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// Chapter 3: All You Have to Lose are Your Chains 
// Story: The Story of Reik: The Communist Revolutionary: MLP 
// by Reik 
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	THE SUN HUNG like an eternal fixture in the sky above, but the falls cold overwhelmed any warmth the floating orb might bring. Reik had genuinely enjoyed his visit with the farmer George; it stirred feelings of warmth and positivity he had long since thought dead to his being to see face enlightened and cheered by his teachings and philosophy. It was a look he rarely came upon in his travels. The farmer’s wife’s meal sat well in Reik’s stomach; it gave him renewed strength and energy. Since his past ordeals and troubles, the visit at George’s farm seemed to relight the flames of faith and hope in Reik. He was reminded of the severity of his aim. His cause was real; its effects would be real. Though they didn’t stand physically beside him, Reik could feel the hopes and aspirations of the workers across all of Equestria resting and relying on him and the revolution. He felt unstoppable; he felt as if he could stand hoof to hoof against Celestia and every tool at her disposal. His hoofs felt lighter with each new thought of defiance and he even began to contemplate what he would say when he and the princess came face to face. But this new feeling of impunity did not trump his understanding and paranoia of the real world, which is why he ducked into the tree line along the trails edge as two royal guards came into view.

Canterlot loomed in the distance; Reik had made good time throughout the day. The sun was just beginning to wane and Reik calculated he could scale one of the less conspicuous paths up the cliff and infiltrate the castle by sundown. The trees were beginning to recede from the trails edge and small patches of grass quickly formed a border between the civilized trail and the primal forest. Reik quickly lost faith in his position as the guards’ approached and began ducking and weaving through the thick brush to find a new position. Branches and grasses quickly accumulated across his mane and a wicked branch lashed across is side, breaking the first layer of skin. A small gated house in a clearing came into view, it was one level and surrounded by a lush collection of trees and bushes which must have been a small garden. Reik stormed towards the gates entrance, appearing in the open for only a second. He went to ground amid the dense wilderness, crawling through the branches seeking a proper refuge. The wound at Reik’s side screamed in agony as grasses and dirt washed across it. The guards continued along the path speaking in hushed tones. Reik judged their distance to be fairly close be their voices. He continued to swim in the greenery as leaves stuck to his sweating form. Reik suddenly encountered a wooden panel; he looked up and found himself parallel to the house, right next to the door. He stopped a second to examine the houses details. Its owner, if it still had one, had obviously lost interest in keeping the place clean. Cobwebs hung in every crevice and opening, added with the dust and filth along the surfaces. The house appeared to be abandoned. The front door creaked into life, sliding inward. 

“Get off my property! This house isn’t abandoned just yet!” The female voice was harsh and annoyed; this had evidently occurred in the past. One of the guards spoke, his voice was hinted with boredom, as if he too had gone through this routine before. “Ma’am, you eviction notice is already posted, you have two days left and I’m not seeing much progress in your leaving. I don’t want to force you out but I will if it comes to that.” There was a pause before anyone spoke, Reik assumed the two speakers where staring each other down. “I’ll be out of your hair in good time” The tone was laced with defeat and sadness; Reik had trouble believing that the same woman who had just spoken with such command and fury to two royal guards was now succumbing to their will. “Just make sure you’re gone when we come back” the guards exiting footsteps where soon lost to the dampening effect on the garden. Reik realized he had been holding his breath and exhaled. Reik silently rose and found his way onto a small path cut through the foliage. “And who might you be?” Reik turned to see the female pony staring at him from atop the houses stoop. Her mane was red and sleek, her brown eyes where laced with repressed sadness, she had clearly been crying recently, and a pair of wings rested on her mane. A thread and needle stood as her cutie mark. Reik’s mind raced for an answer, he could not allow himself to be exposed. He put on a wide smile and spoke, shaky at first, but firm by at the end. “I’m here to, err, to fancy your wares,” It was the product of necessity and panic but Reik mentally kicked himself for such a stupid excuse. He could already imagine this pony calling out to the distant guards, they’d come running back and he’d be lucky if he spent the rest of his days in a dark, empty dungeon. The pony raised a suspicious eyebrow. Reik cringed away, afraid to turn his head to look for an escape route lest she suspect something. “Fancy my wares? What are you, some kind of elite pure blood?” Her eyes bored into Reik searching for any sign of lying, had she been any good at reading body language, perhaps she would have seen through Reik’s deception. Reik took a shaking step forward. He took a leap of faith based on her cutie mark. “I heard that you where seamstress? It’s rather cold out here and I was wondering if I could acquire a coat.” The pony regarded him with an icy stare for several heart pounding seconds. “Your information is a little outdated my friend, I quit that job long ago.” A flash of emotion crossed her face. Reik had it a tender spot. “I can pay, are you sure you can’t help me.” Reik took several steps forward, careful not to venture to far so as not to look intruding. The pony relaxed her stance and spoke. “I suppose I could help you. Come in.” She turned and walked into the house. Reik quickly stepped into the home, eager to escape the biting cold.

The house did little to slow the airs chill. Reik’s breath still turned to steam in front of him. The houses interior held little improvement from its exterior. Cloths racks lined many of the walls, most of which were occupied by molding and old cloths. Several dusty sewing machines rested on a table near the rear entrance. A three way mirror with one cracked face stood silently in a corner. Had it not been for the homey qualities like furniture and pictures, Reik would have mistaken the building for a clothing store. Reik could tell the house and its owner had seen better days. He could tell she had once been very successful. “Hey, would this work?” Reik turned from his examination to see the female pony standing in the doorway to another room, behind her where stacks off cloth and sewing utensils. The coat she had selected for him was a modest one. It was grey with a red trim and had many pockets. It was dusty and Reik wondered whether or not it was made in this century.  To him it was beautiful. “It’s perfect.” Reik stepped forward, examining the clothing. “Good, try it on and see how it feels.” 

Iris watched as the black pony stepped towards the three way mirror to examine the moth ridden piece of garbage she had chosen for him. It was trash but it was the best she had. A sudden memory floated to her attention, a memory of a better time, a time when ponies formed lines out the door to buy her clothes. She pushed that memory from her thoughts; she didn’t need another breakdown today. She had things to do, things to pack. The eviction noticed clawed at her from the back of her mind. Where will I go? The thought pierced her conciseness and again she suppressed it with false ideas and hopes. She had friends in other places, she knew people along the road. She repeated that over and over, to convince herself it wasn’t over but deep down she knew it was a lie. She would rot on the streets, forced to live in the squalor and muck. “Iris” she snapped out of her thoughts and pack into reality at the mention of her name, the black pony continued to speak as he examined himself in the mirror. “’Iris’s fine clothes and accessories’. I heard it was the pinnacle of pony fashion. A monument to all clothing endeavors. Every city and village that I’ve been to, at least one third the population knew of your work.” He turned his head to face her. “Are you the great Iris?” She stumbled over her words, wondering how this pony knew of such things. “Y-yes, how did you? Who are you?” she stopped in mid sentence, the black pony cut her off. “I am Reik, but tell me how a pony as successful as you, fell into such disarray.” Her words were brutal and cold, they held no compassion. “Competition. My work fell out of fashion, the spotlight fell on another.” Reik was unimpressed, as if he had heard this story a dozen times. “Fell out of fashion, to whom?” Iris went over her memory searching for the name of the pony that brought her to this ruin. “Rarity,” Her voice was barely above a whisper. Reik tilted his head sideways, as if he too was searching his memory for any relevance that name may have. He looked back at Iris. “So you just rolled over and succumbed to this problem.” Iris suddenly felt a pinch of anger. How dare he insult her? How dare he demean her?  He was not their when Iris and all her work was deemed ‘dull’ or ‘out dated’. He was not their when they closed her store and informed her of an eviction notice. “Who are you to insult me!” she took a step forward. Reik’s expression and stance remained unchanged. “What was I supposed to do?” Her voice became shaky; she could feel the tears welling behind her eyes. Her head lowered, she didn’t want this stranger to see her in such a weak and pitiful state. “Resist.” The voice was quiet, almost a whisper, it was calm and soothing. The tears seemed to retreat at Reik’s sudden change in tone. Iris looked up to see the black pony standing in front of her, his head lowered to so that they where eye to eye. In his eyes she saw strength and courage. 
“All you have to lose are your chains.” The words hung in the air like a storm cloud. Iris suddenly felt empowered. He was right, what had she too lose? What more could they take away? For the first time since her descent into squalor she felt like she mattered, like she had value. She felt as if, perhaps, things could be different. Power and strength surged through her being, but where to direct this energy she thought. Reik smiled and snapped his head up towards a corner of the room. “I think I’ll also take that peaked cap, the one with the visor.”  

THE COAT BILLOWED behind Reik as he advanced down the road. He pulled the coats collar tight around his neck. The mountain towered above him; Reik could see glimpses of the mountain path cut into the rock through the tree cover. Canterlot loomed high above in the distance on the mountain side. Unfortunately, he didn’t have enough time to fully explain and discuss communism. He did have enough time to persuade her to reconsider her departure. Somepony like her would be useful in a new Equestria. He even got a hold of some silk and fashioned a gold hammer and sickle on his black cap.

The trees where becoming less packed the closer he got to the mountains base and the temperature was slowly dropping. The sky was a bright orange, the sun hung just above the horizon like hawk above its prey. The trail became less defined as he ventured farther into the brush. Soon the only landmark guiding him was the mountain trail, it hovered above the trees and snaked its way down the cliff face. Reik finally came to a clearing. There was a small border running the length of the mountain’s base, forming a wide barrier between the forest and rock. Reik paused; his hoof hovered above just outside of the tree line. He withdrew it on impulse and sank back into the foliage scanning the twisting trail for any sign of occupation. Three guards suddenly appeared on the trail, as if materializing from thin air. Two pegasi and one Earth, they were slowly making their way down the mountain side along the trail. Reik gave a quiet moan at his hubris. He didn’t know the guard shifts. He gritted his teeth at the thought of his glorious revolutionary mission being foiled by one stray guard patrol. The trio stopped when they reached the bottom, the two pegasi guards turned on the earth pony. Although he could not hear their conversation, and although the earth pony towered above the two others, Reik could tell the pegasi where chewing him out. The earth pony lowered his head and shrank into the mountain side. He spoke very little and not very often, just yes and no. The two pegasi guards where vicious, their expressions and body language hinted deep frustration and anger. Eventually the conversation stopped and the two pegasi guards took flight, rising above the forest and soaring over Reik’s position. The earth pony hung his head and began marching up the trail again. When he was sure the earth pony was far enough up the trail he sprung from the tree line, running across the grass to get onto the trail and start he ascent. His eyes snapped up to the guard. He quickly turned his gaze forward again, what if he saw him? It didn’t matter thought Reik. Reik was soon on the trail, snaking his way up the mountain side. The path was only wide enough for one pony, a thin one at that. Out of fear he began hugging the wall, scraping the side of his coat against its face He was making good time at first, but soon the guard came into view and Reik’s heart sank. He immediately realized that the pony was too slow. It would be midnight by the time they made it to the top and by then another guard patrol might take this same path. Time was of the essence. The guard would have to be removed. It saddened Reik to do this. He wasn’t worried about the possibility of being caught, this far out, nopony would here a thing as Reik cast the guard over the edge and into eternity, no one would find his body either. No, it was the thought of taking a life to achieve his goals. Reik would to anything and everything in his power to topple Celestia but murder? Even to Reik that seemed cold and ruthless, he always knew a hostile takeover would be violent and he had gone over all the possibilities in his mind dozens of times, but now that the time had finally come, the decision to take this ponies life was at hand. For the good of the future it had to be done. Reik waited for them to reach the optimal height. He kept his distance until the final moment. Just as they came to a bend, he broke into a run. As the guard turned exposing his full flank Reik lowered his head like a ram and charged. Reik had heard stories of people freezing before they made a kill, he read extensively on those who had gone through a sudden soul searching before the final act. He felt nothing; it was all just another problem that needed a logical solution. His feet suddenly went out from under him. There was a loud crack and the ground around Reik crumpled away, falling into the trees below. Reik lashed out at the rocks surface, looking for purchase. His back hooves lost ground and where soon hanging over the edge, like the limbs of a limp doll. Reik found a small outcrop and clutched to it with an iron grip. For a moment everything stopped, all he could hear was the wind and his breath. Then a voice called out.

“Reik?” He looked up into the face of the guard he had aimed to kill. The guard looked down at him.

“Vladimir?” and then the outcrop too fell away, and he was cast into the cool evening air.