16
16
Luna ignored the roaring tempest of nightmares mounting, only wasting her time subduing the worst of them. Why were so many ponies in a panic? Ponies of every class, every caste, and every city-state were worried over the Empire and the divide it had created. Even the republican city-state members seemed fearful, much to Luna’s frustration. They should rejoice! Soon they would be liberated!
Dousing the worst of the fires, Luna managed to make the rendezvous at the appropriate time. She had linked the dreams of the representatives and their leaders. Slowly, through their close connections, various citizens bled into the dreams. The numbers grew with each passing night until it seemed the majority of every city-state interested in the Equestrian Republic was sharing the dream. Luna stood before them, resplendent in the aura of her magic. They listened to her encouragement every night, listened to her speeches, her promises of a better world. Every night in the wake of the birth of the Empire she encouraged them to stand strong, and every night their numbers grew. Talk in the waking world between citizens made their neighbors more receptive, drawing them in at night, until it seemed their numbers stretched on forever.
Luna felt her heart swell with pride as, night after night, the dreams began quieting. Ponies became encouraged, taking heart. Ponies went to sleep with words of love for democracy and the republic on their lips, and they flocked to her speeches. Friday was approaching, and this was the day the city-states had agreed to hold their vote.
Luna was confident of the results.
…
Tuesday the 24th of October
“I feel now is as good a time as any to teach the cruelest truth in friendship,” Celestia mused as she eyed her students. Apple Bloom felt a little sick as that gaze swept over her – through her, it felt like. Celestia had abandoned her armor, but the regal crown, cape, and jewelry still adorned her. For all that external splendor, something of her usual grace seemed lacking from eyes, as if her light was somehow menacing.
“I didn’t know there was any cruelty in friendship,” Sweetie Belle said, flinching a little as Celestia’s gaze fell upon her.
“Oh, but there is,” the Empress said, gently, “Sometimes… sometimes friendships cannot be saved.”
The fillies gasped and even the sulking twins’ eyes widened.
“That… doesn’t sound right,” Apple Bloom said.
“Maybe not,” Celestia murmured, “but it happens. Very rarely. Sometimes one will betray you too many times. Didn’t Discord do the same to Fluttershy? He betrayed her multiple times, did he not?”
“Well, yeah, but they’re still friends,” Scootaloo said.
“…Yes, they are. Aren’t they?” Celestia shook her head and laughed wildly for a second in embarrassment, “Ignore that lesson. It… it doesn’t make much sense in hindsight.”
The Crusaders eyed each other in concern. Celestia had been getting progressively darker in her friendship lessons, and this latest lesson attempt… No, surely the alicorn had been joking. There was something off in her eyes, though, and throughout the friendship lesson she seemed distracted. Suddenly, she ended the lesson for the day and dismissed the students. Confused, they began to depart.
“Flam, if you would stay here,” Celestia said. The twins hesitated but the Crusaders only looked over their shoulders as they left. “Just Flam, thank you.”
Flim opened his mouth, then clicked it shut and left. Flam felt almost naked without his brother by his side. The Empress of the Day had been acting strange, far stranger than usual, since her ascension to leader of a pony empire. Well, most of a pony empire. Many of the city-states on the Equestrian continent were in the process of voting on whether to join or not. The twin stood there for a moment, unable to look her in her challenging eyes until she lifted his face with her hoof.
“H-hello, Empress,” he chuckled, sheepishly.
“Do not fear me, Flam,” Celestia sighed, and for an instant his heart sank. She looked more tired than it was possible to be, as if she were forced to keep the sun in the sky by sheer force of will rather than simply raise and lower it. Perhaps that was her job, and doing it for more than a thousand years was certainly taxing… “Are we not still… friends?”
“Of course, Empress,” Flam smiled, struggling to look into her eyes. They hurt him, twisting into his heart like a knife.
“Why don’t you call me Tia?” Celestia gave a sad smile, “Luna was right – for once; I should have spent Sunday with you.”
She let go of his face and turned from him, preparing to stroll away. She stopped, cocking her head in feigned curiosity. In truth, she had wanted to ask this for some time, but it had never seemed appropriate.
“Will you go to the Republic, if it forms?” Celestia asked. She turned to face him again, “Will you leave me?”
“Never,” Flam said without hesitation, eyes not falling from her own. It was not a reaction she had dared hope for, considering his skittishness around her, but it made her heart swell. For the briefest of moments, she felt like swooning, but even as a Princess she’d never allow herself to appear weak to any pony.
“After you graduate,” Celestia said, deciding to change topics briefly, “I want you to work for the Imperial Friendly Finances Bureau. You’ll be more qualified than any other pony, save your brother, whom I suspect is not interested in staying.”
Flam avoided eye contact at the mention of his brother, but Celestia offered a disarming smile.
“Be at ease,” she laughed, lightly, “neither of us can be faulted for the decisions of our siblings.”
“Tia,” Flam said suddenly, once more startling the Empress. He hesitated, then steeled himself. “I know it isn’t really my place to ask – certainly, a former hustler like myself shouldn’t even be on such informal terms with the Empress of all of Equestria! – but, if I might be so bold, I was wondering if we could… hang out?”
“Hang out?” the Empress cocked an eyebrow and smirked at the lameness of his proposal, “I suppose since we’ve begun erecting a bureaucracy to take up some of my duties, I will have some free time for once… What exactly would we do, anyway?”
“Whatever you wanted, of course,” Flam smiled.
“So generous for one who, not but a few weeks ago, was swindling commoners and trying to earn the affections of a farmer,” Celestia chuckled and Flam felt his ears twitch at the slight hidden in her words. It almost seemed malicious, but Celestia had immediately bounced back to her usual good cheer. “It sounds delightful, Flam. My sister and I have hidden places in this castle where we can find privacy, even from each other. I shall show you one of my most treasured secrets.”
Flam felt his eyes drift downwards for a second, a blush creeping across his cheeks, before he corrected his mistake. Of course she hadn’t meant that! Now his mind raced in curiosity at where and how a room could be kept secret? It was a big castle, so it probably wasn’t hard, but where was such a room, and what might make it appealing to a Princess?
“I’m sure I will come to treasure it as much as I treasure your trust in me,” Flam smiled beneath his moustaches, “and almost as much as I treasure you.”
Celestia allowed herself a faint blush at the cheesy remark. For too long the immortal alicorns had sequestered themselves from the general population and romances, for any such relationship would be fleeting and only lead to heartache, but now… Now, didn’t they deserve something? Cadence had no problem with it, and had even gotten a child out of the bargain. Not for the first time Celestia wished there were some male alicorns to help make the eons less lonely. Briefly, her mind swirled with burning ambition, filling to the brim like the sun contained by a force fit to break loose. Perhaps she could find a way to make stallions into alicorns, or at the very least immortals. She shook her head; such magic was powerful and she shouldn’t trifle with it. No, no she should be careful.
Still, a voice at the back of her head told her the only limitations she faced were those she set herself…
…
Apple Bloom didn’t like the change in Celestia’ behavior. So befuddling was it that she didn’t notice Luna, too, was changing. Starlight was more receptive to it, and she found herself – along with Spike – less involved with the lessons.
Starlight grimaced. Lessons. They had devolved from exploration of complex socioeconomic and political topics to learning administrative duties and pragmatic political exercises. They were no longer exploring political theory and thinking for themselves, but falling into a routine of how to manage a democratic bureaucracy. The charm was quickly wearing off, but Starlight knew she’d lose face if she resigned from the class she had been so eager to attend. Perhaps Luna would return to their more adventurous subjects later? Maybe the Empress of the Night had simply felt she was pushing too much on them too early? Whatever the cause, she seemed distracted by something, as if the class was keeping her from what she’d rather be doing.
Spike, for his part, tuned out the entire course. Luna never talked to him, never asked for his input, and never mentioned non-ponies in her republican plans. Everything was exclusive to the ponies, to the subjects of the Equestrian Republic that didn’t even exist yet. He noticed that, despite Apple Bloom being the most eager student, Luna gave special attention to Starlight, posing most of the difficult problems to her to solve. It almost seemed like the alicorn expected the unicorn to actually lead their mythical nation. Spike smirked at the idea; President Starlight. An interesting notion.
The class rattled on and Spike found himself thinking more on martial arts forms, his daily practices with Scootaloo having drilled them into his subconscious. The pegasus filly had learned more restraint, and he had learned more aggression, but they would need years of training to match Night Bane. The drake wondered why the twins had been absent from the sparring session, though. Even Big Mac seemed a little apathetic towards the whole thing. Was it the politics? It seemed like the creation of the Empire was slowly sucking the fun out of everything. He heard Starlight call his name and snapped out of his thoughts.
“What?” he asked.
“I said class is over,” the unicorn repeated herself, looking concerned, “Are you alright? You’ve been really spacey lately.”
“I guess I just don’t see a point in doing anything since Luna hardly talks to me, anymore,” Spike confessed after he made sure the alicorn wasn’t in earshot, “I think I’ll drop the class.”
“Please don’t!” Starlight said, a little more desperate than she wished. Clearing her throat, she threw on a smile. “I, uh… I don’t want to be the only one taking the class.”
“You’ll have Apple Bloom,” Spike pointed out.
“I meant someone who doesn’t show me up all the time,” Starlight grumbled, “Apple Bloom is clearly Luna’s favorite.”
“I don’t know,” the drake scratched his chin, “It seemed like she was preparing you for something, to me. Maybe she wants to make you an emissary or something?”
“An emissary?” Starlight’s eyes widened, “I hope not. I’ll leave the diplomacy to you.”
“I’m told I have a skilled tongue,” Spike chuckled, prideful.
“By Scootaloo?” Starlight joked besides feeling a knife twist in her heart.
“What?” Spike blushed when he realized the question had been an off-color comment, “No! I swear, Starlight, we’re just friends.”
“So…” the unicorn felt her blush creeping, “if you’re not interested in her, then who are you interested in?”
“The usual,” Spike grumbled. Seeing that Starlight had overheard him and looked at him questioningly, he flinched. Oh well, might as well trudge on. “I have a bad habit of falling for older mares who are way out of my league.”
Starlight felt her heart soar at the possibility that mare was her. She had almost given up hope, but here was a fresh opportunity…
“Why are you always going after older mares anyway, Spike?” Apple Bloom’s voice broke in, startling the other two. She had an odd look, slightly accusatory, slightly hurt. Starlight immediately recognized the confrontational and somewhat possessive look in Apple Bloom’s eyes, seeing the situation for what it was; Spike was naturally oblivious.
“I… I don’t know,” the dragon shrugged, putting on an embarrassed smile, “The heart wants what the heart wants, I guess.”
Apple Bloom’s eyes drifted between the two of them before she grimaced and looked at the ground.
“You should tell her, Spike,” she said, quietly, “Trust me: nothing good comes from beating around the bush.”
“Apple Bloom-” Starlight started to say, but the sympathy in her tone sounded too much like pity and enraged the filly.
“Tell her now, Spike!” Apple Bloom stomped her hoof, “Or I will.”
“You know who I have a crush on?” the dragon blushed.
“Every pony in the castle knows by this point!” the filly rolled her eyes, “Just confess and live your happily-ever-after already!”
The trio stood in charged silence, eyes sliding between one another. Slowly Apple Bloom simmered down, becoming a sulking husk. She was always overlooked by colts, despite being the most outgoing of her friends. They all preferred the spunky Scootaloo or the beautiful Sweetie Belle. Why should Spike have been any different? Because neither of them had parents? Because he didn’t fit in? Because he helped his adoptive family with work? Starlight fit all those same descriptions, and she lived with him, to boot.
“Starlight,” Spike began, his blush spreading, “I… I was wondering if you wanted to hang out? As… as more than just friends, I mean. I know I’m a little young, but I just feel like we kinda click, you know?”
Starlight felt the breath leave her and her face heat up. It was happening. It was actually happening! She smiled, feeling a sense of happiness she hadn’t felt in some time, but it faded as she saw a distraught filly out of the corner of her eye. The image of youth filled her mind and she was reminded of the dragon’s nigh-immortality. She would wither away and die, but Spike would still be a child by the time she was an old hag. Apple Bloom stood a better chance, and Apple Bloom had always been a faithful friend to the dragon. The concept of worthlessness sprang into Starlight’s heart. She was worthless, wasn’t she? Guilt and shame obscured her judgement and what had been a happy moment was utterly ruined.
“No,” she said. Spike immediately looked hurt while Apple Bloom looked shocked, “I don’t feel that way about you. You’re a kid, Spike. You should… you should date someone your own age.”
“B-but I thought we had something going?” Spike stammered, the hurt in his eyes almost enough to shatter Starlight’s soul, “I thought we were… two of a kind?”
“You thought wrong,” Starlight managed through shaky breath, smirking, “I… I guess I’m a little too mature for you.”
Before Spike could recover from that hammer blow – or see the tears falling from the unicorn’s eyes – Starlight turned away and trotted past Apple Bloom towards the exit, stopping long enough to pass some quiet advice on to the shocked filly.
“Take your own advice, Apple Bloom,” she managed to croak out, “Comfort him; love him. Be the filly-friend I didn’t deserve to be.”
“Starlight, wait…” the filly managed to say as the unicorn practically galloped out of the room.
The filly felt horrible, knowing this had largely been her fault. In her bitterness, she had just sabotaged a genuine romance. Yet… wasn’t this what she wanted? Wasn’t this the way to win over her crush? It wasn’t right, but neither was denying the chance presented to her by Starlight’s sacrifice. There was no point in all three of them being miserable. Apple Bloom approached the dragon and brought him into an embrace that he tried and failed to struggle against in anger, but ultimately surrendered to in tears.
“Why did you make me ask her?” he seethed.
“Because you loved her and needed to say it,” the filly murmured, not letting him go.
“But why?” Spike choked back a sob, “Why not just let me go on dreaming?”
Apple Bloom thought about that. She knew the truth, even if Spike didn’t. She had to come up with something believable, something that would cover Starlight’s sacrifice. Feeling wretched enough, and unable to lie well, Apple Bloom decided to do as Starlight had recommended.
“Because I love you,” she whispered. The dragon tensed in her grip.
“You… you love me?” he asked. He’d never heard anyone say those words in that way. Twilight and her family would say they loved him, but it had clearly been a familial love. No one had ever expressed a romantic love for him. “Why?”
“Why do you keep asking why?” the filly retorted, pulling away to look at Spike’s tear-stained face, “You’re everything I’ve ever wanted in a colt-friend, to be honest.”
“I’m not a colt,” Spike managed to snort and smile, though it was brief. Apple bloom dried his eyes.
“That never mattered to me,” she pointed out, smiling. Her heart felt wretched. Was her love true, or just a passing infatuation? If things fell through, would Spike recover? Would he find another? She couldn’t let any of that doubt gnaw away at her. “This probably isn’t the best time, but… would you be interested in hanging in out, sometime?”
“I…” Spike sighed. After growing out of his crush on Rarity, he had learned to just roll with the hand dealt to him. Perhaps things would work out with Apple Bloom. He hadn’t noticed her before, and for that he felt awful. He understood the pain of unrequited love. Looking at her now, he could see the potential for romance. Didn’t she deserve a chance; a chance he had always been denied? “That sounds nice, actually.”
Apple Bloom beamed at him and helped him to his feet. With fragile smiles they departed the classroom, taking comfort in each other’s presence despite the worming emotions eating at their hearts like overripe maggots. Apple Bloom felt foolish guilt; Spike resignation. Yet they smiled at each other, tried to look forward to their futures.
Was that a good enough foundation for a relationship?
…
Wednesday the 25th of October
“What the heck do you mean you’re not going to join the Orduud?!” Ember demanded.
The draconequues had teleported himself into the middle of their latest meeting, which was just perfect. Ember was having enough problems trying to keep the various races from breaking their young alliance or trying to usurp her. All of the races involved in the Orduud had strong warrior traditions and respected strength. The donkeys, camels, and zebras were all overridden by the bombastic outbursts of yaks, griffons, and dragons, all of which demanded louder denouncing of the ponies. The buffaloes were on the fence, enjoying their relationship with Appleloosa but fearful of their ever-shrinking lands. All told, the Orduud was becoming a hot mess with only Ember, Pharynx, and Prince Rutherford were the only ones attempting to hold the assembly together.
And now the God of Chaos was rejecting their invitation to join them, too.
“What do you mean ‘what do you mean’?” Discord scowled, “I thought I was pretty clear about it!”
“You were, but…” Ember massaged her eyelids. Fatigue was taking its toll on her and the other assembled leaders could sense her weakness. It was hard enough ruling over the dragons and trying to balance their revived militancy along with the never-quite-accepted friendship lessons she was trying to hold onto. “Why?”
“I had to swear neutrality in order to protect a friend,” Discord explained in a huff before crossing his arms, “It’s as simple as that.”
“This will look bad…” Ember muttered, just loud enough for Discord, Pharynx, and Prince Rutherford to hear.
“Don’t be so dramatic,” the God of Chaos chuckled, “You are a union of dragons, yaks and griffons! None of you have control of the heavens, true, but you can all defend yourselves well enough.”
“Whatever,” Ember snapped, “We kindly accept your rejection. You can leave now.”
“Why is everyone in such a bad mood these days?” Discord scowled, “It’s a really bad sign when I’m the only being in the world that still has manners. Very well, then. If there was nothing else, I’ll be off.”
“Wait,” Prince Rutherford spoke up, stopping the draconequues from snapping his fingers, “I have request. Let Honorary Yak Pinkie Pie know she have place in Orduud. Let her know she always welcome.”
“How touching,” Discord smirked, “Anyone else?”
“Yeah, extend that invitation to Spike, too,” Ember added, quickly, “He might not take us up on it, but hey, that’s his loss.”
“And you Pharynx?” Discord cocked an eyebrow, “Have anyone in mind?”
“Nope,” the changeling shook his head, “I mean, I guess I should pass on that Spike is always welcome with the changelings, too. I know my brother would just love for him to come visit sometime.”
“Sarcasm doesn’t become you,” Discord chuckled before raising his voice, “Since I am apparently a messenger, anyone else have something to pass onto the ponies? Let’s keep it civil, folks; this is a family show.”
“Actually,” a griffon spoke up, causing all heads to turn in her direction, “I want to go with you.”
“Traitor!” another griffon shouted.
“Shut up!” Gilda snapped back and the other griffon clicked his beak shut, “Seriously, the tension in Griffonstone lately has just been too much! Everyone is throwing the friendship lessons right out the window despite all the good they’ve done because ‘a pony introduced them’! I need to get away for a little bit. That’s cool, right?”
Ember nodded, though grimaced at the glares from the griffons. Gilda didn’t hold much sway with her kin, but she was a prominent griffon who supported their little triumvirate. With her gone, the peace was that much harder to keep, but keeping her cooped up with them would only inflame the situation.
“Alright, then,” Discord sighed, “Apparently I’m also a taxi. Next stop: Equestria!”
Gilda rolled her eyes moments before the draconequues snapped his fingers and teleported them out of the area. Ember watched the groupings of other representatives whispering to one another, plotting. They were a loose coalition that was made up predominantly of reluctant converts to Celestia’s philosophy and hated ponies. There was talk amongst them to oust the triumvirate of Ember, Pharynx (whose race wasn’t even in the Orduud) and Prince Rutherford and to appoint a strong, aggressive leader. Ember knew what they wanted, and she had to prevent them from achieving it.
She would not let the Orduud go to war.
…
Twilight felt much lighter when the mail was delivered. The letters from Spike, Trixie, and Starlight had finally arrived! She was confident her friends would be similarly pleased by the letters they had received. It was hard to believe only a week had passed; everything had been happening so rapidly it felt as if several months had gone by at least. She reclined in her throne at the Map, taking her time to read the rather lengthy letters.
She decided to read Trixie’s letter first, since it was the shortest. Unsurprisingly, it was filled with boasting and self-confidence. Twilight smirked at it until she read “When Trixie returns, she’ll show you a few tricks.” The Princess puckered her lips at that. Had that been another slip-of-the-tongue? Those seemed to be happening frequently between her and the magician. She decided to move onto the next letter.
Starlight’s was warm and friendly, which pleased Twilight to no end considering things had been rough between them leading up to her departure. It was filled with gratefulness for all the friendship lessons Twilight had taught her, which she claimed helped her with her current lessons. There was some mention of working together on a constitutional draft and some shocked outrage at the short deadline Celestia had given Luna. Twilight frowned at the doubts in Celestia’s sincerity and keeping faith in her deal with Luna. Considering the apparent divide between the sisters, Twilight began to wonder if Celestia had ever intended to keep her word, either…
Shaking the doubts away, Twilight read Spike’s letter. It was even less formal than Starlight’s and filled with an almost childlike excitement at all of the amazing things he was doing. Twilight winced at the idea of her little drake engaged in martial combat, but paradoxically felt a swelling pride at his skill. Only Scootaloo seemed better by his letter, and Twilight rolled her eyes wondering how proud Rainbow Dash probably was reading her letter. Spike’s letter also expressed doubts about Celestia’s decisions, his perception of no laws protecting non-ponies concerning him even while he was a student under them! Twilight frowned; surely the fact he was an invited student of royalty would be enough to convince him non-ponies had protected status, right? Apparently not.
Twilight felt her eyes water at the postscript Spike had added, questioning if she thought of him as a son and if he had offended her by calling her mom.She immediately got her quill and inkwell, as well as some fresh paper. She needed to compose a response immediately and let her young drake know that there was no offense and that, while she would likely keep calling him Spike, he was every bit her son. She felt her happiness grow at fond memories between them, and the idea of her being a mother instead of just a guardian. Oh, her own parents would be so happy! Sure, it wasn’t a grand-foal, but it was still a grandson. Twilight scratched the quill nib against her cheek in thought, getting ink on her face. Did her parents already view Spike as a grandson? That was definitely a question worth asking the next time she saw them.
After several attempts to write the letter, Twilight found herself perplexed on what exactly to say. Everything seemed either too desperate or too cold. She grimaced; she had this exact same problem with stallions! Sometimes being an analytical genius was too much, her ability to think becoming an ability to overthink. Sighing in resignation after a few hours had passed, Twilight decided to try and meet up with her friends and see how they liked their letters. Things were tense because of the Empire and rumors about a split, but her friends had avoided politics altogether.
Deciding she rarely visited Rainbow Dash, that was the first of her friends she went to see. Almost reaching the cloudy abode, the Princess stopped when she recognized Fluttershy leaving in a hurry. Tilting her trajectory, the alicorn intercepted the pegasus and flew alongside her, pleased to see her for the first time since her secession. Pleased, that was, until she saw the tears in her eyes.
“Oh,” Fluttershy sniffled, making a poor effort at drying her tears, “Hello, Twilight. I’m sorry I didn’t see you.”
“It’s alright,” Twilight offered a concerned smile, “Are you alright? I saw you were at Rainbow Dash’s place. She’s not sick or anything, is she?”
“No, she’s just peachy!” the pegasus huffed out with enough vehemence to give Twilight pause, “Oh, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be short with you; I just wanted to invite Rainbow Dash to the Secession Party Pinkie Pie is throwing for me this weekend. Since she’s my oldest friend and always telling me to stand up for myself, I thought I’d ask her first. After all, she should be proud that I stood my ground against a…”
Fluttershy trailed off, flustered once she realized who she was talking to.
“But instead,” she started up again, her voice filling with heat, “all I got was a lecture about being a traitor! It’s not like I’m going to fight the Empire, or anything… I just wanted to protect my – and the animals’ – rights. Is that so wrong?”
“No…” Twilight dragged out, “but… maybe you could have done that in the Empire?”
“How?” Fluttershy deadpanned, before sighing, “I take it you don’t want to come to the party either?”
“I want to support you, but something called a ‘Secession Party’ makes me feel… uncomfortable,” the Princess of Friendship grimaced.
“I told Pinkie it wasn’t a good name, but Freedom Party made it seem like none of you were free, and I didn’t want to be insulting,” Fluttershy explained. After a pause, she smiled. “Oh, what if we call it a Sovereignty Party?”
“I… suppose that would make me less uncomfortable,” Twilight admitted. It was an accurate title, but didn’t imply that the others were trapped in any way. “I’ll be there, and I’ll do my best to convince Rainbow Dash to join me.”
“Really?” Fluttershy immediately brightened at the prospect, “It would be wonderful to have all my friends there.”
“I’ll even Pinkie Promise,” Twilight assured her, “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye-OW!”
The Princess rubbed her eye while Fluttershy giggled. How in Equestria did she keep messing up on that simple maneuver? Either way, it was good to see Fluttershy in higher spirits. She had nothing better to do that weekend, anyway. Things were pretty slow in Ponyville despite new orders coming in on how to restructure the government. Frankly, the changes made Twilight cringe; they were so cumbersome and a little inefficient. She’d have to review them and recommend improvements to Celestia later.
“What were you going to see Rainbow Dash about?” Fluttershy asked, arresting her progress once she realized they were flying away from Twilight’s destination, “At least, I assume that’s where you were heading; there’s not much else out here.”
“I got my letters from Spike and Starlight, and I wanted to see how the others were feeling about their letters,” Twilight explained.
“That’s lovely!” Fluttershy smiled, “Well, I won’t keep you. Hopefully talking about Scootaloo will cheer her up.”
They parted ways and Twilight knocked on Rainbow Dash’s door.
“Go away, Fluttershy!” Rainbow snapped from the other side, “I told you, I don’t want to see you right now!”
“Rainbow Dash, it’s me!” Twilight shouted back. There was a long pause and Twilight wondered if the pegasus was trying to pretend she wasn’t home. “You know I can just walk through this stuff, right?”
Rainbow opened the door slowly, peering out through the crack to make sure Fluttershy wasn’t with her before opening it further. The pegasus looked disgruntled, but more resigned than angry.
“Hey Twilight,” she greeted lamely, “You’re probably wondering what that was all about, huh?”
“Fluttershy already told me,” Twilight frowned, “but that’s not why I’m here. Did you want to talk about it?”
“Maybe later,” Rainbow grumbled, “What did you want to talk about?”
“Did you get your letter from Scootaloo?”
“Huh?” Rainbow looked surprised, then grimaced, “Yeah, I got it.”
“You don’t seem happy about it,” the Princess looked worried, “Is she alright? Spike didn’t mention anything bad happening to her.”
“She’s fine,” Rainbow sighed, “In fact, she’s doing great. Did you know she’s training as a knight with Spike?” Twilight nodded, “Oh, good; I thought Spike might try and hide it from you, what with how overprotective you can be. Anyway, what’s bugging me is I can’t figure out where she stands on this whole Empire thing. Is she loyal, do you think?”
“I think she doesn’t care,” Twilight giggled, “She is a foal, after all. Actually, why do you care so much? I didn’t think you were into politics.”
“I’m not,” Rainbow Dash growled out, “but the idea that ponies would want to… to break away from the Princesses. It’s frustrating! I just don’t understand it!”
“Some pony’s feel like their needs are being ignored,” Twilight said, “To be honest, I don’t see it. No pony is coming to me with their problems, so I’m not actively ignoring them…”
“Exactly! I haven’t heard any complaints,” Rainbow Dash shook her head, “You’re not really seceding, are you?”
“I’m not seceding,” Twilight chuckled, “Mayor Mare is worried if I don’t stay neutral, the democrat towns-ponies will leave – or worse – but I’m not about to disobey the Empresses. We’ve already begun restructuring Ponyville’s law code and legal procedures, and I’ve appointed Mayor Mare as our representative in the Imperial Senate.”
“What the hay is a Senate?” the pegasus’ face scrunched up at the unfamiliar word.
“Oh, some political institution to balance out the Empresses,” Twilight waved a dismissive hoof, “Like they need balancing.”
“Won’t the towns-ponies get upset about that?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Well, Mayor Mare was worried they might,” the Princess sighed, “but they elected her to be their leader, so I assumed they’d like her to be our representative in the Senate. I’ll stay the nominal leader here and have them elect bureaucrats to pick up Mayor Mare’s duties. I figure this is a good compromise; the towns-ponies get more say in government, but we adopt Celestia’s new standards and stay part of the Empire.”
It also helped that this was the system Celestia had designed the Empire around and that, in performing the compromise, Twilight was obeying her Empress completely.
“Sounds good to me,” Rainbow agreed, “They’d have to be idiots not to take you up on your offer.”
“Let’s meet up with the others and see how they felt about their letters!” Twilight suggested and Rainbow smiled at the thought. They departed her cloud abode, eager to hear from the others.
…
“Old Ponish is trickier than I thought it would be…” Apple Bloom muttered as she scribbled some more notes in her notebook. The runes were still confusing, but not as confusing as the guttural dialogue of their ancestors.
Flim had picked up the language better, but Apple Bloom had learned he and his twin brother were natural polyglots, as quick speech had saved their hides in countless business ventures gone awry. Now the clean-shaven twin was unnervingly quiet, his brother missing from the class. Luna, as ever, seemed too distracted to notice, her eyes on the clock as if waiting for it to be over. Starlight and Spike had mentioned her lack of interest earlier, just after their political class, but now it was becoming so obvious even the filly noticed.
“It’s not too difficult once you get a grasp on the sentence structure and the grammar,” Flim said, almost bored, still sulking, “Actually, it sort of reminds me of our language, or maybe Germane’s dialect. The hardest part are the runes replacing letters, and the new vocabulary. Even then, if you look closely you can see similarities.”
Apple Bloom moved over to Flim’s side, the motion finally catching Luna’s attention. She watched, at first out of the corner of her eye, and then with her full attention. Flim demonstrated several sentences in their modern tongue, the Germane dialect, and Old Ponish. Apple Bloom furrowed her brow as she sounded the words out, eyes searching the script for some clue. Luna watched in interest as Flim explained a little further and the filly’s eyes widened in sudden understanding. She realized the roots Germane and her own dialect had in Old Ponish, the similarities in the runes with the modern alphabet. Were all languages related like this? She felt her chest swell with pride at the prospect that the ponies were so… similar. Why had they ever separated in the first place? Her young, curious mind was beginning to drift and she reigned it back in.
Luna stood over them, watching their progress and lost in her own thoughts. She was supposed to be their instructor, yet in less than two weeks, she had lost students in most of her classes and was now so distracted with her political machinations that she was overlooking her responsibilities. For an instant, she felt the mare she had been just a few weeks ago cry out to her to focus, to focus on some issue she was neglecting. Then it was gone in an instant. Whatever the problem was, it had changed. Equestria needed to be a Republic.
She turned from her distracted students and looked back at the clock – back to more pressing matters.
…
Thursday the 26th, of October
“You know, I don’t think I’ve ever thrown a party at your house before,” Pinkie noted as she took measurements of the dimensions of Fluttershy’s interior. Maud was with her holding a tube filled with floorplans, both sisters wearing hard hats. “It was actually difficult to find the floorplans for your cabin; thank goodness Mayor Mare hadn’t left for Canterlot yet!”
“She’s leaving?” Fluttershy asked, “Why?”
“Twilight appointed her Ponyville’s senator,” Pinkie Pie said, tapping her shin, “Senator Mare… doesn’t quite have the same ring to it.”
“So Twilight isn’t staying neutral,” Fluttershy muttered, “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised.”
“I’m not,” Maud deadpanned.
“Wait, something’s different about you…” the pegasus squinted her eyes, then gasped, “Where’s Boulder?”
“We’re taking a break,” Maud explained, “We were talking about politics and things got pretty heated. Boulder is pretty stuck in his ways, and arguing with him is like arguing with a brick wall.”
Fluttershy furrowed her brow, sparing a look at Pinkie Pie, but both siblings were deadly serious on the matter. Then again, who was she to talk? She seemed to be the only pony who could communicate with animals; perhaps Maud could communicate with rocks?
“Will you both be at the party, then?” the pegasus decided to ask instead.
“Of course!” Pinkie snorted, “I am the organizer, after all. And the caterer. And Maud wouldn’t miss it, either! She was super-active in student protests and activism in college!”
“Down with the establishment,” Maud deadpanned.
“Listen to that raw passion!” Pinkie squealed, “It gives me chills!”
“Will any pony else be able to make it?” Fluttershy asked, afraid to hear the answer.
“Rarity said something about needing to finish dresses for an order,” Pinkie mumbled, her tone suggesting she hadn’t believed a word of it, “but Applejack will definitely be there! I even booked Vinyl Scratch at a discount; she was super-excited. She says you’re a true rebel, being the first to secede and everything.”
“Oh, I don’t think of myself as a rebel,” Fluttershy giggled, “besides, I could never have accomplished this without Discord, the sweetheart.”
“So…” Pinkie smirked, “should I start planning a wedding reception?”
“I-What?!” Fluttershy blushed, “I think you should just focus on this party for now, Pinkamena Diane Pie!”
“I think you struck a nerve,” Maud said, allowing herself a small smile as Pinkie giggled.
“Okay, okay,” the pink mare wiped a tear from her eye, “I’ll focus on this party, then.”
After an hour or so, Fluttershy reviewed the plans and helped make appropriate changes to them to ensure the animals would be upset as little as possible from the party. Pinkie agreed she would help with the clean-up, and Maud agreed to help too, despite the other mares insisting she didn’t need to. Of course, arguing with Maud proved as futile as arguing with… well, a rock.
Fluttershy smiled in spite of the problems with her friends from earlier. If Twilight could convince Rainbow Dash to attend, then everything would be perfect! After all, if one of Pinkie Pie’s parties couldn’t mend a friendship…
…then nothing could.
…
Mayor Mare-
No, she reminded herself, I am Senator Mare, now.
Senator Mare finished packing her belongings with a resigned scowl. She looked around her empty office and felt her heart break at the sight. How many years had she spent as the leader of Ponyville, scarcely faltering in her duties? How many weddings had she officiated? How many birth certificates had she happily confirmed? How many families had she comforted in loss? It all felt so… empty, now.
Just like her office.
She briefly contemplated her terms in office. Ponyville had been democratic, after a fashion. Like most of the democratic city-states within Equestria, however, the populations were small and so the pool of candidates virtually non-existent. On the one hand, Ponyville could elect another mayor; on the other, they never felt the need to, and no pony ever stepped up as a candidate. She had always been so flattered that no pony opposed her, taking it to mean that she was beloved and irreplaceable. Now she began to wonder if perhaps it was simply because no pony valued democratic institutions, that they were fine with a single, lifelong ruler as long as they didn’t rock the boat too much.
It saddened her.
Still, nothing for it. She threw on her saddlebags and prepared to leave for her new post in Canterlot. It was an honor, in truth, and it was the will of the Empresses – or, if her dreams were anything to go by, the Empress – and Princess Twilight. Her tenure as mayor might have given her a misrepresentation about government in Equestria, but not enough that she had forgotten the royalty ran the ponies. The more she thought on it, the more she warmed up to the idea. First the longest-running Mayor of Ponyville, and now the first Senator of Ponyville. She was more than a record-holder for her city-state; she was the bridging between eras.
It didn’t help the disquiet in her heart, though. She arrived at the train station and was surprised to see Twilight Sparkle and a dozen of Ponyville’s citizens waiting for her, a “Farewell!” banner on display. Senator Mare suppressed a brief irritation. How dare the Princess who evicted her turn it into a celebration? No, no, it was fine. It was more than fine; it was a symbol of respect, and to see so many of her former citizens there to say farewell was heartwarming.
She smiled her easy smile and passed words with her constituents, holding her poise through Twilight’s sugary-complimentary speech. Senator Mare wasn’t sure which was worse: the prospect Twilight honestly believed she thought she was doing a service for their divided community by sending her away; or the idea that her platitudes were hollow lies.
Only after Ponyville was beyond sight, far behind her train, did she allow herself to cry.
…
Friday the 27th, of October
Spike felt himself panicking over the days since Apple Bloom had confessed his love for him. His stomach felt sick with anxiety; he’d never felt that way about her before, never even thought about the prospect, and now he was going on a date with her tomorrow.
Oh yeah, then there was the date – a ritual he had never really performed and which caused a completely different form of anxiety. Despite the confused emotions regarding his feelings for the filly, the drake was also concerned about how to properly go about the date. Whether or not he truly loved Apple Bloom, he owed it to her to give it his all, didn’t he?
He had already finished getting himself a new suit, courtesy of the Canterlot Boutique, and written a beautifully-worded thank you letter for Rarity to send out with his letters. The dragon frowned at the letters. Surely Twilight’s response would have reached him by now? Applejack’s letter to Apple Bloom had arrived only yesterday, but him, Starlight, and Trixie had received nothing yet. Oddly enough, Trixie seemed the most upset by this, likely worried that Twilight was still angry about the magic trick.
Spike shook his head; he had training to attend.
Scootaloo had been waiting for him and she walked in silence alongside him as they went to Night Bane’s sparring session.
“You’re pretty quiet,” the dragon noted.
“I’m just surprised,” Scootaloo admitted with a smirk, “I can’t believe Apple Bloom confessed her love to you.”
“Ah,” Spike blushed, “So she told you about our date tomorrow, then?”
“Duh,” the pegasus snorted, “I am one of her best friends.”
Spike stayed silent, eyes locked ahead.
“Wow, you seem pretty nervous,” Scootaloo grinned, “It’s just a date, dude. She’s just as freaked out.”
“Does she really love me?” the dragon mumbled.
“Oh, she’s head-over-hooves for you,” the pegasus giggled before grimacing, “Seriously, she won’t shut up about this date. It’s… kinda annoying, actually.”
“Scootaloo, can I confess something to you?” Spike stopped and the pegasus turned back to look at him. She was about to make a joke at his wording but saw the deadly seriousness in his face.
“Sure,” she nodded.
“You won’t tell Apple Bloom?”
“…Sure.”
“Scootaloo…”
“Okay, I promise,” the pegasus huffed.
“Alright,” Spike double-checked to make sure there were no witnesses before leaning in, “I don’t love Apple Bloom. I-I accepted her love because I thought I could learn to love her, but now I’m not sure that’s the right way, either.”
Scootaloo blinked, furrowing her brow.
“Wait… what?” she chewed on her lip, “I thought you’d… Oh, this isn’t good.”
“I wouldn’t lead her on, if I were you,” a third, stallion’s voice said, startling the two youths.
“Sir Night Bane!” they both bowed in unison.
“Rise,” the Night Guard grimaced, “We’re you coming to train?”
“Yes Sir,” the youths nodded in unison.
“Well, that’s too bad,” Night Bane sighed, “Princ- I mean… Luna…” it was clear referring to his liege so informally troubled him, “has terminated the chivalry courses.”
“What?!” both youths shrieked. Night Bane found himself growing tired of their in tandem speech.
“Why?” Spike asked as Scootaloo tried to recover from the shock.
“She said something about a new age dawning, where knights were no longer needed,” the Royal Guard explained, wearily, “Knights, nobility, chivalry… she said these were relics of a bygone era, symbols of the old ways. Oh, and she didn’t want to risk your health on dangerous expeditions.”
“But…” Scootaloo frowned, “I wanted the danger!”
“She thought you might,” Night Bane snorted, “You could always join the Night Guard when you’re older; we’re not as stuffy as the Day Guard, and we go on night raids often. It’s not quite the same as knighthood, but it’s the closest you’ll get.”
“This doesn’t make any sense,” Spike shook his head, “It was one of her largest classes, and she said knights had a place in her vision of a republic!”
“She claims she was mistaken,” Night Bane gave a rough grin, remembering he had argued the same thing.
“How can you just lie down and surrender?!” Scootaloo demanded, startling Spike and even surprising the knight a little, “Don’t you care about your knighthood?”
“I do, but a knight must obey the will of his or her lord or lady,” Night Bane explained, evenly, “I thought we went over that in class enough times.”
“Er… right,” Scootaloo’s cheeks flushed in embarrassment.
“As for you, Spike,” Night Bane turned his attention to the dragon, “you’re just nervous. You should try doing something to get your mind off of the date… Didn’t Luna give you a book?”
“I don’t know if I can focus on it, but…” Spike nodded slowly, “yeah, I think that’s a good idea, actually. I’ll go try that. Unless you wanted to hang out?”
“Actually, now that I have the free time, I think I’ll study,” Scootaloo sighed, “I didn’t do too hot on Empress Celestia’s last test…”
“Oh, well… alright, then,” Spike scratched his cheek at the idea she would prefer to study. It wasn’t completely out of place, but it also wasn’t something he’d expect her to turn hanging out with friends for. Perhaps she really just wanted some alone time to process the end of her road to knighthood? Frankly, he could use some alone time to decompress, too.
The two friends departed, leaving their former master to his own duties. Spike entered his room and closed the door, resting his back against it and sliding down its length before running his hands through the spines on his head. What was he doing there, anymore? He was ignored in the political science course, and now the chivalry course was cancelled. It had only been about two weeks, so it might not be too late to sign up for another class, but considering the Empresses’ slipping attention to them, he felt that might be a waste of his time and effort.
Seeing no point in putting it off anymore, Spike went to where he had placed the ancient tome, cracking it open. He grimaced. Starlight – the mere memory of her hurting him – had overstated his talent at Old Ponish. He was skilled enough, but some of the more technical terms still eluded him. Reading the tome would be slow and burdensome, but at least he had the foresight to check out an Old Ponish-to-Modern Ponish dictionary from the library. Sighing, he began his own studies, slow and tedious as they were.
…
Luna stood before thousands of ponies in the realm of dreams. Nearly the entire population of every democratic city-state within and without of Equestria’s borders, and hundreds from the imperial city-states, all stood before her, eager to listen to her speeches, eager to drink in her promises for freedom and progress. This was the final night before the dawn of a new age. Saturday would see these faithful followers of democratic theory vote for their futures, and she knew in her heart that they’d follow her.
They all nominated their candidate for the presidency, as well as appointed their representatives to Congress, the body politic that would represent the ponies. The Republic had taken on a name, though Luna disapproved of it. The ponies had linked her to their progress, to their nation, and their nightly meetings had left the image of the moon forever in their association with their ideals. They did not refer to their republic as the Equestrian Republic as Luna had intended.
They called it the Lunar Republic.
It smacked of self-aggrandizement to Luna. How could she prove to her sister that it was the ponies who wanted democracy when they went and named a whole nation after her? It looked hypocritical, but Luna had to accept their majority vote for it with a shake of her head. At least they weren’t worshipping her as a goddess. At least, not too obviously.
Yes, everything looked bright and ready for the former Princess of the Night’s vision of a free and prosperous future. She allowed herself a smirk of confidence as the ponies cheered her on.
By the time she woke from her true sleep the following evening, she would be waking into the beginning of revolution.
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It's painful to see how things go towards conflict like this, splitting characters that love each other and whose bonds have been an inspiration.
Why can't they talk? Why can't they listen to each other?!
Great story; just tearjerking, too.
8957782
Unlike most of my stories, I actually have a reason plotted out; usually I just come up with something on the fly when it's time for the reveal, lol. Not this time - got it all worked out
Starlight...... WHY?!! You Idiot!!
As for Celestia and Luna, I think her descent into darkness went a little too quickly. It was going fine until about this chapter. Knowing them, I don't see them turning into jerks this suddenly, despite the impending schism. Though I',m glad Celestia's relationship with Flam is able to humanize her at this point in the story. However, I'm interested now to see where the Orduud is going, because if Twilight's premonition is at all accurate, Spike is either going to depose Ember or change her mind about war, and I'm interested to see how he does that.
I hope Apple Bloom isn't hurt too much by the events of this story.
One other piece of advice, be careful to not stretch this story too thin. You jumped to A LOT of different places here, so I hope when we get to the nitty gritty, we are able to kind of condense the amount of plot lines going on.
Finally, the next chapter is where the other shoe's going to drop. Lines will be drawn. Ponies will take their sides. Loyalties will be revealed. The tensions KILLING me. But while the ponies are squabbling amongst themselves, hatred is brewing within Spike, and let's not forget the sleeping giants that are Fluttershy and Discord, I actually have a theory about their role in the overall story that I'll go into at a later point in time. I can't wait for what you have in store next. I hope it comes very soon too!
8957998
The Celestia thing will be explained near the end of Part 1 (this fic). It should make sense, then. This chapter was meant to speed along through the week, only focusing on the important events of the days, but the next series of chapters will return to the nitty-gritty stuff because a lot will happen over the weekend and after. I think this is the last multi-day chapter in Part 1. I appreciate the feedback, though; it helps keep me grounded and focused on the outline I've got going.
I'm glad you're enjoying it so much! Er... no promises on Apple Bloom, much as it pains me to say it :(
8958007
Yeah, I know. My biggest gripes are the leap in Celestia and Luna's demeanors and the stretching too thin. I'm glad you are addressing so many characters, but at some points, chapters can start to become over saturated. Perhaps try to limit one chapter to a certain group of characters maybe?
8958036
I'll try and do that from here on out. For some reason, I'm trying to make the chapters as close to or exceeding 10k words as possible, even though that means I have to include different groups and spread out the focus. For this chapter, however, it was mostly a roundup for the week preceding the major plot points. But, in the future, I will probably avoid doing a chapter quite this scattered, lol.
8958042
Glad to hear it.
8958042
you'll still have me to keep you in check lol.
8958056
(☞ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)☞
This is what happens when you let ponies think that their is four princess. Candace and Twilight are just as indoctionated as the imperials to follow celestia
Also if Celestia tried to evict fluttershy I could see ponyville suddenly learning what the terme animal attack means. Also no one in ponyville would have a pet that ants to be with them anymore.
8958115
Glad to see you see the significance of their independence like I do, but I think of it as much more than that.
Anyways, I'm dropping it here. It's not that your story is bad. It's more that I'm getting bored with it, and it's not interesting enough to me to plod on through boring bits to find exciting parts again. I mean, I've dropped stories before because the writing quality just completely fell apart, and that's not the case here.
Critical analysis...I think the story thus far is both too long and too short. On being too long, there are a couple of subplots that really could due to have been excised. The Flim and Flam subplot was eventualy decently integrated, but the romance subplot burns up all the oxygen really quick. Flim and Flam could have been removed as well, though then you need some other plot hook to get the CMC to Canterlot. The whole non-pony Orduud thing really could be trimmed down, too. SE vs NLR in this story is more about imperialism vs. democracy, and that makes the non-pony vs. pony thing a distraction. If it ever became a threat enough that the SE and NLR reunited, then they wouldn't be reuniting because they came to an agreement on common ideals, but because they had a common enemy. Even something as little as having Spike and Starlight go to Canterlot after the CMC by a few days, when they could have all gone together, would have saved some time.
As for being too short, I think it would have been better if you got some of the more main actors and thinkers together under Celestia and Luna's tutelage, and had their shared classes last several months. Then after they learn to like one another as classmates, the political climate begins to get unstable, Celestia and Luna start to show signs of spats with one another, and the students themselves begin to be divided in half as some of them join Celestia and some of them join Luna, with one or two in-between. Celestia and Luna could be due for fleshing out a little more, as they begin to feel really one-dimensional in this chapter, with Luna smirking all the time, and Celestia always being angry. More perspectives like Mayor-cum-Senator Mare's in this chapter could be helpful as one-offs, as prior to her PoV I think we had the same dozen or so ponies and Spike continue to retread the same arguments.
9448178
Yeah, it is a dry read. There is considerable action in chapter 20 onward, but I'm surprised you made it this far. I was going for something a little less over-the-top than my old action fics. There was a lot of stuff I put in here that, with hindsight, I really didn't like - and you noticed it, too.
All in all, thank you for the constructive criticism and being fair. Some other reviewers have pointed out flaws, but they weren't nearly as polite as you about it. I'll probably simply shelf this one since I've burned myself out on it. Thanks for reading all the same.