Author's Note

Character Tags: Griffons, Starlight Glimmer, Double Diamond, Night Glider, Party Favor, Sugar Belle
Tags: Slice-of-life, Drama, violence

Set: 1514 AD; Two years after the end of The Broken and The Damned.

In Our Town~PT. 1

A knock sounded on the office of the commander at Fort Grover. The commander of the fort looked up from his book, before setting it down and saying, "Come in."

A Griffon in a steel breast-plate with a plumed helmet under his wing entered. He stopped in front of the commander's desk and stiffened in salute. He said, "Captain Giovanni, 3rd Warhawks detachment."

"At ease, Captain", the commander said. As he did so, the commander reached into a desk drawer, pulling out an envelope. "How've you been lately, Captain?"

"Fine, sir. The soldiers have been a bit bored, but that's to be expected with garrison duty. Might I ask you why you called me here?", he asked.

"I take it you're familiar with the International Rail System?", the commander asked, opening up the envelope.

"That system the Senators back in Griffonstone approved? Where they're setting up connections between the railroad networks of each nation to allow international travel?", Giovanni asked.

"The exact same", the commander replied. "Now, we've been working on our end of the agreement. However, as a surveyor was working out a good area to act as a connection, they found this."

He set a picture in front of Giovanni, who picked it up and examined it. It was a bit hard to make out due to the slightly grainy quality of the photo, but he made out a town. It was a few two-story cottages on either side of a single street, with another cottage at the far end. "What's so weird about this? It's small, but it's just a town."

"A town on our side of the border. Only ponies there, if the surveyor is correct", the commander said.

Giovanni said, "Again, and?"

"Well, the town appears on no records. No census data, nothing on that maps, nothing like that."

"Well", Giovanni said. "Maybe it was just on the other side of the border before the land grant. We might've simply not noticed as we established the border."

The commander shook his head. "I already checked in with the nearest government entity on the Equestrian side. Same thing. Not a thing about this town."

That stood out to the Captain. "Then, where did they come from?"

"Don't know. That's what I need you to find out", the commander said. He took the photo back and handed Giovanni a map. "I marked the town on this map. I want you to take some of your Warhawks and check it out. Find out what's going on, and report back. I want to know what this is. Understood?"

"Yes, sir!", Giovanni said, saluting. He turned to leave, stopping when he heard the commander speak up behind him.

"Oh, and one more thing." As Giovanni turned to look at him, he said, "I don't know what's going on, but proceed with caution. I don't know what it is, but I don't like it."

"Understood, sir."

++++~++++

Half an hour later, Giovanni trotted up to his unit. About eighty griffins in plate armor, plumed helmets, and holstered weapons stood at attention. Around them, the other soldiers at the fort milled about, performing various tasks.

As Giovanni landed in front of them, his Second-in-command and the units only pony, Lieutenant Jet Lag, saluted. "Sir."

"Lieutenant", Giovanni said, returning the salute. "Everyone here?"

"Yes, sir. All of the squads you requested are here. Now, what's the job?", Jet Lag asked.

"I'll explain in a minute." Giovanni walked up in front of the line and yelled, "Attention!" As they came to attention, he continued, "Now, listen up. The higher-ups found out some town on our side of the border with nothing on record on it. So, we're being sent to check it out. Understood?"

"Sir, yes sir!", they echoed.

"Good! Now, let's go!" Giovanni took off, Jet Lag and the rest of his troops behind him. After arriving above the fort, he unfolded the map he was given and a compass. He examined the map, and after determining the direction, he motioned for his troops to follow him.

After about two hours of flight, they arrived on a series of cliffs overlooking the spot on the map. He landed on the close side of the slope, his troopers landing behind him. He motioned for them to remain, while he and Jet Lag climbed up onto the top of the cliff pulling out a field telescope.

Below him laid the town he had seen in the photo back at Fort Grover. A single street town of near-identical, two-story houses capped by a single extra house at the end. About forty-to-forty five in total. Ponies of all shapes and colors milled about. Now that he got a good look at it, it almost looked like an equal sign.

"Huh", Jet Lag said. "Command wasn't kidding. This is a whole fucking town."

Giovanni nodded, still looking down his telescope. "Yeah. If I'm right, about two-hundred forty. Six to a house, forty houses in total, give or take?"

"Smartass."

Giovanni looked away from the down and deadpanned. "I'll let that slid. Now, command wants this to be peaceful. Doesn't look like there're any guards or armed creatures. Me, you, and two Warhawks. We'll just talk to their mayor, sort this out. Push come to shove and things get violent, bring a flare. We'll set it off, and we shouldn't have a problem dealing with it."

"I'll get two", Jet Lag said, sliding back a bit and standing up. He ran down to grab them, as Giovanni looked back into the town.

He began to notice something about the ponies in town. They were all rather... dull. Not in the way they were acting; they all seemed really upbeat. No, they were physically dull. Even Jet Lag, whose coat was rather dark, had a brighter colored coat than these ponies. It was a bit unnerving; in his time interacting with ponies when he went to university in Germaney, they were all rather bright. Not that dull colors weren't present, but not in this number.

He was pulled away from his thoughts when he felt a tap on his rear leg. Jet Lag had gotten two Warhawks. who were standing next to him, at attention and in salute. The one on the left said, "Corporal Gordon, sir!"

The other said, "Private Garrett, sir!"

"At ease. Let's go", he said, folding up his telescope. He slid it into its container and spread his wings, soaring over the cliff with Jet Lag and his troopers behind him.

He landed just outside of the town, Jet Lag and the others touching down behind him. All of the eyes of the ponies fell on them immediately, and they all flashed smiles. Not the typical warm grin or happy smile from a pony. These were big, overly cheery grins, so much so that he could see their gums. It unnerved him to no end.

One of the ponies came up to him; a pale greenish-blue unicorn with a slicked-back mane. He wore a burlap cloak and the same wide grin as all of the others. As he got closer, he then noticed another aspect of the townsponies. Where normally they had a cutie mark, these ones all had a grey equal sign. All of them. He had never heard or seen a pony with the same cutie mark.

He was brought back to reality by the pony saying, "Hello there, stranger. Welcome to our town."

"Er, pleasure", Giovanni said.

A pegasus mare came up behind the unicorn. She was a dusty navy blue color with a white mane done back. On her back was a small pegasus, who was quite a bit more vibrant than what he assumed to be her parents. She had a pale, almost milky blue mane and an aqua-colored coat.

The mare said, "Hello. What's your name?"

Overcoming his trepidation, Giovanni swallowed and said, "I am Captain Giovanni of the 3rd Warhawks detachment, assigned to the 19th Battalion of the Griffonian Republican Army, stationed at Fort Grover. This is Lieutenant Jet Lag, my second-in-command, along with two of my troopers."

Not even flinching at the stated ranks and titles, the unicorn said, "Well, it's nice to meet you. My name is Party Favor. This is my wife Night Glider and Daughter Midnight Celebration. Welcome to our little village."

"Can I ask why you're here?", Night Glider asked.

Giovanni said, "I need to talk to your mayor about some things. May you point me to the Town Hall? Or, the equivalent of?"

Party Favor said, "Oh, you want to see Starlight! She's our founder. We'll take you to her."

"Sweetie", Night Glider said to her daughter. "Why don't you go play with Stud Muffin?"

"Ok, mommy!", the filly said, sliding off her mom's back and running off.

As the two of them lead the group of Griffonians through the town, Jet Lag asked, "What's with the cutie marks? Why are they all the same?"

"We gave up our cutie marks", Night Glider answered. "So we can all be equal."

Gordon chuckled, before saying, "A bit redundant, isn't it?"

"What do you mean?", Party Favor asked.

"Well, I went to secondary school in Equestria. Manehatten, specifically. A few ponies were jerks, but from what I gathered, you would already be equal under the law", Gordon explained.

"Not just under the law", Party Favor explained. "We gave up our cutie marks to become equal. We don't have to worry about competing or being selfish, because we have no reason to do so."

Giovanni looked to his soldiers, a look of confusion and mild horror on his face. He saw the same looks on their faces, followed by nervous glances to the crowds. Several of the ponies, smiling widely, were following them. While he was still hoping to resolve this peacefully and without any incident, he wrapped the back end of this wingtip against one of his pistols.

Party Favor knocked on the door, which opened to reveal an equally cheery-looking pure white stallion. "Party Favor! Nice to see you again. Can I ask why you're here?"

"We have some new visitors", Party Favor replied. "They want to talk to Starlight."

"Er, yes", Giovanni said. "I am Captain Giovanni, 3rd Griffonian Warhawks detachment. I'm assuming you have some relation to Starlight Glimmer?"

"My name is Double Diamond, Starlight's husband", Double said. "Come in, come in."

As Double Diamond and the others went inside, Giovanni turned to his troopers. "Gordon, Garrett, wait out here. If anything goes wrong, tell me. If you are attacked, head back to the rest of the unit and tell them we are likely under attack, and they know the drill."

"You think it might turn violent?", Jet Lag asked.

"I don't know", Giovanni said. "But, I don't want to take chances. Jet Lag, with me."

Giovanni and Jet Lag entered the house, noting that it was quite nice. It was lit by light filtering in through open windows, reflecting off of a large framed equal sign. A simple wooden table and legs and a simple red rug filled the mane room, with another door leading off into seeming darkness and another into a hallway. A young unicorn filly, pale lavender with a white and green mane sat at the table, reading a book.

"Now, where is this Starlight Glimmer?", Giovanni asked.

"Hello there!", a cheery voice called from the darkness. Another unicorn, this one a mare with a lavender coat darker than the filly with a green and purple mane. She was different than the others; she was the more vibrant color he was used to seeing in ponies and she wasn't seemingly stuck in a permanent massive grin. "That would be me! And, you are?"

Once again, he said, "Captain Giovanni, 3rd Griffonian Warhawks detachment to the 19th battalion of the Griffonian Republican Army. This here is Lieutenant Jet Lag, my second-in-command. I need to talk to you about some things."

"Sure", she said. "Party Favor, Night Glider, you two can leave. Snowbank, sweetie, go play with your friends. Double, would you be a dear and go get us something to drink?"

All of them reacted to what she said. The two ponies who escorted them in turned and left. The filly said, "Thank you mom!", and ran out in between Party Favor and Night Glider. Double Diamond nodded and went down the hallway.

Meanwhile, Starlight sat down at the table. "Have a seat."

"Thank you", Giovanni said. He sat down and pulled out his glasses case. As he set them on, he said, "Now, like I said, I need to ask you a few questions."

"Technically, you said you needed to talk to me about a few things", Starlight said, giggling. "But, I get it. What do you want to know?"

"Well", Giovanni said, pulling out a pen and a small piece of paper. "First things first. About when was this village founded?"

"Oh, maybe... fifteen, eighteen years ago?", Starlight mused. "Time just seems to fly."

Giovanni jotted down her answer before he continued. "Now. Were you aware that this town is not on any Equestrian or Griffonian census data or maps? If you weren't, why do yous suspect why? If you were, then why?"

"No, I figured that it wouldn't be on record", Starlight said. "Our little community is a bit out of the way, and we don't get many visitors around here."

"Ok. I, probably should've written down this one first", Giovanni said, cracking a grin. "What is the name of this town?"

"It was never really given an official name. We all just refer to it as Our Town." Starlight turned as Double Diamond returned, four cups balanced on his back. "Thank you, Double. Care for some water, Captain?"

"Thank you", he said, taking the cup from Starlight's magic aura. After they all had their cups, he said, "Now, continuing. What do you know of recent political and international developments?"

"Well, like I said, we're pretty isolated. So, not all that much." She then furrowed her brow in confusion, and asked, "Why?"

"So, you know nothing?", Giovanni asked. "The Canterlot Concordance? The Equestrian Liberation? Nothing?"

"No, I'm afraid not."

Giovanni set down the piece of paper and adjusted his glasses. "Well, you see, Miss Glimmer... Your village is no longer situated in Equestria. As a part of a land grant given to the New Griffonian Republic in the Canterlot Concordance, this village is now on the Griffonian side of the border. And, as I'm certain none of you are Griffonian citizens, you are all, technically, here illegally."

Starlight seemed to consider this. After a few seconds, she said, "So, what are you going to do?"

"Well, my orders are to only investigate your village. I need to get updated orders from my commander if I am to do anything. However, I can recommend two courses of action. Either move your village, say... 15 kilometers to the west, or registering for Griffonian citizenship."

Starlight said, "I'm certain we can make this work. Tell your 'commander' that we're sorry about this misunderstanding. We've worked hard to make this village, and if it means doing some paperwork, then that's ok."

"I see", Giovanni said, writing down some things on the paper. "Now, a personal question. Why are all of your ponies so... oh, what's the word...?"

"Happy?", Double Diamond offered.

"I was going to say off. But, I suppose that works as well", Giovanni said.

Starlight said, "Well, like I'm sure Party Favor and Night Glider told you, we all gave up our cutie marks in order to become truly equal."

"And I don't entirely understand as to why", Jet Lag said. "It's not like some ponies are eating dirt while others are eating caviar."

"Well, equal in that we do not let our special talents distract us with pointless competition and bickering. We revel in our sameness, and it helps us become better ponies", Double Diamond said.

"Well spoke, dearie!", Starlight said. "So, is that all of your questions, Captain?"

"Er, yes", Giovanni said. "I will be leaving now. I should have updated information as to how the situation will be handled by noon tomorrow. My troopers will be camping on the cliff overlooking the town for the time being. Have a nice day."

"And you too!", Starlight said as Giovanni and Jet Lag left the room.

Outside, Gordon and Garrett snapped to attention. Giovanni signaled for them to take off, following him back to the rest of the company. As they did so, he told Jet Lag, "Get the fastest flyer in the unit. Tell them to run this message to Fort Grover."

"Yes sir", Jet Lag said. After another few seconds, he said, "Permission to speak freely?"

"Granted."

"I don't like this place. That whole spiel about not having cutie marks and being 'Equal'? That's not natural." Jet Lag sighed. "It just seems off."

"I agree, but unless they are doing something illegal, we can't do anything", Giovanni said. "Just get me a flyer." As they landed and Jet Lag went off to get the unit's best flyer, Giovanni thought over what she said. He blew air through his beak; something wasn't right. He just didn't know what.