The Birth of a Rebellion

Crimson opened his eyes suddenly and sat up on the bed, soaked. He could feel the cold sweat running down his back. Since he returned to Manehattan he had been having these nightmares again. He felt his scar burning, as if the manticore’s paw slowly cut through his skin again. Smoothly he touched his skin, feeling the hot radiation that came of it. He couldn’t bare it anymore.

Crimson stepped out of the bed, heading directly to the bathroom. He needed a shower so badly… Before he got into the shower, he looked at himself in the bathrooms mirror. He had enormous rings under his eyes. He raised his hoof touching his scar and his pierced ear again. He felt so alien to himself. He pulled back the curtain and got into the shower. Leaning his hoof on the wall he opened the water valve, letting it flow smoothly over his face.

For a while, he stood there, lost in his thoughts. It had been a long week. After all what happened in the palace, he was amazed that they were able to return here unharmed. But he was even more amazed by the fact the news about the attack hadn’t spread already. Perhaps Copper was unable to escape after all… He felt betrayed by his attempt to destroy any proof of the true history of Equestria, but he would never wish the fate of those ponies to Copper or any other pony. They were killed brutally. But Crimson couldn’t avoid starting thinking about it just as another gore image to add to the only growing list of things he would like to forget.

Black Claw spoke without a sole glimpse of doubt in his voice when he spoke about this being the only method to be heard by Celestia. Crimson tried to convince himself that there should be another way, that those were the conclusions of a psycho. Nevertheless, more he thought about it, more truth he found in his words, even though he didn’t want to admit it.

Crimson closed the water valve and started to put shampoo on his hoof. Smoothly massaging his mane, he started to create foam. While his eyes were closed, he started to think about the Frost. She was so beautiful that night in the palace. He remembered her face and coat shining under the moonlight, filled with peace. He couldn’t avoid smiling.

He hadn’t spoken with Frost since they returned from the palace. She hadn’t forgiven him for knocking her out outside the tent. After a big argument about whether we should tell or not the police about what happened at the camp, they decided to remain silent. When they finally arrived to Ponyville, they found a completely different town. Now that the journalists left the town, it was the peaceful place it was meant to be.

After a couple of hours wandering around Ponyville, they took a train to Manehattan. The journey was silent. Both were exhausted by the walk through Everfree forest and were still resented. Frost had never seen death so closely before and her face had a dismayed expression all the trip back home.

After that, things turned around pretty well. The next day he managed to be forgiven by Opal. He knew that probably Frost had something to do with that. She was the one that fixed the problems between both of them when they were fillies and colts. Some things don’t change.

Crimson turned the water valve again, clearing the shampoo from his mane. He stayed under the stream for a while, relaxing. He had to go to Opal’s shop today to start working. He knew he would hate that work. Opal had some success selling her jewels to some stuck up ponies of Canterlot a couple of years ago, and since that moment her jewels had became objects of desire around Equestria. That meant he would have to deal with the thing he hated most every single day: Posh ponies. He shivered at that thought.

After drying his coat and mane thoroughly he stepped to the living room. It looked completely different, with all the books organized now in the shelves all around the living room. He also had to place books in many other places. Drawers, wardrobes, closets… They were all filled with books now. At that moment, it reminded Crimson of the Ponyville’s library, but at a much smaller size. He looked at the clock that hanged from the wall. He had a couple of hours left until having to head to Opal’s.

He laid on the sofa, staring at the only book that hadn’t been place in a shelf. On the coffee table laid the damned logbook. As he arrived to Manehattan, he thought of just burning it and forgetting forever what he read, going to the academy and begging the pardon of Copper, starting a new life in which he just accepted what came, and agreed with a fake smile on his face . He knew he wouldn’t be able to cope with that and, after a couple of hours thinking while he ordered his vast collection of books, he started to read the logbook again.

The author really took his time describing the battle at Philopolis. Since the first skirmish at the frontier, the inhabitants of the city had only a couple of weeks to prepare for the siege. Everypony that didn’t work in the defence plans worked in the fields, trying to get as much provisions as possible… The attack took place sooner than expected, a week later, but they were prepared. Though they made plans and did their best to set up a competent defence around the city, they couldn’t expect what came over them.

The city was distributed in three levels, each one surrounded by a wall. As Celestia brought too many pegasi to be dealt with in open aerial battle, three magical shields were set, each one around a different level of the city. Each of those shields would be controlled by a group of unicorns that would feed them with magic through the battle. It was decided that each level would have its own defence force, being the biggest one the one designated to defend the first level. There was also decided to set a strike force that would go where help was needed. They expected to be besieged from every direction, so they decided that as soon as a level fell, it would be abandoned. They wanted to spend the lesser lives in a guerrilla war among the streets. Crimson couldn’t help but wonder where all this logical approach to the defence of the city came from. As far as this book let him know, ponies had barely any experience neither in war tactics nor in warfare. Some of the surviving ponies from the first skirmish, the author among them, volunteered to defend the main gate of the city, where the hardest strike was expected.

Though the planning made seemed solid, Crimson was surprised by how the battle started. Once Celestia’s army was seen approaching, ponies were gathered inside the city and the magical barriers were set up.

The enemy army tried to penetrate through the main gate into the city, and the gross of the forces was sent there for defence. This was only a distraction though, as an infiltrate group got to the unicorns casting the magical defences over the first level and slew them. This made the battle for the first level a massacre. As the pegasi flew through the broken magical barrier, they cut any possible retreat to the second level, leaving the forces of the first level trapped into what they wanted to avoid, a bloody battle for each street of the city. When the main door fell, the few survivors had to retreat, not without a high amount of casualties in the process, to the second level. The slaughter made in the first level was described so graphically by the author that Crimson almost threw up.

After a couple of days of battle, the unicorns in the second level were unable to hold the magical shielding, besieged by the enemy magic. This time the fall was expected, and the Philopolis’ pegasi flew to battle the enemy. This was a desperate try to barely get time to organise a retreat to the third and last level, and it worked fairly well, but the casualties were too high. After the fall of the second level, the moral was low. The streets of the third level were full of refugees. The explosions lighted the streets every few seconds, showing the fearful faces of every pony as each magical strike made the last magical barrier tremble and made them lose their hope.

One passage of the book was written with specially rough writing, as if the author just needed to go fast over it, even though he didn’t want to.

Their faces were hopeless and their eyes were full of desperation. The main street of the third level was full of refugees and injured ponies. Some of them were slowly covered with white blankets as soon as they gave their last breath, dying because of the wounds caused either by swords, lances, horns or magic. There was no mercy, there was no hope. I just couldn’t stand it.

I was the commander of the left defences at that moment, but I couldn’t manage it. The massacre was so horrid. My rage clouded my reason, and I directed it against the only being I could blame for anything at all; Luna.

I headed to the palace, followed by several “soldiers” that claimed my attention. They spoke, but I didn’t hear them. I focused myself in my own rage. The parliament’s entry was guarded by a few Luna’s guards that tried to stop me, but my actual position granted me free access everywhere. I went through several staircases until I arrived to the last floor, where Luna had her chamber. I slammed the door with my hoofs, and entered the private chamber. It was almost empty, sober in any kind of decorations or luxury. When she said she wanted to be part of our rebellion, to be one of us, she meant it. A wooden library and a desk were the only furniture apart from the bed.

She was looking through the window, being her face occasionally enlightened by the magical explosions that crashed against the force shield. Her expression was emotionless, but her eyes couldn’t lie to me. She was suffering, and I understood it, but what I didn’t understand was her passivity.

This conversation was especially important, so I’ll let you, reader, judge my actions by yourself. As I said at the beginning of this story, I regret nothing.

“Luna! We need your help! The last ring of the city shall fall to the enemy if you don’t react!”

She just turned around slowly and kept staring at me.

“Say something! Just don’t stand still! Say something!” I said with all my rage.

I’ve gone through this memory so many times…

She stood there for what seemed to be an eternity, motionless. After that she sighed and started approaching me. When she finally was in front of me, she lowered her head until she faced me. Though I was tall for the standard unicorn, she still was huge in comparison.

“I’m sorry commander Star, but I gave up any kind of violence since…”

“Don’t! Don’t dare to try to excuse yourself! There are other ways you could help! We don’t need you to kill anypony. Just help and reinforce the shield! Or send your guards to protect our citizens! Just move from here!”

She flinched a bit as I approached yelling at her. I was so angry that I couldn’t reason clearly. I was just mentally exhausted. She took no time to recompose herself, and her expression changed back to something I didn’t see since long ago; Royal indignation.

“How can thou dare to speak us like that!? We have done for this country all that we could, but our intervention would mean a massacre beyond your imagination. That would give our sister a reason to intervene herself!”

Her tone changed to the traditional royal voice to refer to me. It was quite frightening, but I was far too angry to flinch. Instead I charged again with my last argument.

“Seems like the princess is back… Well your majesty, you must know that if you don’t contribute, all what you achieved with your sister will crack and fall! The peace, the freedom, the knowledge… Everything will turn to dust!”

Indignant by my answer, she wouldn’t tolerate my presence any more.

“We have made our final decision! Commander Star, thou should leave this room. We need to reflect on more important matters.”

She turned around arrogantly and at that moment I lost any control of myself. I had to convince her to do something, even if it had to be the hard way. I prepared my horn with a memory spell. I would channel all my memories of the battle for every ring of the city. They were three days of massacres, rapes and foals crying in front of their dead parents. For a moment I felt sorry for what she was going to see.

“Luna, you leave me no other choice…” I said as I ran toward her at full speed.

She turned around just to see me flying toward her with my horn glowing. She had no time to react, so I was able to tackle her to the floor and to start to cast the spell. After a couple of minutes of painful shrieks, the spell faded and Luna calmed down. She seemed so fragile at that moment, as a single tear ran down her cheek.

“You have seen all this… And still you are able to recompose yourself and direct the defence?” She asked. Her tone was normal now.

“I’m sorry Luna. You had to understand.”

“I… I have a lot to think about commander. Take my guards with you, I will tell them to follow your orders without hesitation.”

I left the room unsatisfied by her answer, but if that didn’t convince her of helping, nothing would do. A few moments later, the captain of the Luna’s guard approached, telling me that I would take absolute control of his men. They were exceptionally well trained ponies, but only a hundred. Better than nothing…

The next days could be described as a constant bombardment. Celestia’s army wanted to crash our shield as soon as possible to get inside the third ring of the city. Shifts were organised so every unicorn able to contribute in the maintenance of the shield did so. Even though this granted that we would be able to maintain the shield almost indefinitely, hunger started to spread through the streets.

We wouldn’t have been able to resist the siege much longer, so we started to plan the evacuation of the city. We would use the portal to teleport outside the walls to the northern region, were we would organise our resistance, but that would mean we would have to lower the shield. Nothing would be able to teleport inside or outside while it was up. The portal was within the walls of the parliament, so it would be relatively easy to defend for a while. I took the few unicorns that wouldn’t be needed to maintain the shield and headed to the parliament. I communicated the captain of the Luna’s guard to organise the retreat as efficiently as possible, and to lend me the men he could spare. We would make the last stand.

When everything was prepared I returned to Luna’s chambers and we spoke long. She would help us against her sister. She couldn’t tolerate this suffering, she would not. But she knew this battle was already lost, so she offered to help in the defence of the portal while everypony evacuated. Knowing this, I ordered that the shields were lowered and that the defence started. The fight lasted for another day. Due to the planning, the casualties were lower than expected, but abandoning Philopolis was hard for everyone. The city had been a beacon of hope for anypony who believed in freedom and now, it was being torn apart and fallen to our enemy. Luckily we lived to fight another day.

Crimson raised his eyes from the book and looked to the clock. It was time to leave.

He knew he was going to hate that job…

The day went through slowly. Though the jewellery was pretty famous, it wasn’t common that more than a dozen of clients stepped through the door each day, so Crimson had plenty of time to reflect about Black Claw’s words. Only one thing snapped him out of his state of absorption was a young couple that got inside the jewellery almost at closing time. This doesn’t mean he didn’t take care of other clients, just that he wasn’t interested about their concerns. They just spoke about how this exhibition was going to be, if the party they threw would succeed, etc. He heard enough of that back in Canterlot.

“Welcome to Opal’s jewellery, my name is Crimson, how may I help you?” Crimson said with a smile, not fake for once.

Opal leaned her head out from the back shop. When she saw the couple, she slowly walked outside.

“I’ll handle this Crimson. It’s late, you should go home.” Opal said smiling. She had been out for a couple of hours, so he was a bit startled when she sneaked out from the back store. He didn’t even notice her arrival. Anyway, he was far too tired to try to discover where she had been, so he just nodded and went to the back store. The back store was basically a little office. The room walls were barely lighted by a small crystal that hanged from a half peeled wire. Beneath it was an old desk, a bit eaten away by the unstoppable flow of time, and an old armchair. It was almost unbelievable that it was the office of the owner of one of the most successful jewelleries in Manehattan. The only thing that would make anyone think that valuable products were sold here was the huge strongbox that where Opal kept the most valuable jewels, almost invisible, hidden by the darkness in a corner. At the right side of the room there was a security door that leads to a nearby alley. Probably Opal sneaked in through here.

Crimson stepped out, smoothly closing the door behind him. His breath formed small clouds of steam in front of it. The temperature outside dropped quite a lot at dusk. It was fall anyway. It was curious how the Everfree forest didn’t reflect the stations anyhow, but in Manehattan the weather was starting to get colder. Crimson played creating more of these small clouds of steam while he was absorbed by his thoughts. After a while, he started to get cold. He put on his vest and took out his pipe. Some of the tobacco that Zecora gave him for the trip was just what he needed right now… With a gentle drag Crimson lighted the tobacco, enjoying its flavour.

Crimson was too concentrated on each breath he took while he smoked to notice that from the shadows of the alley a zebra approached him stealthily. Crimson noticed her when she came into the light that the single crystal over the door faintly emitted. Their eyes locked in a stare that lasted for an eternity. She wore an intense red vest and a lot of golden bracelets on each leg. She had a coat similar to Zecora’s, but her stripes were more spaced between them. She had her tail completely braided. As she approached Crimson he could see the bright yellow coloured eyes staring directly at him. How was she able to walk that silently while carrying all that jewellery on her?

“Uhh… Hello?”

No answer came from the zebra that instead kept staring at Crimson. As he started to feel pretty uncomfortable, she just turned around fading into the shadows, not without telling Crimson to follow her with a gesture of her hoof. Crimson didn’t react. His mind was filled with the words that Black Claw told him before disappearing inside a flash of magic.

“Follow the stripes…” Crimson murmured to himself.

He stood frozen under the faint light of Opal’s backdoor. Inside his mind, two ideas fought intensely. He knew what Black Claw was capable of to achieve his objectives, but Crimson was intrigued by his words. What could he possibly know that lead him not only to face Celestia’s reign, but to kill other ponies? For once in his life, doubts assaulted his mind. He had never been so doubtful when the time came to discover anything. His curiosity had always been his best virtue and his worst flaw, but it always won in this situations. This was definitely not like him…

After some seconds of doubt he overcame his fear and decided to follow the zebra. He started to trot blindly into the shadows. A moment later his eyes got accustomed to the darkness. He was barely able to see the zebra turning around the corner, heading into one of the main streets of Manehattan. Crimson started to trot faster, fearful of loosing the zebra among the crowd. Even though it was late, Manehattan’s main streets were always crowded. Fortunately the zebra walked with a calm pace and he was able to catch up.

For an hour the zebra walked through the streets of Manehattan, slowly moving away from the city center. The streets began to turn silent until the only noise heard was the slight hoofsteps sound Crimson made. When he realised that the zebra wasn’t making any noise at all, he couldn’t avoid thinking that perhaps she was just a hallucination, provoked by stress. Even though he was immersed in these thoughts, he just kept following her. It seemed so real, and everything made sense in his head. She was leading him to Black Claw. She had to…

Crimson started laughing hysterically. Perhaps he was mad all along…

The atmosphere started to get denser as they approached the outskirts. Crimson hadn’t realised where they were heading until the strong and rotten stench of the Manehattan’s docks struck his nose. The buildings have turned into gigantic warehouses and factories. Crimson stood still, absently looking to the floor, as he remembered the promise he made to Frost not that long ago…

As everything turned silent, the zebra turned her head, assuring that Crimson was there. With a loud stomp on the floor that echoed everywhere in the silent street, she woke Crimson from his reverie. Crimson smiled, he definitively wasn’t daydreaming.

“I’m sorry Frost, but I can’t hold my curiosity…” Crimson murmured.

The zebra approached one of the doors of the several warehouses that crowded the docks. It was guarded by a single dark blue coated pegasus that wore a black vest and sunglasses. As the zebra got close, like responding to an invisible sign, he just nodded and opened the door, allowing us to get inside the warehouse. When Crimsons eyes got accustomed to the low light, he found himself in a short corridor. On the other side of it, a large metallic door, with rivets all along its surface, blocked the way. The zebra approached and indicated Crimson to follow her again. Effortlessly the zebra pushed the door and opened it, letting the room be flooded with the thing could have less expected.

The beat of the bass resounded inside his chest and the laser lights blinded him as he stepped inside the warehouse. The place was enormous. To the right, an enormous scenario with a gigantic screen on its back, projecting somehow psychedelic images. On the scenario, two ponies dressed in black jumpsuits were behind a DJ soundboard, surrounded by high towers of amplifiers. Each of them wore a mask that projected somehow the same images that were projected on the screen.

On the other side, over a platform surrounded with several staircases, a bar was run by a couple of ponies that frenetically served drinks to the crowd surrounding them. Nearby, on the same platform, Crimson saw some cushions surrounding low tables that likely were reserved seats, far away and rising over the chaos that the middle of the dancefloor was. There, the crowd of ponies moved rhythmically over the cloud of smog that covered their hoofs, dancing with the music. Several smaller platforms were scattered on the dancefloor, each one used by go-go ponies that danced in a perfectly measured choreography, creating an amazing sight.

Suddenly, a light flashed from the scenario momentarily, making Crimson’s jaw hit the floor. He raised his sight, unable to see the ceiling of the warehouse as a crowd of pegasi, comparable to the crowd on the ground, floated over him, dancing while they flew. Over the bar Crimson saw a several balconies where pegasi could rest and some of them seemed also like reserved zones. It was impressive.

The zebra tapped Crimson on his shoulder, indicating him to follow her once more. She headed to the cushions zone near the bar, skilfully dodging the ponies that danced all around her. Though Crimson wasn’t as agile as she was, he took no time to him to arrive to the cushions where the zebra now sat beside a black unicorn. Hidden in the shadows was Gren, holding with his claw the tube of a smoking pipe.

“Look who Yerith has brought here! I didn’t know if you would come, but I trusted that your curiosity would win your common sense!” He said with a mocking smile. Crimson could hear him perfectly as the music was heard in a really low volume here. Probably a sound dampening spell was used to create a more private atmosphere.

“So that’s her name… She is a mare of few words I must say”

Crimson looked back at Gren, who now leaned forward allowing Crimson to see his face. His stare was lost in infinity and his pupils so dilated that Crimson was almost unable to see the white in his eyes. Realising what Crimson was looking at, Black Claw laughed loudly.

“Don’t ever mind him, boy! He is too far away to even notice your presence. Now sit down by my side. If you are here is because you must have some questions to ask.”

Crimson turned to Black Claw and approached the cushion by his side, sitting slowly. He thought for a few seconds, trying to word perfectly the question that crept inside his head since he met the unicorn.

“If you are facing Celestia’s regime, and you are doing things such as the ones I saw to achieve it, why nopony knows of your existence? Why aren’t you pursued by the royal guard?”

“Oh boy, you thought about this a lot, don’t you? Well, I must admit that that is the million bit question. But first, before answering that question, look around you and tell me what you see.”

Crimson looked around him slowly, and puzzled by the unicorn’s question ,he analysed every single pony he had in sight. He didn’t know what he was supposed to look for anyway, so he just answered the obvious.

“Well, I see ponies dancing and having fun. Does that have anything to do with Celestia anyway?”

“Oh, I thought you were smarter boy. Think a bit. Where are we?”

Crimson looked around him again. They were inside a warehouse with a gigantic sound dampening spell protecting the sound from going outside, with a guard outside in one of the recently built industrial zones, where the police has few control of what happens… Crimson’s eyes lit a bit as he got what Black Claw meant.

“This is illegal right?”

“Bingo!” Black Claw said with a smile. His horn glowed in a dark blue colour as he floated his drink to his lips and finished it with a long gulp. The drink had a fluorescent glow, produced by the black light emitted by several lamps inside the reserved area. Turning around he sought the waiter. When their eyes locked, he shook his hoof indicating the waiter to approach them. As soon as he approached Black Claw floated the empty glass toward him.

“Good night gentlecolt! Would you mind bringing me and my friend a couple of those fluorescent drinks! They are so delicious…”

The waiter nooded ,floated the empty glasses over the table and swiftly headed to the bar, disappearing among the crowd.

“You still haven’t answered my question.”

“Patience. You will not worth the effort of telling you anything if you aren’t smart to find out a couple of simple things. Now tell me, what all these ponies may have in common?” Black Claw said in a steady tone that Crimson found even offensive.

Crimson laid back in the cushion thinking again. This challenge was something he would not fail. Could it be that they liked electronic music? Crimson shook his head, knowing that answer was simply stupid. There had to be something more…

“They all know this is illegal, but still come. They are defying Celestia’s will by coming here.” Crimson said, after thinking for a few seconds.

“I knew you wouldn’t let me down, boy.” Black Claw said with a mocking smile on his face. He turned his head, looking to the dancefloor. “Look at them…They are here because they want to feel the freedom of doing something different, something forbidden.”

The waiter arrived floating two of the fluorescent drinks by his side. With care, the unicorn placed both drinks over the table, and swiftly disappeared among the crowd again. Black Claw floated the drink to his lips and took a sip, clearly enjoying the flavour.

“That still doesn’t explain why you aren’t being chased by the police.”

“That it is not official it doesn’t mean it isn’t happening. I’ve been chased by her agents for longer than you could ever imagine. That also explains why she wants this to remain secret. If anypony discovered that someone is able to avoid her so called “justice”, her moral superiority could tremble.”

“I thought that everypony was happy with Celestia’s reign…Why would she care about one opponent?”

“ Because she is facing a real risk of revolution. There are some cities that are seeking their independence. Also, other ponies are starting to silently rise against the ban on technological development. She is trying to keep the existence of dissidents, our existence, as a secret.”

Black Claw stood up, floating the drink by his side, surrounded by a dark blue glow. Approaching the sound dampening barrier, he turned around to Crimson

“Look at this place. This isn’t just a forbidden disco. Advanced crystal technology is used almost in every loudspeaker, beatbox and light here. Even the masks of the dj’s use it. Everything was developed in secret, all done by ponies that wanted to take their knowledge further than what Celestia allows. It is a glorious symbol of rebelliousness.”

“And if ponies are rebelling this way on their own, why are you here? What is your labour here?” Crimson asked, trying to catch Black Claw’s attention again.

“I’m a guide. As I said to you back in the ruins, they need someone that makes their vision of Celestia as a goddess tremble and crash. Ponies are fearful, they are rebelling silently, on their own. To take this rebellion to a higher level they need a trigger, something that makes them gather and fight for what they believe, and that’s what I’ll give them.”

“And what will that trigger be?”

“Once the moment arrives, you will know. The question is… Will you join us?”

“You expect me to join you after what I saw in the ruins? After seeing the corpses of the ponies you slew mercilessly?”

“I never call upon a pony that I know will directly reject my offer. I’ve investigated you…”

Suddenly a folder appeared from beneath the cushion. It was a common brown folder, full of papers, with Crimson Zephyr written in a white etiquette.

“This is from the Academy archive. From what I have read you have always hated the bureaucracy and limited vision of the Canterlot ponies, but still you worked with them. You brought knowledge from countries that some of them bureaucrats wouldn’t even dare to approach. I’ve read some of your reports on those trips, and there you said you found places that would rival with their natural beauty the most wonderful buildings of Canterlot. You have travelled further than many ponies and seen many things. You could have stayed in those places, but you still return here. Why?”

“Well, my life is here…”

“That’s not the only reason, and you know it.”

Crimson bit his lip. When he was younger he always dreamt of being someone important, someone that discovered something that changed Equestria forever. With this in mind, he left Manehattan and headed to Canterlot. There he discovered how limited was the influence other cultures had over Equestria’s culture itself, and he decided to focus on that. He thought that ideas brought from other countries would help Equestria’s development for sure. As the years passed, he found that Equestria’s cultural isolation came from back in time, so he decided to become an archaeologist. In the end, everything that he did followed a single purpose…

“I returned because I thought my discoveries could make them change their mind. To open Equestria to exterior influence, to make it advance somehow…”

“And there it is… The only fact that stops the opening of this country to the outside is Celestia. You realised that not too long ago, when all you investigations from the zebra land were seized because they were ‘dangerous’ for the equestrian society. I’ve got them here too if you want them.” He said as he floated another folder. On this folder could be read in red capitol letters ‘SECRET’.

“How were you able to get all this? It almost impossible to infiltrate in the Academy archives… If you read what’s inside that folder you must know I already tried.” Said Crimson stunned. He couldn’t believe it! Black Claw had recovered all his studies about zebra’s land and culture. He thought they would have been burnt soon after their seizing, but they were in front of him.

“That’s not relevant right now… The only thing that matters right now is, will you fight for what you believe, or will you become numb in your new life, working in that jewellery until your life loses all its sense?”

Crimson pictured the image in his mind. He, growing older, while everything around him remained still, conserved by Celestia like it always was. He knew that Celestia’s recent permissiveness with the technological development was a result of years of pressure by the richest business ponies of Canterlot. But everything had a limit, and Celestia wouldn’t allow changes that weren’t beneficial to her intentions. Everything would remain the same in the end…

“I… I-I must think about it…”

“We aren’t that different boy. The only difference is that I am ready to do what it takes to free this country. When the moment comes, I hope you are ready too”

Black Claw crossed the magical sound dampening barrier, disappearing inside the crowd. Meanwhile Gren stood up from the cushion approaching Crimson slowly, stumbling, jet recovering from the strong zebra herbs he had smoked.

“Perhaps you want to follow him. You wouldn’t like to miss the show don’t you?” Gren said. His eyes were still red, but at least the white in his eyes was visible.

“What show?” Crimson asked, intrigued by the griffin’s words.

“Oh, you will see… I’m not on the mood of explaining it to you right now, just go to the dancefloor and you will see.”

Crimson got outside the magical barrier and was surprised by what he saw. The ponies on the dancefloor were opening a path for Black Claw to arrive to a circle opened in middle of the dancefloor.

Suddenly the music was lowered and a voice rose over all the murmurs of the ponies inside the disco.

“Welcome, ladies and gentlecolts! My name is Black Claw, and I’m your host tonight! Are you having fun?!” He said with an amplified voice, similar to the one Crimson heard Luna use once in Canterlot.

Everypony shouted in agreement and started to stomp the floor. Black Claw raised his hoof, trying to calm everypony. When everyone was silent again, he kept with his speech.

“I’m glad to hear that. We are here tonight, because we want things to change! Because the time for repression and restriction is over! We are the ponies that shall free this land from the chains of a dictatorial regime. No pony should be persecuted because he wants to increase our knowledge nor because he thinks in a different way! The time to change that has come!”

The crowd shouted again, this time raising their hoofs in the air. Crimson could feel the passion of Black Claw’s speech. This passion got to every other pony in the disco, that started to dance following the rhythm of the background music.

“Soon, we will able to change things, but tonight we shall dance! We will dance to celebrate what is to come and to remind ourselves that we are FREE!”

With that last phrase Black Claw stood up on his hinderlegs and started to wave his forelegs, cheering up the ponies that surrounded him. The roar started to grow as everypony started to shout and stomp. With a slight glow of his horn, Black Claw started to levitate, rising over the crowd.

“Let the music guide your body tonight!”

When he said this, the two djs on the scenario let the music be heard again as loud as before.

“I love this part…” An unknown voice said from behind Crimson. He turned around to find Yerith. The zebra’s voice was sweet and harmonious, but she wasn’t speaking to him, she was just thinking out loud. Her stare was locked on Black Claw, whose body was starting to glow with the same dark blue light his horn did. Suddenly the lights of the disco started to faint, as the coloured lights started to flow out of them like tentacles, surrounding Black Claw’s body. The dark blue glow over his body was substituted by the glow of the liquid substance that was starting to cover him. When he was completely covered all the lights turned off. Only his body glew in the darkness of the disco, covered with every colour at the same time, mixing over his body in psychedelic patterns. In front of the astonished ponies, he started to descend to the floor.

Yerith pushed Crimson aside as she rushed to the dancefloor, dodging everypony as skilfully as before on her way to the circle opened in the middle of the crowd. A minute later, she was in front of Black Claw, who had descended finally to the floor. Now standing on four hoofs, the colourful figure stomped the floor with strength. The glowing liquid that covered his coat started to spread slowly over the floor. With a hoof Yerith touched the liquid, that stuck on her coat. She raised her hoof, and slowly closed her eyes as the liquid slowly started to cover her coat too, making her glow in the same way Black Claw did.

The crowd stared at the scene, stunned, watching the zebra slowly being covered by the strange substance. Everypony was frozen. After a few seconds, one pony from the crowd approached the pool of glowing liquid that still exuded from Black Claws body, and touched it too, starting to get covered as well in the strange substance. After that, he started touching other ponies that got their coats covered too. Soon, almost everypony was covered by the glowing, stunned by the weird sensation that went all over their coats. With a nod of Black Claw, the dj ponies turned the lights on again. Soon everypony was dancing again, covered by the surrealistic substance.

Having done this, Black Claw left the crowd. The substance slowly turned into a colourful vapour as he got outside the crowd, now focused on dancing and enjoying the warmth of the glowing liquid.

Black Claw approached Crimson, who stood over the crowd amazed.

“This is freedom and hope, Crimson. This kind of magic is forbidden by Celestia, guess why…” He said as he headed to the reserved area. Turning his head before entering the sound dampening barrier he stared at Crimson “You should join the crowd. The spell only lasts for a some hours and I’m a bit tired to answer more questions. Enjoy yourself.”

Crimson looked at the crowd beneath and over him. Several pegasi started to spread the liquid among the pegasi flying over his head making the ceiling look like the sky of the night covered by northern lights. Suddenly he saw an imposing figure approaching. It was Gren.

“You have the same priceless face I had when I first saw it, boy…” He shouted over the music.

“What is that liquid?”

“He calls it flowing light. You should try it, the first time you feel a warm heat over your skin and a limitless joy. With time and use however, like with many other drugs, it looses its effect.” Gren said with a melancholic tone in his voice.

Crimson approached one of the ponies among the crowd and touched his coat, covered with the glowing liquid. It was sticky and warm. As soon his hoof separate from the body of the other pony, the liquid began spreading over his body. He felt joyful, more than he ever had before. His mind raced across his happiest memories as his body started to move with his own will at the rhythm of music. As he lost control of himself, one memory locked in his mind. He saw Frost under the moonlight inside the ruins. He smiled widely and allowed the last remains of his will to succumb to the uncontrollable desire of dancing.