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// 18 - The Sun Rises 
// Story: Horse-Based Economy 
// by David Silver 
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The ponies of Ponyville, the ones that had already been there, watched with wide eyes and slack jaws as their population seemed to more than double without warning. The vaulters looked familiar enough. Most of them were fully clothed and felt significantly closer. The tribals were naked and had a wild edge they could see and feel. 

Rarity was one of the first ponies to step forward. "What we need is a fashion glam-up!" She took the tribals, all of them, under a wing and joyfully led them all down the road to civility, starting with the glee of wearing clothes to identify oneself and express their inner self out into the world.

Sure, they tore them more frequently than the townies or vaulters, but that just meant she had steady work to do.





Celestia got her ponies, but she also lost being the only pony of significance. She nodded to each of the others. Lyra and Skyline, rulers of the vaulters. The elders of the tribe, Buttercup among them. Each were the leaders of their communities. Neither community was ready to simply forget either of them just because they had been relocated to Ponyville.

She had a choice, either fight it and make a lot of unhappy ponies, or accept them and the awkwardness having so many leaders together would bring. "You have been through much." She spread her wings slowly. "I can't undo that, but I can welcome you to Ponyville." She twitched an ear at the sound of hammering and sawing. "Ponies and robots alike are very busy making homes for you all. You are all welcome here, provided you follow the simple rules we have." She nodded to all parties. "Speaking of those..."

Celestia looked to the elders first. "I know you have held an honored position of authority. The rules you are used to are the ones you set yourself." She turned to overmares, a curious name with one of them being a stallion. "I've been an overmare myself. This is an extension of that work. You are..." She paused, tapping a hoof on her chin. "Your people look up to you, and will continue to do so. I would like to enlist your help. This community has grown faster than I expected or even dreamed. I will give the final laws, but it is through your words that they will arrive and be understood."

Lyra saluted sharply. "You got it, big mare." She inclined her head a little. "You are big."

"You mentioned that." Skyline thumped her lightly. "We'll do our part. Thanks for welcoming us in."

Buttercup stood up. "This is scary." The elders behind her nodded. "Not a fancy way of saying that, I know, but it is... It's scary, for us, for the rest of us that aren't elders... We have one pony chasing us down and putting clothes on us." She raised an arm, showing off the bright yellow sundress she had on. "She insists it will help, somehow. I wasn't cold before." She took a moment biting into it and pulling it into a better position. "But we know how this works. We'd have done exactly the same if ponies wanted to join our village. The village rules are the ones you follow if you live there. And we hardly have a choice..."

Celestia sighed gently. "I don't want to keep any of you here against your will."

Buttercup inclined her head outside. "The robots are doing that for you. But that's beside the point. We understand. You are the elder of this village." The other elders nodded in solemn agreement.

Like that, the power dynamics were settled. Would that humans could handle things so smoothly.





Couriers aren't couriers without movement. Stan had other things to deliver. Rarity gave him quite the list of things that needed getting, even more than just that shampoo ingredient. So many new ponies meant wild demand for a lot of things. He just had to get them and bring them back. Easy.

That'd be another story how that went.





Applejack was a pony. Her clip-clopping hooves and swishing tail made that very clear. She liked being one of those. It was a shame that such a condition meant the robots didn't want her to leave the town. Her insistence that she was a courier fell on deaf digital ears. She was a pony, so she was supposed to remain in Ponyville, with the other ponies, living a fine pony life.

But she had friends. A little help from Fluttershy gave her a shell of metal. It looked incredibly fake to any pony onlooker, but to a robot... She didn't look like a pony. She didn't look like a proper robot, but she also didn't look like a pony. She quietly walked out of town, making sure to not make a single clip or a clop. She wouldn't be stopped from her job, or sticking by Stan's side.





Applejack's breakout was a signal to other ponies. The robots were extremely precise, but not that accurate. The tribals swarmed Rarity with a new request, and soon they would sneak out of town, not all at once, but they would hunt and forage, a pony or two at a time. All they had to do was conceal their forms when they went.

They could be visible when they returned. The robots were happy, overjoyed even, to bring a pony back into town. They never seemed to catch on that they kept 'finding' the same ponies over and over and over again. Morale around town lifted with their spirits. They had jobs again, selling and offering what they found out in the wastes. 





Twilight set up her equipment in her new home, with whirling gizmos and crackling thingamajigs. She had so much to examine and experiment on. That hadn't changed, even if her setting had. She was eager to get back into it.  She had her things ready and clopped her hooves with the joy of it. "Finally. Time to..."

A knock at the door made her grunt. "Who or what is that?" She stormed for the door and willed it open with her glowing horn. "Yes?"

Fluttershy shrank back. "Oh! Sorry... Is this a bad time?"

Twilight blinked at the pegasus she had found. "No, hello? What... can I help you with?"

Fluttershy perked up, wings giving a little flap. "I was told you're equally as interested in the workings of robots."

Twilight perked up just the same, the two mirroring one another. "I, yes. Actually..." She gestured at some of her tools. "I was going to examine some of them. I imagine they need upkeep, and I was going to use the opportunity--"

"--to give them a thorough inspection." The two nodded at one another in complete agreement. "Can I help?"

"S-sure?" Twilight hadn't had help with her work before... But it could be nice.





The town of Ponyville had grown rapidly, but it hadn't lost its identity. It was a lovely pony town in the middle of the wastelands. They welcomed all comers, if they came in peace. The robots made painful ends of those who came in any other way. They weren't perfect, but they did a good job deterring most from considering it an easy target.

It was in that town that the first wave of foals grew in. They had to build a school, but the whole community was overjoyed to lend a hoof and kind words to their children. Lyra's foal was one of many that budded in the fertile soil of the new town. It was, perhaps, a sign of their loss, but foal rates among the newcomers were noticably higher than that of the original townies, especially the tribals.

"The spirits of our brave warriors have found new lives," welcomed Buttercup, older, smiling. "New generation of warriors, you must listen well at school."  She pointed to the new building. "You will learn the skills you need, and become new powerful ponies for the tribe."

"I'll be the strongest!" insisted one eager foal.

"I'm gonna be a scientist." One mare smiled, eyes full of hope for the future.

Buttercup inclined her head. Scientist was not what she had expected little warriors to dream of becoming, but it was a new day.





Sam's route became shorter. He didn't have to go three different places to visit the ponies. They would welcome him with waves and calls each time he wandered into town. "Say, one thing." He began setting up his little stand of goods to sell. "Whatever happened to Bessy?"

The sheriff that was nearby pointed the way. "Oh, we're taking care of her, and she's givin' her milk and love in turn. The foals love her to death."

"That's real nice." Sam flipped a crude sign down, listing the prices of things. "Got a new one." He patted his new bovine companion. "His name's Buster."

Buster gave a moo of greetings, their other head still chewing grass without a care.

"Howdy, Buster." The sheriff tipped his hat. "Now, ah'll be sure to stop by when ah ain't on duty. Ya got other customers anyway."

He wasn't lying. Other ponies were already gathering up to buy, sell, or just trade with Sam. Business was good.





With a cloud of dust, the fillies giggled and played with bright expressions and equally animated movements. The unicorn snickered. "Scootaloo! That's not how that works!"

Scootaloo, the tribal, stuck out a tongue. "Not with that attitude."

Apple Bloom, the vaulter, laughed. "She has a point. I say her way is more fun."

Sweetie Belle, the townie, crossed her arms. "If you say so. You're both silly."

All three laughed and got back to their game, each representing a different tribe and a different history.

Watching them, a deadly robot. The assaultron turned their gaze slowly over the foals and the town beyond it. "Condition: Acceptable." A brief beep made them look down to a smaller, less fancy, robot. "Render your report."

The two exchanged information more quickly than a human or pony could hope to do. "Remember protocols Beta See and Beta Delta." The small machine beeped and rolled away to see it done. The new protocols had kept the assaultron's other robots in line without harming the ponies under their care.

That mistake would not be tolerated a second time.

"Pauline!" called a mare, Cheerilee. "Could you bring the girls in? It's time for class."

"It will be done." The assaultron gently ushered the foals along, despite their little whines about wanting to play more. The assaultron had never needed a name beyond their serial number, but the ponies had given it. They didn't have a gender either, but the ponies had given one of those too.

They had become Pauline, a female assaultron. That was also acceptable.





"I am glad you've all come." Buttercup nodded around the wide circle. Most were tribals. That made sense. It was a tribal ritual. But not all. Some townies, looking curious, and even some vaulters had joined them. "Today we celebrate the coming of spring. With it, new fertility, new life, and new chances for growth. We celebrate those who helped give us this new chance at life, welcome a new year, and rejoice."

She clapped her hooves in one strong clop. "I know some of you are here mostly for that last part, but all of it is important. Bow your heads. Speak in turn what you are most thankful for, then what you most wish from this new chance to reach. Speak it loudly enough for all to hear. Shout it to the heavens. You are not begging them, you are promising them. You will make it true with your own hooves."

The first call came, shyly, but the next one was clearer. Ponies soon got into the rhythm, calling out their thanks and wishes. Some were quite solemn, others bordering on ridiculous, but they applauded each with equal fervor. It was a new year, and the tribal traditions had lived to see it.