Chapters BOOM!
A firework went off right next to the sleeping Princess Luna's bedroom, jarring her awake. Her eyes shot open, and she flew out of bed, hitting head on the ceiling. She fell to the floor dazed, while her eye rolled around in her head making her look very much like Derpy, the mail-mare she saw once in Ponyville. Once she recovered from her temporary stupor, she became angry.
“Who dares disturb the sleep patterns of the princess of the night!” Yelled Luna, in an enraged rendition of the Royal Canterlot Voice.
Luna usually slept during the day, so she was used to the normal sounds of the ponies going about their business in Canterlot, but setting off a firework right next to her window was going too far. She yanked open the dark blue curtains over her bedroom window and looked outside.
“Ah, now I remember. 'Tis today that we shall celebrate Twilight's coronation.”
She looked down at the cheerful scene below her. There were ponies wheeling in carts of food to sell at the celebration. Others were putting up huge announcement signs with the picture of Twilight Sparkle, newly acquired wings and all, on them. She spotted a reddish stallion with a blue man, and what looked like an explosion as his cutie mark, setting off the fireworks. She would let him off. This time. Besides, she hated telling other ponies off. They always reacted to her like anypony would react to angering a princess. With fear.
She wished that ponies didn't need to be ruled at all. That they could be free to do whatever they wished without someone like her or her sister brandishing their power over them like a deadly weapon. She hated other ponies being afraid of her. She hated being 'superior'.
“Did ponies need to be ruled?” She wondered.
She pondered this as she got ready for the coronation. She trotted over to her closet to get dressed She started to put on the formal attire expected of royalty, but stopped. She grinned and reached deeper into the closet pulling out a suit of leather armor with the symbol of her cutie mark made of shining silver on the front. She reached to a shelf on the top of her closet with her magic, and retrieved a deadly looking sword made of bluish blackened magical metal. She slid it into a sheath attached to her armor.
She looked in a mirror, and smiled grimly. In her custom made armor she looked like the embodiment of her black sword. A lethal, dark, and arcane weapon in pony form. She sighed as she started to take off the armor. She couldn't wear this at a public celebration. Or could she?
“No. Perhaps another day.” She said aloud to herself.
Disappointed, she quickly removed the armor and put on the royal celebration dress. It was dark blue with faint stars all over it, and a white brooch in the shape of the moon. She had to admit, it did suit her quite well, even if it wasn't as strikingly formidable looking as her armor.
Leaving the bedroom, she winced as the guards next to the door came to attention and saluted her. Hastily galloping past them, she came out into the courtyard of the Lunar Castle. Since the celebration was being held at the Celestial Castle, no preparations were going on inside Luna's castle walls.
“Luna!”
She heard a voice call from outside the gates. Luna trotted over the gates, and peered through the bars. It was Vinyl Scratch! Vinyl was one of Luna's only friends that was not a noble or royalty. All the other ponies were too scared of her high position to be good friends with her, but Vinyl was different. She seemed to know how Luna truly felt about her position of power.
“Hello Vinyl!” Luna said, excited to see her friend.
“Open the gates!” She shouted to a guard on top of the wall.
He saluted, and complied.
Vinyl trotted in.
“I'm so glad to finally see you again, Luna.” Vinyl said, hugging her friend. “I was able to come from Ponyville to put on an after party concert for the coronation.”
Vinyl Scratch was a famous DJ in Ponyville.
“And I am glad to see you, Vinyl.” said Luna. “Why don't we go to one of my private restaurants here in my castle for a bite to eat, and have a chat?”
“Sounds good to me.” said Vinyl. “I haven't had anything to eat since I got off the train from Ponyville.”
**********
“And you missed the whole thing!?” Vinyl burst out laughing.
“Yes. Yes. Very funny. The whole city of Canterlot was overrun with changelings, and I wasn't there.” Luna facehoofed.
Vinyl calmed her uproar of laughter down to a snicker.
“I'm sorry, I just can't believe you missed all that.”
Suddenly, Luna's eyes narrowed, and she seemed to be in deep thought. As if considering whether to let Vinyl in on a great secret...
“Let's... Talk politics.” Luna said slowly, eyes still narrowed.
Vinyl's sniggering stopped, and she started to get nervous.
“Uh... Sure. Why not? Like, what do you mean? I don't really know that much abou-”
“What do you think of the ruling class?” Luna cut her off.
“Well... I mean... I d-dunno. You're cool and stuff.” Vinyl stuttered. The conversation was taking an unexpected turn.
“Why should we rule over other ponies when they are perfectly capable of ruling themselves? Why do we have rulers at all? I don't WANT to be a ruler!”
“I'm sure there are reasons.” said Vinyl.
“What reasons?”
“Well...”
“There are none that I can see. Ponies follow us, simply out of fear of what our power can do to them if they refuse.” Luna ranted.
“But I've never been afraid of you.” Vinyl said, smiling, hoping to lighten the mood.
“You're one of the few.” said Luna. “Do you realize there is a fifty percent tax my sister has levied on everyone's pay, including yours! One out of every five fillies and colts is conscripted into the royal guard. More than that into the Equestrian Defense Force. You're lucky you weren't sent to fight the out-landers on the borders of Equestria, just like some of your friends.”
“I suppose I am...” muttered Vinyl.
“Now, everyone is being watched with magical devices that let my sister's Secret Service spy on them to make sure they aren't breaking one of her many, many laws. This administration has gotten out of hoof. It's time to do something about it.” Luna scowled, as she became angrier and angrier.
“Luna, what are you suggesting?” Vinyl gasped.
Luna's furious scowl disappeared instantly, and she smiled with a foreboding glance at Vinyl.
“Revolution.”
Vinyl's jaw dropped to the table in front of her. Then she considered for a moment, and a smile similar to Luna's came to her lips. Celestia's increasing corruption in recent years had been hard on her, and her friends. Her anger towards the rulers of Equestria, except Luna of course, had been contained deep within her. Until now.
“I'm in.” She thought for a moment. "But where do we start? We will need provisions. Weapons. Other supporters, not least of all!"
"I have... Connections." Said Luna. "As for the other supporters, I have a favor to ask of you. I think we could gain some support at your next concert."
"How?" asked Vinyl.
Luna whispered something in her ear, and she nodded thoughtfully.
"This is going to be dangerous." Vinyl thought, and smirked. "I like it."
"Consider it done." She said aloud.
They both looked at each other. They were conspirators now. They would both receive the death penalty if Celestia ever discovered their plans.
"Be careful." said Luna sternly.
They finished their meal in silence and left the Lunar Castle together.
It had only been a few hours since her very interesting conversation with Luna, and Vinyl was now on stage in front of an audience of what looked like everypony in all of Canterlot. Earlier, Luna had tasked her with sowing the seeds of dissent in the very heart of the Equestrian regime. Canterlot. She was afraid for her life, but believed wholeheartedly in what she and Luna were planning. Luna had provided her with an escape route should things get ugly, which they would. She needed to reach it before the guards caught her. Looking to her left and right, she saw at least a dozen guards on either side. This performance was being televised live to all of Equestria, as well.
"Great." She mumbled.
The crowd had expected the DJ to perform as she normally did in Ponyville, but after her conversation with Luna, Vinyl had something else in mind. She pulled her custom-made guitar out of it's case on the stage, and admired it lovingly. The guitar was her most prized possession, besides maybe her turntables, which she used at most concerts. It was the same color blue as her mane, with an ebony fretboard, cyan fretmarkers in the shape of her cutie mark and a floyd rose bridge. She fine tuned it to D standard. She would only be needing it for one song before she would have to escape, after all. She plugged it in and waited for the rest of the band to be ready.
The song she was going to perform had long since been banned by the Equestrian Government for being too seditious. In fact, the entire genre was banned. She had learned it anyway, a few years back. The ponies she had hired to play it with her looked rough, but were overall nice enough. There was a green earth pony with a shaggy purple mane, and well, drums as a cutie mark, whom she had hired to play drums. He was liked to talk. Alot. Also, he had a habit of swearing almost twice every sentence. Vinyl didn't mind, but it did get annoying after a while. He played by strapping the sticks to his arms. Vinyl was always impressed by earth pony musicians. Maybe that's why she was so attracted to Octavia. *
"No!" Vinyl scolded herself. "Can't think about that now. I've got to concentrate!"
The bassist was also an earth pony. She was black. Completely black, head to toe, except for her cutie mark which was what looked like a computer of some sort. Vinyl had no idea how she played bass with just her hooves. The last member of her temporary band was another unicorn who played guitar. He was yellow with long straight red hair and a cup of coffee as a cutie mark.
"I guess he just really likes coffee" Thought Vinyl, looking at him now. "All right, let's get this party started."
"Fillies and gentlecolts." She said into the microphone in front of her. "Tonight we have a special treat."
The crowd murmured.
"A song that has not been performed, for years and years. I put together this band brave, and possibly stupid enough, to play it with me now. So what say we get started, huh?"
The crowd was silent. The drummer ticked off the beat, and the yellow unicorn played the opening notes, using his magic to press the frets and pick the strings. This continued for a few measures then the rebellious song picked up momentum as Vinyl and the bassist joined in banging their heads, their hair flying in all directions. The unicorn guitarist played the lead notes while Vinyl chugged on the open and power chords, muting the strings with the back of one of her hooves. The last notes of the intro screamed off into a frenzy of insanity while Vinyl stepped up to the mic and started the vocals in a raspy half-scream half-yell that came close to emulating the original recording.
"Society failed to tolerate me.
And I have failed to tolerate society.
Still I can't find what you adore.
Inside I hear the echoes of an inner war!"
The crowd seemed to be in a trance, and the guards, if it was possible, were even more dazed. Vinyl hoped this lasted until the song was through, and she made her short speech. Amazingly, the bassist was hitting every note just using his hooves.
"Nothing can take the horror from me.
Your sick world the loss of all morality.
My hate has grown as strong as my confusion.
My only hope, my only solution is a violent revolution."
Vinyl played a riff, using the break from singing to windmill her hair a couple times.
"Violent revolution."
Vinyl plucked one of the notes in the next part of the riff sharply, and touched the string with her magic creating a quick pinch harmonic.
"Violent revolution.
Reason for the people to destroy!"
The bassist had one of his back hooves up on one of the monitors displaying incredible balance, as he stood on his back hooves and playing with his front ones, while still banging his head to the beat of the music. The drummer played a couple fills, and Vinyl came back in.
"I do not need a cause for my rage.
I just despise the nature of the pony race.
When all I see is repulsion and hate.
Violence becomes my only friend, my saving grace.
When love is lost beyond your control.
A pale shadow of lust cannot enlight your soul.
So keep your ice cold bitter illusions.
I don't need your empty world, my only solution is a violent revolution."
The same riff came back and the band played it as before. The crowd was starting to react a little now. Some bobbing their heads slightly. Others looking worried. The guards didn't seem to know what to do.
"Violent revolution.
Violent revolution.
Reason for the people to destroy."
The song slowed down for a somber instrumental passage. Vinyl and the yellow unicorn guitarist came closer together and swayed their heads in unison over the top of each other's instruments.
"This is awesome!" Vinyl thought, grinning.
She slid back over in front of the mic as the instrumental ended.
"Beauty is no more, it's all gone.
And utopia will not come.
Trust I cannot feel, only pain.
And my burning mind has gone insaaaaaaaane!"
Another slow instrumental break followed into the guitar solo. Vinyl's favorite part. She jammed the pick so hard down on the second string, she felt the pop through her magic. Simultaneously, she lightly touched the same string just below the third fret, grabbed the whammy bar telekinetically, and slowing pushed down for a somewhat lengthy divebomb. Sliding up to the seventeenth fret, she vibrated the bar as fast as she could. She played the next few notes normally, then used the pick to tap out notes on the fifteenth fret while sliding to different notes down the neck. She deviated from the original song slightly, speed picking the last few notes of the solo and coming to a squealing end high on the fretboard while pulling up the whammy bar as high as it would go without risking breaking the strings. She realized that her eyes had been closed during the last part of the solo, and let the whammy bar back down, coming back on vocals.
"Society failed to tolerate me.
And I have failed to tolerate society.
Still I can't find what you adore.
Inside I hear the echoes of an inner war."
The vocals repeated. The guards were talking to each other. Some of the audience had left. The remaining members were paying closer attention to the music, they were getting angry.
"Perfect" Thought Vinyl.
"Nothing can take the horror from me.
Your sick world the loss of all morality.
My hate has grown as strong as my confusion.
My only hope, my only solution is a violent revolution."
The guards were coming out of their temporary stupor. They didn't have long now.
"Violent revolution.
Violent revolution.
Reason for the people to destroy.
Violent revolution.
Violent revolution.
Violent revolution.
Reason for the people to destroy."
The song was coming a conclusion with a mournful, yet angry instrumental. Vinyl noticed the guards approaching the stage.
"To destroy."
The band kept playing, despite the oncoming guards. Some of the people in the audience were shoving the guards back, realizing their intent.
"To DESTROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOY!!!"
Vinyl let out a rasping scream, and held the note well into the song's conclusion with the drummer performing a closing fill, the guitarist and bassist both speed picking low notes, while Vinyl, still holding the scream, trilled higher notes and stopped with the final chords of the song.
"Too late for the escape plan." Vinyl mused. "But I think the audience got the message."
The crowd was roaring with applause, and there was a full out brawl going with some of the guards. However, more had come and seven or eight guards had made it past the angry mob. Vinyl did not feel at all afraid, despite her impending arrest. She knew she would not be able to escape, so she simply stood still while one guard threw a black bag over her head. Another punched her in the gut, knocking the wind out of her, and knocking the guitar off her neck. She felt hoofcuffs being attached as she was dragged off the stage.
* No, there won't be any shipping in this story.... Probably.
1:00 PM, 23rd day of the year 1004. Three hours before Vinyl's concert. Eight hours before the coronation celebration.
Luna watched Vinyl as she disappeared around the corner of a building. She almost wished that she hadn't sent her friend on such a dangerous mission. However, it was essential to their plans and the escape route was in place. She would be out of there in plenty of time. While Vinyl left to prepare, Luna turned her mind to another importance piece of the revolution. Turning Twilight Sparkle to her side. This was an essential part of gaining support. If ponies thought she was making another attempt at gaining power for herself, such as the time she was possessed by Nightmare Moon, they would not follow her. But, if she had another princess on her side, that would make all the difference.
"Well... It couldn't hurt anyway..." Luna teleported back inside her castle.
Before she brought Twilight into the plan though, she would need someone to influence her. Twilight would not be an easy to one to convince of the necessity to turn against her mentor. Being taught by Celestia for years, Twilight was perhaps, one of her most loyal subjects. The planned revolution could not be revealed to Twilight's close friends either, they were loyal to Twilight, and by extension, Celestia. Suddenly, Luna had an idea. She would need to talk to an "enemy" of Twilight's.
Luna whinnied with laughter. "It's quite amusing how they pretend to hate each other." She thought to her herself. "Trixie will be the perfect ally. She hates the current regime, and is close to Twilight whether either of them will admit it or not. She is still living in Ponyville I believe."
With this objective in mind, Luna walked around to the back of her castle and lifted a trap door concealed in some bushes. A worn staircase lead down a dark unlit passageway, the air smelled stale and ancient. Luna could have used a train to Ponyville, but that would be too slow. She could have used a magically assisted long-range teleporter, but every one of them was traced by Celestia. Therefore, she had her own transportation in place, and hidden for just such an occasion as this. Luna proceeded down the hallway, lighting the way with a magical glow from her horn. She reached the end and pushed open a creaking stone door. A spacious stone-walled room opened up in front of her, it was lit by veins of glowing white crystal flowing through the walls and ceiling. Directly in the center of the room was an enormous conical crystal resting on the floor, coming to a point, and connecting to the ceiling. It seemed to give off an aura of magical energy that Luna could physically feel against her skin. This device took in magic and amplified it for the user's needs, in this case, a heavy duty transportation spell. She had designed it herself under the influence of the demon, Nightmare Moon, all those years ago. She shuddered slightly when the memory of those times crossed her mind. Then, steeling herself and blocking out the bad memories, she began to channel her magic into the monolithic crystal in front of her. Slowly, a tendril of her magic reached out and touched the crystal, bleeding into it and filling it with power. Once the it had been sufficiently charged, Luna reversed the stream. The magic flowed from the crystal filling her horn with a torrent of magic that swirled around her like a hurricane, throwing out bolts of energy that discharged into the air. Her eyes shone with power as she released the magic into a mighty teleportation spell.
**********
4:05 PM, 23rd day of the year 1004. Five minutes after Vinyl's concert. About five hours before the coronation celebration.
Vinyl didn't know where she was, or where she was going. After she was dragged off stage she was thrown viciously into a cage attached to the back of a magically drawn cart, in which two Equestrian Law Enforcers sat. Vinyl could tell they were talking as she lay in the cage, but she could not make out any specific words. During her ride in the cage, all she was aware of was the occasional bump in the pavement and the murmur of ponies watching in fear as she passed.
"I hope those other guys in the band made it out all right." Thought Vinyl, although she was already fairly certain that they hadn't. "Fuck!" She swore as the cage went over a particularly jarring bump, driving the wire of her prison into her already bruised body. The ponies controlling the cart just laughed.
Eventually, the sounds of the bustling city of Canterlot stopped completely, and Vinyl felt the cart going over what was probably a hastily made dirt road. She could make out bits of the enforcer's conversation now that the sounds of the city were gone.
"Why the hell are we taking this conspirator to the detention centers?" Said one of the enforcer's through a filter that changed his voice to a deep almost robotic tone. They were designed to sound unfeeling and intimidating. "Let's just blow her scumbag brains out right now and be done with it. I hate checking in prisoners, the paperwork is fucking endless!"
"No!" Shouted the other enforcer in an almost imperceptibly higher tone, with the same voice filter. "The Administrator himself wanted this one alive, she may be linked to something larger than a normal open act of sedition. She will NOT be killed until the Intelligence Council has gotten the needed information from her! Do I make myself clear?"
The other enforcer muttered something indistinguishable, and Vinyl heard nothing more from them. Finally, the journey was over and the cart stopped.
"This is E-114 requesting permission to enter Detention Compound 4-C for purpose of turning in political prisoner for processing." The enforcer with the higher voice, who seemed to be the other's superior said into a radio.
"Permission granted, proceed through into the first room, turn over the prisoner, and return to your normal duties after filing the necessary acquisition forms." The radio crackled back.
The lower-ranking enforcer mumbled something, and Vinyl heard the swoosh of a large door opening. The cart moved a little farther then came to a stop again. Closing behind them, the door shut with a thud. Vinyl heard some other ponies without voice filters walk in and start talking to the enforcers, she then noticed someone had come up and opened the cage door. Another pony, a unicorn apparently, yanked off her hood, pulled her out of the cage with a telekinetic spell and dumped her unceremoniously on the cold metal floor.
"Where am I?" Vinyl asked, with a touch of panic in her voice.
"Shut up conspirator." The superior enforcer said, and kicked her hard in the stomach.
Vinyl screamed in pain involuntarily, it felt as if one of her ribs had been broken from the blow.
"Keep your prisoner quiet unless you want to go in the cell with her!" Roared one of the prison workers.
"Yes sir! S-sorry sir." The enforcer answered. "You better shut the fuck up!" He seethed at Vinyl through his teeth.
The other enforcer glared at him, and turned back to the prison workers to discuss the paperwork. Vinyl choked back any further cries of pain, and lay still to avoid the wrath of the guards. With her vision now unobscured, except for the blur of tears that had automatically formed in her eyes from the kick, she took a moment to look around the room. The walls were of white concrete, the floor and ceiling were constructed from steel plates connected together with rivets. A single light bulb let out a desolate, depressing glow that seemed to say.
"Abandon all hope, ye who enter here."
It was a room that perfectly reflected the Equestrian law enforcement, cold and unfeeling. Parked in the center, was the cart and cage Vinyl had made her journey in. Two prison workers were still talking to the enforcer officer, while the third worker who had pulled her from the cage stood in the corner staring off into space. The inferior enforcer stood next to her, glaring down at her sulkily. Or at least that's what it seemed like, it was hard to tell since everything but their eyes was covered with armor, wiring and speakers for the voice filter.
"And that's pretty much it." One of the prison workers said to the officer. "You and your partner may finish these forms in my office and then return to your duties. We'll take it from here."
"Thank you sir!" The officer saluted and walked towards a connecting door that was apparently the door to the office.
"Yeah, whatever..." The other enforcer mumbled and slouched after his leader.
"Political prisoner." The lead prison worker, a brown pegasus, said as she glared at Vinyl. "So you're a traitor, huh?"
Vinyl tried to hold back a laugh in spite of the situation. She didn't succeed, and she winced as a searing pain shot through her cracked ribs.
"Yeah, I'm a 'traitor'. If you call playing some music being a traitor these days. Heh, what a bunch of killjoys you are. My mom wouldn't have been very happy, but I thought I was a grown up now." Vinyl grinned slightly, she was obviously making them angry, but strangely she wasn't thinking of the consequences right at the moment.
The lead worker's face did not change. "Take her to her cell. The Admin wanted her alive, but you don't have to be too careful with her, if you know what I mean." She smiled cruelly at Vinyl. "Now get her out of my sight!"
The two other prison workers quickly complied, they both grabbed one of Vinyl's forelegs and dragged her through a sliding door and down a hallway. When they reached cell number nine they dropped her legs. Vinyl looked up, but they didn't open the door. Suddenly, the worker on her right turned toward her and hit her in the face sending her sprawling across the floor. Her glasses shattered from the impact and snapped in half. The other worker punched her in the back, then opened the cell door and threw her in. Her broken glasses followed after her, hitting her in the face. After the guards walked away, the cell door slammed shut, and the Vinyl's hoofcuffs fell off. Being deactivated by some design of the cell. Vinyl stared at her shattered shades in disbelief. Her father had hand made them for her, before he had been conscripted into the Equestrian Defense Force and never returned. The events of the day seemed to suddenly appear to her, like a nightmare that she could never wake up from. Emotion smashed into her like waves from a raging storm. A single tear fell down her cheek. Then another. Pretty soon she was curled up on the floor sobbing with the glasses between her hooves.
**********
1:06 PM, 23rd day of the year 1004. About three hours before Vinyl's concert. About eight hours before the coronation celebration.
Luna appeared in a clearing of Everfree Forest on the outskirts of Ponyville. The shockwave from the extremely powerful spell made the trees around her bend briefly, as if hit by a strong wind. Blades of grass were blown into the air and starting slowly floating back to earth. The crack of energy scared off all wildlife for a good sized radius around her.
"Now where do I start?" Luna wondered as she looked at the trees around her still swaying from the impact, and all different kinds of animals running quickly disappearing into them. After walking around in a few confused circles, Luna started off in the direction of Ponyville.
**********
Ponyville was one of the nicer towns in Equestria, even rivaling Canterlot. Perhaps it was because Celestia's student lived there and she had seen fit to dramatically lower the tax rate. Whatever the case, none of the building were in disrepair, the grass was green and well groomed, and the ponies were wealthier than most. Luna was rather annoyed that whenever she walked by anypony, they would insist on bowing and only speak to her when spoken to. This was one of the things the revolution must end.
"I'm looking for Trixie Lulamoon." Luna projected her voice, but not so loudly as to scare off anypony as she walked into Sugarcube Corner. "Has anypony seen her?"
The ponies looked at her fearfully, but one of them raised a hoof.
"She lives in the library, Your Highness" A female pegasus said quietly. "Princess Twilight gave it to her before she moved away. She used to live in a home made shack on the edge of town, until a few days ago."
"Thank you." Luna said and left the scared ponies, some of them still bowing. "This is going to be even easier than I thought."