she is in free-fall. She drops like a rock, picking up more and more speed before colliding with a fire escape and rolling onto her side. She cries in pain as her wings are burnt away by a magical fire. The chariot of gold smashes through the other side of the escape and comes to rest in a dent it leaves in the ground.
“Wrong spell Rarity” the injured mare teases from above.
“Ahh yes, it seems to be true. The negatus ariatus spell disabled my Pegasi engine too”
Rarity is laid out on the bonnet of her ride, her body shakes. Blinding climbs down a nearby ladder and makes for the fallen chariot.
“Anything with wings Rare, the griffons included” Blinding whimsically dictates as a dystrophic freak smashes into a cart at the end of the alleyway.
“Oh, my bad” she coughs.
Blinding boards the scuppered ride, Rarity kicks back with her legs but the stronger mare catches the hooves and sends them away.
“At least your buddies will be pancakes too” she cackles.
“That’s where you’re wrong. I told the bastard general of the griffons this, if I’m on the team it’s gonna win. Just a matter of time, my rebels were standing on the roofs. You only injured your own flyers”
“You contemptible little bitch!” She barks.
Blinding puts the white mare into a headlock, not allowing her a semblance of movement.
“What you think just because you kill me you idiots will win?”
“No. I’m gonna keep you around. But the horn, the horn has to go”
Blinding cocks the revolver and pushes it hard into Rarity’s appendage. She pulls the trigger a couple of times before the unicorn is made an earth pony.
“Where is Fluttershy?”
“You’ll find out soon enough” the besieged mare spits, she spit some blood out too.
The spell’s influence has died out, the Pegasi safe on the roofs glide down to their leader.
“Undress the guards, the amour is useful, take their weapon, our numbers are low. Take this bovine back to PonyVille and don’t let her escape. I will finish things here. Off with you”
‘Kindling to the fire’
I am still holding onto the head of the Mare. I gain a firmer grip; hooking an arm around her limp neck. I need to make a gap in the griffin onslaught that closes from all angles. I hear a tearing and the gristly snapping of bones as the head succumbs to my persuasion. Blood splatters on the roof tiles and trickles down in to drains that lead down to the streets below. I ponder saying something clever before I throw the head but on reflection it wasn’t a good time. I launch the gross projectile directly at one of the gnashing beaks hanging in the air. The griffin loses rhythm with the formation and falls behind. I seize this opportunity and aim for the break in the ranks. As I near the gap some of the other griffins try to close it. I am far too fast a flier to be bested by these fools. I cut through the curtain of feathers before flying down to street level. I hear the dreaded whirring of the cannons but they do not fire. I can only assume that Celestia didn’t want to harm her precious unicorns. Adrenaline courses sweetly though my veins, I can’t hold back the beast any longer. I turn at a junction in the streets just as a supersonic shockwave rolls at the next beat of my wings. The wake of my immense speed renders small market stands piles of timber. Paint peels to my passing, yet still I am not out of danger. By sheer number the griffins keep a bead on me. They forsake their own safety, thrusting themselves like spears into the ground. I easily bypass the fumbled attempts to ground me and continue on my way. A larger griffin, probably a commander lands purposefully at the end of the road. I see the obstacle and close my wings steadfast. I slide through its cloven legs before anchoring a hoof into the dirt and turning myself around as I emerge from underneath it. I still possess the gun. I hold it steady but the creature I am nearest to ducks its head out of sight. I choose a different target and take one of the incoming griffins out of the equation. The spear like quality of the animal now helps my cause, the beak rams into the spine of the other griffin. Two birds with one stone.
I carry forward the momentum back into flight. Before I can put any meaningful height into my flight path a set of talons digs into the ground around my wing. Again the bird brain has not even scraped me. It stumbles forward and turns so that its beak is mere millimetres from my face. I skid to a halt, we at least I try to. I am careering towards the bloodied scythe of the reaper. I twist my body around again and deliver a kick to the lower portion of the griffin’s beak. I thank my agility as I turn back to my original heading and use the lowered head of the griffin as a springboard. I fly an increment further before remembering how I had dealt with the griffins before. The steam packs on their backs- A lethal explosive when you know what you are doing. I keep the gun handy and double pack on myself. The creatures think I have just given up; their grins give away their folly on my ruse. I fire a round into the griffin lying dead in the bottleneck and shield my face at the ensuing explosion. I fly above the rooftops just to catch my breath. I see a petrified hoof and then another as a small colt climbs onto the roof. He is an earth pony. No, wait. He has scarring on his back. He lifts a gun holster up above his head and braces himself. Perhaps he fears I will end him. His other hoof raises and he salutes me as I take the holster from him. I glance over my shoulder to say goodbye and then I understand the risk he has taken. Perhaps he did not. A griffin’s foot stamps down heavily where the colt had been. From under the clumsy clog runs the lightly coloured blood of the brave soldier. I stop in my tracks. The griffin has me nearly in his reach. I evade and land on the shoulders of the creep. I lasso its beak with the holster strap and pull back with all my might.
It stops. It battles for control with me but I don’t give an inch. I pull the strap taught till there is not a slither of give and it finally obeys my command. I reach forward to its dumb head and press sharply the muzzle into its temple. The others give me room, despite their allegiance to the corrupt Princess; they do not want their friend to die. A quivering puddle of pony drags itself down the taper of the roof and then I see the glowing machinations in its face. All hope is lost.
“Ah hahahaha” it cruelly laughs. “What a funny trick!”
It is losing purchase on the slippery tiles and falls just as it has time to say.
“It won’t last!”
I squint as the sky becomes much brighter than it was previously. I, along with many others, stare into the sky as a holy stream of light parades downwards before mutilating my ride. I dismount as the once warm body beneath me spirals down in to the mire. The glare of the light sends me to the same depths. I crash into the ground, straight on to my back. I partially get up, what a mess. I look into the molten petulance and see the fibres and sinew of the griffin bind with the ground as it melts also. The inelegant pile of indistinguishable stuff scrapes along the dirt laid lane to meet me. It no longer in any way resembled the brave soul who stood up for what was right and what was just on that rooftop.
“You think I care about this place? I’ll burn this fucking shantytown to the ground again!” Celestia threatens.
She lets the young forgotten Pegasus have some dignity as she lets him move no more. I can see this turn of events has captured the attention of the public. Only the favoured classes spit at my defiance, they rally for blood. A chain is wrapped around one of my back legs. A griffin drags me away from the admiration of my kind and the aggression of the rest. I will not go unto the dark pit again without making a difference. I clutch at patches of grass but they won’t stay rooted for long. I am pulled from the ground and try to fight with just my own wing power but despite my agility, the griffin is far stronger than I. I am helpless, I attempt to reach an overhanging flower basket but give up. I give up. I look up briefly and see that I am only tethered to one of the beast’s ankles. I have dropped my gun, must have dropped it when I fell. I swing on the chain, using my wings in rhythm to create a pendulum motion. The chain is loose enough I can move quite freely. The other griffins return to their posts, they have been ordered as such. But Celestia it seems does not see absolutely everything. It takes a bit more toing and froing before I can confidently reach the loose tile at the edge of the roof. I fail at my first attempt and the buzzard has noticed my misdemeanour. But on the second try I pilfer the plate just as the griffin turns to make me his next meal. He descends and then so must I do the opposite. I fly up above him until I reach the end of the tether before I furl my wings and plummet down upon him. I chose this slate of roof because it was damaged, sheered of at the side. I hold the sharp end down and drive it through.
The griffin kindly cushions my fall. In the impact the chain is broken, some still clings to my leg but I can at least walk. They think I would just lie down and die. Then I am Soarin, he lives on through me.
“If we do nothing, if we turn a deaf ear to this… Then what is it all worth? What is the point of going on? All the suffering and pain… But we can fight them, if you’ll fly with me”
Some Pegasi emerge from the shadows, they use muscles they haven’t used in a while. They smile.
One shy and beaten example approaches me and puts her hoof out.
“I will fly with you” she utters.
A couple of Pegasus stallions see her faith in me and see it as glimmer of hope.
“We will fly with you to” they say.
More and more Pegasi, trodden under hoof, enter the limelight.
“But what can we do?” They ask.
“We’ll reclaim the skies!” I say, feeling a warm sensation take over me.
“Talk is cheap!” A stallion says as he walks up to me.
“You’ve seen what I will do. What I will do to save my race” I rebuke.
“I have, and I know you. We won’t go down hiding…” He says.
“We’ll die in the skies, many of us will. But in the end we will…”
“What?” They demand.
“We will be free again”
An earth pony travels from his shop. He has an axe in his hoof. He swings it down and frees me from the chains. I gather the binding and climb back onto the fallen griffin. It is still just barely alive. I stand up and put a hoof on its head. I throw the chain over its neck and pull it tight.
“Where were you born?!” I bleed at him.
It makes a choking noise so I loosen the chain a little.
“I’ll ask again. Where did you come from?”
“When a mummy griffin and daddy griffin love each other ve…”
I pull the chain taught again.
“Straight answer or you don’t fly again. You’ll live but you will not fly”
“Ahhh yes. The nest, the nest is… The nest i…”
“You flappy floppy fucking Pegasuses will not listen! I control the sun! Everything will be ash!” Celestia speaks through the griffin I have in a chokehold.
I hadn’t even noticed the poor thing was dead. I release my grip and disembark the creature. I then return to my growing army. I address them.
“We have to find this nest. Hunt down more of the griffins. Eventually one has to squawk”
“What are we gonna do about thousands of these things?” One voice in the crowd asks.
“They won’t be fully grown. We’ll kill them when they are young and…”
“That’s horrible” they contest.
“If we’re lucky we’ll catch them as eggs” I explain. As I do another concourse of light scores a hole through the griffin behind me.
“What about us? We can’t fight like you do!”
“Raid the stores, anything can be used as a weapon”
I give them their marching orders before turning to the stallion that stands dutifully by my side.
“Thunder lane…” I motion to him.
“Ha you remember us little ponies then?”
“How d’ya mean?”
“I was there in the first revolution, when the Queen reduced this place to a smoking crater”
“No not the Queen. The Princess” I correct him, touching my hoof to his lips.
“Regardless… How can you send these green wings to a fate worse than death?”
“Coz we all have to play our part Thunder. You of all ponies should understand…”
“Why me? Why should I understand?”
“Because you remember, because you saw the wrath of the Princess”
“And…”
“And? NO! This is our future we are fighting for. If they do not die up in the sky then they will only slowly die down here”
A few of the rebels return with a plunder of weaponry. They’ve gathered chains and bear traps and all manner of gardening tools. A couple more return with cases of steam driven FFI (Flim Flam Industries) revolvers. I endeavour to make myself a poster child for this effort. I crouch down next to the molten pit where the young colt had taken his last breath and fetch the holster from within. This holster is more of a custom accessory; it has seats for two hoof guns as well as being a charming shade of ochre. I fasten the strap about my waist and usher for one of my followers to gift me with some firearms. Two mares trot obediently and place a gun on either side of me.
The Queen throws a tantrum from her confines in the distance. She lets fly her Phoenix hoard and they swarm our fair PonyVille. Each set of fiery wings sets another thatched or wooded roof ablaze. The rooftops glow with impunity as I prepare my sister and brothers of wing to fight the good fight. I pace back and forth, making sure each rebel is ready for combat and that most importantly they know the stakes. As each Pegasus lines up to head into battle I give them a kiss on the cheek. A sign of respect and fond farewell for when worst comes to worst. They leave into the sky, my fledgling crusaders. I once again focus my attention on Thunder Lane.
“I’ve got a mission for you too”
“Oh just for me? Don’t I feel special?” He sarcastically says, rolling his eyes.
“It’s very important…”
“Uh Yeah”
“I need you to find Twilight Sparkle”
“Didn’t you hear Dash? The only Alicorn is Celestia, she has total control. The others… The others disappeared”
“But we need her”
“No we don’t! Trust only a Pegasus Dash. Anypony else cannot be trusted”
I turn away and bite at my hoof in an anxious fit. I gaze up to where my rebels fly. I look back to a doubtful looking Thunder Lane.
“Take as many as you need. Put a stop to the pit. Put a stop to the in-equine treatment of your kin”
“I shall try”
“And that...” I begin, a faint smile cracking through my frown. “… Is all we ever ask of you”
He leaves me as well. I am without a friend just as I had been for years now. I decide I will establish our base of operations. Any organisation worth its salt has a headquarters. How would I keep the nosy cake-loving snout of the princess out? I have to concentrate so hard to remember my physics lessons, why was I such a tearaway? And then an epiphany smacks me dead in the face. I could use giant mirrors to reflect back the sun’s rays. But no that could result in the beam hitting a different target and huge mirrors must cost a fair bit. Hmm, ah perhaps a cave would suffice? I mull this over for a second before recalling my crippling fear of the dark. Hmm I think to myself; how about the tree house? No I don’t think she will have any qualms with burning this down, after all she has banished the Alicorn who dwells here. I am fed up with thinking so act and fly up the tree house balcony.
I don’t imagine anypony is home so I forget my Ps and Qs. I blast the doors aside with my rear legs before taking a look inside. It’s very dark; there is not a sound to be heard. I wonder around the ancient tomes and literary mazes until I reach a set of stairs. I ascend them, not through boredom but curiosity. Light bleeds from the upper floors, I must investigate. I climb the stairs with creaking and squeaking progression before I am in the familiar surroundings of the observatory. Here I see the source of the light. There is a single candle, lit by a single spell by a single Alicorn. I gingerly count the steps it takes for me to see her face. I then walk on hoof tips to where she sits. I look over her shoulder at the book she has open. It is upside down and a… dictionary. On closer inspection I see the spittle leaking from her jaw, this was no Twilight I had ever seen before. I prod and poke at her face to see if she still has some marbles left. I am sadly mistaken. Her vision is fixed on the single book, lit by the single candle by the single spell the Alicorn sustains. Out of nothing more than pity I try to wipe the spittle from where it’s smeared on her chin. I clap my hooves together a few times but still no result. I push her head with a bit more force and it droops to a slant.
“The light is so beaut…” she stutters.
“Twi? Are you okay?” I needlessly ask.
She lets her head drop even further. I put a hoof underneath to support but she bites it. I draw my hoof away in pain. I don’t know what has happened to her.
“There was a search for you… How comes you weren’t found?”
“Obvious” is all she says.
“Have you been here all along?” I question.
“Even…”
“Twilight you’re acting really strange”
“When…”
“Even when? What are you trying to say?”
“The sk…” she says, another unfinished sentence.
“Twilight I…”
“Burned…”
“Were you here when Celestia attacked this place?”
“Burned and burned” she confirmed.
I put a hoof in the struts of the stool and spin it around. I see her face clearly now. Half her body is burnt.
“It’s beautiful”
“Twi I need to get you out of…”
The candle goes out.
“I’ve always been here Rainbow Dash” she whispers in the dark.
“Tw…?”
“You were too selfish to notice me. You save your precious Applejack but where is she now? Is she suckling on an apple on the floor of some office? Well Dashie what about me? I needed your help, but I didn’t escape…”
“I’m so sorry, sorry. How is it dark in here?”
“I made it dark. The light was so…”
“I didn’t know you were here, that’s why I didn’t…”
“Depressing”
“Twi, I’m sor…”
“I want to sleep now”
“Why? Twi why are doing this?”
“Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock”
“Twi, come on please. I can help you now”
“Tick… Tock… Goes the clock”
The light bursts back into the room.
“Twi you didn’t survive did you?”
“Oh what gave me away this time? I hid the glow I didn’t laugh inappropriately…” Celestia giggles in failure.
“I knew it was too good to be true”
“Not many things can withstand me little Dashie…”
“You’re voice could bore to death”
“Oh I might have to laugh inappropriately. You are starting another revolution” she explodes in laughter.
“Nothing new Princess, I’m finishing what Spitfire started”
“Do you want to see what happened to that mare you love so much?”
I can’t believe my eyes. The husk of Twilight falls still. Celestia walks out of her body, as though she was using the skin as a costume. She closes in on me and drags my head onto the floorboards with her magic.
“No” I defy.
“You will see what I tell you to see!” She screams.
Her horn glows intensely, the intensity grows as does her insidious grin.
“I don’t want to see it!”
“This is what will become of you if you choose to continue your treachery…”
‘Those who have been before’
There is a mare; she looks like the one who died. I try to speak to her, but this is just a playback, a recording…
I set a course for the gilded tower. I fly a breath from the ocean surface as it crashes up against the cliffs of Mt Cantus. I cast a signal to my followers and we rapidly ascend the walls of Canterlot. I am the first to overcome the barrier and as such I fly into the raging city ahead. A griffin assaults me from the ground. I avoid its razor sharp talons before diving for its neck. The beast tries to shake me but I am not a pushover. It barrel rolls under a sky bridge as I land a punch on the nostril of its beak. I almost lose my footing on the buzzard as we head for the unforgiving ground below. I detach a small phial of liquid I have hooked about my waist and let myself disconnect from the griffin. As the wing takes a stroke below I deploy the phial and watch as the griffin burns to a cinder. A segment of my army takes a detour down to me and leads me back to the herd. There is no chance to talk; most would meet the end in the next few minutes. My most loyal Pegasi are adorned with plates of brass and chrome. Some wield spears crafted from the severed heads of out victories in the skies. Then – A counterattack.
A battalion of griffin soldiers breach our little known island of peace. Their eyes are glazed, their faces blank. They do not know what they do. They want me to call her the God Queen. I will only ever refer to her as the puppeteer. She did not pay these souls a bit to carry out her bidding. She will not surrender to us till we put a sizeable dent in her puppet collection.
“Cut the strings” I order my loyal Pegasi.
I unsheathe a custom cast sword and hold it, I admire it. I take a small stripped phoenix chick and force it into the nook of the sword. I squeeze hard the chick before it sets ablaze my sword. I fly ahead once more, I tuck between a couple of the mindless birds and take a head from one before breaking the heart of the other. My igneous sword needs nearly no effort to send more and more a griffin on the long boat ride across Acheron. When my daydreaming ceases I am thrown by a set of talons set around my shoulders. I punch and kick to free myself but to no avail. My sword has dampened out, the flames never do last an entire skirmish. I say a prayer before looking down to where my fate now must certainly lie. I take a look and my killer, but already my forces prevail and his throat now plays host to a javelin. It hasn’t quite killed the beast but one thing I notice from my exposure in the fields of battle is that once injure the Queen drops the strings.
“Once they are injured they are no longer your enemy” I shout.
I am too late, though stubbornness in conviction was a good attitude to have; killing innocents was a one way ticket to hell. When I dare look back the creature is torn into pieces. Each and every lump off its dismembered self would come to rest back on the sterile streets below. More of my soldiers select victims from the flocks and let their blades quench their thirsts. Many a skull is caved in and many a wing is perversely eviscerated. I can now but watch the fruits of my labour. I trained each one of them, made them a killing machine. Why should I deny them the blood they lust for? I too wear armour; it shines in the midday sun. I start forward again towards the gilded tower, towards the Queen. I summon unsurpassable feats of speed and concord up to the lonely balcony we all dreamed of so fondly back in Cloudsdale. I purposefully clip the rail on my way into the tower. As I enter the shadowed room my armour ignites. It burns with pigments of green and red, shades of purples and oranges and subtle tinges of cyan. It was not what I expected.
I wanted some kind of gimmick, a niche; something… I wanted something to distract me, for the deed I intent to do is one out of my nightmares. The thought of slaying the puppeteer has plagued me for weeks. It has been a long time coming and I could not shirk this responsibility. To kill a God, it escapes me how I go about such an undertaking. In the room there is no evil villain, no cruel dictator. No. A Princess cowers at the foot of a four-poster bed. She weeps for her ponies, but what was the reason for her hypocrisy? I approach her; I hear her muttering certain obscenities under her breath. I shuffle forward slightly till I am but a whisker from where she wallows. I tap her on the shoulder. She turns slowly to me, her face is pale, her coat is white but still her face looks pale. She doesn’t move at all, she is stuck in a deep woe. I let my flames die out and bow to her.
“My Princess… why have you forsaken us?”
“In time you will understand” she whispers.
“I have had time to deal”
“Then you understand”
“I do not”
“Then I was right to do what I did”
“I still do not understand”
“Oh how would a brave Wonderbolt like you even begin to comprehend the struggles of life?”
“I have suffered; I was not born into stardom”
“You soon will be born again. From the ashes of this world shall be born a new era. From the pits of Hell we ponies shall ascend to the shores of heaven”
“You’ve… You’ve lost it”
“I’m just wise to it”
“To what? Where have the other Alicorns gone?”
“You needn’t worry any longer. I shall purge thee for thy sins”
She lights her unicorn horn up with a cataclysmic arcing of energy. I am blind, for I cannot see. I try to feel my way around the room, to hopefully find the window and the lonely balcony. My hopes are dashes by a piercing pain in my abdomen. The light turns down and I see again. She has impaled me with her horn…
“You… You’re kind will never win”
“We” I choke, speaking now a chore. “W… We will rise… Up”
I lower my hooves to grip onto the potent lance that has me. I lean down and look into the Princess’s eyes and see I am finished. She has not regret, not a remorseful tear in her dry eyes. She pushes her head closer and drives her magical catalyst through.
‘Follow me’
I am again myself. The outer-body experience has opened my mind to a less cut and dry reality than the one I thought existed. The Queen is there no longer, or was this more of her tricks? I find myself back in the tree house with the single Twilight pelt, the single unlit candle and the single book. I go to look out of the window, to see if any of my rebels have returned to me. I am not gifted with any such triumph this day. I am only rewarded with the blighting light which spells the plight of my ponies. I turn and set into another flight to escape more of the Queen’s tantrums. I reach the balcony just as the rays lick sensually at my pasterns. I regain my train of thought; Thunder Lane is still busied with the task I had set him. Or he is dead. The Schrodinger theology does not float long in the canals of my mind before I have flown to the gorge.
Assessing the situation is vital for a leader, we take a step back. We come up with solutions, we do not get involved. I however am low on staff, the search for the griffins was taking for too long to glean anything noteworthy. I find my second-in-command and fly down to meet him. He has been pummelled by the buffalo. I tentatively place a hoof on his shoulder; he winces and shrugs me off. From muzzle to mane he is tattooed with bruising. I try to speak to him but he is too weak to do much of anything. The task has been accomplished however, the buffalo are gone, the evil conveyor belt stopped. I look down into the pit. The bodies fester and decompose down below. A mare crash-lands behind me. She has urgent news to tell, I observe from the skittish manner by which she trots. She pants and gasps for air until she can finally string a sentence together.
“Great news!”
“You’ve found it?”
“We head for the nest at your word”
“Is it in Canterlot?”
“No, it’s much farther than that”
I place an understanding hoof on Thunder’s shoulder before leaving with the Pegasus mare. We fly for what seems like an eternity before we catch up with the spectres of Pegasi fading out into the distance. I go hell for leather and reach optimum speed in order to create my rainbow wake. I zip past the squabbles of my rebels until I reach the front. Confident with where we need to go and what we need to do I order them.
“Follow me”
No other words need be said. They honour a vow most sacred and travel with me to lands so tremendously far away. We fly over farmland rotted by the industrial age. We take in sights of grand bastardisations of ceremonies where young Pegasi are tortured for the enjoyment of the racist onlookers. We soar over wide canyon stretches where piles upon piles of fallen friends lay as examples to others. We pass over acres of green and perfect meadows which house nothing but the gentile folks. We take in the sight of another war occurring down below in a town which just as us has peace no more. Such sights that grace us and some, as a civilization, disgrace us. But what of the purest of souls still out on the mire? Won’t they have earned a happy afterlife from this cutthroat disease ridden hell?
My wings are all of an ache. I usher my followers to land at the summit of nearby mountain with me. I have to lead them to the nest, they have to follow me. I settle in a bank of snow and examine the fetid sprawl of twigs and spit ahead. There is space here for us to sleep safely but will any of us remain when the light returns? How foolish I am. The sky never dims, this is the eternal day. I allow my followers respite upon the mountain, we will need all the strength we can muster.
I thought I had stayed awake, a sentry for my latent rebel force. I find the Pegasi perched, ready to leave at my whim. I go to a hover over them to see they are paying attention. Once satisfied I give a subtle nod and unleash them onto the nest. I peek over behind me and smile with pride.
“Follow me to victory”
As I ascend between the numerous mountains of the range I hear s yowling come from the abyss below. I look behind and see the doubt bleed into my followers. They look about anxiously for some sort of excuse to leave, to call it a day. The nest is not far from us, this would give us our first step in dethroning the Queen. I fly up ahead until I can see the fledgling griffins straying from their safety and taking on these brutal skies. We reach the nest. I pry back a prong of knitted wood and hold it for my followers to enter. I hear the yowling again and try to squeeze through the gap after them. The noise is louder now, and so too is the gravity of the situation. I feel a coarse tongue glide up my spin before I am dragged from the nest and held by a beast. A Manticore, it made the griffin look normal in comparison.
The lion beast holds me firmly as it brings me to its salivating mouth. I tuck a hoof to my side and draw the revolver. I fire once at the head but by this time the creature its jaws closed around my arms. He does not bite down however. Why does the Queen wish for me to survive? I once again accept my fate, perhaps I will just be saved by another stroke of luck. The giant teeth slice into my sides and I let my ideas of survival die. I hear whooshing sound, like a creature fast of flight. A mighty paw meets my rump and forces me down onto the shallow ledge surrounding the nest. The paw navigates up my body until a claw is poised over my throat. I wrestle for freedom but the monster is far too strong. I will surely die. I find my gun under the mass of the paw and fire a round though the Goliath’s heel. I whimpers, coward, then strikes down at me with the other paw. I roll to the side and prepare for flight but the Manticore catches me by the tail and drags me back down. I point the gun back at its head. It lets out an endless roar which petrifies me. I cannot move at all, he has me. One of my followers is on hoof and they have found a chink it its armour. A stallion of the sky levitates behind the Manticore and fires a round into the back of its head. It cannot be, the beast is not slain. In the momentary lapse in its aggression I duck underneath the beast and find a crux to it. The tail is that of a scorpion, I give a signal to Thunder and he throws me a blade. I double back and head back towards the nest as the Manticore turns around. I hold the blade flush with the beast’s back and lop the end of the tail off. The monster turns again, he must be getting dizzy. I pre-empt what he will do and lunge forward with the sting, catching him at the throat and turning him to stone.
A sea tongues of fire billow from the nest. I enter through the pried prongs and search for my saboteurs. I fly through the dangerous home of my foes, my eyes peeled for what was left of my rebel army. I slow my progression and touch down in a canter as I see a fire erupt mere metres away. The nest burns wonderfully, however, it is a slow process. I beckon for the attention of the flyers and describe my newest plan.
“None of these things can fly yet. We must push this nest off the cliff”
No answer do I receive. Much of my party travel back outside to assist Thunder with the pushing. It will take some time. I delve further into the depths of the nest; something had to be spitting the babies out. I crawl through miniscule arterial passageways to reach the lowest dwellings within the nest. I am appalled by what a find. A huge griffin hen heaves out countless eggs onto a bedding of straw. She has a huge distended womb; her face makes me think she wants to die. Thunder catches up with me and passes me a vessel of some kind. It contains deep red liquor. I take it and approach the sprogging lump of fat that scrams from giving birth without rest. I reach its distorted feet and climb up its feathers to reach the head. The beak is gawping at me, the hen gasps for more air. I let the vessel hang off of my hoof. I drop it and immediately retreat from the griffin. It wheezes and screams and shakes as the mystery liquid cooks it from the inside. I put my hoof out, Thunder grasps it gently and looks into my eyes.
“You knew what we had to do”
“And why we do it” he replies
“We cut off one supply, will it be enough?”
“It doesn’t have to be enough” he answers. “We only need to send a message”