//------------------------------// // Scilian Crow's decision // Story: Sweat and Iron // by The Psychopath //------------------------------// The hustle and bustle of the city-towers resonated throughout the island. It was, after all, one big city, and only that. Every now and then, one would hear "Stop right there, criminal scum", but that barely registered on the sound coming from this bright and lively place. Of course, these were the higher levels, and this was exactly where the refugees from Equestria were going. On a level with platforms meant to receive warships from outside or any other form of airship, a griffin fumbled with some cards in his anti-air cannon. This bronze orb with four cannons sticking out from its armored front protected the operator and allowed for perfect precision with zoom optics integrated into the armored visor. The young male was thrown out of his seat as he heard an alert. Retrieving himself, he checked what the noise was about, and, to his surprise, an Equestria fleet was coming to Secantor. "Oh no. I should alert the council leader." The young griffin fumbled with his communicator, nearly letting it drop as he took it out of the board. His loose feather-style on his head was probably a cause of impeded vision which led to his clumsiness. "S-Sir?" "Yes. What is it?" "I need to speak with Scilian Crow, counsel head." "This is indeed him. What do you need? Is there actually something coming to the island that is not one of our warships?" "An Equestrian fleet." There was a long silence on the other end, further stressing the operator of the AA gun. "S-sir?" "I'll be right over. It shouldn't take more than a minute." "Okay then." the griffin awkwardly finished as he hung up. It was true. The sounds of steam and moving cogs was already in the vicinity as some sort of metallic box with bars on the windows came crawling with several legs on a wire which was actually one of many allowing very quick transport all over the city. It stopped with a huff of steam and laid itself down on the round platform jutting out of the side of the city. A door slammed down, and out came a gray stallion with a gray-blue mane and tail. Both were very well combed, but his mane seemed to overlap itself at the front of his head, giving some form of mildly tall wave. His eyes were cobalt in color, and his expression of constant boredom stressed others around him. This was Scilian Crow, counsel leader of the anti-copperlings. His cutie-mark was even more confusing. While it was a pitchfork overlapping a cog, many had absolutely no idea what it meant, but Scilian did. 'Work hard and live easy'. His hoofsteps unnerved the griffin even more as the stallion approached. "Let me see." he said, taking out some binoculars from his tan colored suit, a white shirt buttoned underneath."Hmmm. You were right. Why would they come to attack us? The princesses know they can't take this island. Disgusting magical creatures. But...I wonder..." "Shall I give the alert to shoot them down?" "No. Tell everypony at their stations to greet the incoming refugees with open arms. Even the...unicorns." the stallion spat the last word like it was poison. "Wh-what? Why?" "This is just my thought, but look at the airships, they are not meant for war." Scilian passed his binoculars to the griffin as he said this, and gave a sly grin."I suggest calling in emergency crews immediately to take care of the wounded. Let's see why they have chosen to flee to their enemy instead of to an ally. I will ready the rest of the council members. In the meantime, you are in charge of efforts on this platform." "B-b-but sir! I'm not meant for such th--" "You will do as told. End of story." "Y...yes sir." the griffin looked down in defeat, knowing better than to defy the head of the anti-copperlings." One thing didn't add up, though. How did Scilian know that these were not warships from first glance? Both transport and warship designs of Equestria were never given different templates for differenciation. Some thought it was for clever rusing, but that sort of thing was uncommon with such a peaceful kingdom. Either way, very single platform readied bitterly for the coming of their enemy. It took some time; but each airship landed on a platform as various ponies and griffins signaled them through light batons. Only two were able to land per platform. It was a slow and dangerous process as there were badly wounded aboard some of these vessels. "LET GO OF ME! DON'T COME ANY CLOSER! GAAAAH! I WON4T BE INJECTED WITH ANOTHER DOSE!" the crazed mare shouted. Ever since she fainted and awoke to see needles being pointed at her, she's been trying to escape the ship, kicking and screaming as she did. Four stallions were trying to hold her down, but it was no use. She was just too scared. She finally broke out of their grip and tried to run out of the landed airship, only to slam into a blue minotaur who was busy with moving around medical supplies on the platform. The pony had tumbled onto her rump and looked up to see this massive creature turn around and glare at her with yellow eyes. Her nerves were beginning to break as she shook enough to create small tremors. "What is wrong with her? And what's that collar around her neck? Some kind of jewelry in Equestria?" he boomed. "No! I did as told! Get away from me! I don't want to go back!" the mare cried, her voice starting to hiccup and her voice dripping in tears. "What? Calm down! What are you talking about?" This minotaur wasn't very aggressive, but his approach in conversation was. To anyone else's eyes, this was just a minotaur, but his bizarre color scheme reminded the mare of the armored bipeds that they had. Before she turned into a berserker, Pinkie Pie bounced out from behind the minotaur and grabbed the mare, pinning her down and singing "Giggle at the ghosties" quietly into her ear. The previous doctors moaned in pain as they waddled out of the ship. Their surprise to see the situation wasn't unexpected. The mare stopped talking and started to hum along with the tune. "Pfiou. Thank you. What's wrong with her?" "I dunno. She was scared of those weird guys like we were." Pinkie smiled. "Who wouldn't be? Poor Fluttershy here is still shocked from what happened." Rarity suffered to say as she pulled the vanilla ball out. "Where are the princesses?" Twilight asked, looking around in a frantic panic. "Bah. Most certainly with Scilian Crow." the minotaur added as he dropped down a box of supplies into the growing pile. "Who? And where are we?" "You don't know?! It seems they have been hiding much from you, copperling." "Copperling?" "Well then, let us start." Scilian Crow had arrived upon the platform where the princesses lay. While Luna was being treated for her wound, Celestia was observing everything these beings were doing, but her gaze shifted to a gray stallion slowly walking towards them both with a sinister grin. "We are on Secantor Island, a massive city built upon a tiny island. This is where we are. North of your despised Equestria." "D-despised? What did we ever do to you?" "Your kind looks upon unicorns and other magical beings with joy. Magic is the essence of destruction." "Princess Celestia. What is a beautiful mare like yourself doing here?" the stallion cooed. "Do not toy with me. My sister and I must speak to you about placing our refugees in Secantor and our possible temporary alliance to destroy a common enemy." "Sister? So she returned. Hm. And what is this about an alliance? The all powerful alicorn needs help from an earth pony? What enemy is so powerful it conquered Equestria in a day?" "I...I don't know. They used technology unknown to us and have captured several of my subjects." "Define 'several'." he narrowed his smiling gaze. "...Seventy percent of Canterlot. There is seventeen percent with us, and another percentage from nearby villages." "Then I can assume that the thirteen others have died, not to mention the unknown amount that died in the hooves--" "Hands." "...Hands of these invaders. We shall see. Come with me to the room of the Anti-Copperlings." "I'd rather not." "We will bring your sister too." "But--" "Unless you want to live elsewhere, it is in your best interests to come." A long pause reigned supreme between the two until Luna came waddling forward. The doctors were only told to heal her, but not to aid her in walking. They simply frowned at the alicorn, but quickly shut up when Scilian looked at them with the corner of his eye. Celestia agreed and went into the transport carrier along the rails. This height allowed them to see the immensity of this city-island in much of its "glory", although these were the upper floors. "Unicorns are called 'copperlings' because your magic here has the color of copper. All of you. The copperlings and the other low-class citizens live in the under-slums of the city, where life is rough and dangerous. The best live all the way at the top. Basically, the level that you live in indicates your status amongst society. There ARE things that can boost you immediately up the ranks. Take farmers, for example. Their crops are grown in domes. If you manage to improve the amount grown in a short time using a revolutionary product, then you will be sent into the middle areas. Invent something of great benefit to all? You are jettisoned to the highest class one could achieve in civilian relations. Copperlings were known to have caused immense destruction upon Secantor island, which is why we must keep you tied up" The trip to the council chambers was without hindrance, but not without mumblings of the alicorns' presence. The highest point of the city took the shape of a white dome with a gold-tile roof. Inside there was but one room, the council's chamber of judgment. The entire place was brimming with small levels holding chairs, counters, and other things to accommodate diplomats, business ponies, and other important figure-heads. It was just like a judge's court. It was also obvious by Celestia's face that she had first wanted to see if everypony was alright, but it seemed that other matters called first. Sitting high atop their wooden chairs and sitting behind their wooden counters were a few dozen ponies and three minotaurs. Scilian hopped up into his seat and spun the chair around playfully before leaning on his portion of the wooden counter. He was not taking any of this seriously. "My dear court." he spoke aloud."We have been greeted with the arrival of refugees from Equestria. They demand shelter for the time that we aid them in pushing back whatever invaders have come to them." The members began to talk to gossip, creating a loud brouhaha. "Please!" Celestia roared. The Council quieted down. "We only seek refuge. We will not intervene in anything that your people do. We just need to find a way to defeat this new enemy." "Not intervene? You already brought several copperlings, not to mention yourselves." an old mare pointed out. "She's raht. Wot tells us dat ya won't trah 'n overthrow us? Wot tells us dat we aren't under some ferm of deceit?" a minotaur spat as he smashed his hand onto his own counter. "Because, we already scouted Canterlot capital." Crow stated, his head resting on his arm. "Wot do ya mean?!" the minotaur seemed outraged. "You dare to raise your voice against me?" Scilian glared, and the minotaur immediately shrunk. "N-n-n-n-no sir." "Good. As I was saying, we had already scouted Canterlot after the noted arrival of the airships." "What did it say?" a stallion wondered with curiosity. "It was destroyed seconds after it arrived. Whatever has come, it is an extremely powerful organization. I can also note that, despite my best judgement, we will be forced to form a temporary alliance with the refugees until we can find a way to push these creatures back." The entire council became outraged. They started to curse and shout, irritating a fatigued Luna. "SILENCE!" she yelled in ye olde royal Canterlot voice."You prefer to die over petty squabbles then to fight a common enemy? You'd prefer to die over your own anger rather than protect your populace?" The entire room became quiet, surprising both Luna and Scilian. "You surprise me, Luna." Celestia whispered to her sister, lifting a hoof to hide her mouth. "Thank you." "She is right. We can resume our problems in the future. However, one problem stands before we can commence negotiations." "And what problem is that?" Luna asked, her face full of pride at her accomplishment. "The social rankings. On Secantor, the copperlings are sent to the bottom, and I believe that we should do the same here, or else, a revolution could start." "What?! I will NOT have my ponies grovel in whatever filth lays at the bottom of your city." "But, you must understand--" "I have given my refusal, and you shall accept it!" Celestia insisted. The minotaur did not insist. "Then we will find other methods. We cannot put on the collars around their horns, but we CAN make them all work manually. Any use of magic is forbidden. We can have your ponies assigned to the middle levels of the city. In exchange, they shall perform work based on their talents. Why the face? We also have cutie marks here, although they also seem to define social status, ironically. They CAN live normally, but their magic WILL be banned. If ANY is used, there will be measures taken. Please wait a moment." the stallion spoke to the council in whispers. Celestia and Luna were both relieved at these turn of events. Scilian Crow was known to be a bloodthirsty ruler, but he was also known for his rationality and logic. Although it was a long shot, there was a chance he would accept their arrival. "Okay then. We have debated and have agreed upon ONE and only ONE mistake in magic usage, if it remains small." "And...what would the punishments entail?" Scilian's evil grin appeared, one that many knew, especially on Senimar Island. "You don't need to know until it happens. Oh! Before you leave to check on the survivors, there is a pony on platform forty-seven who appears to be a refugee of your group. By the message I received from a minotaur there, she seems to have undergone unimaginable amounts of stress. Luckily for her, she is an earth pony, therefore, the populace here will not treat her differently. She also seems to be in a dreadful state." "I will check on it at once." "This council meeting is now over." A loud clap, and the immense wooden doors leading into the room opened up, allowing the alicorns to leave. There was much to be discussed personally on both sides, but it was not until the doors would shut. In Canterlot, Scarlet walked around the ruins, hoping to found some survivors. She was getting frustrated to not finding anything...yet she didn't know she was being followed by what seemed like drunk stallions staring at her every morsel. The workers and guards nearby muffled their laughter as best they could, yet Star still couldn't catch on. Near the destroyed castle, Doctor was handed a handheld telescope by one of the other new scientists who had been observing the surroundings and noting the architecture. This one still showed no emotions, even through its mask. This is what scared the others, as, even through their masks and helmets, they could feel the emotions of others and act accordingly, but with the scientists...nothing. Doctor extended the observation tool and looked afar to see the alicorn stomping and getting mad at not finding anything while a horde of stallions were blindingly following her, unaware of the rest of the world. The Doctor frowned. "Hmm. The hormones have a great effect. However, I'm worried they have stunted her mental development. She acts like a child." "Remember how you obtained and raised her, sir." the scientist noted as he assembled some surgery equipment. "...I didn't think that kind of psychological impact would be so severe. She's fifteen around now I believe." "Life sucks for you." the scientist mocked. "I don't need any quips from you." "Just here to lighten the mood. Just be happy she wasn't turned into some sexual predator." "Yes. That would be...disturbing. I suppose I received the good side of the coin flip here." "That's one way to put it." Doctor continued to watch his creation bounce up and down in frustration like a little child. She was...bizarre, to say the least.