Chapter 9: Point of Impact

With a final screech of metal wheels sliding on steel tracks, the Equestrian train came to a slow grinding halt at the Appleloosa train depot. The engineer's skill was second to none as nary a passenger felt more than minor discomfort at the deceleration. Once the locomotive had come to a complete stop, a piercing whistle reverberated all over the frontier town as the train's steam trumpet gave two short shouts to signal the all clear.

Inside the long chain of passenger cars there were ponies of all sort of all ages and colors who prepared to disembark, luggage in hoof or on their back, ready enjoy their time in Appleloosa. Most of the patrons were earth-ponies, but there were a few unicorns and pegasi mixed in. The majority were on vacation, their excited chatter and conversations mixed together in a loud anticipation of rest and relaxation.

Counted amongst them were the three members of the Ponyville Apple family along with their pegasus friend, Rainbow Dash. After the train staff had opened the doors to their sleeper car, the four ponies had not hesitated to disembark and enter the station proper. Out of all of them, Applebloom was the most eager to leave the cramped metal box behind. Her head was hanging low, muzzle nearly scraping on the ground, with black bags clearly visible under her eyes. Her cheeks were stained with dried rivers of tears that caked her coat. She had no energy to be bothered to watch where she was trotting, she simply didn't care. She was content to simply let her hoof steps drag along, slow and sluggish, behind her family..

Her family, normally they were all very outgoing and friendly, but recent events had left them unusually quiet. They had all been jarred taken off guard as cascading electrical storm had emerged upon the horizon. Applebloom, in her sleepy stupor, had only a few drowsy seconds to register the magical energy as it had swept across the train like a tsunami breaking upon land. It had saturated the night sky with a solid wall of light that was blinding to look at. Composed of a crackling energy that had nearly toppled the entire train upon impact as if it was a stalk of wheat under a harvester's scythe.

Reality had seemed to roll and tumble uncontrollably and nopony knew just how close they had all come to being violently derailed from the tracks. If such a fate had come to pass, far too many ponies would have been critically injured. Maybe even killed.

Her family would say that she was too young to understand. But Applebloom was not a baby and was aware of just how close death had passed her by, passed her family by. It was that terrible realization that made her cry out for her sister. She could not control the tears, she desired nothing more than to feel safe in her family's embrace as she cried herself dry.

Her brother, Big Mac, was not a stallion big on words. He stood, as silent as ever, holding his little sister close to his chest. A massive forehoof, powerful and heavy, was surprisingly gentle as he stroked his sister's back. At the same moment Applejack was nuzzling her sister and brushing the child's mane with a gentle strokes. Whispering calm assurances that everything was going to be alright; that the threat had passed and they were all safe. Yet, Applebloom had witnessed the gaping wound on Dash's, had seen the blood on her head after being struck by a large piece of baggage. Nearly an hour had passed before Applebloom's sibling could finally calm her down and lull her back into an uneasy rest.

Sleep, afterwards, had come in fits and bursts. Anything more than the clack-clack of train wheels on track would wake her up with a start of adrenaline and it would be a long time before she could come down enough to sleep again. The whole experience had left her as an emotional wreck.

She wasn't the only one affected, everypony on the train had been severely rattled to one degree or another. By the time the train reached the station everypony was both miserable and irritable to an extreme. Ponies were very social creatures under normal circumstances, but under stress they tended to become terrified of anything outside the norm. Allowing fear and anger to override logic and reason.

In several instances a group of ponies had come within a heartbeats length of from trading blows over the tiniest of arguments. Thankfully cooler heads had prevailed and none of the conflicts had gone beyond passionate shouting and meaningless insults. All of it still had left Applebloom, and her kin, in a foul state of mind. All of them left feeling vulnerable and raw.

Applebloom was completely bored, standing here at the station; almost catatonic to her soul. There was so much of nothing to do now that she was unable to stop fidgeting nervously about as she waited for her siblings to claim their luggage from the baggage car. There was a lot to unload and most of it was various ingredients and equipment needed for baking the treats that Sweet Apple Acres was famous for. Apple products like pies, fritters, fizzy cider, apple uglies, brown betties and so much more. Including half a dozen barrels of Applejack's world renowned hard apple liqueur; the adult-only variety.

Applebloom only wished that her family would hurry it up as she was almost dead on her hooves by this point. Transporting baked goods and fermented liquids was not foremost on her young mind. She only wanted to get to her uncle's ranch and squeeze in a quick nap and shower before the reunion was to start in the early afternoon.

"Now ya behave and wait a tick here, Applebloom. We'll just be done quick'r than two shakes of a rabbit's tail." Applejack had given a reassuring rub to the filly's mane. Reassurances aside, one minute quickly turned into two, then five, and then an agonizing ten as she struggled to even keep her eyes open. When she was suddenly jolted awake after a passerby had accidently stepped on her tail, eliciting a squeal of pain from the filly. Animosity was short lived and ended with various apologies exchanged afterwards.

Looking up and down the station platform, she felt that it would be easier to stay conscious if she found something interesting to do. There were several market stands nearby that sold various bits of food and merchandise. Among them were hats, dresses, mini train models, snowglobes, candies, caramel treats, peanut treats, caramel-peanut treats, more candies, and countless other cheap wares that had been made to lighten a tourist's money purse. To say that the aggregate sellers were not overly enthused in selling their goods was to imply that the desert was not oppressively hot.

Speaking of high temperatures, she had been waiting in the shade all this time, still her coat was completely soaked in sweat. The salty liquid was dripping from her forehead and muzzle as she pulled out a brush to clean herself. Staying hygienic was important, especially now as she was about to meet her cousin, Bab Seed, for the first time. She wanted to make a good first impression and being filthy was not the way to go.

Her big sister had said that Babs was a blank flank just like Applebloom was. Which made the little filly especially excited since she was planning on inviting her cousin into her exclusive club when Babs came to visit Ponyville next month. 'The Cutie-Mark Crusaders.' A group dedicated to finding their undiscovered special talents and Cutie-Marks would finally have its fourth member.

While cleaning herself up her thoughts had drifted to her other friends; Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. She wished they had been able to meet her cousin as well. But the two of them had been grounded due to an unfortunate accident while trying to mimic Pinkie's party cannon using a cement mixer, fireworks, several cartons of salt-water taffy, and a rubber chicken. A perfect plan undone when Sweetie Belle had sneezed, causing her horn to erupt with several magical sparks.

Tree sap, by comparison, was a fine silk dress.

Applebloom giggled at the memory despite her brush having caught on several knots in her mane. She fought against each and every one of them, restoring her mane to near perfect condition. After finishing she had happened to spot a most curious pony approaching the ticket booth..
Actually it wasn't a pony at all.

"Ah can't believe it. A real live buffalo," The apple child spoke in a mixture of curiosity and awe, "it might even be Little Strongheart."

Despite her sister's insistence that she shouldn't wander off, the filly bolted away with youthful abandon.

She had never met or seen a buffalo before All Applebloom knew about them were the stories her big sister had told her about the last time she'd visited Appleloosa. Weaving tales about the big hulking Chief Thunderhooves and the lithe Strongheart.

'Ah can't wait ta tell everypony back in Ponyville.' Applebloom thought as she trotted merrily along.

The trip there was incredibly crowded with families and station employees criss-crossing the wooden platform as they went about their business. For such a small frontier town, Applebloom had not expected it to be so unbelievably packed. Yet, it was child's play for her to maneuver her way under hoof thanks to her small size. As she weaved left and right, and under the various undulating bodies she felt like she was one of those ninjas that Scootaloo always gushed over. The kind that were both super stealthy and undetectable.

The buffalo had company, a mare was there and the two of them were discussing something while they scrutinized a map of the railway lines. It was probably boring adult stuff, but the little filly sat down nearby and let the two of them finish their conversation. She didn't want to interrupt. After all, Applejack had taught her that it was very rude to stick her muzzle where it didn't belong.

Waiting ever so patiently for their conversation to end, Applebloom passed the time by observing the two of them. It wasn't long before she was inexplicably drawn to the mare's mane. It was cut slightly shorter than what was generally considered, 'in style,' and looked badly in need of a good brushing. The vibrant fire red color and the way mane subtly moved in the afternoon breeze made it strangely alluring. Or maybe it was the mare herself, there just seemed to be something different about her.

Applebloom had completely forgotten about the buffalo by this point. Intrigue was mixed with a little bit of fear and, for all the apples in Equestira, she didn't know why she was feeling this way. Outwardly the strange mare was not all that different from the countless other ponies that lived all over the nation. Her innocent curiosity desired to know more and, like a worm to an apple, her trance-like ogling had reached its destination at mare's Cutie-Mark.

"Huh, that's interestin' for sure." Applebloom silently noted before looking away to ponder the significance of the mare's symbol. To her utter disbelief she realized that she had already forgotten what the mark had been. She took a second peek which was quickly followed up with a third. No matter how many times she tried to grasp the nature of the mare's mark the result was always the same. The adult mare was undeniably a blank flank.

Applebloom didn't know that she had just let loose a loud gasp of hysteria. It was a cry of despair that that drew everypony's attention to her, including the buffalo and the strange mare. Every single hair on her back stood on end

"Ya…ya'll don't have a c-cutie mark?" Applebloom squeaked pathetically as tears began to form in the corner of her eyes. Maybe it was the delirium from a lack of sleep or the stress of the days activities, but it was the realization that an adult could have a blank flank that had finally broken something inside of her. It made her physically ill like a pit of ice was forming in her heart and it was chilling her blood down to her bones.

Everypony she had ever known had told her the exact same thing; that everypony eventually discovered their Cutie-Mark, the very thing that defined their future. Her family, teacher, and all of her classmates and friends were all of the same belief. They had all promised Applebloom that this was the way things were.

But it turned out to all be just one big lie. The evidence was right in front of her. Dark emotions clouded her thoughts with a sick sense of betrayal. Everypony had deceived her and that revelation made it impossible to decide on which possibility was worse. Whether it was the false hope promised to her by the ones she loved or the knowledge she might be cursed to spend the rest of her life as a blank flank.

"No, ma big sister would neva lie!" Applebloom screamed and collapsed to the ground. Uncontrolled misery flooded from her eyes as her brain tried to come to terms between reality and her sister's honesty.. Her tiny hooves covered her face as her world fell apart.

Shepard stood silently, completely lost as to why this little yellow filly was breaking down in front of her. Rivers of tears flowed unabated down the child's cheeks as she surrendered to mucus filled sniffles and shuddering hiccups. Shepard hated seeing children, of any species, endure such suffering. Something that had never sat right with her on a moral level, but also for personal reasons as it always brought back terrible memories of her own.

"Ssshh." Shepard gently whispered as she carefully approached the filly. Concern painted her face as she tried to figure how she had been responsible for the filly's distress. She bent over and reached out with a hoof to embrace the crying child, but withdrew a moment before contact. Unsure how the other ponies watching the scene would react to her physical touch. Surely the child's parents would be less than appreciative and might interpret Shepard's gesture as something more sinister.

"Hey, it's going to be ok." Shepard laid down so that she was eye level with the filly. Her words had no effect as the filly's crying did not lessen, but only got worse. Shepard tried to say more, but stopped when an orange furred mare had approached the two of them. The frown on the newcomer's face was directed solely at the Commander. Two pairs of green eyes locked together in an unspoken challenge between the two of them; a torrential storm of anger and concern. So strong were these emotions Shepard had discovered that she'd jumped back a couple feet, thinking that she was about to be attacked.

"What in tarnation is goin' on here? Applebloom what hav'Ah told ya about talkin' to strangers!" Orange's condescending tone melted away upon seeing the filly's grief. The mare wore a well worn stetson hat, but Shepard thought it was more weird that the mare's mane and tail were tied into ponytails. She also took note of the three red apples that adorned both of Orange's flanks.

"B-big Sisterrr~r!" Applebloom bawled as she ran to embrace Orange in a vice tight hug. Burying her soaked face into her sister's chest.

"Easy ther' sugercube. Why don't ya'll tell me what's wrong?" The bigger sibling embraced the filly as if she was holding the most delicate and fragile of flowers.

"I-I-I don't want to be a blank flank f-forever!" Applebloom pleaded while a large red stallion approached the two female siblings. His head was covered with a sun-burnt yellow mane and a picture of a bisected green apple on his flank.

He was by far the tallest pony Shepard had encountered thus far, standing a clear two heads higher than her. She could see the muscles beneath his red coat flexing as he moved. The stallion was regarding her with a look that was both cold and calculating, yet curious, while he chewed on a piece of wheat. Despite his clear hostility he had yet to utter a single word and seemed to be waiting for Orange to make the first move.

The Commander had met his unspoken challenge beat for beat. His size and toned physique was intimidating, she had no doubt he was very powerful, but his body language reflected one who was more passive than aggressive. Someone who was unproven in combat and Shepard was confident that she could take the big male down if she had too. So long as she avoided being grappled, and if she had been at full power.

"What in tha sour apples did ya say to mah little sister?" Orange demanded, tilting her hat back with clear aggression. Her body was shaking with barely contained rage.

"Who in the plum high-heck do ya'll think ya are? Picking on a littl' filly like that, and mah sister ta boot!"

In a move that surprised even her, Shepard backpedaled several more steps due to the sheer volume of poisonous vitriol being spat her way. It kicked her killer instincts into high gear as she assumed a defensive posture. She was not afraid of fighting the stallion and mare. She was, however, hesitant to do so since she could see that it was a family clearly protecting a younger sibling. Shepard both admired and respected that, however such respect lost points as the brazen and ignorant nature with which the older siblings approached the situation.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she raised a fore-hoof in an attempt to show she was harmless, "I didn't say or do anything to her. She..."

"Yeah, likely story," With a harsh blast of air a cyan colored pegasus, with a six-toned rainbow mane, descended from the air and came to a screeching halt a slim foot from the ground. The action threw up a cloud of dirt and sand before the pegasus planted her muzzle firmly against the Commander's.

"You're nothing but a big bully who thinks they're all that and a bag of hay chips. Why don't you try picking on somepony your own size or do you think that teasing little fillies for their blank flanks makes you big and bad?" The cyan pegasus' scratchy tomboyish voice was overflowing with clear intentions to cause Shepard extensive bodily harm.

"I oughta buck your flank all the way to Cloudsdale." Cyan's bright magenta eyes scrutinized Shepard as one would an insect. Shepard had responded by visibly grinding her teeth in a strained grimace, feeling all the more pissed off from the hostile reception..

"Just shut up and listen, this is all a mistake." Shepard growled, trying once more to get her point across, only to get interrupted by Cyan; who had taken immediate notice of the Commander's impressive set of omnivorous fangs.

"Whoa!" Cyan gasped before leveraging an accusatory hoof.

"What tha...what is up with your teeth? You some kinda freak!"

If time could freeze into a void of pained infinity, then that was what would have happened after Cyan's insult of 'freak' had passed Shepard's eardrums. That word, that singular utterance, was something that had plagued her life for years. Ever since she had hit puberty and it was discovered that she was a biotic; more akin to a foul stench than a label. It had following her whole life all throughout school, to boot camp, and had only evolved into more insidious jabs from there. Especially when she'd been accepted for training in the coveted N-school.

Being awarded the Star of Terra for saving Elysium, during the Skyllian Blitz, had the term finally been dealt a most deserving and painful death. From thereon if anyone had the balls to ever call her a 'freak' they would quickly find their career on a short leash to the middle of nowhere. And everyone in the Alliance knew that Shepard took special delight in ensuring that it would happen.

With the quickness of a cobra, Shepard had lashed out with an underhanded strike and punched the cyan pegasus in the chest. The blow caused the pony to fall back onto her haunches in both pain and surprise.

"Stow it you overgrown pigeon," The former human spat, her blood boiling with contempt, "before I pluck those feathers to stuff pillows and turn the rest of you into glue!"

"Oh, you want a piece of me!" The pegasus' wings stiffened instantly, almost causing her to fall to the ground.

"Alright then! We'll do this the hard way!" Cyan clapped her hooves together for emphasis, but that was just a distraction. She reared back and then, like a bat out of hell, exploded forward in an impressive display of raw speed. Accelerated her from zero to one hundred in a fraction of a second and heading straight for Shepard. Any peaceful conclusion was far gone as the flood gates fully opened.

Shepard had anticipated such an attack from a mile away and easily jumped to the side, avoiding the impromptu charge outright. The rainbow mare had sailed harmlessly by, only for her to be met by a hoof strike to the back of her skull. The Commander had backhanded her foe with a downward strike. It had caused minimal damage, but forced the flyer's trajectory to tilt downwards at a steep angle.

The pegasus cried out in pain as she'd impacted the ground at a crazy insane speed. Bouncing once and twice before she was stopped dead by impacting an overloaded baggage cart like an arrow through a watermelon. Countless pieces of luggage were strewn about and some had arced to shatter windows. While others broke merchant stands, and several managed to cause injuries amongst the captivated crowd. Although the nature of the wounds were minor it still motivated several bystanders to flee the scene while the majority had remained ramrod stiff. They were unable to tear away from their growing excitement at the fight that had suddenly blossoming before them.

"Good! I look forward to mounting your head upon a wall!" Shepard sadistically taunted as she drank in the sight of her enemy crashing.

"Big Mac, watch after Applebloom." Orange said and quickly lifted her little sister upon the red stallion's back.

"Eeyup." Big Mac replied almost casually as he distanced himself from the battle in order to better protect his precious cargo. The stetson wearing mare charged to her friend's defense. Her intention was evident as she only sought to cause great harm upon the crimson maned pony.

The loud impacting of hooves against wood had alerted Shepard of the presence of the new threat. Orange was faster than she looked and had quickly closed the distance between them. Using her forward inertia she skidded to the side and rotated her body in a graceful one-eighty pivot. All Shepard saw was a hind-legged buck built of a steamroller and horseshoes heading straight for her face.

Shepard didn't think, she just reacted. Ducking her head down as the hooves passed harmlessly overhead, yet one had managed to clip one of her ears. The grazing hit had sent waves of a horrible buzzing numbness to cascade through her head as she collapsed to the ground. Momentarily deaf on her right side as she was staggered, not realizing just how sensitive a pony's ears were till now. Clasping a hoof to her injured extremity, she had tried to tune out the ringing in her head.

Refusing to be put on the defensive by a pastel-colored pony, Shepard forced herself past the discomfort and retaliated by lunging at her enemy. Orange had turned to inspect the results of her attack and was met with a savage left jab to her jaw. The loud crack of a hoof impacting bone vibrated throughout the air as Orange was sent tumbling backwards. Her hat arced through the air as she rolled with the impact across the wooden platform. She would have bowled over several bystander if not for a last minute save from Red.

"Ya'll ok?" Big Mac inquired with concern carried on his voice, but not on his face. Applejack rubbed her jaw, gritting her teeth to try and fight off the throbbing pulse of pain. Yet she smiled, having not only accepted the blow from a capable foe, but had also welcomed it as readily as a cash payment for her failure.

"Ah'm fine," the injured mare replied with slightly wounded pride, "it'll take more than a tiny tussle ta tame this rodeo pony." Standing back to her full height, she turned to the side to spit out a worrying amount of blood to the ground along with several pieces of gum. Righteous fury had been replaced by cautious aggression, but she was no less eager to bring the crimson-mane bully down.

With the ticket booth in front of her and a parked train in the back, Shepard had found herself sandwiched between her opponents. Orange and Red on the left and Cyan on the right. If Shepard dared to attack one of them then it expose her back to the other. That was a situation where she could easily get overwhelmed. The circle of pedestrians had made retreating nigh impossible, not even taking into account the speedy pegasus.

The blue flyer had recovered from her violent and brief meet-and-greet with the luggage cart. Shaking her head to clear her senses, her magenta eyes regarded Shepard like she had found an annoying fly in her soup. Meanwhile, Orange was on her back being tended to by Red. Seeing an opportunity to quickly take out a dangerous foe, Shepard made a mad charge towards the pegasus. In Shepard's mind it was Cyan's wings and speed that made her the most lethal enemy on the battlefield, one that needed to be neutralized as quickly as possible.

Shepard flew like a missile, with clear intent on breaking both of the pegasus' wings. Yet, with a single flap of her feathery appendages, Cyan simply shot straight up into the air. Shepard thus undershot her target and had inflicted a bit of pain in her joints as she came to a dead stop inches from impacting the wall of civilians. At the same time she felt a violent force pull her back. It was an unfamiliar sensation upon her back and it felt as if up her spine was being forcefully pulled apart. She choked down a cry as she tried to determine what had caused it.

'Where did she get the rope?' Shepard wondered as she found her her tail had been ensnared by a lasso, halfway up to the base. She tugged at the binding, hoping that she could slide it off, but Orange had pulled back with an ecstatic smirk as she clenched the other end of the rope in her mouth. Cyan had shared the same victory grin as she landed with surprising softness next to her friend. Realization had dawned on Shepard too late and her hesitation proved disastrous.

Little Strongheart was frozen where she stood, like a sculpture built of bitter ice. As the fighting escalated she had wanted nothing more than to put it to an end to it. Yet she was helpless to do so. It wasn't indifference or confusion that caused her body to betray her, it was fear. A feeling that was both raw and primal in its nature. Applejack and Rainbow Dash fought to teach a stubborn bully a lesson. Shepard, on the other hoof, lashed out with what was a clear intention to kill.

It was comparable to when Shepard had nearly invoked her powers upon Strongheart's tribe. A memory that was destined to haunt the young buffalo's nightmares for years to come.

Applebloom could only watch with wide eyed distress as the mare without a Cutie-Mark had slugged Applejack across the face. Knowing that everything that had transpired was, in some way, her fault. She could not help it that she felt her heart about to burst in shame. There was nothing but deep-rooted shame at what she had unintentionally caused. She wanted to plead for them to stop. She wanted to beg for forgiveness, but all she could do was watch the terrible fight unfold as her big brother carried her on his back.

With a flick of her neck, Orange was able to toss the rope to Cyan. The egotistic flyer was easily able to catch the woven bundle of fibers in her mouth. Cyan returned a wink at her good friend while she had eagerly erupting into the skies with blissful abandonment. Her vertical trek dragged the red-mane stranger's body back and upwards as readily as a sack of potatoes. There was a loud colliding sound of fur and flesh as the bully fell. Impacting strongly upon wood as her rear legs were lifted into the air and quickly followed by her flank and stomach.

As Shepard was lifted helplessly into the air she desperately flailed about trying to latch onto anything solid; trying to find a purchase able to anchor herself to the ground. The struggle had proven futile as her hooves were only able to scrape uselessly across the smooth wood of the train platform. Cyan's wings beat at an incredible rate under the unexpected mass of her cargo. Shepard was, with minimal effort, lifted into the air against her will.

She found herself suspended helplessly in the air by her tail. The combination of rope and tail lengths had made it impossible for her hind-legs to be able to reach the pegasus' face for a proper strike. The rainbow pegasus didn't stop lifting Shepard up until the Commander was suspended at an equal eye level with Orange.

"Well, well, well," spoke the Stetson wearing mare with an air of self satisfaction, "not so tough now ar' ya."

Gravity and wind played indifferently upon Shepard's body as she was lazily swinging back and forth from her upside down position. She had felt pain before, but it was nothing like it was now. Having her full body weight upon her tail was excruciating. It was even more unbearable to know that she was truly exposed in this position. From her head to her hooves, to tits and marehood, she was laid open for all to see and could only feel her fury rising to explosive levels.

She felt a pair of hooves grab her and slowly rotate her around to where she was eye to eye with the mare with the southern accent.

"Hoo'whee, ya'll certainly have caused a heapin' ton of trouble." Orange said both with a sense of victory couple with a tad of sadness.

"So are ya'll gonna say yer sorry?"

"Sorry for what?" Shepard asked innocently, even if she already knew the answer. Orange reacted by pushing her muzzle against Shepard's

"Don't act dumb." The cowpony narrowed her eyes with undisguised hated, "Ya'll owe my littl' sister an appology for tha' things you've said to her."

"Alright..., I'm sorry," Shepard said as she used her fore-hooves to grab Orange by the cheeks, "that this is going to hurt!" The wet crack of breaking bones echoed as Shepard slammed her head against Orange's muzzle. Blood splattered everywhere from the brutal impact.

Author's Notes: This is the raw unedited chapter, but I have to thank SquareMuffin for volunteering to edit this post. The revised chapter will be posted when SquareMuffin finishes with the work.

Originally I was not going to start from Applebloom's point of view. Then it became necessary as I felt it was necessary to show that Applebloom is a more complicated character than simple Cutie-Mark obsession. That it was the combination of having experienced a recent traumatic event, coupled with fatigue, boredom, and oppressive heat that ultimately lead to her breakdown. Seeing Shepard's blank flank was what finally drove Applebloom over the edge.

Simultaneously it showed why Applejack and Rainbow Dash had also reacted so poorly to Shepard's perceived crime. So I think it gave this whole dynamic of why the fight occurred and what contributed to it instead of the fight being a simple action insert. I hope I'm making sense here.

It also helped to set up future scenes, and hint at what to expect. I did not know if I should include Babs Seed in my story. Yet, I figured since I'm rewriting the canon I might as well have fun doing it. I don't want to bore you with a simple rehash of the episodes.

On a final note, the previous chapter, number eight, has been re-edited to fix various errors and the narrative and dialogue have been touched up as well. It is not necessary that you re-read chapter eight since, overall, nothing has changed narratively, except for some world building for extra flavor.