Insurgency: Fall of an Empire

I was born of a earth pony mare and a Pegasus stallion. This might not seem like something that is important, but it is. Anyway, Mom and Papa were very different so the way they raised me and my siblings differed greatly. Mom was strict, demanding and always telling us to be our best. Papa was cool, relaxed and let us decide how our lives would go. It's because of papa that I am the way I am, in more ways than one. Papa told me once that he had met mom when he was a foal in Ponyville back when Princess Twilight lived there, sometime before her castle apparently appeared out of nowhere (he never really explained how that worked but apparently, it just did). As the romantic he was, Papa would often take me and my siblings to Ponyville to retell the tale of meeting the 'lovely' Smooth Jazz in the humble town. It was because of these frequent visits that I knew something was off.

Ponyville was different.

That was the first thought I had as I strolled through the streets with Arctic and Petal. The buildings were designed differently and the roads were considerably wider. And pink for some reason. Weird, considering most stones used for road pavement weren't that color but there was more pressing matters. For one thing, I couldn't recognize a single store or pony anywhere. Where was that weird sofa place where I saw the nicest quill on sale? I kept waiting for something familiar to appear but nothing.  Not a single one looked familiar. The buildings were strange as well. They were shaped not so much like houses but like toys. A windmill looking building with stars and stuff. A cupcake... There was even a building that looked like a bottle of whiskey, slightly tipped to the side as if somepony was about to drink it. What the hay?

Granted, I hadn't been here in at least a couple years, to see some festival with windys or something but that hadn't been that long ago. Surely a town couldn't change that much in such a short amount of time, right? Fear crept into my heart before I pushed it down. I was just over thinking it, that's all. Towns change all the time and maybe all those ponies I met before were elsewhere. Completely plausible.

"So what were you guys doing out there anyway?" I asked, tired of the silence and my thoughts. While I still had questions about the town, I had more questions I wanted answered. The changes in Ponyville could wait. Even though something within me insisted I continue trying to figure out where I was and why I was in the forest before. But I really didn't like where those thoughts might lead.

“Out where?”  Arctic gave me a look, one a mother usually gave her foal when they were asking questions that they didn’t want to get into at that moment.

“That Fair Valley place.” I answered, grimacing at the name again. I still didn’t like that name. A forest should be called a forest, not a damn valley. You know what? I’ll think of a better name for it later, I decided. That name was stupid. I continued on. "That place doesn't seem to be all that safe."

"What makes you say that?" Arctic asked, looked over at me. Her eyes had a knowing glint to it. She was studying me. Was there something she expected from me? How interesting.

"Ya'll seemed to be in a bit... of a rush to leave." I replied, smiling back at her. She cocked a brow. Apparently, that was not the response she was expecting. "That and you did say as much before, remember?"

"Ah, yes well..." Arctic looked away but Petal picked up the conversation.

"That's because my mom will get all pissy if I don't get home soon." Petal dancer stated, butting in. "Mom wanted Ms Breeze to teach me how to be a florist, like her." She grumbled, scowling. She sounded very much like the average teen just then. "'Do this, Petal Dancer! Do that, Petal Dancer. You're name is Petal for a reason, you know.'" She mimicked, putting on a plastic smile.

I know what that was like. The constant nagging, the pressure. All piled up until you failed and then there's the disappointment. It wasn't pleasant for anyone. My own experience with such pressure probably wasn't as bad as hers though. Being a teacher, Mom was always a bit stricter than most parents. If fact, I'm pretty sure she was born scowling considering that I could not really remember a time she smiled. It was a shame since mom was such a pretty mare, even as old as she is now. The only time I recalled her smiling was when she was with papa and since he...

No! No thinking about Papa!

"I-I'm guessing you don't feel the same way?" I inferred, forcing a small smile. As we continued walking, the town’s ambient noise calmed my nerves a bit. It wasn't the loud bustle and noise of Manehatten but it was enough to drive my darker thoughts away. I looked around, letting my heart slow to a steady rhythm. This is why I never liked small towns. They were way too quiet for my taste. They refused to drown my thoughts.

Not noticing my change in mood, the teen stomped a hoof and glared ahead, as if the object of her rage was just before her. "Of course I don't!" She fumed. "I mean, I like hanging out with Ms Breeze cause she's cool and fun, despite being old and all." This earned her a glare from our companion, in which Petal just smiled sweetly. She continued as if nothing had been said. "I love learning about the plants and helping her but I don't want to be a florist.” She whined, looking close to tears. “That’s mom’s job. What I want-"

"To be a party pony, right?" I finished for her, smiling. She reminded me of a party pony I'd once met in Canterlot. While he wasn't as loud as what I’d heard most were like, his energy and optimism warmed the heart of anypony he met. Even if he was a bit annoying, he was also very amusing. She had that same energy about her. She, however, looked at me, utterly perplexed.

"Party pony?" She echoed, frowning. Arctic shared the expression.

"Is that an occupation where you come from?" Arctic asked, cocking a brow.

"Ya'll are kidding, right?" I asked, looking them both over. They blinked back. Were they serious? How could they not know what a party pony was? Sure, it wasn't a high paying job  (or a paying job at all, now that I thought about it.) but it was a well known one. Party ponies were all over Equestria. "Haven't you guys ever had a pony throw a party for you? I mean, your cutiemark is a party popper, right?"

Petal looked back at her flank, the small party popper gracing her coat, held such a meaning. She apparently didn't know what the mark had meant. I knew that feeling. Petal blushed again, digging at the ground. She looked like she wanted to say something but Arctic interrupted. "It doesn't matter. Petal Dancer will be a florist, just like her mother." She stated coldly. Her tone left no room for argument. I opened my mouth to protest but Petal just shook her head.

"She's right." She whispered, smiling sadly. "Mom's job was chosen for her. As will mine. She was just lucky enough that she actually liked the job.” Chosen for her? By who? And why force this poor mare to go into a job she clearly had no interest in? Maybe it was none of my business but no mother should force her daughter into her hoof steps. I opened my mouth to protest such a thing but Arctic cut me off before I could utter a word.

“Anyway, let’s get off this subject.” She insisted, smiling motherly. “I want to know more about you, Moonlight.” Did she now? Weird that she only chose to ask about me now that I was about to bring the previous subject back up. I didn’t buy that she wanted to know jack all about me but I realized I couldn't pursue the subject right then. Later then.

“What do you want to know?”

“Everything!” Petal cried out, regaining her energy once more, grinning at me. “I’ve never met anypony from anyplace besides Ponyville. Sometimes we get the odd New Unicornian but you can’t be from there.”

“I see." I muttered, not understanding at all. New Uni-what? Was that some other country? No, wait! One question at a time, Moonlight. I'll just add it to the list. The long, ever expanding list. "And why can’t I be from this New Uniconica?”

“Unicornia!” Petal corrected, rolling her eyes much like a teen. “And you can’t be from New Unicornia. It’s a Unicorn only city and we earth ponies can’t go anywhere near that place.” She explained, as if this was common knowledge.

A Unicorn only city?! What in Equestria was this filly going on about? There was no cities like that. Was there? Moreover, why was she saying ‘we’ earth ponies. I wasn’t-

We had just past some store whose window was decorated with garish, overly decorated hats.I absently walked over to get a closer look and jumped at the sight of my own reflection. Oh, sweet Celestia, was that me!? I was colored puke green with an equally green mane. Said mane was pushed up and swirled about my head like soft serve ice cream. My horn was hidden from sight and without it, I really did look like an Earth pony.

Arctic stepped up beside me and patted me on the shoulder. At long last, the mud had dried enough that touching me wasn’t like pulling at Velcro. The downside, I didn’t look anything like myself. I had no idea how I should have felt about that.

Seeing the concern in my eyes, Arctic smiled at me and pushed me to keep walking. “Don’t worry, darling, we’ll get that stuff off you soon enough.” She assured, leading me through the street. At that moment, I noticed all the looks I was getting. Kind of rude, since they didn’t even turn away when our eyes met. Then again, I was currently puke green with a mane styled like soft serve so I was bound to catch a few eyes. Besides, I’d be clean soon.

“So…” I drawled, following the older mare. “How do you plan on getting this stuff off, anyway? This shit is kind of a hassle.”

“Language, young filly!” Arctic scolded, giving me a look. I gave the look right back. Right. Arctic, while kind of cool, was still older than me. I don’t get why ponies are so offended by cursing. Its completely normal and yet we act like there are foals watching us all the damn time. Still, Arctic had been nothing but kind to me. It would be rude to treat her like I would anyone else who told me to clean up my mouth.

“Sorry” I sighed, rolling my eyes. I could tell that she knew I wasn’t really sorry but she just shook her head at me, apparently accepting my feelings on the matter. See? Cool mare.

“Anyway,” she continued on, smiling indulgently as we continued walking. “I’ll have to stop by a friends home to gather the ingredients before we can get that stuff off of you.”

“And then we can finally see you and your cutiemark!” Petal burst out into a cheer, excited beyond measure that the thought.

“My cutiemark?” I looked back at my flank and as implied, my mark was covered. Usually, a pony would feel naked without their mark, being unable to show the world their special talent. But me? I felt nothing. I really had no connection to that mark. It meant nothing to me because it meant nothing. It never did... “It really isn’t that interesting.” I sighed, turning back to them with a weary expression.

“What are you saying!?” The orange filly gasped. “A cutiemark is everything. It tells the world who you are.”

I snorted at this, rolling my eyes in annoyance. That's what everyone said, isn't it? They always told me how meaningful a cutiemark was when I was a foal but I didn’t buy it. “Yeah, but mine doesn't.” I grumbled, getting a bit annoyed. I really didn’t like talking about this. “It has nothing to do with who I am or what I’m good at.”

“Who are you then?” Arctic asked, looking honestly curious and confused. It was the only reason I didn’t just ignore her. “If your mark doesn’t define you, what does?”

“Huh?” This seemed to be my word of the day. How many times did this make? 5? Five ‘huh’s? I think that was about right. Shit, I had to keep my head straight or else ponies here might think I'm stupid or something. “Well, I do…” I answered, not sure as to what I was supposed to say to that. “I mean, there's a lot of things I’m good at and like to do but my mark isn’t in anyway connected to them.” I explained but they just stared at me, like I was some kind of foreign creature or something.

"Like?" Arctic pressed, staring me down. What was up with her? Why was she so anal about this?

"Like... reading and stuff." I answered, feeling a bit nervous now. There was a lot of things I liked but what could I say now? I did like reading. I loved it in fact. There was nothing more exciting than curling up with a good or even trashy book. From the encyclopedia of magical technology to the trashy romance between a 'normal' mare and a changeling prince, the world expanded and became ever larger though the written word. But few understood that about books. They never believed me and just thought I was lazy. I mean I was but that doesn't mean there isn't something deeper to reading than just that.

After a long minute of silence, Petal spoke. "You're weird, Ms Sonata." She said, shaking her head in that foalish kind of way, the way a foal would when realizing their parent couldn't understand their imaginary friend. I was used to this. My cutiemark, a full moon half hidden by two white clouds, always confused ponies. It confused me. It was a weird mark, to be honest. To this day, I still have no idea what it means. For a while, I actually thought it meant I could lift the moon like Princess Luna. Boy, was that a interesting weekend. I thought, laughing at the memory.

*****

The conversation continued on in a fairly normal matter. I had to tell them my life story, which was dull but they seemed interested enough. It, at the very least, kept my mind off my surroundings for a little while. The town was painted in several shades of pinks, blues and every other color. The ponies were all working, smiles on their faces and sweat on their brows. The only weird part was, and I'm not some kind of unicorn supremacist or anything, but the town was filled entirely with earth ponies. I had been lead around the town for at least an hour and I had yet see a single unicorn or Pegasus around. In fact, the sky was clear of any Pegasi. Though we Manehattenites rarely think about the weather, to not see even one Pegasi was weird. Weirder still is the reaction I got when I asked about this.

"Unicorns?" Petal echoed, looking at me as I had just suggested that the moon was made of taffy or something. "Why would there be any unicorns in Ponyville?"

"Why not?" I retorted, curious.

"I can't imagine a unicorn wanting to come here." Arctic stated, shaking her head. "New Unicornia is a much nicer place than Ponyville."

"Ponyville isn't that bad!" Petal protested. She turned to me, a proud glint in her green eyes as she spoke. "We here in Ponyville have the important duty of serving our kingdom in the various ways you see around us, Ms Sonata." I looked around, only seeing the ponies milling about and buying stuff. I don't know what she was talking about but she clearly believed that something big was happening so I let her continue. "We, us measly earth ponies, have been blessed with a important role from our Divine Princess!" She cheered, smiling brighter than before. She looked like she had just seen her favorite friend. Pure joy. It scared me more than I think it should have.

Taking a step back, I opened my mouth to ask about the 'Divine Princess', although the last time I tried, I got a scolding look from Arctic. She apparently didn't want me asking about their ruler. That was around the time I started questioning where I actually was. Not to say I hadn't thought about this before but I was kind of hoping I was wrong to think of it. I wanted this to be Equestria. I wanted to be home. Because this town, this world, was unfamiliar in all things. I knew nothing about this world, not its rules, its customs or even its ruler.  Well, I kind of did but it was really... woo woo and vague. According to Petal Dancer "the Divine Princess is the Divine Princess." What the fuck did that mean? Even Princess Celestia wasn't treated like this. I really, really wanted to know more.

But before I could voice my opinion, a sound rang out. It was loud, grating and legitimately scared me because the ground shook with the force of its wail. I fell to the ground, which didn't do anything to help with the pain in my head as it bounce against the pavement, but covering my ears did. I waited for it to end, wanting whoever turned it on to die in a fire just as another one rang out.

"Ah!" I cried, though my voice was drowned out by the noise. Just as I felt like tearing my ears off, I noticed something peculiar about the loud tone. It was hard to notice with it being so loud but, I could swear it sounded like it was trying to play a melody. Like a concert playing way too loud, the music hidden within could only barely be heard over the ringing in my ears.

I struggled to my feet, my ears just barely getting used to the volume as it droned on. Sweet Celestia, somepony end it already! It felt like somepony was trying to bash my head in with a spike! When I opened my eyes, the sight before me stunned me to the point I couldn't move. The townsponies, all of them within sight, were kneeling down, their heads raised to the sky as they chanted, they're words only barely matching the 'melody' of the tone.

"May the Divinity of our Princess guide all those without direction and lead them to peace." They chanted, closing their eyes  and pressing their hooves together as they basked in the sun. Even Petal, as gitty as she appeared, remained in place as she chanted along with them. There was a weird moment of silence (Relatively) as everypony nearby seemed to be transfixed in that instant.

Everypony except Arctic Breeze. She alone stood beside me, staring at all the younger ponies with a kind of tired recognition. Like she'd seen this so many times and had just accepted it. We exchanged a look, me, with an expression of pure confusion and hers, the sad but accepting smile as she too raised her head to the sun and chanted alongside the ponies.

Backing away slowly, I kept my eyes on the chanting ponies, keeping them in sight as I moved away. I knew it was rude to leave the ponies who had so graciously helped me but fuck them, I was not going to stay around ponies like this. While I didn't know what was happening, my citymare instincts told me to bail. Especially when I saw the glares I got when some ponies noticed I wasn't chanting as well. Damn it, I didn't want to be here.  I could feel the gazes of a few ponies not chanting, their stare drilling into me as I lowered my head.

As soon as I was out of sight of the streets, I turned tail and ran. I knew I couldn't run for long but if I ran long enough, maybe I'd escape this town. Something about the looks those ponies had, that blank empty smile they shared as they gazed skyward, sent chills down my spine. Then there were the glares from those who saw me not following them. I shuddered, not wanting to think about what would have happened had I stayed put. After all those years in the city, I knew that my instincts were not just for show.

Some time later, the tone finally died down, though my ears still rang. From what I could hear, the streets seemed to return to normal, the conversations from before continued and the mood seemed calm. Still, I ran. That weird moment of worship, the dead eyes that stared up at the sun, all of those things could not be ignored. I had never seen this kind of behavior before and honestly, it scared me to no end.

A minute later, I slowed down, panting and sweating a lot. I was not a athletic pony, if you hadn't already guessed. The good news was that I was at least some distance away from the streets. The bad news was, I had no clue where I was. The main streets were very different from the alleyways, in that there was a lot less light, colors and identifiable marks to distinguish one backstreet from another. The interesting thing was the discovery that this Ponyville was layered rather than being all flat. As I wandered about aimlessly, I found several staircases leading downward, webbing into lower levels that fed into even lower levels. I thought about walking down there but the sounds of... something coming from below kept me from giving into my curiosity.

Curiosity had never helped me all that much in life anyway.

There it was again! I thought, trying to pin down what memory had made that impression on me. It had taken me a little while to notice but my memory seemed to be a bit wonky. I had noticed it when I was telling my companions about myself. Every time I tried to tell them about myself, I could just barely feel some memory trying to form before I got a headache and had to back off. It was frustrating since it wasn't just the memories of the days before waking up here. Little things, I think, but I couldn't tell what was missing. The last thing I remember before today was leaving my job at the library with somepony, I think he was my friend, to go to Canterlot for... for something. What was I doing there? And why did it feel like I had taken something important from somepony?

The clatter of hooves coming toward me dragged me out of my thoughts of possible amnesia. Shit, had I been caught? I don't know if anypony would chase me but I wasn't going to risk it. Panicking, I ran down one flight of stone stairs. The stones were muddy, wet and covered in leaves, so my scrambling hooves soon slipped and set me flailing into the air. I tried to use my magic to catch myself but for some reason, nothing happened. I prepared myself for pain, knowing that falling down stone steps was never a painless experience.

"What the-!" I hit something hard but softer than stone. In a tangled mess of blurry visuals and clatter, the hard/soft thing and I rolled on the lower road and slid until we teetered on the edge of something. It was only for a second though, so there was no stopping our fall into the water. Untangling myself from my watermate, I struggled to get my head above the water before I drowned. Weird how this make twice that I've nearly drowned today. Luckily, the water wasn't all that deep, it barely came up to my chest, but scrambled to get out fast anyway. I was not going to get covered in anything else today.

Damn it! The waterway was much deeper than I had thought. Despite how shallow the water was, the sides were much higher. It must be their drainage system. I reached up to lift myself out but I couldn't reach. I was so close to the edge too. Ugh! Fuck. My. Life!!! Stomping my hoof, I looked around to see if there was some staircase or something but there was none. That was weird. There usually was some means of getting out of these kind of places, if for no other reason but for safety.

"Um..." I looked up to see a young stallion, probably not much older than Petal, staring down at me. "Are you okay?” The buck asked, his gravely voice a bit outputting. However, I was wet, stuck in a hole and annoyed, so I really didn't care too much. I was more concerned with how the hell he managed to get out?!

"Do I look okay?" I retorted, grumbling as I searched for a way out. I didn't see anyway out. Then how... "How do I get out of there?"

"The nearest exit is at least 10 miles from here." He stated, pointing in one direction.

"T-ten miles!?"

"Yeah, that's where the nearest water purifier is located. Duh." He explained. He looked down at me, sounding as if he expected me to know this already. "What? Are you new to Ponyville or something?"

"Yeah, I'm not from here and I don't want to be here any longer." I shouted up at him before grumbling the last part. I was getting really tired of all this. I had been in this world for, what? Two hours? And I had already been pushed down a hill, almost drowned in mud, led into some weird cult like town and now I'm stuck in a hole! This was a terrible day and I so wanted out.

"Wait a sec, you're... you're an outsider?!" The young stallion exclaimed, sounding a lot more excited. "Here, grab my hoof. Quickly!" Huh? He was helping now? Why? Wait, why am I asking? I wanted out and he was offering. No time to question good fortune. Reaching up, I grabbed his hoof, amazed that he was able to so easily lift me out. Seriously, first Arctic and now this buck. Was everyone in this town this strong? Next thing you know, Petal will be bench pressing me like I was a fucking flower.

As I tried to shake off what little water had clung to my mud cover hide, I got my first look at my rescuer. He, to be fair, looked weird. I couldn’t tell if he was smoke gray with white splotches or white with smoke gray splotches. Either way, he reminded me of a cow. At least his coat did. His mane was short, choppily cut and was black and purple. Green eyes stared into mine, the youth apparent in them. But he didn't look like a young stallion, at least body wise. He was slightly taller than me, his legs thick with muscles and while those eyes were young, they weren't as innocent as Petals, despite clearly being close in age. His eyes were that of someone who was tougher than they probably should be.

Wary, I kept him in sight as I spoke “Thank you. I appreciate the help.” I stated, looking around quickly. There was no one chasing me. Good. “I got a bit lost and-”

“Hi, there!” He suddenly greeted me, holding out a hoof as he smiled.  His teeth were yellow as the sun and chipped but it wasn't a bad smile. Though I still made sure I avoided staring at them. “I'm Smoky.  Smoky Blaze. A miner.”

At first, I was confused. Not by the name, but the last part. Miner? Like, dig underground like a diamond dog miner? Wasn't that dangerous for a stallion his age? Or anyponies age?! Mines were not a place a pony should be! Diamond dogs were much better suited for such conditions but then again, this wasn't Equestria.

"Moonlight Sonata." I replied, taking his hoof. I looked him over again. He looked the part at least, with his dark colored jumpsuit and scarred hooves. That and he sounded like a bone saw. A colt as young as him shouldn't sound so gruff.  "So what do you mine for?" I asked, curious.

"A bunch of stuff." He replied with a toothy smile. Remember, Moonlight! No staring. He continued on, not noticing my focus on his flaws. "Coal," Oh, so he was white? "chalk," no, he was grey? "and gems!" This surprised me.

"Gems? Without a unicorn?" I assumed that since unicorns didn't live in this Ponyville, he mined with only earth ponies. Which must make things difficult since they didn't have gem finding spells or any diamond dogs to help. I mean, you can find gems without a unicorn but it was a lot easier with one.

"Unicorn? What would we need a unicorn for?" He asked, frowning at me. So he didn't know. Figures. I debated telling him about unicorns  before he continued on. "What about you? What do you doing for a living?"

"Me?" I echoed.

"Yeah. You're an outsider but you do have a job, right?" He asked, looking at me like I was some kind of rare creature. How... distasteful. I didn't like him looking at me like that but pushed it away.

"I'm a librarian." I replied, taking a step back. "So I basically just sit around a read all day. Best job ever!" I grinned at the thought of my cozy chair, relaxing and soft as I let my mind drift into the words before my eyes. I had no particular preference when it came to genres, there was just something comforting being surrounded my books and being able to touch them. That and being allowed to seclude myself away from other ponies for hours on end.

I suddenly thought of a certain book, no different than any other around it but oh so special. I could swear it called to me, called me still. I reached out to it, my heart pounding louder than thunder, and the second my hoof touched it, I-

"You're a librarian?!" Smokey exclaimed, shocked. This drew me from my thoughts, leaving me blinking at him in confusion. What was that just now? A memory? Of what though? A book or myself...

"That's what I said." I replied absently, trying to catch the memory before it slipped away. It felt so much like a forgotten dream but of what? I knew it was real. I could feel the weight of that book on my back, the sound of those pages turning. I could almost picture the cover. What was it!?

"So you can read!?" He gasped, taking a step back. This, again, pulled me from my musing, except this time he kept my attention. That wasn't the response I was expecting. Usually, ponies were surprised about my job because I didn't look the part. No glasses, mane pulled back into a bun or old. In fact, most of my co-workers were older than me so I always stuck out among them. I understood this reasoning but Smokey just was surprised I could read. Which meant...

"You can't?" I asked, dread filling my gut as I stared at him in a new light. A young stallion, probably no older than 15, working in such a dangerous field to the point where his voice sounded like he gargled glass and apparently couldn't even read. This world was really making me want to bail even more.

"Of course not." He replied, rolling his eyes as if that was normal. "Most earth ponies don't get to learn stuff like that, especially a NPP like me. I guess a miner wouldn't need to know how to read to do his job, right?" He explained, smiling good naturedly. He seemed content with this but I had even more questions. What was a NPP? Why couldn't he know how to read as a miner? Why was he a miner? So many questions and more would not be answered as a sudden thought had apparently come to him. "Oh! Then I didn't even have to introduce myself!" He laughed, smiling again. He did that a lot. "You could have just read my name tag then." He stated pointing to his chest. On the front of his dark jumpsuit was a small strip of white with a name and a series of numbers beneath it.

It read: Cowhide, E83748-02.

I looked up at him as he smiled at me. His name was Cowhide? It fit, considering his coat color but he really didn't know what his real name was? Then again, he said that most earth ponies couldn't read so of course he didn't know. But that begged the question.

"If you can't read, how do you know your name?" I asked, before I thought better of it. Perhaps his parents named him, dumbass. Then again, why name him one thing but label him something else?

"My friend told me." He answered, smiling fondly as he stared past me. "She told me my name was Smokey." Oh? A she? How interesting. A lover, perhaps? My inner reader asked, wanting to know more. Wait, no, focus, Moonlight. Escape now, prying later.

"By the way, do you know the way out of town?" I asked, stepping forward. "I'm kind of lost." Lost being a major understatement considering I had no clue where I was in any sense of the world, not just in regards of this stupid town.

"Oh, right, you aren't from here." He muttered, looking around. The alley was quiet but something about the silence seemed to put him on edge. "Lucky for you, I'm not too busy. As long as you don't require me to lead you to the main streets."

"No, I am not going back there!" I exclaimed, shuddering. "Those ponies are creepy as fuck!" He looked at me, shocked. Oh, goodness was he going to be a prude too? I hope not.  I needed him to lead me around and I was not in the mood to censor myself. In fact, I wanted to curse like a sailor in the saltiest bar in Equestria with how annoyed I was. Then again, maybe he was just shocked by how emphatic about it. That was likely too.

"You should be careful, Ms Sonata." He warned, smiling gravely. "It would be bad for you if someone caught you speaking like that. It's not 'pretty'." Not pretty? What did that mean? And why warn me about cursing? "Anyway, I'll help you. I saw you walking with Petal and Nurse Breeze just now, so I don't think you're a bad outsider." Something about that statement made me think he thought I should be. Which added like five more questions to my ever growing list. Damn it, it was going to be a long day. I mean, it already was but not knowing what the fuck was going on made the sun seem like it was standing still. Either way, I had to think about the matter at hoof and go over what I had learned.

For one thing, Arctic was a nurse. That kind of explained the calming presence she seemed to elude. And Smokey seemed to know both Petal and Arctic. Makes sense considering they seem to live in the same town but something about the way he talked about those on the main road told me that he didn't associate with many ponies. But that was going to have to be questioned later, like everything else. For right now though, I had to get out of here.

"So how would I get out of here?" I asked, following behind him as he trotted forward. Even though every path looked the same, he navigated the twists and turns like it was obvious where to go. He seemed confident in where he was going, so I trusted him to lead me where I had asked. Not the smartest move considering such tactics had lead me here in the first place but what could I do? Wander aimlessly until I got myself killed or something? No way!

"Well, you'll have to leave by the south entrance." He stated, leading me under a small bridge. Above us, I could hear the ponies milling about, acting as if it was just a normal day. Which it probably was, considering how calm they were. Creepy bastards. Smokey continued on, ignoring them mostly. "If we go any other way, you'll be caught by the police and registered." Registered? Why did that seem like it was a bad thing? I mean, I get how being caught was bad. I most definitely didn't want to stay in this Ponyville much longer but why was being registered sound like it would be worse? Yet another question to add to the list. Great.

"Oh yeah, I noticed some stallions in the forest before." I mentioned absently, staring at the crudely painted murals decorating the walls. They were beautiful, using the stains that were already there to create an image of a dragon spitting fire onto a village. It was disturbing but beautiful. Very fitting for this town. "They seemed to be looking for something."

"They're in Fair Valley?" He turned to me, shocked. "I... I had heard they were still searching but I had no clue they were that close." He bit his lip, trying to think of something.

"What are they looking for?" I asked, wanting at least one question of mine to be answered today.

"A rebel or something, I think." He answered, absently shrugging. For some reason, I thought of that short mare I had met. "Not much is known about them but they are rebelling against the Divine Princess and that is something." Oh? Cool. I was kind of curious about this rebellion but something told me that Smokey wouldn't know anything more about them.

"I see." I echoed, trotting over after being left behind for a moment. These alleys were... pretty. The walls were painted in various colors and stuff and the weeds that grew were colorful and vibrant. Actually, now that I thought about it, I had yet to see anything in this Ponyville that wasn't pretty in some way or form. Even the garbage bags had flowers printed on them. While the alleyway walls before were plain, they weren't ugly in any sense.

The murals seemed to continue on as we walked, growing and shrinking as the tale displayed divided and wandered down other alleyway's. I'm not artist but I could appreciate the work and creativity of the image. The dragon from before had flown down the wall, over burning fields and through dark clouds until it landed on a castle atop a thunder cloud. What happened next, I couldn't tell since I had to follow Smokey, who was not amused by my curiosity.

"What are you doing?" He demanded, after the third time calling out to me as I tried to follow the dragon. I really wanted to follow it, its crudely drawn eyes seeming to stare down at me, burning me from within. It felt like it was calling me. Like that book....

"Sorry!" I called back, my eyes darting to the other walls as the mural seemed to deviate to images of flowers and sunshine. Boring. "These murals are really cool. I've never seen anything like them. Do you know who painted them?" I asked, following him more diligently as the path got wider.

Smokey shook his head, rolling his eyes. "No clue. They've always been here." He answered, looking up at them. Shivering as the dragon came back into view, he turned away and walked faster, seeming unsettled. I went after him. "All I know is that they creep me out. Especially at night..." Night? What was scary about them at night? The images probably couldn't be seen then so why the fear? Due to being so distracted by my own thoughts, I didn't notice the stallion halting until I bumped into him.

"Ow, what are you-" I didn't even get to finish my complaint because the buck pushed me down and covered my mouth. Panic filled me, the realization that I was alone with a strange stallion with no one who knew me save for the ponies I had ditched. I had just started to fight his grip when I heard a group of ponies galloping past the alley we resided in. I reached out to them, hoping they'd save me just before I realized that they were chasing somepony, a small brown filly with a white mane.  What in the world was going on? Why were five grown ponies chasing a foal like that? I wished I could see how the chase ended but they soon passed us by, apparently running into the street since there was a lot of noise.

Smokey jumped off of me, opening his mouth to say something but I didn't pay attention to him. I had to know what had just happened. "What the hell was... Why..." I stammered, more scared than before. I wanted to run, from him, from Ponyville, from this weird messed up world but I couldn't. I needed to know what was happening. I couldn't just rush off like before.

The young stallion said nothing, looking past me where the noise started to drift further away. "We can't stay here." He said, turning away. "It isn't safe."

Again with the 'not safe' warning! Everywhere was apparently 'not safe'. The forest valley thing, the town, the ponies. What was safe? Where was safe?! I felt like screaming in frustration but held it in. Be calm, be cool, be awesome... I chanted in my head, the faint memory of Papa whispering this in my ear calming me down.

"Why isn't it safe?" I asked coolly, remaining where I had landed. Smokey let his head fall, clearly agitated but I didn't care. "I'm not moving until you explain what just happened."

"W-what? B-but don't you want to leave town?" He reasoned, his eyes darting behind him as if expecting those ponies to show up any second. "If we don't leave, they'll catch us!"

"Who? The police?" I demanded, standing my ground. I was so sick of not knowing! I needed to know something, anything, to fill this hole that had developed in my heart. I don't know if the answers I desired would fill it but I so wanted answers. Anything to calm my thundering heart.

Seeing the fear in my eyes, he turned away, probably fighting the urge to leave. Silence hung between us as he seemingly weighed his options. Honestly, he could have just left me behind. I would have. I was under no illusion that I was a nice pony. I could be a bitch. I was one. He, on the other hoof, wasn't. He was a nice pony. So I knew he'd give in.

He turned to me, opening his muzzle to speak just before the world exploded in smoke. Crying out in shock, i chocked on the pink smog as the sound of galloping hooves hitting the pavement just under the ringing in my ears. The more I coughed, the weaker I felt, the glittery, pink gas surrounded us. I looked around, calling out to Smokey though I couldn't really hear my own words. Then, I blacked out for a second.

When I opened my eyes, I was on the ground and the smoke had dissipated. It must not have been that long since I blacked out, cause the culprits were only just arriving. Fear filled me as I tried to move but found that my limbs were as rigid as stone. Realizing that moving was not going to happen, I listened.

"This another one?" One spoke, a stallion. Of the five we had seen before, only 3 were here. The one that spoke, a bright yellow earth pony, walked over to where Smokey lay. The poor buck was out cold, the limpness of his limbs evident as the guard nudged him. "Tch, lazy bum!" He growled, sneering down at the unconscious young stallion. Then, apparently because he didn't respond to his verbal jab, he kicked him.

"What was that?!" Another voice, again a stallion, asked, looking around. I must have let out some kind of sound because all of a sudden, I was the center of attention. The yellow buck stared into my eyes, confusion blatantly evident in them.

"Hey, Moss, did you use the right glitter bombs?" The yellow one asked, not taking his eyes off of me. I should have been concerned that a bomb had been used on me but the name! Glitter bomb!? Shit, I may be paralyzed and all but to be taken out by something called a glitter bomb was hilarious. I just wished the stallions around were as amused.

A hoof was pressed against my skull, the owner standing out of sight behind me. "Of course, I did!" A third voice insisted. His hoof pressed down harder, as if to emphasize his point. "It knocked out the mutt."

"So why is she still awake?" The yellow one demanded, looking really annoyed. I really wished my mouth worked just then, because I had a whole laundry list of words I could toss back at him. The hoof was lifted off my head as we glared at one another. Just you wait, you cocky bastard! When I can use my magic again I'll-

"She isn't." Moss stated plainly, just before something smashed against my skull and my vision went black.