The Egg and the High Wall

by swirlstar

Chapter 6 - Market Square

Chapter Six – Market Square

Did Twilight fully realize what she was getting into, when she agreed to scorn the Occupiers at the Princess' request? Perhaps not - but then again, the lavender alicorn could not quite believe that the task before her was something beyond compare. For the normal rhythm of study would surely save her - words upon words, numbers upon numbers, sweeping away everything before it like an ocean tide, until all that was left of the previous night were shades and distant memories.

Strangely heartened by the thought, Twilight hastened back to the Castle, purging her desk of all unnecessary work; in their place she substituted magic tomes and alchemic scrolls, all standard texts, of the sort she knew would not take much brain-power to digest... and with that, the alicorn sat down, stretched her back and began to read.

But as Celestia's Sun drifted idly by, a strange thing began to happen.

The thought of the Occupation absolutely refused to leave her mind. It sat in the space between the words, and spread along the bottom of every page; the curves on every letter reminded her of the coiling smoke, and amid the scholarly silence she seemed to hear the distant cries of desperate ponies. Simple formulae grew complex and increasingly difficult to read, and the more she focused the more the page turned into a maze of roads and alleys, ethereal protestors and ethereal police engaging in a desperate game of hide-and-seek... panicking, the alicorn drew in the curtains, only to see fire lighting up the Ponyville sky; she stumbled into bed and sought out rest, but immediately felt her blood curdle as her heart thudded to the pop of the dreaded tear gas... Twilight pressed hard against her temples, thrashing about the bed as if she was struck with a bout of the colic. "Please, get out of my head!" Twilight hissed, a helpless beggar as her mind charted on a course of its own.

Celestia darn it - she was the Princess of Friendship! Right now, she should be on the front lines, bringing ponies together and finding a way out of this catastrophic mess! Sure, she might not be as familiar with Ponyville as she once supposed, but she knew the town well enough - knew the ponies well enough - she knew she could be of use, somewhere! Surely she could tell the Occupiers that her presence did not mean an endorsement of their methods! Surely she could tell Princess Celestia that her appearance was the only way this affair could be solved! Surely-

A knock on the door snapped Twilight out of her thoughts. "T-Twilight?" Spike called out uneasily. "Are you alright?"

The alicorn took her time to respond: there was cold sweat on her brow, and after wiping that off she still had to peel away the blanket that had wrapped itself around her, somehow. "Y-yeah," she stammered. "I'm fine..."

Spike was unconvinced. "Can I come in?"

A pained grimace: the alicorn knew what Spike was going to ask, and for that reason she had studiously kept him out. "Spike, I don't-" she began, and immediately erased what she was about to say - it wasn't fair to treat him like this; she at least owed him an explanation. "Actually, why not," Twilight sighed, unlocking the door with a click. "Come in."

The door opened and the baby dragon slowly crept inside. His sickly face looked like he had eaten an entire crate of raw limes, and his scales drooped at their very tips; adjusting to the dim light about the room, Spike's eyes quickly darted around to locate his surrogate sister, sprawled out on the creasy and battered bed. "Twilight... are you really alright?" he whispered worriedly.

The mare let out a wisp of air, eyes focused on the glassy ceiling. "The biggest protest in Equestria is happening a few minutes down the street, and I'm stuck here trying to pretend that it's not there. So what do you think."

Spike brought over a stool and sat by her bedside. "It can't be that dangerous," he remarked.

"It's not so much about the danger, Spike. Princess Celestia thinks I'd be sending the wrong message if I appear anywhere near the protestors. Other ponies might start doing similar things to gain attention."

"Well, I guess that makes sense," the dragon conceded. "But what are you and the Princess going to do, then?"

At that point Twilight felt her eyes moisten slightly, a gust of hot air spewing out of her nostrils.

"Nothing."

Spike was predictably taken aback. "O-oh!" he exclaimed, trying to sound understanding; his slumping shoulders and stooping form seemed to indicate anything but. "I thought..." The rest of the dragon's speech faded into the ether, and for the next few minutes the room was consumed by a total and oppressive silence, and nobody thought of anything at all.

Spike eventually grew tired of playing with his claws, and slowly worked up the courage to mumble once more. "You know, I was listening to the radio the whole afternoon... the protestors weren't happy about your absence at all. They called you some pretty mean names."

Twilight blinked and pretended not to have heard him.

Maybe...

"I had hoped you would at least know what happened to the Crusaders," the little dragon continued, staring blankly at his claws. "Applejack's the leader of the movement, so Applebloom's likely still inside, and I have no idea what's happened to her... oh, Celestia," he groaned, burying his head in his hands. "What a total mess-"

"I have to go to Market Square," the lavender alicorn suddenly declared, rolling off the bed in front of a surprised Spike. "I can't just sit here and do nothing; at the very least, I have to try and talk some sense into Applejack!"

The little dragon paused and looked up, strangely calm despite this unexpected show of defiance. "I thought you were worried about Princess Celestia," he commented, in his heart silently egging the alicorn on.

Twilight Sparkle answered his concern with a smile, a shimmer and a gleam, and as she determinedly threw open the blinds to let the sunlight back in the dragon saw the erstwhile alicorn transformed into another pony entirely, an earth mare with gray coat and crops of chestnut hair. "She won't know if you don't tell her," Twilight drawled, her voice a couple tones lower than usual. She looked over her cutie mark of a single polished stone. "You can call me Pebbleshine."

Spike got up and circled about this brand new mare, helpfully checking for chinks in the transfigured armor. "You should probably wear a sweater or something," he finally advised. "Ponies are walking down the street with clothes on."

*

Twilight-as-Pebbleshine walked down Crystal Street, sweater over her barrel and trepidation in her heart. It was not so much the fear that she would be caught out in public - no, her magic was too strong for that - but more the anxiety that came with disobeying Celestia's orders. It felt like a betrayal, a total disappointment of her mentor's faith in her - but it couldn't be helped! For this was too important a situation for the alicorn to just sit idly by; perhaps the disappointment was just the price she needed to pay for Ponyville to free itself from this mess.

Still, there were other contingencies that the magical prodigy, in her adrenaline-fueled haste, might not have considered fully: what to do if a policepony accosted her and attempted to 'invite' her to the police station 'for some coffee', as the slang went? She'd probably have to teleport away, wipe off her disguise, bolt back to the Castle and hope that nopony recognized her - that said, one could conceivably trace the magic residue... scenarios like these left a lump in Twilight's throat, and a part of her was now audibly regretting her earlier bravado.

Just ahead was the Y-junction between Crystal and Star, with Ponyville Park blooming a block away. Tilting unsteadily on the pavement was a government cart, painted white with big, bold markings spelling out 'POLICE' on every side; before it three policepony reservists were idly holding vigil, huddled and chatting in the shade. They still carried the previous day's riot gear about them, though their helmets had long been cast off; restrainers, aerosol canisters and receivers provided a dash of color amid the menacing black. As Twilight approached one of them saw her and nudged the others as a warning; they all turned and stared sullenly at the newcomer. The intensity of their gaze unnerved the disguised mare, and unwisely Pebbleshine stopped before the trio and stared unblinkingly back.

The policeponies inevitably interpreted this as an insensitive taunt. "Don't you have a riot to be going to?" the one closest to Pebbleshine challenged, a pegasus stallion Twilight recognized immediately as Thunderlane.

"What's going to happen if I say 'yes'?" came the reply, half-question and half-retort.

Thunderlane's face darkened, angry blushes glowing on his cheek. "You want to find out?" he growled, hoof snaking towards his belt.

Both of his partners hastened to stop the stallion. "Thunderlane!" one of them reprimanded, seizing the pegasus' hoof and holding it in place; another turned towards Pebbleshine, trying and failing to suppress an accusatory glare.

"You are well within your rights to participate in that... public event, Ma'am," Amethyst Star muttered darkly. "So long as you stay within the boundaries of the law, and respect police action." She groaned as the duo uneasily guided Thunderlane to rest. "Now is there anything you wanted to ask?"

"Actually, I'm a newcomer to this town and I was hearing things about an Occupation over the radio... I was wondering where the trouble was-"

"Market Square," the light-pink unicorn answered curtly, gesturing to the road running down the side of Ponyville Park. "Crystal and Mane."

With that Amethyst dismissively waved Pebbleshine off, and the mare quickly continued on her way. Pony density increased the further she ventured down Crystal Street, and by the time the alicorn got to the junction with Park there was a steady stream making a right down into Market Square. Spike had observed correctly: the majority of the ponies were wearing sweaters, slight defense against any trouble, and most were traveling in groups; Twilight hastened to join the herd.

She instinctively trotted towards a group of six, seven hooded ponies pushing a small flatbed laden with boxes and tarp, rattling and bouncing as it traversed the cobblestone-laden road. "Hi!," Pebbleshine greeted brightly. "I'm new to this town, and I thought I- Applebloom!"

Hearing her own name the red-maned filly looked past the hem of her cowl: it was Applebloom all right, and as the others turned Twilight could see that the rest of the Cutie Mark Crusaders were present as well - that was not what was concerning to the disguised alicorn, but rather the large patch of gauze that was patched over the little filly's left eye; towards the center the material blossomed a light red.

Applebloom turned her head and looked at this unfamiliar pony, dark bags contrasting with pale cheeks; it looked as if she had been working for the whole night. "Can I help you... Miss?" she asked, stifling a yawn.

"Who are you, anyway?" Scootaloo challenged, thrusting her face into view. "I've never seen you in Ponyville before!"

"I-I... well, who doesn't know Applebloom?" Pebbleshine stammered, laughing awkwardly as Twilight attempted to regain her hoofing. "Anyway, I heard about the ruckus over on the radio, and I came over to see what was happening."

Sweetie Belle eyed Pebbleshine suspiciously before continuing with the task at hoof. "Applejack says we're in for the long haul," she replied moodily, magic enveloping her load as she guided the cart around a corner. "So we've been moving stuff into Market Square for the whole day."

"The whole day?" Pebbleshine asked, trotting beside them and deciding that it would seem more impartial if she didn't help.

"The whole night as well!" Scootaloo added, paddling ahead on her characteristic scooter. "Tents, raincoats, food - all day ponies have been donating things to us, saying how the Government shouldn't have shot at fillies, and that Mayor Mare and all the others should resign!"

The stream of ponies overflowed and pooled at the bottom of Crystal Street, a shifting mass of pastel colors all turned in the direction of Market Square. Rising just ahead of the crowd was a tangled ridge of urban detritus: chairs and desks, loose iron railings, park benches, dustbins, pony mannequins... the clutter, haphazardly piled up, effectively dammed the mouth of the street, and beyond them hid the denuded form of Market Square; a couple ponies were perched up on the crest with bindings and cords, trying to shore up the ramshackle walls in any way they possibly could. This must be one of the barricades that Princess Celestia talked about, and before it the crowd observed and muttered grimly.

"Make way, make way!" Scootaloo yelled, one hoof grasping a megaphone that she had somehow found. "Supplies, supplies!"

The ponies on the barricade looked up and acknowledged the incoming convoy. "Everypony, move over to the left!" Lyra Heartstrings shouted, forelegs swinging from right to left. "Supplies incoming! Move over, please, move!" Hearing this, the crowd heaved and backed away, clearing a path along the extreme right; there was a narrow space between the barricade and the building-wall, and the cart dashed through this gap on with the utmost urgency and ran into the Occupation Zone.

To be honest, Twilight had no idea what to expect in Market Square. She supposed that, judging from previous sit-ins she had seen on TV, the protestors would be sitting in peace circles, hoof-in-hoof and singing flower anthems; but then she remembered the gas canisters and the heavy batons, and she feared the scene to be more like a surgery with rows of dying and dead; that said, the day had passed in relative peace, and with luck the the whole entire affair would be like a family carnival, stalls and games amid the occasional soapbox...

Market Square was devoid of stalls and accessories: ponies carted their goods home at the end of trading, and of course given the current situation they were hardly likely to bring them out again. In the center the Occupiers had erected a shantytown comprising of a few lean-tos and tents, yellowed fabric billowing gently in the breeze; banners draped across a few entrances indicated purpose: "FIRST AID", "FOOD & WATER", "RAINCOATS" and so on. There was a rickety stage up front which, Twilight presumed, served as the soapbox... there was all that, but as far as she could tell there was nowhere for Occupiers to sleep; the few currently at rest were doing so bare on the uneven and scratchy ground, still strewn with debris from the night before. There were a number of ponies who were aimlessly wandering, heads turning to and fro like tourists, no doubt wondering how their town had come to such a fate, but the vast majority of ponies were moving with purpose, zipping between bodies with ladders and rope and other such tools; the few that paused long enough for observation seemed uniformly to be youths, all bedraggled and grimy. They looked like they had lived a hundred years.

"We need hooves on Mane and Lunar," a drawl that could only be Applejack's blared out through a speaker system in the tents. "Idle ponies, go to Mane and Lunar!"

The Crusaders' cart deftly dodged its way towards the tent-cluster as a wave of ponies suddenly cascaded in the direction of Sugarcube Corner. Strung up on the street-lights were slogans and banners bearing the Occupiers' message, and as the wind rippled and stretched the fabric Twilight could read the words which boldly proclaimed their creators' defiance:

Down with Mayor Mare!

High-Speed Rail = High-Speed FAIL!

Harmony Is Not Surrender!

Fight For Your Rights!

"Supplies! Supplies!" Scootaloo continued calling out as the cart now weaved amongst the narrow gaps between tents, ponies hastily jumping out of their way. Her voice, ragged and hoarse from the physical exertion, was punctuated by increasing gasps. "Applejack - Food - Raincoats - Supplies!"

A nearby tent-flap rustled at the news. "Scootaloo- thank Celestia, you're all back!" came that familiar drawl, and Applejack emerged from her lair, bleary-eyed and hatless. Other ponies took over the work of distribution and storage; the orange pony knelt and tenderly embraced her young charges. "Listen: I really appreciate what y'all are doin' - but you need to tell me before you go runnin' off into town - it's still dangerous out there!"

Applebloom rolled her eye good-naturedly. "We're fine, Big Sis'... we're fine! Sweetie Belle even called a policepony a 'spuddin' turtle' to his face, and he couldn't do anythin' about it-"

"What- who taught you to say that?" the orange pony, shocked, swung round toward the unicorn filly. "Landsakes, Sweetie Belle, you can't say that to the police! How am I goin' to explain to Rarity if they put you in jail?"

Scootaloo took umbrage at this. "So spraying Applebloom's eye with pepper spray is okay, but telling a turtle what we think of him isn't?!" the pegasus exclaimed indignantly, pointing at the Crusader's injured eye. "What, is the turtle going to go home and cry-"

"Hey, hey!" Applejack called out, a tinge of authority in her voice. "Look, fillies: I really appreciate y'all workin' so hard for this, and I'm proud as everythin' over what you've done - but you have to be careful! Now go back to the barn - I ain't askin' - and tomorrow you can come back, okay?"

"O-kay..." the Crusaders, visibly deflated at the order, began to turn away and leave, but not before Applebloom puffed up her chest in a fit of sisterly pique. "So, Big Sis', was what we did 'sooh'?" she asked, proudly.

Applejack's ears flicked at the word. "'Sooh'... suh?" she repeated unsteadily, looking at her sister with inquiring eyes. "Where did you learn that? I never taught you anythin' about Imp!"

The red-maned filly grinned mischievously, glad to have gotten the better of her sister as planned. "A nice mare taught me a few words while I was in the medical tent," she boasted. "And now I'm teachin' the other Crusaders about it. But you still haven't told me if I was sooh!"

In spite of herself, Applejack replied with a grin of her own. "Yes, Applebloom, you are super suh," she praised, pecking her sister on the forehead. "In fact, I would say that you are suh as vomit!"

The Crusaders' joy quickly turned into unmitigated disgust. "Eww!" they exclaimed, fleeing as fast as their tired legs would carry them.

The farm pony chuckled. "Fillies," she remarked, gazing longingly at the retreating shadows before turning back to the latest newcomer. "Sorry for the delay: can I help you?" she asked, eyes sizing up the unfamiliar pony before her.

"I-I need to talk to you," Pebbleshine mumbled.

The farm pony's smile disappeared in an instant. "Twilight Sparkle, right."

The alicorn had prepared for many things, but this was not one of them: her slack jaw said all that needed to be said. "Ah, heh..." Twilight let out another awkward chuckle, mortified that her disguise had been so easily seen through - and by Applejack, of all ponies! "Y-yeah."

If Applejack was happy at seeing her friend here she certainly didn't show it. "Uh-huh," she answered, stony-faced as she turned tail and headed back into the tent. "Well, you'd better come in."

Twilight sheepishly followed the orange mare, mind scrambled by the unwelcome turn of events. Obviously from her unfriendly demeanor Applejack blamed Twilight for whatever happened last night - and seeing what happened to Applebloom, the grudge was inevitably going to be very personal indeed. One hoped that her friendship with AJ still meant something, but the best the alicorn could do was toughen up and take whatever the earth pony hurled at her.

"Well, at least you finally decided to stop ignorin' us - guess that's a start," Applejack began, eyes focused on the portable lamp before her. The tent interior was illuminated in a sickly light, revealing a simple bedroll and an empty crate serving as a surface of sorts. "But then I know what it'd look like if the Princess just ran into the Square and started talkin' with us Occupiers in front of all the reporters. Doubt it would have made a good impression on Ms. Niner - Celestia."

Twilight thought she had better set the record straight. "The Princess isn't responsible for this, AJ," she murmured, reverting to her familiar form and quietly praying that she wouldn't be proven wrong. "She stopped the police from firing the tear gas, she didn't order any of it-"

"So I guess that means she was okay with sprayin' pepper into Applebloom's face, huh?" Applejack interrupted loudly, glaring at Twilight with teary, vengeful eyes. "We weren't doin' anythin' wrong, Twilight - we were just walkin' down the street, doin' what we're legally allowed to do, and then suddenly all them turtles start shovin', firin' gas canisters... they tackled all the ponies who didn't get away in time, and sprayed them right in the face... of course, you weren't there to see it," she accused, jabbing a hoof into the alicorn's chest. "So don't tell me what I'm supposed to believe about Celestia!"

Twilight felt a sudden pang of anger at Applejack's accusations, as if the farm pony was accusing her of roughing up those innocent fillies... with some difficulty she suppressed it, and forced it back into her mental safe; she was here to act as negotiator, not as instigator. "I'm not here to fight, AJ," she declared, drawing in deep breaths. "I just want everything to be better - just, just tell me what you want, and I'll see what I can do..."

"What we want? We want justice, Twilight," Applejack declared, pointing defiantly at the tent-flap and the ponies outside. "Those ponies out there, all they wanted was to have T-H change its plans for the Rail... was that such a terrible thing to ask? Can't they just move the line somewhere else, to some other town that actually wants it? But no, Ms. Twofer and her henchponies couldn't even be bothered to give us excuses; they set these turtles on us, and hope that we'll just roll over and let them do whatever they want... well, Ponyville isn't like that!" she shouted, emotions running raw. "We'll roll the camera with T-H, Twilight, roll it all the way if we need to; Ms. Niner may all the power in the world, but if wants to make us obey I guess she'd better use her solar magic and throw us into the Sun!"

Applejack's words rang dramatic and true, and there was no doubt as to the extent of her passion; yet all she managed to elucidate from Twilight was an exasperated sigh; Canterlot was no stranger to such harangues, and whatever impact they had was long lost on the alicorn. Still, the farm pony was talking tough, as she should for the opening stages of a delicate negotiation: given the state Ponyville was in, Twilight was personally fine with scrapping the Rail for the sake of social stability, and certainly whoever ordered the gassing and spraying absolutely needed to be held accountable for their actions. It was another thing entirely, however, to be seen to capitulate so thoroughly to this sort of foreleg-twisting...

"I-I'll see what I can do, AJ," Twilight responded, calmly writing down everything on a conjured notepad. "But you must understand that the High-Speed Rail will bring real benefits to Ponyville. Think of all the visitors that will come in and buy your stuff, the new and interesting ponies who will move into town and bring in all sorts of exciting inventions and ideas; think of how quickly we can go visit all the cities of Equestria - Las Pegasus within a day..."

"Whatever reasons T-H might have had don't matter a lick now," Applejack dismissed Twilight's concerns with a wave with her hoof. "The whole thing's gone beyond the Cabbages and the Peaches losin' their farms to government buybacks, gone beyond all the money we're sendin' to Filthy Rich for this construction - that's all gone away, the moment them turtles started firin' on us! We're not goin' to live under a system that makes these sorts of decisions without askin' us, that thinks it can attack us with tear gas and pepper spray!" the orange pony was shouting again, smacking her hoof into the other with every emphasized word. "You tell the Princess, Twi': all of us here are willin' to be loyal subjects to Her Highnesses... but that doesn't mean she can do whatever she wants! Get rid of Ms. Twofer and the Police Chief first, and we can start talkin' about how to choose our next leaders - and don't think that you can stuff our mouths shut with all your Canterlot buds!"

Twilight's heart sank the longer Applejack talked. There was no way that she could possibly have Princess Celestia agree to these terms! "I'll try to convey your wishes to the Princess... AJ," the alicorn mumbled, speech slowing to a deathly crawl. "But you know there's no way you can beat Princess Celestia... you have no bargaining power with her..."

The farm pony leant back and crossed her forelegs in defiance. "We'll see about that, Princess Twilight."

Comments

[garfan]

what are you supposed to believe about Celestia? Well, gee you're only talking to someone who's known her most of her life and watched Equestrian government since she was a child. You've only seen her appoint two others to power equal to her own.

[Lelouch Vi Britania]

Twilight's caught between a rock and and a hard place.

[Seether00]

Twilight is stuck. There is no clean way out.

[Raistlin]

Why does Twilight insist Celestia has no part in Police 's agressions toward ponyvillians? She was present when she gave the instructions to Major Mare.