Rebirth of Magic: Cold, Cold Heart

by JimmyHook19

The Importance of Being Persuasive

I strode up the steps towards the Capitol Building, which dominated the skyline of Fillydelphia. It was a spectacular building constructed out of white marble, though it probably had a metal skeleton to support most of the framework and the dome, as marble apparently can weigh quite a lot according to ponies who know more about construction than I do.

Boy were these steps huge, though. I glanced from side to side to see large buildings all over the place. Museums, perhaps? They certainly looked quite dramatic, and some of them still had lights on. It was quite impressive to see, and the city seemed quite pretty. Why hadn't the show ever taken us here?

I slowed down and saw a monument off to one side, and stepped over to it for a moment. It was some sort of war memorial. It was built of of many columns with stonework on the top. Each of them had the names of what appeared to be major battles written on them. I recognized a few of the names. Ghastly Gorge, Rainbow Falls, Baltimare, all of those were familiar names to a brony. But others, such as Thunder Bay and Discord's Dip, weren't. Presumably places that appeared since The Last Problem?

I continued looking about the memorial, and then spotted the centerpiece. It was an earth pony soldier, standing guard and standing tall over a unicorn and a pegasus respectively, who were falling back, looks of shock and fear on their faces. Behind them was another statue of another earth pony soldier helping a comrade back to base, carrying them on their back.

The first statue was titled THE UNION ENDURES. The second was titled simply COMRADES.

I saw more battle names around the sides, and then I realised I had entered the wrong way. I walked down another pathway flanked by fountains that were still running. I stopped in front of a marble slab that marked the entrance to the memorial.

The text was simple and plain. THIS MEMORIAL IS DEDICATED TO THE BRAVE SOLDIERS WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FIGHTING FOR THE EARTH PONY WAY OF LIFE. THEIR NAMES LIVE FOREVERMORE.

Then below that: IN MEMORY OF THOSE WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR, 0002-0005.

So, that gave me something of a clue as to how earth ponies recalled the war. I believe the original Sprout talks about an 'epic battle' in the movie. If this memorial was true and not just more state produced propaganda, it seems he understated it a bit.

I continued on my way up the stairs, and soon found myself near the entrance. The building seemed very imposing from this angle, but the white marble made it look like a beacon from my position, particularly from where the sun was positioned somewhere nearby that was somewhat useful on that front.

I began to climb the stairs to the building proper, and soon found myself on a front porch before a door marked VISITOR ENTRANCE. Well, seeing as I was a visitor it seemed reasonable to assume I would enter here.

I stepped through the door, and after being checked through by security I arrived in the lobby, which was a lower level rotunda with chairs and seats for visitors to use. Armed guards were everywhere in the room, which was hardly a surprise. Given everything I had seen so far, the world was in a state of heightened paranoia, what with all the other races going about their works and daily lives.

I sat and waited for a while, regretting the fact I had forgotten to pick up the book I was going to read and had left it in the truck. I sighed and focused on some of the paintings on the walls, which appeared to depict more moments from this country's history. And it seems they'd packed a lot into about a thousand years.

After some waiting an official looking pony came over to me. "Are you here to speak to anypony in particular?" she asked.

"Yes," I said. "I wish to address the Defense Committee. I come with dire news of affairs further to the south."

The pony looked at a clipboard. "I'm afraid they're currently in a meeting, and will probably be in session for the rest of the day," she said. "You can come back tomorrow if that would work."

I tried to get my point across without sounding overly dramatic. "Our nation is in danger. If we don't act fast, there may not be a tomorrow to come back to."

Just then, a pony in what looked like a suit exited a room and walked past us, heading for a water cooler and filling a cup before heading back our way. "Did I overhear that correctly?" he said, turning to us. "Did one of you say our country is in danger?"

"Yes sir, I did," I replied. "My name's Sprout Cloverleaf, and my hometown was attacked a few days ago. We have to act, and now."

"Follow me," the pony in the suit said. "This is important. Guards! Let him through!"

So, that's how I found myself addressing the Defense Committee of the United Earth Pony States Senate, who seemed very interested in what I had to say. I made sure to leave no detail out, including how I had fought off that machine (but not defeated it, I made sure to emphasize). I have to say I can't recall being this good at public speaking, but something was clearly working as their faces gradually looked more and more concerned.

"A flying mech, you say," said one Senator. "That is concerning. Could this be a new pegasus weapon of war that is being tested in our lands?"

"He said it had a pilot who looked like a bipedal creature," said another. "The only issue with that is that the last bipedal creatures in Equestria went extinct centuries ago. But whatever it is, it is very dangerous indeed, clearly. This must be raised with the Department of Defense."

He turned to the stand, which I was at. "You arrived at a fortuitous time, Mr. Cloverleaf," he said. "When you arrived, we were discussing the military budget, which is currently in a bit of a state. Currently, the approach puts a lot of strain on private security companies like Bellwater and CanterLogic- which I believe you have a stake in."

"Yes sir," I replied. "My mother is the CEO."

"I thought the name Cloverleaf rang a bell," said another Senator.

"But," said the first again, "this news that you bring to our attention is very worrying indeed. It is imperative that our nation is able to defend itself against any and all threats to our life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. To this end, I have a proposal to make to all of you."

He paused, before continuing. "I propose that, tomorrow, during the main session of Congress, that we table a bill to allocate additional funds for the military, and to allow for the initiation of full scale rearmament. Our country can only stand strong when our defenses are secure, and although it may get held up with tiny gaps I have reason to believe it will get through both Houses when the evidence that Mr. Cloverleaf has presented it revealed to those concerned."

He looked to me. "Well done, Mr. Cloverleaf. You have done your country a great service by bringing this to our attention. Now, unless there are any other points that you need to make you are free to leave the session."

I nodded. "That will be all, sir." A guard then escorted me from the chamber and back to the lobby, from where I exited the building and looked up at the night sky.

I knew life here wouldn't be easy. I was far from home, on an alien planet, working with an alien culture and society in a body that was not my own. But to sit and despair about it all would be pointless. A great man once observed that those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are busy doing it. And the people of this world did need a savior, somepony to guide them to a better future.

This was a tough world. A bright world, but a tough one. However, I had already been through the fires of war and had emerged stronger than before. Ponykind had seen big threats before. And as they say, you should always aim to leave the world a better place than it was before you entered it.

And seeing as I had entered this world, albeit not through my own volition, that statement still stood tall and true. I had to do my bit, not just for earth ponies, but for ponykind as a whole! The road would be hard, I knew that, but the rewards would be truly great. Everypony, friends again!

I stepped down the steps back towards where I had parked my truck. I had a long road in every sense of the word ahead of me.

Author's Note:

So yeah.... Ghastly Gorge, Rainbow Falls (the location, not the episode. :P), and Baltimare all get name dropped aka mentioned in addition to seeing more of Fillydelphia in this chapter. ^^

As such... here's as followed images of the following locations that were mentioned:

Ghastly Gorge:

Rainbow Falls:

and Baltimare:

(Had a little difficulty finding one for Baltimare, so of course.... that's the best one I could find. ^^')

Comments

[Comickook]

Hey there. Have to say that you did a really good job, once again, on the characterizations, exchanges, world-building and future chapter set-up. REALLY loved "Spout's" reflections on the military statues and dedications (of course, I admit that I was half-expecting "Sprout" also seeing an additional statue of a pony Expy of Rocky Balboa for added humor, but only HALF), the greater detail of the "epic battle" the actual Sprout mentioned (from the Earth Ponies' viewpoint anyway) as well as the recall of the places that were mentioned in G4 and the places that weren't. Also liked the explanation of the situation in Maretime Bay to the military higher-ups.

VERY much looking forward to more of this.

[JimmyHook19]

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Alrighty =3