A death in the family
A couple of shadows traversed the length of the old dusty hallway, their hoofsteps muffled by the decayed carpeting on the floor. Ethereal forms danced upon the stone walls, cast by the light of the faint, shimmering sconces. And air of calm and secrecy hung over the place, the silence almost palpable.
Nemo Ius obediently followed captain High Tide as they made their way through the fifth floor, her mind riddled with questions as to what the captain had meant with "plan B". For somepony who could talk at great lengths, and in such a loud voice, he sure could keep his quiet when he wanted to. Though his solemn demeanor was starting to disturb her....
Unable to bear the suspense a minute longer, the attorney decided to break the silence. "Where are we going? I thought you said had plan?"
"I do," replied the stallion casually without turning around, "it's sort of what we're doing right now..." he explained.
The filly narrowed her eyes in suspicion, observing the enormous form of the captain walking ahead of her. If there was a skill she'd picked up ever since she started working for the D.A.'s office three years back, that was the ability to tell when somepony was either lying or not being entirely truthful to her. Though she detected no lies in the captain's words, she could also sense that the stallion was keeping something to himself.
"You still haven't answered my first question," she reminded him, coming to a stop.
High Tide let out a weary sigh, turning around to confront a highly annoyed, and dubious Nemo. "Do you really think we have the time for this dear? Your friends are not exactly in gentle hooves, you know?"
"Precisely. Which is why I want to know where the hay you're taking me!" The filly pressed on.
The captain regarded the face of the filly, half-submerged in shadows, and saw in those great pink eyes of hers that she wouldn't be deterred in her questions. "I'm afraid I don't follow you dear Nemo, what exactly are you getting at?" He asked her, bringing up a hoof to the bridge of his snout.
"My friends were taken downstairs!" She said, taking a firm step towards the captain, "so I want to know why is it that we're going upstairs, in the complete opposite direction of where they were taken!"
The filly breathed hard, casting a strong, judgmental look upon the earth pony almost as if daring him to lie. She was half-expecting him to deny it, to lash out defensively and smother the issue, instead she was greeted with a wide smile which revealed not the slightest trace of malice or resistance.
"Because your friends are being held in the complete opposite direction of where we are headed," he openly admitted.
A pang of anger suddenly surged through the filly's body."So you were intentionally misleading me! You don't care for my friends nor what happens to them at all! You're leading me away from them in an attempt to hinder me from trying to save them!" She yelled out, her heart wrenched by the uncertainty of her friends' fate.
"Not so fast my dear filly," spoke the captain, betraying an even wider smile and pulling a set of bright, red cylinders from his overcoat. "I don't think you quite understand exactly what you're up against."
Nemo backed out almost immediately at the sight of the foreign object. She'd experienced before firsthand the horrors the captain could unleash with the strange, unidentifiable tools he wielded. "What is that?! What are you planning to do?!" She spoke out in alarm.
"Remember the substance I had on the cruise?" The captain asked her, with cold, calculating look.
The attorney suddenly felt the air drain out of her, were it not because of the solid hue of aqua-colored hair covering her body, she would've visibly gone white from shock.
"Gunpowder!! So plan to kill me after all!" She yelled out, taking up a defensive pose, though realizing the helplessness of her situation.
The captain fought the mounting desire in his chest to let out a booming laugh. The filly was a certified pessimist and complete worrywart, just how many of his odd qualities had his friend imprinted on her?
"Not quite my dear Nemo, you see... this is our ticket out of here," he replied cryptically.
"Huh?"
High Tide smacked his lips in exasperation, "perhaps you would agree that making our way down to the dungeons and fighting about a dozen guards by ourselves might be a bit stupid, no? Even in the off-chance that we succeed, we would still have to fight our way out of a fortress crawling with guards, then we would have to run out to the courtyard and fight about a hundred soldiers, all the whilst ignoring the spears and arrows being hurled at us from the ponies perched on top of the walls, all of that in order to reach a heavily secured door that takes no less than ten stallions to push open. Now I don't know exactly how magically talented your friend, Miss Sparkle, is, but seeing as how there's an anti-magic barrier cast around the place, I'm sure you'll agree that our chances are one in ten million should we try and go with that route."
"To be honest, I was thinking we could try the windows," pointed out the filly, with an affronted look. She hated being made to look stupid. "Even without magic, we have two pegasi, with their help we could manage to glide down to the ground from one of the higher floors."
"Oh yes! That's a marvelous idea! Yes, we should definitely try that! I would love to hitch a ride on a pegasus together with three other ponies and play everypony's favorite game of jumping-out-of-a-window-and-hoping-the-fall-doesn't-kill-or-horribly-maim-us! That way when our captors find our crippled, but still hopefully breathing, bodies on the ground they'll be thoroughly convinced we're far too imbecile to even come up with any reasonable plan to obstruct their efforts to reshape Equestria. And then, the moment they leave us to get acquainted with the newly reduced capabilities of our bodies, we can somehow manage to crawl all the way to Canterlot and spoil their plans! Why it is the most splendid idea I've ever heard!"
"Hey! That was completely uncalled for! I never suggested we hop on Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, three at a time, and ask them to fly us down at breakneck speed!" Protested the filly, chest swelling with indignation at the prospect of being insulted by a stallion she had long considered to be of lesser wit and courage.
"Good. Because that would most certainly be stupid..." said the captain in an undertone. He would've added more but thought otherwise when the filly flashed him a dangerous look.
"Anyhow, we could go down one at a tim— what?! What is it this time?!" Demanded the outraged unicorn after the stallion decided to mock her once more by bringing a hoof up to his face in an obvious sign of distress.
"Nothing, it's just you seem to be under the delusion that the the Imperial Guard will just sit tight and allow us to board the Rainbow & Fluttershy Express and give us the leisure of gliding down one at a time. Perhaps you were also hoping they'd provide us with in-flight snacks?" He suggested.
"Th-that's not—stop twisting whatever I say to try and make me look stupid!" Bellowed the irate filly.
"That wasn't my intention dear," the stallion quickly apologized, though not sounding completely convincing, "I was just pointing out the flaws in your plan. But regardless of whether or not it would work, I'm afraid the windows are not a possibility."
"Why not?" Asked Nemo, her anger cooling about just enough to allow for a little display of curiosity.
"Because all windows leading to the outside have been fit with iron bars and welded shut," he replied with utmost simplicity. "You think they would leave such an obvious escape route for pegasi unguarded in the eventuality of a prison break?"
"I didn't know that, okay?!" Piped up the filly defensively, "and besides, that's seems like a better plan than throwing a bomb at the guards and hoping it kills and injures enough ponies to discourage the rest from attempting to capture us!"
"Duly noted. But that's not what I was planning on doing, and if you think I only have one of these you're woefully mistaken...." the captain added with a smile.
"Okay, fair enough, but that still doesn't explain why we're headed in the wrong direction...." Nemo pointed out, looking cross.
In reply the captain held up the explosive device and turned it around to reveal what looked like a pocket watch strapped to the side of the cylinders. "Because if we want to attempt to rescue your friends we're going to need to draw the attention of every guard in this prison as far away from them as we can."
The filly's eye widened in comprehension. "A diversion... that's brilliant! That ought to buy us enough time to free Twilight and the others! But that still leaves us with the problem of how we're going to get out of here..." she added perking up an eyebrow.
"I've got a plan for that as well, but we'll leave that for later. Come! We mustn't waste any more time if we wish to save your friends from certain death!"
With a determined nod, Nemo trailed behind the captain and the couple disappeared behind a door leading up to one of the towers.
******
"Now what was that last bit?"
Rarity had had her differences with Rainbow Dash in the past, that was something to be expected due to the obvious clash of personalities they both had, still she had never wished any harm upon her. To see her collapsed on the ground barely hanging on to any semblance of consciousness was more than she could bear. Next to her disheveled form, standing over a mess of littered cyan-colored feathers, Brigadier Clean Shot cradled an iron pipe, a cold hard glance adorning his face.
"I s-said y-you can buck off! Bucking prick! Th-thinking you're all that cuz you got your buddies behind you! You're nothing but a steaming pile of manur—oomf!"
The white unicorn filly heard the ominous swooshing sound of the pipe and the sickly thunk it produced upon connecting with Rainbow Dash's shoulder. Huddled next to her, Fluttershy sank her face deeper onto Rarity's coat and sobbed harder than ever.
"Shh-shh-shh, it will be fine darling, it will all be fine," she said gently wrapping her left foreleg around the meek pegasus' head, and slowly stroking her long, pink mane.
"No it won't!" Scoffed one of the guards next to them, "because after we're done with her, I'll tend to you personally!" He threatened, thrusting his face in front of the diva's and licking his lips lasciviously. "Who knows, maybe I'll have your pretty little friend here join us as well," he added, lowering his head to Fluttershy's level just so that she could hear his whisper. To his delight, the yellow pegasus let out a muffled cry and began shivering violently.
Rarity cast both her forelegs over her friend in a protective fashion and shot the gray stallion a glare, completely unabashed. "Leave her alone you unrefined brute!"
The soldier pay no heed to her and instead turned around to face his superior. "Sir, permission to speak?"
"Granted soldier, what is it ya want?" Called out the Brigadier unconcernedly, over the writhing body of Rainbow Dash.
"I was just wondering, since we're gonna finish them anyhow, wouldn't it be okay for us to have some fun with a couple of them before sending them to the grave? No sense in wasting six perfectly good fillies just like that right?"
"Now there's a thought!" Said the soldier, saluting his homologue's idea. The Brigadier made his way towards Twilight, still laying on top of the table and yanked her face towards his by her mane. The filly, whose voice had long gone hoarse from screaming and pleading with him to leave his friends alone, merely looked at him, her eyes filled to the brim with tears. "Ya heard that Sparkle? Mah men wanna relax themselves a bit, think yer friends could provide them with the necessary accommodations?"
"Y'all better think twice before layin' yer hooves on them!" Barked up Applejack in her southern drawl, her legs trembling with effort as she pushed herself off the floor and into a standing position.
"Ah! Glad ta see ya off the floor Miss Applejack! Ya sure know how ta take quite a beatin', Ah must compliment ya on yer toughness, though Ah wish the same could be said of yer manners and intelligence..." her evil counterpart taunted her.
"Ah don't reckon Ah'll ever accept compliments from vermin like ya. Y'all are rotten apples ta me!" She retorted casting him a defiant look.
The Brigadier returned her insult with an insolent smile, slowly approaching the injured filly. "Shame, and here Ah though ya were quite the mare..."
The earth pony felt an explosion of pain on her left cheek and tasted iron in her mouth as the stallion flung the iron pipe around and struck the filly hard across the face without any warning whatsoever, knocking her sideways onto the floor, where a couple of pearly whites rolled from her bloodied mouth, onto the floor.
"Oh dear me, it seems mah hoof just slipped!" Joked the stallion nonchalantly.
"Why don't you take on someone your own size, scum!" Lashed out Rainbow Dash, as she struggled to get off the floor, her wings beating frantically to keep the weight off her injured left shoulder.
"Sure," welcomed the brigadier, an obscene smile suddenly twisting his lips, "Ah think that's a mighty fine suggestion Miss Dash," he said, making his way towards her once more.
The speedster reincorporated and steeled herself for the inevitable abuse she was about to suffer. For a moment the both of them regarded each other: Rainbow Dash with a look of utmost loathing which, to her ever increasing indignation, was met with taunting amusement etched upon that hateful smile of his. The blow, however, never came, for the stallion's eyes were now widening in understanding, and his mouth was slowly shifting into an 'o' of comprehension. A mounting sense of dread in her stomach, Rainbow's anger was suddenly replaced by one of fear and concern. She stood there, her limbs suddenly turned to stone, holding back the torrent of emotions suddenly swelling in her chest.
Much to her misfortune, Clean Shot managed to pick up on this as well and so, that vile, malicious grin adorning his face once more, the soldier slowly twisted his head around to observe the three unharmed fillies who stood in the back of the room, cowering against the wall.
"So that's what ya two have been up ta, till now..."
"RAAAAARGH!" With a battle cry, the injured pegasus kicked hard off the ground and pounced on the unsuspecting soldier, desperately reaching for his neck.
Her attempt however was rendered fruitless, for one of the guards filling the room effortlessly tackled her into the ground once more. A horrible stinging sensation suddenly enveloped her left side as she landed on her injured shoulder, the weight of the guard pinning her to the cold, hard stone crushing her bone. Still, though her injuries demanded that she settle down, her rage would not allow it.
"Don't you dare touch them!" She bellowed at the soldier.
"Ah must say Ah find yer concern ta be quite touchin', Miss Dash," the stallion openly admitted, now turning around to face Applejack still on the ground, recovering from the earlier blow that had broken her teeth. "So ya were in this too, eh? Miss Applejack?"
The cowgirl could only manage to return him a deadly glare, whose intent all but betrayed the amount of hurt she wanted to inflict upon the brigadier.
"Ta think ya two would take turns at aggravatin' me and let yerselves get badly injured just ta keep mah mind off those fillies right there... how very brave of ya," reflected the soldier, rubbing his chin in wonder.
"Don't know what you're talking about," grunted Rainbow Dash from underneath the guard still holding her down.
"Nice try little filly, but ya couldn't expect ta make a fool outta me forever now, could ya? Ya knew sooner or later Ah'd notice that masochistic eagerness of yers to run headlon' onto ol' Betsy here," he said, shifting the bloodied iron pipe in his hooves. "Ya two play this game quite nicely, but Ah think it'd be awfully rude ta keep all the fun ta ourselves, so let's have somepony else join fer a change..."
At this Applejack made to get up again but was quickly subdued by the combined weight of two guards who promptly, and unceremoniously pushed her down onto the dusty floor.
"Now, let's see who would like ta join our little game..." the stallion began, his eyes shifting their attention between the three fillies before him.
Almost immediately, Pinkie Pie, stepped forward, a determined look on her eyes, but her body shivering nonetheless.
"Ah don't think so," said the brigadier, pleasantly surprised at the misguided display of valor shown by the pink party pony. "Ah though Ah made it clear when Ah said Ah was supposed ta take mah pick amongst ya, but so far it's been y'all pickin' fer me, so Ah'm feelin' as annoyed as a foal on a candy store whose parents insist on givin' him all the sweets 'cept the one he wants."
His eyes traveled from the baker to the fashionista, casting her protective legs over the weeping yellow pegasus and gave her a smile.
The white unicorn gulped down hard. "V-very well," she stammered, "do with me as you like."
Laughter rang through the room as the brigadier stamped on the ground hard. "Nice! Ah like eager fillies Miss Rarity, and Ah shall enjoy mah turn with ya, but Ah think you've misunderstood my intentions...." he said, his gaze slowly dropping to rest on top of Fluttershy.
The pegasus felt her blood freeze, a falling sensation gripping her stomach. She desperately wished with all her might to make herself invisible, to disappear from sight, to wake up from the horrible nightmare she was trapped in. Though her eyes were shut and her face covered by Rarity's coat, she could still sense Pinkie Pie stepping in front of her and Rarity strengthening her grip on her.
"Guards?!" The brigadier called out, and both fillies found themselves being wrestled away, trashing and kicking, from their delicate friend whom, soon enough, felt a firm set of hooves slide underneath her forelegs and force her into a standing position.
Clean Shot approached the trembling pegasus and delicately lifted her head towards him by her chin. The terrified filly squeezed out a couple of tears and tried to appeal to him. "Please don't."
"Well, aren't ya a polite little filly? Real pretty too. Damn shame Ah've got a job ta do..." the soldier softly whispered, and for a second Fluttershy thought he might be reasoned with, hoped he might spare her....
"Chain her to the wall and bring me mah throwin' knives."
No such luck...
"What? Wait! No!" Screamed out Twilight, who had regained her voice and was struggling against the straps that held her down to the table, despite the considerable injury she had sustained in her dislocated joints. "You said we'd each have a turn before you tried to kill someone! You said you'd let me have the pick!" She protested, wiggling pathetically on her place. She had hoped she might spare one of her friends by nominating herself for first pick but the brigadier, it seemed, had other plans.
"That was mah initial intention Miss Sparkle but it seems yer friends don't like playin' by the rules and they don't feel any shame on hoggin' all the turns ta themselves," he replied, casting a sideways glance towards Rainbow Dash and then towards Applejack. "It's been way past the fifth turn so now ya get ta see one of yer friends go, but since ya were nice enough to remind me the rules Ah'll let ya have the next pick: so that'll be either Rainbow Dash or Applejack. They've already taken five turns each though, so just think of it as a favor will ya? You'll just be puttin' them outta their misery."
Fluttershy slumped down to the floor, her hindlegs trembling with fear. She felt herself get dragged along the floor, her inert hooves helplessly scratching the rugged stone floor. Her heart racing faster than she'd ever felt it, the guards slowly locked her upper limbs together to the end of a chain. Then, without warning, the icy metal began clinking and clanking as the bolts trailed upon the floor, the guards pulling them through a dusty metal wheel on the floor. The pegasus felt the grip on her forelegs tighten as she was lifted off the ground and hoisted against the wall, hanging there limply... helplessly....
The pegasus cast one final desolate look at his friends. "It's okay girls," she muttered gently, trying to sound more brave and hopeful than she really felt, and then she turned her head to face her executioner.
A swishing sound filled the air. Cold, sharp steel traveled at an astounding speed in a blur of white. The pegasus didn't even have the time to react to it, all she did was utter a small eep-ing sound and went absolutely silent.
"Fluttershy no!"
The dazed filly didn't recognize the voice of her distressed friend, her head swimming badly. She slowly opened her eyes to take in the blurry forms around her wondering whether it wall all over. She felt a stinging pain in her chest and realized she wasn't breathing. Terror invaded her thoughts and the poor filly began to hyperventilate. She slowly turned around and found the dagger embedded upon a crack on the wall next to her head.
"Damn, Ah missed," remarked the brigadier with a smile.
A chorus of screams and complaints broke out as the five friends started yelling abuse at the unconcerned soldier.
"Stop it! Leave her alone!" Twilight's voice broke out.
"Number two. Here. We. Go!" Said the brigadier launching the next dagger, which swished about the air and landed right between the pegasus' thighs. "Awww, must be losin' mah touch!" He complained.
"You ruffian! How can you treat a lady this way?!" Demanded Rarity.
"Like this," responded the soldier in turn and flung the next dagger at Fluttershy. The timid little pony eep-ed once more as the pointy knife embedded itself on a crevice next to her left ribs with a 'thwack'!
"You're scaring her! Stop it!" Pleaded Pinkie Pie, giving out a puppy-eyed look in concern for her friend.
"Ah know Ah am, but this is just too much fun!" Exclaimed the soldier as the next dagger whipped through the air and landed inches away from Fluttershy's right cheek. "Ah! See! Ah was close that time!"
"Don't! Take me instead! If you hurt her I swear I'll tear you to pieces!" Screamed out Rainbow Dash, batting her wings angrily.
"Yer not in a position to negotiate with me Miss Dash, much less to threaten me or give me orders," he replied, throwing yet another dagger towards the frightened filly who felt the blade strike and shatter against the stone on her right side.
"Damn! That one was mah favorite! Oh well, Ah'll have to get it replaced later."
"Hang in there sugarcube! We'll help ya!" Said Applejack, struggling against the combined weight of the two guards to no avail.
"Now we're down ta two! Number six, don't fail me now!" He prayed, launching a dagger right towards Fluttershy's head. The filly managed to react just in time to avoid the blade from sinking into her right eye. In a protective reflex she managed to turn her head and avoid the dagger altogether, which instead sank into her pink mane, cutting off a few strands of hair.
"That's the spirit Miss Fluttershy! It's no fun unless ya squirm a bit! Though now you've left your neck exposed.... Ah know where Ah'll be aiming fer next!" He cackled with malice.
"No more! Please no more! J-just leave her alone, it's me you want," cried Twilight, streams pouring down her eyes, her spirit weary and broken from being made to see her friends suffer.
"Ah'm 'fraid Ah can't just do that Miss Sparkle," said the brigadier turning toward her. "Though if ya tell me where the documents are hidden Ah promise Ah'll leave yer pretty, little friend alone.
"B-but I don't know where they are," sobbed the unicorn, "I'm not lying, I promise! The D.A. barely got over his suspicion of me to trust me just enough to hear my side of the story! And after I told him everything I knew he said he'd "take care of things" and left me! Please! I'm telling you the truth! I didn't even know he'd sent those letters until after you told me! I'm begging you, let my friends go!" She implored him.
The brigadier gave her an appraising look and carefully observed the broken filly, weeping pathetically upon the hard wood, her eyes bloodshot and puffy. He calmly analyzed her gaze and the rhythmic rising motion on her chest. Though he had subjected her to several tortures and made her watch her friends suffer the filly had not yet given him any piece of useful information. Not even a grown pony would've held out this far, had they something to hide. Her body language did not betray any sign of deception: she was, after all, telling the truth.
"Very well, Ah believe ya Miss Sparkle..." he said, and the captive ponies let out a breath of relief to hear this. "But Ah'm afraid Ah can't just let you canter out of here: y'all know too much," he sentenced.
Twilight's heart skipped a beat. "But you said you'd leave my friends alone!" She pleaded once more.
"No can do Miss Sparkle. And now it's time for number seven," he said, this time dropping all pretense and adopting a quiet and solemn demeanor, one that froze the blood of the pegasus filly suspended in front of him. His joking tone now abandoned, the brigadier surveyed Fluttershy with a somber look and she could tell, from his sudden deadened eyes, that he felt nothing from it.
Clean Shot lifted the last dagger and held it above his head. "Lucky number seven, Ah wonder if that'll be a lucky throw for ya, or me," he deadpanned as Fluttershy watched him with resignation.
Before his throw was made, however, the brigadier's concentration was broken by a deafening roar, followed by a violent tremor.
"What the hay?!" He yelled out, trying to keep his balance.
Almost as if on cue the metal door swung open, banging itself against the wall, as a large white stallion burst into the room looking terrified.
"Clean Shot! Intruders! We're being attacked!!" He yelled, his deep voice greatly amplified by the littleness of the room.
"What?!" Replied the canary yellow pony in shock, "Where?! By who?!"
"It's the rebels! We've been found out! They're launching a massive attack upon the West Wing!" He screamed out in alarm, waving his double barreled shotgun about.
"Rebel scum! Alright ya lot!" He said, turning around to face his soldiers. "Grab yer weapons and follow me! We're gonna teach these bastards we're not to be trifled with!" He commanded.
The soldier's remark was followed by a second explosion which seemed to shake the whole building down to its foundations.
"Sunuva...!!"
"Quick! I don't think the boys upstairs will be able to hold on any longer!" The captain urged him.
"High Tide, stay here and guard the prisoners! We'll be right back!" And with that said he galloped out of the room, more than a dozen guards in tow.
The captain waited until they were all out of earshot before speaking. "Well, that was surprisingly easy," he deadpanned, swinging his shotgun on top of his shoulder.
The fillies in the room gave him a curious look, not entirely aware of the situation, save for the fact that their lives had been momentarily spared.
"No time to waste, he said sweeping a set of old fashioned keys from a nearby table and throwing them towards Rarity. The fashionista caught the rusty relic in her hooves, and gave him a confused look.
"Well, don't just look at me! Get your friend down from the wall!" He urged her, gesturing towards Fluttershy. The filly quickly obeyed and unlocked the wheel which kept the pegasus hoisted up, and began fumbling with the locks on her hooves.
Meanwhile, the captain and Pinkie Pie began unstrapping Twilight off the table. "I thought you were with them! What are you playing at?!" The filly demanded upon seeing the pony's face once more.
"I've switched sides dear, now you best get over your anger and cooperate with me, or we'll all regret it when the soldiers get back!" He replied.
"Where's Nemo?! What have you done to her?!" She pressed on, not taking her eyes off the captain.
"I've led her and your assistant to a safe place. I daresay we best get a move on and join them before Clean Shot sees through my ruse!"
Above them, a third explosion rang out, followed by angry and frightened screams.
"Good, looks like they're confused as to where the attacks are coming from," he commented, undoing the last of the straps binding the filly. Now, can you move?" He asked her.
"My forelegs are dislocated, I don't think galloping my way out of here is an option," she answered.
"Damn! I don't know how to set dislocated joints!" The captain swore aloud.
"But I do!" announced the newly freed Fluttershy, quickly hovering towards Twilight. "Uhm, this might hurt a bit so please don't hate me... we can count to three if you like?" The pegasus amiably suggested.
"No time for that! Just do it!" She answered, brimming with determination.
With a quiet nod the timid pony grabbed onto her right foreleg and pulled on it with all her might. For an instant Twilight felt her friend was gonna rip her limb off and squeezed out a tear of pain, but a moment later she felt a satisfying pop on her shoulder, followed by a slightly burning sensation.
"Thanks," she groaned.
"Don't mention it," the pegasus smiled back, "should I tend to the left one now?"
Within minutes the group of ponies were making their way out of the torture room and through the darkened corridors of the dungeon like facility. Rainbow Dash and Applejack unceremoniously sprawled on top of the captain's back, too injured to move about freely.
"Quick! The stairs are this way! I memorized the layout of the place when we were being led out of our cell!" Twilight commanded, taking the lead.
"No!" Warned the burly earth pony, casting an enormous foreleg to impede her advance. "The upper floors are crawling with guards!"
"So what do you suggest we do?! Stay here and wait for them to capture us?! This is our only chance!" Retorted the filly angrily.
"We have to head downstairs!" He replied, gesturing towards the darker side of the tunnel they were in.
"What?! We'll be trapped like rats! We have to take our chances with the guards! You have a weapon for pony's sake!" She persisted.
"No, we won't! Because this place isn't just any ordinary prison," he returned.
"What?!" She recoiled, perking up an eyebrow.
"This place was remodeled from an old cathedral which was expropriated by Princess Celestia when its owners were found practicing occultism and magic rites to free Nightmare Moon, over two-hundred years ago. There are several passageways down in the catacombs leading to the surrounding forest," he informed her.
"How do you know all that?!" Asked the scholar suspiciously.
"I wasn't exactly lying back on my cruise when I said I'd become a big patron of the arts. I've studied this place closely in the past, with permission of her majesty of course," he added with a wink.
"Won't those passageways likely be sealed off by now?" Twilight asked, trotting to keep up with the captain's enormous leaps.
"Yeah, but I thought I might encourage them to let us pass," he said, producing a lone red cylinder from his coat, a fuse protruding from one of its ends. "Now, hurry it up! Spike and dear Nemo are waiting for us and I only set up four explosives, the last one will be detonating soon...."
******
Pegasi soldier flapped around frantically through the air, hurled by the expansive wave of the explosion which had collapsed the southern tower. The debris of the old, derelict structure came tumbling down upon the courtyard as a handful of ponies jumped and ducked for cover.
"What the hay is going on?!" Bellowed the irate brigadier scanning his surroundings in search of the invisible attackers. "Soldier!" He called out to the nearest pony, "what in Equestria's name are y'all doing, and where are the intruders attackin' from?! Answer me!" He screamed, grabbing the nonplussed pony by the shoulders and shaking him.
"I-I don't know sir! The explosions just keep on going off!!" He replied weakly.
"Sir!" Yelled out a voice overhead, and Clean Shot whipped his head around to face the pegasus hovering above him.
"What is it lieutenant?! Speak yer mind!" He ordered, slightly annoyed.
"We have found the remains of explosive material on the northern, as well as on the eastern tower," he informed him.
"Ya don't say?!?!" The furious brigadier yelled out sarcastically, "and here Ah thought we were bein' attacked by parasprites!"
"It was one of our own sir! More than likely dynamite set up with a set up with a timed detonator."
"What?! That's crazy! Nopony outside the highest ranks of the military knows how ta build one of those, 'cept—" the colonel's eyes suddenly widened in comprehension, suddenly feeling stupid to have overlooked the obvious, "High Tide...." he whispered to himself.
"Sir?"
"Lieutenant! Quick! Secure the walls and make sure nopony gets past ya, understood?!" He commanded.
"Yes sir!"
"You!" He gestured towards the earth pony he'd abused earlier, "Grab a small platoon of soldiers and follow me down to the dungeons!"
"Aye, aye sir!" Replied the soldier obediently.
The group of ponies cantered their way through the debris littered throughout the courtyard and kicked open the set of double doors leading inside, unhinging one of them. The brigadier stumbled to his hooves and galloped through the corridors, sweat pouring profusely down his brow. He reached the entrance to the dungeons in no time and quickly began descending at top speed, skipping three steps at a time.
By the time the soldiers arrived to the torture room they found the place completely deserted, save for their presence.
"Can't be..." the brigadier muttered.
"Sir! Perhaps they've escaped upstairs?" Suggested the soldier nearest.
"No! We would've crossed each other on our way down!" Yelled the aggravated stallion, "but then... where are they?!?!"
A rumbling sound coming from downstairs answered his query.
"The catacombs! They're heading for the passageways!!" Yelled the brigadier in alarm.
"Should we give chase sir?!" Promptly offered one of the soldiers.
"No! That place is like a maze! We take ta the sky! Find them! Ah want ya ta comb every last inch of this forest in search of them!" He thundered.
"Sir, yes, sir!" Chorused the soldiers, promptly filing out of the room.
"Not you!" He said, suddenly grabbing the last soldier by his foreleg, "Ah want ya ta go up ta mah quarters and fetch somethin' fer me..."
"Sir?" The pony replied with a quizzical look.
The brigadier gave him a nasty smile. "Go and get me dear ol' 'Jane' from mah chest. It's time Ah show these ponies why Ah'm called 'Clean Shot'," he said, casting off his armor to reveal a bulls-eye mark upon his flank.
******
"Freedom!" Cheered Spike, crawling out of the bushes covering the exit of the tunnel.
"Don't jinx it!" Twilight admonished him, "we're not out of the woods just yet, literally speaking," she added, eyeing the trees around her.
"Are you insane?!" Twilight turned around to find an irate Nemo bellowing at the captain who, despite being over twice her size, was cowering at the sight of the filly. "Those tunnels are over a hundred years old! They could've caved in on us thanks to your little stunt!"
"Yes, but they didn't," the captain friendly reminded her, "anyhow I think it would be wise to head for the river, I've some acquaintances waiting for me there."
The filly was going to protest but the last comment got the best of her. "Really? You have friends waiting for us?" She repeated in a surprised tone.
"Seems awfully convenient for you to just happen to have friends waiting for us don'tcha think?" Rainbow finally spoke, though still sprawled over his back.
"Ah, yes, well, the plan was to initially collect Nemo, and Nemo alone... Don't get me wrong!" He added hastily seeing the angry looks on their faces, "it's just that I wasn't sure I'd be able to get you all out of here. Not without getting myself killed anyhow."
If anything that last line only seemed to make them angrier, and the captain was truly starting to regret his words until a certain meek pegasus trotted up to him. "Don't worry, I believe you," she said in the softest of voices.
"You do?" Asked the captain, perking up an eyebrow.
"You saved my life," she answered, "if it weren't for you that bad, bad stallion would've killed me. Thank you," she added, nuzzling him in the chest.
The group looked at her awkwardly and slowly shifted their attitudes into a more relaxed tone.
"Well, if Fluttershy trusts him, then so do I," announced Pinkie Pie.
"Me as well," joined in Rarity, "though you had initially planned on abandoning us to a horrible fate, the fact is you still helped us all despite your fears and reservations. You have my thanks," said Rarity giving him a courteous bow.
The ponies resting on the captain's back mumbled something that could be interpreted as their consent, and Spike decided to trust in Rarity's judgement. Only Twilight and Nemo exchanged a skeptical look, though they decided not to press the matter further.
"Okay girls enough with the groups hugs," the plum unicorn firmly spoke, "High Tide, if you're gonna get us out of here I suggest you do it now. Clean Shot must've noticed the explosions were a decoy by now."
"I'm inclined to agree my dear filly," the stallion admitted, "we're already fashionably late to the party, I suggest we pick up the pace if we want to reach the safety of our refuge before the Imperial Guard finds us."
The captain in the lead, the ponies began trudging through the forest, keeping underneath the canopies overhead. Judging from the position of the sun, Twilight guessed the time to be around three to four. Seeing that they had been apprehended early in the morning it was safe to say their captivity had lasted but a few hours at most, but even then she was convinced it hadn't been short enough. And she was sure her friends would testify to that.
The group traveled about five miles deeper and deeper into the forest, until they broke out into a clearing, guided by the sound of rushing water. What Twilight saw next was to say completely unexpected, albeit a welcome surprise.
"Well, if it isn't Twilight Sparkle and good old Spike! You sure are a welcome sight!" Spoke the khaki unicorn aloud, greeting her with a warm smile, from atop a large piece chunk of wood, swaying ominously over the rapids where it lay, strapped to a tree stump. Half a dozen ponies were scuttling about frantically, checking the makeshift raft for any failures and securing the knots.
"Pony Joe!" Piped up the dragon excitedly, "what are you doing here?"
"What? Didn't you know? I'm part of the group of ponies fighting this fiasco!" Replied the doughnut baker indignantly, "we call ourselves 'La Resistance'."
"There's a resistance movement?" Inquired the unicorn filly curiously. "How is that possible?"
"I think we best skip the details for a later time!" Warned one of the stallions securing the knots, "we've got incoming!!" He yelled pointing towards the sky.
The group turned around in the direction the stallion was pointing and saw a single a gold shape growing larger and larger over the horizon.
"Get on! Move! Move! Move!" Yelled the baker, beckoning them on top of the raft.
"I'll get the rope!" Said a pale green stallion, nearest to the river bank.
He never got close...
Hundreds of birds took to the sky as a deafening bang echoed throughout the forest. The ponies saw the stallion fall backwards in slow motion, and topple overboard into a watery grave leaving a trail of blood behind. He was dead before he hit the water.
"What was that?!" Yelled out another stallion in fright.
"Don't know, but I'm not staying here to find out!" Replied Pony Joe, whacking the rope with a machete.
A second shot rang out, and this time it was the stallion standing next to Rarity who fell over the edge of the raft and into the river, a bloody, giant hole where his left eye used to be. The party cast their eyes skyward and noticed that the shape moving towards them was actually a carriage, pulled by a couple of pegasi guards, on top of which sat a familiar canary yellow pony, wearing a stetson and resting what looked like an elongated tube on top of his right shoulder.
"High Tide! You have to do something! Return fire!" Twilight beseeched him.
"I can't!" Replied the anxious captain, "my gun doesn't have nearly as much range as his!"
"Then what do we do?!" Asked Rarity prancing frantically on her spot.
"Can't this thing go any faster?!" Complained Rainbow Dash.
"Hold on," the captain replied, "I'll get an oar," he said, depositing her and Applejack on the floor.
The cowfilly carefully lifted her head to look at their pursuer and immediately regretted it: the stallion was looking through a mounted scope directly at her.
"Watch out!"
A third bang rang out from the brigadier's gun, blowing Applejack's stetson off her head and causing him to swear loudly. That was the first time he'd ever missed a shot.
Had her cheeks not been swollen, rendering her attempts in communication completely useless, the filly would've spared no words in thanking her hyperactive friend. For had Pinkie Pie not shoved her head against the floor, that shot would've gone straight through her skull.
"You're most certainly welcome!" Cheered the pink pony, correctly interpreting the grateful look upon her friend's face.
"Save your celebrations for later!" Said Twilight, "we're about to enter the rapids!" She announced pointing towards the spot where the river's flow was faster and more violent.
A sudden spasm shook Pinkie's tail, and she immediately turned around to lock her eyes with Rarity. "Hey Rarity, your shoelaces are undone!" She quickly jabbered.
"Are they really?" recoiled the filly lowering her head just in time to avoid a deadly projectile which zoomed over her elaborate mane.
"Silly me! You don't even wear shoes!" The filly joked in a bubbly manner, completely uncharacteristic of somepony who had just saved two of her friends from very sudden, violent deaths.
"Uh-huh..." muttered Rarity aghast trembling on the spot, her eyes wide with shock.
"How are you doing that?!" Inquired Nemo incredulously, staring at the pink oddity before her.
"Oh, it's thanks to my Pinkie sense. Usually I get random signals throughout my body which indicate when some things are about to happen, speaking of which, excuse me, " she said, suddenly ducking to allow yet another bullet to zoom over her.
"That makes no sense!" Retorted the attorney.
"Oh but it makes perfect sense you see—"
"Girls we don't have the time for this! Look!"
Twilight's warning came too little too late. Before either filly managed to turn their heads towards the front they felt the raft tumble as it hit a rock and sent them crashing to floor. Pinkie Pie barely felt the blow to the back of her head before she blacked out completely.
Fearing the worst, her friends scampered over to help her.
"Pinkie are you okay?" Twilight called out, hoisting her head up.
"Hey, don't just crowd around the same place! It makes you easy targ—"
Pony Joe never finished the phrase. Before he was able to a deafening bang drowned out his words, dulling his sense of hearing. Not that he was even able to hear the shot, for the bullet that had been aimed at him pierced his brain before the sound ever reached his ears.
Beside him, his lifelong friends, Twilight and Spike, watched with horror as the baker wobbled on the spot for a second, and fell like a lifeless puppet whose string had simply been cut. He crumpled into a bloody mess upon the floor, where he lay perfectly still, the light of his eyes faded into darkness.
Over their heads the disgruntled brigadier cursed himself as he watched the raft speed up and vanish out of sight over the splashing water..
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Okay, so finally updated! Though I'm unsure whether you guys will hate me for the delay or what I did in this chapter
....
Though I would appreciate it if you all redirected that anger towards Clean Shot instead. I mean... look at that bastard! He's the one responsible for such a dreary chapter! Personally I would take my issues directly up to him and certainly not the author characterizing him in this fanfic...
*Scuttles away*
The only think i hate you for is killing PONY JOE!!!
other than that thanks for the update and getting twi and the gang rescued.
cheers
1378548 You're absolutely right. I feel bad about killing him like that... Seeing how he was a baker the situation called for an ironic comment or a pun along the lines of "and so the baker was wrapped by the sweet embrace of death."
HA! Get it! It's sweet because he's a baker and he basically deals with—okay I'll shut up now, please don't kill me....
1378583 Gotta admit the joke was funny.
however he didn't even get a chance to stay with the group
and reminisce over old times. Why didn't you have twi use kinetically thrown projectiles to throw off dead eye's aim? I mean theirs plenty of debris within the forest she could have picked up with her telekinesis and thrown. just a few grievances. also their using muskets right?
well from old depictions they usually have a range of 50 meters before they have a trajectory change of about 5-12 degrees.
now how close was the chariot on the groups tail?
just a few things like that but over all again i'm just glad your back in the game. keep up the good work.
cheers
1378657 I killed him because his doughnuts taste like crap owing to the fact that he never washes his hooves before shaping the mass and his two-bit shop will never, ever compare to Dunking Donuts.
...
Okay, I jest. Have some well deserved author notes: so far into the story the characters have gotten out of some pretty deep shit thanks to some very convenient plot devices allowing them to progress without suffering much casualties. Twilight outrunning the Imperial Guard on a number of occasions comes to mind: the Everfree Forest, Ponyville, Froggy Bottom Bog, Drackenridge mountains, etc. That being said, to continue upon such a path where the characters escape completely unharmed would be illogical. The "dark" tag upon this fanfic demands that some blood be shed in order to allow some emotional growth on the main cast.
Silver Tongue's death was the first touch in having a character close to the protagonist die, but that simply wasn't enough, reason being that the stallion had barely gotten over her suspicion of Twilight. They did not have the time to grow friendlier or develop a tighter bond and frankly, though I enjoyed characterizing Silver Tongue, I didn't want him to. Had he survived he could've easily bailed her out, seeing as how he was an elected official with an impressive reputation. His role was to guide Twilight towards the truth, and to shed some revealing light upon the conspiracy, albeit at the cost of his life.
This next brings us to Nemo Ius. While an enthusiastic scholar sharing many of Twilight's traits, the filly lacks her mentor's experience in handling tough cases. She plays a pivotal role in supporting Twilight with her knowledge and insight of Equestria's justice system, as well as what little skills she gained from Silver Tongue regarding investigation and interrogation. I made her only slightly older than Twilight (though I'm completely unsettled on what her age should be, due to her profession) with the intention of providing the bond and friendship Silver Tongue wasn't meant to give. Still due to her inexperience and lack of magic (precisely why I made her an earth pony instead of a unicorn like most of the intellectuals in Equestria) she cannot offer Twilight her help outside a determined set of circumstances, rendering her slightly useless until now. She has a greater role reserved ahead for her but I won't elaborate on that. Killing her wasn't an option, I've grown fond of her.
High Tide comes afterward. Okay so the stallion has taken a first step into the long path of redemption by saving the mane six from a certain death. He's given out many details regarding the conspiracy and shed light upon how the whole thing started. There are but two pieces missing in the whole puzzle. He still has a tale to tell and quite frankly killing him now would achieve nothing. Besides, we already had Silver Tongue go through the whole martyr-esque death, doing any more of that with previous villains just for the sake of making you feel sorry for them would do little to advance the plot. Finally, he's not close to the main characters, he doesn't fit the criteria.
Lastly Spike and the mane six. No way in hell was I going to pick up somepony at random in a game of sweeney-meaney-miney-mo. I'd get butchered if I put a hoof on the main cast of the show. They're the protagonist and thus, completely off limits.
This led me to choose Pony Joe as our next victim. He was the only pony who shared some back story with Twilight and Spike, and therefore the only one who could fulfill that role. I cast him some chapters back intending to make his loyalty towards his friends evident, and to allow speculation for a future supporting role, and that's how I came to write this chapter.
Did you not notice the title? That was actually me messing with your head. The mood and the situation I set in the previous chapters starting with Twilight's interrogation somewhat hinted that somepony was going to die. This was only confirmed by the title and so I played that to my advantage into fooling you that said pony would be Fluttershy. I dragged out the scene a bit to taunt my readers and for one brief second I actually made it look like I'd killed her... Only to have Clean Shot deliberately miss the mark in a further attempt to terrorize the filly.
Then, after Captain High Tide had saved the lot of them and the ominous title had been pushed to the back of your head as an unimportant detail... Bang! Pony Joe takes a bullet to the head in order to fulfill the self-declared prophecy that a death would occur within this chapter.
As for Clean Shot's gun: it's a sniper rifle actually. I even mentioned it had a scope mounted on top of it, and there's no way a musket can fire that fast without being reloaded.
Cheers, friend.
I was about to throw things when I thought you killed off 'Shy. So, hats off to you, sir. That was an effective scene, and even though I knew High Tide supposedly had a plan, I was still held in suspense throughout the entirety of the scene. Well played.
1378919
George Martin would like to have a word with you. dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/Fluttershy_lolface.png
Seriously... The mane 6 are as close to useless as I've ever seen them written. No Stare, Twilight's magic is all but useless, and Pinkie Pie gets knocked out only saving other Mane 6 from death. Why the hell do you even bother to include them? Twilight can't generate a shield to protect against sniper fire? All my hate!
I must read on and see for myself that his death was not in vain
1378919 thanks for letting me know joe died honorably to a sniper rather than a damned one in twenty musket, and for shedding some light on things. the only thing that upsets me now it the title A death in the family there was a dead yes but so far as i know the death was not in the family.
now the question begs. how the buck did the equestrians develop firearms within a matter of 10 years? i mean they've barely had contact to gun powder so how are you going to explain that later on?
cheers
XD That sound you're hearing? It's Clean Shot. He's imitating Vegeta from Dragonball Z Abridged after Vegeta realized Gohan stole the Dragonball from the lake...
"FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU----~!"
Poor Joe...
1379466 Clean Shot's not just some grumpy dragon trying to get shut eye, nor a cockatrice living in its mother's basement: the stallion is a downright sociopath. He has no conscience, he has no feelings, he's a pathological liar (meaning he lies sometimes just for the sake of lying), no stare of Fluttershy's could possibly intimidate him. I would know, because I personally know not one, but two real life diagnosed sociopaths and they put the media portrayals of them to shame.
As to Pinkie Pie not reacting earlier to sniper fire: though she felt the spasms, she didn't know what she was dealing with until the second shot (she's new to the whole concept of guns, not having been on the cruise with Twilight or Nemo).
Though I do admit my blunder on Twilight's part: I honestly don't know whether a forcefield would protect her against sniper fire (since guns are absent from the show and we can't gouge exactly how many newtons of force a magical forcefield would withstand), but she should have at least attempted one. (Though had it failed you would've probably also hated me for making her helpless against it
).
1379703 The difference between the development of firearms on Earth and Equestria is vastly different. For starters, yes gunpowder was discovered much earlier on our side, but our technological advancement was very, very poor back then. From the show you can gather that the Equestrians already have electrical devices such as modern cranes, videogames, heart monitors, etc though they use them sparingly. Then again, the use of the substance is prohibited as Silver Tongue stated in chapter twelve, so it had been discovered before hand and banned by Celestia due to its destructive capabilities. Considering they're anywhere between the 1950s to 1980s in their use of technology I'd say that developing a sniper rifle in that time is not that far-fetched.
1380700 - It's more that your almost treating the Mane 6 like they are just punch dummies. They wander around like chickens sans-heads. Not to say that it doesn't make sense within the context of the story and conspiracy, but they are all capable individuals that have faced down two cosmic horrors, loads of other situations, and a full on hostile invasion. Plus, compulsive liar or not, insane psychopath or not, you can not resist the Stare. She can stare down a mystical creature that turns things to stone with it's gaze. She can stare down a full grown dragon, a pony? Please...
Plus, AJ/Dash would probably be well capable of holding their own vs guards. Win? Maybe not, but remember these are the ponies that chewed through quite a few changelings during the invasion. The thing with Pinkie's sense was more that you knocked her out after she saved a few, but of course, in time to get Joe drilled through the noggin.
I've had problems with your portrayal of Twilight since the get-go. Her magic, one of her most powerful assets, has almost always been completely neutralized through one Deus Ex Machina reason or another.
1380728 If the Stare is such a powerful weapon, why didn't she use it against Nightmare Moon? Discord? Queen Chrysalis? The changelings? Heck, why didn't she rely on it on every other possible situation where she got in trouble? The Stare has worked on a couple of beings, one of them a dragon, but the things weren't actually evil. The dragon wanted to scare them away instead of right down eating them when he could have, and the cockatrice was intimidated at the mention of his mother. Granted, it's just an interpretation but the way I see it is that it doesn't necessarily work on every other being, just the ones that have a conscience.
Regarding Applejack and Rainbow Dash: well the changelings weren't armed with spears and the like, they were also much smaller than them. These are stallions trained for combat, wearing heavy armored plate on them, not to mention AJ and RD let themselves get beat up just to avoid the others from being dragged into it as well. I mean, come on, they took a horrible beating whilst still remaining defiant and even tried to get themselves off the floor, broken bones and all, to try and save Fluttershy. I think that scene, rather than portraying them as weak useless ponies, is actually a testament to how tough and loyal they both are. Same thing can be said of Pinkie and Rarity to a degree: they both tried to protect her as well.
Well Twilight has used her magic in other circumstances, such as bringing down a container on Storm Chaser and others. On other circumstances though, when surrounded by a hundred guards, she's wisely decided to avoid conflict. I think the only one time she was actually in possibility of doing anything but was prevented from doing so (apart from this one of course), was back on the cruise. She could've probably smacked High Tide around, but Silver Tongue (assuming they were outmatched) stopped her from doing so. Not that it would've helped, I don't think Twilight would be capable of taking another's life and Silver would've died regardless.
If anything you will probably enjoy the next chapters, because this one finally marks the end of a 23-chapter long persecution. It's time the mane six stopped taking the abuse they've been constantly dealt, and went on the offensive: they actually have supporters now and the resistance, albeit a small but growing group of discontented ponies, will allow them more freedom to actually engage the Imperial Guard and bastards portrayed so far. Yes it will be, as you said, Twilight laying down the law Sparkle style.
1380886 I almost thought of saying "Well, why couldn't Twilight redirect some of the bullets with her telekinesis?" But then I realized that it would be impossible for her to get a mental fix on an object with dimensions probably around 7.62x51mm most likely traveling at a velocity somewhere in the neighborhood of 853m/s within time to actually save anyone (numbers only apply if Clean Shot actually has a sniper rifle, as you stated previously). Not to mention that with the way physics (hopefully) work in this story, the bullet would probably be moving with more than enough kinetic energy to overpower Twilight's magic... And there's probably also the factor of the shock of getting shot at- this is, after all, Twilight Sparkle we're talking about... Not some trained soldier. In other words, "pretty much the same stuff you've been telling everyone else".
Edit: If I missed anything (flawed logic, missed points, etc.) that you may wish to correct me on, by all means go ahead. Criticism is, after all, a good thing.
1387132 Nope, criticism is accepted from all sides after all and my thoughts coincide with yours. I'm no physicist but I do know this: in order to cast a barrier or a forcefield, a unicorn would need the use of a spell capable of transforming magical energy into matter, specifically a solid mass with density. It's only logical then that such a mass would offer a certain amount of resistance per square feet when hit by a high moving object, such as the one being fired by a Barret M82. Now, though the resistance would increase the smaller the area affected, we really don't know just how solid a barrier of Twilight's would be so it is perfectly safe to assume a high powered shot might penetrate it.
Of course there's also the possibility I might be mistaken about it (like Obsidian said) and for Twilight's barrier to be stronger than a .50 caliber bullet but I couldn't gauge that info from the show, so I went for a route more convenient to the story and avoided that altogether.
1387345 That makes sense. I do feel as though I must say, however, that I have come to the conclusion that a magical shield would be of no use stopping a bullet, in this case. Looking at how the force of, shall we say, several hundred Changelings could break a shield cast by Shining Armor (who, as we know, specializes in casting magical shields) with their bare hooves (and perhaps a bit of magic), it would be entirely too easy to conclude that a single bullet, in this example, the .50 BMG fired by a Barrett M82A2, would utterly shatter a shield cast by Twilight. She may have more raw magical power, but lacks the special acquaintance with the shield spell (as far as canon may go, anyway.) By the way, it probably is not likely for you to have put this much thought into the story, but what caliber is Clean Shot's rifle chambered in, anyway?
I just spent the better part of ten minutes theorizing about physics and how they may relate to talking magical ponies armed with anti-materiel rifles... What am I doing with my life?
1387435 I wanted to say a Barrett M82 since it's my favorite sniper rifle, but I'm not entirely sure whether Equestrians would have the capability to produce such a powerful weapon in such a short period of time. Could be that or a Dragunov SWD-M (which is still 830 m/s compared to the M82's 854 m/s), but I think it wise to leave it as undecided for now.
lol when it comes to writing it is not uncommon to do some research for reference precisely for this sort of occasion. You need to have some knowledge in order to depict an accurate scenario.
1378919
DID HE HARD SCOPE WITH THAT SNIPER?!!??!?!? DID HE!??!!??! Cuz if he did im gonna rage quit this game!!!
HE BETTER OF QUICKSCOPED OR NO-SCOPED HIM!!! HE BETTER OF!!!
...get Pinks a mini-gun... right fucking now...