In a dark room with a single light shining above a table sized map of Equestria, Roar Shock stares at the Miner's Country bloc, which is colored gray with a red outline. All of their safe houses and the homes of their operatives have been marked with x's, and circles have been drawn around the locations of guard and Equestrian Investigation Bureau hubs.

With Roar Shock is Adanz and Wazza, and both are uncharacteristically quiet as they watch their superior study the map, the tension clear in his wrinkled face and the fire burning brightly in his eyes. They have already been with him for a little while, and he knows they want to tell him something, but they have yet to say what is on their minds. Not that he can blame them since they will probably bring up something stupid and the last thing he needs in light of Ponyville's fiasco and the Miner's Country raid is something of low intellect. However, there comes a point in time when staring gets more aggravating than idiotic phrases.

“Are you going to speak or get out?” asks Roar Shock without looking up.

The zebra twins exchange looks, and one nudges the other to speak seconds later.

“There have been talks, Master Shock,” says Adanz or Wazza hesitantly.

Roar Shock looks up from his table map of Equestria, having to do a double take to figure out which of the zebra twins spoke to him. Only when Wazza points at Adanz and say his name does the beige pegasus give him his attention. It is cross, but mostly because he got left with half a sentence instead of an explanation of these so called talks.

“Everypony talks,” says Roar Shock impatiently.

“This is the bad kind of talk. We got a crisis on our hooves,” says Adanz.

“Will you spill it out, already!”

“We might be facing a schism because of what happened in Ponyville,” says Adanz carefully. “There is a rumor talking of removing you from your seat for abusing your power, corrupting the League with your -by their words- barbaric warfare and for allowing somepony as unstable as Terra to represent us on the field. Make no mistake, my brother and I support you and you have many supporters who will fight for you, but an equal number want you gone as well, and both sides are... energetic about it.”

Roar Shock snorts. “A schism? We aren't a church. We don't schism.”

“Technically, you don't have to be a church to schism,” points out Wazza.

Roar Shock glares at the zebra, and he immediately looks down, swallowing anxiously. The pegasus sighs and looks at Adanz, keeping his sour expression while the zebra pats his twin on the back.

“Definitions aside, this is the last thing I need. Despite the setbacks, the final war against our nation's corruption will continue, and if those traitors have any common sense they will know that we cannot afford a split,” says Roar Shock. He points his hoof at Miner's Country. “We already faced unacceptable losses with Ponyville and now that massive raid in Miner's Country has crippled our hold on that region. It was very sudden and too coordinated to be based off of simple observations. They hit us everywhere. Every safe house, every meeting location, every operative we had is gone.”

“Save for a few,” says Adanz. “I know Cheddar and Mullet escaped, and so did Maud, as well as half a dozen others.”

“Did they report to any of our outposts?”

Adanz points at a highway marked on the map. “All of them, save for Maud, arrived at Soda Pop's safe house between Appleloosa and Ponyville and are awaiting your orders.”

Roar Shock hums and reclines in his seat, eyes flicking between Miner's Country and the Great Prairie where Appleloosa lies. “What of Maud? Where did she report to?”

“She reported to our hub in Hollow Shades, but we have reason to believe that her intentions are not to regroup.”

Roar Shock raises a brow. “What do you mean?”

Adanz sighs shakily. “Our technicians are saying that her phone at the Miner's Country hub was used to contact the EIB. And numerous safe houses and stashes bordering Miner's Country have been, well, destroyed. Bits, weapons, structures, all gone, and we have many fighters that are now in custody of the government. Maple Leaf is trying to repair the damage, but she's losing ground quickly.”

Roar Shock stares at Adanz, searching his eyes for any hints of deception, but when he sees only sincerity, he breathes heavily through his nose and looks at Hollow Shade's place on the map. He stares at the named dot, thinking about why a call to the Equestrian Investigation Bureau would come from Maud's phone. Experience has taught him many things, and right now his experience his telling him a truth he does not want to believe, but knows he can't ignore or deny for even the smallest of moments. Maud had all the knowledge of Miner's Country and with the recent events she has a right to be mad, but no right to turn against him.

“She's taunting us,” says Roar Shock with a rapidly growing frown.

“Sir?” “Master?” says the zebra twins in unison.

Without taking his eyes off the map, Roar Shock continues. “She used her own phone to call the EIB, and now she kicking out pieces of my hold in Logger's Country. She wants me to know that she turned against me for ordering her sister's death, and now she is moving to dismantle our influence like the vengeful wench she is.”

Roar Shock leans forward, tapping the map and staring deeper into Hollow Shades' marking like how a scientist would through their microscope. He really wants to go to Hollow Shades and handle the situation himself, but he is needed here, at the Citadel, more than anything else. His projects, his plans, they require his time and ever since Trixie came along things have gone to the Tartarus in a mouth basket. His agents told him of her arrival in the main hospital in Hollow Shades, and he sincerely hoped she would die in the bed, but, like every bug, they don't die when you want them to. They always find a way to live and make your life miserable.

That goes without saying that she won't last long in prison. She'll be a shower-time favorite before she meets her father in Hell. Then Maud will follow, or maybe she will follow Maud. Roar Shock can't be sure, but he knows both will die, if not by the League's, then by their long list of enemies just because they are guilty by association.

“Sir?” says Wazza.

Roar Shock sighs, his patience tearing like tissue paper. “Tell Maple Leaf to kill Maud and bring her head to me. Once that is done, we will move on to killing the rest of the Pies, then we'll have to restructure the Hollow Shades segment.”

Wazza's jaw drops. “Kill all the Pies? But, sir, we cannot punish a whole family for the crimes of just two!”

“I can and I will,” snarls Roar Shock.

Wazza's eyes grow wide, begging Roar Shock to reconsider his judgment, but when the pegasus shows no sign of faltering, he averts his eyes to the floor. Adanz pats his twin on the shoulder and looks at Roar Shock with a hateful glare, but the beige pony ignores this and keeps his attention on the map, his countenance rotten with scorn.

“I will not be foolish like Eclipse. I will make sure Maud is dead before I kill her whole family,” says Roar Shock. “Once she is dead then the Pie's will have no way to defend themselves and there won't be anypony around strong enough to go against me. Adanz.”

“Yes, Master?” says the zebra, his expression still hard, but out of reluctant obedience.

“Have Maple Leaf bring Maud's head to me, but before you go, I want you to bring in the ones talking about my removal if they are here. I wish to talk to them about why it is important that I remain in power. I'm hoping we can keep it civilized, but if not, tell the guards to keep their weapons fully loaded.”

Adanz looks at Wazza out of the corner of his eye, seeing the begging look his brother is giving him, but he does not listen to him. He sighs and looks at Roar Shock in the eyes, swallowing fearfully. “It will be done.”

Roar Shock narrows his eyes and places his hooves in front of his face like a teepee and glares at the map. “Good. Dismissed.”

Maud Kaminsky Pie walks through the small aisles of a refueling station. Most complain about how dirty and ugly these stations are, but most do not know what it is like to work with rocks, much less coal and gems. When products of the earth are directly involved, there is a very good chance that cleanliness takes a backseat, despite all the best efforts of the workers.

Aside from the coals and gems at the station, there are also large tanks of water to refill the boiler engines that is powered by the heated coal. Said coal is warmed up the charged gems, which is only possible through means that only a mechanic can possibly know.

For Maud, she hates these new vehicles that are sprouting up quicker than weeds all over Equestria and the rest of the world. She does not mind their looks, for they serve their purpose well, but they are noisy, bulky, need a lot of maintenance and are expensive to fuel. Plus the insurance and motor payments are bank breaking. Then there is the biggest reason of them all.

She cannot drive. At all.

No matter how many times she was shown, no matter how many manuals she read, she cannot control the motor wagons. So, why is she in a refilling station?

As much as Maud wants to avoid the refilling station for reasons of having absolutely no vehicle to refill, it is the closest place around that offers food and she's hungry, and her rumbling stomach won't stop reminding her.

So, here she is, going through the aisles, browsing their selection of bagged flowers, hay jerky, and cereal. It does not take her long to snag a small box of Little Fruity Rocks cereal. There is just something about that happy dinosaur eating the bowl of colorful flakes that compels her buy it. Maybe it is due to the copious amount of joy in the little cartoon character, or maybe it has to do with the color. Either or, she's getting Little Fruity Rocks and she's getting it now.

With the box in her mouth, Maud goes to the register to buy her evening meal, but stops and stares at a certain earth mare that limps in through the door. She has seen the same smile on the mint green pony's face before, and the simple, red frock with the black belt looks ridiculously similar to the gray dress Maud has on, now. The wavy pink mane and tail is also familiar, as are the eyes, and the eyes, like the smile, is one she has seen before. It is the same smile that Pinkie Pie used when she did not want anyone to know how miserable she was, and it was a look that she carried with her quite a bit and rarely allowed it to falter.

Maud walks over to the mint green pony, watching her shift uneasily on her injured leg that she is keeping covered with the dress.

“You still sell trolley ticket packets right?” asks the mint colored mare.

Maud quickens her pace.

“Yes, ma'am, we sure do,” says the clerk, who just happens to be a colt barely in his teens.

“Cool, I'll take one,” says the mare.

The colt pulls out a packet of trolley tickets and the mint pony pays, then she turns to leave, only to bump right into Maud. She steps back, giggling nervously and offering an apology as she brushes the nonexistent offenses off of Maud's dress.

“I'm sorry,” says the mare again. “I can be so clumsy some... times...”

Her voice drifts off and she stares at Maud, and Maud stares back, and without taking her eyes off of the colorful pony in front of her, she puts her box of cereal in her hoof and looks her over. Now the apologetic smile of the mare in front of her shifts to a nervous one.

“Nice dress,” she says.

“I had a sister that tried her mane like yours one time,” says Maud, ignoring the compliment and the staring colt.

The pony giggles and rubs the back of her neck, now sweating buckets and her eyes shifting at anything other than Maud. “Oh, really? She must have had good taste.”

Maud nods. “She was trying to be who she was not to impress some colt. It didn't end well for either of them.”

The pony in the red dress locks eyes on her and audibly swallows and takes a step back. “Are you... Are you trying to tell me something?”

Maud side steps towards the counter and places her cereal on it, still ignoring the colt, who has become quite intrigued with the conversation.

“I already told you something,” says Maud.

“Oh, okay. Have a nice day then, Miss...?” says the colorful pony.

Maud looks at her with an unimpressed frown. “Pebble Sprinkles.” The mare's green pelt pales and Maud goes to pay the clerk for the cereal. “With that trolley packet you should visit Miner's Country. It's nice this time of year and there's plenty of nice ponies down there you can meet.”

Maud barely finishes her sentence before the front door to the establishment opens and shuts hard enough to knock the Open/Close sign off. Maud takes the bag containing her food and watches the pony limp away quickly, fighting every muscle in her body to go after her, but she knows she cannot. She has some work to do in Hollow Shades, but once she is done, she will have to adjust her original plan, for she now has a new target.

Maud casually approaches a white, block shaped building with dirt caked on its windows and paint. The sign above the entrance reads: Maple Logging, and driving on the muddy paths that lead to the asphalt roads are massive motor wagons with enormous flatbeds that are hauling stacks of chopped trees. The cabin of the vehicle looks like it should be on an actual train, instead of the regular mini-train, which has a scaled down front, and the exhaust being pumped out through its pipes are just as thick and brighter with the glittering residue of the gem's energy.

Maud is careful to stay on the very edge of the road as the tree-hauling vehicles drive past her, squishing the wet dirt with their mix of treads and wheels, and leaving streaks of mud on the road they pull on to. Maud goes on a poorly placed sidewalk and walks past a short collection of motor wagons that are covered in dirt and fading paint. Once she reaches the building, she coolly steps inside.

Like the outside, it is dirty, but not for the lack of trying. There is only so much a vacuum can do against constant, muddy hoof prints, and with all the schedules, safety guidelines, workers rights posters, general rules and company and local event posting, the walls are all cluttered. Then, there is the old equipment that has not been thrown away for some reason that takes up space and leaves little room for the desks ill-suited for clutter.

As Maud travels down the main hall, she sees ponies of all types watching her from the safety of their personal bubbles. Some are scribbling notes, others are chatting about work or their social life, and one is trying to fix a heating unit that has been gutted. All of them have poorly concealed weapons, like they are expecting to combat a raid. Not that she can blame them since the unexpected purge at Miner's Country wiped out their influence there in one fell swoop.

Maud goes into the kitchen and grabs a bowl and pours herself some cereal, then goes to eat it dry by licking up the colorful pebbles of cooked grain. Many would see this as repulsive, but she does not care because the “many” are unicorns who do not seem to realize that for hornless ponies, using utensils is a bigger pain than necessary, and not only that, but she forgot to buy milk. Not that the milk thing is a huge problem because she hates milk, anyway. It tastes weird, and the fact that she is essentially drinking breast milk harvested from sapient beings stuck in large buildings doesn't help her opinions on it, either.

Milk and personal philosophy aside, Maud is enjoying her snack, but that does not stop her from glancing around. The room is empty, but she does see one of the so-called lumberjacks walking by the doorway with a sawed off shotgun slung across his barrel, then another pony steps in. He is a unicorn stallion with a light gray coat, dark gray mane and an ax cutting a log as his cutie mark with a pistol tucked in a holster that is strapped to his front hoof. His cutie mark seems fitting for him since his name is Wood Chopper, and from what Maud has heard about him, he is the second in command of the Loggers Country branch of the League, and he can be a real problem to those around him if he is having a bad day.

“Where have you been?” asks Chopper, grimacing when she licks up the fruity flavored cereal bits.

Maud swallows the cereal she licked up. “Getting food. Why?”

“We got food, here.”

“No we don't,” says a random, tan and brown earth pony stallion as he pokes his head in the room, looking agitated from this. “That is unless you count dish soap and moldy coffee as food.”

“Shut up, Cracker,” snaps Chopper.

Cracker holds up his hoof defensively and backs out of sight. Chopper then sighs and looks back at Maud, shaking his head.

“Some ponies,” he says. “Anyway, Maple wanted to have a word with you, but you slipped out before she could talk to you.”

“She can wait longer. I'm eating,” asks Maud, tapping her bowl of cereal for emphasis.

“No she can't. It is important we talk to you about Miner's Country.”

Maud takes another lick, wordlessly pushes her bowl away and reluctantly stands up, nodding along the way. “Okay. Take me to her.”

Chopper leads Maud into a well lit office with a window that has its curtains pulled open to let the light of the setting sun and give everyone a fantastic view of the spanning forest. In the distance, Maud can see the mountain where Old Canterlot is built, and the skyline of New Canterlot surrounds it. With that is a layer of smog that clings to the tops of the new, towering structures. Maud has yet to visit Canterlot, but if the view is any indication, then she knows she will hate it.

“Maud, how are you doing today?” says a mare.

Maud turns to the source and sees a light red pegasus with an orange mane that has been cut to give her a tomboy look. Her build, like the vast majority of pegasus mares, is slim, and she has a maple leaf as her cutie mark.

“I'm alive,” says Maud.

The pegasus nods. “That's a good start. Have a seat.”

Maple points towards a single chair sitting in front of a large desk that is free of any sort of clutter, save for a picture of her and a little, white colt with a black mane mashing cheeks together to get in the photo. From what Maud can see of the minimal background, they are at a fair of some kind.

“Sit,” orders Chopper, his tone threatening.

Maud looks away from the picture, pulls out the chair and eases herself in it, now looking at a locked file cabinet out of her peripheral vision.

“How's your son, Maple?” asks Maud, now adjusting herself.

Maple chuckles lightly and sits in the larger, more comfortable chair across from Maud. “Oh, he's doing fine. He's still trying to get his cutie mark and getting in all kinds of trouble along the way. Foals will be foals, after all. Besides, I'm sure you remember how restless you were when you got to that age where you wanted your cutie mark more than anything else.”

“I was never restless. There was only work on the farm, and I didn't even realize I got my cutie mark until dinner.”

“Oh. That's kind of sad, actually.”

“Why?”

“Well, you know...” Maple's voice drifts off and she sighs and slouches in her seat. “Never mind. We're having a lot of problems here, but I wanted to talk to you about Miner's Country. The ones who escaped fled to the proper fallback point, but you. You came here. Why?”

“It was closer. And I had reason to believe that they would hit our fallback point if they raided Miner's Country as efficiently as it appeared.”

There is a faint discharge of energy and a click that comes from behind Maud, but she forces her ears not to twitch. It is slightly uncomfortable, but still she forces her ears still, even when she hears metal sliding against scabbard.

“And what makes you think they didn't hit this place?” asks Maple, her hooves folded under her chin and her eyes locking on to Maud's. “I mean, we're already getting raids here and it is only a matter of time before they hit this place.”

Maud keeps her eyes steady and barely tenses her muscles. “It was a gamble.”

“A gamble?”

“A gamble.”

Maple nods. “Okay, fair enough. We'll have to look more into the Miner's Country raid, because it was... well, it was bad, and we have reason to believe it was because of a breach in security, so we might have more questions for you.”

Maud looks at the window, and she barely sees the reflection of Chopper aiming his pistol at the back of her head. “Understandable.”

Maple sighs and relaxes in her seat again. “It is getting late, so I'll let you go, but only after I ask one more question.”

Maud tenses her muscles, watching the faint reflection of Chopper walking closer behind her, pistol still up. “Go ahead.”

“Are you mad about us having to kill your sister?”

Maud earth pony blows slowly through her nose, her muscles tense like pulled wire and her eyes focusing on Maple.

“What kind of sister would I be if I wasn't mad?” asks Maud, her tone even, but her half lidded eyes glowing like smoldering, vengeful ores.

Maple's easy demeanor stiffens and her eyes zero in on Maud as her feathers ruffle. “Good point.”

The pistol in Chopper's grip clicks and-

A single gunshot rings out from the office building. Then another gunshot comes. And then another. And then another. And soon there are screams and shouts of pain on top of a barrage of gunfire ranging from slow firing pistols, explosive blasts of shotguns, and buzzes of automatic weapons. With the gunfire and cries of the victims, sporadic light flashes from the shattering windows and chunks of the white walls of the building are blown out. Just as quickly as the chaos happens, it ends, leaving the street in near total silence with only a dog barking and faint sirens wailing in the distance.

Almost a minute later, the front door is knocked off of its hinges from Maple flying out and she rolls down the stairs, grunting and bones and wings snapping as she bounces down the concrete stairs. When she lands at the bottom of the steps, she gasps in pain and wheezes for air, eyes and mouth wide open as blood dribbles past her lips in thick ropes. She crawls on the ground, dragging her hind legs and crooked wings behind her, leaving a trail of blood from her broken feathered appendages. Her heart races and her vision clouds with tears, and when she hears slow clops of hooves on concrete, she looks over her shoulder and sees Maud walking after her. Maple whimpers and tries to stand, but the feeling of a bony blade saws at her thigh and she is forced to bite her tongue lest she wants to scream, leaving her only to crawl as fast as she can. Nothing can stop Maud's approach, though, and Maple knows that there is no escape. Her fate has been sealed.

A hoof suddenly slams down on Maple's tail, bringing the injured pegasus' crawl to an abrupt halt. Maple shivers and peeks over her shoulder again, only to howl in agony when Maud kicks her in the ribs, turning her over on her back so she can look straight up at the darkening sky. Maud then presses her hoof down on Maple's chest and leans forward so she can look into her eyes.

Maple gulps for air and coughs blood every chance she gets, trying not to look at the turncoat, but she can't help it. The entire side of Maud's face is soaked in blood from a gash on her forehead and her shoulder is bleeding profusely from a gunshot wound, but her injuries barely slowed her down from beating everyone inside senselessly. Her frock is stained with crimson and sticking to her from her blood and the blood of others, and her straight mane is now disheveled and matted to her forehead and neck. Despite her bored expression, the fires burn brightly in her eyes, and her face still twitches slightly from the pain of her insane brawl.

“Please don't kill me. I don't wanna die,” whimpers Maple as she stares up at Maud, her tears cleaning streaks of blood from her cheeks.

Maud presses her hoof down, and Maple coughs blood and tries to pry her hoof off, but it only encourages her assailant to press harder.

“Please don't,” wheezes Maple, her tear soaked eyes looking up at Maud pathetically. “Please, I-I didn't kill your sister. I didn't... I had nothing to do with Pinkie!”

Maud continues pressing down and Maple screams louder and thrashes harder under her hoof, but her strength is failing her and she is losing the battle to free herself.

“Please!” sobs Maple.

“I'm not going to kill you,” says Maud, suddenly pulling away from Maple's chest, letting her greedily suck in air and turn on her unbroken side so she can cough and sputter. “I'm going to let the guard's find you, and when they do, they will decide what to do with you and everypony else after they find all the information here.”

Maple looks at Maud, and the last thing she sees before everything goes dark is a hoof to the face.

Maud steps away from Maple's limp form and she looks up to see flashing lights in the distance being accompanied by sirens rapidly approaching the complex. She quietly hobbles away as quickly as her injuries will allow, disappearing into the forest next to the facility and seeking shelter behind a thick tree that has fallen over. Seconds after she crouches down, she pulls out a pouch that is hanging around her neck and sighs with relief when her little pet rock, Boulder, rolls on to her hoof.

It is at that moment that a dark purple, armored wagon spewing a trail of sparkling exhaust speeds around the corner and screeches to a halt in front of the building. The vehicle barely stops before a pair of guards hop out, and one runs to Maple's side while another ducks back in to call for ambulances. Seeing them occupied, Maud slips Boulder back in its pouch and treks farther into the forest.