“Ok everypony, let’s practice those defense tactics I taught you.” said Bon Bon, addressing a collection of mares gathered in the ‘Mares for a Better Equestria’ meeting room, having just finished up on a more advanced self defense course than the one that the group normally provided.
It had been a few weeks since the rape incident in the park, and things had changed rapidly. The entire group was told every detail of what had happened a few days after, as Sunset Shimmer didn’t want to keep any secrets from the ponies who followed her, even if the news was scary. Hearing that a rapist had infiltrated their ranks quickly brought up declarations as to if stallions should be in the group, but Sunset squashed ideas of kicking out male members who had shown a willingness to cooperate with the program, unlike the stallion who was now in Equestrian custody.
Sunset understood the fears of the mares, but ensured that she had plans to make them feel safe, starting with more scheduled defense classes, which would be led by a more talented instructor than herself from then on, who had taken on the role. When Sunset had escorted Lyra home the night of the attack, the two got to talking about how she’d have to tell her marefriend what had happened, and Sunset offered to assist in that matter, seeing how it would be difficult to talk about such a recent rape to a loved one. Sunset didn’t even care that Bon Bon had been given treatment for her purpling via the memory erasure spells, contrary to Lyra’s fears, and the three had a long talk about the situation, which ended in Bon Bon joining the group in outrage of what happened, wanting to help in any way she could.
Strangely, the earth pony knew a lot about combat technique, for reasons she would only disclose to Sunset, and now she was the one running the self defense classes. Three times a week, she would train any mare who showed up to her course, which in the light of the recent event, ended up being every mare of the group. Then, after an hour of lecturing and hands on training, the stallions would be allowed in to act as sparring partners. This was all voluntary, as it had been before, but since the rapist had been against the idea of letting the mare practice their new skills on him, no stallion abstained in belief that if they did, it would make other members think they too might be a traitor hiding among them, which was something none them wanted. So when Bon Bon opened the doors, and called in the stallions waiting patiently outside, they all came in without hesitation, each in the belief that allowing themselves to be used as punching bags for the next hour was for the good of the mares, themselves, and Equestria on the whole.
The mares got to pick their partners, many of the stallions getting two mares at once, since multi-pony combat scenarios were practiced as much as solo encounters, as it was practically enforced now that every mare couldn’t travel without another one with them. Once the practice partners were selected, and everyone took a place in the room, Bon Bon gave the go ahead to get started, watching and giving out corrections to any mares who were still having trouble.
“Remember what we talked about, Carrot Top,” she said, passing by the orange mare, trying to be vague so no stallions could pick up on what the mares had been taught. The farm mare had picked Star Bright as her partner, who was still having a problem getting into the role of an ‘attacker’.
This didn’t bother Carrot as much as it once had though, as the news of another rape had sapped just a little more empathy out of the already nearly dry well she had reserved for males. She wasn’t so callous that she went out of her way to seriously hurt the outmatched unicorn, but she didn’t have any issue practicing her moves on him. A palm strike to the horn to disable his magic, into a head lock to pull him off balance, followed up by a sweep of his legs allowed her to flip the much weaker stallion forward, slamming his back on the mercifully soft matting laid across the floor.
“That was,” the stallion said between coughs, laying on lightly bruised muscles as he tried to catch the wind that had been knocked out of him, “A good one.”
“Yeah,” Carrot replied, enjoying the feeling of physical dominance she had over the prone male, “If this were a real fight, you’d be out for sure. But…” The mare crouched down, grabbing the stallion by the horn, punching it back as she squatted her knee right onto his throat, “If you weren’t I’d just pin you like this, till you passed out.”
The stallion felt the force of the mare’s whole body as it pressed down against his windpipe, but didn’t make a move against her. Partially because any more struggles would be a sign that he was still ‘playing his part’, and that would be the go ahead to keep up on her hold. Another part of it was that he wasn’t worried that she would take this too far, not like he used to be. He had been roughed up by many of the mares in the group by this point, but they always knew when to stop, which was more than he could say for some past experiences with other stallions when he was pulled into some rough housing. It was becoming a point that he was starting to trust mares handling him harshly than he did stallions in general, which included himself. This was due to the third reason he wasn’t fighting against the mare, because at the angle his eyes were at, it gave him a very good view of the mare’s body, a fact that he could both appreciate and feel ashamed about enjoying.
“Ok, next round,” Carrot said, lifting herself off the stallion to let him breathe, while guiding him back to his feet by the held horn, “This time make me sweat a little.”
“I-I’ll try,” Star Bright replied, having to mentally suppress an erection as the thought of sweat glistening across the earth mare’s body entered his mind. His lack of focus got him a palm across the muzzle, which was led to him being sent back to the mat, as a hand strike to the chest from the mare sent him tumbling to the ground.
Satisfied with Carrot’s display, Bon Bon moved on to a pair of pegasi fending off another team of pegasi males. The males were using the limited space provided to them to attempt some aerial maneuvers, while the mares were on the ground fanning wings in front of them. While the strategy of using your weight to ground a flying attacker was effective for unicorn and earth ponies, a female pegasus was too light to try the same tactic, thus Bon Bon showed them that they could use their feathers as a means to misdirect and shield them. It was to be used like waving a cape in front of a rampaging beast, waving the wings around to conceal where the body of the mare was, and allowing the feathers to take the impact of the blow. Since feathers didn’t feel pain and could be easily removed if needed, an attacker aiming for this large part of the body would find it fruitless, and leave themselves open for a counter attack from the mare. The only problem was that a mare using their wings like this couldn’t depend on the advantage their own flight would give them if they lost too many feathers, which is why those using their wings this way had to stay grounded.
The best thing about learning to fight this way was that it could be used in an enclosed space, where flying might not be possible, which many pegasi had to deal with as an obstacle when they were captured. Seeing that the pegasi were doing well on their own, Bon Bon let them continue as they were, and went over to where two unicorns were practicing, one being Lyra, and the other being Trixie.
The earth mare watched as the two struggled to play keep away with a white earth stallion that Bon Bon had come to know as Double Diamond, who looked to be holding himself back a bit. As the two mares did their best to land their practice knives on the stallion, he was able to weave around them, being a more athletic pony than most. Each time he’d dodge one of the floating prop blades, he’d go in on his own attacks, aiming for the horns of the two mares to disable them, as trying to pin one mare without doing so would just lead to the other hitting him while he was preoccupied.
In turn, the unicorns had to do their best to move their heads away from the incoming strikes, managing to narrowly miss getting hit time and again, though Bob Bon suspected that was because Double Diamond was not swinging as surely as he could. It looked like he was going intentionally slow, or aiming a little off target, as he never made an attempt to actually land a blow. He might have been doing it to keep from actually hurting the mares, but this was going to teach the two unicorns bad habits if they never got hit.
“Break, you three.” Bon Bon said, stepping in between the fight, snatching the unicorns’ weapons out of the air with ease, casually tossing them back to their mares.
As the unicorns fumbled to catch the props with their hands, Bon Bon directed her attention to Double Diamond. “Weren’t you part of Sunset’s rebellion group at one point? I’d expect more from a stallion as capable as you should be.”
“Yeah, but I was more a recon pony,” he replied, “Since I could navigate the terrain around our base better than other ponies.”
“I still think that you’re not putting your all into this,” Bon Bon remarked, “And if you don’t put in the effort, then they can’t learn from it.”
“Give him a break, Bon Bon.” Lyra said, taking a few heavy breaths, “We’re doing well enough to keep up with him as it is.”
“Yeah,” Trixie agreed, likewise winded, “I might have managed to take down a stallion before, but I’m not used to having to dodge fists being thrown at my face.”
Bon Bon could see that both the mares were not fighters, but in the case of Lyra she had known that for some time. It was one of the traits she found attractive in her marefriend, as she saw the unicorn’s more upbeat and peaceful nature as a bit of normality she needed in her life. However, with the world as dangerous as it had become, and Lyra already becoming a victim at the hands of a wicked pony who forced himself upon her, the unicorn no longer had the luxury of being naive and helpless.
“You both need to concentrate more on your multitasking,” Bon Bon said as she commented on their technique, “Unicorns have two ways of fighting. Either overwhelming an opponent with powerful magic, or out thinking their enemies. Since neither of you are capable of doing the first choice, you need to train your brains to do several things at the same time. You need to be quick on your hooves, direct your magic, and think about what your attacker is gonna do before they can.”
“That’s asking a lot,” Trixie said, hoping in the back of her mind that all this training was unnecessary, despite that notion being proven wrong once already.
“It is,” Bon Bon admitted, “And it’s not something every pony can do. The best we can do is make you as prepared as possible, which means you’ll have to learn how to cast spells under the most hostile of circumstances, which unfortunately includes when you’re taking a hit. I know that sounds terrible, but if you’re face to face with an enemy, they will not hesitate to do terrible things to you.”
Both Trixie and Lyra knew Bon Bon was right, but all this fighting wasn’t for them. If not for Sunset’s insistence that everypony had a moderate understanding on how to defend themselves, they’d both be sitting on the sidelines. Lyra might not have even been here, if not for her to support her marefriend’s involvement with the support group, as she had skipped these classes several times already. That the two had to accept taking a beating, if a restrained one, on top of that didn’t sit well for either of them.
They didn’t have to worry about that in the immediate sense though, as before their instructor could set up the next round against Double Diamond, the door to the room opened up, and in came Sunset Shimmer, followed by Starlight Glimmer, and a young looking earth stallion with a green mane and pale yellow fur, who looked to have only just reached adulthood, maintaining many of his more coltish features.
All the ponies already in the room stopped what they were doing, having a good idea what was about to happen, as this had happened many times prior in the time between the incident at the park and now.
“Listen up, everypony,” Sunset said, her tone direct, but upbeat, “We just got ourselves another new member to our group here. I want you all to say hi to Pistachio.” The ponies in the room gathered around the stallion, each already existing member wanting to get a good look at the newest addition to their ranks, “He just finished up his interview, and Starlight and I found him to pass with flying colors.”
The interviews were new, another consequence of the slightly successful rape attempt of a prior member of the group. All stallions, even the ones who had been part of the group for a while, had to come in and have a long talk with the leader of their area’s chapter. In it, they’d have to reveal lots of details about themselves, such as the things they had done during the Fall, what their reasoning was for joining the group, and if they had any unsavory thoughts about mares before the caribou even appeared, which could range from stray sexual thoughts to beliefs that a mare was in any way lesser than a stallion. This was all under the ideal that any negative thoughts held by stallions needed to be discovered and dealt with, if the poor males were ever to get over the guilt they felt towards the mares they had wronged. No stallion objected, as to do so would lead to exclusion from the group, in order to protect the female members.
“Young colt,” one of the unicorn stallions said, “You look like you’re no more than eighteen.”
“Nineteen,” Pistachio corrected, a bit timidly, a bit bashful being the center of attention.
“The poor boy spent his first year of adulthood in the caribou’s empire,” Sunset explained, “And was brainwashed by the Crystal Heart as all you stallions were.”
“Had he been a year younger,” Starlight added, “He’d had been given the memory erasing spell.”
“But the Committee of Ponies’s arbitrary cut off point fortunately spared him from that.” Sunset continued, “And now he’ll be able to be helped in a more constructive manner, with ponies who understand the problems he’s facing, instead of sweeping them under the rug.”
“Well it’s always good to see another stallion wanting to do right by mares,” Bon Bon said, stepping to the front of the crowd, turning around to gesture to them to take a step back, seeing that they were unnerving the young adult. Once that was finished, she put her attention back to Pistachio, “So, is this the one you wanted to talk to me about?”
“Yes,” Sunset replied, “He’ll be one of the first to be part of the new Ward Program. Already got his consent and everything.”
The brief conversation between the two got some of the ponies muttering among one another, as this was the first time hearing about a ‘Ward Program’. A few came to the conclusion Sunset meant the defense classes, but they had never been called that before.
Sunset picked up on the confusion very quickly, and was happy to let those present in on the details, “I’m sure you’re all wondering what the Ward Program is. Well, I don’t want to go too deep into it right now, but I’ve been talking with the other chapter leaders, and we want to try out a new type of therapy for our stallion members.”
“New therapy for us?” Star Bright asked, sounding very receptive to the idea of something geared towards the males of the group.
“Only for those who want to participate, and only a few at first,” Sunset said, “But It’s a more hand-on approach to dealing with some of the issues you all might be having, especially when it comes to interactions with mares. Starlight, if you’d care to fill everyone in.”
Starlight nodded, and said, “We are going to have a few mares that have displayed exemplary behavior in our group become the guardians of a select number of stallions. To provide round the clock guidance to them, and help stave off the urges they might feel when it comes to sex.”
“What does that mean?” asked Carrot Top, who was saying what was on the minds of all the other members.
“It depends on the guardian,” Starlight answered, “As they will be in full control of the stallion’s actions, though certain guidelines will of course need to be followed.”
“You knew about this?” Lyra asked Bon Bon, since it seemed like she had some prior knowledge about what was going on.
“Only since the start of self defense class today,” the earth mare replied, “Sunset caught me and asked me about taking in a stallion to keep them out of trouble. I said I’d have to talk to you first, and I didn’t realize it was part of some big project.”
Lyra didn’t need much more than Bon Bon’s word on the matter to believe her, but this matter was something that the pair would need to talk about more thoroughly, since it sounded like they would be taking Pistachio into their own home.
“You don’t need to worry about it immediately,” Sunset assured, “As we are planning to have this program started a week from now, at the Las Pegasus gathering.”
Unlike the idea of the Ward Program, no pony had any question about what the orange unicorn was talking about in this regard. The event had been talked about for some time, as a sort of emergency meeting among all the factions of the support group, once more prompted by the attack in the park. It was also heavily advertised, as another recruitment drive for new members, so flyers for it could be found in most cities, making it difficult for anypony not to know about it.
“When during our seminar, we’ll have a few stallions openly place themselves into the care of their designated guardians, which in Pistachio’s case will be Lyra and Bon Bon, should you two accept the role, perform a small act to show everyone that they will never relapse into the caribou’s ways. I’ll have to speak to all participants to explain the details in full, but that’s the jist of it.”
“And this is all purely voluntary?” asked a stallion from the crowd.
“Of course,” Sunset replied, “We want to make sure that each pony involved is comfortable, and while this might seem like a heavy handed approach, having stallions under the watchful eyes of a mare, we would never force a stallion into such a position. This is more for those stallions who believe they might give into temptation, as unsavory thoughts slip into their heads.”
“You’re worried about something like that?” Lyra asked, becoming a little concerned for the stallion.
“It’s not like I want to rape a mare,” Pistachio quickly refuted, “But… I’ve had thoughts about mares in the past, and even now when I think about some of the things I did to mares…” Pistachio hung his head shamefully, as he reflected on what the caribou had allowed him to do in his controlled state, how his memories made him feel, and not all of his thoughts on the matter were as purely negative as they should have been. “I’m just not sure if I could live with myself if I let my bad thoughts get the better of me.”
Lyra, seeing the earth stallion’s guilt, couldn’t help but sympathize with him. He was only just old enough to be called a full grown pony, and the Fall might have messed with him in more ways than most males. If he felt that taking preventative measures was something he needed, and she could be of help in that matter, she found it hard to come up with a reason not to assist. At least it was something that wouldn’t require her to hurt a pony, which already put it a step above learning how to fight.
“So as you see,” said Sunset, “We are just trying to help those who feel less in control than some of the rest of you. Though, if any members would like to be a part of this program, then please come to my office later this evening. For now… Why don’t we return to defense practice, and Pistachio, why don’t you be a good stallion and follow Bon Bon’s instructions for the rest of the day.”
“Is that ok, ma’am?” the pale yellow earth stallion asked the earth mare.
Bon Bon gave a soft huff, not expecting to have the coltish male pushed off on her this soon. “I don’t know. I’m the instructor for this course, and you’re gonna get in my way if you are just following me around.”
“Then…” Lyra said, stepping forward, “I’ll take care of him for the rest of the class. He can help me practice with my combat magic.” The unicorn didn’t give anyone a chance to object, and went up to the earth pony stallion to take him by the wrist, walking him to a far corner of the room.
“Looks like they hit it off,” Sunset said, “And that should take care of him till the class is over. I’ll leave the rest up to you, instructor.”
Sunset left the room, Starlight following behind her and closing the door. With the two unicorn’s gone, authority defaulted back to Bon Bon. “You heard them, ponies. We still have a bit of time left to train. Partner back up, and let’s use it the best we can.”
Each pony did just that, and soon sparing practice resumed, the small intermission between it over. Trixie lamented that a little, as she came to realize that with Lyra now practicing one on one with Pistachio, that left her alone with Double Diamond. That meant that all his attention was going to be focused on her now, which her face visibly expressed her displeasure with that prospect.
“Don’t worry,” Double Diamond said, noticing that Trixie looked unenthused, “I’ll go easier on you than before.”
“Thanks…” the blue unicorn replied half heartedly, not seeing any value in what would be a practice match between one pony not trying, and herself, who still wouldn’t measure up to the stallion with the handicap.
Practice still resumed though, and as Trixie did what she could to keep away from Double Diamond’s telegraphed attacks, her eyes would occasionally drift from her partner to Lyra, who wasn’t really continuing the training, so much as using up as much time as possible, acting like she was showing the new stallion what he was supposed to do, with her being so slow with each step that anypony could see she was just stalling.
A part of Trixie wanted to be bitter that she had to continue doing this when Lyra found a way out for that day, but the way the two ponies looked together, as Lyra guided him, was too cute to stay mad at. She soon found something else to be mad at though, as a palm strike finally landed on her face, knocking her to the floor.
“Oh crap, I’m sorry!” Double Diamond apologized in haste, though in reality it was Trixie who had, in her distraction, moved her head in the way of the attack that would have completely missed otherwise.
Seconds later, Bon Bon came to see the mare, flat on her back, dazed from the hit. “Ok, that’s enough for you today. Just lay down and take a break. Class is almost done anyways.”
Trixie groaned, but did as she was told, not moving anything but her eyelids until class was over, and it was time to put away all the equipment.
A little over a week later, and Trixie was stepping out of an airship, onto the solid streets of Las Pegasus that sat upon a formation of clouds. The unicorn was in the company of every pony she had become accustomed to being around, traveling together in one big group, though with most incapable of leaving the path, they weren’t in much danger of getting separated and lost. The streets were practically empty aside from them, much more so than any other city in Equestria, with all the resorts and casinos empty and shut down until further notice. It was strange to see this city, which could shine like a secondary sun in the night sky when fully functional, silent and dim.
This wasn’t helped by the fact that very few ponies actually lived inside the city prior to the Fall, commuting to work or staying at a hotel that was paid for by their place of employment, so no one outside of a stark few had a reason to be here. Trixie had heard that some of those hotels had been repurposed into mare shelters for displaced pegasi, but she had to assume that they would have been much nicer than the one she had lived in, and with no restoration work going on in Las Pegasus, there might have been little reason to leave such a place.
“Wow,” Lyra said, looking around at the sights that sat atop a formation of cumulus, “This place looks amazing.”
The unicorn mare was impressed with all the buildings, for all their extravagance, despite not being in operation. This was her first time here, so something like the many different themed structures lining the strip was enough to excite her.
“You should see it when it’s on,” Sunset Shimmer said, leading the group to their destination, “The neon lights, the noises, the other ponies flooding the streets as they go from one building to another to get in line for rides, gamble their bits, and watch acts performed by many talented ponies.”
“What kind of acts?” Lyra asked, becoming captivated with the thought of everything that went on in this glamorous city.
“Oh, you know,” Trixie said, thinking about the things that normally went on in Las Pegasus, “Plays, comedy acts, stunt shows… Magic acts…”
“Magic?” Lyra replied, taking note of the mare who mentioned it, “Did you have an act in Las Pegasus?”
“No,” Trixie replied, “But my dad used to be a headliner in one of the casinos.”
Trixie was never good enough to fit the standards of Las Pegasus. Even if she was incredibly good at levitation, and had been since a young age, the talent alone was far from spectacular enough to warrant a spot on stage, as the ability to float objects, even complex ones like Trixie could, was just too common for ponies to want to pay money to see.
“Well maybe when the city gets up and running again, we can all come and see his show together.” Lyra said, the anticipation of such a get together with her support group friends hyping her up.
Trixie didn’t have the heart to tell her that it was unlikely her father would be doing any more acts, with her knowing more about his current situation than the other unicorn did. The caribou had shipped her to Las Pegasus once, as they did with her to many cities, for a week to wait aside one of the restrooms, and perform the duties of a sexual relief mare at one of the casinos. From her spot at the wall she was chained to, the unicorn had a good view into one of the performance halls, and through the irony of some cosmic coincidence, one of the acts she had the unfortunate privilege of witnessing was her Father’s. It wasn’t anything special when it came down to it, just his normal act with moments of black collar humiliation and rape sprinkled in between.
After the performace, he had went to use the restroom she was stationed at, and for a moment Trixie was frightened that her own father was going to fuck her, in some fulfillment of a deep seeded perversion that had been brought to the surface due to the caribou. He had stopped in front of her for a moment, filling her heart with terror, but then casually moved over to an eager red collar kneeling next to her, and pushed his dick down her throat.
He didn’t even say a word to her, or made a gesture that made her think he even recognized his own daughter, which she was immensely thankful for. She did not want to become the victim of incest like so many other females had been forced into during their own enslavement, but that she wasn’t forced to do so only made her slightly more happy to instead be approached by his performance partner, a stallion by the name of Big Bucks, whom was a friend of the family. Big Bucks was perhaps the only stallion she sucked off willingly, taking measures to prolong his satisfaction, just to make sure her dad couldn’t use her after the red collar finished her task.
Some time after her liberation from the caribou, Trixie received a letter from her father, the postal service being one of the first functions of society to be restored, and at first she was hopeful that it was him trying to figure out where she was, to save her from the isolation and despair she felt when she lived in the mare’s shelter. Instead it spoke of how he was severely haunted by all the things he had done during the Fall, and that as much as he wanted to reconnect with her, he didn’t trust himself to have contact with her.
The reason for this, as her father explained, was that he had recognized her in that resort, chained up for use, and had contemplated using her. He wasn’t even sure why he didn’t, because there was a good part of him telling him to do so, but he chalked it up to the attractiveness of the red collar next to her. That he had even allowed Big Bucks to do what he pleased with her was too much for him after the brainwashing was gone, and while he knew of the mind control stallions had undergone, he felt it was best that he retained his distance from from not just her, but Big Bucks too, since he believed he couldn’t be around either without being reminded of what he had let happen. He could never forgive himself for allowing Trixie to be used like a common whore, nor Big bucks for having been part of that, and didn’t believe that Trixie should forgive either as well. It was such a depressing notion that Trixie didn’t even reply, her father becoming yet another figure in her life that she couldn’t put faith in.
“Maybe we should save that idea for some time later,” Bon Bon said, spotting a shift in Trixie’s demeanor at the mention of seeing one of her dad’s shows, being a bit more observant than her marefriend, “We should focus on today for right now.”
“Bon Bon’s right,” said Starlight, listening in on the conversation, “You’re all gonna have so much to do today, you won’t have time to think of anything else. The place we are going to go to will have an all day buffet, lots of games you can play for free for actual prizes, an open pool, and a concert later on to open for the seminar.”
“That does sound like a lot,” Lyra admitted, “Will there be any rides open?”
“Unfortunately no,” Starlight replied, “During the Fall, any rides Las Pegasus were repurposed in the typical caribou manner, and thus were disassembled once they were defeated. They have not been repaired yet due to the state of Equestria, since most of the materials that would be used for their construction have been put to better use.” Starlight took a moment to look over a clipboard she was carrying, flipping up a sheet on it, “Oh! But we did manage to get some bungee cords for the cloud diving attraction. Would you like to try something like that?”
“Would I?!” Lyra said, now anticipating a thrilling moment of leaping from an incredible height.
“How did you get all the ponies to pull all this together?” Bon Bon asked, knowing that everything Starlight mentioned required a good deal of horse power to operate.
“Most of the staff today are male members of our group who were asked to volunteer,” Starlight answered, “Even the concert will be done by a famous pony who joined one of our other chapters. A stallion by the name of Feather Bangs.”
“Feather Bangs is in our group?!” Lyra said before giving out a loud squeal, finding yet another thing to be excited over, “This is going to be awesome!”
“I’m glad you think so,” Sunset said, unable of ignoring the noises coming from Lyra, “I’m hoping that this will be very therapeutic for all the members. Something big and spectacular to help make new, pleasant memories.”
“Well I for one can’t wait for later tonight,” Carrot Top said, pretty much being one of Trixie’s group of friend’s at this point, if perhaps the most distant.
“Why’s that?” Trixie asked, “You curious about that guardian program?”
“Not as much as I was,” Carrot replied, “Since I decided to be part of it.”
Trixie was a bit surprised by that information, as watching over a stallion to ensure they didn’t do anything bad didn’t seem like something most mares would want to do. Then again, now that Lyra, Bon Bon, and Carrot Top were part of the program, it was Trixie who was the odd one out in her small circle of friends.
“Carrot Top came to me after I announced the program,” said Sunset Shimmer, “And asked me what mares were expected to do if a stallion was put in their care. After explaining the responsibilities, Carrot decided to join in herself, which was good, because right after we got another stallion who wanted to have a mare keep them in line.”
“So what are the responsibilities of a guardian mare?” Trixie asked, as that had yet to be fully explained.
“I’ll explain in due time,” Sunset replied, “But I want to wait for the seminar, when the entirety of our group will be present to hear it all at once. Enough about that though. We are coming up on our destination.”
The group of ponies could see Sunset wasn’t just trying to divert the topic, as they had stepped into a part of the strip that was becoming more and more filled with ponies, all of which were wearing the black neckerchief that identified them as members of Mares for Better Equestria. There had to be a few hundred present, so many that gathered in front of the building the event would take place in made a sizable obstruction in the street.
“That’s strange,” Sunset said, “They should have let everypony go inside. I’m gonna have to take a look at what’s going on. Starlight, keep watch over our group while I do.”
“Sure thing, Sunset.” Starlight replied.
Sunset separated herself from her chapter, leaving them at the back of the ponies clogging up the street. She had to work her way through them all, each pony just as confused as herself as to why no one could go inside, though she was able to spot the pony that would solve that confusion standing at the front door.
“Gladmane!” she yelled as she breached the front of the line, calling out to a heavy set earth pony stallion stationed behind a velvet rope blocking off doors. “What’s happening here? Why are the doors still shut?”
The earth pony, who was the owner of this particular resort building, had been wearing a worried look on his face as he prevented any of the ponies from entering. That eased up only slightly when he spotted Sunset Shimmer.
“I’m so glad you finally got here,” he said, rushing over to the orange unicorn, “Something has come up, and I think you’re gonna have to be the one to handle it.”
“I hope that you aren’t referring to opening the door and letting everypony inside,” Sunset said, not pleased that things weren’t already underway, and that her members were stuck outside, “Because I’d think that would be simple enough to understand.”
“No, it’s not that,” Gladmane answered, “But we have a little bit of a situation.”
“What kind?” asked Sunset, as she thought up some worst case scenarios on the spot, “Did the volunteers not show up yet? Is the food shipment late?”
“It’s better I just show you,” the stallion replied, being too flustered to just explain.
The earth stallion opened the door, and gestured to have the mare enter. Sunset couldn’t just go in without saying something to the ponies who had all come to be part of the event though, and thus she turned to face them all.
“Sorry everypony,” she said, using a spell to amplify her voice, “But it looks like something needs my attention before we can start. It shouldn’t take too long, so just sit tight. I’ll at least have an update for you all shortly.”
With that said, Sunset went inside, leaving a couple hundred ponies to stand out in the hot sun, to murmur to one another about theories of what could have happened.
The second the doors were closed, Sunset grabbed Gladmane and pulled him around a corner, pushing his back against a wall just out of sight, and pinning his head between her arms as she placed her hands on the same wall, leaning in on the now startled stallion.
“I thought we made our agreement clear,” the unicorn said, more adamant on addressing the issues immediately than she was in front of the hoard of ponies standing outside, “You let me have full use of this inactive resort casino for a day, and I’d petition the reopening of Las Pegasus as more than a halfway home for displaced rape victims.”
Sunset might not have had any real authority in the matter of whether or not certain businesses that were deemed unnecessary could be allowed to run again, but with her members, and a few connections she had made, she had a good deal of sway when it came to public opinion. Enough that she could convince a pony like Gladmane she could get up and running again, instead of letting it sit and gather dust.
“So I’d like to know what you think is important enough to make me look stupid by locking my guests outside?”
“So that’s how you got Gladmane to agree to this.” said a voice from behind the unicorn, a voice that instantly let Sunset know that Gladmane had actually made the right choice.
The unicorn gave a sigh, and grew a smile on her muzzle, as she pulled herself away from the earth stallion. “Celestia,” she said, turning to face the alicorn, along with a small band of royal guards that accompanied her, “I’d say I was surprised to see you here, but that would only be because I expected Princess Luna in your place.”
Celestia didn’t look too pleased at that moment, having overheard the details of Sunset’s agreement with Gladmane. “Sunset, you know that Equestria is recovering from a crisis. We need to manage our resources so every pony can be assisted by their needs.”
“Really?” Sunset said, looking back at Gladmane, nodding her head to the side to tell him to leave, now that she was taking care of the problem, a prompt he gladly obeyed. Sunset waited for the stallion to leave her sight, and then added, “And yet many mares are still being shoved into every nook you can find for them. Before the caribou, something as small as a small town being rebuilt would have taken the better part of a day. Right now, the Committee is so disorganized and slow that it can take a week to get a few houses done.”
Celestia couldn’t refute Sunset’s accusation, though it was more complicated than the unicorn made it out to be, this stunted progress to the kingdom’s restoration being the product of widespread disruption of the harmony of its people. When ponies worked together, trusted one another, and utilized their talents as a group of individuals with a single goal, they were capable of great things. When they were forced together, with thoughts of mistrust of the pony beside them, the results were often poor.
“So let me guess,” Sunset said, “You don’t like what I’m doing here, and you’ve come to shut me down. If that is the case, then I’d suggest you get one of the Committee to come and tell all those ponies waiting outside that they’d wasted a trip coming here. You’re no longer our ruler, so you have no authority to-”
“I’m not here to stop you,” Celestia interrupted, wanting to quelch the hostility coming from Sunset, “Even with your little quid pro quo you set up here, you’re not doing anything that would be deemed worth preventing.”
“Then… Why are you here?” Sunset asked, having predicted the possibility of the Committee wanting to cancel her event, since she was a bit of a political adversary to them.
“I was actually hoping that you’d allow me to participate in what you’re doing here today,” Celestia admitted, “But I didn’t think it would be good for me to just walk in, seeing that the views some of your members have of me are poor.”
“Well getting here early to wait for me with a bunch of goons isn’t much better.” Sunset said, “But…”
The unicorn considered the request. This could have easily been an attempt of Celestia’s to spy on her organization’s activities, but Sunset knew her former mentor enough to see when she was trying to hide something, and in this case it seemed like the alicorn only showed sincerity. “I have to say this is unexpected. I thought you’d want as little to do with me as possible, after I struck out on my own.”
“You might not believe me,” Celestia replied, “But I still believe that cooperation between you and the members of the Committee would help Equestria in its recovery. If not with you as a committee member, then maybe in some other ways.”
“Is that what this is about?” asked Sunset, “You trying to convince me to join up with the Committee? If that’s it, then I’ll tell you now that I’m not going to be their lackey. I left it to begin with because I disagreed with how things were ran within it.”
“That’s not what I want,” Celestia answered, “As I know you’re not the type to defer to others when you feel you are in the right. The thing is, I think that you have some good ideas, seeing how well organized and motivated you’ve gotten the ponies in your organization. Ideas that maybe the Committee should hear, but the animosity between you and them makes it hard to take advice, even sound advice, from you. I would like to discuss this further with you, if you would, but I also don’t want to keep your guests waiting any longer than they already have. So please… May I spend the day here with you so we can talk over what I have in mind?”
Celestia’s request actually surprised Sunset, as she was thinking that the alicorn was wanting to have free reign to do as she pleased at this event. Instead it looked like Celestia wanted to spend it with her. That was a matter that complicated things a bit, but could also have some advantages for Sunset if Celestia was being legitimate.
“I suppose it wouldn’t kill me to spend the day with my old teacher,” said Sunset Shimmer, which got a smile to form on Celestia’s face, “But… I would have a few stipulations, since I’m trying to make this a safe place for all my members.”
“That’s fair.” Celesita said, realizing her very presence would put some attendees on edge.
“Then let me set my terms real quick.” Sunset said, as she untied her neckerchief.
Outside, everyone was waiting for any sign of what was going on within, having pretty much exhausted all ideas of what it could be amongst one another, and now just needing a definitive answer. Until that was given to them, all the speculation in the world meant nothing, as they’d still be waiting for permission to enter the building.
“How much longer do you think it will take?” asked Lyra, concerned with the delay, fearing that something serious happened that might cause Sunset to cancel the plans they had.
“It’s only been ten minutes,” Bon Bon assured her marefriend, despite being curious herself.
Trixie was, surprisingly, ok with the delay in contrast. Perhaps because she didn’t really have a desire to go in and mingle with all the other members of the support group’s other chapters. The one interaction she had with other groups didn’t end too well, but that’s because it took place at Canterlot Castle, and involved the previously red collared princesses. The blue mare had to remind herself that without the presence of the princess, the other ponies wouldn’t have a reason to cause any problems, and that would allow for better interaction between the less familiar members of their organization.
As Trixie made these mental notes to calm herself, Sunset reappeared at the entrance, opening all the doors, and casting a spell, her volume increasing spell once more. “Mares and Stallions,” she said, addressing the crowd. “I’m glad to announce that the problem has been taken care of, and you’ll all be able to come inside and enjoy yourself shortly.”
All the ponies gathered outside were relieved to hear that whatever had happened didn’t prevent things from going forward, and Lyra herself showed her excitement that they’d soon be allowed inside by hopping on spot.
“Before we begin though, I have a small announcement,” Sunset Shimmer said, “As we have a surprise guest joining us today. She had seen our fliers, and thought that it was a good opportunity to see how we all did in a social function. So please give an… understanding welcome to our guest, the former ruler of Equestria, Celesita.”
At the utterance of her name, the white alicorn stepped out the door in a dignified, if a little sheepish, manner. Celestia knew that she was not seen favorably among those here, the pelting she received from a member of the group still a fresh memory, and as murmurs started to rise from the a herd of her former subjects, she could see that few we pleased to see her.
Though Celesita had expected this response to her introduction, she had agreed to let all attendees see her, so Sunset could ease them into the idea of her presence. This was Sunset’s first stipulation, as the orange unicorn wished for all her members to feel safe and comfortable, and by her account that wouldn’t be possible if the alicorn was walking around the place without some form of explanation for her being there.
“Come on, everypony,” said Sunset, likewise seeing the tension rise, “I know we all have our thoughts about Celestia, but she has come here today to learn how we benefit the ponies that have joined our group. She has even agreed to wear our symbol of resistance, to show that she endorses our message.”
Upon mentioning it, ponies in the crowd took notice of a black cloth around the white alicorn’s slender neck, though Celestia’s head was angled downwards, as if she was trying to hide it behind her chin.
“Sunset…” Celestia said quietly, conflicted by what the mare was saying. The alicorn wasn’t opposed to her former student’s activities or message, but to say she endorsed it was a step too far. She had agreed to wear the neckerchief because it was another one of Sunset’s stipulations, insisting that the small show of solidarity would make ponies feel better, but now she felt she was tricked into some political stunt.
“Ahem,” Sunset said, hearing Celestia’s near silent protest, “Perhaps I misspoke a bit. What I meant to say is that our guest is wearing it in approval of our gathering, and as a sign that she wants to make an effort to understand what makes our organization so special. So please, for the rest of today, try to grant her a small amount of forgiveness, if only to help make this as enjoyable as possible for all of us.”
Sunset paused for a moment, and received a very light applause to her declaration of momentary peace. It was clear to anypony that this show of tolerance was only given because the group’s leader was requesting it. Celestia would have to accept that though, as she understood that her previous life as a red collar, though removed from her memories, was far from removed from those she once ruled over.
“With that all said,” Sunset continued, “I declare that the festivities… begin! Please, come inside and partake in anything and everything that the resort has to offer.”
With the awkward introduction now over, the members of Mares for a Better Equestria were permitted entrance to the building. Both Sunset and Celestia stood off to the side as hundreds of ponies entered through the doors, most of which doing their best not to send dirty glares or worried glances in the direction of the alicorn as they walked past, with a few failing at this task, while others did so intentionally.
Celestia herself couldn’t help but feel like she was on display, put before the condemning eyes of those she failed to protect, the shame of her prior life in the Fall bringing shame upon her.
Sunset didn’t mean for this to happen.
She told herself, needing to believe that this wasn’t some vindictive act from the unicorn. Besides, it was more likely that she just wanted ponies to believe she had the support of an alicorn, as she had portrayed earlier.
Eventually, the mass of colorful pony forms had reached its end. Only a few were left to go inside, but these particular ponies stopped just short of the door, walking up to Sunset directly. Three unicorns, and a pair of earth ponies. Strangely, Celestia knew most of these ponies. Two of them used to go to her school for gifted unicorns, while one of the earth ponies was a secret agent named Sweetie Drops, who worked for Celestia in missions that involved catching dangerous magical creatures. Last she had heard, Sweetie had gone undercover, but Celestia didn’t know if that was still the case after all that had happened.
Then there was the pink unicorn among them, who Celestia had come to know of recently, though the alicorn couldn’t say that she actually knew her. Only that she was a mare Sunset knew during the Fall, whom the orange mare had taken responsibility for during time in the Committee. Sunset had taken it upon herself to become a guardian for the pink mare, perhaps because Sunset felt responsible for her. It was one of the first things Sunset did as part of the Committee, and at the time Celestia saw it as a positive sign.
“Hello, Princess Celestia,” said Bon Bon, greeting the alicorn with a brief bow.
“You don’t have to be so formal,” Celestia replied to the display, “As you know, I’ve stepped down as princess.
“You did?” Bon Bon commented in a mild show of surprise, “You’ll have to forgive me. I just got out of the hospital a few weeks back, and I’m still catching up with all the details.”
“Got out of the…” Celestia pieced together what was going on quickly, “Then you must have had your memories removed due to purpling. You have my condolences.”
“That was a great speech,” said Starlight Glimmer to Sunset Shimmer, checking over the clipboard she had been carrying, “And everything was resolved quickly enough that we shouldn’t have to move around your schedule at all.”
“Actually,” Sunset said, positioning herself over the shoulder of her assistant, “I think that we’ll need to cancel this part of the seminar.”
Sunset’s finger landed at the very bottom of the board, to which Starlight replied, “Sure, I can make arrangements to put a halt to that one. Weren’t you hoping to reveal our work to all our members tonight?”
“Yes, but it can’t be helped at this point.” Sunset Shimmer said, “We’ll just have to hold it off for some other time.”
“Sunset, whatever it is you had in mind, I don’t want to be the reason you don’t do it tonight.” Celestia said, wishing to see everything that Sunset had in mind for this event’s activities.
“No offense, but it’s a little too late for that,” Sunset said, “I want my guests to get enough time of relaxation and recreation before I get into the more heavy aspects of why we are here this evening, and with the delay that came from postponing their entry, I fear we’re an hour behind.”
“Then I’m sorry,” Celestia said. She expected her presence to cause a bit of a disruption, but didn’t think that it would change things this significantly.
“It’s fine, really.” Sunset said, “You’ll see more than enough tonight, and what I had in mind there was just a small demonstration of things I have planned for the future. It isn’t even a finished project, so it won’t hurt if we can just save that for the next event. I’ll even invite you to the next seminar, so long as things go smoothly tonight.”
Celestia understood this was Sunset telling her that she would be allowed to see what mysterious demonstration was so long as she was on her best behavior, which was a bit humiliating coming from a mare the former princess had to prevent from achieving the evil aspirations Sunset once had. Still, Celestia wanted to believe that her former student meant this simply in the manner that the alicorn didn’t cause a disturbance for the other guests, which was something Celestia had to accept.
“So… what are we all waiting for?” Sunset said, looking at the members of her chapter, who seemed to be waiting on her to enter with them, and were the only ones who hadn’t entered yet, “Let’s get inside and have some fun.”
Taking Celestia by the hand, Sunset entered the casino, hastily pulling her mentor inside.
“Come along everypony,” Starlight said, ushering in the rest, who followed her inside.
Among the group, Trixie found herself following right behind the pink unicorn, in a position to watch her make adjustments to the schedule on her clipboard. There wasn’t much to it, since all she was doing was shifting around a couple of times she had listed, and crossing out the last entry.
Before Starlight could cover it in black lines, Trixie got a peek at what the event was supposed to be, and all it said was ‘Demonstration for Phase Three’. Trixie, not knowing the inner workings of the support group, could only ponder as to what that meant, as she didn’t even know what the Phases before that could be. If given a guess, Phase One was probably establishing the group, but without being given any clues, there was no way she’d know what Phase Two was. Perhaps it didn’t matter to her, a pony who was just a beneficiary of the support group’s actions.
Or perhaps whatever this Phase Two was would be something Sunset Shimmer would be revealing during the course of this event.