The Son of Earth

The gently winding dirt road cut a path through the lush green forest. Trees lined either side, with bushes, shrubs, and grasses in between. Everything was painted with the darkness of night as above, the stars shone brightly. Twin points of light illuminated the path as the black vehicle rushed by. It drove through the foggy dark, its tinted windows hiding its contents. It drove down the path for some time, kicking up dust behind it, until it came to a metal gate in a wooden wall. The human sentry on top of the gate saw the car and, saluting, hit a button to open the gate. It slid back behind the wall, and the car drove in, stopping in a dirt clearing near the entrance to the fort.

The door opened, and a white hoof in a golden shoe stepped out. The Sun Princess took a step into the dirt and looked around. Many of the humans had stopped their activities to look at her; some whispered hushedly to their friends while others either knelt or just stood in silence, watching her. The minority that had continued working did so silently, hauling logs, stones, and pieces of metal to the scaffolds of buildings that lined the freshly paved streets. The sound of hammers and axes could be heard far off in the distance.

Luna exited the vehicle soon after, coming abreast of her sister. Scanning the crowd, she searched for any signs of rebellion or dissent. Satisfied with the placid expressions on the humans' faces, she began to speak. "Most loyal subjects of Equestria," she pontificated, "we have come to observe your progress with this city of yours. Please give us a tour."

One of the men, dressed in an orange safety vest and with a hammer slung over his shoulder, replied bitterly. "Oh, glorious leader," he began, speaking with his fists clenched and his face towards the ground. "I understand that you need results. But it has only been three weeks; we have barely even gotten twenty houses up, and while your people muse about their daily lives, disease, injury, and the cold have already claimed nearly ten of our own." Looking up, he spat. "If you truly cared about our well-being, you'd offer us some sort of shelter from the elements, and this blasted freezing cold night."

The blue alicorn looked slightly offended. "Dost thou not appreciate our generosity, allowing you to even live here? Would thou prefer we send you back from whence you came?"

"Luna," Celestia said, trying to get her sister's attention and stop the fight.

"It'd be better than dying in this hellhole!" shouted the man, spitting on the ground.

"Enough!" shouted one of the soldiers on the gate. He, too, was ignored.

"Then your wish shall be granted!" Luna said angrily as her horn began to glow a dark blue. She focused her mind on lifting the man into the air by his vest, and began squeezing until she felt a hoof on her back.

"Luna." Celestia said firmly. "Stop this petty argument. This man may not like us, but we must still show him our respect. He is, after all, a subject, just as much as any pony."

Luna sighed as she grudgingly lowered the man, who fell, wheezing, in a heap. "Fine. He was not worth our time anyway."

She picked out someone else from the crowd. "You!" she said, highlighting a downtrodden woman with her magic. "Show us around this petty camp of yours."

"Y... Yes, your highness," she said weakly. "Right this way."

She slowly stood up, and the plight of the humans became suddenly more obvious to the ruler. The emaciated, downtrodden, pitiful girl slowly hobbled over to the Princesses and kissed their hooves. "Please, follow me."

She led them down the main street of the city, which was lined with all sorts of industrial and construction equipment. "This--" she paused to cough, a thin trail of blood leaking out of her mouth as she did so. "This is Main Street. The capitol building is just over there," she said, weakly pointing to the frame of a massive structure. Cranes towered up, holding blocks of material by thin steel wires, slowly moving as they deposited them in place. Even in the early morning light, their gargantuan shapes were clearly visible, illuminated by red and white lights up their entire length.

The girl continued to show the two princesses down the various streets of the city, in various states of completion. Every time she coughed or tripped, Celestia would begin to ask if she was okay but was always interrupted by Luna, who had resorted to prodding the human with her horn to keep her moving.

Eventually, the sound of a vehicle coming up from behind filled the air. The two princesses and the girl stopped and looked at the dull greyish-blue shape that slowly drove by them. The driver's window of the vehicle rolled down, revealing a stout man with a thick beard behind the wheel.

"Good morning, Princesses!" he said cheerfully. Good day today, isn't it?"

"Yes it is, subject. Now move along," said Luna as she stared daggers into the man's eyes.

"Are you okay, Princess?" he said, a worried expression on his face.

"I am perfectly fine," she said calmly as her horn began to glow. "Now move along, citizen."

"Now wait just a goshdarn minute!" he said. "What's going on?"

"Move. Along." the Princess said as her horn began to glow brighter. The car rocked on its suspension slightly, but otherwise nothing happened.

"Luna. Stop this right now." Celestia was facing Luna directly, her horn also charged. "I do not know what is the matter with you today, sister, but you must stop it immediately."

"This worthless, inferior human believes himself above me! I will not tolerate dissent from such useless creatures."

The entire street went silent. The only sound that could be heard was the gentle hum of the car's motor. Celestia looked utterly shocked by the statement from her sister, while the man just stared solemnly at the dashboard. He sighed.

"If that's what you see us as, Princess, then I guess that is what we are. Goodbye." He spat out those words then sped off down the street.

"Sister, we must..."

"Luna. No. We are leaving."

"I will not --"

"Luna. Look at me."

Celestia stared at Luna, glaring daggers into the younger alicorn's soul.

"Y.. Yes, sister," Luna said defeatedly. "We shall be taking our leave." she muttered.

Celestia just nodded silently. The two alicorns flew off into the morning sky, back to their transport, just as the sun rose.

Angry shouts of protest filled the air outside of the small wooden structure that served as the city hall while the actual one was being built. Various chants filled the air, calling for some form of retaliation against the Night Princess. While most simply called for a public statement about her treatment of the humans, some called for more violent means. A small group of people were even demanding a violent revolution against the Princesses, replacing the eons-old diarchy with a human republic. David sighed as he prepared to meet the protesters.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Please!" he said as he walked out. "Keep your voices down."

"That fucking horse called us maggots!" one man shouted from somewhere off the stage. "We should show it who's boss!"

Various shouts of approval echoed throughout the mob. David sighed as he waited for them to die down before continuing. "And what of your brothers and sisters, who still remain upon the ships, waiting for their turn to come down?"

"The world will be a better place!"

"Do you truly wish to challenge our benefactors, who have provided us with a path to survival?"

"We deserve better!"

"We will get better!"

"We want it now!"

"If we try for it now, we'll all surely die!"

"It'd be better than living like this!"

"Would it?"

David's query was met with silence. When nobody pressed the issue, he assumed his most authoritative tone. "Good. Now, get back to work. We will get our next shipment of food in about three hours, and we need the landing site clear."

David sighed again. "I hate my job."