Less about freedom, more about free food.
Author's Note
A quick bit I did for the Holiday.
Happy Fourth of July everyone! And if you don't celebrate it, well... Happy Fourth of July anyway!
Less about freedom, more about free food.
You are Anonymous, or just Anon for short. A young woman with brown hair and tom-boyish tendencies that, through some magical time-space tomfoolery, ended up in Equestria.
Those first few days were pretty scary, lemme tell ya. You remember the first thing you did after waking up in some random grassy field, was wander into a seemingly normal town, only to get surrounded by a crowd of curious, colorful little horses. It was cute until a bright pink one jumped on you and started talking, talking!
You know now that she was just trying to welcome you to town, offering to throw you a party like she did with every new face. But at the time you were struggling to keep your mind together. I mean... come on! Small, talking horse people! What the fudge!? That would be like a 7.5 on anyone's weirdness scale!
Luckily you're Anon. You're one cool chick. A smooth operator. So naturally...
You freaked the eff out! I'm talking the whole package here; screaming and flailing, flailing and screaming, throwing the innocent creatures off of you when they tried to calm you down! You're pretty sure at one point a dragon got involved, but maybe he was just passing by on his way to work.
The point is, it was madness! Complete and utter hysteria that ended with you cornered in a bakery with only a handful of weaksause molotov cocktails to defend yourself with!
And then... Princess Celestia, kind and noble ruler of Equestria walked through the door, surrounded in an aura of serenity and a halo of light. She called out your name like an echo across the universe within your soul and extended her hoof in peace, assuring you that she and her subjects meant you no harm, and that should you stand down, they would give to you their everlasting friendship.
And then you set her on fire!
She was trying to be the mature one and you lit the Princess of the sun on fire! She was screaming. And you were screaming. And all the tablecloths caught fire too! And then-
Uh... where were we going with this?
Ahem... Right. What I'm trying to say is that everything worked out just fine in the end.
Five months later you're living in Ponyville. You’ve gotten a job on the apple farm, made friends with many ponies in town, and learned quite a bit more than you'd ever want to know about how things work in Equestria. Most of all, the amount of times they cuddle you has only increased with each passing day... no matter how many times you ask them to stop.
Right now you find yourself in the blissful embrace of sleep. Sleep is good. It's your friend. It keeps you warm and safe, and is always there for you.
"Anon!" a familliar voice loudly calls your name.
"NO! Sleep, don't leave me! You said we'd be together forever! Come back!" you cry out to your one true love.
But it's no use. As thunderous, deafening hoofsteps surround you and the cold light of day is unleashed upon your eyelids like excoriating fire, you can only lay there helplessly as you beloved is ripped away from you.
"Up an at 'em girl, we got a big day ahead!" you hear Applejack tell you as you groggily open your eyes. And you glare at her smiling face as she comes and shakes you a bit. "No time to dally Anon, this ain't like normal big days, Twilight and the gals are headin' to the Crystal Empire to organize a celebration down there. Twi was insistent that you come along too, so let's not let her down."
You regard her coolly for a few seconds before pulling the blanket over your head with a grunt, desperate to reunite with your love.
"Aw don't be like that. I know what'll change yer mind." Applejack sing-songs through the blanket, "We got breakfast downstairs with applesauce pancakes."
You pull the blankets down and sit up to look at her.
"Sleep... you've been replaced."
After breakfast with the Apple family, you and Applejack head to the train station where Twilight and the others are already waiting. They wave to you both as you arrive.
"Applejack, Anon! Thank goodness you're both here in time." Twilight says with a sigh of relief, "I thought you might miss the train, but luckily you were only forty-two seconds late!"
Applejack chuckles a bit and gives you a knowing grin. "Yeah, sorry 'bout that Twilight. Had a bit of a late riser over here." she says jokingly.
Just then the train whistle blows and the conductor beckons everypony aboard. Twilight leads the way into the train car and the ponies find their seats. You find a seat close to the door and scooch over to the window. Looking to your right, you can see Rainbow and Applejack secure the booth across the isle while Spike struggles to load Rarity's gigantic suitcase onto the luggage rack.
Pinkie and Flutters are settling in for the long ride in the seats just ahead of yours, the latter looking calm and content as she normally does, and the former looking like she can barely wait to get there.
Twilight is sitting in the seat across from you, and going over at least half a dozen notebooks suspended in her magic.
"Hay Twilight, can I ask you something?" you get her attention through the floating paper barriers.
She perks up and her eyes dart to yours. "Of course. What would you like to know?"
"Well... this Crystal Empire place. What is it exactly?" you ask her. In all the time you've been in Equestria, you've barely heard of the place.
"Oh! That's right, you've never been there before." Twilight smacks a hoof to her face in shock. "You're in luck; ever since it reappeared and was freed from King Sombra, I've been able to learn so much more about them. I even brought a few of the notes I've compiled!" she digs around in her saddlebags for a moment, and pulls out a stack of papers that shouldn't have, by any law of physics, been able to fit inside a pony's saddlebags.
"Those are your notes?!" you exclaim as she sets them on the table between you with a heavy thud.
"Oh it's nothing much, just the abridged version for quick general reference. But it should contain everything you'll need to know for our visit there today. Shall we get started?" she asks with a gleam in her eye that tell you it wasn't really a question.
Knowing how Twilight can get some times (and the consequences for not indulging in her research), you simply nod your head and prepare for the exposition dump of the century.
...
The train chugs along its tracks at a steady pace as you stare out the window at the scenery whipping by. Most of what Twilight has been telling you has long since become white-noise in your ears, and your state of mind is now locked in a perpetual state of "unconscious but still blinking".
"...and that's when Cadence and Spike brought the heart back to the crystal ponies, restoring their hope and allowing it to banish Sombra once and for all." Twilight finishes her hour long retelling of the history of the Empire and composes herself. "Any questions?"
You blink once or twice, noting that the sounds from the mare in front of you have finally ceased.
"Anon?" Twilight leans in and waves a hoof in front of your face.
"Huh? Are we there yet?" you drone out as you gradually return to the world of the living.
"Um, I meant anything about their history before we move on to their culture." Twilight clarifies, and yet it only makes you want to arrive even more.
"Geez Louise, Twilight. You're gonna bore her to death at this rate." you hear Rainbow groan from your lap- wait what?
"Yeah Twilight, I don't think I've ever heard a pony talk for so long without a break. And I've been to Mayor Mare's speeches; those are super duper long." Pinkie comments from her position sprawled across your other leg- okay, what now?
"Hey, what are you two doing down there?! Off!" you shoo them away.
"Oh come on Anon, we only wanted you to rub our tummies." Pinkie tells you with an innocent smile.
"It was pretty good while it lasted too." Rainbow adds as she gets up to stretch. "Heck, you kept it up for a whole half hour while you pretended to listen to Twilight's lecture."
Now, being told you were in a mindless trance during a history lecture would have been nothing new to you. Heck, it happened in highschool all the time. But being told that you could also be hypnotized into giving small ponies free belly rubs, and that such a feature was whole-heartedly exploited by two of the mares you've learned that you could trust with your life? Scandalous! So naturally, it only makes sense to let them know of how deeply they've shattered your trust.
"Seriously you guys, that's like the tenth time this week!" you tell them. "Am I going to have to wear mittens from now on?"
"Actually, that's something I wanted to talk to you about." Twilight says.
"Please don't tell me you want a tummy rub too." you beg her.
"What- No! Well... maybe later. But what I mean is, I was sort of hoping- if you're okay with it of course- maybe... setting up a booth where you could give those special massages to the crystal ponies?" Twilight explains, only getting more nervous with each passing word.
You stare at her for a moment before answering, really savoring the tenseness coming off her. "Is that the only reason I'm here?"
"O-of course not! There's certainly other things you can do to help out. This is a city-wide celebration after all, and there's no shortage of jobs that could use a helping hoof. Or hand in your case." Twilight tells you.
"Then if it's okay, I think I'll stick to the normal kind of helping."
Though she tries to hide it, Twilight's ears flop down in disappointment, but you can tell she understands. "That's alright, it's still great to have you here with us. Now let's move on to obscure trivial knowledge about the Crystal Ponies!" she says, bringing out a new stack of papers.
You feel your head hit the the table as Rainbow Dash chuckles in your ear.
After an eternity of things you'll never need to know, the train finally pulls into the station and the eight of you step outside. You managed to get a look at this Crystal Empire place a few times through the snowstorm out the train's windows, but it looks even more impressive up close. You feel the need to put on sunglasses just looking at the giant sparkling buildings.
Then you hear a series of thuds next to you, and find that Spike has once again been burdened with the grunt work. He was trying to carry everypony's luggage all at once, but five bags and a giant suitcase was too much, even for a dragon.
"Uh, need some help there Spike?" you ask him as the others have already trotted ahead.
"Naw, I'm good. I'm a dragon after all, and dragons are strong." he tells you, though he's still clearly struggling to keep all of them balanced on his back.
"Okay, but... how about I get this one for you?" you say and take one of the looser bags before it can fall again, "And maybe these two here, this one... and this one too."
Somehow you just took five of the bags off him and he's still carrying about three times his own body weight. "Rarity sure likes to come prepared huh?" you comment, trying your best not to say what's really on your mind.
Even so, Spike gets a familiar look in his eyes and walks onward like he's floating on clouds. "Yeah... Rarity's pretty amazing."
You've reminded yourself more than once that Rarity is the element of 'generosity', not the element of 'consideration'. But seriously, you're pretty sure what she does to Spike would be illegal back in your own world.
When you catch up with Twilight and the rest, she's talking with a soft pink alicorn, royalty no doubt. She's probably meeting with her to discuss how to organize the festivities. You consider that maybe they know each other too. Twilight's already close with the sun and moon sisters, and they're obviously happy to see each oth-
"Sunshine sunshine, ladybugs awake. Clap your hooves and do a little shake!"
You have to slap yourself after seeing that.
Yep... they apparently know each other well.
And so Princess Cadence led the group through the Crystal Empire towards the giant spire in the center of the city, happily chatting with Twilight and her friends about the upcoming celebration while you and Spike chose to pick up the rear. Well, you chose, Spike was still encumbered by the massive suitcase on his back, and despite your offer to trade with him, he refused to let anyone else lay a hoof on Rarity's luggage.
It seems that all that lecturing Twilight gave you on the train is paying off, as you can immediately recognize a few famous buildings and landmarks as you pass by them; like the grand library, the ornate fountain in the market center, a waffle stand... all of it's great really.
Being friends with royalty sure has its perks. How do you know? Because the guest rooms are flippin' awesome, that's why! Your jaw nearly dropped when you got a look inside the castle. You're pretty sure even five-star hotels aren't as fancy as these rooms.
Sadly you can't take advantage of the perks just yet. Once everypony has dropped off their bags, each is given an assignment by the Princess and quickly takes off to complete it. Spike went with Twilight, leaving you alone with the pink alicorn.
"I don't believe we've been properly introduced yet. You're one of Twilight's friends; the human girl, right? She's told me a lot about you in her letters."
"That's right, I'm Anonymous, or just Anon for short. A pleasure to meet you, your majesty." You say and take a bow.
The Princess chuckles. "Just Cadence is fine. So Twilight tells me you turned down the offer for tummy rubs."
This would be the first this to come up. "Yeah..." you rub the back of your neck, "I hope it's not a big deal. But yeah.. not doin' it."
"It's nothing I can't handle, but if you don't mind me asking, why did you say no?" Cadence asks as the two of you start down the halls. "Do you find ponies uncomfortable to be around?"
"Yes." you blurt out before your brain can tell your mouth to stop. "Wait no- that sounded bad. What I mean is- Don't get me wrong, it's nothing to do with you ponies. You're all surprisingly... plush. But it's just kind of... awkward for me. I don't mind doing it for friends. In private. And if they don't make any noises while I'm doing it. Otherwise it makes it feel like something else. You know what I mean?"
Princess Cadence gives you a stare that says she doesn't.
You massage your temples thinking of a way to explain it without wandering into dangerous territory. "So humans are a lot more... sensitive than ponies. We have a very strict definition of personal space, and that can lead to some... awkward situations."
Cadence tilts her head.
"Let's just drop this, okay?"
Cadence shrugs and leads onward. "So I'm guessing you're as excited about the festival as the rest of us."
It's then that you realize that for all Twilight told you about the Crystal Empire, she didn't tell you anything at all about what they're celebrating. At some point you'll get her back for that, but for now you've got to employ your smooth talking skills to learn everything you can, while not sounding like you're completely lost.
"What's it for anyway?"
Goddammit.
"You don't know? It's to celebrate the day one year ago when we saved the crystal ponies from their Evil King." Cadence tells you, "It started as the crystal faire to re-power the crystal heart that protects the Empire, and now we're sort of adding a new layer to it to celebrate their freedom from Sombra's tyranny. I have a feeling that this will be the best one yet. There's going to be a parade, and fireworks-"
"So it's basically the Fourth of July then." you casually interrupt.
"What's that?" she asks.
"Oh, its a holiday back in my world. Americans do it every year to mark the end of their Revolutionary War, where they won their independence from Great Britain." You explain. "I think Twilight and I talked about this once."
Cadence looks aghast for a second. "Your kind... went to war with another country? Were they evil?"
"Well, evil's not really the right word. In the eyes of some at the time, maybe. Mostly they were just greedy." You tell her, wishing you'd paid more attention during your third grade history class. "You see, Britain was a really powerful nation that wanted to set up colonies all over the world to make lots of money from farmers and miners and stuff. Only to make sure they stayed in power, the British government set up a bunch of laws that made everything super great for them, but made everything suck for their colonies and everyone living in them. Until finally, the colonists in North America decided they'd had enough, and made a statement with the Boston Tea Party."
"They protested by having a tea party?" Cadence asks, clearly confused.
"'Tea party', in the sense that they went into the harbor at night and vandalized the British trade ships, throwing entire chests of tea into the harbor." you clarify, "That act of defiance, coupled with rising political tensions oversea led to a war that lasted nearly ten years and claimed the lives of around sixty-thousand people, plus or minus twenty-thousand-ish; records are sketchy. But hey, now we have a holiday where everyone can have fun and watch the fireworks. Silver linings."
You look over your shoulder to see Cadence sitting on the floor, unmoving with a look of horror frozen on her face.
You snicker a bit. "That's the same face Twilight made when I told her about it."
You are now Princess Cadence.
You are walking around the spire with Anon the human girl, keeping your regal poise as you think over what she told you about her holiday back home. It has its similarities certainly; an oppressive ruler, a populace forced to serve... but what happened in the Crystal Empire, where you had to protect the crystal ponies from Sombra, the premise was completely different than starting a war, and killing thousands.
Looking at Anon now, you find it hard to believe that humans could be so... rash, and violent.
"So where to?" you hear Anon ask, and remember that you were supposed to be leading her to where Pinkie Pie and Applejack were helping with the baked confections.
"They should be setting up with Opal Crust over there." you tell her, and point to the main street where most of the snack vendors are setting up. "If they don't need any more help, you should talk to Twilight. She'll probably know everything happening in the city at this point."
She thanks you with a smile and walks off. As you wave to her, you can't help but let your mind wander. Anon seems nice, a little stiff at times, but not violent. And yet she was able to talk about a major conflict, a war, as if it were no big deal, something that just was. From what she told you, it wasn't even that long ago, relatively speaking. Were all humans so jaded?
You look back and see Pinkie tackle hug Anon to the ground before rolling over on her back and pointing to her belly expectantly, meanwhile Applejack and Opal Crust share a laugh over the pink mare's antics.
"Well if they can all get along, I'm sure she's fine."
With that in mind you walk over to the stadium where the fireworks are going to be held. You see your husband Shining Armor helping to set up the fireworks, or rather, putting up flame shields in case anything decides to catch fire before they launch them. While he works, Rainbow Dash is swooping through the air above his head, excitedly talking about something as she comes in for another dive bomb.
"... and then BOOM! The sky lights up in a spectrum of color and sound right as the fireworks come to their finale!" she finishes what was no doubt her description of a dazzling performance of her own design. "So what do ya say? Is my sonic rainboom going to make an appearance?"
Shining finishes casting a barrier on the last box of fireworks before finally turning to answer her. "I don't know Rainbow Dash, that seems really unsafe with all those rockets exploding at the same time you're in the sky. And the force from the sonic rainboom could send some of the fireworks back down at us before they explode."
"Aww come on. You're talkin' to the best aerial stunt flyer in all of Equestria! I can dodge an weave through a few fireworks." Rainbow argues "And besides, not giving these ponies a sonic rainboom at their celebration would be a crime. A crime against awesomeness!"
Shining pauses and thinks for a moment. "Well... I guess if we put in a pause before we launch the final rockets. Or maybe have your rainboom immediately after the finale- Cadence!" he stops his train of thought as you decide to make your approach. "Hi honey. Here to check on the firework preparations?"
"Sort of." you tell him with a touch of sweetness in your voice, "I'm mostly here to check up on you though." you say as you nuzzle him.
"Oh I'm doing fine, Rainbow and I were just talking logistics here."
"I heard, and I think a sonic rainboom would be a wonderful addition to out display tonight. Just as long as it's safe that is." you turn to Rainbow. "Think you can pull it off without a hitch?"
"You bet I can!" Rainbow says, her eyes full of determination like always "I'm going to start my warm-ups right now, just let me know when to hit the skies!" And the that she takes to the air, gone in a streak of color before you can get another word in.
"So," you turn back to Shining, "Now that the fireworks are secure for tonight, think you'd like to say hi to your little sister?" you ask, already anticipating the answer.
"You bet! Just let me finish fireproofing this one last box."
You are now Anon again.
"Make it stop! Turn it off. Turn it off!" you yell as you hold onto Pinkie Pie's hindquarters so she isn't consumed by the dreaded monster known as the cotton candy machine.
"Ah can't! This dern thang has a mind of it's own!" Applejack yells over the mechanical whirring as she tried to rip out the drive belt.
"Hold on everypony!" you hear Opal Crust yell as he rushes in with a toolbox in his mouth. He quickly pops it open and throws a literal monkey-wrench into the machine.
The cotton candy machine clanks, grinds and sputters before it finally stops moving. At last the beast is dead.
You pull Pinkie free from the bowl and place her on the ground. Immediately you check to see if she's breathing, allowing yourself to breathe as well once you feel the gradual rise and fall of her chest. "Pinkie?" you pull some of the sugary wool off her face, "Pinkie Pie, speak to me!"
"A- an...on." she whispers weakly.
"Yes Pinkie, I'm here." you tell her as you cradle her head in your hands.
"Th-tha- that... Was AMAZING! Tee-hehe!" she yells, springing to life and licking the rest of the cotton candy from her face. "At first it was scary, like my head was trapped in a tornado. But then I realized, 'this tornado is made of sugar!' and so I opened my mouth and-"
"She's fine." you deadpan as Pinkie goes on about her experience. "You know Applejack, I just realized something. This whole time we've been setting up stands for crystal corn, funnel cake, crystalberry cider, that stuff. You don't think we're going to heavy on the sweets do you?"
You know that the food in Equestria is 50 percent sugar (as opposed to your world where it's 50 percent artificial flavoring), but it seems a little strange to not have at least one place selling freshly grilled hot dogs. Or... pony equivalent of hot dogs.
"Well ah was thinkin' that myself on the way over here, but Twilight says its important to uphold tradition. And these are traditional Crystal Empire foods." Applejack explains. "Wouldn't feel right replacin' them with something else."
"That's fair, I guess." you admit. But then you remember something, and heave the feeling you're about to blow some minds. "Although... there's nothing wrong with making new traditions. That's the great thing about holidays, right? As long as you do it in the spirit of things, you can pretty much throw in whatever you want! It's like how one year my cousins put on mascot costumes and held a jousting competition on their bikes; it didn't have diddly-squat to do with Independence Day, but it was funny as heck, so we did the same thing every year afterwards."
"That sounds fun!" Pinkie exclaims, bouncing in front of you. "I've gotta find rarity so she can make us some costumes. This Freedom Day is gonna be a blast!"
Pinkie is gone before you can even think of stopping her. Applejack gives you a questioning glance, one which you return.
"I..." she begins slowly. "I think I'm just gonna whip up some old family dishes and try an make 'em more... crystally."
"Cool. I think I've had enough close encounters with food for one day. So if you're good here I'm going to check on Twilight."
"Alright. Ya'll make sure Twi ain't overworking herself again." Applejack tells you, bouncing a screwdriver into her mouth. "I fink she an Fwuttershy were over nerr va gardens." she says around the tool in her teeth.
"Gardens. Got it. Thanks AJ, see you later." you say and wave to her.
It's a bit of a walk to the crystal gardens, since they're located away from the buildings and houses, closer to the small ring of farmland that abruptly ends where the shield does. The gardens are very pretty, and recently built by the looks of them. Crystal hedges, blooming crystal trees, crystal rose bushes, crystal azaleas... and lots of other regular plants but with "crystal" in front of the name.
When you find Twilight she's with Fluttershy, and the two seem to be setting up some sort of petting zoo. Meanwhile the future occupants of said petting zoo are wandering the gardens, despite Twilight's magical attempts to keep them contained.
"Are you sure you don't want to follow my diagram Fluttershy?" Twilight asks, "It could make the petting zoo at least 13.9 percent more efficient, and make sure everypony who comes in gets to see each of the animals at least once."
"Oh Twilight, that's very... well organized. But I don't think the little critters would like being cooped up in separate pens the whole time." Fluttershy tells her. "It might make them nervous. Or even lonely."
"Hey gals, how's it going?" you greet them.
"Oh, hello Anon." Fluttershy says. "Would you like to hold one of the ewes?" She then picks up one of the tiny sparkling sheep as it walks by, and flutters up to give it to you.
"Uh... that's okay Flutter-" you start, but then she hits you with one of her stares.
It's not The Stare, just a stare. The kind that says, "Oh please just do this... for me? I'll be so sad if you don't."
You've never been that into animals, no matter how cute. In a way, it's why you're resistant to giving out your coveted tummy rubs; your pony friends just remind you too much of animals while you do it, and you hate thinking of them like that. But seeing Fluttershy's hopeful expression makes you take the sheep, just to humor her.
You don't see why though, I mean it's just another- Oh dear Lord in Heaven with a side of fries.
"Ssssoooooo soooooofffft." You sigh as soon as the sheep's wool touches your skin. You can't help rubbing your face into it! It's like burying yourself in a pile of clothes fresh out of the dryer times a million. Like lying in a grassy field in the shade, only that grassy field is also an herbal bath. It's like flipping the pillow over to the cool side and finding a twenty-dollar bill stuck to it! It's opening a ten-piece chicken nugget meal and finding out they gave you eleven nuggets.
"Um, Anon?" Twilight breaks you out of your euphoria and flashes a cheeky smile. "Maybe we should leave the petting for when the petting zoo is all set up."
"Mine!" you snap when you see her try to take the sheep from you, lifting it out of her reach. "My precioussss." you hiss, glaring her back.
Fluttershy just giggles at your antics and pats Twilight on the shoulder. "Rainbow did the same thing her first time."
You wave goodbye to Twilight, Fluttershy, and the herd of wonderful sparkly sheep. You're definitely coming back later for one those fluffy balls of bliss. It would make the best living pillow ever.
But hypothetical sheep-napping for sheep napping aside, the important thing is you've gotten Twilight and Fluttershy to agree on a layout for the petting zoo.
It occurred to you that Twilight's idea of having all the animals kept in pens, while convenient for the ponies wanting to pet them, wasn't very appropriate for a festival celebrating freedom. Twilight wholeheartedly agreed, feeling quite ashamed for not realizing sooner. But just as quickly she came up with an another idea: food. She'd set up feeding stations in certain areas of the garden that had food only a certain variety of animals liked. That way the animals would choose to stay near one spot.
It was genius!
It was also a little disturbing. Rather than being forced to be contained, the animals were choosing to be contained for the benefits it gave them. This thought came to you when you made it out of the gardens, but you shrugged it off, glad it didn't come up when you were around your pony friends. It didn't really kick in until you got back to the concession stands, where Applejack was giving samples of her cooking to the locals. From their expressions, they really liked it, but that was kind of the point.
The Crystal Empire was a dome of safety in the middle of frozen nowhere! They didn't have enough farmland to grow food for the whole city, so they had to get it shipped in. If the shield failed, they'd all succumb to the cold. Dammit Twilight, if she knew this well enough to teach you on a train, why didn't she realize how dumb it is to stay here! You sure did!
"It's all a zoo. It's a zoo for ponies." you groan into your palm. "Ugh, this is why I try not to think."
Luckily somepony arrives to distract you from Equestria's faulty planning.
"Oh, darling there you are." you hear Rarity's upper-class accent call to you. "I've been needing an outside opinion on a few things. Do you have a moment?"
Gladly, you nod and follow her.
"I was having the worst time trying to get the designs on these banners to the proper scale, and it didn't help that Pinkie came in with the most outrageous idea. She wanted me to create giant costumes of Spike, and jousting targets that look like King Sombra." Rarity took a moment to snort. "Where she came up with that ridiculous idea I'll never know."
"Heh... yeah. Well that's Pinkie for ya. Never know what she'll do next." you chuckle nervously, averting your eyes to anywhere but her.
The seamstress workshop here is much like her own boutique in Ponyville... just more crystally. Obviously. It also looks relatively new. New racks of fabric, new sewing machines, new tables and diagrams... new everything really. You get this place was taken over by an evil king, and then banished for a thousand years, but come on, they must have made their clothes someho-
You facepalm. Ponies are ponies. They don't need to wear clothes.
"The good news is I managed to complete her request in record time, and finish the banners with a little extra flare." Rarity brings you back from inside your head. She grabs a giant piece of fabric and unrolls it on a long crystal table so you can admire her work. "What do you think dear? Won't this look amazing when it's hanging from the castle, flowing ever so slightly in the breeze?"
"Wow. It's beautiful Rarity." you tell her. She's always done really great work, and this time's no different.
The banner is a bit of an extended version of the Crystal Empire's flag, of which Twilight showed you several pictures of on the way here. The purplish color seems to change depending on how the light hits it, sending a spectrum of color over the designs. There's a flowing white scrollwork all along the sides that finally meets near the arrow-shaped point at the end of the banner, but the way she worked the fabric makes the outline shimmer silver.
The most outstanding piece though, is the emblem in the center; where before it was just a plain snowflake in the center of a small circular outline, now the circle is smaller, allowing the snowflakes limbs to stretch beyond it, perhaps a symbol of the Empire now longer being trapped and contained, but instead reaching out beyond its borders. A nice sentiment if that what it means. And in the very center of the snowflake is the crystal heart, the source of the Empire's protection and the conduit of their hope. All together, it's quite stunning, but warming at the same time.
"They're gonna love this." you tell her.
"Oh, well thank you darling. Care to join me while I bring it to Princess Cadence?" Rarity asks, to which you agree.
While you're leaving though, you notice quite a few pieces of paper scattered around a desk. Curiously picking one up, you find they're designs for the banner, likely ones Rarity decided not to use. The one in your hand though has some unsettling similarities to another flag you know of.
"Oh, I see you've stumbled upon my rejected designs." Rarity says with a hint of embarrassment. "The creative process is hardly ever a straightforward process you know, and there's bound to be some... less than stellar ideas."
"Like this one?" you ask, showing her the stars and stripes in your hand.
Rarity's gets even more sheepish and averts her gaze. "Ah... yes... that one. Apologies darling, I... was having a bit of trouble thinking of a way to improve the banner's design, and thought of that time you told us of your county's flag. Needless to say, it didn't quite match the feeling I was hoping for." she explains. "Not that stars aren't dazzling on their own, but..."
"It's alright." you tell her. "Actually, I'm kinda glad it didn't work out."
Rarity gives you a confused look.
"I told you what the stars on the flag were for, right? The fifty states that make up America. At first there were only thirteen, for the thirteen original colonies, but as more states were made, more stars were added. But do you know what the red and white stripes are?" you ask.
Rarity shakes her head.
"Bloody bandages." you say with a chipper smile.
Rarity looks aghast, sputtering incoherently and trying to force out all her words at once. Meanwhile, you just laugh.
"Anon! How can you laugh at such a thing? That's horrible!" she scolds you, but the overly-shocked tone of her voice only makes you crack up more.
"Well what do you expect? We fought a war to be our own nation." you say as your laughter simmers down. "Why not design our flag to honor the people who fought and died for our freedom? It only seems right, right?"
Rarity is silent, and you kinda feel bad for making her feel bad.
"Come on, let's get this not-bloody flag to Cadence." you tell her, folding the stars and stripes and putting it in the pocket of your jeans.
It was a pretty eventful day, all things considered. The festivities started late in the afternoon, and you were more than happy to join your pony friends as they took part in the celebration. It was also pretty satisfying to see the impact you all made on the events; the petting zoo's animals got a little hard to contain, but nopony really minded as long as they got to see them; Pinkie's inspired idea of jousting Sombra targets really took off, even if the dopey visage of the king still frightened some ponies, it made it all the more rewarding when they exploded in a rain of candy. Speaking of sweets, Applejack's home recipes provided a nice variety for ponies looking for something new and different... meaning anyone who walked by and got a whiff of it.
Between the activities and the activeness of your friends, it's safe to say you're exhausted by the time night rolls around. And thus we get back to you, Anon, as you're flopped flat on your back, arms and legs stretched out at your side, and the mattress threatening to consume you from below.
"Uhh, I had too much apple strudel. Darn it Applejack, you're cooking is too amazing."
Despite your moans, you're really quite content. You've got a little while before Cadence gives her speech and the fireworks start. You'll meet up with everypony then.
Just then there's a soft knock at your door.
Your head lifts up without the rest of your body. "Hello? It's unlocked." You know the rooms don't have locks, but it's still true.
"Hello Anon," Princess Cacence pokes her head in, "Do you mind if I come in. I was hoping to talk with you about something."
You slide yourself into a sitting position on the edge of the bed and beckon her in. "Sure thing. I'm all ears."
Cadence gracefully climbs up sits next to you. "It's about what you told me earlier, about how your kind fought a war for your freedom. It made me wonder about my own kingdom, about my subjects and what being free from Sombra means to them. I wrote a speech earlier, but looking over it now... it seems underwhelming."
You look at her. It's a little odd seeing a Princess be this open with you, like the two of you were just regular friends.
"Well.. what've you got so far? Just tell it to me like I was your subjects."
Cadence smiles at you, takes a deep breath, and begins.
"My dear subjects, today we celebrate our freedom, the freedom of the Crystal Empire and all of its citizens from the tyranny of King Sombra. We celebrate our right to live and find happiness. It was on this day that we stood together, and declared to the Dark King in one voice that we would not cower under his might, we would not let his evil snuff out our light. We're going to live on, we're going to thrive.
"On this day, we celebrate... our Independence Day!"
As Cadence finished her speech a fanfare of flugelhorns sounded off, the new banner unfurled, streams of confetti burst into the air, and the fireworks display began. The cheering below drowned out nearly everything else as the crystal ponies went wild, and Cadence leaned over the railing to smile down at her subjects with Shining at her side.
Off to the sidelines of the crowd, a safe distance from the mosh-pit of colorful horses, we find you, hugging your ribs with laughter.
"Pfft, Heh-he ha ha HA! I can't believe she actually used that!" you laugh, not caring if anyone heard you.
You glance up at the Princess and her husband, seeing them happy makes you happy, and hearing the hollers and shouts from the crystal ponies around you really helps. Right before the finale starts, Rainbow Dash lights up the sky with her sonic rainboom, nearly overtaking the entire night sky with its brilliant spectrum.
You pull out the creased paper with Rarity's sketch of the stars and stripes and hold it up to the light of the fireworks, lazily snapping a salute with your other hand.
Despite your own cynicism, you know in your heart that being free to live your life, free to be happy, free to have a good time with your friends... that's something wonderful, something worth fighting, and even dying for. That's what Freedom Day, the Fourth of July... whatever you want to call it, is all about.
"Happy Fourth everyone."
