Harmony to Loyalty

Chapter 6

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Most of the next day was spent staking out Ponyville in the hope of catching a prisoner transport, a rather boring and uneventful prospect since nothing of note seemed to be happening. The east of the town was more fortified than before with trenches and artillery in place, the humans were definitely preparing for any possible counter offensive from Canterlot. Fortunately long hours of waiting was rewarded by late afternoon with a prisoner wagon heading down the south road.

"Get your lazy ass up, got one heading south…looks like eleven guards, shouldn't be too difficult" I summarized as Rainbow shook her head in an attempt to wake back up.

"Shouldn't be?" She asked groggily as she stretched out her back.

"Shouldn't be so long as you don't get shot" I pointed out with a grin "Lets catch them a few miles down the road, don't want the entire army on our ass" I suggested as we proceeded down the tree line until we came to a point where the road practically hugged the Everfree.

"This should be good enough…they're gonna be pretty close though so watch out and take this" I tossed my knife to her as she simply stared at it for a moment. "By the way you poke at them with the pointy end"

"Oh gee I would never have guessed" She deadpanned as she carefully pocketed the blade "But aren't you gonna need it?" She asked as I answered by pulling out the sword bayonet I pilfered yesterday and proceeded to attach it to the front of my rifle.

"It's cool, mines bigger anyway" I joked as she scoffed at me.

"Who you trying to convince me or yourself?" She quipped with a smirk as I laughed.

"Not bad, decent comeback…but while I'm flattered at the oh so wonderful opportunity to give you a good 'convincing', I think we have some more urgent things to deal with" I shot back as she got visibly flustered.

"I-you! I'm so tempted to whack you upside the head"

"Please don't, it's rather difficult to shoot people when I'm unconscious…speaking of which here they are right on schedule" I whispered as we got our weapons ready. "You ready?" I asked seriously as she nodded

"I'm ready this time" She stated with finality as I was inclined to believe her, I could tell she was much more certain of herself.

"Alright just…be careful alright? Taking insane risks and doing crazy shit is sort of my thing" I joked, using the power of humor to calm the nerves, more for her than me. "Remember wait for me to fire and don't shoot at the wagon, the bars are open and we don't want any of the ponies to get hurt" I reminded as she nodded.

Rainbow Dash had never felt tension and nervousness quite like this before, yes she was in this same scenario yesterday certainly, but yesterday she knew she didn't have the capacity to go through with it…but today was different, today she was determined to fight and make up for her weakness the day before, she was determined to fight to save her friends…today she was ready.

Rainbow was ripped from her thoughts as David let loose a shot that put down the driver, like she was taught Rainbow took aim, controlled her breathing and at the opportune moment squeezed the trigger, the rifle thundered as the bullet raced out and struck her target in the chest. She didn't wait around as she loaded another round, another gunshot rang out as David dropped another guard who was trying to take cover behind the wagon. Rainbow took aim and like clockwork unloaded another payload into the chest of another guard, they weren't too far away but she was banking on hitting center mass since she was taught that to be the easiest place to hit.

"Take cover!" David ordered as Rainbow complied, the seven remaining guards fired back as Rainbow ducked down to avoid getting hit, thankfully she felt no exploding pain as she let out a breath of relief. Her heart was racing and she felt as if she was running on pure instinct as David unloaded another round into a guard attempting to reload his incredibly outdated firearm. Rainbow was thankful that her weapon was much superior as she unloaded a three more shots, all unfortunately missing.

Rainbow ducked behind the tree trunk as she reloaded her rifle, a few more shots whizzing by her position as she finished and took aim again. She saw another guard drop from David's shot as the five remaining guards looked to be scared out of their minds, she put that observation aside as she aimed and fired, this time earning a headshot much to her surprise. The remaining four retreated to the other side of the wagon for cover, effectively using the prisoners as meat shields.

"Goddamn cowards, face me like men!" David shouted as he growled in frustration before letting out a sigh "Cover me" He ordered as he dropped from his vantage point and charged the wagon. However instead of going around the wagon he leaped onto the roof, aimed down and fired, one thud of a dead guard later the other three scattered out from their position in surprise. Rainbow took the opportunity to take a shot at one as she hit the chest, David was currently engaged in melee with one guard as the other was dazed on the ground, getting to his feet slowly.

Rainbow didn't have a clear line of sight on either of the two remaining guards so she decided to join the fray, wielding her rifle like a club and charged at the one rising to his feet. She had to spin around David as his combatant as they slammed into the wagons bars, eliciting a fearful gasp from the ponies inside. The guard had just risen to his feet when Rainbow slammed the butt of her rifle on his head, knocking him down but not out as the guard kicked his leg out and made contact with Rainbows stomach as she landed on her back and lost her grasp on her rifle. It took her a moment to recover as she reached for the knife in her pocket, the guard had gotten back on his feet and was looming over her.

David rammed the butt of his rifle into the right side of his opponent's head, which dazed him onto the bars of the wagon long enough for David to swing the blade attached to his rifle from right to left, slashing open the guards neck as blood poured out in an unsettling manner. David turned left more to see Rainbow on the ground with a guard lording over her, however before he could worry he saw her quickly raise from the ground and use her small stature to her advantage to duck under the guard and drive the blade into his side. The guard howled in pain as David took aim and finished him with a shot to head, causing him to keel over in a bloody heap.

We took a moment to breathe as the battle concluded, I surveyed the grisly scene as I noted the eleven guards all strewn about, all unmoving and as far as I could tell there wasn't anybody else other than me, Rainbow and a bunch of scared ponies.

"That was…that was nuts" Rainbow breathed out, eliciting a small chuckle out of me.

"That's definitely one way to put it" I responded as I made my way to the door of the cage, the ponies backing away in fear as I did so. "Alright let's get this open shall we?" I mumbled as I took my rifle and used the butt of it to slam on the doors lock, after the third strike it broke off and a pulled open the door. "Right well you all can thank me by-" I was summarily cut off by a pair of hooves slamming into my face, causing me to fly back a good eight feet and land harshly on my back.

"…by bucking me in the head like an asshole, yeah that works" I groaned out as I felt like an eighteen wheeler slammed into my skull. I wasn't dazed for too long but when I came back to reality I saw a pair of large hooves attempt to slam down on my head, I quickly rolled to the left, got to my feet, pulled out my revolver and aimed at my attacker. He was a rather large stallion that rivaled me in height with a pastel red coat, green eyes and looked built like a living freight train…if my throbbing head wasn't indication enough of his strength.

"Take it easy asshole" I warned as Rainbow came to my side.

"Big Mac take it easy we're not here to hurt anypony" Rainbow assured as he seemed to get confused and backed down from an offensive stance to a defensive one.

"You know this guy?" I asked Rainbow as she nodded

"Yeah I do…he's usually not violent like that" She responded as I stared at her incredulously.

"I think my head says otherwise" I complained as she shrugged.

"Well you bring out the best in people and ponies alike" She quipped as I just stared at her unamused, out of the corner of my eye I saw a mare with an orange coat step out of the wagon who staring at Rainbow, as if trying to piece something together.

"Rainbow Dash…Rainbow Dash is that you?" The mare asked hesitantly as she cautiously approached, only to be blocked by Big Mac.

"Stay back little sister, their dangerous!" He warned as Applejack simply shoved him aside.

"Simmer on down big brother, I can take care of myself" She admonished as she turned to size us up.

"Applejack…yeah it's me Rainbow Dash!" Rainbow announced as a look of relieve and joy washed over her face, Applejack stared at her for some time.

"…how do I know that you ain't tryin ta pull a fast one on me?" She asked as I answered

"Is the Rainbow Dash you know an overly confident braggart who won't shut up about how awesome she is?" I asked as Rainbow tried to protest.

"Yup that's her alright" Applejack answered with a nod as Rainbow just stared at her friend in annoyance. Applejack still looked unconvinced however as I decided to go for the undeniable proof.

"The wonder bolts suck donkey dick" I stated as Rainbow stared at me like I had just kicked her cat.

"YOU TAKE THAT BACK RIGHT NOW!" She shouted as I simply flicked her nose with a smirk "What the-WHAT THE HAY WAS THAT FOR?!" She shouted even louder as Applejack broke out into laughter.

"Ok NOW I definitely believe you" Applejack stated as Rainbow looked between the two of us and groaned.

"…I hate you guys" She grumbled as Applejack laughed and approached Rainbow Dash with no apprehension.

"Not his fault he's got ya down" Applejack joked as Rainbow glared at her.

"I could put you back in the cage you know" Rainbow warned before they both broke into a fit of laughter. I decided to let them talk for a bit as I walked back near the wagon door to retrieve my rifle that I had dropped when I achieved flight by hoof to the face, Big Mac staring at me with suspicion the whole time, but ultimately made no moves toward me. As I shouldered my rifle I noticed that the rest of the ponies were slowly clambering out of the wagon, all of whom steered clear of me with the exception of one pony who I noted to be a unicorn with a white coat, a mane consisting of two different shades of blue and magenta eyes.

"Wow so you guys like really messed them up huh?" She asked in a rather casual manner that kinda threw me off for a second before I composed myself and shrugged.

"I guess so yeah" I answered as I glanced at her and noted how she just exuded…chill, pure unadulterated chill was really the best way to describe it. "So any reason why you're not cowering in fear like the rest?" I asked curiously as she just shrugged.

"Should I be? I mean you seem like a cool enough dude so eh I'm good" She concluded as I just raised an eyebrow at her…interesting logic.

"Well as long as you don't kick me in the face then it's all good"

"Nah dude I think one is more than enough for one day" She joked as I rolled my eyes.

"Tell me about it" I mumbled, I stared up into the sky and noted some odd shapes, after a few moments the shapes began to take form as they got closer. There were a bunch of pegasi and a few…flying chariots…goddammit fuck this place for making my head hurt more than it already does.

"Hey uhhh Rainbow…should we be worried about them?" I asked as everyones attention was drawn to the figures in the sky, everyone seemed to be relieved when they recognized the approaching ponies.

"I don't think so…they look like royal guards from Canterlot" She stated as the other ponies around cheered about being rescued and saved. I on the other hand was worried, I had the strong urge to make a break for the forest, but I stood my ground as Rainbow didn't look to be afraid. A minute later the pegasi touched down and quickly surrounded us, I instinctively backed up toward Rainbow as the other ponies with the exception of applejack, big mac and the white unicorn ran towards the chariots which I'm guessing were here to transport rescued ponies. The pegasi guards drew various weapons and tightened into a circle to ensure we couldn't escape…now I DEFINITELY had a bad feeling about this. A guard with an orange coat and blue tail stepped forward and addressed us.

"Put your weapons down humans and surrender now!" He ordered rather harshly, Rainbow looked worried, Applejack seemed a bit uneasy and both Big Mac and the unicorn seemed uncertain of what to think. Applejack was the first to address the Pegasus.

"Now hold on a moment I'm sure that all these here weapons aren't necessa-"

"Silence, I wasn't addressing you" He dismissed as Applejack backed off, but not without giving him a glare, personally I'd probably have decked the fucker, but well that's just me. "I'll ask again, put your weapons down and surrender now!" He ordered much more harshly as Rainbow Dash stepped forward.

"Hey pal take it easy we aren't trying to hurt nopon-" She was cut off by the guard tackling her to the ground in an attempt to subdue her. "WHAT THE, GET OFF ME YA JERK!" Rainbow shouted as she tried to break free.

"Well fuck, now we gotta do things my way" I growled as I quickly bounded toward the guard with a rather maniacal look in my eyes and before he could react I took my clawed hand and raked him across the right eye as deeply as I could. He howled in pain as the other guards burst into action, a rather sloppy but rough brawl ensued as I plowed through as many pony guards as possible, making sure not to kill any of them, just rough them up to get them to back off. However my oh so well thought out plan didn't go over as well as I hoped as I felt a sharp pain from the back of my head and started to lose consciousness.

"Goddammit I hate this part" I mumbled as my vision went black. I came to when I felt myself suddenly lurch forward, my head felt like it was about to collapse in on itself and I could tell feel that my hands were restrained behind my back and my legs were restrained as well. I was suddenly forced off what I assumed was one of the pegasi pulled wagons and proceeded to be dragged by a couple of pony guards. I felt myself start to lose consciousness again, probably due to receiving two head injuries in such a short amount of time, but before I did I caught sight of a group of ponies surrounding Rainbow Dash who seemed to be talking to two rather regal looking ponies. One was a large unicorn with wings that had a white coat and sparkling mane who seemed engaged in conversation with Rainbow while the other was a shorter unicorn with wings that had a dark blue coat with a flowing blue mane that was staring at me with an unreadable expression. Before I could observe anymore I felt my vision black out again.

The second time I woke up was much more painful as I felt myself be tossed like a ragdoll onto stone, the sudden impact made me groan in pain and did help me wake up…although it also helped to piss me off so nothing new there. I took some time to shake off the grogginess and clear the pain from my head before I examined my surroundings. I was definitely in a prison cell of sorts, the only thing that furnished the room was a pony sized bed, a toilet and sink, but despite the lack of furnishings the cell felt cramped, barely having enough room to move around comfortably. I also noted how chilly the cell felt, the answer to why that was came when I realized that I had basically been stripped down to just my pants…well at least they left THAT much.

'This was about what I expected' I thought to myself as I assessed my situation, unless the princess has the worst taste in interior decorating for her guest rooms, then it was painfully obvious that I was a prisoner. Although thinking back I couldn't help but feel that I didn't really help things by clawing that guard in the face, but fuck it that guy was an asshole so I regret nothing…well except the whole being a prisoner thing, but that's beside the point. I shook my head at my current situation, but in the end I felt that there wasn't much I could do until I knew more about what was planned for me. So I decided that some actual rest sounded nice…until I actually laid on the bed which of course was dirty, hard as a rock and since it was pony sized my legs dangled off the foot of the bed.

"Can't ever catch a break" I grumbled as I quickly succumbed to sleep. The next day wasn't too eventful, the guard had brought me what I could only assume was a bowl of food, although there was so little of it and it was so bland and tasteless that it felt like I was drinking the physical manifestation of nothingness. The rest of the day consisted of being bored off my ass and being heckled by the guard, I mostly ignored him since his insults were rather boring and not even worth my time, although I made a mental note to beat the living ponyshit out of him later. Towards what I assumed was later that day, my cell had no window so for all I knew it could've been the middle of the night, I got a visit from a very familiar pony.

"You got five minutes" I heard the guard say down the hall as I heard the sound of hooves approach my cell. The pony in question was no other than Rainbow Dash back in pony form, although I noted that she wore the white gem around her neck, having made it into a necklace.

"Well would you look at that, your back to being tiny and blue" I quipped in mild surprise as she simply rolled her eyes at me.

"I was gonna ask if you were ok but you're still as annoying as ever…so I guess that means you are" She seemed genuinely relieved as I scoffed.

"Oh yeah I'm having the time of my life in here, I mean I'm getting the five star treatment, I got a bed made from the finest of rocks, a room with a view and a maid that takes SUCH great care of me…oh yeah life couldn't be better" I ranted sarcastically

"Well…the important thing is that you're ok" She stated as I simply shrugged.

"I guess so…so I guess the princesses did find a way to fix your problem?" I asked

"You could say that, basically this gem was some sort of magic charm that changes your form…or something" Rainbow explained rather undescriptively as she cupped the gem in her hoof. "Princess Luna said that this thing is full of some really old and crazy dark magic, but it isn't dangerous as far as she knows so…that's good I guess"

"Not gonna lie, that sounds…kinda fucked" I summarized as worry was etched on her face.

"I guess…but Princess Luna said that she'd look into it more for me when she has time, both her and Princess Celestia have been really busy with everything going on and then theres your…uhhh" She stopped her explanation as I stared intently at her.

"My…what?" I asked as Rainbow got visibly uncomfortable.

"You're…trial" She mumbled with a worried expression as I looked at her incredulously.

"My WHAT?!" I yelled "What the hell did I do?" I asked

"Well you did kind of beat up a bunch of royal guards"

"They were being assholes" I shrugged

"You also really messed up that one pony's face"

"He was being a massive asshole" I pointed out

"I agree…but it didn't really help keep you out of the dungeon" Rainbow countered as I just scoffed

"Eh I've been in worse…but still a trial? I'm honestly a little surprised, I figured they'd just go straight to the beheading or whatever" Rainbow stared at me in a horrified expression as she vehemently shook her head.

"Theres no way Princess Celestia would ever do that!" Rainbow defended

"I really hope so for my sake, I kinda like not being dead after all" I pointed out with a laugh, after a few moments of awkward silence Rainbow spoke.

"Well…if it makes you feel any better I'm gonna do everything I can to make sure that you're out of here as soon as possible" She declared as I just raised an eyebrow at her.

"Oh gee here comes Rainbow Dash, Ace Attorney to the rescue" I joked sarcastically as she just stuck her tongue out at me.

"I could just leave you in there you know" She shot back

"Please don't, it smells like ass in here"

"Aww does the baby have a sensitive nose now?" She said in voice you'd voice to speak to an infant.

"Yes actually I do ya Technicolor freak show" I responded with a laugh before letting out a sigh "Well…just be careful alright? Last thing you probably need is people giving you crap for trying to help me out" I pointed out as she gave a small smile before busting out into a big grin.

"Pfft don't even worry about it, the one and only Rainbow Dash is on the case!" She shouted as the guard made his way to us.

"Time is up" He stated flatly as he started to escort her out.

"I'll visit again when I can" She promised as she was lead down the hall and away from view. She made good on her promise the next day when she got another five minutes, which was mostly spent throwing the usual barbs at each other. Not exactly the best use of our time, but it made me feel a bit better I guess since Rainbow was a lot more fun to play a bit of back and forth with then my guard who might as well have been an actual wet blanket. It seemed to do the same for her since she left in a bit of a better mood than she arrived in. The next day however was not nearly as good, I mean I got the same indecipherable gruel to eat and was bored as usual, but today my visitor wasn't Rainbow rather it was a lavender colored pony with a purple and pink colored mane. From the moment I saw her I could see that she looked to be here for business…well at least she didn't look like she was here for afternoon tea that's for damn sure. The other notable thing of interest was that she was using her magic to lift one of my bags next to her.

"That's my stuff" I noted as she simply ignored me and placed the bag down next to her as she stared at me for a moment before starting.

"Before we start, please allow me to introduce myself, my name is Twilight Sparkle, personal student of Princess Celestia" She introduced rather politely, unfortunately I wasn't exactly inclined to care at the moment.

"That's nice, that's my stuff" I stated again, honestly I shouldn't have been surprised that my stuff was being pawed…hoofed through? Whatever, point is I wasn't surprised, but it still annoyed me when people looked through my stuff without permission, just a personal thing. She looked momentarily put off by my dismissive tone, but she shrugged it off quickly and continued.

"Yes well…I suppose that is part of the reason why I'm here, you see some of the items in your possession are quite…strange, so I came to see if you would be so nice as to cooperate and help identify some of the items in question" She asked as if it was no big deal.

"Your fuckin with me right?" I scoffed as she simply seemed confused at my reaction.

"Umm no? But if what you meant was 'are you joking' then no I'm not, your help in this matter would be much appreciated after all" She continued as I simply laughed bitterly right in her face.

"Oh…oh wow, ok at first I thought you were just taunting me like a cunt, but now I think you're just a huge goddamn moron" I worded in-between laughs as I was most definitely getting on her nerves, which of course encouraged me to continue "Ok well I'll go ahead and explain to you nice and slow so you get it into that thick fuckin head of yours. You guys have me locked up in a prison cell, are putting me on trial for fuck knows what…and you expect me to just sit here and go 'oh of course madam I won't mind telling you about all my stuff that your just rifling through like it's yours, no please be my guest' get fuckin real" I finished ranting as I suddenly felt myself lurch forward and slam into the prison bars HARD, it hurt for a moment but I proceeded to laugh, seeing as I got a rise out of her. "Did I pinch a nerve sweet cheeks or do you want me to go on?" I taunted as she looked like she was about to spill over in anger, but at the last second in a rather impressive display of willpower she composed herself and I felt the magic hold on me disappear. I casually laid down on my undersized bed and proceeded to ignore her.

"…very well then, I'll have to note your…unwillingness to cooperate, but I suppose I can forgive your rudeness and chalk it up to being confined in this cell" She reasoned as I simply just mentally added more reasons why I hated this bitch, seriously the fake politeness is more annoying than anything else. Well…I may not like her very much, but I can at least have a bit of amusement at her expense.

"Oh gee thank you oh merciful one, how could I ever go on without your forgiveness?" I mocked as I was getting on her nerves again.

"One has to wonder how you can make friends with an attitude like that" She condescended, that got me to sit up, after all you don't condescend me like a child, no fuckin way.

"I don't know, one has to wonder how you don't piss everyone off with that fake politeness bullshit…not to mention where you get the gall to think that I owe you a description of MY stuff that you have no right to paw through" I fired back as she stared at me quizzically.

"I'm not the one in the prison cell, I'm not the one who drew Princess Celestia's ire and quite frankly with everything that has happened as of late, someone looking through your possessions is the least of your worries" She pointed out rather curtly as I just gave a shrug.

"Eh I'll stick to my own set of priorities thank you very much, not like I'll be here for long anyway" I added as she now started to look at me like I might not be entirely there upstairs…to be fair that's what I was going for so I couldn't blame her.

"Uh…huh" She worded as her mind had difficultly coming up with a response. "Well…with the attitude you have that last part might be more true than you think…and not in way you want it to be" She admonished as I didn't miss the hidden meaning of her words, I did my best to hide my grin at the revealing bit of information as I scoffed.

"We'll see about that I'm sure" I dismissed arrogantly "Well unless you want to amuse me with more questions that I don't give a shit about, then I'd appreciate it if you don't distract me, for I have a lot to do today" I stated as I simply sat back and did nothing.

"You don't seem that busy to me" She pointed out

"That's just because you're on the outside looking in…now like I said unless you want to continue to amuse me…then piss off" I stated a bit more bluntly as she took the hint and made her way back down the hallway.

"How Rainbow Dash can defend THAT I have no idea…" I heard Twilight mumble under her breath as I softly laughed before I realized what she said. I guess Rainbow was also keeping good on her promise to help me, in this case by putting in a good word for me…I'd honestly rather get out of this on my own so I don't have to worry about her drawing anyone's ire for defending me…but I'll admit to myself that it felt nice to have someone sticking up for me despite the fact that it would be a lot easier for them if they didn't. Perhaps theres more to that element of loyalty thing than I initially thought.

The next few days were a bit more of the same, I'd get fed gruel, the guard would be a humorless cuntbag and Rainbow would visit for five minutes and liven things up a bit. I had decided a while back to pass some of the time by exercising, kinda like I did back on the ship…it was kinda weird to think about how similar both here and the ship felt, maybe that's why I was taking a lot of this in stride. On what I believe was the sixth day things went on as usual, but instead of Rainbow visiting me today a familiar orange mare wearing a hat paid me a visit.

She didn't really say anything at first as she walked up to the bars and stared at me as if trying to peer into my very being. I simply sat there and stared back…I wasn't really sure what to say to her but after a bit I decided to start simple.

"…Applejack was it?" I asked with a bit of difficultly trying to remember her name, she simply nodded wordlessly. After a few more moments she finally started to speak.

"I'm gonna be honest with ya here…I got no idea what to think of you" She started as I just let her continue. "On one hand your one of them humans and I've seen ya kill like its second nature to ya…"

'Well…yeah I suppose she wasn't technically wrong so far…I mean I'm not entirely human but…details or whatever' I thought to myself as she continued.

"…but on the other hand ya did a good turn for not only my friends, but also my family…Me, Big Mac and all the others would probably be slaves right now if it weren't for you and Rainbow…I also wouldn't have got to see Applebloom again if it weren't for you two"

"Huh…if I didn't know any better I'd say you were describing me like I have some redeeming qualities or something" I joked as she cracked a small smile.

"Well…I suppose I am, I wanted to visit ya sooner but things got real busy what with me finding my little sister and all" I nodded in understanding, I assumed this Applebloom is the little sister.

"And what bout of insanity possessed you to want to come down here for a visit?" I asked as she thought hard for a moment.

"Well…at first I wasn't sure what to think, with what those humans did I'd probably have kicked your face in sooner than actually talk to ya"

"I think the other guy just beat you to the punch…or buck I guess" I pointed out as she rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment.

"I'm mighty sorry about that, my brother's usually the one to stop me from doing anything like that, not the other way around" She admitted sheepishly as I just shrugged.

"Eh it's just head trauma, it'll be fine" I dismissed as she laughed a bit at the joke.

"Well anyway after thinking about it for a bit I realized that you did do a lot of good for ponies I care about…so I suppose it'd be mighty indecent of me to not give ya a chance…not to mention that Rainbow wouldn't stop talking about how unfair it was that you're in here" She continued as I raised an eyebrow.

"She's not burning down the city or anything crazy like that is she?" I joked as she shook her head.

"Not just yet, but she's being about as persistent about it as she would be for anything she cared a lot about" She stated as that one threw me for a bit of loop. "I don't know what you did to make her care that much, but she's doing everythin' short of kicking down the throne room doors and yelling at Princess Celestia herself…and that's only because the guards won't let her in" She finished as I honestly searched for the answer myself.

"Uhhh…I did make her shoot a guy in the face, does that count?" I asked as she just looked at me quizzically.

"I…doubt that" She deadpanned "But whatever the reason is, that mare is fighting for your freedom like no other…and she ain't the only one" Applejack added as a look of surprise came over my face.

"Oh really and who'd be dumb enough to do something like that?" I asked as she just stared at me.

"Well I can be mighty empty headed sometimes so…I guess it's me" She admitted "Like I said, you did a good turn for my friends and family as well as myself…so it's only fair that I return the favor" She stated with finality, showing that there'd be no convincing her otherwise.

"Huh…well I guess all I can really say is…thanks, not like it's gonna do much good since I'm pretty sure that this Princess Celestia plans to have me executed anyway" I said with a sigh as Applejack gave me a look of surprise.

"Now why would you think that?" She asked

"Let's just say that a certain annoying as hell purple unicorn came in here a few days back and dropped a not so subtle hint" I replied as Applejacks face scrunched up in confusion.

"She did? You sure?"

"Well…I mean it's not ABSOLUTE proof, but considering everything I'd say that execution is what's most likely" I reasoned as Applejack seemed like she was trying to bounce the idea around in her head, her face looking grimmer with each passing second.

"Now don't you worry about that now, I'm sure Princess Celestia wouldn't be that harsh" She tried to encourage me, but the doubt in her own words were etched on her face as clear as day.

"Well…I guess we'll see at the trial" I concluded, not really wanting to argue the extent of Princess Celestia's benevolence. Don't get me wrong I really hope that she's this great and benevolent ruler that everyone seemed to build her up as…but I still had my doubts.

"Speaking of which that's gonna happen tomorrow, in case you didn't know"

"No I actually didn't, my babysitter has the conversational skills of a plank of wood…so I don't get much news down here" She gave me a look of sympathy as the guard approached and informed us that time was up.

"I guess I'll be seeing ya tomorrow…try not to worry too much about it sugarcube, I'm sure it'll be fine" She encouraged as she was escorted out. All I could think about as I was left alone was just how fucked was I going to be tomorrow at this 'trial'…also the fuck kind of name is sugarcube? I didn't really dwell on it all too much as I simply resigned that whatever happens happens and that I'd find a way out even if I have to plow through half of Canterlot to do so. My mind eventually succumbed to sleep as I awaited the next day which would determine my next course of action.

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Author's Notes: quite a longer chapter, but I wanted to fit all these scenes in so that the next chapter could focus more on the trial. Plus we've met more of the main cast and then some, which is nice.

Anyway as per usual, next chapter shall be up in the next few days, so until then see you fuckers next time.