//------------------------------// // Chapter 18: The Hammer and Sickle // Story: The Story of Reik: The Communist Revolutionary: MLP // by Reik //------------------------------// THE AIR THAT filled Twilights lungs when she awoke was cold and thick. She kept her eyes closed as she regained her thoughts. She pieced together events and moments until she had a decent timeline of what had transpired before she was cast into her unconscious state. The chase, the revolutionaries, Celestia, the talisman, it came in unrecognizable bits and pieces until, as a whole, the grim picture became complete. Returning to reality, Twilight opened her eyes. She first realized that she was resting on a pile of cushions and blankets. The room was small; Twilight remembered it as a storage room in Sugarcube corner but devoid of its usual contents of boxes and sacks. A small flickering candle was the room’s only source of light and a pony, shrouded in a dark coat and hat, stood in the corner, head hanging low in silence. The pony stood silently in the corner, swaying side to side slowly. Suddenly remembering the dark, cloaked pony that had brought strife to Ponyville and harmed her friends, Twilight was overcome by fear, why was she here? Who was this mysterious figure? And what had happened while she was asleep? Her mind filled with speculation and fear, her breath became ragged and her body began to shiver, both from fear and the biting cold. The pony in the corner of the room shook violently and snorted, suddenly awoken. The pony raised its head and cocked its head to the side. The ponies face was hidden both by a small cap and the rooms creeping darkness. The pony took a step forward and moved to remove the cap; the cap that Twilight noticed had a crossed hammer and sickle upon it. Upon removal of the cap, a large bundle of golden blonde hair swept into view. “Applejack?” Twilight mumbled quietly. The cloaked pony smiled awkwardly and took another step forward. “Gave us quiet a scare sugar cube, and stop staring, I know I look ridiculous.” AppleJack said as she pulled Twilight from her prone position. The purple pony nearly lost her balance upon putting weight on her hooves and had to be supported by her friend. Twilight groaned in agony as her stiff legs flexed and stretched. “How long was I asleep?” She mumbled through clenched teeth. Applejack hesitated before answering. “Uh, I’d say about.” She paused and pulled a small watch from one of the pockets in her coat. After a short period of consultation and mumbling that Twilight overheard as rudimentary math, Applejack continued. “About three day’s hun, but I could be wrong.” Twilight shook her head. “How could you be wrong, why are you wearing that, and what-”Applejack gave Twilight a stern look signaling her to stop. Letting her bear her own weight, the orange pony stepped aside and looked over her friend. “Let me explain Twilight, a lot has happened in the past, well, hours ‘cause we can’t really say days.” Twilight wore a look of utter confusion. Applejack sighed deeply. “The moon hasn’t gone down and the sun hasn’t come up, it’s been midnight for the past seventy-two hours by my watch.” Twilight took the information in slowly, slowly finding reason for it. “Celestia, she can’t raise the sun, It’s the talisman, its” Twilight stopped as Applejacks face contorted into a questioning expression similar to Twilights. With a deep breath, Twilight related the events that had occurred from perspective the night of the revolution. Upon completion of the tail, Applejack nodded and continued her own explanation. “Well, like I said, things have changed, and, well, I think it would be best if you saw for yourself.” Applejack turned and walked towards the rooms back wall while Twilight stood alone in the darkness. She took in a shaking breath and approached her friend, so many questions; they would have to wait she thought. The door opened what seemed like an inch yet the room was quickly swarmed by a rush of freezing air and the lone candle was extinguished. With a quiet grunt, Applejack pushed the large door aside, Twilight followed her orange friend out of the portal. For a second, Twilight did not believe she was still in Ponyville, the world before her was strange and alien. The first aspect she registered were the banners. They hung from balconies, street lamps, windowsills, and almost every other surface above ground level. Each banner was the same, a red hammer and sickle crossed over a black plane and when combined with the flickering light of the streetlamps, foreboding shadows were cast upon the street like black lacerations. They shifted gently in the cold lacking any breeze to alter them, they were ominous and brought a sense of paranoia to Twilight, she felt as if whatever had invaded her village spoke through the banners, as if each one had an attentive ear. On the street level, the same symbol was painted on every blank surface. Twilight looked up and observed the sky. The moon hung in the sky in virtually the same place she had seen it the night of the attack and the sight struck a sense of dread into the purple pony. Pulling her gaze from the moon and back to street level, Twilight registered the numerous ponies moving through the streets. Most of them were guards; they marched in groups, the largest of which had six. They all were clad in what first appeared to be black armor, but upon closer inspections the metal was gold in origin yet had been painted over in a crusting black coat. The specks of gold dotting the armor shined brightly as the ponies passed under the street lamps, many of which Twilight assumed had been newly installed since she had never known Ponyville to have so many. The guards roomed the streets in the same manner one would room the Everfree forest, paranoid, turning their heads at increasingly odd angles, scrutinizing every aspect of their surroundings. Wondering what such warriors were doing in the village, Twilight turned to Applejack. “Who are they” She mumbled in a fearful tone. Applejack turned to her friend, a grim expression on her features. “Ya know them royal guards at Canterlot?” Twilight nodded slowly. “Well, that fancy rock can do strange things, put all those ponies in some kinda trance, they take orders from him now.” Twilight shivered with a new sense of cold, not due to the weather but to her grim reality. Seeing the expression on Applejack change to one of anger and her eyes shift to focus on something behind Applejack, Twilight turned to see a large brown pony, clad in the same black armor as the others but with a red star painted over the plate concealing his cutie mark. The one feature that legitimately disturbed Twilight was his eyes. A grey haze hung over his blue iris and it looked as if, although staring right at her, he was looking at some other far away object. He spoke slowly, his tone inquisitive but threatening. “Who are you, and where exactly are you going?” Applejack shoved Twilight aside and stepped hoof to hoof with the guard. She spoke quickly with an annoyed tone. “She’s with me ya hear, not a spy, not a conspirator, not a traitor, now buzz off and bother some other pony.” The guard looked at Applejack quickly, shifting his gaze across her entire figure as if looking for an expression to give her away. Failing in his attempt, he nodded and stepped away. Grumbling, Applejack grabbed Twilight and pushed her along the sidewalk, down the street. As they moved away, the guard called out to them. “Goodnight, comrade commissar, and stay alert!” The wind picked up quickly and the snow crunched under their hooves as the pair moved down the street, where, Twilight could only guess. Twilights home, the town’s library came into view as they rounded a corner. As the moved in the open, Applejack increased her pace, further worrying Twilight. The cold air lashed at their manes when they came upon the door, the locking mechanism for which had been torn out. After sending Twilight through the portal and shutting the door, Applejack leaned against the door, releasing a muffled moan. Slumping down onto a couch, Twilight examined her surroundings. Despite being in her own home, Twilight still felt as if the building she now occupied was one of alienation and estrangement. The purple pony looked to her friend with an inquisitive expression, deciding that over an arsenal of questions. Applejack rose from her position and began pacing the room, mumbling to herself as she did so. Twilight sighed deeply and spoke firmly to her orange friend. “Applejack, what is going on around here, where is everypony?” There was slightly more panic in her tone than she would have like but Applejack acknowledged the question and responded, never ceasing in her random pacing. “If they have a brain then they’re in their homes.” Twilight shook her head, annoyed and frustrated. “But why are you dressed that way and why would they be in their homes, what did he do?” Applejack continued pacing, her voice was tired and fatigued. “That pony, reek or whatever, took over Ponyville, he keeps blabbin on about class’s n’ labor, he took away all our bits, an he cut us all of from the rest of Eque-”Applejack paused as a sudden knocking rang throughout the building. Rising from her seat, Twilight watched as her friend moved to one of the walls windows and gently pushed the shades aside. Cursing under her breath, Applejack walked to the door and pulled it open as the knocking resumed. Twilight was surprised to recognize the same pony standing just outside the doorway as the one who had questioned them once they left the storage room. Twilight deduced he had been following them for it was impossible he would know their location otherwise. He casually extended a hoof forward, deterring any attempt to close the portal. “Comrade commissar, an emergency meeting has been convened, you are needed.” He said with a broad smile, as if happy to give her orders. Applejack turned to Twilight, her expression the enunciation of sorrow before walking past the guard and into the darkness. The guard turned his head, his gaze following Applejack until he was satisfied with her distance. He quickly walked through the door and looked to Twilight, retaining his broad grin. “So this is your residence?” He said as he approached Twilight. Unnerved by his actions, Twilight took an involuntary step back. The guard moved past Twilight, towards a bookshelf along the wall. “You are Twilight, correct?” He stressed the last word as if demanding an answer. Twilight murmured an affirmation to which the guard nodded and continued his examination. His horn glowed slightly as several books were pulled from the shelf and opened. “You manage the library too?” He said as he flipped through each books pages, replacing some and withdrawing up others. Again Twilight murmured an affirmation, she slowly moved towards the door, fearful and eager to escape. “What kind of books do you have here?” The guard said as he finished with the last book, gently sliding it back into the shelf. Twilight, nervous and fearful, stumbled over her words. “Um, anything really, err, science, history, and um.” Twilight trailed off as the guard marched towards her, obviously uninterested. He stopped before her, examining her appearance. Twilight cringed under his scrutinizing stare; the stranger’s uncaring eyes were devoid of emotion, like a machine. Suddenly ending his search, the guard nodded kindly and marched out the doorway, leaving the door open behind him. Twilight remained rooted in her spot, thinking the guard might still be watching and would disapprove of any other movement. After what seemed like several minutes of silent terror, Twilight was brought back to reality by a sudden rush of freezing air coming from the open door. Rushing to the portal and poking her head out in search of the lone guard, Twilight slammed the door. For a split second, as the door closed, Twilight could make out the silhouette of a lone pony under a street lamp down the avenue, staring at the library. Twilight slid down the doors face, collecting on the floor in a shivering heap. Her mind overflowed with questions, speculation, and exclamations. She attempted to organize her thoughts, prioritizing issues and finding logical solutions to questions she could answer without material evidence. She constructed a mental chain of events, filling in holes where she could, yet leaving too many for the thought to be believable. Quickly lost in thought, Twilight didn’t realize the exhaustion that slowly crept over her. Eventually, snores and dreams replaced frantic whispers and controversial thoughts.