Goldenrim stared at the town through the small waves of sand, a frown on his face. His battalion was almost to their destination, but there hadn't been a single pony to meet them yet. Even worse, the town looked to have only the smallest token guard. He could only see a few soldiers in armor standing about, compared to the hundreds of ponies crammed into the town. There had to be dozens of tents set up outside the limits as well. It made him nervous, though he hoped his worry was just a result of overwork and too much heat.
They had been flying up and down the desert for the last week, going to each major town or city where ponies had been guarded, before escorting them to Manehatten. This was the second to last group and they wanted to be back, safe inside the city walls. Not that the city was the most comfortable place at the moment. Having an entire country stuffed into a city, even when the country had a rather small population and the city was designed for such numbers, was far from comfortable. Rations had been cut to bare minimums and farm fields that had been abandoned were being re-opened and put back to work. This time, though, there were no water benders to help it along so everything was being done by hoof. Not a single magic user in sight. At least there were plenty of hooves to go around.
They glided down to land just outside the city. Goldenrim frowned at the guard stationed there. A blue mare with a rainbow mane. Something about her struck him as off, though he hoped he was just being paranoid. She kept tapping her hooves and looked like she wanted to bolt at any moment, as if standing still was the hardest task in the world for her. Well, she'd get her chance soon. Even with him, his unit was only a dozen ponies. But they were all the escort these ponies would get and, hopefully, need.
“You, guard. What's your name?” he asked as he trotted towards the gate.
She looked shocked for a moment, before quickly coughing out her name. “Gallop, sir. Ummm, Rapid Gallop.”
“Well, Gallop, where is the rest of the unit? Where's Coppertip? He should have been here by now?”
“Oh, he's in town hall. Follow me, sir,” the mare said before trotting into the town, towards one of the larger buildings near the center of the building. She hadn't even saluted. The ponies in the town watched them nervously as they passed, shuffling back into buildings or hiding behind stands. Goldenrim tried to pay it no mind, most of the ponies here had lost their horns so they tended to be a skittish lot and he could hardly blame them.
They stepped into the building and almost instantly he started to tense. There was only one pony, a unicorn, standing in the room. She wasn't wearing any of their armor so he quickly went into a defensive position. “Who are you? Why aren't you in Canterlot? Why--” The words locked in his throat as his eyes caught something unusual on the pony.
Namely, she had a pair of wings. Actual wings. She wasn't a unicorn, she was an alicorn. That was the avatar. She was the avatar. He was so dead. He tried to speak, but the words refused to come out. He backed up quickly, knocking into his men, who muttered in bewilderment.
“My name is Twilight Sparkle, I am the avatar,” the alicorn said smoothly as she walked towards them. A small spurt of flame formed on the tip of her horn and a light breeze began forming in the room. “You will stand down and there will be no injuries. So long as you surrender peacefully, you will be treated with the utmost respect and no harm will befall you. Do I make myself clear?” Her wings spread out slowly as he just stared.
The avatar. She was dead. No, she was supposed to be dead. He'd heard the news, the reports. Had she returned from the grave? Was this a new avatar who had just grown super fast? Either way, he knew he had no chance against her and quickly threw his spear on the ground. His soldiers quickly followed his lead and there was a small clatter of spears on the ground, the ponies dropping low as they watched.
“Very good. I thank you for your willingness to cooperate and do know that I have no desire to harm any of you. Rainbow?”
The soldier who'd led him here bowed her head and then tossed off her helmet. “Good. Now comes the questioning part. Come on,” she ordered as she trotted out the door. “Don't even think of trying to run away. I'm a master air bender and I will slam you into the ground so fast you won't even see it coming.”
They made it outside, the soldiers walking behind her. There was a shifting from their right as one of the ponies raced forward. “Tyranic scum!” a pony yelled before hurtling an apple at them. The blue mare didn't even look up, she thrust her wing out and a burst of wind shot forward, slicing the apple in half and dropping it to the ground.
“Hey! None of that,” Rainbow yelled. “They surrendered, so they're our prisoners. We do not hurt prisoners!”
Goldenrim just stared, his face pale. He didn't even know air benders could do that. He stared at the two halfs of the apple and gulped. A gentle nudge on his hip made him glance back.
One of his soldiers gently whispered. “Sir, if we all break for it at once--”
“Don't even think it,” he said quickly. “We're so far, far beyond our league right now that I don't even want to imagine what will happen. Just go along, make no trouble. Spread the word.”
“But sir, that's treason! We can--”
“Don't question, just do it.”
------
Rarity stood in the town hall and looked around, a smile on her lips. “Well, after significant questioning, I think we have all we need. The plan should, in theory, work. But we leave ourselves open to a number of vulnerabilities.”
“What are they?” Twilight asked nervously.
“Well, the most obvious being if our information is faulty and they have more resources than we suspected.” She shook her head. “If that is the case, our plan to spread discontent may fall on deaf ears. It may even get the ponies spreading it in trouble. If they have more soldiers than stated, as well...” She motioned towards the center of the room where a make shift Manehatten had been made with a number of boxes. “However, I do not believe they were lying. Rainbow?”
“They seemed pretty honest to me,” the pegasus said with a shrug. “Scared too. I don't think they'd risk crossing us.”
“Very good,” the princess said before motioning to the city. “If correct, the good news is this is a very, very focused settlement now. Almost every pony that remains in the city is a civilian. Soldiers make up less than five percent of the population. What that means, to be precise, is the soldiers only maintain peace while the civilians allow them to. They are nowhere near ready for a rebellion of any sort. If there is one, it all comes apart.” She nudged one of the buildings, toppling it over. “Many of the soldiers might still be willing to side with us, as well. If we're lucky, we may be able to have a blood less conflict.”
“If we're not?” Twilight asked softly.
“If... ponies aren't as susceptible to the idea of your return, there could be deaths in the hundreds. Even thousands. Even though the ponies only make up a fraction of the countries once large population, there is still enough here that full riots could cause untold damage. There's also what comes after the rebellion.”
“What comes after? We win, we're done, right?” Rainbow asked with a snort. “Isn't that how it works?”
“Not quite,” Rarity said softly. “There is currently heavy rationing going on, according to the soldiers. That can work in our favor, but work against us if we win. This means the majority of the ponies there are being held, forced to work on the farms they've been assigned, without any sign of profit or even the ability to eat what they want. Meanwhile, their own homes and businesses are left abandoned, ripe for the plucking if they wished to return. It could be a boiling pot just waiting to explode. If we win, we can send ponies home, but we'll be low on supplies as well. Unfortunately, there's another major problem.”
“What's that?” Twilight asked as she watched another fake building be toppled over.
“It's happening too fast. These new structure changes are just that, new. Ponies haven't had much time to simmer and stew and decide how things could be better. Many are still hopeful this is all just a temporary change. Unfortunately, we don't have time to wait for the ponies to become miserable, we--”
“Wait, you want the ponies to be miserable?” Twilight asked, glaring at the princess.
“No. I want them to be ready to rise up in rebellion,” Rarity said with a shake of her head. “This isn't a few ponies. This is an entire city, a crowded one. We can't take it over if we only get a fraction of the populace. We need every edge we can get. To be honest, Avatar, we likely won't survive if this lasts more than a day. If we want to win and free your country, we have to take over the city hard and fast. No delays, no being slow. We can't afford to go slow and steady. The longer we take, the more ponies who will decide maybe the Water Nation rule isn't quite so bad.”
Twilight gave a slow, gentle nod. “Do... you really believe they'll give up, just like that? Just let the Water Nation control them?”
“Perhaps,” Rarity said before shaking her head. “Don't think I'm saying your ponies are weak or cowards. But a mob mentality can be... useful. Plenty of wars and battles have been won through those means. Delaying, however...” She slowly picked the buildings back up. “Give ponies time to think things through. It allows them to be afraid. They might decide it's better to ride things out, to hope it fixes itself on its own. That you'll do everything. After all, they're just one pony, alone they can't do anything. It's only when they move as one that they can work, so that's what we have to get them to do.” She pulled back. “Besides, many of these ponies have lived their entire lives in the Water Nation's control. Most probably never even knew anypony who was alive during your time, before the fall of their home. To them this is all they know and, even if it's not perfect, at least they know they and their family will be safe. The new life they'll be fighting for may be better, but they have no idea what that life would be. Given enough time to think about it, they might even think the new life is scary.”
“You're a real motivational speaker, you know that?” Rainbow said with a shrug.
“I've been studying these tactics since I was a foal,” Rarity said. “If we want any chance of success, we need the ponies on our side. That means we have to understand them. Understand why they may fight for, or against, us.” She glared at the pegasus. “Do remember that in many cases they may have more to lose than us. If the rebellion fails, they'll likely be executed. Their families may be. Children, spouses, parents. Their homes could be destroyed. Even if only they are killed, they have no way of knowing those closest to them will still be taken care of. We have to win fast, before these thoughts drive the majority of our forces away. Now, tell me. If you lost, how many ponies that you care about could probably lose their lives?”
The pegasus looked off to the side, unable to look her in the eye. Applejack gave a little sigh. “Ah think ah understand. It's all well an' good durin' the fightin', but when yah know how much damage your loss can do, it makes it a whole lot harder tah keep goin'. But that ain't any reason tah give up.”
“No, it's not,” Rarity said with a shake of her hooves. “But the more ponies we have on our side, the less chance there is we'll have to fight.” She glanced to the city. “I'm not going to try and defend these actions. I know in many ways they are despicable. We're manipulating the ponies who we're supposed to be defending. But we're doing it to try and save them, to give them the strength to rise up and fight back. None of the countries should be slaves to the others. Pinkie?”
“Mmm hmm?” the pink mare asked as she glanced up.
“How goes the new play? Think it will be as inspirational as we'll need it to be?”
“Ohhh! Yes! There's yelling and parties and explosions and wild romance scenes, sorry Dashie, and--”
“HEY! I am not making out with Fluttershy!” the pegasus said, her face turning scarlet.
“Oh, no no!” the pink mare said with a teasing grin. “I just didn't think you'd like the whole romance parts. If you want to make out with Fluttershy though...”
The pegasus turned even redder and hmphed. The other pegasus had her face buried in her hooves as Angel gently patted her back.
“But oh yes! Lots of amazing scenes! We even fleshed out the parts about the Everfree Forest. Can you believe how many things they missed? The entire story is in there now!”
“How many hours is it?” Rarity asked with a sigh as a hoof rubbed her forehead.
“Oh, ten hours long with eight well placed intermissions and--”
“You need to help him cut it down. Keep that version if you like, call it the extended edition. But we need it short and exciting. Also... make sure you have your last encounter at Canterlot. Ponies need to know that you're alive, give it time to sink in. Not only that you're alive and fighting, that you've won a big fight.”
“But we lost that,” Twilight said softly.
“Really?” Rarity asked with a cocked eye. “You destroyed our capital, delaying who knows how many of my mother's plans. Avoided a trap the nation had planned for weeks. Escaped almost easily before their ponies could close in. Forced my mother to recall almost every troop she had in the field, leaving little more than a token defense across all the nations. How, pray tell, is that a loss?”
The avatar smiled and shifted a little in her seat. “W-well, when you put it like that...”
“When I put it like that, it shows just how well everything is going for your side. Things may not be perfect, but they're far from their worst. That's what ponies want, no, need to hear. They need to know that we have a shot of victory. That if we all come together and know what to do we can win this and free your home from their grasp. Now, Pinkie. It needs to be cut down to... I'd say four hours, five at the max. If it's too long, we risk ponies getting tired and unable to be properly motivated. Could probably cut out the entire first half even, start from after Twilight gained her air bending. The shorter it is, the less time we give ponies to think through and more time to get motivated. That way, when they hear of the avatar's return, they are ready and willing to jump into action. Can you do that?”
Pinkie frowned and sighed. “Fine. But I reallllly don't like having to cut out all the good stuff. A good story should take as long as it needs to.”
“We can have a second, extended play after the country is freed,” Rarity said with a sigh. She then paused and looked to Twilight. “I'm sorry. I'm... taking too much control, aren't I? This isn't my fight, this is yours. I should let you--”
“No,” the alicorn said with a shake of her head. “You're doing a fine job. Probably a better job than I could hope to. You have the knowledge and, frankly, you're using it to help us. So... do continue.”
“You know, it's really not bad having you on our side for once,” Rainbow said with a shrug. “At least we don't have to expect you to show up and try to kill us every twenty seconds now. You aren't as blood thirsty as a lot of your countrymen, either.”
Rarity paused for a second. “Really? I'd imagine you'd revel at the idea of a more... blood thirsty conquest. I thought you hated the Water Nation?”
“I do,” the pegasus said with a sigh. “I hate the nation. Some of the ponies though... ehhhh. They aren't all bad.” She shook her head. “Some of them are good guys, just doing their best to get by. If we can get through all this without having to leave a pile of bodies in our wake, I'd say that's a good thing. That play pony was NOTHING like me,” she snapped angrily.
The unicorn nodded and gave a gentle sigh. “I will not deny that... given the option, I'd prefer we didn't have to leave a trail of anything in our wake. These ponies, even if they are now my enemies, are still my kinsmen. I'd rather we not have to hurt any more than required. We should be able to have a swift, almost bloodless victory if everything goes right.” She took a deep breath. “But as my aunt used to say. Even the greatest plan rarely survives past the first encounter with the enemy. Here's hoping this will be the exception.”
The others gave slow nods. Twilight stepped up and gave her friends a small smile. “Well, we have a plan and we have a goal. Let's start spreading the word and then get ready to travel. In a few days we'll be at Manehatten.” She took a deep breath. “Then we'll see exactly just how well we can do this.” The others slowly got up and trotted out the door, leaving Rarity behind. The avatar gave her an encouraging smile. “You could come with us. I'm certain--”
“It's best if ponies don't know I'm on your side,” Rarity said with a shake of her head as she lifted the hood. “Even if they accept me, there will always be the doubt that I can be trusted. That could be just one more thing that drives ponies away from you. I don't wish to be the cause of any of that.”
Twilight gave a soft sigh, but nodded. “Very well. We'll see you soon.”
------
The moon glowed high above the ponies. They traveled in a caravan towards the city of Manehatten. The bright flames of the city seared into the night sky, guiding the ponies from miles away.
The guards leading the caravan were all pegasi, wearing somewhat ill fitting and jumbled armor. As they came closer to the city they nervously glanced about. “We're almost there, spread the word,” one of them whispered towards one of the walking ponies.
“We can all see that, the city shines like a beacon,” the pony said back, sarcastically.
Near the back of the caravan a few carts, housing all the pieces needed to create a stage as well as all the props needed for a play trudged along. Inside it were two special guests, an alicorn and a unicorn.
“Hey, we're almost there,” Applejack called back from her position at the front of the cart. “Hope yah all are sure about this.”
“Me too,” Twilight mumbled as she took a deep breath. The town hadn't had many pegasi so, unfortunately, they'd had to depend on some of the pegasi who had switched sides to theirs. There was no telling if the soldiers would turn coat again, at which point all their plans would be ruined. Sadly, it wasn't as if they had many other options. They had to have pegasi escorting them or everything would raise suspicions.
“Don't worry, I'm more than ready to sweet talk any guards who wish to examine our supplies,” Pony Wu said with a confident smile. “In fact, I believe they'll find it near impossible to resist my charms.”
“Uh huh,” Rarity grumbled softly. “Are you going to call their aunts fat as well?” He was one of the few ponies in the caravan who was aware of her presence which, fortunately, he'd agreed to keep under wraps.
Pony Wu turned scarlet. “I, errr, y-you see I didn't have much choice in the matter. The ponies in control wouldn't approve a play where Celestia was refined in any manner. To be honest, making her love cake and be... large, was really quite kind compared to what they wanted me to do.”
The princess sighed. “Nevermind, I understand. Just get us in and all is forgiven.”
The caravan slowly traveled forward, the ponies being waved in slowly, the guards at the gates giving them close, but slightly nervous, stares. When the wagons came they were stopped with a gesture of the spear. “What's all this then?”
Rarity tensed and got ready in case things went south.
“Why, my dear gentlestallion, this is the equipment of mine and my cohorts!” The playwright stood up. “I'm sure you've heard of us, tellers of the--”
“Oh, right. You're those entertainment ponies they mentioned. Move along.”
“W-what? But, but don't you want to question--”
“Just go. We've got a lot of ponies to get in. Keep following the line, you'll be directed to where you'll be staying and where you can store your things.”
The playwright just stared for a few moments before sighing. “Very well...” The cart began moving yet again. “Think they'd want to hear about some of my greats. I set up the Fall of the Diamond Palace for a sold out theatre three years running in Fillydelphia, but noooo, just ignore me and--”
“Yah mind keepin' your grumblin' a bit lower?” Applejack snapped. “In case yah forgotten, we're doin' pretty important work here.” She paused. “Besides. Once all this is done yah can add it to your play. Wouldn't that be somethin' tah see?”
The pony perked up and nodded. “Oh! Right! That would be wonderful!”
The wagon was led through the city, slowly. The streets were filled with ponies milling about and talking. Many of the homes had their windows open and the ponies could see they seemed just as crowded, sometimes with negative effects as they were privy to quite a few angry screaming matches.
“Looks like yah were right,” Applejack mumbled as she looked over the crowds. There was a dangerous tension in the air, just waiting to snap. “A lot of these ponies look ready tah lash out at a moments notice.”
“That's good,” Rarity whispered as she moved about to better hide under the props. “It means our plan might just work...”
The group was led to a small section of the city, filled with tall towers. A guard with a clipboard was standing there. “You'll all be staying here until adequate homes can be built to hold you all. As we speak more are being built outside the city. Everypony here is expected to work and is assigned jobs, as well as quotas will be posted up. I'm going to have to take all your names and what jobs you'd be most adequate for. Any questions?”
“Yes!” Pony Wu yelled as he jumped from the cart and stepped forward. “My name is Pony Wu! My associates and I are members of the theatre! Where can we set up our stage? We absolutely must begin production of our works immediately!”
The guard stationed there looked stunned. “W-what? Productions? I-I'm afraid entertainment must be--”
“We have all forms and permission already acquired.” The earth pony pulled out a folder from under his chair and held it open. “As you can see, we have a Water Nation seal of approval as well as a four point seven approval rating. We--”
The guard shook his head. “O-oh. I guess, I ummm...” He did a quick mental calculation before nodding. “East side of the city. The ponies stationed there will be able to delegate you a location. However, you won't be able to set up in the city due to--”
“No worries,” the stallion interrupted with a flourish of closing the folder. “We will depart there immediately! Thank you, my kind pony.” He got into his wagon.
“W-what? Wait! Stop! You can't just go,” the guard yelled. “You still need to sign in and--”
“You expect us to work farms? We aren't members of this country. We are actors! Writers! We are the entertainment, there to make ponies happy!”
The guard gulped and looked nervously around. He obviously wasn't prepared for such a personality. He took a deep breath and nodded. “V-very well. Okay. You are to head to the eastern side of the city. The guards there can decide what to do with you. However, you'll need to set up your own beddings and--”
“Consider it done! Come, my ponies, let us go!” The wagons took off at a steady pace, trotting through the streets.
Rarity let out a soft sigh. “Well, that went better than expected. Hopefully the ponies we left can do their job right.”
“Worry not,” Pony Wu said with a grin. “Some of my best ponies are back there, they will work the city like they work an audience. After tomorrow's show, the city will be ready and willing.” He paused for a second. “Are you two sure you're up to this? Things could go... poorly.”
“Everypony else is risking so much, we can't just let them do everything,” Twilight said before peeping out through the wagon's cloth cover. All that stood between her and her people was one day. Soon they'd all be free. Or everything would go wrong and they'd all be doomed. She prayed it would be the former.