The Story of Reik: The Communist Revolutionary: MLP

by Reik

Chapter 4: Comrades

A SUDDEN PEACE fell over Reik. It was over, he had failed, and his mission was at an end. He would fall for several long seconds until he was smashed against the rocks below, he would be mangled beyond any form of recognition. It would be quick and painless. His body would probably be found by a random guard patrol and unceremoniously cast into an unmarked grave in the middle of some unnamed forest. Perhaps if he was lucky the manifesto would survive the fall, perhaps another pony would come across it and maybe his vision would endure. But such hopes where for naught, he knew it in his heart. The manifesto would, like Reik, be mutilated and destroyed in the plummet. He, his ideals, his work, and his revolution would end in the blink of an eye.

No that could not happen, it would not happen. This was a pointless death; his trials could not end here.

"Vladimir!" he cried out. His voice was full of desperation and pleading, but lacked fear or panic. Even on the brink of death his commanding voice still held supremacy over all other voices and sounds. The guard above him grunted and flung himself towards the edge, almost falling over the trail himself. He wrapped his legs around Reik's and bit down on the collar of his coat. Reik came to an immediate stop. His legs scratched at the rocks searching for something, anything to push up from. He quickly found a small outcrop and began pushing in an attempt to help the guard pull him back onto the trail. The guard growled, and began pulling as well. The two began to make progress, slowly inching their way back onto the trail. With one last groan, the guard pulled Reik from the edge, and back onto the mountain path. The pair collapsed on the narrow path, sweating and panting. Reik felt as his franticly beating heart would burst out of his chest. A sudden rush of euphoria overcame Reik and he spontaneously broke into sporadic giggles. The grey armor clad pony rose and towered above Reik; a shield cutie mark was proudly exposed on his flank.

"Reik… you idiot. What are you doing, sneaking up on me?" Vladimir's harsh accent gave his voice a cruel integrative tone. He towered above Reik, his armor adding to the image. "And what are you doing biting into my coat you dumb mule. It's already falling apart as it is." Reik said as he regained his footing, his tone was joking and dismissive. He brushed off his coat and looked at his old friend, grinning as he did so. "Good to see you too comrade, now tell me, why where you sneaking up on me?" Vladimir said with a grin. Reik spoke without pause, his grin growing into a wide smile. "I was trying to kill you I suppose." The two ponies held a long gaze before breaking into booming laughter.

REIK WAS DETERMINED to gain an ally, not a friend. He hated the term friend. It was associated with compassion, shared feelings, and other pointless terms Reik wanted to avoid. He needed some extra muscle if he was too move up on the social latter, yes he was political advisor to the princess but he rarely set hoof in the royal court. He spent most of his days shifting and digging through mountains of paper work. He lacked the intimidation factor, yes his mind was sharper than a unicorn’s horn but what use was that if no one would listen? He also needed somepony that could get rid of those pesky guards, they always met him at every corner, everyday, questioning and following him. Ever since his outburst at the economic advisor, that capitalist scumbag, the guards had been attracted to him like moths to a bonfire. He searched across Canterlot for a suitable candidate. By now his reputation as “that communist heretic with the strange cutie mark” might as well have been set in granite and no pony would answer his requests. He had all but given up and succumbed to the guards when he heard of the new arrival.

Vladimir stood apart from most royal guards. He was but an earth pony, but even so he passed boot camp with flying colors against his pegasi counter parts. He was a silent brute, answering few questions with short answers. When called into the quad for assembly he stood out like a giant among the guards. But what Reik liked most about him was that like himself, Vladimir was an outcast. Due to his lack of wings he became a focal point for abuse and insults. Reik would always watch from a distance analyzing and noting down his reactions. The data was not encouraging. Vladimir would always go about his business as if the insults didn’t matter, as if he didn’t hear them. One day that all changed. The guards cornered him, blocking his avenues of escape. Words quickly turned into physical attacks and a brawl broke out. Reik saw an opening, a chance to create a partnership. He jumped from his observation and charged into the fight. He quickly realized what a bad mistake that was, the political advisor had no place in a brawl between royal guards, and yet he stood by Vladimir’s side. A break in the fighting opened up, so the communist and the behemoth of a guard broke out of the fighting and fled through the streets of Canterlot. When the two finally stopped at a corner from complete exhaustion, Vladimir regarded Reik with a look of appreciation and suspicion. Reik smiled and extended a hoof, “Comrade?” The question hung in the air for several seconds. Vladimir smiled and bumped his own hoof against Reik’s. “Comrade” He said with a grin.

Vladimir fulfilled his purpose magnificently. Although their engagements with the guards became more sporadic, they left each fight with heads held up high, and one or two black eyes. Quickly the two became, and Reik was embarrassed to admit it, friends. The two soon reveled their pasts too each other. Reik told of his history of self-education and politics, while Vladimir told his tale of abandonment and sadness. Vladimir never knew his parents; he had lived in an orphanage in the far north for as long as he could remember. Soon, when he grew older, he left and became a worker in the northern factories. Life for Vladimir was difficult to say the least. Between roving bands of secret police and the unforgiving machinery, survival alone was a victory. Eventually, he escaped, a riot broke out across the town and he fled into the tundra. He walked south each day until his legs collapsed from under him. He didn’t know or cared where he was heading; all that mattered was that he was moving south away from the miserable excuse for a society behind him. He soon found himself at the gates of Canterlot and with no other path available; he turned to the royal guard. Soon Reik felt comfortable enough to show Vladimir his journal and the new plan for society on its pages. Vladimir, as a born worker, was enlightened by Reik’s plan. Without any aspirations or goals, he pledged to stand alongside Reik in the revolution. When Reik was banished, Vladimir felt as if he had lost a part of himself. Now seeing his old friend standing before him, he felt only elation.

“SO TELL ME, how has your vacation been? Did you get me a snow globe?” said Vladimir as they entered the guard house. The freezing wind was steadily increasing and Reik could see a storm brewing in the distance. The sun was just about to part from this side of the world, and a bright orange haze covered the sky. Reik and Vladimir had been walking for hours and they had finally reached the guard outpost. It was a small building meant for storage that rested on the edge of Canterlot. The wind billowed against the door as Reik tried to close it, with an annoyed grunt Vladimir bull rushed the portal and shut the door. As they entered the beginning of the massive snaking tunnels and hallways of Canterlot Reik felt a new sense of invigoration, he had made it into the castle. With each step he felt stronger; with each step Celestia looked weaker and weaker in his mind. He let Vladimir take the lead.

“Reik, that coat looks good on you, the hat as well.” Vladimir said “Yes comrade, I was thinking of making it the uniform of all officers in the revolution, imagine it, Commissar Reik, sounds official doesn’t it?” Reik responded. Vladimir chuckled and continued walking. Reik rushed to Vladimir’s side. “Excuse me comrade but did you remember to set the caches?” Vladimir rounded on Reik, a wicked grin set across his features. “Right this way comrade.”

SUGARCUBE CORNER ECHOED with the conversation of many ponies that had taken shelter under its roof against the blizzard. Pinkie Pie was busy giving a loud and vivid description of her day. Twilight looked over a paper strewn table, searching for important scrolls or books. Her head suddenly snapped up, she rose from her seat and advanced on Pinkie Pie. “What did you just say?” She said her face twisted into a grimace. The room fell silent at Twilights outburst, the billowing winds where all that could be heard. “Ummmmmm the part about feeding gummy, that part was interesting, you see feeding a toothless alligator is a lot harder than it sounds-“Twilight cut her off. “No, Pinkie the part about that pony by the river, the one with the odd cutie mark.” Pinkie cocked her head to one side, lost in deep thought.

“Mmmmmm, oh yeah, Sid, no it was Sam, wait no it was Simon, he was weird and that cutie mark of his was funny looking.” Twilight’s voice was filled with suppressed annoyance. “Yes what was his cutie mark?” Pinkie rolled her eyes in mock thought. “It was a hammer and some weird curvy thingy.” A note of panic seeped into Twilight’s voice. “A sickle?” Pinkie jumped slightly. “Yeah, yeah, how did you know, wait, where are you going?” Twilight raced across the room towards her table and started digging through the heaps of parchment mumbling frantic words of fear and warning as she did so. Spike stepped out of the slowly forming circle around Twilight. “Twilight, your freaking everypony out.” His words where slow and soft, like a mother speaking to its frantic child. Twilight shoved a quill and a blank piece of parchment at him. “Spike h-he’s back, we need to send a message to the princesses.”

Comments

[Reik]

I know the second paragraph has issues but thats what you get when typing on an ipad and I tried fixing it to no avail. Bear with me here.

[saum22]

Part 4: The plot heats up. I just realized that Reik is a self insert. That explains a lot about his characterization. I don't like this fact, but it is one. I feel the Joseph Stalin metaphor oozing in the veins of Vladimir. The rest of this is.... eh for Marxist analysis. It's good literature, but nothing particularly Marxian or anti-Marxian happens, other than the beginning of the counteraction to the coup-deta'.