//------------------------------// // 04: Political Tension // Story: The Tyranny of Queen Twilight Sparkle // by Gherkin //------------------------------// The seaside market of Horseshoe Bay is one of the town's main tourist attractions, even in this freaky alternate Equestria. Until now I'd never been myself, but ponies always spoke of how tourists came from all corners of Equestria to bask in the sea air and get the chance to buy some fresh local produce. The crowd, however, is the exact opposite of a hindrance right now. It's serving as a hiding spot while I discreetly keep an eye on one of the ships that has recently docked. To the untrained and unattentive eye, it looks like I'm simply looking at some of the stuff for sale at this particular stall, like about a dozen other ponies. On the contrary, I'm keeping a lookout for the griffon ambassador's ship, waiting for the diplomat himself to show his face. By Celestia, I hate waiting around like this. I want to just take to the skies and watch from a cloud somewhere, but doing so will surely attract attention, and, besides, some of the diplomat’s griffons are patrolling in the air anyway. Still, I’m blended in with the crowd, so none of the ponies, or more importantly, guards nearby pay any attention to me whatsoever. He still hasn’t appeared from his ship, but I can see two griffon guards standing alert on the pier where it has docked. Not once does my eye waver, but the wait gives me time to think. The past day or two has gone by so quickly, and I still have no idea how I’m going to get home, and see my friends. My real friends, at least. The ones I know and love. Sure, Applejack’s here, but she’s not the same. I can tell; there’s a look in her eye. She’s out for Queen Twilight’s blood, no doubt about it, and, if she succeeds, I might not have a way of getting home at all. How in the hay am I going to convince this wacko, evil version of Twilight anyway? If she’s as crazy and horrible as everypony says she is, then I have no idea how I’m going to convince her to help me. Oh, I know I killed some of your soldiers and assaulted your palace, but could you please cast a spell to send me to another dimension? The only thing that will probably get me is killed. I look down briefly at the bracers on my front hooves before looking up again. I’d killed around five ponies in the space of a few hours, and was, in all likelihood, going to kill even more. Why was I okay with this? I feel like there is blood on my hooves, and it needs to be cleaned off. I feel like screaming and diving into the sea to make myself feel clean again, but another part of me accepts the fact and moves on. Is this something my alternate self has done before? How can she cope with it so easily? I sigh and shake slightly, trying to snap myself out of it. I have a task at hoof, and, like it or not, it needs to be done. I need to kill this griffon, otherwise she’ll gain even more control over these already miserable ponies and I’ll lose any chance I had at being able to talk some sense into her, or even get near her at all. Minutes go by, and still no sign of that damn ambassador, or diplomat, or whatever he is. I frown and fidget slightly. Celestia knows I’m not the most patient of ponies, that’s for sure. Wait, something’s happening. Finally! It seems like I’ve been waiting by this stall for hours. The owner must think I’m crazy. Or just really, really picky in my choice of food. I breathe a silent sigh of relief as I see what must be the griffon ambassador emerge from the cabin of his ship, flanked by two guards. He’s tall, and quite well built. His jet black fur contrasts with the white feathers on his face and on his wings. His admittedly intimidating look is only enhanced by a large scar that I can vaguely make out, running down from his eye and across his beak. No way has this guy been a politician his whole life; he must be a former soldier. If I was going to end up taking his life, I definitely didn’t want to take him head on. Even if my dangerously combat savvy alternate self could easily wipe the floor with a few guards, this griffon must have years of combat experience. Experience I definitely don’t want used against me. Still covered by his two guards, he steps off his ship and out onto the pier, heading straight towards me. Thankfully, none of the other griffons follow him, instead staying behind to guard the ship. I whisper a silent prayer to the heavens, because I have my work cut out for me already. As they pass by the stall I’m standing next to, I catch a snippet of their conversation. “There’s news just in from Canterlot, sir,” one of the guards says to the diplomat. “Hmm? And what’s that?” His accent is thick, and reminds me of that uppity griffon chef that competed against Pinkie in the National Dessert Competition a year or so ago. I always thought the accent was kind of funny back then, but this one has a significantly darker, more serious tone. “Queen Sparkle requests that you see her as soon as possible,” the guard replies. “Which means, unfortunately, that your overnight stay in Horseshoe Bay is cancelled. We’re to catch the royal train to Canterlot immediately.” Wait, what? Oh, horseapples! I had planned to wait until he had gone to sleep, then slipped in through his hotel window and silence him quietly, or something. Well, that whole plan was completely ruined now. I had to get to him before he reached the train station. Even if I got to him on the train, it probably wouldn’t be the best outcome if Canterlot guards found him dead when the train rolled into the station. I haven’t got much time, either. Horseshoe Bay is only a small port town, so I’ve got ten minutes, at best, until he’s gone. Cursing under my breath, I finally step away from the market stalls and follow the three of them, making sure to stick to the crowd to avoid detection. While the crowd worked in my favour, it most definitely worked against them. Even as the guards shoved ponies out of their way, the sheer number of market goers around them was too much, and the diplomat was getting impatient. If things kept on going like this, they would probably split off into a deserted side street or alley, which would be the perfect place to ambush them. “Gah, all these damn tourists!” I hear the burly griffon complain. He growls in anger and starts to look around, no doubt looking for an alternate route. Well, maybe I might be able to pull this off after all. Sure enough, after a few moments, he barks something to his guards and breaks off from the crowd, heading towards a secluded alley. I hear him say something about cutting through to the station, but don’t pay attention. Instead, I glance around, making sure no guards are watching, before breaking off from the crowd as well and silently taking to the air, heading towards a nearby rooftop above the alley. I land deftly on the roof and peek out into the alley below. The griffons are all alone down there, and nopony in the crowd is able to see into the alley properly. Now’s the time to strike; I might not get another chance at this. I take a deep breath, and leap from the building into the alley below. Rapidly falling towards the unaware guards, I flick my hooves and the hidden blades pop out from my bracers. I brace for impact, shoving my front hooves into the backs of the two guards behind the diplomat as they cushion my fall. To my knowledge, they’re killed instantly. Still, I don’t have time to mourn or regret, as my impromptu landing alerts the griffon diplomat, who turns around and gasps in shock. “What is this?” he asks, glaring at me as I approach. I don’t answer, instead leaping towards him, blade still extended. To my surprise, however, he jumps up and knocks me back with a powerful kick, before hovering idly above the ground. Winded, I stagger back to my feet and assume a combat pose. “Ah, I see what is going on,” he muses, his sharp talons raised towards me. “Your queen warned me of these little rebel movements. In all honesty, I didn’t expect you fools to be so bold.” “She’s no queen,” I snap. “Not one I’ll ever bow to, in any case.” Not here, at least. Without another word, I charge towards him, hoping to catch him off guard. No such luck, however, as he swiftly dodges the swing of my hoof and promptly backhands me across the face. I stumble back, dazed, and he uses the opportunity to launch another assault, punching and clawing at me as I struggle to regain focus. A sharp, stabbing pain overcomes me as he continues his relentless assault, backing me against the wall. His sharp talons dig deep into my side, drawing blood, and I yelp in pain, bringing one of my blades down onto his arm. He cries out and steps backwards, cradling his wounded arm. I move in to pounce once again, but he parries my attack, but with a lot more effort than before. I throw a few swings again, but he blocks them and pushes me back, still clutching his wound. Deciding to capitalise on his weakness, I duck down and slash at his ankles before he has time to react. Falling to his knees, he desperately struggles as I shove one of the hidden blades into the back of his neck, before reaching around with my other hoof and slitting his throat to finish the job. “You fool...” he gasps, struggling. “You rebellion is hopeless.” He gasps and gurgles for a few more seconds, trying desperately to breathe, before slumping over face first, the life finally drained from him. I take a breather and step back, looking down at my hooves again. They're covered in the griffon's blood. I look away and into the griffon's cold, lifeless eyes, staring at nothing in particular as he lies there in a rapidly expanding pool of his own blood. I look behind me and see his guards, similarly unmoving a few feet away. Feeling a twinge of guilt, I reach down with one hoof and close his eyes as a sign of respect. Damn it, I feel sick again. The sound of a rapidly approaching voice makes my heart drop. I knew I wouldn’t be able to pull this off without attracting attention. "Hello? What's all this racket going on down here?" I take to the skies in a panic, but just too late as the approaching guard spots me. "What's this? Murder! Guards!" he turns and shouts to his nearby comrades as I cringe. "Assassin! Quick, she's up there!" He points a hoof in my direction as his friends come running, and a few pegasi rapidly take off to pursue me. Seeing them approach, I turn tail and fly away, keeping low in an effort to lose them in the alleys and backstreets. Unfortunately, these guys aren’t amateurs. They stick to me like glue, matching my sudden twists, dives and turns and keeping up with my speed. Running out of options, I start to head towards the train station. If I remember right, a train back to Ponyville is due to leave at any moment. It’s not too far away, and, soon enough, the soon to depart train comes into view. Desperate to lose the guards chasing me, I dive down and bank sharply, heading straight for an open window. Landing inside the house, I quickly slam the window shut with my rear hooves before galloping towards the other end of the room, leaping over a table and diving out into the crowd around the train station. Thankfully, no guards on the other side saw my little stunt, so by the time my pursuers catch up, I’ve already disappeared into the crowd. Still hidden in the mass of ponies, I pass by a group of oblivious guards as we head out onto the platform. The train is only a few feet away now, and the conductor is calling for the final passengers to board. My heart is in my mouth as I feel the scrutinizing eyes of every guard in the area pass over the crowd. I expect one of them to shout out and grab me at any moment. In a stroke of luck, though, I manage to slip onto the train just as the conductor slams all of the doors shut. I take a secluded seat near the back of the train and sigh with relief as the whistle blows and it starts to pull out of the station. Feeling tired and weary, I pull back my hood and give my mane a shake. I would like nothing more than to just curl up and nap for a while, but I need to remain alert for any kind of threat, just in case. I wasn’t out of the woods yet. Still, after about half an hour on the train with no consequence, I decide that I’ve definitely eluded capture, and settle down to get some rest. The train ride is a few hours long, and the sun while have almost set by the time we arrive in Ponyville. Having finally calmed down after the thrill of the chase, I yawn and stretch before settling in for the long haul. *** I jerk awake to the sound of the train’s whistle blowing. Wiping sleep from my eyes, I wearily glance out of the window. Darn it, we’re almost at Ponyville station! I need to slip out before we arrive, since the guards will surely be checking all passengers. I make sure that nopony is watching, before pushing open the window and diving outside. Suddenly hit by rushing wind, I spread my wings and start to head towards Sweet Apple Acres. I had briefly considered heading back to my cloud home, but the place was surrounded by pegasi guards, no doubt rifling through my alternate self’s belongings. So, it was Sweet Apple Acres or nothing. The sun starts to disappear over the horizon as I approach the farm, and I wonder. If Celestia and Luna are dead, then who raises the sun and the moon? Does Queen Twilight raise them? Do they move all on their own? No, don’t be stupid, Dash. You know that’s impossible. Still, the question, trivial as it may seem, plagues me. I don’t think I could imagine a world without Princess Celestia and Princess Luna ruling over Equestria. It didn’t seem right. Gliding over the rows upon rows of apple trees in the orchard, I spot Applejack and Thunderlane trotting towards the farmhouse, probably coming back from some sort of exercise or training. I call out to them as I hover towards the ground. “Hey, you guys!” Thunderlane looks up as I land next to them softly. “Oh, hey cap. AJ told me where you went. How’d it go?” I look away and nod slightly. “Yeah, it went fine.” “So the griffon’s dead?” Applejack asks me bluntly. I nod again. “Yeah, he’s dead alright. Guess there won’t be any griffon soldiers coming over to Equestria after all, huh?” I find myself glancing down at my front hooves again. I tried my best to wash them off, but there are still a few patches of dry blood down there. My friend smiles and puts a hoof on my shoulder. “There ya go, girl! I knew you could do it.” She pulls me into a hug before pushing open the door to the farmhouse, inviting us both inside. She glances around her farm for a few seconds, before shutting it behind us. “That’s half of our problems dealt with, then.” We continue into the front room, and I flop down onto the couch next to my fellow pegasus. He gives me a smile, which I return, and for the briefest moment I see a blush appear on his face before he looks away. “I’m guessing the other half is that supply train you mentioned before, right?” I ask AJ, looking over to her. She nods. “Right you are, Dash. It doesn’t come through Ponyville for another two days, though, so we got plenty of time to prepare.” She sits down on the chair across from us and removes her hat, wiping sweat from her brow. “Right now, though, I’d say we’ve all earned a little relaxation time.” “What have you two been doing?” I wonder aloud. “Making sure Thunderlane keeps in shape,” she answers, nodding towards him. “His injuries weren’t severe, so we were just doing some exercises to make sure he stays properly fit." The pegasus next to me chcukles and nods. "Yeah well, it'll take more than a few cuts and bruises to keep me down, right cap?" "Darn right," I agree. "I've seen you crash land and get up like it was nothing so many times, it's like you run on sheer determination or something. Kinda like me, I guess." Applejack smiles. "I hope so. After all, ambushing this train ain’t gonna be easy.” Well of course it isn’t. “Have you got a plan?” “Almost,” she says, getting up. “Like I said, I’m finalising the details. For now, though, we should settle down for the night. Cider anyone?” The two of us nod, and I slouch further down into the couch, removing the stained bracers and setting them on the coffee table. I stare at them for a few moment, before groaning and looking away. With everything that’s been happening right now, a nice, ice-cold cider is exactly what I need. Well, maybe two or three ice-cold ciders.