A City's Understanding

The night was surprisingly quiet as we wandered through the hollow streets. An occasional carriage rode peacefully on the cobblestone, its driver often shrouded in the darkness. I found the darkness unusual as on the Royal Grounds, one could still see well with the street lamps. I then noticed that the lamps here were turned off, every one of them. It piqued my curiosity instantly.

"Why are the lights off?"

Turner ruffled his coat before speaking. "Curfew. The Royals sent their Guards to enforce the new curfew, but as you see, there are many who are still up."

Indeed there were. As we went deeper into the city, the more and more rebels emerged from the gray backgrounds. We were in the East Sector of the capital, most likely in the Epsilon District as the buildings were not in the best of shape, but not terrible either. Actually, there were plenty of pleasant sights that reminded me of my former home. All the shops were closed of course, but their bright signs and bold letters were symbols of a happier time.

Unlike the day before, I did not see or hear any gunfire. In all honesty, I would say that a rebellion was not taking place by what I saw. There was trash everywhere and debris, yes, but it was not on a the scale that one would expect. Men laughed on the street corners, most of them with old rifles tucked under their arms. Show girls enticed the vigilant men into the few open taverns and saloons. Most of the hints of war remained hints.

None paid us much attention until one bald fellow approached us with a palm facing us. He had a carbine slung over his shoulder and a pistol holstered on his hip. He wore a long gray unbuttoned coat that swayed with his quick steps. A purple bandana with an equal sign has wrapped around his right arm. He reached us and halted our progress.

"Oi!" He spatted with a cockney accent. "I've not seen ya fe'ows before! State yer business. Ar' ya Union'sts?"

Turner nudged me back. "Indeed sir. Equality to all and favor to none."

"G'night then." The Unionist nodded his head and passed us by without another word.

I waited for the fellow to be out of ear shot before whispering to the Assassin. "What was that about?"

"Unionist password." Turner explained. "The parties use them to distinguish friend from foe."

"I thought the Unionists were about worker wages and safety, not equality." I said.

"They still are, but their views on the matter have changed. Isaac Benjamin, the man who founded the party, was removed from the top position when Lady Sabrina Garner forcibly took it from him. The woman wants to reform not only the workers' wages, but also the economy and establish social equality by removing the social ladder. She calls herself an Equalist."

"She's also half-Eastern." Sunny jumped in. "Her mother was a poor Easterner and her father was a wealthy Canterlotian.  And you know how stubborn Equestrians are about having foreign blood in leadership positions, so just imagine her persuasion skills."

"If you call a punch to the lips 'persuasion.'" Turner mumbled.

Sunny pointed at a poster. "Speaking of the devil..."

The Assassin pointed at the poster, which was in the center of a bright ray of moonlight. It was a very large poster, stretching from the top of the store it hung from almost to the sidewalk. On it was a colored drawing of a woman with long purple hair and teal highlights. The woman was clearly Eastern with her skin tone and bright purple thin eyes. A bright, almost creepy smile was on her bold red lips, displaying no teeth but still showcasing a blissfulness like no other. A small and round nose accompanied her unusually high cheekbones, reminding me of a ferret. She wore a long formal pink dress with a hard bustle in the back. No hat adorned her well-groomed head and white lady gloves covered her thin fingers. The hands gently clutched a long, spiraling wooden cane with no handle. The drawing was frighteningly realistic. Underneath her was white text that said "Equality is the Path to Happiness!" and beneath that was a smaller text that read "Spread the Word. Join the Unionists!"

"How long has she been in control?" I asked.

"Coming up on a year now. Benjamin is still with the party, but he no longer has any real power over his followers."

Turner fell silent as if he cut his own sentence off. We all still gazed at the poster, every second making it more ominous and foreboding. It was the most colourful image around the gray and black streets, but it was also the scariest. Its uniqueness made it stand out tremendously so that all had to at least glance at it.

Sunny hummed in boredom and started to walk away without a word. Turner and I followed, leaving the poster where it was. The smile of the Unionist leader remained in my head for hours afterward.

"We would be on the roofs if I didn't have these stitches." Sunny complained.

"Even then, we would have to stay on the streets for Miss Belle." Turner mentioned.

"I can climb buildings!" I stated. "I'm not as hindering as you may think Dr. Turner."

"Yeah, but not without making yourself look like you just fell into a thorn tree." Sunny mocked.

"That was because of my shoes." I reminded her. "Why that never happens to you is beyond me."

"My heels are reinforced with steel. It makes them a little heavier, but they don't snap. But like I said, I only wear these boots because of today's fashion. Assassins need to hide in plain sight and making a huge fashion statement won't do that. That's why you get all the attention."

"I see your point." I grumbled.

The sounds of shouting echoed loudly through the alleys as we approached a plaza. The plaza was illuminated with the torches an angry crowd swung about. The three of us stood by in the shadows as we inspected the event in front of us. From the purple sashes on the people's arms, I could tell they were all Unionists. The men and women were shouting at a squad of Royal Guards who pointed their large carbines aggressively at the rioters. A Royal Guard Legate, in his red and silver armour, gestured at the mob to disperse.

"It is four hours past ya curfew!" He yelled. "Into ya homes now!"

"We don't take orders from you Loyalist bastards!" A Unionist shouted back.

"Go back to yer palace scum!" Another mocked.

The Legate stomped his massive metal boot into the cobblestone, creating both large cracks in the stones and a wave of dust. His black eyes reflected the fires from the torches, giving him a demonic appearance. The other Guards held their carbines up, waiting for a rioter to make a sudden move.

"I won't tell ya again!" The Legate warned. "Disperse or we we will force ya to disperse."

"Oh yeah?" One Unionist laughed. "I'd like to see you try."

The Legate growled through his steel mask. The mob pressed upon them, some throwing bricks at them, making horrid clangs when they brushed against the armour. The Royal Guards did not fire though and held their ground.

Suddenly, heavy metal steps could be heard approaching from the other side of the plaza. The Legate turned quickly to see three armoured suits walk out of the shadows. Their armour was similar, but much thicker and with larger pauldrons. The biggest difference was the colour. The new arrivals wore black with bright purple bands around their arms.

"Who are you?" The Legate demanded. "It's illegal to where such armour and not be in the Royal Guard!"

The black exo-suits did not reply verbally, but did show their carbines. The mob fell to the cobblestone, covering their heads. In the next moment, the black exo-suits fired their guns at the Royal Guards. The Guards returned fire and a firefight commenced.

Both sides held their ground as the bullets reflected off their armour. I thought it would be a stalemate until one Guard fell over, making a sound similar to a massive tree falling in the woods. The juggernauts fired bullets ceaselessly at each other. Another Guard fell close to his comrade. The black attackers marched forward, letting their armour soak up the screaming bullets. The Legate fell. Another Guard fell. The last two began to run but fell before they exited the plaza. The attackers lifted their carbines to the sky in triumph.

The mob stood up and cheered. It was only now that I saw the Unionist equal sign on the chests of the armoured rebels. I turned to see both Turner and Sunny stunned by the event. The Assassins glanced at me with anxiety.

"I don't know where the Unionists could have acquired such technology." Turner gasped.

"Yeah, they weren't like this before." Sunny groaned.

They then started to walk toward the cheering mob. I hesitated to follow, but I wanted to stay close to my allies and thus I ran after them. All this time, only the Royal Guard used exo-suits. Now these lowly Unionists had them. The factory where they were built was on the Royal Grounds, far out of any rebel's reach. As we approached the mob, I thought of who could have made the suits. The armour was different as well, bigger and far less sleek than the Royal Guards' standard armour. I then stopped upon realising what could be the answer.

"They have Twilight..." I uttered aloud.

I repeated the words again. They had Twilight! It could be the only logical answer to this. She would never do such a thing willingly. Being forced to make weapons for the rebels was such a horrid fate. I gasped and ran to the Assassins, tugging their sleeves.

"They have Twilight!" I told them in a loud whisper.

The two did not stop but looked back at me in clear confusion. Turner returned his gaze to the Unionists, but I knew he was thinking of what I had just said.

"Who is this Twilight?" He asked.

"Twilight Armour. She's a young scientist and engineer."

"Armour? Like Shindrick Armour?" Sunny questioned.

"That's her brother." I told them.

"How do you know they have her?" Turner asked.

"Those suits. Master Patsi told me she was working on new battle exo-suits. These are them. Twilight is a Loyalist, she would never make them for Unionists unless forced to."

We stopped in front of the mob. The armoured suits were now surrounded by cheering people. None took notice of us. The people were all congratulating the men in the suits. Apparently this was some grand revealing of the Unionist technology and it was successful.

"Hey mate!" Turner called to a Unionist. "What's with this?"

A Unionist man separated himself from the crowd. "We just repelled an attack from the Royal Guard! They now know they can't just walk over us." His voice was high-pitched with excitement.

The crowd started to settle down when a carriage arrived. There were four more of Twilight's suits guarding said carriage. The three of us shifted with the crowd and watched the carriage carefully. It stopped in the middle of the bloodied plaza, almost hitting one of the dead Guards.

The carriage door opened and a man and woman walked out. The man was tall and lean with shocking blue eyes and curly brown hair. He had a handlebar mustache on his otherwise clean-shaven face. He wore all black with no hat. His countenance did not show any bit of happiness. The woman was smiling broadly. Her colours were much more exciting than his. I recognized her. She was Lady Sabrina Garner.

"Hello everyone!" She called out in a cheerful voice. "Tonight is a grand night for us all."

The crowd cheered in response, only to have her silence it with a wave of her gloved hand. "Here lies before us some fallen Guards who were loyal to the Royals. It is truly a pity that it had to be this way. For all life is precious. So we are not here to celebrate their deaths, but to celebrate our new tools for freedom!"

The crowd clapped gently before she continued. "Remember Unionists, that the Royals have oppressed us for decades. Even when I was a little girl, I heard screams from the factories and my father never brought home enough money to feed us nightly. We live awful lives here in the Capital. Can you say the same up north around the Palace? Of course not. We live in an unequal system where some live happy lives and most live horrid ones. Are we ever going to stand for this?"

The crowd gave a definitive 'no.' "I'm am glad you think this way. Tonight is the first step to equalization of this city. All of our labor and sweat and empty stomachs shall be rewarded. We now have the tools to fight back those who oppress us and those who enforce the backward thinking of an unequal society. With these suits we shall spread the wealth to everyone. None will have more than the other, none will be poor while others are wealthy, and none will be forced into a social ladder where names are worth more money than hard work."

"I told you she's mad." Turner whispered in my ear.

"She actually brings up some valid points." Sunny commented.

Lady Garner continued. "The Royals, Loyalists, and even the Nationalists will soon recognize the power of the Unionists. Even though we should regret taking the lives of others, we will not hesitate to do so. For equality is whats best for the future generations. We do this for our children and grandchildren. Do not forget this! With our unity none can stand against us! We shall march upon the Palace and burn it to the ground! Nobles will fear us and the Loyalists will join us. We are Unionists! We are the visionaries of this Industrial Era. None can stop us! We shall win through, no matter the cost!"

"I stand corrected." Sunny nodded. "She's completely mental."

"For in sameness?" Garner yelled.

"There is peace!" The crowd answered.

"In difference?"

"There is frustration!"

"Equality?"

"Is our talent!"

"In equality?"

"There is hope!"

"Equality for all."

"And favor to none!"

The man with Garner crossed his arms in annoyance. I assumed this man was Isaac Benjamin. Turner and Sunny looked at me to see what my reaction would be. I merely shrugged. I did not know what to think. Lady Garner had convinced these people to be her followers. I did not know such people existed. She was no Templar and no Assassin, yet she had the drive of either. Was she a threat? I could not tell, but with those exo-suits she was. I would have to inform Father of her if the news does not spread. However, what was truly on my mind was Twilight.

"Turner," I poked his arm. "We must get Twilight. We must save her."

"We're looking for Tirek remember?" Sunny reminded me.

"Yes, but Twilight needs our help. Please?"

Turner looked away. "I can't say no to you. Fine. We'll need to know where she is first. Best place to start would be her home. I could find some evidence there."

"I know where it is." I told him. "I'll take you to it."

"We're getting distracted." Sunny complained.

We both ignored her. The crowd was chanting something that I couldn't care less to hear. I was worried about the girl. I hardly knew her except for the times we chatted, but I felt such an urge to save her. Turner told me to "lead the way" and I made my way through the Unionist crowd.

"I see we have some guests with us tonight." Garner said in a rather harsh tone.

All eyes fell on us instantly. I tried to push my way through, but the Unionists held us all back. Soon we were surrounded by them. I, as I was a little bit taller than most of the Unionists, saw them parting like a river in the distance. The parting came closer and closer until it finally reached us. Lady Garner stood there in front of us with a bright grin reminiscent of the one she had on her poster. Her eyes stabbed us with an ill intent like no other. It clashed heavily with her joyous colours.

"Hoods." She began almost mockingly. "I remember them so well from my childhood. Crooks, thieves, and Assassins wear them. Always trying to hide their faces. You know why? Because they know what they are doing is wrong. Because they promote such heresy like freethinking without even preaching it."

"Lady Garner." Turner pointed at her. "We are no threat to you."

"Perhaps." She shrugged. "But I was not thinking about that."

"Then let us go." He demanded.

"We rather not." She gestured to the mob. "We would not shun non-Unionists. All are equal. Whether they like it or not. Sir Charles Tirek has his own Assassins, why can't I have mine?"

"We will not join you. The Brotherhood is separate from you."

"We shall see." She said casually.

With that, she turned and left. The Unionists pounced on us, keeping us from escaping. I felt my hair being pulled in every direction. Sunny stabbed a Unionist in the leg which led to her being punched by a burly man. Turner sort of accepted it all without a struggle. His only comment on it was that we "do not have time for this." We were dragged by every limb across the plaza and over the dead Guards which some were now looting from. The mob followed Lady Garner who was now singing some song I did not know. The mob joined her in this tune happily. I listened with reluctant ears.