Chapter 19: Transportation
Starlight Glimmer's Diary Day 408
Finally. My plan has succeeded, to a degree, and I can now put it into words. It started just after midnight.
One hour past midnight, I left my home. Outside, waiting for me, were two stallions. They were both cloaked and with the moon being blocked by clouds, I couldn't see their faces. However, I knew it was Party Favor and Double Diamond.
"You two brought everything?" I asked softly.
The two stallions produced rope, a sack, and some spare cloth. Behind them both was a small crate. One of them, I assume Double Diamond, tossed me a cloak, which I promptly put on. After having hidden myself, I nodded and the three of us went to the reeducation hut where Rainbow Dash was being held.
Outside the house were two ponies who were watching over Rainbow Dash. They seemed to be playing a game of cards. When we approached, they both got up and came to meet us.
"Hello, Starlight," the first one greeted. The voice was of a mare, and I soon realized it was Firefly Singer.
"Hello, Firefly," I responded. "Can you and..." I looked at the other pony but couldn't recognize who it was. "I'm sorry, but I can't tell who you are." I pointed at the pony cloaked in shadows.
"Oh, sorry about that," the stallion said. "I'm Nimble Vision."
For a moment, I was at a complete loss. I rarely forgot a friend's name, but Nimble Vision didn't register at all. I stared at him a moment longer until I realized that he must be part of our newest friends, the ones from the army.
"That's right," I exclaimed. "My apologies Nimble, I hadn't recognized you without your armor, but what are you doing here at this time of night?"
"That's okay," he assured me. He scratched the back of his head as he continued. "As to what brought me here, well, you can blame Firefly for that. Let's just say that I lost a small bet with her and now I'm stuck staying up with her tonight. Anyway, what can we help you with?"
A new friend here on a night where I needed secrecy, and a guardspony no less. This made my job a million times harder.
"We just need to clear out some things from that storage shed, and we'd rather not wake anypony. Firefly and Nimble Vision, can you make sure that nopony wakes up from our noise?" I thought for a moment then added, "And, Nimble, can you help us carry some things out once we're done?"
"I suppose we could do that, right Nimble?" Firefly smiled.
"I guess," Nimble agreed less readily. Turning back to Double Diamond and Party Favor, I motioned towards the house again. Once we were out of immediate earshot, Double Diamond grew concerned.
"Are you sure this is the wisest plan?" Double Diamond questioned in a hushed tone. I carefully and quietly slid the key into the door, unlocking it. "She might be close to enlightenment, but bringing her out of the temporary homes might destroy all our progress."
"I know that, but we must do it. Get ready. I don't want to give her the chance to scream out while the door is open." I pressed a hoof against the door and looked back at my current assistants. Party Favor and Double Diamond nodded in unison. Breathing out, I pushed open the door.
Inside, Rainbow was still on her bed. Her food was off to the side, not a single bit eaten. Making a mental note for later, I rushed forward and captured Rainbow in a containment spell. Immediately, her body shook in shock. Immediately after, she began to resist my attempts at keeping her still, but my magic was strong enough to overpower her.
While I held her down, Double Diamond ran forward and shoved the cloth into Rainbow's nose. Rainbow tried to resist, but she still needed to breathe and, once she did, she fell unconscious once again. Motioning for the crate to be brought in, I tied Rainbow up with some rope. I looked into the crate and saw that the sides were all padded, as well as sound proof. With ease, I placed Rainbow in the box.
"Take this crate outside, I'll be out in a minute," I commanded Party Favor. "Double Diamond, please stay." A minute after Party Favor had gone outside, I turned back to Double Diamond.
"Why do I see her food untouched, Double Diamond?" I asked evenly.
"She refused to eat it this morning," Double Diamond answered. "She demanded to see Twilight, alone."
"Why didn't you tell me?" I could feel my voice rising slightly. I took a deep breathe, trying to control my emotions.
"I... I was trying to take care of it." He looked directly at me before giving his reasoning. "You want me to be the mayor of our town. I wanted to try and handle this on my own, to see if I was..." He trailed off and looked down.
"To see if you were what?" I moved closer to him and put my hoof around his shoulder.
"To see if I am worthy to be the mayor," he ended. I was shocked into silence. Double Diamond is my closest ally and confidant. Seeing him being unsure of himself is unnatural.
"Double Diamond, do you think I would pick you if you weren't ready?" He looked up at me, confusion fogging his eyes.
"W-what?"
"Do you think I would pick you as mayor if I didn't know you could do it?" I asked again. I could see him thinking in response.
"No. I don't think you would."
"Then if you don't have trust in yourself, have trust in me and your friends," I told him with a smile. "If you lack the confidence, know that we support you. If you ever need help, you can ask." To punctuate this point further, I embraced him. I could feel the beating in his chest, and the warmth of his body through the cloak. A strange feeling stirred from my chest as I We stood there for a minute before I stopped.
"Well... we have a job to do," I reminded him. "Come on." We both walked outside, where Party Favor was talking to Nimble Vision and Firefly.
"Starlight, you never told us where you wanted this," Party Favor informed me as I approached.
"This crate of miscellaneous materials is meant to go with the next shipment to the mining area," I told him. "Do you know where those go?"
"I'm afraid I don't, actually," Party Favor said sheepishly.
"I do," Double Diamond interjected. "Come on Party Favor and Nimble, this way." As the three stallions left, I turned to Firefly.
"Did anything happen during your watch?" I asked.
"Nothing at all," Firefly answered.
"Good. If anything does happen, I'll be asleep," I finished while stifling a yawn. Waving good bye, I returned to my home for some much needed sleep.
Needless to say, I got up later than I had intended. I woke up at 9:30am and had to rush to make sure I was ready to oversee the preparations for the ponies that were leaving back to their stations.
When I arrived, most of the work was already done. The council has its uses, one of them being overseeing the menial tasks. I should have allowed them to form a council years ago.
"Good morning, everypony," I said as I approached the group.
"Good morning, Starlight," Forest Embers said.
"How are the preparations coming along?" I inquired. Looking at the stacks of crates already in the cart, I knew it wasn't going to take much longer.
"They're getting done, though a little slower than on schedule," Fire Hammer said while fidgeting. He was holding a clipboard and staring intently at one of the wagons. Seeing him in this state, I couldn't resist a smile.
"You'd rather be helping, right?"
"Celestia, yes!" He rested his head on top of the crates and closed his eyes. "I'd rather work and get us back on schedule than sit here counting up the crates."
"How about I take over for you?" I suggested. I grabbed his clipboard with my magic and gave it a slight pull. "You can go help, and I'll finish this wagon up."
Instantly, his demeanor changed. Practically forcing the clipboard on me, he galloped towards the crates and immediately starting lifting one. With a slight laugh, I turned back to the crates. In this wagon was the special crate that we had packed last night. On the side of it was a small warning: "Fragile. Do not break. This side up." I checked the crate and saw that none of the padding had slipped out. There was nothing to distinguish it from any other crate, besides the aforementioned warning.
I heard hoof steps behind me and turned to see Double Diamond walking towards me. Rather than turn, I focused back on the crates and waited for him to come closer.
"Hello, Starlight," he said as he came closer. He looked over the crates, appearing busy.
"Hello, Double Diamond."
"I just wanted to tell you that I told Nimble Vision that mementos and dishes were in the crate, in case anypony else asks." He opened one of the crates and looked in and, seeing that everything was right, closed it again.
"Good choice. Well done." I thought a few moments longer before continuing. "Did you put any food in the crate?" Double Diamond winced, remembering his past failures.
"Yes, I put some on top of the special item, just in case. It should last until the end of the journey."
"That's good." I levitated the clipboard on top of one of the crates in the back. "Well, that's this crate done. Can you take over for me here?"
"Of course." He picked up the clipboard and began to double check what I had done before I was even five feet away. With a smile, I went to go see a certain mare who needed help.
"Hello, Starlight," Cinnamon greeted as she opened the door. "How are you today?"
"Good, thank you." I stepped into her house and waited for her to close the door. "I came to speak with Twilight again."
"Of course... though, Starlight, I've been watching her for a while. She hasn't shown any tendencies for self harm." I looked at Cinnamon and saw uncertainty in her eyes.
"Cinnamon, that's good news," I exclaimed with a smile. She looked at me and raised one eyebrow. "If that's the case, it means that she probably did fall on accident and she is fine."
"I... I suppose that's true," she conceded.
"Thank you for your help in watching over her." I looked at her expectantly, but she didn't get the hint. "In fact, can you go buy us half a dozen of Sugar Belle's best muffins?" I floated over some bits to her.
"Oh, right. Of course I can." She looked at the money, completely baffled. "Anything else?"
"No, that will be all. Thank you." I waited until she left to return my gaze to where Twilight was.
Taking a deep breath, I walked in. Twilight was laying down with a book in front of her. It appeared to be one of the history books, though I did notice Das Equality was opened, though placed to the side.
"Good morning, Twilight," I greeted as I walked in, firmly closing the door behind me. Twilight rose her head from the page and, upon seeing me, placed the book down, though bookmarked.
"Hello, Starlight," she said evenly. After a few moments she looked back at the books briefly.
"How are you feeling?" Twilight gave me a very flat look.
"I'm trapped in a small, padded room. I haven't gotten much food, and I haven't seen anypony other than you in days. I haven't even talked to anypony other than you in days!"
"I see. You are bored, with nothing to do other than read and think, right?"
"That's one of my problems, yes."
"Perhaps I can help in some way. How about a discussion?" I sat down across from her, my back to the door.
Eventually, her curiosity won out and she asked, "Discussion about what?"
"Have you read Das Equality yet?" I levitated the book from where it was currently resting to between us.
"Yes I have, though I find many faults in it."
"I see. Shall we talk about what you've read then?"
"The pony writing this seems to be basing everything off of the assumption that cutie mark, and in turn individuality, are a problem. They use this as supporting evidence for many of their claims. Everything wrong with the world is blamed upon special talents and the supposed inequality of someponies having more power than others. It is completely ridiculous!" I thought for a few moments before responding.
"Well, that's where your ignorance and bias is showing," I replied.
"How do you figure that?"
"Well, you claim that this is against individuality. It is not against individuality, it supports that frequently." I grabbed the book and quickly turned to a page I memorized. "Page 75, 'A pony's cutie mark, then, is not their person, but, rather, a boon given to them to surpass their peers.'"
"I read that, but that is making the argument that the cutie mark isn't tied to the pony's personality, even though cutie marks are directly tied to personality."
"I agree that personality and cutie marks are similar, yet who is to say that cutie marks don't change the personality, even before they appear?"
Our discussion lasted an hour where we fought over many small facts and philosophies. We did, however, have a break once Cinnamon brought back the muffins, which tasted exceptionally good. In the end, I don't believe Twilight was convinced, but all it takes is time. Unfortunately, time is the finite resource.
I decided to check back on the supplies after my visit. Most of the supplies were loaded before I turned away to attend other business.
While I was on my way back to my house, I saw something concerning. There were two guardsponies talking, but they were both wearing their armor. I couldn't see whether or not they were equalized, though I could recognize Crimson Moon as one of them.
Before I could approach them, Crimson Moon spotted me. He waved goodbye and saluted whoever he was talking to and trotted over to me, a book in hand.
"Hello, Starlight," he greeted. "I had some questions about a certain aspect of the equalization process." He stood between me and the other guardspony. I tried to look past him, but I couldn't get a good look. The other guardspony was walking away.
"Sure, what do you need answered?" I asked as I began to walk around him.
"It's about what comes after. Can the equalization be forced upon somepony?" This question caught me off guard.
"What?" I managed to get out after a few seconds gasping for air.
"Well, I saw what you did during the equalization process. I couldn't move so... is it possible to force it upon a pony?"
"I've never tested it for that use, though I suppose it is possible that it is a possibility," I confided. Unfortunately, this distraction was enough to let the other guardspony get out of sight. Sighing, I turned back to Crimson. "Do you have any other questions?"
"No, it was mainly that one. Thank you, Starlight." With that, he waved goodbye and went on his way. Scowling, I turned around and went to find Double Diamond. In the end, I found him at the wagons, doing a last check.
"Hello, Starlight. Did you need something?" He turned to face me as he spoke.
"No, simply to say that I will be leaving for some hours." He tilted his head slightly.
"Okay. And who would be in charge...?"
"Until I get back, you are in charge... as always," I told Double Diamond before leaving. I had to go out to the caves in the mountains. Once up there, I went to the tunnels in Mount Celkina.
The cave was dark, but I was able to light it up with my horn. After going down through a few tunnels, I found my own little cache. It was a small wooden crate in the middle of a crossroads for the tunnels.
The crate was worn, and some of the wood was rotting. I'll have to fix it later. Levitating the top of the crate away, I peered inside.
The crate was full of emergency supplies. There were a few bags of bits, a small sack of foodstuff, and some clothes. Moving all of these aside, I reached into the crate, opening the fake bottom I had in it. At the bottom was a spell book for basic illusions. I hope it'll be enough.
Closing the crate and putting everything away, I returned back to the village with the book hidden in a small bag. I returned home without incident. I found the spell I needed. Tomorrow, Shining Armor won't find anything.
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It great to see this story updated one again, I really like it. All doe I was wandering how come have we seen so little of the mind altering aspects of the equal mark? I mean we saw in the episode that it affected the ways ponies speak, changes the ways they thinking and react, like the personal tastes and their emotions ; It even affect theirs physical performance of the subject. I would like to know how Starlight when about creating the equal mark and how it was accepted by the villagers of Our Town. I wander if the original villagers where young idealists how believed in her statements and had followed from central Equestria to try and make an equal sociality work isolated from the influence of normal society? I know that some cults or groups of minimalists have done such things, so it this the case here? Also I know that Our Town have Foals how live their how are they tough about the equal ethos? do they get standard curriculum like the rest of Equestria or do they have haft back system that promote mistrust of anything that come from outside of Our town and go on to do a sort of rotating shifts of apprenticeships to different trades to promote selfs-sufficiency for all of them.
I wander if one or more of the guards that have stayed are serves as actually spies who are integrate into the communality and report to Shinning Armor of any suspicious activates in Our Town.
6742868 While I can't tell you anything about the guards... yet, I can answer some of your other speculations.
To start with, the mind altering aspects. I must confess, this was one part I was arguing inside my own head for a long time. Although it does limit some of what ponies can/can't do, I am of the (extreme) opinion that it does not force them to be equal. We saw how each pony had a unique and different personality, most of them just put up a facade when Twilight and the gang came. So the mind altering aspect, in my completely unprofessional opinion, only effects the outliers or the extremes. Pinkie's extreme enthusiasm was curved into a much calmer enthusiasm, but it was still there.
As for the schooling... I haven't thought of that much, I'll be completely honest. Though, if I were to guess, I'd say that they were taught similar to other equestria schools, but with, as you said, lectures talking about the benefits of Equality and the evil of the outside world. Think of a 20th century Private Catholic school (or even modern day private schools), that's what it would be similar to.
The founding of Our Town would be largely debatable. I don't have a clear definition of how it started, though I have been thinking of some ideas as to who was involved and how long ago it was. Hope this answered most of your questions.
This story sounds like it needs an adventure or a slice of life tag. Why doesn't it have one?
6742922 Slice of Life doesn't really... fit this sort of story, nor does adventure since they aren't going anywhere and there's no goal other than the overall goal, though I suppose I should probably try to find other tags that fit.
6742896
Sorry, but I have a bit of a hard time understanding by what you are referring to about theirs Catholic Schools, seeing that I am French-Canadian, I don't know how things are done in the USA; I would need context. We call these schools "Colleges Classiques" which is the same old system in Europe; so I am not sure if they follow the rules the same way as I know them. My father studded in one of these private boarding schools, he had many gripes about them they were very rigorous in their teachings and he was never stooped to learn things from other cultures and he is one of the leaned and open minded person that I know. It because it focuses more on the Catechism aspects then the classical curriculum?
6743105 Ah, my apologies. The stereotypical private school in the US teaches a few things, at least that I am aware of. The first is the standard curriculum. The second is, usually, a religion (either catholic and protestant, though I'm sure there are others). Lastly, they teach children that the public school system is horrible, will try to persuade you to become evil or that you'd get murdered if you left the safety of the private school. Oh, and any diversions are rebuked and you are set back onto the "right" path.
6743126
So you are saying that it is a standard pubic curriculum with a heavy focus on Catechism with a dash insular thinking? Have you head this from first hand of this? I have a hard time imagining that these schools still use those fear mongering tactics to teach in this day and age. Normally those schools, as I know them, have taken a big step back from the religious aspect, go more into just enforcing discipline, and go more toward an international curriculum. their are still nuns teaching there.
6743196 I was in a private school from preschool to 8th grade. Trust me, they still use scare tactics, though not as heavy on the murder part. They do, however, imply that if you leave it will be horrible. Also, let me put it this way. Every day in class we'd spend an hour studying the bible and, at the end of the week, we'd recite a bible verse we'd have to memorize. Twice a year we would put on a play spouting the teachings of Christ and the true religious meaning of christmas, etc. etc. etc.. I experienced this first hand, and it was only a few years ago. My school may have been an extreme one, but that's how I see them.
6743210
yea, sounds a little more conservative then I expected, that doesn't sound so bad. Tel me at least the learning was descent comparatively to public schools.
6743300 I wouldn't know. I have no idea what the public school standards are.
Yes! A new chapter! (Reads immediately)