Upheaval: Reckoning
Chapter 32: Families and Friends
When Rarity first didn't appear for work a couple of days ago, Hammer Chain had assumed that she decided she'd rather be out shopping with her friends instead of practicing her new-found craft. Disappointing, but understandable. It was only much later did news reach him that his apprentice had gotten into some kind of fight in a restaurant and had been taken to the hospital. He hadn't pegged her as the sort to get into a barroom brawl or whatever they called fights in a restaurant. She had too much of an elegant air about her. He had her figured for the sort who'd lay down a challenge ahead of time and turn the whole thing into a formal spectacle. He wasn't too worried though, especially after his last visit.
Hammer Chain closed the door behind him. "You look awful, Rarity. I hope the other pony looks worse. Please tell me you sliced off a limb at least."
Rarity pouted. "Normally, I'd be offended by somepony telling me I look awful, but I suppose I deserve it this time." A look of embarrassment followed that pout. "Unfortunately, my opponent escaped with all his limbs intact. I didn't leave him completely unmarked though."
"There'll be other chances." Hammer Chain took a seat next to his apprentice. "So who was this pony you fought with?"
"His name is Lion Court."
Hammer Chain snorted as he walked past Canterlot General Hospital's front doors. "Didn't leave him unmarked" his apprentice said. She wasn't lacking for confidence that one. But wasn't that a terrible coincidence? He gave Rarity a book on mage-blade fighting by Lion Court a while ago and the actual Lion Court showed up to fight her. When he arrived at Rarity's room, his apprentice was nowhere in sight. All he found was Fluttershy tidying up the place.
"Oh hello, Mister Hammer Chain," Fluttershy said. "Are you looking for Rarity? She went to the exercise yard to practice with those blades of hers."
"You sure she's fit enough for that?" Hammer Chain asked. "Last thing I need is my apprentice splitting her wounds open and gushing blood all over your exercise yard."
The image he conjured made Fluttershy balk for a moment before shaking her head. "N-no, she's fine," she said.
"Fluttershy!" somepony shouted from behind Hammer Chain. "Leave the tidying to maintenance and get to your break! Terrato grind me, filly! Do I have to order you to take a rest?"
"I will! I…um…I need to check on somepony!"
Hammer Chain smiled and followed his old friend. The chosen hospital staff tripped all over themselves to get out of Redbrand's way. "So how many ponies have you mangled in this chosen hospital, Redbrand?" he asked.
"There'd be a lot less if I didn't have to work with these butter knives you keep passing off to me as scalpels, Hammer Chain!" Redbrand groused. "Come on! Or are you just here to see your prissy apprentice? From the looks of her, you haven't even bothered to teach her which end of the knife goes where!"
The two of them settled down on Redbrand's new office. Canterlot's medical ponies had tried to give Redbrand and the other Barrier Lands ponies a warm welcome. The plush office must have belonged to a high-ranking pony, or was built specifically to make sure that the hospital didn't offend. The floor and walls were fine hardwood, the desk and chairs were well-crafted, and the shelves were lined with various medical books for reference. There was even a small, white fridge by one corner of the room. Most of the amenities looked untouched. Hammer Chain wondered if Redbrand had even bothered to spend time in this room, which was easily twenty times better than his office in FangBreaker.
Redbrand took out a bottle from the fridge as well as a couple of glasses. Hammer Chain took one glance at the liquid as Redbrand poured it and frowned. "That's not brandy I see," he said.
"Good eye," Redbrand muttered. "At least you haven't roasted your eyeballs in that oven you work in."
Hammer Chain snorted when he took a sip of the golden liquid. Light Beer. If this stuff was any weaker, he may as well put a teat on the bottle. He had a fairly good idea why Redbrand was using this stuff for anything besides gargling in the morning. "That yellow filly has you whipped, Redbrand," he said. "I haven't seen this since you and Floral could stand being in the same city."
"I don't want to hear my nag wife's name." Redbrand drained his first glass with a single long pull. "Damn it, now you've reminded me!"
Hammer Chain's eyes narrowed with concern. "Reminded you of what?" he asked. "Has something happened?"
"Got another letter a few days ago," Redbrand replied morosely. "She says the riots over at Glacierfall are getting worse. She wants to move to Canterlot."
"Why Canterlot?" Hammer Chain asked. Glacierfall was a small town close to the border between the Northern and Western Barrier Land. He hadn't even heard of any news of a riot from that place. "Does she want to pretend to be a noble and bleed you drier?"
"Shut your horse mouth."
"Fine, fine." Hammer Chain hoped that Redbrand's colt would make the trip too. Summer Squall's presence would definitely help. "How are you doing in this new post then?"
"Horrible," Redbrand said. "Everything's too sweet. I swear even the tap water has sugar in it. The chosen act like lunatics if they get so much as a glass of booze down, so half our patients are from the ones acting like idiots. And why is it so prince-damned warm here? It's winter! I'll melt if summer catches me in this flowerpot of a city!"
Hammer Chain chuckled. "It's not so bad." He decided to focus on a bright spot to take away the irritable gloom Floral always brought on Redbrand. "You can grumble all you want, truth be told you're looking better than you've ever been for years. I wonder why that is?" Hammer Chain didn't need to stretch the truth. There was a brightness and clarity in Redbrand's eyes that he had not seen since Shimmer Wing died all those years ago. There was also a little more vigor in his steps.
"You're looking too hard, Hammer Chain," Redbrand replied. "Maybe your eyes are better off being roasted in a forge fire."
Hammer Chain drained his glass, frowning when not even the slightest hint of a buzz occurred. "You may as well have served me water," he muttered.
"I just might," Redbrand replied. "These damn drunks are going to force drastic measures."
"Don't even joke about it." Hammer Chain headed for the door. "Well, I'd better not disturb Rarity while she practices with her mage-blades. I'll see you around!"
Redbrand merely nodded and poured himself another glass as Hammer Chain left.
Redbrand had downed his third glass when a knock on his door forced him to put away the bottle. "Come in!" he called out. The door opened a crack so a single green eye and a long lock of pink hair could peer through.
"Excuse me, Doctor Redbrand…"
"I told you to take that break, Fluttershy,"
"Well, I was…I mean I was going to after making sure Rarity wasn't gushing…I mean, they just brought in an injured legionnaire who refuses to let the other staff take care of him. He keeps saying he wants a Barrier Lands pony to treat him and…well…the other Barrier Lands ponies are taking their breaks so I-!"
"He's going to get a hoof upside his foal head!" Redbrand growled. "How's that for Barrier Lands treatment?"
"Please be gentle," Fluttershy squeaked. "He broke a foreleg stopping a brawl."
Redbrand flung the door open, nearly causing Fluttershy to fall face first to the ground. He was about to leave when he paused and looked back at her. The crippled legionnaire who thought he was too good for chosen doctors could wait. "What's with the gloomy face?" he asked. "Something else wrong?"
"Well…um…no, not really…it's just…"
Redbrand waited, his eyebrows slowly inching closer to each other with each passing second. Finally, Fluttershy managed to drag herself out of the muck of um's and well's she often fell into.
"I've been trying to get in touch with my other friends: Rarity's busy training, Pinkie Pie's busy learning from this strange earth pony." Fluttershy cast her gaze downwards. "Applejack and Twilight are off somewhere with Vanguard and they wouldn't tell me when I asked."
"They're Special Operations now, filly," Redbrand said. "That means they'll be doing a lot of things they don't need or want you to know. Get used to it."
"But we're friends!"
"Especially because you're friends." Redbrand pretended to scratch his head, but that was only to keep his hooves busy and away from patting Fluttershy in comfort. "Don't take it personally. They're not doing it to spite you."
"I wish I could do something for them," Fluttershy said. "I don't want to just wait here until they come back hurt and almost dying. First Applejack, now Rarity…and I know Rainbow's in some kind of trouble, even if they won't say anything."
Redbrand snorted. "And you think you're going to be lucky and stay by the sidelines?" he asked. "I don't know what the whole business with these 'Elements of Harmony' is, Fluttershy, but you're kidding yourself if you think you'll be spared whatever's happening to your friends. Like you said, even your insane, pink friend's up to something. You'll get your turn. I don't know what that turn's going to be, but you'll get it. You should be glad you can take small breaks for now, so go take them."
Fluttershy nodded, then looked out a nearby window. Redbrand followed her gaze for a moment. Somewhere south of here, Vanguard Clash's new squad was up to something. He didn't know what, but he wished them luck, if only so Fluttershy wouldn't be so distraught on their return.
Vanguard and his squad finally caught sight of their quarry at Macintosh Hills. The search for Rainbow Dash and Scarlet Rabbit had been a confused tangle of conflicting reports until, of all ponies, Rarity pointed them in the right direction. The pattern wasn't lost on Vanguard. This was the second time that Rarity, who was barely able to keep up during the march from FangBreaker, had proven vital in fighting Equestria's enemies. South of Canterlot was still a broad stretch of territory to cover, but knowing that they were captured by ophidites and were secretly being brought the empire narrowed things down.
It was easy to assume that the group would choose to cross Macintosh Hills rather than reveal themselves in Appleloosa or brave the Palomino Desert. Few trees dotted the hard, snow-covered ground, but the rolling terrain and the outcroppings of rock provided places to hide from patrols. They had more than just a general direction as well. A day ago, Bad Arc's squad discovered strands of Rainbow Dash's hair along a trail in Ghastly Gorge. More trailblazers quickly followed. They covered a lot of ground faster than a group of slaves and two prisoners. Now, they were about to end this chase.
Their targets had found an outcropping of rocks under the shadow of a large hill. The group was composed of indoctrinated pegasi. They were hunkered down and wary, but fatigue left them distracted. Vanguard couldn't see the ophidite leader or the captives from his vantage point. Behind him, Twilight Sparkle and Applejack looked ready to explode. Bad Arc's squad had circled around to make sure no one escaped. "We'll take out that sentry first. He pointed towards one pegasus who was farther away from his fellows. He noticed Twilight's horn glow, but he waved his hoof to stop her. "No flash for now." He looked to his vice captain. "Applejack, yank him over here. Break his neck before he can call his friends."
Applejack nodded and swung her lasso. The looped end flew and the links stretched with magical force. The beige pegasus noticed his new silver necklace but, before he could say anything, Applejack gave her chain a hard tug. Even from a distance, Vanguard noticed the neck snap before the body flew towards them so fast that he fell to the ground to avoid being smacked in the face. The corpse crashed behind them, but none of the pegasi seemed to have heard anything.
Minutes passed before the pegasus's absence was noticed. More pegasi gathered around the spot where the -now dead- guard should be, allowing Vanguard to properly gauge the enemy's strength. Six pegasi were in sight. Two of them hung back while others ventured cautiously to check on where their comrade. A lone vipren sheltered in the deepest part of the hill's shadow started hissing orders. Rainbow Dash as there as well, but there was still no sign of Scarlet. This was likely the whole group. They wouldn't have attempted to infiltrate Equestria with anything larger. When four of the pegasi stood closely enough together, he glanced over to Twilight. "Take them out, unicorn mage."
A great surge of blue-white lightning burst from Twilight Sparkle's horn. The bolt crashed into the nearest pegasus, consuming him greedily as if it was a living, starving creature, and leaving only charred remains in its passing. It jumped towards the next pegasus before he could scream and devoured him as well. The other two started to run, but only got a half step before the bolt finished them off. By the time Twilight's spell fizzled, four corpses lay twitching on the ground.
Vanguard had not even waited for the spell to strike when he charged with his two-bladed sword in his mouth. When the spell was done, he was already upon the remaining two pegasi. His first swing cut open the first one's neck, spraying blood on the snow. The second one reared up and Vanguard brought the other end low, stabbing deep into the pegasus's belly.
The vipren hissed loudly at the sudden carnage. It was about to turn and flee when Rainbow suddenly gave a loud cry and knocked it down, pinning it in place. Bad Arc's squad raced in. By the time they made it to the place, the fight was over. Twilight pulled Rainbow away and steadied her while Applejack had her chain wrapped around the vipren.
Bad Arc looked at the charred corpses and let out a snort. "Nice work, Purple Pyre," he told Twilight.
Twilight's eyes widened. "My name is Twilight Sparkle, not Purple Pyre!"
Bad Arc didn't seem to hear her as he went over to the ophidite. "Make it easy for us, vipren," he said. "What's the empire's business this deep in Equestria?"
The vipren merely hissed again. Vanguard had expected that. He was more concerned about his other squad mate. They found Scarlet gagged and tied to a pole. Applejack and Twilight tried to free him, but he struggled violently against his bounds, making things difficult.
"Calm down, Scarlet!" Twilight said. She ran out of patience and cut through the ropes with magic. In an instant, Scarlet had already pinned the vipren to the ground. Both Applejack and Twilight could only stare at the empty space where he was half a second ago, then look to where he was in shock.
"Where is he?" Scarlet shouted at the vipren as soon as he could tear away his gag . "Where's Hassyth?"
Vanguard moved and tried to pull Scarlet away. To his surprise, Scarlet wouldn't budge. Scarlet's eyes bulged from his head and he breathed in deep, ragged gasps.
"Where else, Scarlet Rabbit?" the vipren said. "He's to the south, waiting for his prize racer back in Ophidus!"
Things quickly made sense to Vanguard. "Scarlet, Hassyth is not a priority right now, settle down!" he said.
"They said he was dead!" Scarlet shouted. "I'll kill him!"
"Stop him!" Vanguard shouted to the others. He jumped after Scarlet, as did Applejack and Twilight. Even Bad Arc made the jump. They almost crashed into each other and Scarlet was already gone. Vanguard turned around just in time to see a red dot quickly receding into the horizon. "Damn!"
"I'll get him!" Rainbow said.
"Rainbow, no!" Applejack said. "Just let him go! Did you see the look on his face? That pony's gone plumb crazy!"
"I can't just leave him behind now!" Rainbow flew off before anypony could stop her.
"Bad Arc!" Vanguard called.
"Don't look at me, Clash," Bad Arc replied. "Didn't you see how fast they just went? There's no catching up to them."
Vanguard gestured for Applejack and Twilight to follow and made his way southwards. He was going to catch up eventually, even if it was only to pick up those two idiots wherever they inevitably crashed.
Rainbow beat her wings as hard as she could. She didn't even want to think about being tired. She had to catch Scarlet. If she didn't, he'd probably fly all the way to where the rest of these snake monsters were and end up dead. She was about to shout his name, but changed her mind. She was going to need every scrap of breath she could get into her lungs. No sense in wasting some in a futile attempt to get his attention.
'Please, Celestia, Luna, Terrato, whoever in the Eternal Herd is in charge of flying, let me catch up to him! Please!'
Rainbow flapped harder until the strain slowly burned through her wings. She couldn't even see Scarlet. It was all she could do to keep from giving up. She was simply flying in the same direction. He could be miles away and impossible to catch up to. Just how fast was he flying? Just a few seconds ago, he was moving as if he was teleporting and he had spent days struggling against his bonds. How much strength could he still have in him?
'The truth is, you've been a pretty awful friend, Scarlet," Rainbow thought. 'I've been through one mess after another because of you.' Still, she also understood something else. As badly as she ended up following Scarlet, he had willingly extended a hoof in friendship when she was in a strange and violent land. She had taken it gladly and did share some good times with him. 'I'm not leaving you behind anyway!'
She was approaching the speed that would trigger a Sonic Rainboom. Sure enough, there was a powerful explosion of colors and the word turned into a blur. Still, there was no sign of Scarlet. Not even the trail of red he left behind when he flew. The dismay nearly crushed her heart. Was he just too fast for her? What would have happened in that race? Would she have been eating his dust at the get go?
'No! Forget the race! This is more important than any race! More important than being the fastest! I can't lose!'
Another couple of dismal minutes passed. Rainbow searched desperately for any sign: a speck of red, a loose feather still drifting in mid-air. Anything. She was going to tire and slow down at some point, but the burn was still nothing but a dull ache at the back of her mind. Instead of slowing down, however, she seemed to be going faster. Something strange was going on. Days of being ridden and being ordered about should have sapped her strength, but she was flying at dizzying speeds with no problems. In fact, she felt invigorated, ready to keep this up for hours if she had to. She looked down on her hooves. Was that a faint, light blue shimmer surrounding her? What was that about? Maybe she was just imagining things.
Finally, she spotted something: a red speck against a blue sky. Rainbow felt another burst of renewed energy. She didn't know if she was flying so fast that she caught up to him despite the head start, or if he had simply started to tire, but she didn't care. Her heart was racing and he was coming closer with each beat.
Then, she was on him. Rainbow dove in from above and grabbed hold of Scarlet, dragging him from the sky. He let out a roar of rage and frustration and looked to see who would dare grab him. Upon seeing her, a flash of recognition lit his face. "Let go!" he snarled.
"No! You have to stop this, Scarlet!"
"Hassyth's over there! I have to kill him! I have to!"
"No, you don't!" It didn't take much for Rainbow to piece together the clues. "He's not your master now! Why should he decide what you have to do? Don't be a slave! You know what's more important!"
Scarlet's breathing grew even more ragged. He struggled to peel Rainbow off him, but she held on for dear life. A minute passed and he screamed at the top of his lungs. With that, he let Rainbow drag him down. They tumbled against the ground before crashing against a large tree.
The two of them lay there for a long time, gulping in air as if they had almost drowned. Eventually, Rainbow let go of Scarlet and got up. She cast aside any feeling of joy over being able to catch up. Now, there was the problem of getting back. The ground was moist and covered in bushes, not snow. They were surrounded by vines and trees. The sounds of insects and birds filled the air. "Where are we?" she asked.
Scarlet sat up. He was still panting when he looked around. "Dunno," he said. His voice was husky and almost gone from all the screaming. "Maybe just between the Heartland and the Southern Barrier Land. Maybe all the way to the Southern Barrier Land."
Rainbow scraped the mud off her hooves and coat. They had to get back. She hoped that they had been flying in a perfectly straight line. Then, it dawned on her. The sniper. The sniper was still out there. It was a miracle that neither of them got shot on the way here. Was the sniper still watching them? They had flown so fast and so far it seemed impossible. But what if he was there? What if, the moment she flew past the trees to have a good look, she'd have another arrow stuck into her flank? What if they really were in the Southern Barrier Land where more ophidites awaited? She balled all her fears in a lump and swallowed. There was no sense in just waiting and worrying.
"Well, let's go," she said.
The two of them began to walk.