4-7
Ari sat in the back seat of Dresden’s car alongside Pamela and some more of her crew. They were driving out to inspect what was going on, starting at that parking lot. It didn’t take long to confirm what Dresden reported. Those overflowing trash cans were gone now.
“Why would they be cleaning up the garbage now?” Pamela asked.
“Blocking their proposal scared somebody and not just an annoying Karen this time. They’re taking us seriously now,” said Ari. “The garbage thing was my main score against them so they’re taking that away.”
“I don’t want to be taken seriously.” Pamela looked out the window.
Too late for that.
Ari and co. hurried back to the homeless camp where she had made some headway. As she feared, blocking the vote resulted in the police coming out in full force. More than Ari had seen so far.
For the first time, they employed tear gas to disperse the crowd. A thick cloud hung over the parking lot, obscuring it while a small army in gas masks went through smashing anything they could with batons.
After a month or so of relative peace, things were back to the riot phase. Only this time the saner military guys weren’t around to control it. Desperate people were going as far as throwing bricks at the police. One could turn in any direction and see a fight. Cars, windows, and street signs were all smashed.
The group quickly agreed there was nothing they could do here and that they’d go back to the car. Come back later when things died down and assess the damage.
But, as if he had been waiting for Ari specifically, one officer motioned for her to come over almost as soon as she arrived.
“Yes.” Ari tepidly approached, steady slightly by the rest of her group behind her.
“Are you Ari Webber?” He asked.
So they were waiting for her!
“Yes?”
“Listen. This store is private property. We know you’ve been taking people here, going as far as to bring dumpsters onto someone else’s land without their permission. So I have to let you know that the owner isn’t going to tolerate this any further. From now on, anybody caught trespassing here will be arrested.”
Somehow Ari seriously doubted Target suddenly decided to call the cops with such perfect timing. The town was playing hardball now.
“I’ll be careful.”
“And I want to say that we know who you are.”
Never something you wanted to hear. She did her best to look as though she did not react to that.
“That I’m Ari?”
“That you’re a Shimmerist. That you’re on extremist watch lists.”
Ari hoped she didn’t go too pale at the mention. How had they found out so fast? Did somebody snitch?
No. Ari reminded herself that the FBI had lists of Shimmerists and suspected Shimmerists. All they needed was to do a background search on Ari and all the lists she was on would show up.
She had not wanted word to get out about this. Of course the police and government would let it slip wherever possible… then who knows what insane person might take up a gun to defend himself from what the media consistently portrayed as terrorists. Or what it could do to the reputation and goodwill she’d built up.
“Now listen,” said the cop. “This is America. You have the right to believe whatever you want. I don’t want you to think we’re persecuting you for your religion. I won’t stand for that. But you need to keep things civil, legal, and non-violent. Do you understand?”
“I won’t do anything my lawyer tells me not to.” Ari gave a slight bow of her head.
The officer frowned at that but like he said he couldn’t arrest her for believing the wrong thing. You did have some rights in America, at least.
They returned to the car and drove back home as quickly as they could to lick their wounds yet again.
Moral had shot back down to its lowest point yet. However it wasn’t depression overtaking the group but fear.
Dresden couldn’t sit still, pacing back and forth. Pamela sat on the couch trying to hide behind a pillow. Ari liked giving people activities to do when things got anxious like this but the only thing she could think to do was something she had to do herself.
Even though it wasn’t something she wanted to do, Ari made sure to call up everyone who joined the center to warn them that word about them being Shimmerists got out. To her credit, only one got spooked enough to quit immediately.
But that resolve might be stressed soon. Ari’s already dismal faith in humanity was about to be tested. Would they start getting death threats or worse after this leak? They might not know for some time.
“Are we going to get shot?” Pamela asked.
“We’re not getting shot,” said Ari.
“Yeah, but the cops are going to tell everyone about us,” Dresden said. “This is exactly what I was afraid of.”
“Alright people! I get we’re all worried,” said Ari. “But we’re also a community! As Shimmerists, we stick together. Anybody who doesn’t feel safe is welcome to stay here where we have our security system for as long as you want. There’s room enough for just about all of us.”
“But this is the first place a crazed gunman would shoot up,” one objected. “And mass shootings are up five, sixfold or something.”
“I’m not making anybody stay here if they don’t want to,” said Ari. “But it’s very unlikely a gunman will get in. Certainly not without us seeing it coming. We have our own guns if it comes down to it.”
“Should we really have started with all this political stuff?” Dresden asked.
The general sentiment seemed to echo him.
Ari breathed out and tried to recall the training Ragnarok gave her. They were afraid. And as he’d said:
‘People are afraid? Good. You control their fear.’
Never tell a scared person not to be afraid. Redirect their fear.
“What? Do you think the police didn’t already have you all on their lists? That’s the only way they could have found out who we were from the start.”
They quieted down, mulling on the implications of that.
“The fact that they’re out there making lists of us, that there are people out there willing to shoot us for what we believe, that the government is willing to weaponize that against us? That’s why we need this political stuff. And trust me, it’s that last part that should scare you. One or two maniacs with a gun we can easily deal with. That we have a police force and local government who are willing to act as terrorists is what scares me.”
“Sure,” said Dresden. “They suck. I get that. But we’re a target now.”
“You were already targets! They don’t even hide the fact they put Shimmerists on lists. The only difference is that now we can face them together instead of them coming at us one at a time.” Ari took her hand, which approximated a fist at any given time, from her pocket and raised it up. “Nopony is ever alone.”
They echoed it reflexively.
“Fine.” Dresden at last ceased his pacing and sat down. “But… can you at least tell me there’s some kind of hope? What do we even do after this?”
“Don’t worry about that,” said Ari. “I haven’t even played my highest ace yet. But soon.”
A good half of the members decided to stay the night. In some ways having so many people around was nice. Like a stressful Thanksgiving right after somebody died. Having lots of friends around was how ponies lived.
They didn’t exactly need volunteers to stay up and keep watch since sleep was hard enough. They get used to it but this first night would be rough.
So for both reasons, Ari was still awake at three in the morning, sitting on her computer talking to ponies in places where it was a more reasonable hour. In Alaska, it was still eleven at night.
She had even more to worry about than the others. Just having the local authorities against her was already this nerve-wracking. How was it going to be in a few weeks or a month when the entire nation had Ari in its sights?
Every fifteen minutes or so she’d glance over at the security camera to make sure nobody was there. Not that it was necessary. Anyone breaking past the first gate would trigger an alarm.
And that was why Ari froze in shock when she saw somebody walking down the driveway outside.
Had the alarm been turned off?! No! It was still on.
Maybe somebody decided to go outside? Or…? At least she wasn’t alone in this.
Ari ran downstairs and found the door that was supposed to be locked wide open.
She let out a sigh of relief seeing it was just Pamela. She had a key so that would explain things.
“You scared me for a
second,” said Ari.
“You said I could come over any time, right?” Pamela asked.
“That’s why I gave you the key.”
Truth be told, Ari was always happy to have the others stay over. She loved the idea of communal living, even if it was hard for humans to pull it off.
“Did you get nervous?” Ari asked. “You said you’d be with your family.”
“I was but…” Pamela twiddled her thumbs. “Well…. I got into a fight with my mom and I really don’t have anywhere else to go but here.”
“You get into a lot of fights with her.”
Ari wanted to sit down for this. She brought Pamela into their living room and sat down on a couch together. Another member, George, was asleep on the opposite couch but in one night Ari became convinced he was nearly impossible to wake.
“Have you considered moving out?” Ari asked.
“Of course. I want to so badly. But… well we went from nobody being able to afford to buy a house to nobody being able to afford rent. And I’m scared food is next. The days when a single person can just work 40 hours a week and afford to rent their own apartment are over.”
Even back in more innocent times, the 2010s everybody just meekly accepted things would end up this way. But nobody expected them to arrive at this point so soon. And what was coming next would be even worse. Not something Ari wanted to bring up just now, though.
“You know you can just stay here, right?” Ari asked. “That’s kind of the whole goal. Ponies offer an alternative to the cutthroat ‘I got mine’ attitude of humans.”
“Yeah.” Pamela patted the pillow on her lap, then grabbed it with a hug. “I just… wish we could have all been ponies.”
“We can relate.”
“But.”
Pamela looked away, needing the pillow in her hands.
“I suppose I never told you this but um. Maybe the main reason I wanted to be a pony…” Pamela looked back up at the ceiling. “I used to struggle with anorexia.”
Ari sat up at attention immediately. She tried to remember every time she’d seen the other girl eat but had no suspicious memories. And Pamela didn’t look underweight.
“Used to?”
“It stopped after ETS.” Pamela nodded. “I guess it’s like… my ideal body is a pony now so it’s not like starving myself will help get me there. There’s no point in trying. Weirdly… it kind of broke me out. I still can’t look at myself in the mirror but I’m not hurting myself. But I don’t think my mom likes my ‘solution’.”
Her first instinct was to tell Pamela that she wasn’t ugly at all. But she had to hear that constantly. That sort of reassurance never worked.
“Maybe this is wrong but… that’s why the idea of using transformation magic appeals to me so much! I… I just know that if I was a pony I could finally be comfortable with who I am. I know the Equestrians are always saying that becoming a pony can never solve any problem. But… I mean… maybe this one?”
She knew the common refrains. ‘You don’t have to change yourself’, ‘You’re already perfect the way you are’, ‘Just love yourself’. If it were the easy Pamela would have already done it. Those truisms would have worked the first time she surely heard them.
“I think you should have the right to try,” Ari said instead. “It helped a lot of people. Even if nobody wants to admit it. But… I’ll still be your friend whether you get over it or not. If your mother can’t be happy you’ve found some way to cope with your problems then she’s in the wrong here.”
“But what if um…” Pamela looked away again. “My one fear is if I do become a pony… but then my problems come back and…”
She could see what Pamela meant. Ari instinctively hated the idea of one of her friends remaining human. Rehumanization just seemed like the most horrible thing that could ever happen to someone. Spring Breeze and all the others gave her a constant feed of horror stories about it.
But, in good conscience, Ari could never bring herself to say it should be illegal.
“I’d never turn my back on you!” Ari vowed. “I hate that the government is pushing rehumanization on us but… well I think it’s fine for a few people like you. Potentially. I’m sure you’d be happier as a pony but if you weren’t. I’d still be your friend even then.”
Pamela smiled a little, then leaned over to rest her head on Ari’s shoulder.
“Thanks. You’re a good person. I admire so much about you. I really do love it here.”
Part of Ari wanted to stoke Pamela’s hair but… she was always too ashamed of her deformity to ever do something like that. They remained in her pockets.
“Can’t we just… not do anything political anymore?” Pamela asked. “I just want to watch movies and hang out and talk about ponies and maybe help people by handing out blankets. And...”
This again.
“People were going to find out we’re Shimmerists eventually,” Ari reminded her. “And that’s exactly why we need to do political stuff.”
“But we don’t have to… maybe we can all just move away somewhere safer?”
“That’s not how this works.” Ari shook her head and stood up. “When have they ever just allowed people to live in peace? Did the king of England just let everybody have the right to vote and give us freedom of speech and religion? We had to fight a war for that. Were black people just given civil rights? Were women just given suffrage? Did gay and trans people not have to fight for the rights they have? Everyone who has ever wanted to just live their life the way they want has had to struggle against the powers that be for it.”
Ari sat back down.
“We’re not different. We need to fight to live our lives the way we want to. We want to be allowed to become ponies. We want to live a life different from what humans have been doing. America, Blackrock, Equestria, and who knows what else will do everything they can to stop us because they decided it's more convenient for them to force us to be the way they want us to.”
“But it’s not fair! I shouldn’t have to risk getting shot and tear gassed and have the police threaten me and… and have the Equestrians and everyone else call us evil and racist just because I wanted to be a pony.”
“I know. But it’s never been fair. It’ll only be fair if we don’t give them any other choice. Purple stopped the peaceful world Sunset Shimmer wanted so we’re stuck with this.”
Pamela sat across from Ari, hands in her lap, tears in her eyes. Ari frowned, hesitated then did something she normally didn’t.
“Listen.” Ari took her broken hand out of its pocket and ran it across Pamela’s head. There was something she’d been meaning to say. “I might not always be around.”
“Ari!” Pamela leaned forward. “Nothing is going to happen to you!”
If only it were as easy as insisting, it was so.
“I don’t necessarily mean it like that. I don’t plan to die.” Ari patted her head and sat Pamela back down. “I mean more like… I might get promoted or something. In the SSP and…”
“I want things to stay the way they were!”
“They can’t.”
Ari closed her eyes and let the statement hang in the air before continuing.
“So I want you to take over as leader of this center. You’re the most passionate and committed member of this community. In the meantime, I’m promoting you to second in command. But I swear that no matter what you’ll never be alone. Nopony is ever alone.” With Ari, Pamela mimicked the now familiar phrase. “Will you keep fighting as long as that’s the case?”
Pammela swallowed then solemnly nodded to accept the responsibility.
“Thanks.”
“But…”
Pamela looked away one more time.
“Can we… I mean. If we had become ponies.” Pamela looked up at her. “One of the things I’m jealous of them over is that they can just cuddle with each other and it’s not weird. So…”
She lowered her head and looked up at Ari nervously. Ari saw where this was going.
“You… wanted to sleep in my room?” Ari asked.
Pamela turned red.
“Not! I mean it’s like the way ponies do. I don’t have those kinds of feelings for you but. Um! I…”
Ari remembered her time with the ponies. She’d had zero problems sleeping platonically with Spring Breeze and two other ponies she’d never even met. So why was the thought of letting Pamela sleep next to her weird?
Ari decided it was a stupid feeling. She wanted to be more like a pony. She wanted to be good.
“Alright.”
“Alright?”
“If you get that I’m not in lesbians with you then sure, you can sleep next to me tonight.” Ari smiled at the thought. “Man, almost nobody in the country would believe that thought, would they? People are kind of… perverted I guess?”
“Oh, thank you!”
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I wonder if having a mobile soup kitchen could help them get the town on their side, if they can offer cooked food for free, and do it during protests to gather up people. And it would he had for starving homeless people to hate them with the smell of hot food in the air. Hey they could also associate themselves with other charity groups and help them out to create a larger network and to further expand their visibilities. Sense ponies needs are meet very easily meet and are more able to be self-sufficient.
For the cops know who they are, and could get them at any time yeah, I wouldn't be surprised as it was how they did it with MLK and Malcom X.
Oh please
I got this
And that's the point ari
Rehumanization is a necessary thing to have
True but peaceful protest did work
Acrually
It wouldn't be
Im sorry
But The truth is
If everyone was a pony it would be just another equestria
And I've seen the future ari
One day a Alicorn from another realm shall divide and destroy equestria's magic
Its time to let the Narrative happen Ari
11763336
Sounds good to me.
How does that get us more ponies?
11763526
Well you misunderstand
Equestria is not as perfect as you think
I get you think ponies are peaceful
But what happens when those ponies...
get angry?
You get the windegos
You'll see what i mean one day
This just in shimmerist houses are opening all over the country
11763533
I remember the last time I saw the wendigos man it was so cold
11764174
*sigh*
Least the devourers are gone
But now?
Im back on my lonesome
Target the houses with the worst shimmerists
11764219
Aren't you worried about the hole in the fabric of reality on the otherside of the multiverse
11764256
Hole?
...buddy if I detected a hole in the multiverse i would have known
...
Though
I have been looking at the HPWS for a bit
With recent discovery of Finaliam's true max potential(Aleph Null energy aka basically the smallest Infinity) it might be time to upgrade
11764259
You sure about that because multiple reports tell me there's a Celestia sized hole over there
11764312
I just said it might be time to upgrade
But Honestly it may be only temporary but we'll see
The irl barrier is still healing but it is now recovering