Upheaval: Reckoning
Chapter 3: Dangerous Roads
The march towards FangBreaker Fortress was the exact opposite of the shameful retreat that the legion had gone through. Even though the weather was now worse, every pony made good time. They dragged the supply wagons and siege engines they had brought along with fervor. The thought of bringing the fight to the wolven who had dared to invade their lands warmed them through the frigid journey.
With FangBreaker just a day away, the latest wave of reinforcements picked up their pace as snow continue to fall all around them. The pilling snow drifts made each step a struggle but nopony paid too much attention to that, especially the pegasi. Among them, Rainbow Dash not only flew all the way up front but she flitted about in her impatience. Her back still hurt a bit and her head still had some bandages but she was ready for another battle and another chance to redeem herself. For this march, she purposely distanced herself from her new squad mates. Applejack's forgiveness felt…reassuring, as if the earth pony had reached out and removed an enormous load that had been dragging her down. It was for that reason that she needed to keep some distance. It was her fault that Applejack was hurt and she had to do something to redeem herself. It was so tempting to just accept that forgiveness and try to get back to some semblance of how they normally were back in the Heartland but she couldn't let it go that way. She couldn't let Applejack, or any of her friends, do everything. She had to do something truly heroic, something that would show them how awesome it was to be her friend. She couldn't just wait around until one of them was in danger, she had to keep doing things.
She looked ahead, past the gently falling snow, and saw the faint silhouette of FangBreaker Fortress's walls. Its retaking will be her opportunity. She had listened often to her flight mates talking about the place. Every member of Flight Dreadwing spoke of the fortress with a reverence she once thought was only reserved for royalty. The fortress was more than just a bunch of buildings to the Legion. Even Flight Captain Tailwind had some wistfulness in her tone when the conversation shifted to the place. Taking it back was going to be something of a legend in the years to come. Playing an important part in the process…well, it would help. A lot.
Before she could go on, the landscape suddenly turned into a white and gray blur. She felt something hit her from the side and then carry her away like a great blast of wind. Except that this blast felt solid and metallic. She was suddenly hovering high above the line of troops, even above the other pegasi. "What in the-!" she spluttered.
A hoof covered Rainbow's mouth before she could say anything else. She focused on what had brought her so swiftly and suddenly here only to find a familiar pony holding her up while hovering. 'Scarlet Rabbit,' she thought. The name shifted her thoughts into an entirely different matter, one that had been talked about between her, Applejack and even Vanguard Clash for the past few days. The red pegasus held her with his forelegs and carried her aloft without so much as straining slightly.
"Shhh!" Scarlet looked down worriedly and then focused on Rainbow with a conspiratorial grin. "Not too loud!" he whispered. "The Captain's going to kick my flank if he finds out about this!"
Rainbow nodded and Scarlet took his hoof from her mouth. He didn't let her go however, leaving the two of them to hover awkwardly while facing each other. Rainbow tried to free herself only to realize that she couldn't break Scarlet's grip. "What do you want, Scarlet?" she asked indignantly. Inside, she was starting to feel a sense of dread. Scarlet had easily separated her from anypony before she could so much as blink. He held her in an iron grip and, while he was grinning casually, the look in his eyes was a little too intense.
"You know, I should be a little mad at you," Scarlet said. "You got pissed because I raced you with my barding and weights on but it turns out you've been holding back on me too. Why haven't you mentioned your sonic sparkly dash to me before?"
Rainbow couldn't help but quail a bit at the intense, disturbing stare. "I…uh…well, it just sorta happens." She swallowed nervously when the grin lessened on Scarlet's face. "I can't do it whenever I want to," she continued to explain. "It just happens when it's really important so I wasn't holding back on you at all."
Scarlet's silent, uncomprehending gaze filled the few moments of silence that came after Rainbow's response. After that, his grin returned. "So you still want to race against me seriously?" he asked. "No barding and weights, just Scarlet Rabbit at his very best and Rainbow Dash with her sparkly flashy exploding move!"
Rainbow didn't answer right away. A serious race against an unhindered Scarlet Rabbit…ever since that last race they had, she had been thinking of how such a thing would play out. Scarlet was right, she still had the Sonic Rainboom. If she had managed that during their first race, she could have left Scarlet behind easily. Accepting his invitation, even if she wasn't sure she could pull it off, should be an easy yes.
Except that she had spoken with Vanguard just the other day. Her mind wandered to how that conversation started.
"I think it's wonderful that you're staying here again, Rainbow Dash," Rarity said with an approving nod.
Rainbow didn't really have much to say to that. After how she had been treating them, she wondered why any of her friends would be glad to share these quarters with her. But, Applejack had insisted and staying here was more convenient than constantly avoiding the stubborn earth pony. Flight Captain Tailwind telling her to stay with the other Elements of Harmony also helped. "What's the matter, Rarity?" she asked with a half-forced smirk. "Couldn't stand not having my awesome self around?"
To Rainbow Dash's surprise, Rarity smiled a bit. "I admit I even missed that ego. But it's also because I wanted to talk to you about something."
"Huh?" Rainbow eyed Rarity skeptically. She'd been doing plenty of talking with Applejack already; she certainly didn't want to have a repeat with Rarity.
"Rainbow, has Scarlet Rabbit…challenged you to a race?"
"No. Why are you asking that all of a sudden?"
"Well, I just heard this rather disturbing tale from Hammer Chain…"
Rainbow listened despite the urge to just dismiss Rarity's concerns. She had heard something like this from Applejack already; Scarlet's a good legionnaire but his sort of influence wasn't, the things Scarlet does work for him but won't necessarily work for other ponies, Scarlet's a veteran and knows what he's doing in combat. Rainbow wasn't interested in hearing more. It wasn't Scarlet's drinking ability or even his skill at fighting that Rainbow admired but she wasn't ready to talk to anypony about that.
But, as Rarity proceeded to recount what Hammer Chain had told her, Rainbow did end up listening intently. Rarity was convinced that Scarlet had done something horrible to this Overcast pegasus, Rainbow wasn't so sure and she wasn't going to simply speculate like the white unicorn. It was better to get the answers straight from the source.
Vanguard Clash eventually entered their shared quarters and Rainbow immediately spoke to him about what Rarity had told her.
"All of that is true," Vanguard replied after looking around to see if anypony else was listening. Finding none, he continued. "I can't fault Hammer Chain for giving the point of view of an observer and I'm willing to fill in the details if it convinces you not to seriously race against Scarlet Rabbit."
"So Scarlet really did kill Overcast?" Rainbow asked in shock.
"No," Vanguard said. Before Rainbow could breathe a sigh of relief, he went on. "Because we managed to stop him in time. And, that was only because he was slowly beating Overcast to death as opposed to just snapping his neck."
Rainbow tried to reply, to voice some kind of skepticism and reason out that Vanguard was exaggerating to keep her from racing against Scarlet Rabbit. But, Vanguard had never been the sort to exaggerate. In fact, every time he opened his mouth, nothing came out but growling, somber truth, even when he was trying to be light-hearted. Even now, he spoke so seriously that she couldn't help but be convinced. "But why?" she asked. "Why did he do it?"
"You'll need to understand more about Scarlet. He's not a Bastion City pony like most of us in the fortress. He was sent here from the Southern Barrier Land before recruitment." Vanguard paused, hesitating one last time about telling his old friend's story to a newer friend. "Scarlet wasn't born like you or I was born. He was…built."
"Built?" Rainbow asked. "Like a machine? How's that possible?"
"His parents came from a line of ophidite slaves. Their owners have been selectively breeding them for pegasus racing and Scarlet was their best result."
Rainbow's eyes narrowed. Ophidites. She had heard the term used often during her nights out with her flight whenever the transferees from the south told stories. They were enormous snakes who lived far to the south. She heard a lot of terms about them; Constrictus tribe, Cobrahn tribe, Vipren tribe, Coatl tribe, Sesyth, spitters, poison arrows…now it seemed that Scarlet Rabbit was part of that group."How do you know all of this?" she asked.
"I garnered a lot of information from Scarlet himself. I've also spoken with some of his fellow liberated slaves." Vanguard paused in deep thought, likely remembering things before continuing "Scarlet's masters applied every bit of knowledge they had on producing an unbeatable racing pegasus; experiments, medicines, conditioning…they succeeded to a great degree. To Scarlet's luck I suppose. In Ophidus, pegasus racers were a couple of losses from being dinner. When the Southern Legion managed to attack the holdings of his ophidite master, Scarlet was already a champion several times over."
Rainbow swallowed again. "What does all of that have to do with challenging him to a race? I mean just because he's got special training-"
"Don't you understand? The ophidites took away Scarlet's parents, his chance for some semblance of a normal foalhood, even some of his ability to interact with his fellow ponies and feel some emotions. They took all that away and replaced it with speed. That's what I mean when I say he was built. There is no beating him when he races unfettered and I say this after seeing your Sonic Rainboom."
"You can't know that until I try!" Rainbow protested.
Vanguard held Rainbow by the shoulders and looked her in the eye sternly. "Don't race him. He'll ask you now that he's seen what you can do but he won't persist if you put your hoof down. If you race him seriously and lose, he'll go berserk and try to kill you. The ophidites conditioned him that way." Vanguard's voice lowered and he let his worry tinge his words. "There won't be a second cover up. If he tries it again, he's dead. The only variable is if he kills you first or not. Do you understand now? Don't race him."
"Rainbow Dash."
For a moment, Rainbow didn't even recognize her own name in the swirl of indecision going about her mind.
"Rainbow Dash!" Scarlet followed the name up with a vigorous shaking. When he finally noticed her eyes focus on him, he frowned a bit. "What are you doing spacing out? You want that race or not?"
Vanguard's warning played itself in Rainbow's mind. That and the concern all her friends had for her. She should say no. That was all it took to put a stop to this. A single word will stop Scarlet's pestering and keep her safe from that dangerous, ophidite-made…thing that lurked beneath his cheery smile and boisterous laugh. There was still a war to fight, Nightmare Moon, Black Rose, getting Celestia's power back and a hundred more reasons. All she had to do was say-
"Yes."
A smile spread over Scarlet's face. Rainbow recognized this smile. It was the sort of smile Pinkie had…when she spotted another cake to devour. "Great!" he said. His smile widened until his teeth showed. "You tell me when you're ready then we'll plan a nice private spot. Don't worry about witnesses. I'll be the first and the loudest at proclaiming your awesomeness when you beat me!"
Before Rainbow could speak again, she found herself hovering alone in the chilly sky. All she caught was a faint streak of red from the corner of her eye. 'Just one word, huh?' she berated herself. She descended as well, feeling a shudder that was more than just from the cold.
Not everypony was excited with the walls of FangBreaker coming ever closer. Trailing behind her friends, Pinkie Pie could not help but quail at the prospect of having to enter battle again. It wasn't fear for her life that put a damper on Pinkie's normal cheeriness. During the last fight with Nightmare Moon, she had done next to nothing to help her friends out. Indeed, instead of helping out, she was actually a burden, having to be protected by Twilight's shield and watching helplessly while Nightmare Moon almost killed her friends. Even despite that, she was being grouped with the rest of the Elements of Harmony and being sent to fight once again. She couldn't understand it. What was expected of her? She wasn't super magical like Twilight, strong and tough like Applejack or fast like Rainbow. At least Fluttershy could help with the wounded and even Rarity had those magic blades of hers. She just…didn't fit in the front line.
"What's the matter, Pinkie Pie?"
Pinkie easily recognized the soft growling tone which was so much like Vanguard Clash's, only a little rougher. While she got along well with everypony in the kitchen division, she did spend just a little more time chatting with Sharpfangs. "I was just thinking of what I could do when the fighting starts again, Sharpfangs," she replied. When Sharpfangs raised an eyebrow, she continued explaining. "I mean, I'm just a cook. Sure I'm also a bearer of an Element of Harmony and Prince Terrato thinks that we can do a lot more if I'm out there helping out in fights but what am I supposed to be doing? Hey you're a cook too, Sharpfangs, do you have any idea what to do when you suddenly need to fight?"
Sharpfangs cleared his throat and waited slightly before replying, likely expecting more questions. "I don't know how these "Elements of Harmony" are supposed to work, Pinkie," he replied. "I can't help you there. Maybe you should get some weapons training if you're going to be spending time in fights."
"I suppose," Pinkie said with a downcast look. "More time in fights" was exactly what she was afraid of. All of a sudden, she found her tail shaking violently. On instinct, she dropped to her belly with her forelegs covering her head. "Twitchy tail, watch out!" she yelled. "Something's going to fall from above!"
As soon as he heard Pinkie yell, Sharpfangs looked up. There was a crashing sound of a wagon falling to the ground and noticed in time as what appeared to be a small pot was about to land on him. He stepped to the side and the pot fell harmlessly to the ground, saved from being shattered by landing on the piling snow. He stared at the pot for a moment and then picked it up. With the danger gone, Pinkie Pie stood up and look at the thing as well. It turned out to be a jar of salt. They looked behind them to find that one of the supply wagons had been upended and the pony pulling it had fallen face-first into the snow. The jar had likely flown from the wagon, narrowly missing Sharpfangs's head thanks to Pinkie's warning. Sharpfangs looked towards Pinkie with a mixture of disbelief and gratitude. "Good call," he said. "Thanks."
Pinkie replied with a wide grin and then hopped over to see what had happened with Sharpfangs.
"So what happened here, Whitesnout?" Sharpfangs asked the wagon's puller.
"Prince-damned snow was hiding a shallow pit," Whitesnout grumbled. Several wagons passed by him as he struggled to get his back on track. "I guess I should count myself lucky I didn't break a leg."
Sharpfangs and Pinkie lent a hoof and, after several minutes, got the wagon moving again. They were about to get back to the march when they noticed a couple of ponies heading towards them. Upon noticing them, Sharpfang's eyes narrowed and he pulled Pinkie Pie protectively behind him. Surprised and suddenly curious, Pinkie looked over Sharpfang's shoulder to see what was going on.
The two earth ponies that were coming towards them looked…odd. Pinkie had not really known a lot of Barrier Lands ponies but she did know the sort of appearance that the ponies of Bastion City favored; thick gray furs, barding on the legionnaires, rugged faces and the like. These ponies were clad from muzzle to tail in thickly layered browns and greens. They wore wide-brimmed, conical hats to protect themselves from the snow. The lead pony still had his face exposed, revealing a young stallion with a dark brown coat and a white mane. The one behind him appeared to be wearing a wooden mask made to resemble a featureless stone pony. "Who are these ponies, Sharpfangs?" she asked. "Do you know them?"
"Never met one before," Sharpfangs growled softly. "But I recognize the outfits. They call themselves 'True Earth Ponies'. They probably came with the other reinforcements from the Western Barrier Land."
The masked pony held out what appeared to be a flat piece of slate no bigger than a dinner plate. There were all sorts of strange writings on it as well as four embedded gems set in a cross pattern; a ruby, a sapphire, an emerald and a diamond. The diamond, the gem that was pointing towards their direction, was glowing softly. Upon seeing this, the masked pony turned to his companion and whispered something. The other stallion listened intently and then nodded before turning towards Sharpfangs. "Which one of you was channeling ley energy just now?" he asked.
"What?" Sharpfangs asked in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
The masked pony whispered something again and then pointed a hoof at Pinkie Pie. The lead pony nodded and then took a step towards her. Sharpfangs blocked his path however. "This doesn't concern you, half-dog," the stallion said angrily. "Our concern is with the novice channeler."
"Take your 'concern' and shove them past your tail," Sharpfangs retorted. "I'm not letting you fill this filly's head with your worthless grudges and philosophies."
The stallion reared up angrily. But, before anything else could transpire, a shadow fell upon him accompanied by the sound of beating wings.
"What's going on here?" Flight Captain Tailwind asked sternly. She hovered close to Sharpfangs and glared at the two ponies. "You've got a problem with my husband, colt?"
"So the half-dog is married to a bird," the lead stallion said scornfully. Tailwind's hoof went the crossbow strapped to her harness but Sharpfangs stopped her.
The masked pony also held out a hoof to hold back the lead stallion. When the lead stallion backed down, the masked pony stepped forward and spoke directly to Pinkie Pie. He began talking in a language that Pinkie didn't recognize and he said it with a cracking, aged voice.
More ponies arrived to see what was going on. Pinkie noticed even more unfamiliar ponies that looked like they came from other parts of the Barrier Lands . Upon seeing the commotion, the masked pony whispered to his companion and both of them walked away. "What was that about?" Pinkie Pie asked in confusion. "Did any of you understand a word that masked pony said?"
"True Earth Pony gibberish," Tailwind said derisively. She patted Sharpfangs's shoulder briefly before preparing to fly away. "Stay away from those nutcases," she told Pinkie. "They can't be anything good." With that, she flew off.
Before Pinkie and Sharpfangs could follow suit and move on, one of the observing ponies, a white earth pony stallion with a buzz-cut brown mane, trotted over to them. "Sorry about that," he said sheepishly. "They came with my group. I didn't expect them to start acting out though. They were pretty behaved even when they were with unicorns and pegasi."
"They probably would have stayed that way too," Sharpfangs replied. "I think something provoked them." He looked over to Pinkie Pie as he said that.
"So why are they called "True Earth Ponies"?" Pinkie asked. "I mean, does that mean I'm a fake earth pony? How do they tell?"
The three of them continued walking. "The name's Cold Forged," the pony from the Western Barrier Land said. "Don't let their name fool you. There's nothing particularly true about them. Just a bunch of isolationist earth ponies if you ask me. I guess that doesn't sound as good as 'True Earth Ponies'."
"So why do they call themselves that?" Pinkie asked.
"Well, according to them, they are very ancient group," Cold Forged replied. "They say that a long time ago, even before the reign of our prince, the pegasi controlled the weather while the unicorns controlled both the sun and moon. The earth ponies were required to pay tribute to both for what they did. Their group's ancestors supposedly started a revolt against this and then fled underground where neither sun nor moon could be seen and the weather meant nothing."
Sharpfangs shook his head in disapproval at the telling while Cold Forged let himself show a wry, embarrassed smile. "Sounds like hogwash made up to hate unicorns and pegasi to me," Cold Forged said. "I mean pegasi controlling weather?" He laughed derisively.
"Just stay away from them, Pinkie." Sharpfangs said. "They're a dangerous lot caught up in their bigoted beliefs.
"I've heard that there's also a very rare sort of them practicing bizarre rituals to create some kind of magic," Cold Forged added. "Earth ponies practicing magic, it's just not right, I tell you."
Pinkie Pie was about to say something when she saw Twilight and the rest of her friends galloping towards her.
"There you are!" Twilight said in relief. "You should have said something before falling to the back of the line like this!"
"Oh hey, Twilight!" Pinkie said enthusiastically. Her confusion about what the masked pony had said faded to the back of her mind for now. "I just met-"
"Later," Twilight said. She looked behind her. The walls of FangBreaker Fortress loomed over them now. The rest of the reinforcements were already spreading out to assist the besieging forces. Pinkie followed the purple unicorn's gaze towards a great pillar of black flame burning on top of the fortress's highest building. "This will be round two," Twilight said grimly.