The Empress square was the main hub of commerce for the Empire. There, before and afte the balefire, merchants within and out came to barter and buy, haggle and quibble, everything from foal teething rings to the most dazzling of jewels passed through the shops. Boutiques, cafes, green grocers and even butchers could be found there, and nearly anything one could want besides. And if it was not there, expect it the next day.
But one mare had wealth beyond most in the Empire, a soft spoken female with cold eyes, whose business ventures entangled all the square and put it firmly under hoof. Pocket change in her mind. For Sunset Glimmer, her true bits were made in the purchase, contracting, and training of the Empires bottom wrung, the Indentured.
The Empire had many ways to deal with trouble makers. Judiciaries would often judicate parole and volunteer work for most, death for rapists and foal diddlers. But for the debtors, the assaulters and lazy who refused their given duties... the two black bars of the servants would soon be on them. Should that fail, Sunset would use first demeaning work, then if needed, activate her own addition to the marks and through a little shock remind the lay abouts their place. And failing that... the box for a few days. And beyond that... nopony dared guess what became of the missing.
Pulling a watch from her saddle bags, Sunset tilted her head to the right as she walked through her main office doors, greeting the ponies who sat filing and sorting, smiles in place and eyes terrified.
"That's right everypony! See how wonderful it is to be learning a trade? Why, keep this up my dear..." stopping by a colt, Sunset stamped her hoof in applause, "Look everypony! Look at Meadowlark! Just two weeks ago, he defaced that wall, now look! Eyes on the job, comes in on time every day, why, you're a busy bee! I see you take my motto to heart don't you!"
Standing, the colt bowed at the mares hooves "Yes Mistress!"
Patting the colt on the head, Sunset beamed at her charges.
"See everypony! Why, you never hear a busy bee say their tired or bored? Do we?"
Everypony stood, and as one shook their heads.
"No Mistress Sunset!"
"And we never hear our friend the bee talk about more pay or being so selfish and failing to heed the need of the Empire, do we?"
"No Mistress!"
Walking down the aisle again, Sunset continued cheerfully "No sir, us happy bees, why we could do this rain or snow for our whole lives! All we need is to know others benefit from our selflessness, don't we?"
As she walked, a hacking cough echoed through the room, and everypony cringed. Turning slowly, Sunset regarded the adolescent crystal unicorn behind her. Sparkle dimming under the mares gaze, the filly covered her muzzle with a hoof, eyes wide.
"And do we..." stepping back to the filly, whose ribs shown through her skin, suggesting malnutrition, numerous welts over her body. Around her horn an inhibitor ring cut off her magic, and her foreleg was shackled to the desk. Slowly coming up to her, Smile pleasant and eyes alight with sick joy, Sunset said warmly "ever hear our bee buddies about sick days or interrupting others with their nonsense, do we?"
Lowering her hoof, the filly shook her head.
"No mother."
Lifting her chin with her hoof, Sunset sighed.
"Oh my dear... You don't want the box again, do you?"
Clenching her eyes tight, the filly whimpered "No mother."
Kissing her forehead gently, Sunset flattened her ears to her skull.
"Oh my dear. Mother only wants whats best, and you have to be so willful... You know I only do this out of wanting you to be the best anypony could be..."
The filly nodded, tears rolling down her cheek.
"I love you... you know that right?"
"I know mother..."
Smiling indulgently, Sunset patted the females shoulder.
"Maybe later today, if you fill your quota, you and mommy can take off that nasty collar and spend the afternoon together. Would you like that?"
The filly only nodded, and ruffling her mane, Sunset crowed "That's my girl! And as a treat, I'll send my secretary later with some nice iced tea!"
The filly lips drew back in a smile.
"Thank you mother..."
Turning back to her stroll, Sunset didn't see the absolute look of loathing her back, her smile a baring of teeth in her fury.
"I'd sooner sit on Sombras horn and spin then play little girl one more second..."
Sunset was thankfully out of earshot, but once the doors closed, the entire room slumped. Sighing, Jade rubbed her cropped mane a moment, her eyes locked on the filly next to her. Under her desk, the girl played with a shiv.
"Hey... What are you doing?" Jade said softly. Smile going rictus, the filly said shakily "I can't do it Jade... I can't do it..."
Standing, the mare walked towards the filly, but was stopped short by the chain. Glaring at the links, Jade said evenly "Yes you can. Come on honey... Life isn't all that bad..."
Firmly shaking her head, the filly giggle, eyes wide and desperate.
"I can't! Not the beatings or lessons or... or the box again!"
Looking forward again, Jade pleaded sofly "Please Alula... we need you, I need you. We can get through this together..."
The purple mane bounced from side to side as the filly shook ner head.
"No Jade... I wanna see mommy again... i wanna see the Summer Lands, be happy..."
Hooves sounded as the guards stampeded towards them, but Jade barely noticed, She held her hoof out to the filly desperately, saying "No, no, please don't Alula... I can't bear it... Just drop the shiv, and..."
Giving a sad smile, the filly pressed the sharpened metal to her throat.
"I love you Jade... We'll be together again..."
Jade covered her face in her hooves a split second before the end. And from the others... silence. After all, a busy bee keeps eyes forward and hooves busy, but she knew the looks of envy more then a few had that the foal had been lucky enough to sneak a way out under the guards nose.
............................................
77 leaned against the bridge alcove as the sound of hooves went over it. Looking down, he opened his vest, watching as purple and green smoke rose from his wounds, the rounds being pushed outwards by will of mana, blood seeping from the still open bullet wounds. Looking up at the stonework, the human frowned.
After his debut on the Scholar row, 77 had found himself at pains to stay ahead of the Empires elites. While he didn't worry about telekinesis (having found out to his amusement dark mana and light telekinesis cancel each other out... boy, had that stallion looked surprised before most of his features got blown away) he knew that his mana didn't do dick to stop bullets, and the longer he dragged this out, the more likely he would be cornered while recuperating wounds or mana.
Pulling his new gun from its holster, 77 regarded the etching somberly.
"Where did it go wrong, huh Shining? You lot had everything as opposed to my species... magic, an eternal guardian, you didn't need to scrape of claw like us... Where did it seem fun to be so human..."
"Probably when Luna took control."
77 arm blurred as he held his gun to the head of the voices source. Raising a brow, 77 grimaced as he regarded the leather like skin of a pony ghoul, his eyes glazed over, and voice a raspy buzz of amusement.
"Twitchy aint we? No point in a wasted round child, I died ages ago. Just to stupid to know when to lay down I guess...."
"And you are..."
Grinning toothlessly, the pony tipped his stetson.
"Braeburn Apple good sir, and pleasure to meet you."
..........................
A few hours later, the two labored through the sewers of the city, the stallion horror babbling as his companion tried to avoid losing his lunch.
"Like I said, When Luna got in... she just let ponies crawl back to the bad old days like she lived in, when ponies were either warring or thinking of it."
"I thought there was only one war..."
Snorting derisively, Braeburn looked over his shoulder at the human, lips in a sneer.
"Please. Us ponies were always in some war or another, with others every other month, and with ourselves if no one else wanted it. And it were'nt no Discord or silly spell that done it neither. We wanted it boy. Wanted war, to purge any threats from the world, and failin that, making sure they were under hoof with some spell or cutie mark. We controlled the weather because we couldn't bear the idea of it on its own, we forced nature to be what we wanted and made the lion eat straw and couldn't care less it was killing him."
Looking forward again and seemingly unburdened by his lack of sight, Braeburn continued "All that new stuff... the tech, the guns and new medicine... to much all at once, made life to easy. And we had these brand new killing sticks, why not show the world whose really boss, just like always. All we needed was the first little push...."
Shaking his head sadly, Braeburn voice caught a moment.
"After that... murder at that zebra place... and yeah boy, it was murder. Blow no smoke up my arse about striped savages and they started it and they were spies... bah, most of them were foals and their mothers, the dads were gunned down coming home. And then the camps, the Ministries, ponies and their zebra husbands and wives dragged from their beds in the night and brought to the black sites... Ponies wanted a bloody damn war for centuries, thought we looked weak. Celestia was the one who saved us from ourselves, always a sweetheart she was. Nopony could make you feel like you were her whole world like she could, and we loved her. But when Mac..."
Braeburn sighed, pausing in his stride.
"Celestia was too good for this life. It broke her heart to seal Luna, and she spent a lot of days way back drunk or just laying in bed. When he died... she couldn't cope. She left the Throne to that despot loon sister, and she, in her wisdom, put her most powerful ministries under the care of mares not even in their majority. Hells below, Fluttershy was so naive she actually thought that megaspell of hers would make everyone nice and friendly, like they'd just stop the party because of that!"
Braeburn walked up to a small flight of stairs, voice sad and resigned "What happened to our home you ask? People happened my colt, people happened. On the range, all there was apples and farms. I know them, I understand them. People I'll never understand."
Stepping behind the pony, 77 spat across the floor.
"Ask me, you ponies are worse then humans by a mile."
Braeburn gave no sound, but the swivel of his ears gave the hint to continue.
"The world... was never kind to us. What we get from her we got through blood and sweat and stubborness. And we've been warring since we know how hard bone was, and how well a sharpened stick stabbed. Even at our best, we never had peace of mind, and what we did have to be proud of we lost when we let the Washington leeches dictate to us."
Stepping up beside the ghoul, 77 regarded him coldly.
"What was your foalhood like Braeburn? Did war always loom, did you shiver under your school desk in terror of the Communists. Were you lied and cheated and promised sanctuary only to be a lad rat?"
Turning away from the stallion, the human snorted derisively.
"You had it all pony. A world where you had peace of mind, where you could afford to be who you were and not dread someone coming and ripping it from you. A home that was worth fighting for, a place where you could walk tall with pride... and you dumped it into the rubbish bin because a pretty pony princess told you so. You threw it all away... I pity you, I really do Braeburn."
Braeburn regarded the voice with sightless eyes, saying softly "Not as much as I you, you silly colt."
"Pity from a mutated bacon crisp. I have hit bottom."
Reaching up, the stallion grabbed the humans hand, saying sternly "I hear it son. In your voice. You are unhappy, miserable, but you wont let anypony help you. So all you can do is live with your unhappiness."
Pulling his hand away, 77 grimaced as the voice echoed.
If only he know, hey boy?
"Not as alone as you might think old man. And I was alone a long time before that. And letting someone just means more heartache."
"You have never known kindness, never been at the need of others generosity..."
77 stopped, looking over his shoulder.
"You cannot be honest with yourself of yours sins, and laughter has not reached your ears for an eternity. You are loyal to none by yourself, and have no one to call friend."
Braeburn pulled his stetson low over his ears, his voice shaking "What a sad little colt you are, and all you know to do is scream and bellow as though on fire. If not for others, if not for virtues, then what do you make all this misery for? What reason does a sad and broken thing like you fight for?"
"To survive. No more, no less. I am made of no more noble clay then others and am more then willing to go to my grave free then live as this places newest slave."
"Boy... you best get wise and find your virtue."
"I got more then that old timer..."
Braeburn trotted up beside his companion, head cocked.
"And that would be..."
"Faith, old ghoul. A frail thing, but is near impossible to kill, and with it a man can change the world. Its an old and powerful thing to my people Braeburn... and more oft then not the only thing we have. Faith that tommorow the sun will rise and things will be good again, green grass and blue skies, the world made whole again... And if it doesn't, theres always the next day."
Braeburn nuzzled the humans arm, more to comfort himself then 77.
"But you seem so lonely..."
```Oh he's never alone old stuff! I'm the only friend old limp dick could ever need!
77 paused a moment, pushing the thoughts away. And putting a hand on the ghouls shoulders smiled gently. His first friend... and already his demons were more manageable. He wasn't fixed, he never would be... but maybe it wouldn't be so bad to have another with him for a time.
Yeah... a friend would be nice.
"Let's go pal."