//------------------------------// // Peace Offerings // Story: Friendship is Revolution // by ultiville //------------------------------// After she's sure all the attackers have fled the park, and everyone who wants to stay is back, Twilight raises the shield again. Someone offers her some large headphones, and she hopes they'll be enough if their enemies bring in more speakers; she's not sure to what extent the distracting noise disrupts her magic, and to what extent it's the strange resonance between her horn and the ultrasonic static. She hopes she'll have at least a day before she has to find out. For the moment, she takes up her organizer role again. Between the ruins of the park, the hunt for missing friends, and caring for the injured, there are countless things that need doing, and plenty of people who can do them, they just need to be matched up with the tasks. By the time that's done, and everything is going smoothly, from Fiona's hospital tent to Rosie's "missing friend mixer", the sky is well and truly dark, the park lit by countless camping lamps and the soft purple glow of the domed shield overhead. Twilight's guards settle in outside her tent as she prepares to go in. "Are you two ever going to sleep?" she asks before she goes. "There are a few more of us here, but everyone was up for the fight. We've got relief coming in a few hours, they're napping now." She nods, and goes in to find her sleeping bag. She could stand to sleep herself, but she isn't willing to turn in before checking on the other protest locations. She knows the other group in Cambridge, across the street at Harvard Yard, is gone: without Twilight's shield, everyone was either rounded up before the battle, or slipped out and joined the larger group in the park, itself shrunk by injuries, a few arrests, and a fair number of people who weren't willing to stay in the face of potential arrest. Twilight can't really blame them, and while overall the group has shrunk, it's probably just as well: they might have to stay for quite a while, or abandon the protest, and the packed state of the park beforehand would have made it difficult to put the tents anywhere. The situation isn't as bad as she feared, but still at least six other cities have had their protests shut down, with mass arrests. She makes a quick post to their organizing forum, letting everyone know she's okay and that they weathered the storm. After her first few attempts at posting proved...unpopular, she's taken to keeping her contributions terse. The crowds of humans seem to pick up the slack in any case; this is no exception, as by the time she's finished and submitted her brief statement, three videos and several dozen blurry phone photos of the battle have gone up. She finally lets herself drift off, content that the world will not end without her presence for a few hours. Twilight awakes to the somewhat gentle nudging of Applejack. She opens her eyes blearily and sits up a little, momentarily confused at being in the tent rather than her bed at Alanna's house. "See, you just gotta give her a good nudge," Applejack says over her shoulder. One of the guards stands there, frowning at her. "That hardly seems proper." Applejack snorts. "Twi' ain't no proper lady. 'Specially not before noon." "Uhh...what's up, AJ?" Twilight manages. The guard-human answers instead. "A couple of suits are standing outside the bubble asking to talk to you, Princess." Twilight gathers herself up, casts a quick spell to restore order to her mane, tail, and coat, and follows Applejack and the guard into the park. Curiously, none of the police presence she expected is in evidence. Instead, traffic fills the streets as normal, and everyday life seems to be carrying on as if nothing untoward had happened the night before, though a few spent tear gas canisters are still lying on the pavement. Rather than going to the edge of Mass Ave, her guard takes her to the edge of the park adjoining the smaller Garden Street. Two humans - as expected, in expensive looking suits - wait there, one woman, one man, both dark-haired and fair-skinned. When they see her approach, the woman produces a badge that, to her eyes, looks a lot like Mr. Gray's. "Twilight Sparkle," she nods at Twilight. Twilight wouldn't say her voice is cold, but only because it's so steady that describing it with any kind of adjective would imply a commitment to tone that it certainly lacked. "I am Agent Harris. This is Agent Smith. We've come to speak with you on behalf of the Department of Homeland Security." Agent Smith nods and produces an identical badge. Twilight nods at them. "Talk, then." "Our information is confidential." Twilight thinks that Agent Harris's emotions are probably also confidential, explaining her continued lack of any kind of inflection. "We were instructed to share them only with you or your equine colleagues. We would appreciate it if you would come with us. It is not far. We promise no harm will come to you." Agent Smith nods again. Twilight hypothesizes that his voice is also confidential. "How stupid d'ya think we are?" Applejack butts in. "Our analysis indicates Princess Twilight Sparkle is extremely intelligent," Agent Harris says. "We have insufficient data on you. We called away the," here she pauses, Twilight notes, the first variance in her tone or cadence, "erroneously deployed personnel from here and all other protest sites, to show our good faith. Please check." Twilight floats her tablet out of her saddlebag, keeping her eyes on the agents. She's gratified to see both pairs of eyes widen slightly. Good, she thinks, they're still surprised by my magic. She checks their organizational forums, making sure to control the stylus with her magic as overtly as possible. It seems they're telling the truth; over the course of the night, the authorities pulled back entirely, leaving the remaining protests unmolested. Five of the protests that were broken up overnight have reformed, with most or all of their participants released from jail with no charges. "She's telling the truth," Twilight murmurs. "And just like that, you're gonna go with her? If they get you out o' the picture, they can do whatever they want to the rest of us," Applejack says. "I'll be alright. I can keep a personal shield up along with this one." "And what if they break it again? Nothin' doin', Twi'. I know you need to hear 'em out, but no way am I lettin' you go alone." Twilight smiles at her. "Of course you aren't. Shall we go?" Applejack blinks, and Twilight thinks she expected more of a fight. "Uh, sure," is all she says. Still smiling, Twilight channels a bit of power into her horn, and they appear outside the shield next to the human agents, who have the good grace to look slightly stunned. "Well, Agent Harris," she says, adding some extra honey to her voice to bring up the conversational average, "lead on." The agents don't seem inclined to conversation, and lead them silently to a nondescript house a short distance away, then usher them into a sitting room - it looks completely normal, which throws Twilight for a bit of a loop. Agent Smith produces some kind of device he runs around the room before grunting and nodding at Agent Harris. "Thank you for coming." Twilight concludes that even in private, they don't have clearance to her emotional state. "We've come on orders directly from the Secretary, who has informed us that these orders come from the President. We have been instructed to convey our official apology for the actions of a rogue element of the Department, led by the treacherous Mr. Gray." "Rogue element my flank," Applejack growls, "I don't buy that for a mayfly's minute." Agent Harris continues as if she hadn't spoken, though Twilight agrees with the sentiment. "Mr. Gray took a personal interest in you that was not in line with the beliefs or policies of the government. This is not confidential; we are merely informing you in advance, and will be issuing an official apology in a press conference as soon as this meeting has concluded. Furthermore, I have been informed that the President is furious at Congress's failure to recognize that you are due full 'human' rights as self-aware creatures. He plans to dedicate his efforts to correcting this error as soon as possible and believes he can reach an agreement with congressional Republicans within the week." "Y'all just got yer flanks kicked in and wanna save face," Applejack summarizes. Twilight's increasingly glad she came along. "We hope that this gesture of goodwill will restore your faith in us, and that you will return it by expressing yourself within our political system, as our citizens have for hundreds of years. Our actions are not contingent on that, however. Both the Secretary and the President agree that the right to protest is an important freedom, which the actions of this rogue element put in danger." Applejack seems to have no response to this. Twilight nods at her. "Thank you, Agent Harris." Agent Harris just nods and continues. "I am now delivering the information we consider confidential. While I have no power to compel you, we would appreciate this remaining between us. As a rogue special agent of this department, the details of Mr. Gray's crimes cannot become public, so his fate would normally be decided by internal tribunal. We understand, however, that Mr. Gray's unsanctioned vendetta against you may have taken on something of a personal tone, and so are prepared to deliver him to you to deal with as you see fit." "Wait, what," Twilight's amused mood vanishes in an instant, "you want to give a person to me to punish, like a gift? Why would I--" "Hold up there, Twi'," Applejack says, "Ms. Agent, what're y'all gonna do with him if we don't take him?" "Details of trials and punishments for special agents are confidential." "Twi', they're tryin' to give him away to you for revenge. Whatcha' reckon they're gonna do to him if you say no?" Twilight thinks for a bit, then slowly nods. "Very well Agent Harris," she can barely keep the disgust out of her voice, "we'll take him." Agent Harris nods back. "Agent Smith," she looks over at her compatriot and gestures to the other exit to the sitting room. He takes his leave, Twilight assumes to go get Mr. Gray. As soon as he's gone, Agent Harris hurries to Twilight's side, her face suddenly tense, but lit by a small smile. "Oh thank goodness," she says, "you're just what I hoped. Thank you, Princess." "Wh-what?" Twilight manages. Applejack doesn't even get that much. "We don't have much time! I was hoping you'd be...well, you. I've seen all the shows, I never thought I'd get to meet you! Can I touch your mane?" "Uh, sure?" With a gleeful squeal that reminds Twilight of Sweetie Belle, Agent Harris gently strokes her mane. "Oooh, it's so soft. Thanks, Princess. He'll be back soon, but just keep doing what you're doing. Plenty of us are rooting for you, too." She pulls back, brushing a few stray purple hairs from her suit, and her face is completely blank again, leaving Twilight slightly stunned. Applejack's slack jaw indicates she's likewise still processing the sudden change. They manage to get themselves together by the time Agent Smith comes back in, carrying the massive, unconscious form of Mr. Gray. He looks distinctly the worse for wear from his experiences the previous night, and there's a clear smirk on Applejack's muzzle. Still, he's breathing evenly. "Mr. Gray is sleeping off injuries he somehow acquired in the line of his ill-fated attack last night," Agent Harris briefly glances at Applejack's smug face, "but our doctors assure us he will make a full recovery. I hereby officially turn him over to your custody, though of course the record of my doing so is highly confidential. Thank you for agreeing to this meeting, Princess Sparkle, and I hope you carefully consider everything I have told you today. Feel free to depart whenever you desire." "Uh, sure, see ya," Applejack mutters. "I believe you will not," Agent Harris counters. She moves to open the door. Before she can get there, Twilight takes hold of Mr. Gray in her magic and powers up a teleport. Just as Agent Harris turns the knob, both ponies and their new "prisoner" vanish.