The Story of Reik: The Communist Revolutionary: MLP

by Reik

Chapter 30: The Barrier

LUNA STOOD ATOP the small rise and looked across the plain now full of tents that rested just outside the farthest reaches of Ponyville. Before her was the amassed military force Equestria had to offer. Clad in differing armor, speaking in different tongues, and from nearly every region in Equestria. They had collected in a tight circle around the impenetrable barrier surrounding the village of Ponyville. The darkness shrouded the camp, however the multitude of campfires and torches made it comparable to a city. Along the impassable ring, a small flare of light would spark every few minutes, denoting an attempt to destroy the barrier by an audacious unicorn.

The rolling mountains around her vision compressed the scene, usually this place was wide and empty, occupied only by nature and a token traveler. But now it was a frozen wasteland, stripped of resources and a shadow of its former self. Populated by a force called in desperation, doing nothing other than staring into the eyes of a beast it could not stop. While many tried to conceal it, none could deny the sense of confusion that filled the air. Some thought it a magical disaster, or quarantine, or another one of the tall tales ponies could think up around a campfire. Only a few at the very top knew the true nature of their predicament, and even then, their vision was limited. Some aspects of the kingdom didn’t even know anything had gone awry. Luna was sure to keep that ignorance as long as possible; a mass panic at the destruction of the capital and possible loss of their leader was to be avoided for as long as possible. Her head sunk slightly as her thoughts moved to her sister. As much as she ignored it, she felt true fear for her sibling. They had never come across a problem they couldn’t solve together, and Celestia’s wish to split up and sacrifice Ponyville was only testament to the dire circumstances.

Luna cast her gaze across the massive camp before her and towards the barrier. The barrier was invisible, but the perfect circle of tents and campfires clearly marked out its expanse. Above the forest within the barrier, Luna could make out the formation of several unicorns, flying just above the trees, clad in black armor. They soon disappeared back under the trees after several seconds of flight.

"Their commander isn't very subtle with his scouts." Luna kept her vision on the barrier as Shinning Armor made his remark. He stepped beside the princess, the snow crunching under his hooves. Since the destruction of Canterlot, Shining Armor had been working around the clock, gathering and organizing their forces. His exhaustion was evident in his tone. "Do you think we should be concerned, it's not like we are trying to conceal our forces." Responded Luna, scanning the tree line for the scouts to appear again. For the past few days this had happened, patrols appearing at the edge of the barrier and leapfrogging over the trees to see what lay outside. "No, we have amassed a force the likes of which they can't hope to match."

Luna flicked her eyes upwards, towards the sky. Amidst the falling snow and clouds, one could just make out the moon, hanging lazily in the night sky. Had she the power, she would have turned the heavens and brought about the sun, but such an act was beyond her. Where they in different circumstances, she would have enjoyed the night sky, but they were in a crisis her sister and many of their subjects were trapped, and they knew so little about the threat that faced them.

"Do you think you may be a little overconfident?" She said, turning away and stepping towards the command tent that was pitched atop the hill. Shinning armor moved to follow, responding as he did so. "He's cornered himself, it's over, all we have to do is wait until the barrier falls."

The command tent was one large square tent, containing three tables. Two in the center and the last against the wall. The two in the center occupied the most space and held two separate maps, one of the general area, including Ponyville, Canterlot, and the whole encampment, while the other was a detailed map of Ponyville. The third held a wide assortment of scrolls, books, and several helmets. The tent was just large enough for a group to crowd around the tables but not much larger, Luna's head barley cleared the ceiling. The two gathered around the map of Ponyville. "You speak of him as if he's some ignorant insurgent." Luna said, looking to Shinning Armor. The stallion continued to scan the map, not looking to meet her gaze. "Are you saying he isn't?"

"I'm saying that he destroyed the Royal Castle, that's not an easy feat." Shinning armor snapped his vision up to meet hers.
"He got lucky, but his luck has run out, if he had the numbers he would have used them, he hasn't, so he doesn't, like I said, it's over, we can't you see this?." His tone was harsh and he immediately cast his head down in silent apology. Luna disregarded the outburst, his stress was justified, he knew very well that his sister was behind the barrier and knowing that she was at the mercy of some invaders was tormenting. Before Luna could respond, the huffing, slumped form of a guard staggered into the tent. His armor was crusted with mud and the once golden metal had dulled considerably. He gave a weak bow and attempted a salute but his fatigue slowed his movements. Shinning armor stepped away from the table and faced the scout. "Any news to report?" He asked.

The guard nodded and took a deep breath, collecting his thoughts. "Y-yes, we flew over the center of the village, the barrier is tall, we couldn't get a good look, but it seemed they are still conducting some kind of mass operation near the farm, the main barn is being expanded, and the forest is being cut down at an increased rate, aside from that, nothing new has developed."

Luna’s gaze on the guard fell out of focus and she son starred off into space. They were not taking any military action, aside from the scouts; it seems as if they hadn’t even noticed the outside world. It quickly became apparent that they had no intention of moving, they were digging in. She refocused and looked to Shinning Armor, he met her gaze and she sensed they had come to the same conclusion. “There's no way in and they're not planning on coming out.” Luna murmured. Shinning Armor nodded, the princess of the night cocked her head to one side. "And what do you plan to do about this?"
.Turning towards the map of Ponyville, Shinning armor stood silent for a moment, lost in thought. “Gather the engineers, we’ll have to force our way in." He said, his tone now commanding and assured.

Twilight had latched on to one of the parties going back into Ponyville on her journey from the forest. She had done so quickly, dashing from the cover of the tries into the midst of the crowd. Nopony revealed her and she had passed under the guards vision. She was now just another worker on her way home. Yet she still trembled at the sight of every guard, worrying that somehow they would discover her plot and take her away.

The farther into the village they went the more at ease the unicorn became, she sensed the near proximity of her home and wanted to break off and dash home but knew doing so would bring suspicious looks from the guards, whom she wanted to keep as ignorant as possible. The parade snaked through Ponyville at a painfully slow pace and Twilight began to feel, for the first time in a while, how tired she was. Her limbs ached and her hooves began to bark with fatigue. The expanse of her actions today became apparent. She had marched through Ponyville, too the Apple family farm, through the Everfree forest, and back again, all with little to no rest. She was amazed that she had done so much in a day and that this would most likely not be the last time she made an equivalent journey.

"Twilight?" Came a voice from her side. Twilight turned her head to find a familiar blue pegasus standing beside her. Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle stopped walking and quickly embraced in silence. The contact elevated Twilight greatly, to find another friend in this mockery of Equestria was like finding a light house in a hurricane. The embrace went unnoticed by the other ponies, who simply parted between the two, paying them no heed. It was only when a guard called for them to continue in the march did they break contact. The two began walking side by side, sparking conversation immediately. Trading greetings, Twilight began to tell her tale, speaking in a quieter tone as the story went on, until she was speaking directly into her friends ear about the meeting with Celestia. This last part seemed to brighten Dash's face. The pegasus then began telling her tale. As she spoke, Twilight noticed her exhaustion, the bandages that covered her back and wings, and her tone. Despite being under the care of doctors and then rushed into the workforce due to a shortage of labor, being unable to fly and still expected to do as much, and being separated from her friends as Twilight was, the blue pony still retained a rebellious tone. She sounded as if ready to lash out, just waiting for the time, she never missed a chance to demean the guards, even if they were within earshot, something that unnerved Twilight. Dash was still her old self, despite the change in scenery.

"So, what do you plan to do?" she said in a suddenly hushed tone. Twilight gave her a curious look.

"About what?" She mumbled. Dash rolled her eyes. "Reek'er whatever his name is, you're doing some spying right?" Twilight nodded.

"Well how are you going to do it?" Dash said, her eyes wide with intrigue. Twilight thought for a moment. she had not offered the subject much thought, she had been too held up with getting back to Ponyville and talking to her friend to give the dwell on the idea. "I actually don't know, I don't know where to start." The crippling reality of this made Twilight hang her head low. She had no idea where to start, perhaps her task was over before it began. Dash suffered no similar dilemmas and began speaking quickly. "I know what you gotta do, find Applejack or Fluttershy, they're on the inside, they're camissors or something, they can get you on the inside." she said the last part a little too loud and made Twilight flinch unknowingly. "Quiet Dash, the guards will take us both away if they hear you." Dash grew a grimace on her features and continued.

"Whatever, but this is gonna be great, well get you on the inside, well take his precious pebble, and bring the commie down, I can picture it already." Again her voice carried and Twilight flashed her vision around, checking to see any suspicious glares. She sighed gently upon finding none. along with finding none, Twilight found her home coming around the corner. Her chest swelled with comfort, the library looked like a fortress of comfort bekoning her. she turned to Dash and whispered.

"Dash, I'm sorry but I need o go, my home's around the corner, I'll see you again tomorrow, I promise." Rainbow nodded. "Don't sweat it egghead, they're gonna pay for all this, I swear it." With a nod of agreement, Twilight moved to the outskirts of the group. she told the nearest guard that her home was only a block away from them, doing so in a much more timid tone than she would have preferred. The guard looked at her, then toward her home, and then cast his gaze back to his front, paying her no further attention. Pausing briefly, then guessing that to be an act of affirmation, broke away and dashed to her home. The memory of Magnus interrogating her and Applejack in a much similar setting entered her thoughts. Thinking for a second that the intimidating stallion was just behind her, the dash turned into an all out sprint that brought new pain to her limbs. she endured the pain and crashed through the door, slamming it shut behind her.

The unicorn rested her frame on the door, laying her forehead on the door face. Breathing heavily and elated to finally be in the comfort of her home.

After several seconds of heavy breathing she turned her gaze to her side and saw another familiar form. The site of her assistant brought a new sense of comfort to her, but closer examination took this comfort away. Spike was slouched against the wall. She noticed his rapidly moving chest and the beads of sweat coming down his head. He looked as if he was watching a specter.

She sensed another body in the room behind her and slowly moved away from the wall and spun around to meet the silent guest. The purple pony's spine stiffened and a rapid shiver moved down her back. She swallowed hard upon seeing Reik at the far end of the library, rapidly flipping through the pages of a book. Memories of the takeover flashed through her vision, of this pony crippling Rainbow, stealing the elements of harmony, and the ruthless nature with which he dealt with them all. Being so close tested her nerves, she felt herself weaken slightly, and yet he wasn't even looking at her.

She shook her head, he was just a pony, like her, and soon the forces of good would tear down his leadership and defeat him, he was just another enemy of Equestria that she must deal with. This rationalization calmed her and brought a renewed sense of resistance to her.

"What are doing here?" she said, trying to gather her voice to make it powerful. Reik paid her no attention, instead finishing skimming the book and replacing it back to its origin. Spinning around, he moved to the small table in the center of the room where Twilight noticed a small stack of four books had been made. she quickly recognized them as from the technology section of her library, specifically on the subject of computer science upon examining the titles on the spines. The black stallion stopped at the table and placed a hoof on top of the stack. He brought his eyes to meet hers, and the stare renewed the sense of intimidation Twilight had thought eliminated. She squirmed from side to side, but did not break the stare. He remained silent, maintaining the emotionless glare fixed on the unicorn, waiting for her to look away and admit silent defeat. There was a brief silence where neither spoke or moved, only starring at one another. Finally Twilight spoke again.

"What are you doing here?" She said, this time stronger and more assured.

"I need your help." The stallion responded.

Comments

[Feurisson]

1508751 There's now another story dealing with communism.

[Reik]

1550033
>story #631
Yeah. I don't really care.

[Pabulos]

i must say comrade that story is pure gold i have never read so much as i did today the plot is awesome the charcaters are amazing i would say a 10/10

[Guy Endore]

This is glorious.
☭☭☭☭☭☭☭☭☭