Twilight Sparkle trotted happily along the cobbled path in the Canterlot Market. She was window shopping, just having fun. It had been a few weeks since her and her friends had beaten King Sombra and they were taking a much needed rest from the trials and difficulties of The Crystal Kingdom. The rest of her friends were already back in Ponyville, but Twilight had decided to stay a while longer in Canterlot and relive some of her foalhood of trotting through the markets on a busy day. All the noise from hundreds of ponies was exciting.
She turned a corner and came out into the city center, a massive stone stage that was used for holiday celebrations and occasionally music. Ponies bustled around the stone slab, staring up intently at pony standing on it. Twilight sighed. It seemed as if it was just another homeless pony ranting about the end of Equestria. Still, the pony on stage was interesting. He wasn't homeless, or at least didn't look homeless. He was a white unicorn colt with a short, bright yellow mane. He eyes were a bright sea green and he wore a cloak that hid his cutie-mark, which was odd, as most ponies were very open about what their talent was. This pony looked very clean, almost regal and certainly not like most of the mad, dirty ponies who went on and on about the fall of ponies and that 'the end was near.' Twilight pushed her way through the crowd to the front to get a better look at this pony who so intrigued her. It dawned on her that he was making a speech.
"The State!" He said with vigor. "The State! The Government! The Supreme! The Eternal!" He spoke these words with a biting sarcasm.
"The aggressor against the ponies and property of the mass of the public!" Twilight realized he was saying something about the government. But she didn't quite understand what 'The State' was. The white colt continued.
"All States everywhere, whether democratic, dictatorial or monarchical, whether red, white, blue or brown"
"For centuries, The State has robbed ponies of their rightfully earned bits and called it 'Taxation!"
"For centuries, The State has enslaved ponies into their armed battalions and called it 'Conscription!'
Twilight noticed the crowd beginning to get uneasy. This pony was basically screaming treason and controversy, and if he were caught, there was no doubt that he would be executed. What kind of fool does that? Twilight's sensitive ears suddenly caught a loud flapping sound. She looked up and gasped at what she saw. About 40 meters from the podium, 10 of Princess Luna's night guards were flying directly towards the colt on the stage, their spears raised.
The white pony looked up and saw the guards, his face contorting in fear. The whole crowd looked up and erupted into panic. Ponies ran everywhere and Twilight just caught a glimpse of the white unicorn galloping into an alley. She looked at the guards who had made it onto the podium and were holding innocent ponies at spearpoint and interrogating them as to the whereabouts of the unknown white pony. Other palace guards had arrived and they were attempting to gain control of the situation, but ended up fighting the night guards. Palace guards fired magic from their horns hitting stalls and knocking over multiple ponies, scattering merchandise everywhere. It was complete chaos.
Twilight thought for a moment and galloped after the unicorn colt. Something about him seemed odd to her and she was determined to find out why Luna's guards were after him. Panting, she ran into the alley and then darted back behind a wall. The white unicorn was on the floor, surrounded by six grey unicorns who were kicking him repeatedly. Twilight was too far away to hear what they were saying, but she caught the words;
"Over" "Governor" and most puzzling of all, "The State." The colt was bruised and had several cuts on his body, and looked close to dead.
"What do I do?" Twilight thought desperately. She couldn't just let somepony die, but she wasn't strong enough the fight six unicorns at once. There was only one way she could save this pony. She took a deep breath and gathered her courage. She suddenly jumped from behind the wall and ran as fast as she could, knocking the grey ponies off the white one. She took a moment to gather her strength and in a purple flash, teleported herself and the white unicorn into the next alley before the other unicorns could so much as blink. She closed her eyes and took a few more minutes to focus. With a massive flash of purple light, she teleported them both back to her room in The Place.
Twilight and the unknown pony flashed through space. The laws of physics bent by her magic and they materialized in her room. Twilight collapsed with a gasp of exhaustion. She had never teleported herself that far before, let alone herself and another pony. It was a miracle she was even alive. The white pony had passed out. She stood up on trembling hooves and promptly collapsed again next to the other pony on the floor. She simply didn't have the strength to walk, and she knew she needed to sleep. Using up the last vestiges of her energy, she locked the door with a spell that only she could open, and fell asleep.
Several hours later, Twilight Sparkle awoke, feeling significantly restored. She checked on the lock and found that it was still in its place, undisturbed by anypony. She took a moment to check herself and make sure she didn't use too much energy. Seeing that she was fine, she turned her attention to the white colt. The first thing she noticed was that his cloak had come off when she had teleported them, and she was too tired to notice it earlier. But now, she saw that his cutie-mark was a black tooth-like marking. Somehow it didn't look right.
Twilight inspected it closer and her eyes widened when she realized he was using an illusion spell to hide his real cutie-mark. She could tell by the fact that his cutie-mark seemed to be hovering a few millimeters from his actual flank. She wanted to know what it was, but she knew enough about illusion magic to know that if she undid the spell, he would know, and she didn't want to invade his privacy. As she contemplated this, she stared intently at his mark, wondering what it could be.
"You done staring at my flank yet?"
Twilight fell back startled. She blushed as she noticed that the white unicorn was staring at her.
"I-I wasn't staring!" She was surprised he had managed to wake up so quietly. She tried to defend her case.
"I just noticed you had an illusion spell hiding your cutie-mark" she said plainly.
"You did?"the white unicorn was also surprised. Not many unicorns were able to tell. They sat in silence staring at each other.
" Thank you" the unicorn said, turning to look into her eyes. "I would have died without you, so thanks"
"No problem. I couldn't just let an innocent pony get hurt" Twilight said modestly. She didn't want to press him too much, but she had to know what was going on. "So...uh" Twilight stumbled around her words.
"You want to know whats going on?" The colt finished for her.
"Yes, that would be nice. I'm Twilight by the way. Twilight Sparkle." The white pony looked up at her name.
"I'm Ivory Tooth" Twilight narrowed her eyes.
"I already know your cutie-mark is fake. So I know that isn't your real name. However, if you don't want to tell me, that’s fine."
The white colt looked relieved. "Thank you Twilight. I hope that in time, I will be able to tell you my real name. For now, I'd like to just go by Ivory Tooth"
Twilight was slightly irritated, but decided it was his choice. "Okay then Ivory Tooth." Twilight said, hoping to finally get some answers. " What happened back at the market?"
Ivory Tooth looked at her for a few minutes, deciding if he could trust her. "I'll tell you then I guess. You have a right to know since you saved my life and all. But could I ask you one thing?"
"I guess" said Twilight, eager to find out what he was going to tell her.
"I need Luna to be here when I tell you." Twilight was taken aback.
"How do you know that I know Princess Luna?"
"Oh please. Everypony knows that you're Celestia's student" he said with conviction.
Twilight noticed that he hadn't used the appellation of Princess to refer to Princess Celestia. That meant that he either knew her very well, or didn't like her very much. So many thoughts jumped to her mind.
"Do you really think Princess Luna would be happy to see you? Wasn't it her guards who came after you in the market?"
The white unicorn was silent for a moment. "They did, but they didn't want to hurt me. At least, not as much as those other ponies."
Twilight remembered the six grey ponies. "Who were those ponies who were hurting you?"
"All in good time Twilight Sparkle. I'll tell you everything when Luna is here."
Twilight noted the lack of appellation again, indicating extreme closeness or extreme disdain. She figured that the only way she would truly find out what was going on, would be to get Princess Luna to come.
"I'll go get the Princess then" Twilight said. She then lean in close to him and looked into his eyes. "I have made the decision to save you. You are still weak. So for your own sake, don't try anything with me or Princess Luna. I still don't trust you, I hope you understand."
"Thats fine Twilight. I can't expect you to trust somepony you just met."
Twilight was glad he was being so cooperative. She turned towards the curtain and opened them. Moonlight flooded the room and bathed everything in a cold, white light. Perfect. This meant that Princess Luna would be awake. Now came the hard part. She turned back to Ivory Tooth and frowned.
"I know this may be difficult for you to accept, but I will need to restrain you with magic until I arrive back. Ivory Tooth looked worried.
"Why? I won't try to escape or anything. I won't hurt anypony, I promise" he looked so lost, like a child who had just been given their favorite toy ,only to have it taken away from them.
Twilight grimaced. "I'm sorry, but I can't just take your word. For all I know, you could be an assassin, attempting to kill Princess Luna. I just can't take that chance." Before he could react, Twilight used magic to paralyze all the nerve endings in his body, making it impossible for him to move at all. Twilight trotted over to the door and allowed his ears to work so he could hear her.
"I know you must be scared right now, but you need to trust me. If I meant you harm, I would have just left you too those grey ponies. Think about that" It hurt her to restrain him like that, and she really didn't think he meant Princess Luna or her any harm. But she just couldn't take that chance. She knew nothing about this pony.
Twilight trotted out into the hallway and closed the door. She layered three different lock spells on it, so that even if he broke free, he would be unable to leave the room. Twilight turned into the long corridor and walked over to Luna's throne room, which she occupied during the night. Twilight reached the door and, taking a deep breath, pushed the door open and entered. Princess Luna sat regally on her throne, staring out one of the massive windows. She looked down and saw Twilight standing at the foot of her throne.
"Twilight dear, how are you?" Princess Luna was a genuinely nice pony.
"I'm fine Princess, but-"
"Twilight, just call me Luna." Luna interrupted.
"Luna, I need your help" said Twilight, getting straight to the point. Luna looked at her quizzically.
"What do you need my help with Twilight?"
Twilight braced herself for a barrage of questions. "There was a pony in the market today, rambling about something called 'The State.' At the mention of those words, all of Luna's childish attitude evaporated, and she took on a serious expression.
"What do you know of The State?"
Twilight was shocked but that was getting quite common over the last few hours. "I don't know anything about this 'State', but the pony who was speaking got attacked by six grey unicorns. I teleported us to my room."
The gears in Luna's head turned. "You mean that pony is here in the castle?"
"Yes, he's in my room, but he's restrained, I promise." Twilight hoped it would be enough.
"How? How is he restrained?" Luna asked anxiously.
"A full body paralysis spell. I also locked the door with three magic locks."
Luna was impressed. "Well done Twilight. You thought about your actions, and made the right decision. I have to see him right now."
Twilight was suddenly worried. What if Luna was mad at him? "Please Princ-Luna, don't hurt him. I think he can be trusted."
Luna considered her a moment. "Do not worry Twilight, I don't want to hurt him. However, I wouldn't mention this to Celestia." That statement made Twilight even more curious.
The two ponies trotted to Twilight’s room. Twilight undid the locks and they entered to find Ivory Tooth still standing exactly where she had left him. Upon seeing them arrive, Ivory Tooth shook his head and broke the paralysis spell.
"H-how did you do that?" Twilight was shocked that he had broken the spell so easily. Ivory Tooth regarded her and Luna.
"It was actually harder then I thought it would be. You're a very competent unicorn Twilight Sparkle."
"But why didn't you just break out before?" Twilight asked.
"Because, I needed you to trust me, at least a little. And, I really don't mean you or The Princess any harm at all" Ivory Tooth answered.
Luna stepped forward. She looked at Ivory Tooth and began to speak to him. "Are you hurt?" she asked.
"No, I'm fine. Although I wouldn't be if Twilight Sparkle hadn't shown up." Ivory Tooth smiled at Twilight.
Luna looked at Ivory Tooth for a few minutes. Twilight noticed that Luna's horn was ever so slightly lighting up. Piecing together what the alicorn was doing, Twilight realized that she was creating a thought tendril. Thought Tendrils were magic connections unicorns could form with each other, to share thoughts so that nopony else wouldn't be able to hear them. Twilight had studied how to invade a tendril and hear what was being shared between the ponies, but she didn't like doing it, as it was a violation of privacy.
However, whatever it was, it must have been very important for Luna to keep hidden from her. Twilight decided that she would find out what they were saying. She readied herself and cast a spell on her horn so it wouldn't light up. Then, she opened herself to the flow of magic inside her, and produced a concentrated tentacle of thought. She shielded her own thoughts, and stretched the tendril towards Luna.
"...od to see you alive." Luna thought.
"Good to be alive" Ivory Tooth countered.
"How much does she know?" Luna asked.
"Well, I was pretty vague about Them when I was on the podium, but she doesn't know much"
"About that. You can't just say those things in public" Luna thought exasperatedly." Thats why I sent my guards to get you, though it appears they became rather overzealous in their methods."
"I know, but the public has to be told" Ivory Tooth told her.
"How can you tell other ponies about Them, but you don't tell Twilight your real name or show her your Cutie-Mark?"
Ivory Tooth seemed concerned. "I don't even know Twilight Sparkle, but she saved me. Not many mares would do that. I don't want her to be caught up in this" Luna grimaced.
“You were perfectly happy to tell everypony else about Them. Why not this random mare you don't even know?”
Ivory seemed irritated.
“I didn't know anypony down there would have the courage to save me. I thought they were just Canterlot snobs who wouldn't pay much attention. I thought I might get into the papers though, and get the word out that way. But I really don't want Twilight involved.”
Luna seemed to consider this a moment. "Like it or not, she will end up getting involved. She already is, now that you were seen with her"
Ivory Tooth thought a moment. "Then we have to tell her. Everything. If she really does get involved, then I want her to know all she can in case she needs the information."
"Everything?" Luna asked.
"We should tell her everything, except who I am. She doesn't need to know that." Ivory Tooth responded.
"She could be very helpful. But are you sure you want to hide your identity from her? It's unnecessary and she will be very unhappy if she were to find out ."
"She already knows I'm hiding my name and cutie-mark. And I don't want her to judge me based on my standing, I want her to get to know me first." Ivory Tooth admitted a fear he had felt since the moment he realized Twilight had saved him.
Luna's thoughts reflected her concern and sadness. "This is not a time for emotion and 'getting to know each other.' This is important, and we cannot allow feelings to influence how we operate."
Without waiting for a response, Luna severed her mental link with Ivory Tooth and turned to look at Twilight, who pretended to be deep in thought herself. Twilight looked up and stared into Ivory Tooth’s eyes. She was hoping to get some answers from eavesdropping on them, but now she was even more confused. This made her angry.
"Would you please tell me what's going on? Who are 'They'? Why can't I tell Princess Celestia about Ivory Tooth? And why were those grey ponies attacking you? Ivory Tooth shook his head, his yellow mane flopping over his left eye.
"I think you deserve some answers Twilight Sparkle." Luna piped up
"I agree."
Taking a deep breath, Ivory Tooth took one last look at Luna, who nodded her head. He looked back at Twilight.
"You know how the Government works right?" Twilight nodded, not interrupting the first time she would actually learn what was happening. "Well Twilight Sparkle, not many ponies know this, but there are actually two governmental organizations in Equestria. The main government is called The Crown, and it rules Equestria benevolently and to the betterment of ponykind.
However, the other government is made up of ponies who believe that everypony is to be enslaved and controlled. They think that to have a truly great country, they must rule with power and fear. They are called The State. The State employs many means to scare the public and they are getting bolder."
Twilight's head reeled from this information. She never would have guessed that there was another government. But she still had many questions. Turning to Luna, she directed her questioning gaze towards the alicorn.
"How long have you known about this Princess?"
Luna sighed. "The State was brought to my attention around 340 years ago, but we have reason to believe that it has existed for many more years."
"Wait" Twilight interrupted. " Weren't you on the moon for the last thousand years?"
Luna smiled. "I wondered if you would pick that up. Yes, I was on the moon, however I was able to use magnification
magic to watch Equestria from the moon. I would have gotten so bored if I hadn't been able to watch what was going on"
"And those grey unicorns?" Twilight was so shocked she trembled. The idea of a malicious organization bent on bringing harm to Equestria was very threatening.
Luna answered her. "The State uses certain dark magics to control ponies. This particular spell drains a pony of their color, cutie-mark and makes them extremely easy to control, if you know how."
"B-but that’s illegal! Dark magic is illegal!" Twilight was indignant.
"They don't care. The State will do whatever it takes to plunge Equestria into chaos." Ivory Tooth said.
"The State has been responsible for almost all of the chaos Equestria has faced for the past few centuries, and perhaps longer." Luna said.
"Like what?" Twilight asked nervously.
"Discord being freed? Most ponies know nothing of the magic used to imprison him, and those who do speculated that the statue was exposed to chaos of some sort. This is not entirely true. The State had been using anti-petrification spells to slowly chip away at Discords prison, until he was freed." Ivory Tooth told her.
"Also, The State helped the Changelings infiltrate Canterlot." Luna revealed.
"They were the ones who melted the ice that imprisoned King Sombra and put the Crystal Empire in danger." Ivory Tooth sadly told Twilight Sparkle. Twilight was completely speechless.
After a few minutes of processing this information, Twilight Sparkle straightened up. "I can't just sit back and allow The State to exist. I want to help you fight them."
Somewhere in Equestria...
"Governer" A grey pegasus bowed.
"What is it?" came the voice.
"Earlier today, the unicorn division detected a massive amount of magic being used in the Canterlot sector."
The pony in the darkened room thought for a moment. "Does this have anything to do with our little princeling?"
The pegasus read the scroll he was carrying. "We don't know for sure yet, but possibly"
The Governor looked at the curtained window.
"Leave me" she said. The pegasus bowed once more and left, shutting the door behind him. The Governor trotted over to the curtain and opened it with a (REDACTED) aura. She looked out into the forest. She had tried to much and worked to hard to have all her work thrown down the drain by some upstart little foal who thought he knew what was better for Equestria.
She looked up into the sky. It might be time for another meeting.
