I rolled around, careful not to bump into my wife who was lying next to me. I looked over at her and saw her staring at the ceiling. She looked over at me and smiled, before being reduced into a horrible coughing fit.

"Are you okay," I asked her. Her cough had been getting worse. She nodded, before sitting up in another coughing fit. She spit on the ground next to the bed, her spit red from the coughing sprees. "I'll try and pick up some antibiotics after I get off work, just stay in bed today okay."

"Yeah, go and wake her up and get her ready for school," she told me. Her voice hoarse and shallow. I kissed her, and got out of bed. I walked towards the door, which had a hoof sized hole in it. I pulled it open, walking out into the gray hallway. I walked over to my daughters door, which was the only cheery thing in the entire house, as the colors stood out against the gray backdrop. I knocked on the door, hearing the sheets on her bed shuffle.

"Yeah," I heard her ask me. I pushed the door open and smiled at her. She smiled back at me. "Is it time for my first day of school?"

"Yes it is, come on kiddo," I told her as I left the room. She hopped out of bed and gave a silent scream in happiness. I walked into the kitchen and grabbed some coffee grinds, a coffee filter, and poured some water from a jug labeled 'clean'. I set everything up and poured myself a cup of coffee. I looked behind me and checked to see of anypony was watching and reached into a cabinet and pulled out a small bottle of whiskey. I poured a shot in and stirred it up. I sighed as I sipped at the spiked coffee, which calmed my nerves and also woke me up. "Time to go kiddo, we have an hour before school starts."

"Alright dad, I'm ready," I smiled as she lead me out the door. She was so happy to be able to go to school, and not be cooped up inside all day learning from her mother. I closed the door as I stepped out, putting a bandana over my muzzle, as she did the same. We walked down the alley towards her school, passing by many beggars. Some held their hooves out, asking for money, but we just walked past. "Dad, why don't we give them money?"

"We don't have enough money for ourselves," I told her, her eyes looked confused, but she nodded. We slowly approached the crosswalk to the street, which already had a bunch of ponies standing at it, some beggars some working ponies. I looked at the walls and spotted several flyers and graffiti tags. Worship your true and kind overlords was printed on one, but somepony crossed out true and kind and put underneath false and belligerent. I pushed pass the ponies with my daughter right behind me. We finally got through the crowd and saw I saw what everypony had stopped to watch. Four ponies lie on the ground, bags over their heads and several guards around them.

"I sentence these ponies to death, for speaking against the true overlord and spreading rebel propaganda," one pony announced. He had a scar on his cheek, running up to his ear. He nodded at a guard who walked over to one pony, removed the bag from their head, revealing a mare with an orange mane and a dusty orange coat. She tried extending her wings, only to find them tied up. "Captain Spitfire, I, under the law of the Equestrian government, condemn you death, effective immediately."

"Fuck you, your government is a lie," Spitfire yelled out. She spit at the guard. The guard nodded at another, who drew his sword, and in one swift motion, cut her head off. Her body crumpled as her head rolled towards the crowd. The crowd roared in appreciation of the act, as the government killed another rebel.

"Come on," I told my daughter who couldn't see the execution due to her height. We kept walking, this time quicker than before. We traveled in relative silence, until we reached the school. The school itself looked like a prison building, with bars on the windows and shutters over doors. The flagpole flew the flag of the new government. The flag had a symbol for each of the pony tribes, earth ponies having a horseshoe, pegasi getting a wing, and unicorns a horn, all were separated by lines. Nopony knows what it means and nopony has enough gut to ask. We walked inside and we headed straight for the front office, which was guarded by two ponies in complete riot armor. The office itself was, like everything else, rather dull mostly dead grays and browns. "Hi, I'd like to register my daughter into your school."

"Name?" The secretary asked with complete boredom.

"Midnight Sparkle," I told her. The secretary looked at my daughter, who smiled a giant toothy smile.

"Okay, sign this form out," she told me, as I was given a clipboard with a piece of paper on it and a quill. The form was relatively short, asking questions like 'has your foal been subjected to any rebel propaganda' or 'when was the last time your foal ate anything healthy'. I quickly filled out the form, and gave it back to the secretary. She smiled at me, and then my daughter. "Okay, your daughter is in great hooves, if you'd just follow me dearie."

"Okay, bye daddy," she waved goodbye. I smiled and waved back, then was escorted off the premises by the security outside the office. I walked away from the school, heading for my job. I worked as a convenience store clerk, for the only remaining general store in Canterlot. I walked down the sidewalk, spotting more and more rebel propaganda then yesterday. They were getting more courageous.

"Do have any money to spare sir," I looked over at a small frail pony. I shooked my head and kept on going. I looked behind me and saw three ponies following me, including the older pony. I passed by an alleyway entrance and was pulled in. I looked at my aggressor and saw a pony who had a missing eye. He punched my muzzle, tearing my bandana. My nose started bleeding, from the punch. I was punched in the side of my face, hearing a sickening pop as my jaw popped out of place. I was kicked in the chest, knocking the wind out of me. I chocked on air, trying to get it back into my body. I coughed, spitting out a bloodied tooth. The four thugs quickly searched my body, stealing my money and fleeing. I lied on the ground, crying, not from the pain, but from the fact that I wouldn't be able to buy my wife antibiotics. I wiped my face, smearing blood into my coat. I stood up and continued on my way towards my job. My jaw was burning up, and I collapsed when I touched it. I walked in front of my job, and walked inside.

"Your late," my boss told me as I walked into the store. I looked at him, with a apologetic glance.

"Sorry, sir," I told him, as i walked in the back. I grabbed my vest and slipped it on, and started grabbing cans and bags. All of the food items had a label on them signifying that the Equestrian government has approved of them. My day consisted of stocking shelves once, waiting for anypony to come in and buy something, but nopony did as the prices were ludicrous. A bag of crackers is seven bits, which compared to a salary is like buying a pile of gold. My shift quickly ended, and I was handed a meager two bits, and I left. I passed by the school, seeing my daughter outside, talking with another foal. She saw me and joined me on our way home.

"Are you okay, your coats bloody," she asked me. I nodded at her, keeping my eyes on the ground. She went on to tell me about her day, how she learned that the government before the perfect rulers was a sick and horrible time, where nopony had freedom. I shook my head at this, as I remember stories of Celestia and Luna's rule where everypony was happy and it was better than now. "School was fun!"

"I'm glad," I told her. She kept laughing at what she learned today. We made our way home, as the sun slowly set in the horizon. The area where the alley connected to the road was empty, except for a reinforced cart used for hauling prisoners elsewhere. We turned into the alleyway, seeing it empty, no beggars anywhere. I opened my front door, letting Midnight in first, then I followed her inside. I closed the door behind me and was knocked to the ground. I looked up and saw several guards of the government standing in my house. My wife was lying on the ground with a bag on her head, my daughter next to her.

"Black Soot, I hear by condemn your whole family to death," the guard told me. My wife started struggling at the mention of death. I was picked up and placed next to my family. "Your family dies here, the lord demanded to kill you himself."

"Why," I asked. My voice was muffled, dew to the swelling of my jaw.

"You have committed crimes against Equestria and it's people by endangering the lives of ponies around you," the guard told me. I lied there, thinking of what I did wrong. "You have been accused of murder in the first degree and terroristic actions. Now let's get to the main event."

The guard walked over to my wife and removed the bag from her head.

"Golden Ray, you have been accused of plotting against the government and are sentenced to immediate execution," I cried as I lied on my side. I watched as the guards decapitated my wife, her head rolling over to me and lying next to my head. I cried out loud as my wife died right in front of me without me being able to stop it. The guard moved over to my daughter, removing the bag from her head. "Midnight Sparkle, you have been accused of espionage of government secrets to rebel opposition, you have been sentenced to death."

My daughter cried as she felt the cold steel touched the back if her neck. She looked up at me one last time while I balled my eyes out on the floor as my wife and daughter were about to leave my life.

"Daddy," she asked me. I looked up and watched as the sword raised up. "I love you."

"I love you too," I told her. Her head fell to the floor, as her blood shot out hit me in the chest. I closed my eyes and cried silently as I heard her body hit the floor.

"Come on, up you get," I was told by the guard. I was lead outside and directed towards the armored cart I passed by when I went home. I sat in the back of the cart, and cried. I openly cried and swore at myself for being a coward. I cried for the majority of the ride to the tyrant's castle, which was a new castle built for them only. The ride took a complete day to finish, but the guards wanted to get me there quickly, I could tell. "Now, you degenerate filth, when you see the lord you will only speak when spoken to and address them as my lord, do you understand?"

"Fuck you and your stupid fucking lord," I told him. He grabbed my jaw, and twisted it breaking it more. I collapsed in pain and started crying.

"Okay, stop the cart, I have to go back to Canterlot," the cart slowed to a stop, as the guard hoped out. Another guard replaced him, and we continued on the road.

"You rebel scum are all the same, you talk a big fame, but you have no real fight," the guard told me. I sat and cried on the floor, for what felt like hours. The sky was black, and the stars gave me little hope, their symbol of freedom being lost on me. I closed my eyes and pictured my wife and kid, I went to hug them and kiss them, but they vanished before I got close. I cried in my head, feeling the tears roll down my face telling me I was crying noticeably. The cart slowly stopped as I cried. I looked up and wiped my nose on my forehoof, my tears and snot matting my coat down more than it already was. "What the fuck, why are we stopping."

"There's and over turned cart up ahead," one of the drivers told him. The guard hopped out of the cart and walked around to the front. I stood up and watched the guard make his way for the cart and start searching. He came back from the cart unharmed, and told the drivers just to go around it. He went back around the side, then we flipped. The cart went airborne as another cart t-boned us. The cart rolled for a while before it landed on it's side. My body was in an immense amount of pain. One of my legs was broken to a point where the bone tore through my skin, one of my eyes didn't see anything, my neck felt broke. I heard somepony get in the carriage and pull me out as I started to faint from the pain.

Author's Note

Feedback would be appreciated