After the shift ended, Madison and Bill joined the other scrappers on a train back to the main settlement. The 2 counted their extra money they earned finding Honeys lost starfighter as well as their dangerous work securing the cutting cables.
"We're gonna be eating well tonight" said Madison
"Another day of work and we can definitely splurge on that new big screen tv for our apartment" said Bill
Suddenly, the train stopped midway through the ride back to town.
"What's going on? Why'd we stop?" Bill asked
A door opened and out came 2 imperial stormtroopers from one of the front cars. Despite the empire having lost the war, a peace treaty was signed and the government was allowed to coexist with Lucys. Equestria was run by both governments, as well as a pony government of sorts.
"Everybody up, identification ready" one told everyone
"It's probably another stupid contraband inspection" said Madison
The second trooper walked to the end of the car and opened the main entry door.
"Move out and line up" said the other trooper
Bill did what he was ordered and exited the train. To his horror, outside the train stood 2 magnaguards, the elite droid bodyguards of Lucy. If they were here, then Lucy was here, or worse, maybe Vanellope or Ralph. In front of everyone was a lone imperial shuttle, repainted with lucys royal crest on the wings. Out of it came 2 human rabbit hybrid kids. Bill knew them, Mocho and cinnamon Smoreline, close friends of Lucy. They were followed by several more magnaguards and other battle droids.
"Is this all the crew from the train?" Cinnamon asked
"Yes, miss cinnamon" said a B2 droid
"Hello everyone, my name is Mocho Smoreline, and this is my big sister, Cinnamon. On behalf of queen Lucy, effective immediately, more droids are to be deployed on the planet, because-
The pony scrappers were very unhappy and began complaining, but cinnamon was quick to silence them
"Shut up, all of you. A dangerous fugitive is on the loose, somewhere on this planet we presume" said cinnamon
Bill grew worried, he thought they were referring to him. It was only when cinnamon held up a wanted poster of a pony that he calmed down a little.
"His name is Rocky. He is wanted for the attempted murder of Lucy, twice. There will be a $20,000 reward for his capture, he is a high priority target. Anyone who attempts to aid him in any way will be charged with treason and will be punished severely" said Cinnamon
The 2 left shortly after, but cinnamon did notice Bill seemed a little off, he felt nervous as if he was hiding something. She didn't have time to investigate as the magnaguards urged her to leave with them. Later that evening, Bill and Madison talked in their shared home, discussing what they wanted to do with their lives, not wanting to scrap starships forever.
"Few more months of saving, I'm gonna leave this magical ball behind and head to imperial space, live in the imperial capital. Get away from the Lucy empire" said Madison
"That actually sounds nice. At least there there's no droids watching you. Hey uh Madison, we've been living together a while, and I feel like I'm finally ready to tell you something, something important I can trust you with" said Bill
Bill slowly began to explain who he really was, which was a surprise to Madison. To his surprise, she was very understanding.
"You're not gonna turn me in? Even if it means you can't leave this world today?" Bill asked
"You're a good friend, you've saved my life plenty of times. And I never cared for the queen anyway, or Litwak city. I didn't fit in there, being honest you're my first real friend since my game delisted. Your secrets safe with me" said Madison
That made Bill smile.
"Did you leave anyone behind in the city? Ever miss anyone?" Madison asked
"Yeah, my friend Gene, mayor of niceland apartments. He was a good friend. I didn't hate Vanellope or her family either, but they got on my nerves working for them. It hurt betraying them, but it felt right at the time. Sometimes I wish I could make it up to them, even if just to go back, the city had its moments" said Bill
"That's understandable. Hey, maybe you can try finding Rocky the pony. Bet those royals would be pretty happy getting him, $20,000 Lucy dollars ain't chump change" said Madison
"Yeah, like I'm gonna find him here. I suppose it's best just to move on from the city perhaps, no way they'd ever forgive me. Best to just keep saving til we can get to imperial space" said Bill
(Elsewhere in town)
A group of ponies secretly met in the middle of the night at an old barn. With them they had a wanted poster of Rocky the pony. This was the infamous Rainbow squad, a group of 8 equestrians who helped rebel against the droid army before the war and tried to help the imperials defeat Lucy once and for all, but failed. They were furious about the fact more droids were coming to occupy the planet, especially since their families were nearly massacred after Lucy ordered them to destroy the settlement half a year ago.
"He's gotta be on this world, he has to be"
"If he was here maybe we could stop the droids from staying"
"Rainbow squad, our mission is simple, find Rocky before someone else claims his bounty. We need to overthrow queen Lucy and he's our man to lead us to our goal"
"For the empire?"
"No, the empire betrayed us, signing that peace treaty. For celestia, may she come back to us and lead us again. Rainbow squad, move out and stay undercover"