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// Chapter 14: Fluttershy and Rarity 
// Story: The Story of Reik: The Communist Revolutionary: MLP 
// by Reik 
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*No pony is going to take you seriously if you don’t get your hooves dirty my ignorant friend* 

**So leaving an innocent bystander to freeze will somehow benefit my reputation, you’d make a brilliant advisor**

*I thought we agreed that there was no innocence in Equestria, just varying degrees of guilt.*

**I was pulled from the burning wreckage of a flyer a few hours ago so pardon me if I can’t recall a few of our conversations**

*Excuses, excuses, excuses, I was in that crash too and I remember it, but then again I can remember a lot of things you evidently cant*

**Like what?**

*Hmmmmm, Hermmmmm, how aboooout, a time when you weren’t a radical maniac that forgot what he’s fighting for.*

**You’re false assumption aside, I thought you always wanted me to fail, what’s with the sudden change of heart**

*Nothing in our physical and metaphysical world would please me more than to see you fail but this mess you’ve dug yourself into isn’t the kind of mess one can bounce back from.*

**If I wanted a mother I would’ve stayed at home**

Reik immediately repressed several memories of his parents and the short time he had spent in their home to the back of his mind.

*I saw that, don’t go suppressing memories just because you can’t deal with them, you’ve changed my friend*

**And this is coming from the pony-**

*Pony? And I thought I was the one who had no grip on reality*

**Metaphysical pony who can’t stay on one subject for more than ten seconds**

*For a pony so quick to call me on logical errors you just committed tu quoque, wait, so did I, or did I, watch out for that rock*

VLADIMIR STOPPED AS the black pony following him lost his footing and fell into the snow. His friend quickly regained his footing and marched into the lead. The grey pony noted the sudden reddening of his friend’s face, through embarrassment or the cold he could not determine. The wind lashed at the pair as they made their way away from the Apple farm and towards Ponyville. Vladimir’s voice broke the frigid silence.

“I don’t think that red pony at the farm bought my story Reik, I don’t like the way he looked at me.” Upon returning the unconscious Applejack to the Apple farm residence, Reik and Vladimir where met with the suspicious gaze of Big Macintosh, Vladimir despite Reik’s reassurance, was convinced their ‘Knocked out by a falling branch’ lie had been as effective as planned. Reik remained silent, as if locking out his friend. The grey pony worried for his smaller ally, his silence was foreboding and his constant references to his watch where unnerving. The grand scheme entered Vladimir’s thoughts and his voice sounded again.

“Comrade, which pony is next?” Reik nodded quickly and dug the manifest out of his coat pocket and unraveled it, his hooves failing to cooperate fully due to the cold. He spoke quickly, taking practically no breath between phrases.  

“With Applejack we have five to go, unless the layout for this village has changed during my absence, and it most likely has, we should be near the residence of the dress maker Rarity, afterwards, the pony Pinkie Pie lives at the Sugar cube corner establishment, she would be the next logical point, anything to add friend?” Vladimir took several seconds to take in the quickly dealt information before responding. A few buildings began to appear through the wind as the pair entered Ponyville.

“Good my friend, but I think from now on we should stick to the shadows instead of marching down the streets, if we are to maintain our advantage.” Reik nodded as he returned the parchment to its pocket. He pulled his cap down to cover his features as the pair disappeared into one of many darkened alleyways.

“IM A DRESSMAKER not a coat factory, no pony buys dresses in the winter, this is a catastrophe!” Rarity moaned, as she lay huddled under her work desk. Her purple hair had become a tattered mess and her mane had become grimy during her time in this state of emergency. Fluttershy stood beside the desk, her head poking under the table every few minutes to calm her fearful friend.

“Everything is going to be fine, um, you’ll just-” Her hushed tone was cut off by another fit of misery. 

“I don’t know what I’ll do, I can’t make coats, but I have to do something!” Another fit of tears followed this particular outburst and Fluttershy stood silently to the side, ignorant of how to deal with such a situation. Rarity had been in this state for the past week and no improvements had been made since but while others had written it off as but another phase of hers, Fluttershy had risen to comfort her friend in a time of discomfort. Now it seemed that the small act of kindness had been for naught. It was late, the weather outside looked less and less hospitable with each minute and her friends outbursts where the only thing keeping the silent pony from dozing off.  Fluttershy slowly leaned under the desk and began humming a soothing tune she hoped, more out of desperation than practicality, would aid the miserable form of Rarity. The white pony’s cries only intensified as her friend sung the tune. Fluttershy abruptly stopped and rose from her kneeling position. Leaving her friend to her quiet whimpering, the Pegasus moved away from the desk and towards one of the large windows that occupied the buildings walls. Upon drawing back the curtain hanging above the portal, Fluttershy was met with the dark image of midnight in Ponyville. Snow was heaped in piles along the road and street lamps created pillars of light in the darkness illuminating the falling snow. Was it not for the context of her predicament, Fluttershy would have felt calm and relaxed. The falling snow had a peculiar effect on her; it was easing, almost like a silent lullaby. Fluttershy's head began to slowly lower until the whole frame collapsed and her mind drifted into the realm of sleep.

A sharp knocking tore Fluttershy from her slumber. Upon closer examination the room appeared empty. The yellow pony assumed that her friend had since gone upstairs. The sharp knocking resumed and Fluttershy scanned the room for its source. The timid pony sprang from her pose towards the door, fumbling with the knob as she tried to open the portal.  Once the bolt was relived of its placement, the door swung open with the force of the wind. Fluttershy winced at the sudden rush of cold air but upon a short change of stance, the blast of wind became blocked by some unseen force. As her eyes readjusted, the small pony noticed the two ponies standing before her. A large one clad in broken, half complete armor, the one that was currently protecting her from the winters wrath and another shrouded in a dark cloak with a cap concealing his features. The two where shivering and said nothing. Fluttershy was at a lost. These ponies were clearly lost and in need of shelter but at the same time, they had an air about them of unease. Choosing kindness over caution, Fluttershy motioned the strangers to enter, which they complied with. As the pair entered the dwelling Fluttershy overheard them in deep conference with each other. They spoke in sinister whispers and flashed suspicious glances towards her as they advanced to the center of the room. When the pair stopped, so too did their conversation, the two parties faced off, staring blankly at each other. Fluttershy sunk under their gaze and the silence only added to the awkward motif. Finally the smaller of the two strangers stepped forward, he cleared his throat and spoke. Expecting a harsh, weathered, and smaller tone, Fluttershy was surprised to hear a strong, commanding, and determined voice. He was calm, his tone in no way reflected his appearance and the cold appeared to have no power over him.

"Is this the residence of the one named Rarity?" Asked the black pony. Fluttershy, shrinking under his intimidation, answered slowly and quietly. 

"Y-yes, um, are-" The black pony quickly interrupted.

"My apologies, but where is miss Rarity, and if you don't mind, who are you?" Fluttershy whimpered quietly before answering. To her, the wind outside seemed to halt, intensifying the conversation.

"She is, um, up stairs and, I'm, F-Fluttershy." Before she even had time to wince at her own timidness, the two ponies shared a brief conversation before the shorter one parting from his friend. He walked past Fluttershy, as she was not there, or even if she was that she was just an obstacle. As Fluttershy watched the black pony continue away from her and towards the stairs, she noted out of the corner of her vision, the larger pony withdrawing a small stone from his possession.

Reik disregarded the sudden flash of light, the short squeal of terror, and the thump of a collapsing pony as he made his way up the stairs. The black pony smiled broadly on their stroke of luck, time was now just a lesser enemy in his grand plan. Reik's mind rested upon his current state of mind, he expected to feel a rush, perhaps a robotic form of efficiency when he stepped into this peculiar house, yet he felt nothing. He felt almost bored with the whole predicament. He compared it to arguing with someone you knew was but was still required to argue with. 

*Funny thing about those arguments, because you're not as committed and devoted to the argument, you are already inclined to lose, but hey, you're the political mastermind*

Disregarding the internal thought. Reik rounded on the door he assumed to be Rarity's. The warrant for which was the sounds of dismay emanating from within. Tired of dealing with the ridiculous paradigms of his fellow ponies, Reik opened the door to its full extent and marched into the room.

The room was the definition of bourgeois idiocy to Reik. A fine crafted bed, an elaborate coach, and small aspects of her class strewn about the room. Then again, this is Rarity, who aside from Applejack is the embodiment of Capitalism in Ponyville. The white pony sprung from her position of misery on her couch and faced Reik. Her tone was well bred but, as Reik noticed, contained no reason to be respected.

"Who are you, who let you in, can't you see I'm in an emotional cataclysm!" Eager to put an end to the already annoying tone of his opponent and upon hearing the hoof steps of Vladimir approaching from behind, Reik asked the same question he had dispatched to all his past prey.

"Would you happen to be Rarity?"