The Story of Reik: The Communist Revolutionary: MLP

by Reik

Chapter 5: Operation Last Contingency

REIK BUMPED HIS head on the doorway as he entered the storage closet. He and Vladimir had just left the guard house and where now moving through the intricate passageways of Canterlot, slowly making their way to Reik’s study. After being asked about the caches, Vladimir led Reik along the hallways to a small doorway. The air was musky and thick with the smell of sulfur; it was obvious the room hadn’t been open for some time. With its contents filling the majority of the space, there was only enough room for Reik to walk halfway inside. Barrels and boxes were stacked to the ceiling; each one had a small cord leading out of it. The cord, which to the untrained eye appeared as no more than simple cord, came to an apex at Reik’s hooves, one needle thin strand of cord lead out of the room and into the hallway. Reik gently lifted the lid to a nearby barrel to examine its contents. It was filled to the brim with black dust, a small piece of cord poking out of the centers like a lone tree in a barren field. He carefully laid the lid back into place; he then cautiously exited the room, moving so as not to disturb the cords on the floor. After shutting the door he turned to Vladimir. “Where is the timer mechanism?” he asked as he began to walk down the passageway following the small cord with his peripheral vision. “It is in the study, as instructed, but why these caches comrade?” Vladimir said as he followed Reik. The flickering candles along the wall casted curious shadows on the carpeted floor. “Because my friend, this castle is a monument to the bourgeois class, and it will be nice to see it go down in flames, symbolic to the new era of socialism you might say,” Reik said proudly. He suddenly stopped and turned to Vladimir with a concerned look on his face. “Shouldn’t we be neck deep in royal guards be now?” he said. Vladimir continued ahead of Reik. “No comrade, the princess is having a banquet in another village. The guards that didn’t go with her are most likely patrolling the perimeter. Reik gave a sigh of relief and began following Vladimir through the snaking hallways. Although Celestia’s absence was certainly a stroke of luck, Reik was saddened that she would not be here to see his ultimate triumph and her downfall. They continued through the innards of Canterlot

Over time, a steady roar could be heard outside from inside the walls. The storm Reik last saw in the distance was now upon them. Reik and Vladimir where forced to move through the internals of the massive complex for the city streets and alleys where buried in snow from the blizzard. Reik was suddenly flooded with memories of his time in the castle. He saw corners and stretches of walls, to any other pony just parts of the building but to him, moments of revelation. He passed by the bench where he had first coined the terms ‘communism’ and ‘socialism’. He passed by the window that overlooked Ponyville. He was reminded of the days when he would gaze at the small community through the lenses of a telescope and observe its inhabitants go about their daily lives. Reik and Vladimir continued to move unmolested through the network of hallways like ghosts.

In a dark empty corner at the top of one of Canterlot’s shorter spires, they came upon the study. The door had a heavy coat of dust on its face, cobwebs hung loosely on the doorknob and hinges. Reik’s hoof hovered above the handle, the knob looked brittle and weak, and Reik inexplicably felt that the slightest touch would crumble the small apparatus to dust. After several long seconds he finally discovered the courage to turn the handle and enter the simple room that had once been his study, home, and haven.

The room was small. Triangular with the entrance at its bottom, a desk still covered with moldy and dusty papers on one side, a legless bed, its blankest and mattress lying in disarray as Reik usually left it each morning, and a massive window at its point. Books and papers covered every surface. Some lay open and he could see some of the many notes he had written into the margins. Reik paused at the entrance, as if entering would somehow disturb and defile the room that lay unchanged from the time he last saw it. The floodgates in Reik’s mind burst and emotion flowed out in an unstoppable wave. The smell, appearance, and even the ‘feel’ of the room hadn’t change. It pained Reik to know that it would all be destroyed in the firestorm that would sweep through all of Canterlot. He wanted to save it, anything and everything, the books, papers, and mementos, he couldn’t stand to let it all be lost. Vladimir as if reading Reik’s mind, broke the silence and stepped into the study. “Possessions comrade, all of them.” Reik snapped out of his disturbance, wiped at his watery eyes, and stepped into the room searching for the plans. He scanned through his mental cabinets of memories, trying to remember that day. He stepped through the door, heart racing. He paced his steps, moving as he did so long ago. He pulled open a hollowed out book that held the journal of plans and contingencies. Reik stepped up to the desk; a large book with a small box cut into all the pages lay open on its face. He withdrew it and… His memory stopped their, lost to the sea that was his consciousness. Reik became frantic, his revolution started to unravel in his mind. It was over, he was finished, he was- *squeak*. Reik paused and looked down. The panel of wood he was stepping on sunk lower than the rest. He withdrew his hoof which brought another dusty squeak. He looked up to find the smiling face of Vladimir looking at him. “Be my guest?” Reik stepped back. Vladimir rose on his hind legs; he hovered in that pose for several short seconds, correcting his aim. With a quick whoosh Vladimir brought his form down upon the plank of wood. The panel practically disintegrated under the guards strike. Reik coughed and wiped the wooden particles from his face before looking into the cavity at the floor. An evil grin spread across his features as he lifted the worn collection of pages from its resting place. “Operation Last Contingency” was inscribed upon its cover. Reik greedily flipped through its pages, skimming its contents. The sparks of memory brought upon by skimming the book brought the flames of revolution into life in his mind. Vladimir still confused roomed over to the desk pulled a box out from underneath it. “What is this comrade?” Reik looked up and nearly jumped with elation. He pranced over and pulled the top of the box and peered into the container examining its contents. The box held a collection of cords similar to the ones running through the castle connecting the caches, they where detonation cords, their one and only purpose to carry a flame to the many explosive caches hidden over the castle. Each one lead out of the box, and into a small hole under the desk, leading to each respective cache. At the bottom of the box, where all the wires met, was a metal alarm clock, transformed from its once innocent construction into a weapon of destruction, connected to a small priming charge. Reik grinned at the mechanisms, marveling at his own creation. He reached in and pulled two watches out of the box and fixed one to his hoof, and the other to Vladimir’s. Finally, with all other step complete Reik pulled a small paper weight from a drawer in the desk. The paper weight was a small black stone, nearly weightless yet crucial to his plans. “Comrade, I think you should tell me the plan now.” Vladimir said. Reik looked at him, confused and disturbed that he had not already informed the northerner. He turned on Vladimir, placing the pages into his coat pocket, and began. “Well, after starting the timer and then escaping Canterlot. We shall proceed to capture the elements of harmony with this.” Reik presented the small black stone. Vladimir stared at it in confusion. “What is-“Reik cut him off. “A memento from a diplomacy trip to the far east. With it we can wield the Elements as one magical entity. After obtaining each element from its host, we will use it to take control of the guards, relieve the princess and other unicorns of their magic, and ultimately conquer Equestria. Of course we will have to start small so as not to over extend ourselves, so for now we will focus on Ponyville.” Reik finished the lecture with pride, proud that he remembered the plan. Vladimir stared in utter confusion for several seconds before shrugging and asking what to do now. Vladimir cleared his throat. “Comrade, are you sure that, by these means, we will achieve the socialist state we desire?” Reik snapped his head a Vladimir, confused and surprised to hear the guard speak so coherently. “We can only hope Vladimir, it is the only option.” He turned and approached the wooden box. “Now comrade, we start the timer.” Reik pushed down on a small button on the timing apparatus attached to the collection of cords, the mechanism sprang into life with a loud ticking noise. Reik did the same to his watch. Vladimir followed suit. Reik suddenly froze; it dawned on him that the situation had just escalated. He had just condemned all of Canterlot to annihilation. As of now, he and Vladimir were officially at war. Reik smiled at Vladimir, adjusted his cap and turned to exit the room. Vladimir kicked the box under the desk and pulled a cloth over it. Reik suddenly stopped dead in his tracks when he heard a creaking noise as the doorknob started to turn. He took several steps back beside Vladimir who had immediately taken a fighting stance. The pair’s jaws simultaneously dropped when Princess Celestia, in the flesh, flanked by two guards entered the room.

THE WORLD HELD its breath. The greatest comparison took place in that tiny room atop the stump of a spire. On one side stood the revolutionaries, Reik and Vladimir, dirty and worn, who were ready to do battle against the status quo’s regime. On the other side stood Princess Celestia, wings outstretched in perfect symmetry, guards gleaming in ceremonial armor at her flanks, ready to defend their order’s civilization against those who’d wish its annihilation. The two sides stared at each other, each party just as surprised to see the other. Its over thought Reik, it’s all over. Celestia towered above all other occupants, her expression one of both shock and, Reik dared to think he saw, a hint of fear. Her appearance was contrary to the revolutionaries, pure and unblemished, the very air seemed to lose its grit and brighten around her. She seemed to have an aurora of command around her and Reik felt the urge to spontaneously bow at her presence. Her guards stood in silence at her side, unforgiving expressions of malice under their helms. Vladimir took a step backwards, the mere presence of the princess proving an effective form of physiological torture. Reik’s brain was working in over gear. He searched, judged, and planned numerous responses, attack, surrender, and flee. He went over each thought with great care in just a few seconds. His mouth opened and closed repeatedly, the words staying in his head as if they too were afraid of her. Celestia took a single, nearly nonexistent, step forward. Vladimir cried out “Flee comrade, flee!” He turned and jumped at the window. The glass shattered at his impact and Vladimir disappeared over the edge. For a second there was only silence, the rooms occupants shocked at the sudden turn of events. Snow and wind immediately swept through the room, sending the princess and her guards into disarray. Reik immediately took advantage of his opponent’s weakness and fled to the shattered window, shards of glass stuck around its edge giving it the appearance of a monsters gaping maw. He suddenly stopped, as if a string was pulling at his throat. He couldn’t leave like this; he was Reik the revolutionary, not some cowardly simpleton. He turned to find the princess practically upon him, her guards close behind her. “Reik” She spoke, her voice elegant and smooth, Reik suddenly felt a calmness rush over him. The short phrase was quiet barley a whisper but still the phrase commanded attention, even the mighty storm outside seemed to hush at her speech. With a mix of fear, courage, and pure insanity Reik puffed out his bony chest and roared.

“Pray to your vanity Celestia, the workers revolution is upon you!” With that he leapt over the edge after Vladimir.

Comments

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Great story so far