//------------------------------//
// What Dreams Had Come, Part 1 
// Story: Mare Do Well: Rebirth 
// by MagnetBolt 
//------------------------------//

Twenty Years Ago…
“When I look out from here, you know what I see?” Caucus Club asked. “I see the same thing I see in every other city in Equestria - a lot of ponies, each of them following what their cutie mark tells them. It’s like a beautiful field of wildflowers. The thing is, wildflowers are beautiful, but nopony wants a field as their front yard. What ponies want is a garden, organized and tended to. If I’m elected mayor, I promise to enact laws that will make it easier for ponies to work together. Easier incorporation paperwork, changing light industry laws to bring all those garage and backyard workshops under fewer rooftops. I want to encourage big business to flourish here, and for us to raise up home-grown leaders and visionaries from the ponies of this city!”
The crowd cheered, most of them holding professionally printed signs for Caucus Club. His opponent looked out at them. The few holding signs with his name, they were ponies he knew. Ponies who grew up in the city. They held signs they’d painted by hoof at home, sprinkled with glitter and carrying their real feelings, not like the mass-produced soulless banners being raised by the bussed-in ponies cheering for Caucus Club.
He wondered just how many of the ponies cheering were being paid to do it by the companies Caucus was promising would get ‘great opportunities’.
“Mister Caucus Club,” the unicorn at the other podium said. “I think what you’re really offering ponies is a trap. You say you’re going to create jobs, and I believe you will. But I think the jobs you’re going to create are going to be joyless slavery as a part of the corporate machine. You say you’re going to create opportunity, and you will. You want to roll back protections for local industries. You want to make it easy for corporations, and what you really mean is you want to squeeze out the ponies who live here now.”
“That’s not true,” Caucus said. “I simply think the existing regulations on labor, finance, and land development are choking the potential out of the city. I want to put everypony on the same level playing field. Do you know the existing laws mean places like Hayburger Princess and Barnyard Bargains can’t even open up a store here? We all agree that the local diner down the street makes a fine meal, so why does there need to be a law that they can’t have competition? It’s healthy for any market, and gives more choice to ponies looking for a quick lunch.”
“It’s never a level playing field,” the unicorn said. “If those laws are repealed, you’re going to wake up one day and you’ll find out that the whole city sold its soul for bits. There are going to be ponies at the very top of society, and ones at the very bottom, and the gulf between them is going to grow and grow until nopony can see the other side.”
“That’s never going to happen,” Caucus promised. “You’ll see. What’s really going to happen is you’re going to realize how good things are and wonder why you were ever worried.”





Now
“I can’t believe the Paper Filter is going out of business,” Bon-Bon sighed. “The last place in the city to get a real cup of coffee…”
She nursed her cup, looking down at the dark brew and trying to keep the dream alive as long as she could. Lyra put a hoof on her shoulders.
“It’s technically not going out of business,” Lyra reminded her. “It’s being turned into a Seasaddle’s Best.”
“That’s worse, not better,” Bon-Bon muttered. She shrank down in the booth, pointedly not looking around the room at the signs and branding that were plastered up on the walls.
“I’m just sorry it’s going,” Whisper said. “I mean this is where I first met all of you! I did so much of my writing here, and now I’m going to have to figure out a new place to do it.”
“I won’t miss working here,” Loopy put in. She shrugged. “Hey, you’ve all got fond memories because you got to drink coffee and hang out. I mostly had to pour drinks for ponies who thought coffee brewed instantly and that we should be making the kind of crazy dessert drinks they have at Novo’s.”
“Why did everypony turn to look at me?” Lyra asked.
“She’s not as bad as some of the customers I had,” Loopy said. “There was one pony that came in every morning and ordered the same thing and made us remake it at least twice, exactly the same way each time, until she was satisfied. It was always ‘it’s not hot enough’ or ‘it’s not strong enough’ or ‘are you sure this isn’t decaf?’”
“Well, I knew Bonnie was going to be a little depressed about losing her favorite coffee shop, so I figured I’d do a little something special to cheer her up,” Lyra said. She picked up the bag she’d been carrying. “I got everypony a present!”
She opened the bag and gave everypony in the booth a stylish white box, the kind of sleek and not-quite-square thing made of very solid cardboard that broadcasted ‘this is very expensive’.
“What’s this?” Bon-Bon asked. She opened her box, revealing a square-faced wristwatch with a blank black crystal face.
“I got everypony the latest gadget from Engine Heart Industries,” Lyra said. “They’re really cool! Try it on!”
Bon-Bon strapped it on, and the screen sprang to life, showing the stylized rose that was the company logo.
“Okay, so, these are called Mark-2 Watches. They actually run off your body’s magical field, so you never need to recharge it,” Lyra said. She pulled out her own and put it on.
“Huh, it even works for me,” Loopy noted, when she tried hers on. “That’s sort of a surprise. I’m used to tech stuff fighting me tooth and nail.” She looked at the screen and tapped it a few times. “What else does it do?”
“It lets you send messages, take voice notes, check the time, plus it’s got a calculator and an alarm clock! They’re connected wirelessly, so they’re going to get more stuff with updates, but I wanted to get in early.”
“They actually sound sort of useful,” Bon-Bon said.
“And if you don’t need anything else, it’s still a watch,” Whisper noted. “Oh! You can change it from a digital display to showing hands like a regular clock!”
“Thanks, Lyra,” Bon-Bon said, leaning over to kiss her cheek. “You’re too nice to me.”
Loopy tilted the Mark-2 on her wrist, getting it into a comfortable spot. “Did you get one for Jasmine? She deserves one for offering to stay home and watch the office while we all went out.”
“I gave her one, but it didn’t work,” Lyra said. “I figured she should get it early as a treat, but it just wouldn’t turn on for her. We figure we can get it working eventually, so when we have free time I’ll take hers apart and see if I can get it to connect to her internal power.”
“And getting to take it apart is just a bonus?” Loopy asked.
“It’ll be neat to see how they’re put together,” Lyra admitted.
“Are you ponies some of our regulars?” a pony asked, whose body was the same color and general rotund shape of a coffee bean. He offered a hoof to shake when he walked over to the table. “I’m Dark Roast. I run Seasaddle’s Best, and I make a point to come to every store on opening day.”
“Nice to meet you,” Whisper West said, shaking his hoof. “We’ve been coming here for a long time.”
“Well, I hope you’ll keep on coming here,” he said. “We’re not planning to change much. It’s just a change in management and a new sign. Once we’ve got our patented auto-magic espresso machines installed, you’ll even be able to get a lot of drinks this place just wasn’t equipped to serve before.”
Loopy looked past the stallion.
“You might want to check on that new sign,” she said.
Dark Roast turned and shrieked when he saw it. The Seasaddle’s Best sign outside crashed to the ground, sparking and starting to catch on fire, the cheap plastic burning like tinder even with the rain pattering down.
“Bad contractor?” Bon-Bon asked.
“I don’t think so,” Loopy whispered. “I can feel a lot of anger. Whisper, get under the table. I think things are about to go to Tartarus.”
Whisper West nodded quickly and took cover.
The front doors burst open, and a grey unicorn stepped in, wearing a faded tuxedo and twirling a cane. A domino mask covered his eyes in the least effective disguise anypony had ever worn, or at least it would have been if anypony had been able to recognize him to begin with.
“Did you do this?!” Dark Roast demanded, pointing outside at the sign.
The grey unicorn raised his chin. “You’re upset about property, Mister Roast?”
“Of course I am! I’ll have you arrested for vandalism--”
“You’re the one who should be arrested!” the unicorn bellowed, the force of his voice making Roast take a step back. “You only care about property and branding and things, and you step all over the ponies!”
The unicorn reached into his tux jacket and produced a sheaf of papers and pamphlets, tossing them into the air. With a quick spell, the papers flew like birds, flapping their way to the ponies behind the counter, onto the tables, and finding perches everywhere ponies might look.
“These papers are proof of your wage theft, your constant cost-cutting, and your despicable practices. You treat ponies like they’re as disposable as your cheap paper cups. You hire teenagers and the vulnerable and pay them below minimum wage while charging them for the aprons you force them to wear and every cup of coffee a customer complains about when they taste the metal of your machines instead of the skill of a barista!”
“These are pretty serious accusations,” Bon-Bon noted, flipping through the papers that had landed on their table. “But they seem like the kind of thing that should be brought to court and revealed in the press. There’s no need for vandalism.”
“I got this,” Loopy said, stepping out of the booth. “I used to work here, sir. I’m not really happy either. I’m Loop d’Loop. What’s your name?”
“You can call me Flashback,” the unicorn said. “And I am here to remind you all of your sins. This venue isn’t what I wanted for my debut, but I suppose ponies in this city are all fans of early previews, and I’m showing you your future. And your dark past.”
“Okay. Have you tried speaking to the press?” Loopy asked. “I bet they’d love to go over your evidence, and they’d have the resources to look into things.”
“The press is owned by the same interests that I’m here to fight against,” Flashback said. “They’re just as guilty as the rest, taking corporate money to run their stories, filling pages with ads, causing hysteria and fads-- look at you! You’re even wearing the latest fad, just because somepony told you to do it!”
He pointed to Loopy’s new Mark-2. Loopy rolled her eyes.
“You see this?” Flashback pulled a watch from his waistcoat. “This was hoof-crafted by a pony who had a shop not one block from this very spot! It’s kept perfect time for more than two decades, and it’s a unique work of craft and art. His shop is an apartment block now, because he got forced out by big developers. My suit was tailored by a mare who was a mother of seven and grandmother to seventeen, and she lost everything because ponies decided they’d rather have a cheap suit that wears out in a year than a good one that lasts a lifetime.”
“I’m going to have you arrested for blackmail and vandalism,” Dark Roast said. “You can complain about the tailoring and coffee at the prison cafeteria.”
“I don’t think so,” Flashback said. “Not until my work is complete. I’m here to make all of you remember and regret, starting with you!”
He lunged for Dark Roast, his horn glowing. Dark Roast froze up when the tip of the horn hit him, every limb going rigid.
“What did you do?!” Loopy demanded. She shoved Flashback away from Dark Roast and looked at the rotund stallion. The fat brown pony was staring into space like he was seeing a ghost or trapped in a nightmare.
Lyra ran over, her horn flashing and a wave of energy passing over Dark Roast. “He’s not physically hurt, but that spell did something to his mind.”
“He’s reliving all of his sins,” Flashback said. “Every time he hurt another pony to get ahead. Every time he said an unkind word. All the decisions he ever made wrong. I designed the spell myself.”
“Okay, that’s it,” Loopy said. “You’re under arrest. I’m a government agent, and I’m bringing you in for assault.”
Bon-Bon stood up, walking over to the group. “Can you break the spell, Lyra?”
“Just give me a few minutes,” Lyra said. “I think it’s based on Princess Twilight’s memory spell, but it’s been hacked and twisted around like a snake biting its own tail. I have to be careful unraveling it or else he’ll forget everything.”
“It’s okay, we’ll take him while you help the suit,” Loopy said. “Sir, I’m going to ask you just once. Lay down, let me put you in cuffs, and I won’t use more force than I have to. If I have to fight you, you’re not going to like what happens.”
“I’ve shown you the evidence of what he did,” Flashback said. “He’s been working to grind the ponies of this city down even finer than he grinds coffee beans.”
“I tried to do this the easy way,” Loopy said. She advanced on Flashback and the unicorn took a step back, frowning.
“I warn you now, if you try to stop me, I’ll be forced to bury you under the weight of your own past sins,” Flashback said. “I can sense them all around you, like ghosts haunting your every step. I came here for a purpose, but you’re guilty as much as he is.”
“You’re really dramatic for a pony who walked in here because you’re upset about coffee,” Loopy said. She rushed Flashback, shoving him back into the wall. With how posh he looked, she was hoping he’d give up once he had a couple of bruises. If she was lucky, she wouldn’t have to break anything.
Flashback turned on her with surprising speed, charging up his spell. She saw it coming, and grabbed his head with both hooves, trying to push him back, but he tilted his chin, and the horn came down on Loopy’s fetlock. She felt the spell trying to claw into her mind and fought back. It was mind magic. She was a changeling. She could do mind magic. She could fight it and throw it right back into his face and laugh all the way to the bank.
At least that was the plan.
Loopy pushed back against the magic, and she could feel her horn, despite being disguised. She was old beyond her years, by changeling standards. She hadn’t had a fresh molt in years, and her chitin was chipped and cracked. Her wings were sore almost all the time. She wasn’t as strong as she used to be. Years of fighting had taken their toll, and she wasn’t as strong as in the good old days.
Especially not with her magic. Her horn was half-burned-out. Flashback didn’t seem to have the same problem. It wasn’t much of a fight. His magic pushed through hers like it was a shield made of tissue paper, and the spell hit home. Everything went black.





???
The changeling got up from where she’d gone to sleep, a hole in the wall hidden enough from her brothers and sisters that she could be sure they wouldn’t mess with her while she was resting. She’d woken up hungry, which wasn’t a surprise. She’d gone to sleep hungry.
“You,” another changeling said, pointing at her. “Get this waste out of the hive.”
The first changeling was about to refuse, but bit back her retort. The changeling who’d given her the order was wearing the blue armor of the Queen’s Guard. Refusing would mean a beating followed by being yelled at until she did what he wanted anyway. He shoved a pony towards her.
She almost fell when the thin pegasus mare stumbled into her. She had the blank, empty gaze all the captives did, once they had nothing left to give. She already hated the pony, with her ugly pink coat and ugly feathered wings and ugly cutie mark that was just a tangle of dumb lines.
“Hurry it up,” the Queen’s Guard snapped.
The still-sleepy changeling started leading the pony towards an exit, herding her through the moving stone and crawling labyrinth to the outside of the hive. She walked outside with her, the changeling’s wings buzzing as a dry breeze blew across the badlands and over her shell. It smelled like dust and rot out there.
“Get out of here,” she growled, shoving her. The mare took one stumbling step. The changeling was getting frustrated. “What is wrong with you stupid ponies?!”
The mare gave her a look like a lost larva.
“This is why I hate getting rid of waste,” the changeling said. “They just can’t understand what’s going on. What is it, you spent so much time in the pod you can’t figure out reality?” She snorted.
The mare opened her mouth, trying to say something but unable to find the words, so emotionally and mentally exhausted that they just didn’t form. It was more of a response than the changeling was used to from the ponies that got brought to the hive.
“Somebug was a little sloppy draining you,” the changeling said. She grinned and lunged, grabbing the pony and siphoning her emotions, pulling the last few dregs of emotional energy out of her from whatever reserve they’d been hiding in.
She licked her lips, and the pony fell, unable to even stand.
“Mm. Not much, but at least it’s almost a meal,” the changeling said. She’d gotten just a tiny taste of the pony’s memories along with the energy. “Loop d’Loop… what a stupid name.” She kicked the fallen pony and walked away, feeling better already.
It was going to be a good day.