Insurgency: Fall of an Empire

The sun's heat was almost unbearable. I hated summers sometimes. I raised a hoof to shield my eyes from the rays. Perhaps I should have found a nice shady tree to sit under but Heavy insisted that he wouldn't be able to see me from under a tree. I sighed. Truly, the woes of the younger sibling is harsh. I thought, shaking my head. Older brothers were so silly.

Still, I at least had my book to keep me occupied and distracted. My small hooves turning pages unlike all the unicorns in my class. They had already figured out the basics of magic but me... Well, I was a late bloomer. Letting out a breath, I rested my head on the pages, relaxing as the scent of worn paper surrounded me. I may have been a magicless blank flank of a unicorn but at least I was a well read one. Smarter than all those other foals.

"Moonlight!?" I raised my head to the sky just as my brother landed. Or crashed, as his hooves skidded against the dirt before he tripped over a rock. Snorting, I got to trot over to him, carrying my book in my mouth. As my brother lay there, trying to regain what little dignity he could as he struggled to free himself from the mound of dirt he buried himself in, I sat beside him, continuing my reading.

"So," I started, not looking up. "how was the landing that time? Painful, embarrassing or both?" I teased, loving the look on Heavy's face as he jumped to his hooves.

"Don't start with that, Moonlight." He grumbled, stomping a hoof. "I've gotten much better... It was just that rock came out of nowhere."

"Last time it was the tree that 'came out of nowhere'." I reminded him with a smirk. If nothing else, seeing Heavy crash made me feel a bit better. Especially since today had been a pretty bad day for me.

"Moonlight." Heavy started, his big brother voice in full force. Oh, here we go... "What happened today? You said you'd wait for me after school. Where were you?" I kept my eyes on my book, not wanting to talk. I really didn't want to talk about this. He was just going to get all big brother-y on me and I hate that. It never helps.

"Nothing happened!" I proclaimed, not looking at him. "I just wanted to be alone for a bit. I can't read my books with all those foals talking so loudly." I insisted. I wasn't exactly lying though. The foals in that class were too loud. It wasn't their words that bothered me... especially the words directed at me.

Heavy wasn't stupid though. As much as I joked about it, Heavy was very good at seeing through my lies. He knew what other foals said about me. That I was useless. A failure as a unicorn. A filly who could barely pick up a pen without collapsing soon after. I knew as well as he did how true the words were. Even though all the other unicorns could do basic magic, I still had to use my hooves to pick up stuff. Magic was just something I was no good at. But that was okay. I knew more than them. I may fail in magic class but I excelled everywhere else. That meant something, right?

"What are you reading?" Heavy asked, probably realizing where my mind was heading. As I said, he was smart like that. "A history book?" I nodded, turning the page as my eyes skimmed over the pages. Nothing still.

"Yeah, I'm looking for somepony." I replied absently, my mind focusing on the words. "But I can't find them." I was starting to get frustrated now. This was the fifth history book I'd skimmed through and still no mention. Where was he?

"Did you try and look through the index?" He asked, trotting over beside me. He was trying to read the book over my head, making his black mane fall in my face. I scowled but ignored it as I turned the page.

"He's not there either." I answered, wracking my brain to think of some other place I could find a different Equestrian history book. Or maybe I was wrong. There was only that one book that mentioned that pony but I could never locate it after that. Who was... "There!" I cried, jumping onto my hooves. There he was! It was only a brief mention, something about a old world Doctor turned Sorcerer but he was there.

Malcontent the Plague.

He was real! He exists. Something about that filled me with a strange sense of joy. Like learning that the tooth fairy was actually a real fairy. I felt closer to a truth than ever before. What truth that was, I didn't know, but I wanted to know. To know more.

"Papa!" Heavy called out, drawing my attention to reality. Darn, had he been there this entire time? It felt like I had been staring at the words on the page for hours, as if I was scared that by looking away, the words would disappear. Panicked, I looked back and... the name was still there. Sighing in relief, I dog-eared the page and slipped the book into my saddlebags. I'd hate to lose it.

"Sunshine? Ace?" Papa called out, waving at us as he galloped over to us. "Ah, there you two are! I was looking all over for you kids." The bright blue stallion trotted up to us, smiling broadly. Our father, Steady wind, was an amazing dad. He was fun, cool and always around to play with us. It always made me wonder how he got along with our mother, considering how strict and generally sour she was.

"Papa!" We cried, snuggling up to him. He laid his foreleg around me as Heavy drifted beside him, his muzzle buried in papa's snow white mane.

"Sup!" He replied, smiling down at me. "How have my two favorite foals been today? Any trouble?" I shook my head but Heavy gave me a look, telling me that our conversation was far from over. He wasn't going to let it go, huh? I rolled my eyes. Gah! Big brothers, I thought. Always so pushy!

"I was here by myself, reading, until Heavy came and started bothering me!" I proclaimed, sticking my tongue out at him. He scowled from within Papa's mane but said nothing.

"Now now, Sunshine. No being rude." Papa scolded, giving me his reprimanding look. It wasn't as fierce as moms (no where near her level) but it was enough to silence me. It always enough.

"It true though!" I insisted, pouting. I loved Heavy as much as any sister could but sometimes he was so.... gah! Just as I felt a scream of frustration well up within me, a hoof stroked my head. Papa was grinning down at me, understanding gleaming in his tired eyes. He was always tired though. I never knew why but I had a feeling it had to do with my promise.

"Oh, no need to explain, Sunshine." He assured, bopping my nose with a hoof. "You always were a bit of a loner. Much like your mother when she was young. And a bit nowadays too, I suppose." He chuckled, standing once more.

"Where is mom?" Heavy asked, fluttering beside papa.

"Smoothie? She's waiting for us at home." He reported, leading us forward. "Holding down the fort, making dinner, craving carrots dipped in zap apple jam," He muttered the last part, clearly deviating from some scavenging mission mom had sent him on. "and defending your new baby brother or sister."

"I bet it'll be a colt!" Heavy exclaimed, flying in circles over them. Show off. " Moony says it'll be a filly but I want it to be a colt! Then we can play games like tag or hide and seek!"

"I already do that with you." I stated, scowling. I didn't really like tag, cause I had to run a lot. And hide and Seek was no fun since Heavy always hid in the clouds where I couldn't 'spot' him properly. He was such a cheat. It was no fun. And he apparently agreed since his next response was:

"Yeah, but colts don't play with filly's!" He stated adamantly. I rolled my eyes at this. Some stupid thing the school colts told him, most likely. Stupid Heavy.

"Ace, what kind of talk is that?" Papa laughed, petting Heavy on the head. "We both know you like playing with the fillies." He stated, laughing as Heavy pouted like he usually did. Though it was true that Heavy Metal like playing with fillies. He was way more into calm games than the ones colts usually played. He could play with them, often did too, but liked playing house a lot more. Something about it being more peaceful than tag. But Heavy was a weird pony, like most of us were in some way or another. But not as much as Papa.

Papa was a weird pony. He rarely called ponies by their names, rather, he liked to give out nicknames. The interesting part was the fact that he always called ponies by their opposing attribute. He called me sunshine, Heavy he called Ace (despite him being terrible at landing), and mom 'Smoothie'. Sometimes I think that there was more to the name than just adding a couple letters because sometimes mom would get super fidgety after being called that, as if she was embarrassed. But then papa would kiss her and be all gross so I later just stopped thinking about it.

"Oh, papa, watch this!" Heavy exclaimed, shooting up into the sky. Despite his crash landings, Heavy Metal was an amazing flier. He could loop and spiral like an adult Pegasus, though clouds still surprised him when he flew. He couldn't bear to disperse them for some reason. Many grown up ponies said it was because of Papa's influence on him, being a former wonderbolt and all.

"Great job, Ace!" Papa called out to his son, smiling sadly as he watched. Then there was this. Flying. Papa didn't fly. His wings were held tightly at his side, twitching as if they wanted to carry him into the clouds with his son. Papa was often like that. Always staring up at the sky longingly, as if he couldn't return to the open air. I mean, he could. His wings were strong and he flew sometimes, mostly around the house. But I couldn't recall a time where he flew outside. "You're doing great, son. Keep it up!" He called up to Heavy, his foreleg tightening around me. Heavy flew down, though he remained in the air.

"You won't fly with me?" Heavy asked, pouting, though I was sure he knew that papa was going to say no. He always did. Despite being a Pegasus himself, papa was more earth bound than any other pony. He could fly in ways that dazzled the eyes we were told, being flexible and agile enough to make one think he was Ms. Rainbow Dash herself, though he claimed it was just that he looked up to her. Either way, for the majority of my life, I'd only seen papa fly on me and Heavy's birthdays and even then, it was only for a minute or so. But oh, how awesome that minute was! Dives, loops and tricks that dazzled the eyes of any who watched him. He was amazing when he flew.

Papa smiled sadly before pulling Heavy close to give him a noogie. He never did that with me, being a unicorn but I knew I wouldn't like it anyway. Noogies were a colt thing and I disliked it.

"Perhaps later." He replied, smiling though they both knew Papa was lying. Heavy rolled his eyes and shot off, doing his usual practice of flying in circles. I didn't get it. Maybe it was a pegasi thing. I couldn't say, since I only knew papa and Heavy and papa wouldn't fly. He couldn't. Otherwise, he would-

"Papa!?" I cried out, as I saw papa's wings spread, as if he was about to follow Heavy as he flew around. Oh no, Papa! I moved to climb onto his back but he was too tall. Panic filled me as I struggled to get up before I somehow was raised up enough to crawl up. Looking back, I didn't see anything. What had- No! No time to ask questions. I wrapped my small legs over papa's wings, crushing them back to his sides. I wasn't strong. I never was but my interruption did recapture papa's attention. Looking back at me with dazed eyes, he stared at me.

"...Sunshine, what are you-"

"I'm making myself heavy." I proclaimed, shutting my eyes. I didn't want to see those eyes. His tiredly dazed eyes that matched mine in color. Violet eyes of such a beautiful color shouldn't be that tired.

"...I see. Thank you, sweetheart." He sighed, sitting down. I remained on his back, not saying anything. There was nothing to say. Everything that had ever needed to be said had been. But after several minutes, Papa turned back to me, his usual smile illuminated by the setting sun. "Sunshine..." His mouth moved but I could no longer hear him. But why...

The memory started to fade. Oh... Of course, it was a memory. I could already see the scenery dissolve at the edges, the dark blue blur that was Heavy speeding into non-existence. That all consuming darkness filling me with dread all over again. Still, even though the memory was fading, I snuggled close to papa. It had been so long since I had the chance to do so, I just wanted to bask in his warmth. I missed it.

"Sunshine." He spoke, his smiling fading as the darkness took his face away, leaving only his eyes. The eyes the mirrored my own. Those tired but strangely happy eyes, turned cold and hateful. Jumping away, a chill ran down my spine as violet eyes turned hateful and glared down at me.

"P-papa?" I whispered, stepping back.

"You broke your promise..." The darkness consumed those hateful violet eyes, leaving me all alone in the darkness, my breath stuck in my throat. Gasping for air, I fell to the 'ground', my eyes drifting up to the all consuming darkness as it too, consumed me. Eyes and all.

*****

I jumped to my hooves, my breath rushing from me. What... what was that? A dream? A memory? Panting, I reached up to wipe the tears that threatened to fall. My body shook, the image of those hateful violet eyes filling me with... with what? Fear? Guilt? Both? I couldn't say. I just wanted to hide just then. But... I had to think.

That vision, it was from my foalhood but I didn't recall it until now. Why? I mean, it wasn't too eventful, just a normal after school afternoon. But those thoughts... Was that really how I used to see myself? Have I changed that much? Had I changed at all? More importantly, what promise had I broken? Why was papa's eyes so malicious? And why did I feel like I had let someone down in the worst way?

Drawing in a calming yet shuddering breath, I rested a hoof on the wall, only to freeze at the sound it made. Frowning, I slammed my hoof against the wall, just to make sure I wasn't crazy.

Boing.

...What the hell kind of wall made a boing sound?! Stepping away from the thing, I looked around, only then realizing that I was surrounded by some kind of wall, though it looked curved, as if I was in a sphere. So, I was in a ball? How did I-

Memories of the past few hours returned to the forefront of my mind, reminding me that some jackass had cracked my skull against the pavement. So I must have been captured by them, those jerks.  But I couldn't see them. Had they left me alone to gather more forces? Or was I already being transported somewhere. If I remained still, it felt like I was moving, though really slowly. How did that work?

"Ah! Moss, it looks like the mongrel woke up." A male voice called out. A voice I recognized. It was one of the stallions who had captured me and Smokey. Oh, shit! Smokey! Where was he? I started searching for a way out before the walls of my prison faded. Well, that is the wrong word for it. It's more like the walls turned transparent and my real surroundings were revealed.

I was floating over a lobby, not of a hotel but of a really fancy palace. At least, it look like it was palace, with a high purple walls decorated with high red curtains hanging just below the ceiling. Above my head, I could just barely see the clouds carved into the ceiling, making the ceiling looking like a violet sky. The dome shaped roof was a lot higher than I'd ever seen on Equestria. It looked to be a least six or seven stories high. I could even see the vague shapes of ponies walking behind the windows circling the wall. So the lobby was connected to a series of hallways above? Cool. The floor was gold, only decorated with a single red carpet that lead to a doorway far ahead of me. The size of the lobby was shocking, considering how small this town should have been. It literally felt like a castle but... brightly colored for some reason. I stared down at the ponies milling about, uncaring or unaware of my presence above them. I tried to figure out how I was floating like this but I couldn't see anything. I was so busy surveying my surroundings, I barely heard the new voice speak. But I could tell it was female.

"Why hello there, dearest citizen!" She said, her voice so sickeningly sweet, I felt nauseous. Fortunately, I couldn't see her so at least I was spared that. At least, I did have that before my invisible prison was released and I fell. Again, I tried to use my magic to catch myself but no such luck. So I ended up hitting the ground hard, not having the time to angle my body to divert the impact. As I laid there, gritting my teeth in pain, I cursed under my breath. I almost felt like crying though I held it in. I may be weak as fuck but I was not a fucking foal.

"Shit..." I mumbled, rising to my hooves. My back leg stung but it wasn't too bad, I noticed as I stretched it out behind me. Sighing, I looked up to survey my current predicament. The three stallions from before stood before me, glaring as if I had done something to them! I opened my mouth to shout every obscenity I could think of but the three soon parted to reveal...

The most beautiful mare I'd ever seen.

She was absolutely stunning. The pink mare stepped forward, smiling serenely as she brushed her red and pinkish-orange (I think ponies called it salmon colored) mane out of her eyes, making one of the stallions shiver. She past them, all three pairs of eyes riveted on the mare, or her flanks at least, considering her head was a few degrees north from where they were staring. Also, I'm pretty sure she noticed their looks as her hips swayed from the look in her eyes. Gold eyes met mine, looking delighted to see me. The single violet flower resting beside her left ear did it for me.

I hated her.

Now you may think it was childish to hate a mare just because she was prettier that you but you have to understand, it wasn't just that. It was like, 70% of the reason I hated her, 2% being the sparkles I swear floated around her every time she flipped her mane away from her face. Seriously, no one else saw that!? Whatever, anyway, the reason I hated her was her smile. She looked like a freaking doll, her smile static and fake looking, making me want to smack it off her face. It was the kind of smile one gave a foal, that indulgent smile one gave a foal who was acting like stupid but you didn't want them to now you were looking down at them. I was not a foal!

"Who are you?" I demanded, glaring at her. This pissed off the guards, who finally stopped looking at the mares flanks to glare at me.

"Oi, mutt, be respectful!" The green earth pony barked, stomping a hoof. "You should be grateful we released you at all. Lady Briar-" The mare lifted a hoof, immediately silencing the stallion as she continued to smile at me. Another thing of note: She was a unicorn. The first unicorn I'd seen since arriving in this strange world. Considering what little I could learn about Unicornina or whatever, Unicorns in this Ponyville was a rarity. It kind of explained why the guards seemed to revere her and follow her orders. That was something to keep note of. Maybe I should have revealed that I was one too... No, I still needed more information, so not yet.

"Now now, soldier, that's no way to talk to a citizen." She gently chastised, looking back at the buck who lowered his head. "You know how NPP's are."

"Quite, my lady but this one isn't in the system." The Yellow one reported, bowing. "Moss and I checked the registry but found nopony who matched her description." He turned to the green Pony, who I assumed was Moss. "I don't know if it was some kind of glitch in the system or what, but we can't seem to find her. She might be... an Outsider..." He whispered the last word, as if it was a forbidden word or something.

For a moment, no pony spoke. The ponies around us milled about, ignoring us mostly. All of them, earth ponies of various colors and ages, were smiling, but not the same smile this Briar chick seemed to have pasted to her muzzle. The few looks I did  get were ones of either curiosity or disgust just before the pony would avert their eyes, like I was trash on the side of the road. Oh, yeah, this place sucked hard. But what could I do? Blue and the green pony called Moss stood behind me, probably expecting me to bolt. Even if I did try to run, my hilariously low endurance would have me lying in an exhausted heap before I even made it to the exit. I could try magic but for some reason, I still couldn't get it to work. I felt the magic well up inside me but just as I tried to release it, it stopped, like it had hit a wall or something. But what could it be- A snicker broke out, diverting my attention back to my captors.

The pink pony, Briar, was chuckling, hiding her smile behind her polished hoof. "Surely you colts aren't thinking that she is 'that' mare, are you?" She joked, the stallions flinching at something in her statement. "That's just an old mares tale. Outsiders are quite common and she is no different."

"Yes, but they have never gotten this deep into the republic, my lady." The yellow buck argued, staring at me like I was some kind of beast. Why? They'd beaten me before and this stallion alone looked like he could bench press 4 of me. Then again, he had had that same expression when he found me awake before, apparently surprised that I was conscious at all. Perhaps that glitter bomb (snicker) was supposed to knock ponies out. But for some reason, not me... Interesting.

"You are worrying away too much, Sunburst." Green, or Moss, stated, stepping beside me. "This mutt is just another lazy NPP who tried to abandon her post."

"Whether she is an Outsider, the 'mare' or just another NPP, she must be taken to Mayor Razzaroo." Briar informed, stepping forward. Moss nodded as Sunburst just scowled at me, still suspicious apparently. Blue had yet to say anything, just standing behind me and keeping watch. Yet I knew for a fact that he was keeping an eye on me as well as the crowd. His eyes, grey as ash, held the perception I'd only seen parents have.

"Get up, mutt." Moss ordered, pulling me up and close. I flinched, unsure what this buck had intended but stopped when I felt something heavy snap around my neck. I couldn't see it but it felt like something metal was wrapped around my  throat. Tapping it, I heard the metal clank and felt the reverberations through me. Just barely, I could see the slight glimmer of a gem, deep red and glowing.

"What is this?" I demanded, tugging it. It didn't budge. Moss smirked down at me, pushing me away.

"It's a containment collar." He stated, as if I'd asked him a stupid question. "It's to keep you from running away. Lady Briar?" Moss turned to the mare, holding out another small but more rectangular gem. Her horn glowed a pretty gold as she took it with a smile, floating the gem into some saddlebags I hadn't noticed she had before. "We shall depart. May the divinity bless you, my lady." He bowed, turning on his heel and walking away, followed by Sunburst who still looked nervous. So they were just going to bail?

"Let's go!" Briar said, her smile still brimming with what I felt was fake enthusiasm. Maybe it was just my pessimism that placed her in the 'faker' category. She seemed kind of arrogant but that wasn't cause to make her out to be fake. So, she just smiled. She trotted off, leaving me with Blue. At first I thought that Blue was going to force me to walk until he too walked past me, following Briar.

What the hell? Were they just going to leave me here? What? Did they think I'd just follow them because they told me to? What kind of-

"Gah!" I cried out as a sudden forced pulled me in the direction Briar was going. It felt like I was on a leash but no rope could be seen. How? The gem on my collar glowed, the force dragging me across the floor until I worked my legs into standing and running up to catch up with the two. My coat burned, some of the mud being scratched off. I could almost see some of my coat. Limping slightly as I tried to walk off the stinging pain, I turned to see what my captors thought of this. Neither seemed concerned about my being dragged a couple of feet. In fact, the two were talking pleasantly. At least, Briar was.

"-and then I was like, 'Toffee? That caramel knock off is no better than than grease off a old stove'!" She finished, laughing at her own joke. Blue stayed quiet, his eyes briefly falling on me before returning to gaze at the ground. He had apparently expected the collar to force me to follow, hence why he had left me. Bastard! I had thought I was going to choke.

Still, the collar was kind of interesting. Annoying and painful but also interesting. There was no rope but the tug of Briar's every step reverberated through me as if there was one. I thought the rope might have been invisible but I'd seen a few ponies walk between us without any concern so maybe it was some kind of specialized magnetism? But that was a brand new science in Equestria. How could these ponies-

"Oh, hey, you caught up!" Briar beamed, trotting happily as she looked back at me. Blue remained silent. I stomped over until I was boxed in by the two of them. Damn it... "I was wondering when you were going to catch up. There are so many things I want to talk to you about!"

I scowled at her, her voice starting to grate on me. I no longer assumed she was fake. Her smile might have been patronizing but it wasn't fake. Just really annoying. And her attitude! Acting as if we were friends or something. As If I wasn't a prisoner! Was she stupid or something? Maybe.

"Yeah, well the collar didn't leave me much of a choice." I snarled, watching the ground as we walked. The carpet was beautiful, gold and red with little pink flowers popping up every once in a while. It was nice, considering the situation and at least I had something non irritating to focus on. Too bad that further behind us, there was a puke green skid mark from me being dragged across it. Something about that filled me with just a little bit of happiness.

"Oh, that?! Well yeah, most NPP's try and run off when their caught, so the guards have to take precautions, you know?" She explained, smiling as she turned down a new hallway. As Blue pushed me to the side, forcing me to turn right with him, I caught sight of decor.

The high ceilings, that lent itself to the vast potential that most buildings yearned for, were decorated with sashes and chandeliers that glimmered radiantly. And there were also some fairly big balloons floating around. I'd noticed them before in the lobby but shrugged it off. The walls were decorated with large paintings of various things. Fields of flowers with dancing ponies, small parties with smiling ponies and a lot of portraits. From the frequency of the portraits, I assumed these ponies were the mayor. The one consistent thing with them all: Every picture only included one race of pony, the earth kind. As my mind raced to process all the new information, a feeling I was quickly getting familiar with literally tugged at my neck. That gasp one felt just before they fell. I galloped over to Briar, glaring at Blue for not calling me. I mean, come on! The least he could do was keep me from being dragged around like a sack of potatoes, if he was just going to stand there silently.

"Can ask you some questions, since we might be walking a while?" I coughed, turning to Briar. Luckily, she was a slow walker, so our trip might take enough time for me to get some answers out of her.

"Hm? You have questions?" She shot back, her eyes forward. "Ok! But only If I get to ask some questions of my own." She stated. Before I could answer, she continued. "What's your name?" She asked, trotting happily. So she wasn't even going to let me agree to the deal first, huh? Fine, two can play at that game.

"Actually, it's my turn first." I argued, trying to flip my mane, though the mud made that impossible. I saw Briar scowl from the corner of my eye and that filled me with such evil joy. "You agreed to my deal but I didn't get the chance to agree to yours. It's quite rude to assume such things, ain't it?" I pushed, smirking at her. She stared back at me, her face weirdly blank. After a moment, her smile returned, even brighter.

"Oh, deary, you're right!" She chirped, chuckling. "How rude of me. I must be a better role model. You go first, deary." She offered, her tone sounding more patronizing than before. Or maybe that was just because I still hated her.

"What are NPP's?" I asked, ignoring the part of my brain that demanded I smack the pink out of her. But Blue would probably beat the shit out of me for that and I was way too weak to fight him and escape. Celestia knows how far into the city I was in. Besides, this was my most pressing question, second only to where was I and how did I get here. Both questions I was sure pinkie butt here wouldn't be able to answer.

"Well, you for one thing." She replied, chuckling at her own joke again. Blue, as usually, remained silent and I was just rolling my eyes. Damn it, I was stuck with her. If I could just use my magic, I would- "In all seriousness, NPP's are simply ponies who don't fit the Divine Princess' standards of perfection."

"Perfection?" I echoed, confused. Again with this divine Princess. Who was she? Why was her standards so important. "But nopony is perfect."

"Nopony but the Divine Princess!" Briar proclaimed, beaming. "She is divinity, so of course she decides who is worthy of the privileges that we pretty ponies receive."

"Pretty ponies?" I repeated, trying to read between the lines. Pretty ponies. NPP's. "So... NPP's are not pretty ponies?" I guessed, frowning. Briar clapped her hooves, pissing me off further.

"Very good, citizen!" She cheered. "Quite astute for an NPP." I growled at that, not liking her tone. She really was looking down on me just because of some 'divine princess' said I wasn't 'perfect'? Bitch! But I held it in. I couldn't attack her, no matter how much I wanted to. "Anyway, now it is my turn. What is your name?"

I stared at her for a moment, considering the notion of just not answering her. I hated her and her smile and she didn't deserve any of my respect. If she was Arctic or even Petal, I might have answered her but Briar was a bitch. Still, we had a long way to go and while I hated talking to her, I was getting some information. Information was my key to freedom.

"Moonlight Sonata." I answered, staring forward. Many of the ponies who milled about the corridor moved away, as if making a path for Briar. How fascinating...

"Oh? Quite the pretty name for a NPP." She snickered, looking me over. "And a blank flank too! Makes sense, I suppose." She assumed, her smile growing. I wasn't sure what connection my being a NPP would have on my cutiemark but I suppose it would just have another question to figure out. Seriously, I had to find someone tolerable to ask. "But from the name, I'm guessing you're a song pony? Or related to one?"

A song pony... A singer? Me? No, that was a life fate had chosen for other ponies. At most, singing was a hobby. Plus the reason for my name was a personal one which was none of this bitch's business.  Still, I had to say something, didn't I? So I shook my head at her. "No, I'm just a librarian." I replied.

Both Briar and Blue stopped, staring at me like I was crazy. I stared back, non pulsed. After a minute of silence, I was getting impatient. And confused. Mostly impatient though, cause I really wanted this conversation to end soon. Briar was not a fun mare to talk to. At all.

"You are a librarian?" She asked, unconvinced as she looked me over, walking closer to me. "A non-pretty pony as a librarian?" I opened my mouth, wanting to inform her that this puke green coat I currently had wasn't my real coat color but I just sighed. I didn't feel like explaining all that to her. It was none of her business either.

"Yes, that's what I said." I sighed, waiting for Blue to urge her to keep moving. I doubt she'd listen to me and Blue was the only other pony there so I prayed he'd do something other that stand there like a potted plant. Yet he just stared at me, frowning. It was the first time he'd actually looked me in the eye since I woke up. Strangely his eyes were red, despite him being blue in every other sense. Blue coat, blue mane, blue armor. It was like he was colored by someone with only one crayon. Yet the reason his eyes interested me was the words I could swear he was saying with them. Those ruby eyes questioned me.

Who are you? They asked.

"You are a NPP..." Briar continued, almost making me think that she could hear my thoughts. He must have felt the same, because his face fell back into the blank mask he had before and his gaze dropped to the ground once more. Still, his question was valid. I was a lot of things, in Equestria. But here, who was I?

"Yes, but I'm also not from here." I retorted, showing my hand a bit as I walked forward this time. I really hoped Briar would follow, cause this would look all kinds of stupid if I walked away only to be tugged back like a pet. I considered the notion that Briar might not follow, either out of pride or resentment but the risk had to be taken. If I didn't push a little, we'd be standing here forever and I wasn't doing that. Fortunately, Briar followed after me, continuing to question me.

"Ah, so you really are an outsider?" She questioned, though she didn't seem surprised.

"You didn't know?"

"I wasn't sure." She replied with a pleased smile, as if she had gained some kind of ground. Weird. "Most outsiders don't make it this far into the republic without being caught. Quite impressive of you, Moonlight." Far in? So I was some distance from the border then. Perhaps I'm even near the center of the country. Great. I inwardly groaned.

"I guess so..." I muttered, just to fill the silence. This raised some questions within me, though thankfully, they weren't new. Like how and why I came to find myself in Fair Valley. "I don't know much about this place." I admitted.

"That explains it!" Briar laughed haughtily. "No wonder you are so confused. A NPP as a Librarian? Ha, how ridiculous!" She snickered, catching the eyes of some passerby before they turned away. "I don't know where you came from but that isn't how things work in our society. To have a NPP work in a library is laughable."

Okay, now she was starting to piss me off on a whole different level. I may not like my job that much; its long, fairly boring and requires that I walk up kin of early, but I will be damned if I just let this bitch talk bad about it. I may be a lazy and antisocial librarian who curses at visitors and spends more time reading than actually doing my job but I take pride in what little work I actually do!

"Oh? And why is that?" I snapped at her, stopping to watch her expression change from jovial to slightly pensive. "Is it because most NPC's or whatever you call them are illiterate? One told me that they don't teach NPP's how to even read!"

"Well of course we don't." Briar snorted, unconcerned with my anger as she walked past me. "Why would we waste our and their precious time attempting such a feint?  NPP are well known to be less... capable of learning such things as reading and math." Blue flinched at this, his eyes still on the floor. "The Republic is quite aware of the limitation that plague NPP's and as such, try their best to make sure that they are comfortable."

"By treating them like idiots?" I argued, getting more and more annoyed. "They are uneducated, not brain dead!"

Briar rolled her eyes, clearly unconvinced of my statement. Again, she gave me that indulgent look that made my blood boil. "Oh, you must be one of those special NPP's." She concluded, apparently forgetting that I was an 'outsider'. "One who has learned to speak so eloquently from a kind if not misguided pony. Who is your master, by the way? Or mistress. Either way, I really must know who taught you such silly ideas." She insisted, looming closer to me. For some reason, I backed away, suddenly wary of the pony. "Who helped you?"

I had a feeling she was fishing for more information (It was kind of obvious) but my rage at being dismissed took up the majority of my thoughts. I felt my eyes twitching in frustration. This mare was going to give me a aneurysm! But I had to stay calm. I had stay cool. Be calm, be cool, be awesome... I let out a breath, my headache fading a little as I let my rage flow out. Sure, I was still stuck with this stupid mare but at least it was almost-

"We have arrived at Mayor Razzaroo's office, my lady." Blue stated, appearing between of the two of us. We both jumped back at the sight of the stallion. Blue was pretty quiet despite his size. Behind him were a short staircase that led up to a pair of golden double doors. On the doors, the initials "MR" were engraved into the door, just in case anyone was unclear on whose office it was, I suppose.

"Oh? I suppose we have arrived already." Briar sighed, looking disappointed. "Too bad! I was having so much fun talking to you. It's not often that I get to talk to a NPP who looks me in the eye." She stated, turning to me. We stared at each other for a minute before she turned to Blue, who was staring at the ground. "Will you be accompanying me, solider?"

Blue shook his head. "No, my lady." He replied, bowing his head. "I have been tasked with escorting the prisoner to the mayors office until I have been dismissed by her. I apologize." He said, his voice deep and regretful, as if he really did feel bad for not being able to stay with the mare.

I snorted, rolling my eyes. If Blue wanted to be with Briar, that was his problem. Me? I had to figure out a way out of here. Perhaps I could convince the Mayor to let me go. I mean, I hadn't actually done anything wrong as far as I know. I was just caught up with Smokey and whatever he'd done wrong. Which seemed strange, since he seemed like a nice kid. But then again, I'd only just met him.

My mind had been too busy teetering between the thought of Smokey being innocent and him being a thug, so when the doors to the mayors office slammed open, I only had a second to react before I was shoved to the side by some pony. Whoever it was who that pushed me to the side was strong, making me roll across the carpeted floor twice. Just as the pony rounded a corner, I could have sworn I saw a curly blonde tail. Was that-

"Petal, please wait!"  I looked up to see a familiar face standing in the doorway. A light blue mare stared over us, her eyes looking for the pony who had mowed me down. "Petal-"

"Nurse Arctic Breeze!" Briar cried, gaining the attention of the mare who flinched at the sight of her. Briar didn't seem to notice, trotting closer. "Just the mare I was looking for! I was just about to stop by your office for our meeting and yet here you are. How fortunate."

Arctic grimaced, sighing as her eyes looked away. "I... apologize, Lady Briar." She said, walking down the stairs. "I was just going to leave so I could set everything up. Though, I didn't expect you here. Surely a mare such as you wouldn't trouble yourself with meeting with the mayor for just a short visit."

"Oh, I'm not here for that. I was just escorting this NPP outsider to the mayor's office." She informed Arctic with a smiled as she pointing at me struggling to my hooves. Arctic took one look at me and flinched, looking at me with such worry, I grew even more anxious. What was awaiting me? More creepy cultist chanting? Imprisonment? Death?

"Anyway, since I managed to catch you here, why don't we get going, Nurse Breeze?" Briar suggested, floating the gem (I'll call it the Restraining Gem or RG for short) from her saddlebags and tossed it to Blue, who caught it in his mouth. "Since the stallion claims to be under orders, I suppose we'll have to go by ourselves, won't we?" Arctic jumped when Briar began to use her magic to tug her forward by her saddlebags, not really giving her a chance to respond.

"But I-" Arctic's words went unheard by me as they quickly left me and Blue standing at the foot of the mayors staircase. For a moment, I watched Arctic get further from me, her frantic eyes falling on me, as if trying to speak to me, to warn me. But about what? Meanwhile, Blue slid the restraining gem into his chest plate. Apparently, there was a pocket in there, since there was no sign of it afterward. We shared a look, my violet eyes boring into his red eyes. After a minute, he sighed.

"For a smart pony, you really aren't very smart, are you?" He sighed deeply, shaking his head in disappointment. "You must be an outsider."

"What?" I muttered, cocking my head just before the stallion got close enough to whisper to me. I jumped.

"So let me give you some advice and if I were you, I'd listen." He growled, sending shivers of fear through me. Despite his words, I had a feeling there was a threat underneath that 'advice'. Or anger. But at who, I couldn't fathom.

"A-and what is that?" I pushed, my eyes on the double doors that had slid shut after Arctic's departure.

"Don't be a smart ass. You'll only get yourself hurt." He warned, moving away to look me in the eye. "I don't how things go in the outerlands but in Ponyland, there are rules. Rules that you really don't want to break." With that, he turned to the door and began walking up the stairs, not once looking back. I knew it'd take a couple more steps before the RG forced me to follow, so I waited, wanting just a moment to think.

I had gained a lot of information in the last hour or so. More than I anticipated, to be honest. For one thing, the ponys here seemed a bit wary of outsiders for some reason. So they were either very isolated or in conflict. But which, I couldn't say for now. All I do know is that I was slap dab in the middle of a world filled with more questions than answers.

"Oi, Are you coming or not?" Blue called out, just one step from the Gem's maximum distance. I could tell cause the tugging sensation had only just began, that feeling when you feel your body reacts to the impending drop despite it not happening yet. So he knew how far he could go before the collar pulled me? Smart stallion. Still, I sighed, slowly walking to catch up with him. He nodded, probably understanding my hesitation, before turning to knock on the door. As we waited for permission to enter, I felt my heart race. I really didn't like this. There were too many unknowns. This place's laws, beliefs and norms were all still a mystery to me. To be honest, I was scared of what might await me. But I held it in. For as long as I was here, I was trapped. By ponies and their ways. So I needed to know where I was exactly in order to escape. After that... Eh, I'll worry about that later. For now, I had to play the part.

It wouldn't be the first time, would it?