TWILIGHT SNAPPED AWAKE, her head slamming against the door she was slumped against as she did so. After rubbing her head to ease the resulting pain, she realized somepony was knocking at the door. With stiff limbs, the purple pony regained hoofing and, leaning against the wall for support, the knocking continued. She examined her surroundings, slightly calmed to know that she was still in the safety in her home but quickly disturbed by the lighting. As Applejack had said, it was still dark outside, the only lighting in the room coming from a single candle fixed to the wall. Twilight moaned quietly, the frightening reality of her world returning. She was terrified, not that her world had changed but how quickly it had changed, how little she knew about it and how little she had done to stop it. She felt departed, alienated from her surroundings, as if they weren’t really hers. Twilight once again felt the urge to flee, to escape and never return. There was no other option in her mind, she had no place anymore, and trying to stop a foe she knew nothing about was pointless. Twilight began eyeing the nearby window with a growing sense of longing.
Twilight was pulled from her mental throes by another wave of knocking. The sudden stop to her thoughts of sadness and depression brought her back to reality and delivered a realization. This is my reality, and I’m going to deal with it. The thought was short and barley any thought process or brain power to comprehend, yet it resonated within the purple pony. This was reality, there were others here too, and she was not alone. Celestia was still in the forest in need of an informant. Her friends where still either injured or scattered. Ponyville was still trapped under darkness. She still had a purpose. This is my reality, and I’m going to deal with it. Twilight repeated the phrase in her head again and again; it brought strength to her limbs and fortitude to her thoughts. With a shaking breath, Twilight turned to open the portal.
The door swung inward and Twilight quickly shut her eyes as a gust of frozen air swept through the breach. After the wind quickly died away, she slowly opened her eyes.
The first object she registered was the armor clad stallion, he stood silently before her, unmoving in contrast to Twilights shivering form. His armor was less complete than that of others she had seen, consisting only of a modest helm and single piece chest plate. He stared emotionlessly at the purple pony with the same cold, unfeeling eyes of the other guards. He did not speak and Twilight was once again unnerved by the silent figure, a figure that was once the symbol of royal prowess and strength but was now but a perversion of that noble cause. Inching to the side, Twilight examined the now bustling, yet still darkened, Ponyville.
Unlike several hours ago, the village was buzzing with activity, much like it would before the black pony had come, yet more organized. Groups of ponies Twilight recognized as citizens moved in large groups through the streets, escorted by guards as they went. Surprisingly, even the pegasi where walking among their wingless brethren, they sky being occupied only by winged guards. It was difficult to distinguish the silent flyers from the night sky but the illumination from the street lamps reflected off of the low flying guard’s armor. Twilight felt disorganized when she once again noticed the night sky and the unmoving moon. She was wide awake and was accustomed to the sensation usually when the sun was cresting the horizon but to feel this awake in what looked like the middle of the night was simply confusing. Turning her gaze back to the ground, Twilight further examined the crowds. They moved in large clumps of what she guessed was fifteen, each guided by a pair of guards that shouted and herded the group onward. The ponies following did little to contradict the automatons, obeying their instructions with little to no sign of defiance. It was saddening to see her fellow ponies in such a pitiful and disgraceful state. The guard suddenly moved to block her view and spoke quickly; if his tone wasn’t devoid of emotion perhaps he would have sounded annoyed thought Twilight.
“Are you Twilight Sparkle?” Twilight paused briefly, surprised by the direct question.
“Yes, what is everypo-” The guard cut her off. “The work day has begun, you will be directed to your station, please follow me.” He stepped back, nodded to another pony outside of Twilights view and motioned for her to step forward. Inching forward slowly at first, Twilight saw a small collection of townsfolk arranged near the library, shifting silently in the cold, led by a much larger guard who was now ushering them forward. Sensing the guard behind her, the she fell into cohesion with the group and began marching down the street.
“I DON’T CARE about deadlines; this project will not get finished simply because Reik wills it.” Iris said to the guard as she hovered over the blueprints sprawled across the wooden table. Multiple stones rested on the paper in order to keep them from being lost to the wind and the red pony nudged the rocks this way and that as she went over the incoherent collection of numbers and drawings. She raised a hoof to her goggles and flicked a lever, lowering one of the specialized lenses over her eyes as she examined the parchment with greater interest. The guard retained his tone and continued. “Whether or not you care is beside the point engineer.” The guard rolled the term ‘engineer’ off his tongue as if it were a disgusting phrase. “We have deadlines, and if they are not met, the repercussions of the failure of this project will harm the entire territory.” The guard stopped as Iris spun around and fixed him with a glare that pierced her goggles. “That’s Commissar of Industry comrade, and that deadline is unreasonable, I cannot give him a functioning plant without time which I have yet to be given.” She tried to make herself sound and appear intimidating yet as she spoke, and as she looked into the unmoving guard before her, she felt herself shrink. He spoke slowly and with a foreboding tone. “And that’s Commissar for Public Relations to you, I did not set the deadline, but it will be met, with or without your cooperation.” His tone was triumphant. For several seconds the still air in the empty barn that would soon become the plant grew dense and freezing. Iris hated this pony, no different from the other guards except for the red star painted over the armor on his rear. Iris could find no reason for why Reik had made one of the guards this…she didn’t want to call it intelligent, perhaps free thinking or rude would fit better. He had done nothing but pester and annoy, shoving his nose in everypony’s business. He even asked pointless questions about the workings of her machines that she knew he could never hope to understand. It was not just her; she had seen him questioning the citizens, going into homes, going through possessions. Magnus, that was his name or “Mad-Magnus” as she had heard the townsfolk begin to call him. Iris, beginning to shake with anger, chuckled. “You think a project like this has ever been done in Equestria on this big of a scale, do you honestly believe that something like that, something that the mere drawings for, only exist in my head and parchment, can be done by anypony else?” She said, taking a step forward. “Nothing will be done unless it is done on my terms and according to my rules.” Magnus sneered. “For now comrade, good day.” He said before stalking out of the barn. Iris, eager to push the incident from her thoughts, extended her wings and flew to the rafters. Checking the supports and beams to make sure that they were prepared for the load they would soon bare. As she poked and prodded, another entered the barn. She noticed him first and was instantly relieved to see the large form of Vladimir standing before her. She flew down quietly, planning to surprise the oblivious soldier. Stifling a breath, she was just several inches above him when he looked up, forcing the red Pegasus to gasp in surprise and fall to the ground.
“You don’t get to be Commissar for defense being gullible comrade Iris.” He said in his commanding but gentle tone. Iris collected herself and stood before the large stallion, although being clad in a new set of ornate armor, black with a red trim, and standing above her, she looked upon the pony as an equal. “Sorry, it just things can get quite boring around here.” Vladimir nodded and began stepping near the work bench. “Tell me friend, I noticed Mad-Magnus leaving in a sour mood, did something occur?” He stopped at the table, looking over the confused collection of parchment; Iris quickly moved to organize the papers, suddenly self conscious. “He was just being the nosey jerk he is, why did Reik, well, make a guard like that?” She responded as she removed her goggles, leaving them to hang around her neck. Vladimir shrugged. “It’s his job, I admit he could be less rude, but it’s his business to know everypony’s business.” Iris sighed and twisted her neck to one side until a muffled crack could be heard. “I suppose, but it isn’t helping anything, at least I can’t see any benefit.” Vladimir, finished looking over her drawings, began to leave. “Don’t worry, in time we will not need him, but Reik says he is a necessity and I’m not about to start doubting his wisdom yet, good luck comrade but I must be leaving.” Iris nodded and fixed the goggles back into place, Vladimir’s words shifting among the equations and mechanics in her head as she did so.