Leader of the Pack (Book 3/3)

by AdrianJNovelle

Chapter 8 - Interlude

Twilight was devastated. She spent the rest of the day in silent contemplation, watching in sadness as her village of Feral ponies gradually grew into a town. New faces were popping in from all over Equestria, seeking shelter and safety under Twilight's roof. Dawn sat next to her, also dangling his hooves from the top of his wife's divine fortress, now recently completed as day turned to dusk. It was difficult to tell exactly what time of day it was, for the dark, ominous clouds which loomed in overhead never parted, and seemed to be getting heavier and heavier with each passing hour.

"The intruders got away," Dawn said.

"I know," Twilight whispered in response.

"Is it likely they will return with more?"

Twilight shook her head. "No. They seemed to be too scared to fight."

"What are we gonna do? We cannot let any more intruders through these walls. And especially not be able to escape a public execution like that. If others hear of their retreat, we may start losing some of the residents. They know you rule with an iron hoof. And they feel safe and protected under that strict level of guard. If they believe that you are vulnerable, they may start to distrust you. And we can never regain their trust if we were to lose it."

"How many are there now?"

"Well over two thousand," Dawn replied.

Twilight looked surprised. "Two thousand?...Eyes?"

Dawn shook his head. "Heads."

Twilight was unaware of how popular her society was becoming. Their numbers had grown exponentially in just a matter of days. Countless homes had been established, as well as a library, granaries, storage sheds, lumbermills, mines, a temple, a whole marketplace, a town hall, of course the divine fortress, and a large conference hall not far from the town hall. Twilight was not in charge of a simple village or even a small town anymore: she was the Divine Mistress of a whole city of ponies who trusted her with their lives. They felt rejected and tormented by the rest of society. But Twilight blocked them away from that scorn and ridicule, and brought them to a place of peace and acceptance. That is why they came. And that is why they stayed.

"As I see it, there are two options ahead of us," Dawn began. "We can either stay here, secluded in the depths of the Everfree Forest, or we can hold a revolt."

"A revolt?" Twilight asked. "Doesn't that seem a little...extreme to you?"

Dawn thought that was quite an impressive interrogation from Twilight, considering that even he agreed that she had not been herself since Bones disappeared. "Listen, my dear Twilie. The Everfree Forest is a huge place, with lots of unexplored territory that we can claim for ourselves. We can spend months - even years - here, expanding our borders and supporting the continuously growing population. But the Everfree Forest is only so big. There's only so many trees we can chop down, houses we can build, and places we can go before we're just too crowded to thrive anymore."

Twilight thought Dawn made an excellent point.

"What exactly would the revolt do?"

"The revolt would finally bring all those who mocked us for being Nubs and Fwaps down on their knees and obey our command. We are growing stronger every day. We can fabricate weapons and armors for everyone, and usher in a voice that has otherwise gone unheard in this wretched world. We can open ears and have the natives hear our pleas, and finally succumb to what we desire. If we are successful, we can grant the Ferals not just a home, but freedom that they desire deep down, and are just too scared and insecure to know it."

Twilight considered the revolt. "We'd have to hit them at their weakest point - their Achille's Heel...Celestia...the Royal Canterlot Throne. If we take down the Royal Canterlot Throne, the rest of Equestria will crumble. And they will hear our voices...but why go through all the effort just to ask for freedom? Why not make it a whole revolution and a mutiny?"

"A mutiny? You mean you want to take over Equestria?" Dawn asked.

"All it takes is the dethroning of the Royal Canterlot Sisters: Princess Luna, and Princess Celestia. Nopony else is even near their ranks, not even Princess Cadence. She may be royalty, but she's a peasant compared to Luna and Celestia. It will be no easy task, but our numbers are huge...Dawn, tell everyone to meet in the conference hall tonight right before bedtime. And tell them that their attendance is mandatory."

---

Nighttime came. The torches set up around town were lit, and once they were, the Feral ponies started to gather in the biggest building in town: the conference hall. Twilight and Dawn stood at the front of the hall on a slightly elevated stage.

"Attention Ferals," Twilight began aloud. "I'm sure you're all familiar with who I am. But for you new ponies, I am the Divine Mistress, Twilight Acorna Sparkle. You may address me as Mistress Sparkle, if you shall speak directly to me. I understand that most of you are very shy. That is understandable, considering the tragic backstories I'm sure you all have. And it is these tragic backstories which explains my purpose for standing in front of you all tonight: we are going to charge a revolution against the Royal Canterlot Throne."

Many Ferals in the audience looked at one another in confusion.

"For those of you who don't know, Canterlot is the crown jewels of Equestria: the city of gold as it were. The heads of this city belong to none other than Princess Luna and Princess Celestia, sisters who bear the greatest power of anypony in all of Equestria. If our revolt is to be successful, we must apprehend those two alicorns and, to ensure our glory, kill them. They are the only ponies standing in our way between the life we live now as Ferals, and being able to conquer the world and make everpony in Equestria feel the pain, sorrow, torment, and misery we have felt when we were cast aside, rejected, ridiculed, mocked, scorned, alienated, whatever applies to you. We are hundreds strong. My husband tells me we have over two thousand in our population. I will admit: that is a lot of ponies. And each and every one of you is welcome to our home. Stay as long as you like - forever if you want - because come the day after the revolt, you will have all of Equestria at your hooves!"

There was quiet talk in the audience.

"Our plan is simple: kill Princess Luna and, more importantly, Princess Celestia. Now here's what we'll do: we will raid Ponyville and clear a path to the Friendship Express train station, which we will bring under our total control, so may ride out to Canterlot. From there, we will be divded into two uneven groups. The bigger group will apprehend everypony in Canterlot, keep them out of our way, and ensure our storm through the Castle. The second smaller group will follow me and Dawn as we storm the Castle, and find and exterminate the Royal Canterlot Sisters as we gain control of Equestria. This is no easy task. However, we will spend the next few days training you all, and crafting weapons and armor for the job, so you may all be well equipped for the mission.

"Now, here is the difficult part: I only want the most loyal of all of you in my armies. Those of you who are in favor of this revolt, please stay here and feel free to join in on the action when the time comes. Those of you who oppose this, you may stay the night, but come tomorrow, you must vacate the town, and if you don't, we will assume you want in on the mission, and will give you your weapons and armor and train you like the others, and expect you to participate come the day of the revolt.

"We are fighting not because we want to, but because we have to. If we do not retaliate against the heinous forces of Equestria, we shall spend the rest of our lives in the darkness they force upon us. We are not a people worth putting in the dark. Our voices deserve to be heard, our freedom deserves to be given upon our command. That is why, come hell or high water, we will fight!"

Twilight raised her mighty spear overhead and roared. Many members of the audience roared right along with her. She had them right where she wanted them.

"We move out in three days. This hearing is now adjourned. Please return to your cottages and get some sleep. You will need to be well rested for the heist."

Quietly, the conference hall emptied as everypony returned to their homes. Soon all the hooftsteps faded into the sound of gentle snoring as the town fell asleep. The only waking ponies were Twilight and her husband, Dawn, who sat in front of the roaring campfire in the middle of town.

"Are you sure they can handle this, Twilie, my dear?" Dawn asked his wife.

Twilight nodded. "I am the Divine Mistress of these good ponies. They entrust me with everything they have. I would not ask anything of them if I had any doubt that they should not carry on with the mission. I have come too far with them to let anything have them distrust me."

"Okay then," Dawn said. "If you're confident that we will succeed, then I trust you, and that we will succeed."

"We cannot fail," Twilight continued without even acknowledging her husband's remark. "We outnumber and, by the day of the revolt, outgun them. The population may not be able to fly or cast spells, but we have strength in numbers and intellect. These are a smart people. They are resourceful and intelligent. As shy as they are, they have proven themselves worthy of anything they put their minds to. That is why I am so confident that we shall succeed. We will not fail."

Dawn put his hoof around Twilight as they sat in silence in front of the campfire until it died.