New Lunar Republic: Desperate Measures

                                                                                  Demonstration

"Keep moving, keep moving," the guard ordered. "You in the front, spread it out." Applebloom and her two friends Sweetiebell and Scootaloo had no choice but to obey. The crowd of ponies behind them slowly spread out in a half-moon shape, taking up most of the space of Canterlot Square. Directly in front of the crowd was a raised wooden platform, recently constructed by laborers like themselves. The three teens had a front row view of the stage but what kind of "performance" they were about to see was anypony's guess.

It didn't take them long to find out. Two royal guards carried a gray stallion with a tan stallion with a slightly darker beige mane onto the stage. From the opposite side, another figure ascended the wooden platform, the boards creaking under his heavy legs. His two heavy legs.

The guards dragged the tan pony right up to the middle of the stage and threw him right in front of the tall red dragon. Standing at almost a head taller than even the tallest stallions, Minister Talon regarded the pony in front of him before looking out at the crowd.

"Is that CJ?" a voice behind the three mares asked. Applebloom squinted her eyes to be sure. The tan stallion on stage was the foreman of Applebloom, Sweetiebelle and Scootaloo's labor division, Crackerjack or CJ as he was affectionately nicknamed.

"What are they gonna do with him?" Sweetiebelle asked.

"Isn't obvious? It's another execution," Scootaloo answered.

Sweetiebelle turned back to the stage in front of her. "No... not CJ..."

Applebloom turned her head to the ground. She'd seen enough examples made of ponies who didn't live up to The Tyrant's expectations.

The red dragon cleared his throat. "We are all of us greatly privileged. We should all be thankful for what SHE has done for us."

"Oh great," Scootaloo said. "He's going to speak again." It was a good thing Scootaloo wasn't within earshot of the guards or the Minister; it might be her on the stage next.

Minister Talon pointed a talon to the setting sun. "She does that for US. For you, for all of you. Do any of you understand how grateful we should be? How much we owe her? We owe the Queen EVERYTHING," the dragon clutched his chest, taking a step towards the crowd. "To display anything other than absolute loyalty... is a disgrace. And is treason."

Applebloom just rolled her eyes. Minister Talon had his head so far up Celestia's flank he could see daylight shining through her teeth. The Minister was essentially the governor of Canterlot, he enforced the Queen's rule over the entire town and managed day-to-day affairs.

Talon looked across the crowd. He barely noticed the eyes, observing them like a herd of cattle rather than individuals. "And you all are closer to her than I will ever be," the dragon lied. "When she liberated the Dragon Domain from the oppressive Empress Eos, I was one of the lucky few chosen to serve her glory." The dragon let his gaze drop and his tone become sorrowful. "Even I... a beast without magic, without potential, even I have a destiny in her infinite design, the future of our world. I cannot tell you what a blessing this is."

"Does anypony even know what this is about?" Sweetiebelle asked.

"Shh!" a pony behind her quieted her. The three ponies had no choice but to stand and listen.

The red dragon stepped over to the tan stallion. "Mister Crackerjack... CJ has not been grateful. Not only has he allowed our ruler's newest monument to be disgraced but he has also allowed production of it to be slowed by misplacing valuable materials."

CJ shook his head weakly. "I... I didn't deface the statue," he declared.

Talon picked him up by the neck. The crowd let out a gasp in response. "You know who did?! You know who stole those supplies!"

"No..."

Talon dropped the colt. "So, we have an innocent. That's what makes this so difficult." The dragon started pacing a bit, making it look like he was talking to both himself and the crowd simultaneously. "You, like me are responsible for more than just yourself. You were in charge of the project and therefore, you must bare the consequences. This is just the way it must be."

The two royal guards behind him picked the tan stallion up. Applebloom turned away. She knew what was coming next. Or so she thought.

"Who would be so selfish as to let this colt be punished for their crimes? I ask you, who has the GUAL to let another take the blame for their actions?!" Talon shouted at the crowd. None of them said a word.

Scootaloo and Sweetiebelle averted their own gazes.

"Order must be maintained... you've cost us time and efficiency. An example must be made," Talon said. "An example must be made to all of you. To show you how LUCKY we all are that we have such a merciful ruler. Guillotine? Too messy. Hanging? Too slow and we've wasted enough time already." The red dragon pulled out a small phial of blue liquid and held it for the audience to see.

"Do any of you know what this is?" Minister Talon asked. "Potus Operandum Kenetosfy. Otherwise known better as, The Cutie Pox!"

Another collected gasp was released from the crowd. Applebloom and her friends instinctively took a step backwards trying to get away from the substance the dragon held.

"Developed by her majesty's own scientists, this is a weaponized strain of the disease known as Cutie Pox. You see," Talon walked over and picked up CJ again with one claw. "CJ's about to teach us all how to be more efficient." With the phial in his other claw, Talon popped the top off of it and smelled the contents. Not having a cutie mark himself, he was completely immune to the virus's effects. Something he was about to demonstrate in greater detail.

The red dragon drank the contents of the phial. Taking a moment to swish the liquid around in his mouth, CJ was helpless as he watched the dragon's face contort, his own face frozen with an expression of anticipated horror. Still holding the tan stallion, Talon breathed fire directly into the pony's face.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!" CJ screamed. The blaze scorched his face leaving him cut, scarred and blackened in an instant. In less than two seconds it was over and CJ was in a great deal of pain, his entire face blackened along with his mane, his entire body went slack. Talon threw him against the wooden stage and he rebounded off of it, the wood audibly snapping as the pony impacted it.

"No!! CJ!!!" Applebloom called. She watched her poor friend, technically boss lay in a heap on the platform. As he had been helpless to avert his fate, now so were she and her friends helpless to save their friend's life.

Talon turned to the audience and smiled. "I barely even kissed the poor boy," he said. The red dragon crunched the glass phial in his other claw and sprinkled it over the stage.

"CLEAN THAT UP!" Talon shouted.

Something strange happened. Tears were in Applebloom and her friends' eyes as they heard some sort of horrible cracking sound, like wood splintering. CJ rose up off the stage, somehow getting up despite hid injuries. It wasn't a mystery for long however; the tan pony's eyes glowed a sickly green. The two royal guards behind him levitated a dust pan and small broom into view. The possessed pony grabbed both and began sweeping up the shards of glass at Talon's feet.

Applebloom looked in horror. Talon just smiled back at the crowd as he saw his demonstration working. CJ's original cutie mark, a jackhammer slowly morphed into a new image: that of the dust pan and broom he now held.

"As you can see, our friend CJ's now become an absolute model of efficiency. What is his destiny? Whatever the queen wants it to be. Whatever we need it to be. He's now a model citizen, a shining example to all... quadrupeds. Unfortunately, his life expectancy's also been reduced from a matter of years to... about a week at most."

The crowd was shocked. Talking broke out amongst themselves but was quickly silenced by a wave of Talon's claw. "This strain of Cutie Pox is one-hundred percent effective in every form. There is no cure or vaccine. And we've made a lot of it. Using it on all of you now would be... a waste of potential. But we can gas your families." Talon looked out on the crowd practically smelling the fear like a predator. Good. She would be pleased.

"This concludes our demonstration for today. You are dismissed," he ordered the crowd. Slowly, the red dragon turned to the pony at his feet, still sweeping.

"Should we take care of him when he's done sir?" one of the guards asked.

Talon scratched his chin, looking at the colt's glowing green eyes and vacant open-mouthed stare. "No... normally, I'd say finish him off but I want to see the full effect of the virus. Set him to clean up the statue when he's done. Make sure they can see it from the worker's quarters."

"Yes sir," the guard said.

Slowly, the crowd dispersed from around the stage heading back the way they had came. Just as before, Applebloom, Scootaloo and Sweetiebelle were at the front of it.