//------------------------------// // The Sparks of Dissent // Story: Macintosh of Arabia // by Crisis_Vyper //------------------------------// Emir Shaddam Khalifah the Fourth is known as a wise and benevolent ruler to his people, but nonetheless he is at the dusk of his time on earth. The nobles noticed this and are now vying for the throne of Saddle Arabia. The reason for this power struggle is simple and yet dire; the Emir is without an heir. The heir apparent along with his family was assassinated a few years ago, causing much grief to the old ruler. This grief affected the ruler significantly and he is now a recluse from his subjects. Without his guidance and governance, the kingdom falls into descending discord. To add to the dire situation, for the past five years the lands of the west and the north is experiencing a drought unlike any have seen before in Saddle Arabia, causing the land to be enveloped in the deadly embrace of famine and death. The inhabitants of these lands are desperate and angry as their Emir failed to deliver them from their hardships, and the resentment slowly crept into the heart of these desperate souls. As his kingdom withered away, the Emir is now a shade of his former self, ready to pass on to the Gates of Isha. A single spark is all that is needed to cause a the greatest turmoil ever experienced in Saddle Arabia, or to be exact several important sparks.... Mediha, a village in Western Saddle Arabia. This village consist of many huts, made out from dried shrubs giving it a rather beat-down and pathetic look. The land is barren and dry, the earth cracking from the intense heat. Upon closer examination, an observer would notice irrigation canals and square plots of land used for agriculture, but alas, there is nothing even resembling farming here. Instead at the dry plots of land, several dozen frail and malnourished equines of varying ages are digging the ground with their hooves trying to find for something....anything resembling food or water. Meanwhile, in the heart of the village, several dozen more villagers are now filling whatever they found into a large sack.The humble farmers of this village have been trying to save every scraps of food that they could ever since the presence of the drought five years ago, and every grain that they could grow is saved like they were the rarest of commodities. Indeed, over here, money is worthless. The harvest this time is even more measly than the one before, with the whole village only managed to get a large sack of grain as the result of their toiling, not enough to feed the entire village of three hundred ponies. However, as a community, they will have to make do with this supply for the long and hard times ahead. As the villagers look upon one of their own carrying the sack of grain to the village granary, they could only hope that they will be delivered from the drought. However the villagers heard the sound of marching hooves coming towards them, and as they turn to the source of the sound their faces changed. Their already miserable faces are now turning into a grimace of fear. Two dozen equines marched towards them before they stopped in front of them all in terrifying unison and order. Each one of the equine warriors are clad in polished grey armor with silver and gold trims and black robes, wearing the Death Mask of Ista, with a single Eye of Isha on the right side of their mask. Their spears are held afloat in the air and attached to each spear is the banner of two scimitars upon an equine skull, with one half of the skull being covered by a faceless mask with a single Eye of Ista on it. A turban with a single feather sticking out from the center of the turban decorates the head of this equine skull. Each one of the villagers know who they are, for these equine warriors are the Eternals of Saddle Arabia. The soldier-fanatics and honor guard of the Emirs of Saddle Arabia, they are feared by all for their martial prowess and near-suicidal disregard for their own safety. Following shortly behind the two dozen-strong formation of the Eternals are other equines clad in scale armor and a metal helmet, holding their spears up in the air. These equines are the standing army of Saddle Arabia, and together, the Eternals and the soldiers outnumbered the villagers three to one. "Who is the Head Elder of this village?" One of the Eternals speak, an Eternal with a tear under his Eye of Ista. The villagers looked at each other, uncertain about why the warrior elite of the Emir is in this village. Before long, a very old leather brown stallion with a long white beard came up to meet the leader of this contingent of Fallen. "I am the Head Elder of this village......what can I do for you Milords?" Suddenly, three of the soldiers have galloped towards the stallion who was carrying the sack of grain and are pointing their spears at him. The other villagers gasped, and the old stallion is in shock. However, the leader of the Eternals did not even bother to wait and announces the reason of their presence. "All the grain within this village is the property of Emir Shaddam Khalifah the Fourth, and will be taken away as ordered by the Emir! Go back to your homes or your lives are forfeit!" Before long, a few more of the soldiers have galloped towards the granary and with a kick from their hindhooves, the doors to the granary are down. As the villagers watched in disbelief, the soldiers are taking away their supply of food and they are utterly helpless to do anything about it. Some of the mares wept as their food are taken away, while others wailed in agony over this cruel fate. Once the sacks of grain are taken, the army of equines marches away from the village leaving all the villagers utterly devastated. Within the gaps of the neck armor and the mask of the leader of the Eternals, a red Eye of Ista could be seen glowing briefly before it disappeared. As the other villagers returned to the village throughout the day, they are told of the news of what the Emir had done to them. As a whole they mourned over their loss and their fate , each one of the villager's grief slowly turning to hate and anger. In their hate and anger, they failed to realized a voice creeping into their heads, as soft as the light of the morning sun and as sweet and sultry as honey. It was not long before each of the villagers noticed the voice and instead of being fearful of this voice that is not their own, they are now listening attentively to it. The voice slowly rises up in volume at it was then that every villager could hear the voice clearly in their mind. I have saw of the injustice that had befallen you, and I am here to help you to regain what you have lost....... Liyadh, a village in Northern Saddle Arabia The Elder of this village, a bulky white stallion with a green mane and beard was woken up by a very frantic villager, ranting about thieves. This is extremely odd, as the village is so deprived of food and valuables there there is almost nothing to be stolen. Their clothes are already ragged and in essence are the items that would not even attract any thief's attention. However as he walked up to the town square, he could see a number of villagers already at the town square with sharpened wooden spears and torches lit to brightened up the night. "What is going on here?" The yellow village elder asked the other villagers as he tried to get through the crowd. As soon as he bypassed the crown he could see several Equestrians being tied up, all of them having wings on them while some of his villagers surrounded them in his sights. Pegasi, the elder remembered as he saw their wings, but what are they doing here? "Elder, it seems that these Equestrians are found trying to sneak through our village with some bags on their bag. We caught them" This is unusual to say the least, as Equestrians rarely come to their country for anything, and the presence of a dozen pegasi stands out like a sore hoof. The Elder did not understand why are the villagers so agitated over a few pegasi with bags, until one of the villagers opened up one of the bags to reveal something that the Elder could not believe. In the bag, he could see several rain clouds being compressed ready to be taken to Ista knows where. The Elder then walks up to one of the bound pegasi and started to speak in broken Equestrian at them. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "What you doing?" "Finally somepony who speaks Equestrian, thank Celestia!" One of the pegasi spoke, an orange stallion with a cutie mark of three clouds on his flank. "Answer question. What you doing?" The Elder asked again. "Ur.......we are on a holiday?" The orange pony is now smiling at the Elder unconvincingly, with a sweat running down his temple. "With rain clouds in bag?" The Equestrians are now silent, after realizing that these equines are not as dumb as they look. The Elder started to speak in his own tongue with one of the villager before the a villager was about to lunge it into the pegasus with a pointy stick. His eyes wide open, the pegasi immediately started spilling the beans. "ALRIGHT! STOP! YOUR KING ASKED US TO TAKE THESE CLOUDS TO THE CAPITAL!" The pegasus started screaming in fear. The villager halts his wooden spear, startled by this sudden outburst. "Take clouds to Aqqabasta?" The Elder listens intently to the pegasus. "YES THAT PLACE! HE SAY THAT HIS CAPITAL SHOULD GET ALL THE RAIN! HE TOLD US TO TAKE EVERY RAIN CLOUD FOR THAT PURPOSE AND THAT'S IT! I DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING ELSE! PLEASE DON'T HURT ME, I AM JUST A PONY DOING MY JOB!!!!!" The pegasus stallion is now looking away, his eyes closed and trembling with fear. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Elder realized that the pegasus is indeed clueless about the significance of his activities, but nonetheless the truth is now out there. It now make sense why the capital is rumored to be the only place throughout the whole of Saddle Arabia to experience consistent rain pour for the past five years. It is no mandate of Ista that the capital experience such a miracle, but it is the machination of their king. It was then that the the other villagers looked upon the elder, realizing that the elder's face had changed into a very grim expression. The Elder started to speak out to the other villagers. "The Emir had stolen our rain for his capital! We have been thirsting and starving all because of the King!" It was then that all the villagers erupted in rage, and within this sea of rage, the pegasus smiled to himself and a small red Eye of Isha could be seen glowing briefly on his neck before it dissapears...... Al-Jawad, stronghold of the Al-Laiha clan The stronghold of the Al-Laiha clan, the second strongest clan in the whole of Eastern Saddle Arabia, is a large palace in the middle of block-like settlements typical of a Saddle Arabian city, with four characteristic onion-like domes on the minarets that marked the edges of the castle, with a small, stepped pyramid in the center. In the court of the Al-Laiha throneroom, a simple white, robed figure is bowing down to the Sheikh of the Al-Laiha clan, a teal pony with a very long face and thin grey mustache that matches the color of his mane. In between them is a myriad of treasures, from jewels to gold crowns spread out almost from one end of the throneroom to the other. "So let me get this straight; not only will you help me get rid of Sheikh Abu Simbel of the Al-Shikal clan of the South, but you are going to give me these riches as well if I do what you say?" The Sheikh of the Al-Laiha clan asked. "Indeed, and this is but a small down payment. If you complete the task, you will get five times the treasure that are displayed before your eyes. All that I ask of you is to ally yourself with the Harbinger." The white robed figure said, its voice as fresh as a morning breeze. The teal Sheikh stared at the riches for a moment before he asked one final question. "Do I get to keep the treasures of the sheikh Abu Simbel as well?" The white figure nods, and before long the teal Sheikh rises up from his throne and walks up to the robed figure. The forearms of the Sheikh is raised in front of the robed figure, and the robe figure clops the hoof of the Sheikh. "It is a pleasure doing business with you Milord....." The robe figure is pleased that this transaction is going well. With the sudden confiscation of the last remaining food by the armed forces of the Emir and the discovery of several pegasi stealing rain clouds to be brought over to Aqqabasta throughout Western and Northern Saddle Arabia, the patience of the inhabitants of those two area had ran out, and fully half of Saddle Arabia broke out in rebellion overnight. As the violence and bloodshed spreads throughout Western and Northern Equestria, the growing petty squabbles or inaction of the Sheikhs throughout Saddle Arabia only served to throw the whole region into even greater chaos. All the while, the rumors of a great Sheikh rising in power in the East is spreading throughout the lands of Saddle Arabia in hush whispers. So far the capital is spared from the discord of the land, and everything is relatively calm in Aqqabasta. But this blissful existence will not last for long for there is a saying, there is always a calm before a great storm......... Being granted her freedom had brightened the mood of Vinyl a lot more than it should be and the radiance of her optimism also managed to brighten up the hearts of her fellow Equestrians, who were in the room with Vinyl and Fatimah. As they watch Vinyl playing some games with Fatimah, they could not help but to feel that they will be able to return to Equestria without much of an incident. It is amazing how the blue-maned pony and the little filly opened up to each other so quickly, and soon enough they are talking to each other like they were the best of friends. "So wait a minute, you throw the stones up and try to juggle and catch them while they are in the air? That sounds mighty awesome Fatie!" Vinyl asked the little filly. "We catch the stones to get points. With each level it gets harder, and we get more points, whoever gets the most points after ten levels wins!" Fatimah is just as cheerful as the blue-maned mare, perhaps even more so as she is excited that someone did not find the game she created a stupid one. However, a knock on the door soon interrupted their playtime. Nurse Redheart walks up to the door and opens it to find the light brown Sheikh in front of her, giving her a message. "Sheikh Fahd managed to get a boat for us to enter the capital. We will leave in three hours."