Rebirth of Magic: Cold, Cold Heart

by JimmyHook19

A Pale Moon Rises

I was out into the landscape, and on my way. The world before me was starting to unfold once more as I headed inland, away from the coastlines and oceans that had been my constant companion for so much of my time in Equestria. Little did I know it at the time, but I wouldn't be seeing Maretime Bay again for a very long time. So much would change between me leaving the fair city behind and returning to those streets once more, and the world would be turned upside down before my very eyes.

But enough about that for now. I had to continue on my journey and find Hitch. No doubt he was in trouble as he wasn't reporting back. As I trotted on my way, a horrible thought crossed my mind.

Hitch had travelled to Zephyr Heights, following Sunny as she had headed that way with Izzy. What if the rumors were true? What if the pegasuses had eaten them? That was a scary thought.

And one no doubt put into place by propaganda departments across the land to whip the populace up into unreasonable hatred. I had to be careful. I had to stay on the even keel and level. I could not afford to succumb to the prejudices the original Sprout had possessed. I had to ensure I did my part, hoof to heart, and make this world a better place than when I arrived when I left it. Thought, in all likelihood, I won't be leaving this place any time soon. I've been through some tough scrapes and come out the other side tougher. This should be no different.

As I continued on my way through the Earth Pony lands, the landscape continued to shift and change. Rolling fields and cliffs gave way to soaring peaks and mighty canyons reaching to the sky or plummeting down into the earth itself. Forests that seemed to stretch onwards into infinity unfolded before my eyes, pushing my vision to see better and more exciting sights as I went on my way. This place was absolutely stunning, which served as a notable and harsh contrast to the cruelty and bigotry which seemed to underpin the ponies who lived here. Truly an example of environmental storytelling- the prettiness of the landscape served to distract from the ugliness of the reality of life in this world. As I went along, I continued to wonder what in Equestria had happened for this world to fall from a united utopia held together by principles of love and community and become a Cold War esque landscape divided by hatred and fear, with the threat of destruction hanging over our heads like a sword.

As I passed by two bombastic statues of Earth Pony soldiers, their weapons at the ready (and actively sending a hostile message to any pegasi who happened to see them), I spotted the border was coming up ahead. Perfect! I crossed over the border itself without anypony noticing, and I was on my way once more. This was way more fun than sitting in a factory and building a big robot whilst shouting racist slogans from a pulpit.

As the sun began to set from the sky and travel down to the land itself, I realised I would need to find a place to spend the night. I wandered onwards as the sky turned from blue to an orange shade, which was certainly pretty to see, but I had no time to stop and look. Hitch needed help, I knew it, and I would keep going as long as I had to and get him back home safe.

I finally arrived in a small settlement which didn't seem to have much of anything. Back in the human world, we'd have called them 'one horse towns', but given everypony in this world is an equine of some description that statement wouldn't have made a lot of sense. I had to find a way to blend in, or else I'd be mincemeat!

Luckily, I soon spotted a way to find out what was going on. Not far from me was a local bar and tavern. I didn't have any way of staying the night, so I might have to use an irregular method of getting a place to rest overnight. I continued to move below the windows, and as I looked up I saw the light from a flat screen TV. Far better than the cathode ray tubes we were stuck with back in Maretime Bay. Cathode Ray Tubes are the reason Earth Pony TVs are so boxy and take up an entire table, by the way. I'd get a flat screen but they're rare right now and I don't exactly have the money to buy one.

But I'm getting off topic. I stopped below the window and glanced back up to the TV. It was some sort of address to the public, being given by some guy in an army uniform and a peaked cap. It looked kinda like the dictator outfit I would have worn had I not actively decided to go against the script.

The volume was not possible to discern, so I couldn't hear what was being said. But I could read the subtitles that had been put on. They seemed to be automatic captions, which produced some... interesting sentences, but at the same time I could figure out what was meant from context.

"And already, our enemies are making moves against us- moves that the False Queen refused to move against as yet another act in her litany of failures to keep you protected. Rest assured that the New Government will not make those same failures. In fact, we shall rise to face the rising aggression of these enemy nations and assert our racial superiority!"

This didn't sound good. In the movie Sprout is the one who goes off on a rabble rousing crusade and nearly starts a war. Had my decision to not follow the script resulted in the world replacing me with another rabble rousing crazy pony? I looked down and hid for a moment as some trucks passed, then popped my head up again once the beam of the headlights was gone.

The speech was still going, and it was still just as offensive as ever. "Even now, their alleged Defense against the Unicorns and Pegasi Act is nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to disguise their true intentions- an invasion of our lands to steal our resources and drive us from the lands our ancestors claimed all those millenia ago! The rush to war has begun, and we must meet it face on!

"The only way to fight fire is with fire, and for that we must respond in kind to their aggression. Right now, we are instituting full scale conscription to ensure we have enough soldiers. Mares and foals will work our factories, and we must produce many more machines to counter this blatant and corrupt act of aggression from this so called 'democracy'.

This will not be an easy time. Indeed, with traitors in our own government and the flight of the Royal Family I have no doubt we shall come under attack. But we shall emerge from this crisis victorious and the greatest and most powerful nation on this planet. Gloria Pegasi!"

The broadcast had ended, and I went and hid behind the building, my head low. The horror and shock in my heart was building from what I had just learned.

It seemed I was after the coup in Zephyr Heights after Queen Haven was overthrown. Either this General was the public face of the regime or he was the new ruler. And if he was the new ruler, the army was running the country, meaning that the Pegasi were now a dictatorship!

This was so much worse than I could have imagined. I had gone to Earth Pony leaders to try and make things more peaceful and be able to defend ourselves from this striped guy who had attacked me.

But instead all I had done was start a war in a Netflix move. I really hadn't achieved anything at all.

As I looked down, annoyed at why the universe seemed to be determined to make me the butt of all its jokes, my head was filled with an odd sense of clarity. I had seemingly made this mess. But that meant I could also unmake it.

And that meant finding Hitch and telling him what was going on.

There was no time for staying overnight. Who knew when this war would begin? Time was not on my side and never had been, so I had to get moving. I thundered out of town, my hooves pounding the floor like never before.

The night was almost upon me, so I was almost navigating by instinct. But they would have to do.

The world needed saving from my actions. And in a moment of delicious irony, the pony who was going to do it was me.

Author's Note:

And now we begin this week's leg for of Sprout Cloverleaf =3

Comments

[Phetiamwantip]

Good job on this new chapter. I can't wait to see Sprout find Hitch, Sunny, and Izzy and meet up with Pegasus princesses Pipp and Zipp somewhere in Equestria. He'll hold his head high and do his best to find them.

Here's a song that will make you a believer. Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/W0DM5lcj6mw?si=IoG2D8F0fNI2VaLQ

[Comickook]

Hey there. Again, you did a great job on the dialogue, characterizations and future chapter set-up. REALLY appreciated "Sprout's" reflection on the insanity of all the propaganda as he was looking for a place to stay for the night. And, yeah, the bits about nature abhorring a vacuum concerning the rabble-rousers even when he was trying to play it a lot saner than the original Sprout makes a lot of sense. All in all, a good spin on "Sprout's" journey to join and help Sunny and the others.

REALLY looking forward to the next four chapters AND Phase Four (which will be from March to June) afterwards.

[JimmyHook19]

11829865
Good choice =3

11830110
Indeed =3

[Phetiamwantip]

11830157
Thank you