The stallions hoofsteps were quiet. The dirt beneath his hooves was dry, so that it crumbled and crunched as he walked. The rusty metal fence that surrounded the place tilted when the odd gust of wind blew. The buildings loomed dark and foreboding in front of him, shops with boarded up windows and posters of old concerts that had never been sold out.
"Sorry looking place, isn't it?" Sighed the stallion, his green eyes surveying the empty town for movement. "Yeah, it never did get put on the map of Equestria, this town?" His comrade whispered. The two guards continued walking down what once must have been the main street of the now-abandoned town. Strictly speaking, they weren't supposed to be here. Nopony was supposed to remember this town existed.
The two guards were off duty for tonight. Their armour, imbued with an illusion of white fur and blue eyes, had been left in the guard cloak room. The only things that concealed their identity, were two black cloaks and two bizarre masquerade masks- one of them, a rich dark blue and covered in sequins and light blue swirls, the other a cheery orange, with red and yellow feathers lining the edge. Despite how ridiculous they both looked, the guards walked with their backs straight, completely ignoring their appearances.
"It never did. My grandmother always said that this place was evacuated because of a super contagious disease. You heard of the Dodge Outbreak?" The stallion in the orange mask nodded. "There was a 60% mortality rate in the Dodge Outbreak. Here... there was a 90%. Apparently, there still isn't a cure, so this place has been sealed off from tourists and Equestrians and that's why it never appeared on the maps."
The stallion in the dark blue mask was taller than the stallion in orange, if only by a few centimetres. "So, you think the tip-off was a bust?" The shorter of the two muttered. The taller stallion pulled off the ludicrous blue mask with his magic and stared sharply at the other stallion. "Are you implying that my sources aren't as credible as yours?"
The second stallion pulled of his mask with his hooves and glared at the other. "Perhaps I am, Silver Clasp. Because, you know, last time you got a 'tip-off' we were attacked by a band of bandits and I had to fly you out of the place unconscious!" His blue eyes narrowed angrily.
"Oh yes, Ash Glow. But I recall that I wouldn't have been unconscious if you had read the map correctly and we had arrived in the right place!" Silver shouted.
"You lying piece of scrap metal!"
"Buck off, uncoordinated pegasus!"
"Yeah, what about the unicorn who can't do any proper magic?"
"Let's not forget the pegasus who can't fly to save his-"
"Wait. Can you hear that?"
The light gray unicorn cocked his head to the right. He nodded. "Guess this tip-off wasn't a bust then." The dark gray pegasus nodded solemnly. They put on the masks once again, trotting towards the building fro where they could hear the echoes of hoofsteps, all pretense of an argument forgotten.
The building was a shabby one in one of the dusty dark alleys off the town square. Most of it's windows were shattered or boarded up, the paint peeling off the walls in long, flaky strips. There was a steady queue waiting patiently to get in. Silver and Ash quietly joined the back of it. There was little chatter, but the sheer diversity of the queue was incredible- griffons, ponies, buffalo, zebras, what looked like a few changelings, several young dragons, and all wearing masquerade masks and cloaks of various colours and patterns. It looked like they were ready to start a multicultural parade.
The queue was receding into the recesses of the dark building quickly, and before long, both Royal Guards had stepped over the threshold and walked through the dusty corridor. No one was talking now, apart from the odd whisper; the only sounds were the nervous drawings of breathe and the sound of hooves, talons and claws on the old, partly decomposing floor boards. The whole place was in darkness. The strange company was gently shepherded into a larger space, that could only be described as a sort of auditorium. There were rows and rows of seats, all looking in one fixed direction. Ash and Silver sat at the edge of the middle row. The performance would soon start.
The dusty oil lamps all around the room flared to life, casting a dim light all over the packed auditorium. The remaining whispers of the audience were quelled. Ash budged his partner and pointed silently to where the doors were now closed. Silver Clasp nodded. They wouldn't need a stewardess to help them find the nearest emergency exits.
A figure was standing upon the small stage in front of them. Draped in a white cloak and wearing a black grinning cat-mask, it was impossible to tell the gender of the pony. And the figure began to speak. "I expect that you are all wondering why I have asked you to come here dressed as if attending a masquerade."
"Shit, " whispered Ash. It was impossible to tell the gender by the voice- there must have been a 'warble' spell over the mask. The voice was slightly static and echoed around the room impressively. A microphone beneath the mask along with a warbler on it- the pony came prepared. "Well, I trust that you all understand that when discussing information of sensitive nature we all have a right to remain anonymous. These masks are a tribute to the people of this town." The figure took a deep breath, and began to slowly pace the stage.
"Sixty years ago- the 941st Summer Sun Celebration. In this town, Blackberry Rushes, a new highly contagious and deadly disease was found. As expected, the victims were quarantined- what was not expected however, was that all the ponies who had not yet caught the disease were not allowed to leave or seek sanctuary in other places. So the victims of this plague wore masquerade masks to warn the ponies who did not have the disease to keep away. " The figure touched the black mask with a hoof. "However, a cure was soon developed for this- it spread around Equestria, and all the victims that were still alive were cured. But not all.
"The town of Blackberry Rushes lay forgotten, wiped off the map, it's citizens trapped inside a metal cage of despair and loneliness. They did not walk out of their town for fear of contaminating others, as they were not aware of the cure. Commmunication to the world was cut off. The railway lines removed. The living population of a once bustling town dwindled to the single digits. You may ask, 'But why does this matter? How is this relevant?'"
A few masks in the audience nodded. The figure continued.
"I will tell you why. Because here in front of you is the last citizen of Blackberry Rushes!"
A collective murmuring started in the audience. "An old pony sure puts on a good speech," Whispered Ash. "Not necessarily old. Could've been just telling the history of the town, they weren't necessarily there when it happened." Silver replied. "Good point," Ash added.
Once the chatter died down once more, the pony resumed their speech.
"But I am not alone here. Changelings, you have been deprived of your primary source of food. Buffalo, your land has been taken from you without your consent. Griffons and Zebras, you have been forced from your homelands because of the demands of these tyrannical rulers. Dragons, reduced to mere beasts. Ponies, the hierarchy of alicorns, unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies- are all of you content with that?"
Murmurs.
"How many times did those so-called princesses ignore the needs of their people?"
Louder murmurs.
"How many times have they forgotten their vows and lied to us?"
Outbreak of even louder talking.
"How many times have they not carried out their promises for a better nation?"
Shouts.
"How many times did they choose their twisted laws over justice?!"
Screams.
"Ponies, Griffons, Buffalo, Changelings, Dragons, Zebras- how many more times will they ignore us? How many more times will they hide behind their corrupt idea of freedom?"
Cheers.
"I say, no more! We will not sit back and wait for this to be sorted out! Silence, they say, and justice we scream! My name is Monochrome, and I'm starting a revolution!"
