//------------------------------// // Phase III // Story: Earning Freedom // by Daxisle //------------------------------// Phase III Standing amongst the crowed of roaring communist protesters, Big Macintosh looked around to make sure that the Trotski ponies from before weren't in the vicinity for what he was about to do. He could deny association with Sin easily enough, especially with how the pony had recently spoken to him, but he didn't want to have to explain himself yet. Fact was that, according to Luna, he'd need to establish some credibility when her agents arrived, posing as fellow communists before being confronted by the leaders. He needed to gain their trust and their respect if his plan was to succeed. Rainbow Dash wasn't all that cunning... or useful, but Luna, despite her previous actions against him, served as an invaluable fountain of knowledge for regal presentation and persuasion. He straightened up the new red leg band he was given, ensuring it was fastened securely. It didn't do much to stand out, being only a shade darker than his own coat, but the importance of the cloth wasn't in it's cosmetics. The cloth was enchanted to enhance his vocabulary and minimize his accent so the crowd could understand him better. Communication was the key to his plan, and the stallion had little in the way of articulation. He could understand the bigger and more fancy words well enough, thanks to his numerous conversations with Sin, but using them? That was a different beast entirely. He didn't have the years and years of experience and study necessary to sound as if he was as intelligent and well versed as he needed to be, but magic made it easy enough to feign. Well, not really. The words and rhetoric may have belonged to the magical gift bestowed, but the understanding and comprehension still had to come from his own mind. The enchantment worked more as a filter for his mouth than his mind. He wouldn't get another chance like this, and had only one brief moment to make a first impact. Luna was very direct in asserting that her services were at his disposal. She, unlike her sister, was more than happy to aid in the disruption and dispersal of the protesters. If Sin and Luna were right, and these protesters really were looking to become violent, than his work over the next few days were paramount in protecting the lives of the communists, the guards, and the innocent bystandards who'd most likely get caught in the clash. He saw the train approach and readied himself. The protesters, gaining a second wind with a chance at demonstrating for new arrivals, upped the volume, and raised their banners and demonstrations. It made Mac sick to his stomach to think that he'd be seen as a "comrade" to ponies who hung dolls of the princess's on pikes, but he knew the ultimate goal would be worth the pain and effort. The express slowed significantly before finally coming to a full stop, the engine allowing a small discharge to solidify the finished journey. The doors opened and groups of ponies began quietly exiting the train, some pegasi and unicorns, but mostly earth ponies. Most earth ponies with the tell tale red band around their right, upper forelegs. The crowed cheered, each of the new arrivals, mares and stallions alike, having different reactions to their welcome party. Some looked amazed, others curious, and a few even looked disgusted. Mac hoped the real communists would buy his facade, and take no suspicion at the massive influx. Ninety ponies looked alot smaller in theory, but to see the count as each individual exited the train? It was almost overwhelming, and they just kept coming. 'Stay cool, remember the plan.' Once the train was empty of it's cargo, the doors closed and the new comers began to file into lines, each standing at attention, their faces stoic masks of patient waiting. Taking his cue, Macintosh pushed past the crowed and walked to the forefront of his miniature army. Seeing him raise a hoof, the crowed shushed itself, waiting to hear what such a daring pony had to say. The stallion tensed all of his leg muscles, per Luna's instruction on how to deal with stage fright, and finally began his address. "COMRADES!" Mac shouted, his voice echoing throughout the now silent platform. He felt empowered, nervous and slightly sick. He briefly wanted to run home and hide for a while, he was an introvert, and introverts didn't do well at speeches. Though, as angry as he was at the Federalist, he knew Sin wouldn't allow his feelings of discomfort to send him running from this kind of challenge, and neither would Mac. "Thank ya fer comin'! Do you see?" He gestured his hoof the crowed of ponies already present. "It is as Ah've said. Ouah time fer revolution has come!" The crowd roared with praise, he waited for them to settle again before continuing. However, a lone pony stepped forward, a unicorn stallion, coat a dark cobalt with a rough white and aqua mane. "Who are you supposed to be?" He asked, his voice dripping with exaggerated skepticism. Eyeing the pony for just a moment, fighting the churning in his stomach from the challenge, Big Mac introduced himself as a local family Applefarmer in Ponyville, one who was tired of his labor and toils being profited from by those who didn't know him, who he didn't give permission to. The stallion tilted his head and looked between Mac and the new arrivals. His status as a farmer putting the cobalt pony at ease only a little before he proceeded to ask how he was addressing the new arivals in such a way. "Ah have been in correspondence with the Red Revolution fer years." He answered sagely. "Is that right? Than why is it that we have never heard of you? Comrade Macintosh?" Mac's eyes went wide in shock. He never even considered that question, how could he have not considered that question to come up? It was practically the first thing these ponies would ask! 'Keep it together, play it off!' Thinking quickly, the stallion suddenly found the answer all too clear. Tilting his head and giving the cobalt pony a genuinely confused look, Mac answered. "We live under the rule of Capitalist Impearialists. Ah thought it best tha' we not make ouah intentions known tah them." He looked around, feeling a bit more confident. "Ah was of the mind ta keep my comrades safe by workin' in secret. Fearin' we'd be brought to harm for ouah beliefs." The unicorn narrowed his eyes. "Indeed, 'comrade'. Is that the reason you've come so conveniently? Showing up with a hundred ponies at your back? Very suspicious if you- Ow!" He cursed, another pony, a white stallion elbowing him hard in the ribs and whispering something harshly into his ear. "My apologize, Comrade Macintosh." The white pony declaired, stepping forward and offering a much more friendly disposition. "Comrade Toiler has been on edge since our protest began. Please, continue as you were." Mac smiled, happy to have someone on his side. "Ah don' blame him. Mah appearence is a might suspicious. But tah answer his question, Ah've been in Cantahlot fer the past two days, hearin' whispers about the brave ponies who took a stand 'gainst the political class. Ah wanted tah see fer myself." He paused, swiveling his head and looking at each of the blushing faces in the crowd, appealing to charm. "Ah've seen all ah needed to, n' sent word that the time fer hidin' was over. Y'all have inspired me to stand against mah fear, and for yer efforts, Ah come with all I could call upon to aid in the revolution efforts." The crowd broke out into an applause of stomping hooves and whistles, the white pony nudging the cobalt stallion encouragingly. 'Not bad, not bad at all. Luna's little speech spells seem to be working out rather well for you.' That they were, Mac would never, in a million years, consider doing this without them. For all of his understanding of communism, he wouldn't be able to articulate it in the least to save his life on his own. The praise emboldened his confidence, and the pony returned to his address. "Th' Capital and Imperial Political classes have, fer too long, profited off of the sweat of the brow of ponies toiling the fields n' factories that they-" He pointed to the castle proper. "have seen onleh in news papers from their coseh little desks!" Another cheer, this one far more intense. As troubling as Mac found the interruptions, it did give him time to think and coordinate what he was going to say. "Fancy Pants, Filthy Rich, Bounti Full, our dear princess's: Celestia and Luna! None of them know what true work! They sit here, in the city of pearls and gold, watching with delight as we break our backs fer them! As we give of our own labor for their profit and gain! Taxes, Landlordship, Management, BUREAUCRACY!" He spat, earning a great deal of boos and other lewd accusation from the crowd that he was happy Applebloom wasn't here to learn. He carried on, keeping his posture firm and confident, just as Luna had taught him, emulating what few speeches he'd seen and heard on his way down. He recalled every last bit of communist literature he could remember, keeping the rhetoric concise, but making some well timed declarations to get the crowd going so he could think about what to say next. The Bourgeoisie's lavish indulgences, The Gentle Laborer's plights, Comparing the upper management and rich corporate fat cats to parasites feeding off of the workers and their labor, like leeches and life blood. The idea of private property, the inefficiency of money, and the disgusting mix of greed and power. These were only a few of the things he spoke of. He'd spent a good twenty minutes rallying the crowd before turning his attention to the political class. Celestia, he verbally crucified an inept leader who allowed a Swarm of Changelings to invade and obliterate the nation's Capital under her personal watch. A swarm that had to pass miles and miles of Equestrian territory and, some how, was not stopped or even intercepted. She knew that there was a threat coming, yet even with her knowledge, the military force she'd rallied was no where near enough to hold the city she'd sworn to protect. How long could she be trusted with the ponies safety if she couldn't even handle that? As for Luna, all he needed to do was remind them of her banishment and return as an actual tyrant: Nightmare Moon. She promised eternal night, she promised an authoritative rule that would bring about the ruination of the world. She was stopped by six mares using mystical and ancient "artifacts", that could only be wielded by six mares, one of which, conveniently, being the student of Celestia. Was Nightmare Moon truely gone? Or was there ever even a Nightmare Moon to begin with? The questions had the desired effect, none of the ponies cheered this time, all of them simply stood in shock, or whispered fearfully amongst themselves. Macintosh had initially argued against Luna when she'd suggested he bring this argument up, stating that it might do more harm than good in it's irreversible damage of the sister's credibility and trust, but she coached him through the process. As well as decorations of power and righteousness were, fear was the ultimate in bringing about complacency. Especially the fear of the unknown. Macintosh needed, not only the communists' trust, but their complacency. If what he needed done was to be done, he'd need them to follow him, believing that he had the answers they sought. And what better way for others to follow than to pose questions that inspired terror and feelings of uncertainty? "Mah friends, mah brothers, mah sisters... mah comrades." He turned and looked to the castle. "Let us show, today, here and nao, that we would not sit quietly by as the fruits of our labah were handed to our oppressahs who gave us table scraps in return! Let us march and tell these dogs that their chains of coin will hold us down no more!" He began walking, shivering as the crowd filed behind him. His eyes trailed around to find that the entire mass was falling in step behind him, not just his new arrivals. Chants echoed as the mass marched, demands of changes to be made, declarations of union sovereignty and the rightful recognition of democracy and the governance of the ponies. 'Phase one: Become a respected name within the communist collective; Complete.' Spike finally began to loosen his grip on Twilight, unsure of how long he'd been crying into her chest. Her gentle words of comfort finally breaking through his distraught state, and placating him into raspy, quite whimpering. He could still hear the cruel words of what lay beyond the door, taunting him, echoing and cutting into his very soul. It hurt, it hurt so much and he didn't know what to do. Were they right? Were they wrong? He wasn't a baby, at least he didn't want to be, but here he was... snuggled up to his mother like some foal after a bad nightmare... pathetic, weak and vulnerable. Feeling her hoof stroke his spines for the millionth time, Spike cringed. How could he deny their words? Especially that of his teenaged self? If he wasn't a baby, he was a beast, a monster, a mutilator. His own missing eye was a testimate to his sin, an ever present reminder of what he'd done... 'Enough!' His inner voice criticized. 'Dude, I don't know what you saw in there, but you need to get going! The empire's still under attack! You need to get up and find the Crystal Heart!' The voice was right, he'd wasted enough time sobbing and crying, but he didn't want to leave the warmth that Twilight offered. He felt like he lost her all over again. Why did this always happen? Why was the universe conspiring to break their bond and relationship at every turn? 'Dude, question's later, you need to move!' Sighing to steel his nerves, the drake gave Twilight one last squeeze before pulling away and embracing the coldness of the pit. She kept a hoof on his shoulder and looked down into his eyes, offering a friendly and encouraging smile. As he looked into her tender eyes that promised mercy and love, a small warmth developed in the drake's chest. For all of the terror, for all of the visions cruelty and disturbia, it wasn't real. The drake returned the smile and placed a claw onto her hoof, nuzzling his cheek into it. This. This was real, her love and care for him, that was real. 'You know what else is real? The empire and all of your friends about to be consumed by Sombra! MOVE!' "We'll talk about it later." Spike promised, sniffling. Twilight nodded and offered him a small brown bag. Eyes widening, the drake checked his cloak to find the dragon scales were missing. "But, how?" "You dropped them, it's how I pulled you out." Twilight explained helpfully. He took them and replaced the bag in his cloak, making sure it was secure this time. The two looked at the door and Twilight cast yet another spell, this one more in line with her usual harmony magic. The door's outline began to glow and open, revealing a bright and inviting white that cut through the darkened pit like a hot knife through butter. Excited, both ran forward, expecting to see the Crystal Heart on the other side. To both their annoyance and disappointment, all that lay beyond was even more stairs, to make matters even worse, these stairs went up. Oh for crying out loud! 'How? How's that possible? The pit wasn't that deep!' Fourth denominational magic seemed like the only logical answer. "C'mon Spike, we need to get the heart." Twilight declaired, dashing forward and beginning her assent up the spiral stair case, Spike in step right behind her. Shining Armor held Cadance upon the balcony of the Crystal Palace. Applejack and Rarity smiling awkwardly down at the growing crowd of concerned crystal ponies below, desperately trying to offer them some form of assurance; and failing quite miserably. Through an unfortunate set of circumstances, it was revealed that the Crystal Heart was not within their possession, and now the crystal ponies were reverting to the melancholy and disenfranchised mob they were before the Fair began. Hugging her for all he was worth, Shining tried to keep Cadance's will strong, but it was no use. Her barrier was in a constant state of flux now, her magic observably weaker and taking it's toll after four days of continuous usage. Spike and Twilight had been gone for almost an hour and he was beginning to worry about them, and if they would return in time. He sighed and rubbed his eyes. He'd catch little naps here and there, but he was almost as sleep deprived as his wife to be. He nudged her, trying to keep her awake, but her eyes immediately closed again. He watched in helpless exhaustion as the faint blue aura on her horn slowly died out, and with it, the barrier that kept the darkness outside at bay. Suddenly, a dark laughter permeated through out the empire, shaking him to the core. The sky was a disgusting shade of yellow, and all around, black fog swept throughout the streets below. The ground began to trembled as black, jagged crystals began to sprout from the ground, all differing in size, but uniform in their horror and promise of impalement. "He's here!" A mare from below cried frantically. "I can't take it!" She took off at a gallop, getting all of twenty feet before running smack dab into a newly formed crystal protrusion. Shining watched with horror as a pair of green and red eyes formed from behind the crystal and loomed over her. "King Sombra." He whispered fearfully before putting Cadance on his back. "Everypony, get into the palace, now!" Once all four ponies were in, the unicorn stallion slammed the door shut and ran to the throne to pick up the dragon scale. He felt like a coward for running, but with his own magic suppressed by Sombra's crystals, it was the only weapon he had. "Take care of Cadance." He said, looking at Applejack and Rarity. "Sombra may have gotten past the barrier, but I'll be damned before I let him take the empire while I'm still alive." "Shining, no..." Cadance called pleadingly. Shining leaned down, kissed her nose and offered a sad smile. His febel attempt at comfort ended when his gaze returned to the other two. "If I don't make it back, I want you two to get her back to Canterlot and tell the princess what happened here." "Shinin' ya can't-" He didn't know what she said next, nore did he really care. He was already half way to the entrance of the palace now. His chest was tight with fear and anticipation, but he was a soldier, a captain of the Royal Guard. His duty was to protect the ponies of Equestria with all that he had, that included his life if need be. Bursting the doors open, Shining gasped. The carnage was unprecedented, too much had happened for the few minutes it took him to descend to the bottom. Already, hundreds of crystal ponies were being trapped by the black spires, the crystals either twisting around them or spouting up and blocking any escape. Buildings all over were pierced by the same, screaming and fear permeated through the fog, heightening is already inflamed sense of terror. "SOMBRA!" He shouted, trying to gain the dark king's attention. A pair of sickly green eyes appeared in the fog before him, the head of a black and grey unicorn with a curved horn pushed through, it slowly, steadily made way for the captain, meeting him face to face. "Armor." It growled, it's shadow stuff circling the pony. His voice was as dark and foreboding as it was deep and sophisticated. Shining stepped forward, showing no fear to the king. "Leave now, Sombra! The Crystal Empire is no longer your kingdom!" Sombra tilted his head for a second than burst into bellowing and mirthful laughter. "You believe so? Perhaps you've not seen my subjects." He turned around, eyeing the ponies, each one of them dropping to their knees, faces cast down in the dirt. "Subjects bow before their king, do they not?" "You are not a king, you're a tyrant!" The captain barked, stepping forward in challenge. Sombra cackled again, the shadow fog around him condensing beneath his head, slowly forming into a... body. All four legs and his torso were fitted with Silver and black armor, all covered by a royal red cape. "Mmmm, yes." he cooed, looking down at his hoof. "It feels good to be back in flesh and blood." Shining took the opportunity to charge forward and attack the now materialized pony head on, though the king vanished in a wink of light before he could make contact. "Tell me, Shining Armor. How fare's Celestia and Luna?" Shining felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end from the soft breath on his ear and threw his leg out, missing as another wink of light took Sombra from his reach. "Did Celestia every heed my warning about her sister's inevitable corruption?" "SHUT UP!" The white pony shouted, looking around for the fell king. Though, all he could see was the blackened fog growing thicker. The shouting and sounds of panic from the crystal ponies was becoming distorted, muted somehow by the fog. The air became harder to breath. "Oh, she didn't did she? That's quite a shame. I warned her over a thousand years ago that Luna was being taken by the darkness... Pity that she didn't listen." He looked all around himself, but no matter which way his eyes darted, Shining couldn't find his foe. He wished he'd had his magic, and wondered why the scale hadn't dissipated the fog. It was magical in nature, right? Why hadn't it been effected? Sombra's proud face appeared before him, his body now immaterial again. He offered words of praise to the stallion, commending him for resisting his fog's influence to fear and panic that the others had succumbed to. It was too bad about his horn though, otherwise he might be a credible threat. Having had enough, Shining charged forward again before the fog became to thick to see through and found that, upon contact, Sombra howled in pain and the blackened mist parted for him. Emboldened, Shining ran through and chased the mist, trying to grasp it. "What manner of sorcery?!" He barked, parting the fog just out of Shining's grasp at every turn. The alabaster pony smirked. "What's wrong, King Sombra? Can't handle a little insubordination?" "Whelp!" The fog thickened and a crystal formed, slamming itself into Shining Armor. The captain flew with the force of the blow, but the pain was nothing compared to the satisfaction Sombra's howling gave him. He quickly got to all fours and watched as the fog condensed again back into fell shadow's body. "Clever, using my own hubris against me." He declared sagely. "It seems even after a thousand years of solitude and reflection, my pride and wrath still remains my downfall." He ignited his horn, eyeing Shining with a thoughtful look. The red magic exploded in a mini feedback and the king rubbed his head. "That is no shield, that is magical immunity. It seems you're more clever than I thought." His words were calm, casual, almost pleasant. Shining was taken slightly aback by what the king did next. Sombra closed his eyes and raised a hoof, recalling the fog, bringing the blackness away from the empire and calling it's power back to him. Fearing the power build up, Shining charged forward, but a wall of black crystals blocked his path and locked him in place. The last little bit of shadow fog returned to the king and slammed his hoof down, shattering every single black crystal that had erupted from the ground, freeing all the trapped ponies there in. Shining fell onto his haunches and stared wide eyed, unable to comprehend what he'd just witnessed. He thought it to be some kind of trick, but as the fell king took a calming breath and opened his eyes, Shining noticed a distinct lack of purple mist and green Sclera. His irises were still red, but he looked... different. The feelings of terror and fear were gone now. "Shining!" Cadance yelled, running up to her husband and standing between him and Sombra. "Leave him alone you beast!" Sombra eyed the princess of love for a moment, regarding her as though she was a lesser being, then with another sigh, he did something that nopony would ever come to expect. King Sombra, the Tyrant of the Crystal empire, apologized. "Hey, that was a great speech!" Macintosh looked to his right to find the white pony from before smiling at him. "Thank ya kindly." He replied, continuing to walk up to the castle. "My name is Wedge, comrade. We are grateful for your assistance in our efforts." He smiled. "I can't wait for you to meet Sickle, between you guys combined intelligence, the revolution can really start to kick off!" "Sickle?" The pony gave him a questioning look. "You've heard of him, right? He's the one who organized the revolution and sent word out to our comrades that the time for revolution was upon us." He smiled and looked forward again. "Sickle is the reason I decided to adopt my ideology. He taught me that the way things are now isn't the way they have to be." Mac listened with interest as Wedge told his story. He was a marble artisan who's hammer and chisel cutie mark told of his talent. Carving marble and such wasn't much in demand, but it was his passion in life. It's what Wedge wanted to use his limited time on earth for. He tried to sell his statues as best he could, but the market just wasn't there. He was eventually evicted from his home, along with a wife and newborn child, leading him to question why his passion was denied to him while others seemed to thrive off of their own. It was understandable. Macintosh and his family were farmers by nature, food was always in demand and there would always be somepony willing to pay a bit for an apple. He could live his passions and make a pretty decent living off of it. For Wedge, though? He could not. The world was becoming more utilitarian in it's consumption, with things like statues and paintings being cast aside for more useful items. Though, as unfair as it was, the apple pony knew that life wasn't always fair. Perhaps it was because he was born into a profession that would always render his services and goods in demand, but he also had hobbies that didn't revolve around apples. "I just want to carve and skulpt. To create beauty from the earth and share it with the world." He frowned. "But under Capitalism, unless I can make money off of it, it's a waste of time and a liability, and I don't think that's the way the world should be." 'Selfish.' I don't know about that. 'Eh? What do you mean? He want to contribute to something in society that there's no want for, why should others give him things he wants if he's not willing to do the same?' Well, life's short for us ponies. What do we have? A hundred years or so? Nopony wants to live life continually jumping through hoops to get money doing work they hate. That kind of life's kinda depressing, don't ya think? 'Depressing or not, it doesn't matter. Fact is that if he doesn't want to work for things people actually want, than why should anyone give him anything? Fair and voluntary exchange, ya?' That much was true, still though it didn't sit right with him that life had to be gone through as a drone of work for some ponies who spent more time in misery than enjoyment. The troop continued onto main street, Macintosh could see the other group of ponies outside the castle proper, many of them lacked the leg bands of the communists. Seeing his chance, the stallion asked why that was. To this, the white stallion grimaced. "They are the Trotski. They do not believe as we do." He said reluctantly, Macintosh gave him a hard look of disapproval, scaring the Wedge into an explanation. "But they are in solidarity with us to remove the imperialist regime!" "Solidarity, huh?" Mac asked, eyeing the other group skeptically, making his eyes as hard as possible. He wanted to make it convincing that his disdain and trust was being called into question, and from the nervous look on Wedge's face, he'd more than accomplished it. "Where are we going?" "There." Wedge pointed to a small, enclosed ten just out of range of the protesters. "Sickle and the other organizers are there." Looking back to see the crowd behind him once again, Macintosh motioned to them with his head to join the other protestors and took a breath to steel himself. There was no going back now, but he hoped he'd garnered enough support for the Trotski leaders not to mess with him for fear of creating descent between the two factions. He followed Wedge into the tent after by-passing a few stationed guards and found the four of the five ponies he'd seen in the throne room sitting around a table. Immediately, all four of them looked at him in wide eyed shock. "Commander, Chancelor, Prince, Cupid. I'd like to introduce Comrade Macintosh." Wedge declared with a smile. "Macintosh here has brought about a hundred ponies from all over Equestria to aid in our fight against the Imperialists. With his help, our numbers have grown almost a hundred strong!" The elder pegasus eyed him for a moment, her muzzle working into a knowing smirk. "Really? That is interesting, and excellent news." She said. Mac sighed internally, he was in. "Yes, it is. If this keeps up, we'll have enough bodies to really make a difference. Celestia can't ignore us if we take over the city!" Wedge looked around and furrowed his brow. "Where Sickle? I thought he'd be here." "Sickle is still running his errands for the morning." Hurricane replied serenely. "He should be back any moment, now." Her attention returned to Macintosh, eyeing him up and down before requesting that Wedge leave so the five of them may speak in private. Once gone, the apple pony tensed up, waiting for the chance to interrupt whatever interrogation the ponies had ready for him. "You, my young stallion, are no communist." The elder mare proclaimed. "Ya think?" Mac replied, feeling a little cheeky. Prince Platinum scoffed. "What's your game here?" "Divide and conquer, of course." Hurricane answered, saving Mac the trouble. "He's brought an army of ponies to back him and will use his status and influence within the communists to create desertion in the ranks. Am I correct?" 'Crap! We've been found out! Now what?' Keeping his cool, the stallion nodded. There was no point in denying it, she'd already had him figured out the moment she laid eyes on him. It couldn't be helped, though. With as big an influence as he needed to be, Mac would have been found out eventually, even if he tried to keep hidden. "Hmph, clever." Cupid chimed in, smiling wickedly. The young mare began to circle around the table and stood beside Mac, eyeing him in a way that made every muscle in his body shiver with discomfort. "So, what do we do with him now?" "I say we kill him, end it before it begins!" Platinum declared, his horn flaring red. "And then what?" Mac interjected, seeing his chance. "You kill me, n' the communists'll ask questions. Ah've got ninty supporters outside righ' now waitin' for me to come outta here. So there's no chance of ya sweepin' me under the rug" He smirked, eyeing the red prince. "Sure would be a shame if'n y'all were caught murderin' somepony. Might get ya a few years in the dungeon, Ah'd say. N' that doesn't take inta consideration yer movement's reputation would be forever destroyed." Growling, the red unicorn stood from his place, his face a mask of sheer loathing and malice. "Then we'll just attack the castle now and overthrow the princess by force!" A low chuckle escaped Mac's throat. "Y'all seriously think ya have the numbers n' support fer that? Celestia n' Luna have the entire royal guard and their own power at their beck and call. Ya have, what? Three hundred ponies, maximum? Ya really think y'all have a chance in tartarus o' winnin' the public's support by overthrowin' a princess they all love?" Now beyond livid, Platinum looked like he was about to leap over the table and strangle Macintosh, though, Hurricane lifted a hoof to quell the conflict. "He's right, Prince Platinum. Beginning violence now would be counter productive to our interests." She turned to Mac and smiled. "But not for long, I'm guessing you remember our plan for your little friend in the dungeon, yes?" Mac's smile dropped and he nodded, recalling what Sin had told him. Just then, the flap of the tent opened and a familiar orange mare walked in, though there was something on her back that Mac couldn't quite see. She looked depressed and distraught. "Well, good afternoon Uppity." Hurricane said cheerfully. "I hope you've come to give us the good news." Uppity's eyes tightened shut, Mac could tell she'd been crying, but was too preoccupied by the fact that she was here. What in tartarus was she doing talking with the Trotski and communist leaders? The purple maned unicorn wiped her eyes and looked around, freezing as soon as her gaze landed on Macintosh. She was shivering, her breath caught in her throat, Mac waited patiently for her to say what she needed to say and leave, making a hard mental not to hunt her down and get some answers later. "Where's Sickle?" Cupid asked, looking out the tent flap. "Uppity, where is Sickle?" Uppity took a breath and looked at the organizers. "Sickle was caught, he was being interrogated by the solar guard last I saw of him." She answered, her voice a shaky whisper. "Caught? Caught doing what?" Reaching, Uppity pulled the black thing from her back and presented it on the table. Mac's eyes shot wide at what he saw, he'd recognize those goggles anywhere. "He was caught after he killed Sin."