What Came Before

by Lynwood


XVIII

"Other countries are experiencing similar violence as the movement for equal rights spirals out of control..."

"...Canadian-Russian griffons being more peaceful than other races, even Ottawa police are having to resort to force."

"...Equestrian Workers' Party attacked a military base nearby..."

Cee laid in her bed, looking at her father. He wore a faded t-shirt and jeans and was sitting at the foot of the bed, feverishly swiping and tapping at a small tablet in his hand. The screen shone brightly, bathing the room in a flickering blue light. The room smelled faintly of ammonia. There were few decorations aside from a small vase of flowers on a dresser. An old, sagging couch laid across from the two beds in the roomCee's father continued to stare at the screen.

"...still no news of the Mexican changelings, officials continue to deny..."

"...countries including the United States have declared martial law..."

"...brothers! Rise against our chains! We must take the freedom we rightfully deserve!"

Beta lied on a bed a few feet away from Cee's. Much of his body was masked by bandages and casts. Multiple wires and tubes ran from him into machines that beeped and whirred incessantly, their lights blinking as if to taunt her. He seemed to grimace, even in his sleep.

"...hijacking killed thirty and injured many more..."

"...two hundred dead in violent riot...

"...collapsed the Vcorp building. Police forces are..."

Cee was almost fifteen. Two weeks had passed since the riot. As much as her father disliked it, she knew what was happening. She knew that it could only end in pain and misery. Her father continued to tap feverishly on the tablet as if he was searching for something.

"...mobilization of forces in California, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Nevada..."

"..major damage to the Hoover Dam..."

"...call themselves 'revolutionaries'. How do you respond?..."

"...not only gifted but superior! We deserve the land we've been chained to!..."

Cee's father's worried eyes were glued to the screen. They darted back and forth as he hopped from news station to news station, feverishly moving this way and that.

Suddenly a shrill ringing permeated the tenseness of the night. The exhausted man sitting on the edge of the bed pawed at his pocket, retrieving the small black machine. He quickly tapped the screen, then brought the device to his ear.

"Hello?" He said, both fearfully and hopefully. After hearing the response, his posture visibly relaxed. "Oh, thank god, I was losing my mind," he listened to the warbly voice before speaking again. "Beta's not doing too well, but Cee's fine. She's been a little quiet." His eyebrows furrowed. "Yeah, I'll pick them up tomorrow. Don't worry, I'll take one of the unmarked cars. Are things quiet out there? Alright. Thanks, Mitch. Don't know what I'd do without you. Yeah. Bye." He replaced the cell phone, before flopping onto his back.

"Ugh..." he sighed. "One less thing to worry about." He turned his head and met Cee's big, tired eyes. "Don't worry. They'll work something out. I'm sure." Groaning, he pushed himself off cee's bed and stumbled to the old, sagging couch. Flopping down on it, he sighed, setting his tablet on the ground near the couch. The man was asleep in a few moments

Cee laid in the darkness, listening to the light snoring of her father coupled with the quiet beeps of Beta's heart rate monitor. As she drifted off to sleep, she hoped that her father was right. Maybe, just maybe, things would get back to normal.


It was three days later. Everyone heard the broadcast. It was, for some, the last shards of a normal life breaking as the first part pf the world descended into chaos. It meant the beginning of years of hardship and fighting, but above all else it gave one startlingly clear message. Humans were no longer completely in charge.

"People of the United States of America," It began. "We are the Equestrian Workers' Party. We are broadcasting this on as many channels as possible so that you may listen to us. We have taken complete control of a Nuclear ICBM missile launch site. We now possess the power to destroy billions of lives.

"We say this because we want all humans to know that whether pony or griffon, zebra or camel, dog or wolf, we will no longer be oppressed! We are superior! You have no right to drag us down like we are the scum of the earth! We! Will! Rise! I call all ponies to us! Unite! Drive the so-called 'Creators' from land that should rightfully be ours! 'Survival of the fittest' is an age-old saying known worldwide. We are the fittest! We are the strongest! And we will not only survive, we shall thrive!"

It was only the first of many, many such broadcasts. As the propaganda was spewed, more and more things turned violent. Cee and her family fled from one city to the next, on a desperate trip to the east. The Americans were just the first to experience this kind of insurrection. Then it was Germany, then Russia. Even Japan was fighting. Eventually the "riots" became "skirmishes" then full-on "battles". The American ponies favored hit-and-run strategies at first, but then began to attack and capture cities and towns, recruiting more and more ponies. The humans they captured were swiftly and publicly executed.

The world descended into war. As the war went on, the ponies got better and better at using their abilities. The most powerful of them all could destroy skyscrapers with ease. The armies of the world were pushed back, their conventional weapons nearly worthless against their creations. Even as scientists worked to create weapons against the ponies, factories were destroyed and the workforce was turned against them. The age of man was quickly ending.

That was before anyone launched any missiles.

Ten months after the first broadcast

Filth. Everything was filthy. Her clothes smelled bad. Her mane smelled bad. The truck smelled bad. Beta and Eiy and Delta smelled bad. The stench of sweat and grime permeated everything. Cee scrunched up her snout, fiddled with her hoodie's strings. The gray hoodie had a colorful design on it, but it was faded beyond recognition. The hoodie had streaks of dirt on it, and her pants weren't doing much better. Signing, she turned to Beta.

"Where are we going again?"

"Hmm?" Beta said, staring off into the distance. He wore a striped white and lime green t-shirt with more than a few holes, and torn blue jeans. The canvas that made up the roof of the truck's cabin fluttered in the wind. Cee nudged his hoof.

"I said, where are we going?"

"Oh." He jerked out of his gaze to look at Cee. "Dad said there was a launch site in Piladelphia. He'll be waiting there." Beta resumed staring into space. Cee frowned, looked out the back of the truck at the passing landscape. The old asphalt roat was littered with cracks and was lined with various bits of trash.

Philadelphia. One of the last remaining army strongholds. The city had been fortified like nothing else had been before. Tanks, Artillery, Helicopters, even ships had been brought to the city to protect it. The only reason it had lasted to long was because it was the first city to build AMAEMS fields. The big towers dominated the landscape, protecting the city by disabling unicorn magic in large area. It was a bastion of humanity.

Human. Pony. Human privilege. Pony rights. Species was all anyone was worried about. Of course, there was a small part of the pony populations that defended the humans. They were vastly outnumbered and largely ignored.

"Hey, can you pull over? I have to go to the bathroom." Cee was jerked out of her thoughts by the question. Beta was tapping on the window between trucks cabin section and its passenger section. A muffled reply as given and the old truck groaned as the driver pulled it over. As the truck came to a screeching stop, the four ponies shuffled to the back. One by one they hopped off the truck, pausing to stretch and take in the scenery. A soldier stepped out of the truck's cabin, stopping to stretch his legs before inspecting the small radio on his belt. He wore a grimy army uniform and a holster on his leg. The driver opted to stay in the truck.

The truck rested on the side of a dusty road that followed a lazy-moving river. They both sat comfortably in a soft valley, accompanying each other as they snaked back and forth. The sky was a cold blue, streaked with wispy clouds. The valley glowed with blazing yellows and reds of fall weather. Dead leaves littered the ground, fluttering in the cold breeze.

Cee shivered. The sooner they got moving again, the better. But as she sat down on the cool dirt she could almost forget it all. Sighing, she thought quietly. Cee laid down, comfortably sitting on her legs and nestled her head back into her hoodie. She sat there for a while, looking up at the soft blue sky. Turning her head she slowly took in the scenery, before starting down the road they had just traveled, watching the valley.

She saw three pegasi flying towards her.

"Pegasi!" She screamed, jumping to her hoof and pointing. Everybody's heads whipped around. The soldier reacted first, drawing his pistol.

"Everybody get in the truck!" He yelled, before rushing to the cabin of the truck. Cee rushed to the back of the old truck, struggling to get in. Beta and Delta flew in, before helping Eiy and Cee. The soldier yanked open the cabin door and yelled at the driver to go before running to the back of the truck and hopped in. The truck sputtered to life, and they were off.

The pegasi gave chase, flying after the truck. As they got closer the soldier aimed his gun and fired at the ponies chasing the truck, pausing only to yell into his radio.

Now the pegasi were so close that Cee could see their uniforms. They wore tight mottled brown clothes, with the Equestrian Workers' Party sewn onto the sleeves. In a flash, they were at the truck. One flew ahead to the cabin, and the other two clambered into the back. The soldier tried to shoot but was tackled by a rusty red pegasus. Delta screamed as one tried to push her out of the car. Eiy growled, grabbing one of the pegasus mare's flapping wings.

BANG BANG

Cee's head spun towards the cabin, right before the front of truck bounced into the air. A second later the back wheels ran into something. Cee went airborne as the back of the truck raised into the air. She met the damp metal floor of the truck with a heavy thud. groaning she looked around. She saw the bloody body of a pegasus laying on the road behind them. In the back of her mind, she registered Delta haphazardly shooting bursts of uncontrolled energy.

"This is patrol 6A requesting backup! The pegacorn is-ARGH!" The pegasus mare struggling to subdue Delta yelled in pain as Eiy bit down on her wing. She twisted around and lost her balance, tumbling out of the speeding truck, and bringing Delta and Eiy with her. The pegasus' scream was cut short with a crunch as she hit the road.

BANG

The soldier heaved the corpse of a pegasus corpse off himself. Beta ran up to him, fear in his eyes as he yelled over the rushing wind and the roaring engine.

"Eiy and Delta fell off! Slow down!" The soldier looked at him for a brief moment, before frowning and shaking his head.

"We can't! That mare called for backup they'll be here any minute! It'll take too long! We might not make it to Philly as it is!" Cee turned and looked down the road behind them in time to see Delta and Eiy dive into the underbrush near the riverbank. Cee figured they must have had a similar thought.

The truck ended up getting to Philadelphia just in time. Cee was in tears as she told her father what happened. He took Cee and Beta to a small clinic so that their bruises and cuts could be treated while he frantically pulled strings to find Delta and Eiy.

The clinic was essentially a tent with a red cross painted on the side. Floor space was taken up mostly by cots, which carried various soldiers and ponies. The sounds of moaning and tense conversation assaulted Cee's ears which she had tucked underneath her hood. The air smelt of sweat and dust, stifled by the medics and nurses that rushed back and forth haphazardly. Beta and Cee didn't need immediate attention, so they had been set on a spare cot and told to wait.

Cee felt a slight vibrating in her pocket. Her eyebrows furrowed when she tried and failed to use magic to retrieve her cell phone from her pocket before she remembered the SMAEMS field. She stood up and wove her way around legs and bodies towards the exit, before stepping into the brisk evening air.

The tent had been set up in what used to be a park. All but a few trees had been felled and used for firewood, and the ground had been leveled as best as possible with the tools and manpower available. The park was surrounded by brick and concrete buildings, with broken boarded-up windows. The place had a tired, worn-out feel. All around her people mulled about, doing one thing or another. Cee quickly found a quiet spot and retrieved her phone from her pocket. her eyes widened when she saw the caller. Hastily, she tapped the screen and sat down, bringing the phone to her ear.

"Delta?!"

"Yeah, Cee. It's me."

"Oh my god! Where are you? Is Eiy with you? Are you okay?"

"Eiy's here and we're fine, aside from a few scratches and a twisted hoof." Cee relaxed visibly at the warbled reply. "We hid from the ponies that came after us. We're trying to get to you, but Eiy can't go very fast." Cee's anxiety returned in a heartbeat.

"Well, let me get the phone to dad. He'll know what to-"

BOOM

The sky flickered for a moment as the world shook. For a half second everything was quiet, then the world exploded with action. Cee was dumbfounded, until the questions coming from her cell phone shook her out of her stupor.

"CEE! WHAT HAPPENED? CEE"

"I'm here!" Cee yelled. "I think The EWP is attacking!"

BOOM

"I'll call you back, okay?" Cee didnt wait for a response before tapping the screen of the phone and stuffing it into her pocket. She stood up and rushed to the clinic, weaving around people to go as fast as possible. The air was fulled with the cacophony of people desperately trying to get somewhere.

Cee rushed into the clinic, her eyes darting back and forth. She spotted her brother and father in a hetad discussion. Upon noticing her her father sighed with relief.

"Dad, listen-"

"Later, Cee. We have to go. Come on." Her father tugged Beta off of the cot he was sitting on and the group rushed out teh door, towards a waiting truck.

"Get in! Go!" The group piled onto the back of the rusty pickup. When they were all on it sputtered to life, before moving down the street slowly. So many people were around it, it was like trying to drive through water. Cee's father pulled out his cell phone and began frantically talking to someone.

"Dad! I know wh-"

"Cee. Not. Now." Her father glared at her. Cee was so taken aback by the respose she fell quiet.

BOOM

The truck pulled onto a less inhabited road and began to drive more quickly. The wind rushed by as the truck sped by the wwhat was left of philadelphia. The once-proud city was it a state of decay. Trash littered the streets and most of the buildings had a broken feel to them. Dirty smoke and exhaust choked the air.

After a while the truck pulled up to what appeared to be a makeshift checkpoint. It was a hastily constructed fence, with a soldier standing at its gate and holding a rifle. The solder looked at Cee's father for a moment before wafing the truck by.

Cee was astonished. It looked like an old superhighway had been modified to work as an airstrip! There wasnt much in the way of planes, just a couple small aircraft, aside from the monster on the runway. It was a massive silver plane, with hige engines and swept-back wings. People swarmed all around it, disconnectiong nozzles and tubes. A movable stairway sat next to the plane, leading up to a small hatch near the nose of the spaceplane, ready to serve its purpose.

The rusty pickup rolled to a stop next to the stairway, and immediately half a dozen soldiers approached it, ordering Cee, Beta and their father out of the vehicle. Cee hopped off the back of the truck, and was pushed towards the stairwell. She began to climb it, and Beta followed. Reaching the top, she stepped in hesitantly, as if the plane might swallow her.

BOOM

The inside was well-furnished and almost blindingly clean compared to the grime outside. The chairs were all slightly tilted back, and small windows lined the walls. The celing had this white lights running accross it, giving the cabin a high-tech look. There were both normal seats, and pony seats, which looked very strange compared to human ones. They were like a U on its side, meant to cradle the pony during takeoff.

A soldier stood near the door, and when Cee and Beta entered he pointed to a couple of pony seats and told them to sit there. Cee trotted over and fit herself into the seat, taking it as an opportunity to rest before her father came back with Delta and Eiy. As she sat, she noticed a faint tingling in her horn. It felt like it was... recharching. Wait, that meant-

BOOM

That explosion sounded much closer. Less tahn ten seconds later An alarm began to blare and the lights in the cabin dimmed. Cee's Father was rushed through the door, followed by a soldier. The soldier pointed at a human seat near Cee and Beta and barked to sit.

"DAD!"

BOOM

"WHAT?" He yelled over the sound of the magical artillery destroying what was left of Philadelphia.

"WHAT ABOUT DELTA AND EIY?" At that, Cee's father's eyes drooped, and his shoulders sunk. Cee got the message.

"NO! DAD! WE CANT JUST-"

BOOM

"SIR! SIT DOWN! WE HAVE TO GO!" The soldier struggled to yell over the sound of the artillery and gunfire as she shut the cabin's hatch. When the door shut the sounds of the battle outside became muted, but the plane shook as the artillery drew closer. The soldier rushed to a seat and hastily buckled up before yanking her radio off her belt and calling it.

"We're all good back here! Go!" A warbled response was given and the plane began to hum.

BOOM

A violet light flashed through the windows. The spaceplane shook, its engines gaining more and more power. The hum grew into a roar as the plane picked up speed. Bumps in the large road bounced the plane up and down as it roared down the old interstate highway. Then they suddenly were absent as the plane tilted up.

Cee was crushed into her seat as the plane barged forward. The engine drowned out all other noises and the seats rattled and rocked back and forth. The feeling seemed to go on for ages as the plane accelerated. The sky outside became darker and darker blue, until finally. the plane stopped being thrown up and down and the ride smoothed.

It was suddenly very quiet. Nobody said a word. The spacecraft banked gently to the side, and Cee got a view of Earth through the small window. It seemed so vibrantly blue, white and green. Cee could see night falling over north America, and she realized she was no longer on the planet earth. She had escaped the war. No pony could attack her or beat her or chase her up here.

Cee couldn't stop the tears.


Twilight Sparkle's head spun from exiting the memory. She felt numb. Ponies weren't given this world like so many taught. They had taken it. They had ripped it apart because they weren't on top.

Not much time had passed. The sunlight filtering through the windows was still golden, although it was rapidly fading. Dust danced in the beams of light that laid across the wooden floor of the library.

Twilight felt a dampness on her face and reached her hoof up only to discover she was crying. She looked at Cee with blurry eyes, who was as calm as ever.

"H-how could anypony do that?'

"It doesn't matter. It happened a long time ago. What does matter is the humans on board that ship." she gestured to the behemoth in the sky. "There are humans there that would rather die a horrible death than forgive ponies. They are very, very dangerous." She looked into Twilight's eyes with a serious face that rivaled Celestia's. "Even though they do not have magic they should be taken very, very seriously. This is bigger than anything you could have faced before."

"W-why do they hate us so much?" Twilight slowly asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"Twilight, how many beings live on this world?" Twilight was confused by the question, taking a moment to sift through her memories.

"Uh, almost eight hundred million. Why?"

"When humanity was at its peak there were twelve billion people living on earth. The ponies are responsible for the death's of nearly all of them." Twilight's jaw dropped. She sat in her chair, dumbfounded. The gray pony stood and turned to leave, but was stopped by one last question.

"Why are you telling me this, Cee?" Cee smiled, opening the door with her strange magic.

"Because, Twilight, neither of us want Equestria reduced to a smoldering heap of ashes, now do we?"

Twilight could only watch as Cee left the library.