//------------------------------// // Campfollowers // Story: Friendship is Revolution // by ultiville //------------------------------// "Pinike! Wherever did you come from?" Rarity is the first to respond. "Ponyville silly! Well, I think. It's kinda fuzzy. Did we all pass out and wake up in human-land?" Everyone blinks at her for a moment. Before anyone sorts out a reply, she looks pensive and starts up again. "Only, I don't remember inviting anypony, or even the start of the party, so I guess not? But why would you wake up in a dark strange place if you didn't have a really good time the night before? That's so wrong!" "Err, where did you wake up, Pinks?" Dash manages. "Oh, that way," Pinkie gestures in the direction of Harvard Square, "it was all dark and I was in a big pile of weird toy ponies. So then I came and found you girls instead!" "Wait, you have Pinkie-sense for us now?" Twilight asks. "Not really," Pinkie tilts her head sideways, "I just found the party, and you were here! So it worked out." "That one never came up when I was studying it either!" "Well of course not, silly. Why would I be in your basement if there was a party going on!? Unless the party was in your basement, but we didn't do that. Why have we never had a 'Freaky Science Party' in your basement? That's a good idea!" Twilight splutters for a bit, but then her long-dormant mental Pinkie Pie protocols kick in, and she just starts laughing. Not long after, the rest of the table joins her, and they move on to introductions and, eventually, after Pinkie introduces herself not only to the table but to every guest within accosting distance, Twilight settles down to fill her in. "Wait," Pinkie narrows her eyes at her, "this sounds like exposition. Is this exposition?" "Well, you need to know--" "Shame on you, Twilight! There's a party going on! Exposition is for after, when we're all cozy and curled up together, duh! Now come on fillies, let's go have some fun!" She produces a party had and noisemaker from Celestia-knows-where, and Twilight doesn't have the heart to tell her it doesn't seem like that kind of party. She decides that it must be part of Pinkie's magic that, within about half an hour, it seems exactly like that kind of party, and no one seems to mind. Twilight doesn't want to think about how late it is when they end up all sprawled out on the floor of the (thankfully air conditioned) kitchen. Mary and Rainbow brought some spare blankets from Mary's place, and, just as Pinkie predicted, the four ponies and human are nice and cozy. "Yep, it sounds like some serious Twilight things are happening," Pinkie says, after hearing most of the story. "I'm sure now you've gotten all relaxed again your super Princess brain will figure it all out. But come on Rarity, you must be so excited, they were all wearing clothes and they were all so funky and different!" Rarity grins at her. "Oh you have no idea, darling! I have so many ideas, and now I have you to try more of them on! Oh, and you Mary, if you'd like some." "Uh, sure, I guess," Mary says. "If you don't mind all the trouble." "Nonsense! Any friend of Rainbow's is a friend of mine. Besides, you were so nice to give us those phones and tablets, it's really the least I could do." "Oooh," Pinkie says, "you're a friend of Dashie? Wait...are you a friend friend or just a friend?" Dash and Mary look away and blush, and Pinkie squeals with glee. "Ooooh, Dashie, this is so exciting! You've got to tell Auntie Pinkie allllll about it! I've been wondering about humans ever since Twilight told us she had a crush on one!" "Pinkie!" Dash and Twilight yelp simultaneously. "I've never told you I had a crush on a human!" Twilight splutters. "I read between the lines. And then you did, just now." Twilight buries her face in her hooves. "It's different," she tries to ignore the heat on her cheeks, "I was a human at the time. They have all sorts of weird hormones!" "Hey now," Dash says, "are you saying there's something wrong with ponies and humans?" "Ugh, of course not, I'm just...trying to be accurate!" "I'm right here, you know," Mary looks down at her folded hands, and the ponies half-grins immediately fade. "Hey, Pinkie didn't mean it like that," Dash says, lightly bringing a wing around behind Mary. A moment later, she lets herself fall into it. "She just gets excited about new things." "Yeah, I'd never even seen a human before today! And you're all graceful moving around on your two legs, it's so totally different from ponies! And your're even better with your hands than Spike is with his cool claws! It just makes me wonder what --" "Yes Pinkie, we get the idea," Rarity says. "But perhaps instead of trying to get Rainbow to gossip about her friend, you could read about it? I understand there's plenty of, uh, literature on the subject." She looks at Twilight, who nods and blushes. "Hmmmm, maybe..." Pinkie says, balancing her chin on her hoof. Twilight isn't entirely comfortable with her expression, but decides to let it slide. "Yes, well," Rarity continues, "we'll go to the Square tomorrow, Pinkie. You'll love it, so much is going on! There are so many interesting people to see, and they have a wonderful chocolate shop. And we can get you a phone and tablet, and some clothes." "Oh!" Pinkie practically bounces off the blanket, despite lying on her side. "That sounds super exciting! Can we go now?" "They aren't open now, dear, it's," Rarity looks at the time on her phone and frowns, "far too late. Or perhaps early. We'll have to wait until we get up." "Oh, okie dokie! What are we waiting for then?" As if someone's pressed a switch, Pinkie's out like a light. "Are we sure she's not a robot?" Dash grumbles. "How does she do that?" "I guess we could check," Twilight looks askance at Pinkie's gently rising and falling side, "but do you really think anyone could fake Pinkie Pie convincingly?" They all chuckle, but Twilight gently runs her magic over Pinkie's side just in case, looking for a panel. The subject giggles and twitches her legs at the touch, and Twilight can't find anything suspicious. "She's Pinkie all right," Twilight says, then yawns, "and has a pretty good idea. Ready for bed, girls?" They nod, and settle in to sleep. No one's bothered to set an alarm, but they're all woken up by a vigorously bouncing Pinkie Pie a little before noon - a surprisingly reasonable hour, Twilight thinks. After a quick set of showers, they set out for Harvard Square. Immediately on walking out the door, Twilight feels something's slightly off. She can't immediately tell what it is, but then she looks towards the tree that used to feature her curious makeshift shrine. Three humans in purple shirts, two men and a woman, are sitting facing away from it on similarly purple mats. The branches are once again covered in slips of paper and a few of the pendants. Each of the humans is leaning on a wooden stick wrapped in purple tape. When they see her, all three stand and bow from the waist. They straighten and smile at her, but show no signs of approaching. "What the hay?" Rainbow says. "I have no idea," Twilight replies, and walks over towards them. "Hello Princess," the woman says. Twilight still isn't perfect on human body language, but she thinks all three of them look nervous. "Um, hello," Twilight says, not feeling particularly comfortable herself. "Did you fix this?" "Yes, Princess," one of the men grins at her, "us and some of the others who made it in the first place." "Oh. That's...nice of you. Um, and why are you here with these sticks?" "Because they're so super upset that it got trashed that they've decided to become an order of warrior monks protecting your weird shrine forever from any who would violate it! That's why they have those cool purple sticks!" Pinkie's timing is impeccable as always. "I don't think that's it, Pinkie." Twilight rolls her eyes. "No, she's basically right," the second man says. "Do all of you have magic like this? I think we're going to need a more complicated shrine." "No one has magic like Pinkie Pie, don't worry," Twilight says, "but...look, you know I'm not some kind of god, right? You don't need to do this, I'm just a pony." "Just a highly magical pony princes of friendship, who's decided to help us humans no matter how little we deserve it?" "Don't say that, most of you have been really nice! And I'm nowhere near as powerful as a real princess like Celestia." The woman shrugs. "She isn't here, and I haven't met any 'real' gods lately either. You're what we've got, Princess, and we appreciate you. I guess we'll stop showing that if you ask, but it isn't just us. Did you see all the papers people left earlier? You've given a lot of us hope for the first time in a long time. For some of us, for the first time ever." "I did see them," Twilight says, "actually I have the ones I could save here," she floats the scraps out of her bag, "though they're not in great shape." The three humans look at them and smile. "May we have them?" the woman asks. "I'm sure we can fix them." "Uh, sure, I guess. And...I'm glad you appreciate me. I'm just...I 'm not used to ponies, or people, treating me like I'm special. I'm sure anyone lucky enough to be a princess would do what I do." "I'm not," the woman smiles, "but it's okay, Princess, it's part of your charm. Thank you for coming and talking to us. I suspect you will find many will be leaving offerings here. You should come and collect them on the way back." "Uh...thanks. What are your names?" "We decided to take on special names when we started this," the man on the left says. "We all picked stars, after your cutie mark. I'm Cygnus, he's Sirius, and she's Polaris." "You're really taking this seriously, huh?" "Of course, Princess," Sirius says. "We have some pretty awesome robes coming, but they're still in the mail." "Well, nice to meet all of you. I have to admit, I didn't expect this, but I'm glad the fight didn't drive off everyone who likes me." None of the three can hide a smile. "Are you going to Harvard Square?" Polaris asks. Twilight nods. "I can't wait to hear about that one," she says. "What do you mean?" Twilight asks. They all only smile, and bow again. Twilight smiles back. She almost bows herself, but remembers her princess training, and decides they probably wouldn't take it the right way. Instead they all turn and start on their way again. "You ok, Twi'?" Rainbow asks. "I think so," she sighs. "I'm just not sure why they decided to do that." Rarity and Rainbow share a glance. "They told you why, darling," Rarity says slowly. "And I know you're smart enough to know they're right. You can't pretend you aren't special here." Twilight sighs. "I know, I know. You're right." "Are you afraid of it, then?" Rarity asks. "Afraid?" "Well, yes. There's no Celestia here, no Discord, no Tirek. Do you think anyone here could stop you from doing whatever you chose?" "The humans have a lot of nasty weapons." "You didn't seem so bothered by that ghastly 'rifle' yesterday." Twilight nods. "They have a lot that are nastier than that. But you're right, I'm not sure any are nasty enough. I talked with Fiona about this, before you all arrived. I don't want to be Celestia here. And I don't think the humans want me to, even those ones. Maybe you're right and fear is the right word, but I think it's a justified fear. They'd hate me if I just...took over." Rarity nods. "I suppose that makes sense. But this Mr. Gray doesn't seem to have the same qualms with using all his powers against you. And it seems that some of them agree that they could use your help. You should figure it out soon. Before it's too late." "And we can help!" Pinkie rubs up against her other side. "There aren't any other Pinkies in this world either! Or Dashies or Rarities! We'll all help!" "Yeah," Dash says. "You girls are the best," Twilight smiles at them, "but I still don't know what we need to do! Wait...what's that noise?" The road from the Prancing Pony to Harvard Square intersects Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge's major road, opposite the Cambridge Common, a large park adjacent to the Square. Normally it's peaceful and lovely but mostly empty, save for the occasional picnicker or jogger, and a few tourists looking at the various Revolutionary War memorials and historical plaques. Today, though, as they approach it, the sound of many voices rings down the street. They share a glance, then hurry around the bend. As they do, the words of a song emerge from the general hubbub. It takes Twilight a bit of time to place it, then her jaw falls open. "Are they singing about giving you a crown?" Dash asks her. "It's from the movie about my time through the mirror," Twilight says. "Those humans sang a bunch?" "No, they added a lot of songs. I guess because the show's meant for foals." "Those don't look like foals," Pinkie says. They can see the common clearly now, and it's absolutely filled with people, all singing and waving signs. Unlike yesterday, though, all of them are for the ponies. Just like yesterday, many of the feature Twilight's cutie mark or general messages of support and acceptance, but there are also a healthy number of Rarity and Rainbow Dash signs, and even a few for Pinkie, Applejack, and Fluttershy. The whole place seems to have a carnival air, the humans singing and prancing happily. Many of them have ponies on their clothes, and a few even appear to have dressed up like them. Twilight appreciates the sentiment, even if she finds the final result a bit strange looking. The crowd looks like it fills the common entirely; Twilight thinks they must number nearly a thousand. But a cordon of police spoils the joyous mood slightly, and it's hard to tell to what extent they're protecting the demonstrators, and to what extent they're watching them suspiciously. "Now this is the kind of fan response I was hoping for," Dash grins. "They're all here to support us?" Twilight can't quite believe it. The crowd seems to have seen them now, and the nearby humans have stopped singing and waving their signs and are pointing excitedly and waving, all smiles. "It certainly looks like it," Rarity says. "I think, Twilight, now might be the time for that friendship speech." Twilight manages a weak smile. "I hope I'm ready." Dash and Pinkie press up against her, and her smile strengthens. "I have every confidence in you, my dear," Rarity says, "you'll make Celestia proud." "Ok," Twilight takes a deep breath. "I'm going to take us to that statue in the middle, see it? Everyone should be able to hear from there. You coming, Mary?" The human woman looks nervous for a moment, then shrugs and nods. "Everyone gather round then." In a moment, they vanish, and a hush falls over the crowd as they reappear on the flat marble of the Civil War memorial, surrounding the statue of Abraham Lincoln. Twilight takes a deep breath, and prepares to speak.