Tick tock tick tock tick tock…
Forked Path glanced at the watch wrapped around his hoof and frowned. The meeting should have taken place by now. He took a deep breath, listening for the slightest sound around him. The soft pitter-patter of raindrops striking the ground calmed his nerves. His seller just needed to be in here within five minutes and everything would work out fine.
A shadow emerged from the alleyway on his right.
“You buyin’?” A gruff voice asked.
Forked examined the rough-looking pony, he had scarred features across his face and barrel, likely from wartime service, and eyes that spoke of having seen far too much.
“I-I- Yes! I am. What is your price, Sir?” Forked stuttered as he took a step forward. The pony shrugged non-committally and produced a large vial coated in a thick brown paper wrapping. Forked reached out to grab it but the pony jerked it back just out of reach.
“Listen here bug!” The pony spat. “I fought in the war and lost two buddies at Vanhoover, gimmie one good reason not to smash this little love bottle on the ground and call the police.”
Forked panicked and tried to grab the vial, he missed, then lunged forward and started struggling with the pony. It was for nothing though, the pony showed a clear superiority in close-quarters combat and quickly threw him to the ground, standing above him, sneering in disgust. The pony drew in a deep breath to shout for help.
“My children! Please, I need it for my children!” He pleaded.
The pony hesitated, looking down at Forked with a suspicious but softening expression. “I deserted, took my family, and fled to Equestria, I work at an arms plant, producing weapons for your wars. All I want is for my children to grow up in a safe and free land, I need the love for them or they’ll starve. Please!” He begged, pawing weakly at the pony’s hooves in desperation.
“I have kids, too.” The pony said quietly, staring past Forked at a propaganda poster crudely plastered to the wall behind him. It showed courageous Equestrians fighting on some unnamed battlefield with the caption *Are you doing your part? Serve the Diarchy today!* The poster was faded, and the word diarchy was smeared over with red paint reading: *God-Empress*. “One of my sons volunteered today, he said he wanted to be just like is ol’ pa’, I hear they’re sendin’ him to Asterio-whatsit. Point is, I can respect your love for your kids.” He smiled sadly and placed the glass vial in Forked’s hooves.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you! Please, name your price!” Forked cried out with obvious joy. The pony just shook his head.
“Consider this a downpayment for your wish.” Forked just looked at him in confusion. The pony looked away, and spoke again, this time in a much more hushed tone. “Equestria ain’t how I remember it, Harmony’s dead. I’d pray for you, but I don’t think the Goddess would much appreciate that. I do hope you find that safe and free land for your kids though, 'cause this ain’t it.”
Forked Path broke into a sweat the moment he saw his home.
The house was a small one, barely big enough to fit his family, but it needed to be, he did everything he could to not draw the attention of the civil authorities. They looked for people who benefitted from deceit, those with gaudy lawns and expensive properties. His quaint home served as just another layer of deception keeping his family safe.
Or so he’d thought.
Outside his house stood a young Equestrian soldier, so young he barely fit the military fatigues he was issued. He stood rigidly at attention by the door, his automatic rifle slung by his side. There was an elegant black staff car parked in his driveway, and he could not see or hear anything out of the ordinary in the neighborhood. This was no raid, Equestrian police were not smashing in doors, dragging away Changelings, sympathizers, and dissidents. Having only one guard seemed to indicate an honor guard for an important official. Forked had just recently been promoted to a general management position at his arms plant, owing no doubt to his diligent nature as a Changeling, (one was frankly expected to work 14-hour overtime back in the Hives, though his new bosses seemed quite impressed!), perhaps a company boss or a prominent local politician had come to see an up and coming pony such as himself?
He approached the door calmly and cooly, he had to show no hesitation, no fear, or else-
“The Inquisitor will see you now.” Forked almost took off like a shot, it was only the knowledge that his wife and children were still inside his house that kept him steady. Even so, the guard could clearly see his distress and was no doubt used to such reactions from the public.
“Sir, calm yourself, the Inquisitor is here to inquire about factory security,” Forked let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding, “routine inquiries.” The guard emphasized.
Forked breathed another sigh of relief. Of course! He’d nearly forgotten about the security meetings he’d been a part of since his promotion. This Inquisitor was here to combine their efforts, trusting him as the new head pony. He smirked, Changelings were all given at least rudimentary deception and infiltration training, he was given much more during his specialized service. He’d play this Inquisitor’s games, and with a little luck, be done in time for supper.
He quickly brushed back his mane and walked through the door with a stern yet concerned-looking face. The Inquisitor was seated at the head of his dining room table. He was a Unicorn with a pristinely white coat and blonde mane. His eyes were as intense as they were golden, and he was staring right at Forked.
“Good evening, Forked Path, I am Inquisitor Everlit, I hope you don’t mind how I’ve made myself at home.” He gestured to where he’d hung a sweeping trenchcoat, and a large scabbard, which held an equally large sword.
“Not at all, good Sir, can I get you any refreshments? Perhaps some wine?” Forked fell into character instantly, his posture and surety of purpose clearly on display. It was exactly what the Inquisitor was looking for.
“I abstain from alcohol, as our God-Empress requires of her favoured children. I would rather enjoy some milk, though.” Forked nodded immediately.
“Very good, I’ll bring you some from our kitchen. Just a moment, please.” Forked waited only for a brief nod from the Inquisitor before trotting into the kitchen. He could see the Inquisitor had likely not been here, as everything was still as it should be. Most importantly, his wonderful wife was there. She smiled as she saw him.
“Honey, you’re home!” She quickly closed the distance and embraced him. He smiled.
“I’m glad to see you too, how are the little ones?” He said then lowered his tone as much as he could. “He knows.” Her face grew cold. It had taken an infiltrator’s level of skill to devise as much from the tone and demeanor of the Inquisitor, but Forked had once been considered the best for a reason. The Inquisitor knew, and they had little time to act before the ruse was revealed.
“Oh, our little munchkins are just fine, probably marauding through the toybox upstairs, I’d imagine.” She said, cheerfully. Then she lowered her voice as well. “He showed up thirty minutes ago, he mentioned the arms plant and insisted he’d wait for you.” Forked pulled the vial from where he’d hidden it, his wife’s eyes widening as she quickly snatched it and hid it in her apron.
“Go upstairs, grab the children, if something happens, take the fire escape on the South window, and use the route we planned. There is enough love in the vial for you and the kids to change forms if required.” You weren’t a Changeling if you didn’t have a preplanned escape route, after all.
“Honey I-” Any argument she might have made died on her lips as he kissed her deeply. They parted regretfully.
“I love you, forever.” He turned and made his way back to the dining room.
“Make love, not war!”
“Freedom of speech! Freedom of choice!”
“No new wars! Out of Asterion!”
Rising Glory stood halfway out of his tank’s cupola as he watched the demonstrators continue to gather in Harmony Square. Thousands- no, tens of thousands of ponies were chanting, singing, and shouting. A cacophony of protest that made so many small voices join together into a larger force. It was as poetic as it was terrifying.
He knew why they were here. The day prior, Her Majesty’s Imperial government issued a new general conscription order, which put a million new ponies on the rolls of those eligible to be sent to fight. Many of those ponies had received their orders that same day, and many of them were here now.
“It’s looking bad, boss.” Glory looked down into the cupola towards his gunner, Snap Shot, seeing him peering out of the barely illuminated tank turret. After the damage she’d received during the advance west, they’d had to strip most of the wiring to get enough power to the turret traverse. Lighting was a privilege, after all.
“I know, Snap, just keep steady, they’ll disperse once the MPs get here.” Despite the confidence in his voice, Glory began to sweat. He could see the demonstrators throwing their draft papers into huge piles, then setting them alight. Ash rained down on the crude effigies of the God-Empress and the Minister of Defence. He nearly gasped as they doused them with petrol and set them on fire.
“Holy shit! Glory did you see-”
“Yes, Snap, I see it. Just keep steady.” Just saying treasonous words was enough to get you jail time, Glory had no idea what they’d do if they identified those who’d (symbolically) set their God-Empress on fire. It wouldn’t be pretty, he was sure.
“Boss! Fix just heard on the radio that we’ve got reinforcements, they put the whole of Canterlot Defence Command on stand to!” Glory grimaced. A feeling of dread swept through him as he surveyed Harmony Square. His tank, along with a detachment of Reservists had been positioned on the boulevard leading up towards the palace which towered behind them. So far none of the protestors had dared to approach their thinly held barricades. He glanced at a thin Pegasus gripping tightly to the handle of a pre-war heavy machine gun set up just beyond the barricade.
“It’ll be fine, they’re just trying to intimidate them.” He stated with confidence he did not truly feel. That’s when he heard a low reverberation over the horizon, muffled by the highrises. Two aircraft screamed in low over the tops of buildings, their strange design accentuated by the jet engines which propelled them forwards. For a brief moment, their soundwave stunted the protests of the crowd, who were staring up in a mix of wonder and fear.
“Citizens of Equestria, by order of your God-Empress, you are to disperse from the square and head to your nearest recruiting station!” Glory’s eyes widened as he recognized the voice of the pony shouting through a loudspeaker. Halfway across the square, an Inquisitor stood on top of an armored car and bellowed through a massive loudspeaker attached to the vehicle. Even from the considerable distance, Glory could recognize the Inquisitor whose unit he’d relieved from an ambush so long ago.
“Everlit, you blind fanatic…” He muttered.
The crowd also began to notice the Inquisitor, who evidently represented everything they’d come to hate in the Equestrian government, judging by their hurled insults. “Down with dictators!”, “Freedom from fear!”, and so many other treasonous slogans were shouted at the Inquisitor, who simply smiled. It did not reach his eyes.
“Citizens of Equestria, you would betray your homeland and your God-Empress for such selfish desires as personal gain and safety, you would throw away your chance to serve for a greater good to instead proliferate treason and consort with Changeling spies and collaborators?! The God-Empress is kind and forgiving, this once, I am permitted to offer any of you who wish a chance to rejoin the fold, return to Harmony and join the struggle against the tyranny of monsters!”
There was a moment of silence following his proclamation, but not a single demonstrator moved.
“Daybreaker is a monster! She doesn’t care about us, she doesn’t care about Harmony!” A young filly’s voice, soft and squeaky but filled with determination, reignited the crowd's fervor. A thousand different demands and insults filled the square, almost forcing the Inquisitor to take a step back. His smile disappeared, and he looked at the demonstrators with open disgust.
“If you will not defend Equestria then you are her enemies, if you will not fight for Equestria, you will serve instead as an example!” He turned to his troops, “advance!” He screamed as he drew his sword in his magic.
The soldiers surrounding Glory’s tank looked uneasy, trying to take the square from thousands of protestors was going to be impossible, no matter how many police the Inquisitor mustered. Glory squinted and took a closer look at the troops now passing the Inquisitor. They were not Military Police.
Solaris Militia troops advanced in lockstep, their rifles held out before them, bayonets fixed. Their uniforms, while originally just surplus EUP uniforms, had been modified heavily, pennants and other symbols of devotion pinned or otherwise attached to them. They began to push the crowd back.
Glory cursed, the Solaris troops poured through the main entrance of the square, preventing the vast sea of ponies from fleeing through the most obvious escape route. The only two practical options left were the Summer Gate and the Palace.
Glory’s stomach dropped. The crowd was being pushed towards the Palace.
“T-t-their coming towards the Palace!” A young lieutenant squealed, he stood up and began shouting, “Disperse! Disperse! Quick, Sergeant, fire a warning shot!”
Glory opened his mouth to stop him, but he was too late. The Sergeant, having already shouldered his rifle, instantly fired high, the bullet flying well over the crowd, and towards the Militia.
The crowd screamed in terror and Tartarus broke loose.
Surging in every direction, desperate to escape, panicked ponies began to collide with Militia soldiers, who without hesitation bayoneted them. More screams, shouts of violence, and the detonations of unicorn magic turned the orderly advance into a brutal one-sided assault. The Solaris began firing indiscriminately at anyone they approached. Soldiers began hurling grenades, smoke, and fragmentation into the mass of protestors.
The crowd turned to flee away from them again, towards the Palace.
“They’re attacking! Fire!” The Lieutenant’s order was given and the Reservists began firing into the crowd indiscriminately. Chattering machine guns, at first hesitant, began belching out huge bursts into the crowd. Glory watched in disbelief as the thin Pegasus held down the trigger and began to hose down the mass of unarmed protestors. His eyes were shut tightly, his mouth open in a wordless scream.
“Let none escape!” The Inquisitor called out with savage glee, easily heard through the loudspeaker despite the massive volume of fire.
The crowd, desperate to escape and trapped between two imposing forces, began to surge in a third direction, the only other exit in the square which could hope to even try to accommodate the thousands of ponies trying to flee. The Summer Gate, its pristine marble structure marred by anti-war slogans haphazardly painted on its smooth surfaces, stood open and inviting, its gates having been removed decades before, a symbol of Equestria’s commitment to freedom.
The reverberations returned as both jet aircraft flew overhead, Glory watched as they abruptly banked and began a nosedive. He could see now that they both carried large cylindrical tanks under their bellies.
He could see they were diving on the gate. He screamed in futile warning.
They pulled up sharply, their terrible load released to fall freely towards the only exit. One fuel tank smashed onto the gate and burst brightly in the air, the other landed squarely inside the entrance. Both took only a split second to spread their flammable cargo before they ignited.
In an instant, the whole gate was set afire, napalm sticking to the marble walls as much as to the coats of the poor ponies who’d been trying to pass through. The gate, wreathed in flame, now looked like a portal to hell, swallowing up anything or anyone that tried to get close. Ponies tried anyway. Throwing themselves into the fire in a desperate attempt to make it through. Some did, their bodies burned horribly.
“Your chances for forgiveness are over! All that is left is death or penance! Only those favored by the God-Empress will survive her flame. Only those who truly wish to return to the fold will be favoured! This is your last chance, kill the heretics!” The Inquisitor snarled with the fervor only a true fanatic could muster. As soon as he finished, the armored car began to trundle forwards, the machinegun in the turret beginning to clatter away.
All around Glory, soldiers began to advance, his own tank roared into life and began slowly crawling forward, its engine inhibited by their previous wounds from long ago.
“Slim, what the hell, stop us right now!” Glory shouted frantically into his intercom. Slim didn’t stop.
“Slim’s saying sorry boss, Fix just got another radio call, we don’t move, we're considered in league with the terrorists!” Snap Shot called out from under him, terror clear in his voice.
“These aren’t terrorists, they’re damned kids, this is so fucking wrong! Tell him not to hit anybody, for Harmony’s sake!” With how slow they were going, Glory was fairly confident that they wouldn’t run anyone over, his gunner took a spare shell casing they kept in case they needed to answer the call of nature during a battle, and shoved it into the breach awkwardly, as expected it failed to eject properly.
“Sorry Boss, looks like the gun’s jammed! Fix says her hull mg is fucked too!” Despite the circumstances, Glory smiled, at least his crew was with him. He watched as Equestria soldiers murdered their own citizens, some with genuine fervor, and some with a terrified look in their eyes that mirrored that of the demonstrators. It was slow, it was ugly, but they were working their way through the crowd, and more and more of the demonstrators began throwing themselves into the hellfire of the Summer Gate, choosing pain and agony and a chance at life over certain death. Then, he watched a small pony step in front of his tank and stand her ground.
She looked young, certainly not of draft age like most of the other demonstrators. She had a pink coat of fur and a soft blue mane. She stood there, in front of their thrumming machine, and held her forehoof out in front of her. Though he could not hear her over the sounds of the one-sided battle, he could see the words in her defiant pink eyes and on her lips: “Stop! No more!” Somehow, he knew this had been the filly to defy the Inquisitor.
To his credit, even Slim had limits, he slammed on the brakes, and the tank jerked to a stop inches from the filly.
Looking at the filly, her eyes filled with the innocence of youth and the terror of being confronted with this horrible reality, slowed the world to a crawl for Glory. For the first time in years, he looked around, and saw the hell which had become his Equestria, he had stood idly by when the Militia had pacified the East, he’d turned a blind eye as the new government had eroded all the tenets of Harmony so thoroughly that one could scarcely imagine they’d ever existed. Now, he was complicit. He looked past the girl, towards the still burning gate, and felt more invigorated than he’d ever felt before as a terrible, terrible idea entered his head.
He’d never felt more free as he shouted: “Get on!”
The filly tilted her head in confusion, so he shouted again, louder.
“Get on! We’re going through!” Her eyes brightened with hope and she rushed forward, clambering onto the tank. Seeing her climb on the stopped tank, ponies nearby began to copy her, all the time Glory continued to beckon more to board.
“Boss! We’re getting hikers!” Snap Shot called out with a hint of panic in his voice.
“Let 'em on, they’re invited!” Glory cheerfully called into the intercom, “Slim, send us towards the gate, slow enough that ponies can climb on!.”
The engine purred, but the driver hesitated.
“Slim, you once trusted me with your life, if you trust me now, do it.”
There was the briefest of pauses, but then the tank drove forward, the pace was steady and slow enough that more and more ponies began to mount the tank.
Ponies began cheering.
As the crowd parted before them, they began shouting joyfully and following in their wake. Glory looked around and saw the hope of the crowd now rested on his shoulders. His breath began to quicken. Could he do this?
“You’re a good pony.” He turned and regarded the young pony who he’d saved. She continued, “When it counts, you chose to be kind, you chose to help us.” He stared at her, trying to think of what to say. Failing to do so, he simply nodded.
“Boss, Slim’s gonna speed us up, gate’s ahead, batten down if you want to keep your eyebrows!”
He held onto the girl as the tank began to pick up speed, the crowd cheering and whooping as they went faster and faster.
“Hold on.” He shouted.
The tank careened into the flames, instantly stealing the breath of everypony on the tank, the demonstrators hanging on screamed as the metal began to rapidly heat up, burning their hooves. One pony let go instinctually but was caught by two of his comrades before he fell into the inferno. An instant later, they were through.
“Scatter!” Somepony shouted, and the hikers disembarked and made for alleys, businesses, and sewers in an attempt to avoid the incoming crackdown. The edges of the tank sizzled as they began to rapidly cool off. Many of the demonstrators now had burns covering their bodies but were spared the worst of trying to cross the flaming threshold on hoof. Many uttered praises and thank you’s as they vanished into the city. Glory did not hear a single one of them.
He looked back towards the gate, expecting to see the forlorn faces of those he couldn’t take with him, instead, he saw a miracle.
The disruption of the tank had split a chasm through the fire, fuel, and napalm which had been scattered to the sides. The fire was quickly returning to claim what it had already scorched, but for a brief few moments, hundreds of ponies surged through the gap they had created, suffering only superficial burns to escape the trap they were in.
“Dismount.” He called over the intercom. The tracks were melted to the sprocket wheels, and he could see what little lighting that was left inside the turret flickering wildly. The last surge through the fire had finally done what no Changeling tank could and done in their old girl.
He tapped the side of the turret as he stepped off the tank. The words *Head West* were still visible despite the damage the fire had done to the exterior finish. He mouthed a few words of thanks to the machine which had carried him through hell one final time and faced his crew.
They were formed up in front of the tank. Glory took a long look at each one, each one a true friend, and smiled.
“We did a lot of good together, didn’t we…” He trailed off, not really willing to say what needed to be said. They needed to leave.
“Thanks for pushing me back there, Glory, I was stuck, behind that vision slit…” Slim said, rubbing the back of his neck.
“The boss was always our moral guidance, especially after the bugs got squashed.” Noted his Snap Shot.
“You’re in charge for a reason.” Fix stated with a smirk.
“Here’s how we play this,” Glory said, a plan forming in his mind, “we split up and spread out into the city, no groups, do not report back to HQ. Meet up by the train station, the third building on the platform is the ticket office, ask to see Billet, he’s my cousin and he’ll help us out. Be there before nightfall. Go!”
His tank crew nodded, and he watched each one split off wordlessly, confident in their success.
He also knew he’d never see them again.
The last of the escapees trickled through before the fire roared back to its former glory. The shouts and cries began to die down as the Militia finally cleared the square. The silence was worse than the shouting.
“What’s your name, Mister?” Glory jumped in his skin as he noticed the little pony he’d almost run over was still beside him.
“Rising Glory, now you’ve got to get out of here and go home, little one.”
“My name’s Ember Spark! I came here because they made my Mom and Dad join the army. I don’t really have anywhere to go. I’m gonna stick with you!” Glory shook his head in disbelief.
“You can’t, I’m going to be a wanted pony as soon as they figure out it was my tank that disobeyed orders, listen, you’ve got-”
“Nowhere left to run.” Glory turned in horror as a pony stepped through the flames. His white coat of fur was untouched and his face was nothing but rage made manifest. The Inquisitor flicked his sword from his scabbard, and snorted, hot steam rising out from his nostrils. Seeing Glory’s shocked expression, he smirked.
“I once told you faith in the God-Empress has its benefits, Rising Glory.”
Without taking his eyes off the Inquisitor, Rising Glory spoke in a quiet voice, certain only one small pony could hear him.
“You remember what my crew looked like, go down to the train station and find them in the third building, they’ll help you.” He added as much of a pleading tone as he could whisper.
“No! You have to come with me! You-” She was cut off as the Inquisitor roared in anger.
“You, of all who’d betray the God-Empress, you were blessed, she knows you! She loves you!” He spit out the words as if they were poisoned. “You saved her bravest sons, and now you side with her enemies!?” He snarled, actual flames beginning to flicker out of his mouth. His eyes burned with fanaticism, and his hooves began to melt the cobblestone beneath him. His sword, held aloft in a magical grip, burst into flames.
Without another word, the girl turned and fled. Her optimism did not make her suicidal. The Inquisitor scoffed and turned to go after her.
Glory put himself between the Inquisitor and the fleeing girl, who quickly dipped out of sight.
“And so you save another…” The Inquisitor almost sounded disappointed, like having caught his own son breaking some minor house rule. “No matter, you’ll come with me and beg for forgiveness from the God-Empress herself, wayward son.”
“With all due respect,” Glory began as he reached for his pistol holster, “go fuck yourself!”
Despite the intense heat, Glory shivered when the Inquisitor entered the room. The thick humid air made it difficult to take anything but shallow breaths, he was soaked in sweat and strained weakly under the heavy iron constraints which attached him to the floor in the middle of the room.
“Did you know this was once called the Fungeon?” The Inquisitor said idly as he circled Glory.
He did not respond, he did not have the strength to.
“In her naivety, our God-Empress once preached tolerance and understanding, that to fight your enemies was to admit you had no other recourse when there was always compromise.” He paused for a long moment. “Do you know what happened to change this?”
“The Changelings.” Glory croaked, his voice scarred by the heat and extreme dehydration. The Inquisitor scoffed.
“Wrong, was I wrong about you then? Are you so naive to have not noticed the war in Manehattan?”
“We’re… not… supposed… to talk… of it.” Though Glory could barely speak a half-sentence, he repeated what he had been told so many years ago. Even as he bordered unconsciousness, the fear instilled in him gripped tightly.
“Ah, so I was not wrong, I doubted your loyalty to the cause, given your recent actions, but it seems there is still obedience in you. Yes, when her wayward sister protested our God-Empress’s war measures and threatened to veto them. Once more, her jealously led her to claim that which only belonged to the Sun. Worse, she took so many otherwise loyal ponies and brainwashed them, poisoning their minds with thoughts of ‘democracy’, and ‘accountability.”
“Ridiculous!” He snarled, stomping his hooves into the hard stone of the dungeon, cracking them. “As if they could govern a tenth as well as her! She ruled for a thousand years of uninterrupted peace, alone, only broken by her sister’s rebellious return. Even then! She accepted her back into the fold, only to be once again betrayed.”
He peered closer to Glory, his eyes afire in passion. “Don’t you see, the weakness of Harmony is its accepting nature, to forgive IS to forget. In her newfound wisdom, she rejected her sister’s demands and galvanized Equestria into a force for order! A force for the good of all! She will make Equestria a shining beacon, despite what you or any other traitors do to try to stop her.”
“Are... you… gonna stop… preaching?” Glory said, his words carrying confidence he truly felt, even in this terrible place. He’d won. His crew had gotten away, he’d saved so many from the square massacre, especially that one filly, Ember Spark, who he was sure carried hope in her that would inspire others and see them through this crisis.
The Inquisitor chuckled darkly.
“I am not here to preach to you, traitor. I am here to prepare you for meeting her.”
Glory’s blood went cold.
“Wha-”
“As I said, Glory, she knows you.” Suddenly, he stepped back towards the abnormally tall entrance to the room, made to accommodate somepony of much larger stature than even the largest ponies. He unlocked the latch, opened the door, and bowed reverently. His eyes filled only with devotion.
She stepped inside.
“Your Majesty, I have done as you asked and-”
“Leave us.” She said, her voice carrying no emotion.
Without another word, the Inquisitor left the room and shut the door behind him. A soft golden glow of magic enveloped the bolt and it slid shut and locked with a click.
Silence permeated the room. It washed over them both like a wave. It coated the walls and the floor. It consumed them and forced Glory to hear the sounds he never noticed. His heartbeat, his breathing, and much worse.
It wasn’t completely silent, because however quiet it was, there was always one sound that was present when she was.
The low crackle of burning flames.
She stood there, tall and regal. Her alabaster coat shone with an internal, unnatural light. Her mane, once a soft multicolored hue now was scorched and burning, its flames wreathed around the back of her neck and along her spine. Her body was covered in thickly ornamented plate armor, its golden inlays glowed like miniature suns, and steam rose slowly from them, Glory could scarcely imagine how hot it would be to the touch, though she paid the heat no mind.
It felt like an eternity passed as they stared at one another. Her golden eyes to his.
“Rising Glory.” She said it! She said his name! All at once, Glory remembered his military pride, being a part of the Princess's armies, to defend Equestria! To know that one of the most respected rulers of the world, the one who’d led Equestria through a millennium of peace, cared enough to know his name. To be immortalized in her immortal memory. He almost smiled.
Then reality came back with a vengeance.
“You once saved so many Equestrians, so many of your brothers and sisters, trapped in a terrible Changeling ambush.” She began to walk towards him as she spoke, her head held high with pride, her gaze calm and motherly, a hint of a smile on her lips.
“I-” Glory tried to speak, but as she got closer, an overbearing sense of shame washed through him. He remembered the faces of all his comrades, especially those who’d died in the war with the Changelings. He saw them now, looking at him with scorn, the look of betrayal in their eyes. Couldn’t they see? He had to fight back! He couldn’t just leave all those innocent ponies to die!
“You once took pride in defending Equestria, I once took pride in you.” She was behind him now, a whisper in his ear. “You betrayed your fallen comrades as much as you betrayed me.” She whispered.
He tried to reason. They couldn’t have just been left to die!
“How many dissidents did you let escape? How will they hamper the war effort? Train derailments, sabotaging munitions, aiding Changeling partisans?” It hit him hard. His best friend in tank school had died to a spiked round, the battalion intelligence said it was Changeling-made, but…
“How many will seek to join our enemies, to kill more of your brothers and sisters? Already, traitors flock to the banners of the Federal East. You’ve killed more than you could have ever saved, Rising Glory.” He tried to speak again, but his voice was snuffed out by the terrible heat that surrounded him. She was so close now, her superheated breath burned his skin as she exhaled. He could practically reach out and-
She touched his chest, a hoof directly over where his heart. Despite the heat of the room, despite the inferno of her mane and the steam rising from her body, she was cold.
“Do you see what I have to sacrifice to save Equestria, Glory?” She was so frigidly cold! “I gave away my own inner flame to take us from the brink of destruction to masters of the continent. Because of me, no pony will fear Changeling attacks ever again, because of me, none will suffer from the greed of selfish ponies who’d sell our secrets and collaborate with evil. This is my only desire, to save us all through every measure of my ability and power. Do you know what you’ve done?”
Glory shook his head like a scolded child.
“You’ve made me feel ashamed, for trusting you, for having believed you were a good pony. You’ve betrayed my trust forever, and in doing so you’ve betrayed all of your friends, alive or dead.”
“I-” The courage to fight back died as he saw her gaze, not one of rage, arrogance, or fanaticism, but of utter hopelessness. Her golden eyes briefly flashed magenta, an assertion of their original color, then melted back into their fiery new forms.
“Your crew, Glory, I’ve read the reports, they worship you, they would follow you into hellfire, and they did follow you into betrayal. I now realize that we are similar in that regard, they held a reverence for you that the nation holds for me. How does it feel to know you’ve failed them?”
He was too scared to reply.
“I know them, Glory, I know their names, their families, and their friends. I know who they will go to for help. Glory, I will find them, and they will suffer for what you have done.”
His composure cracked like glass smashed against a sidewalk. He crumpled to the floor and sobbed. Dehydration and the heat turned his cries into pitiful half-choked murmurs. For the first time, he felt true despair. Nothing could fix this. Worse, he held now in his heart the most terrible of realizations. He did know how she felt, those eyes had betrayed her true feelings, and to know that the greatest being in his existence, who’d stood proudly for millennia, was as shattered as he was, broke him irreparably.
“Shhh.” His sobs stopped for a moment as a cold feeling surrounded him. He panicked as Sol Invictus, Daybreaker, the God-Empress, and ruler of Equestria, hugged him. Despite the frigidness of her hooves, his heart calmed in her arms. He felt secure, and for a brief moment, he felt all was as it should be.
“Forgive me.” He begged in a hoarse and pained voice. The God-Empress leaned in close. Her eyes alight with baleful vigor.
“No.” She whispered.
48 killed in Changeling Attack! God-Empress promises retribution. New legislation to protect Equestria soon!
Forked Path handed the newspaper over to his compatriot, who grimaced at the headlines.
“As if anyone would believe this! There’s no way they missed the planes or the gunfire!” The pony complained.
“Equestrian PR is top-notch, friend. They’ll spin this as much as they can, just hope your friends can get out in time. If as many activists as you say got out, then they can’t keep it secret forever.”
“I know, and I hope they got out. Haven’t seen them here, after all.” They both glanced at the barbed wire enclosure they’d been stuffed in. A hastily made holding facility while they waited for the train to be ready for departure.
“Do you have any idea where we’re going? All the guards would tell me is we’re heading out West?” Forked’s friend grimaced and spoke in a low tone.
“Back when we liberated the Changeling lands-”
“Conquered.” Forked corrected with a playful tone. His friend rolled his eyes.
“Whatever, we had to figure out what to do with the millions of Changelings captured, and the civilian populace. We figure those in the industrial service and civil administration could keep doing the same work but for us, it's the soldiers and the unfit that was the trouble.”
“What happened?” Forked asked with rising concern.
“Well despite what your propaganda says we weren’t just going to massacre prisoners. I know we constructed huge holding camps, just to make sure ex-soldiers wouldn’t slip away from the cities and form sabotage groups.”
“Obviously, I’m proof that wasn’t wholly successful,” Forked said with a smirk.
“Trying to contain a populace that could change form at will and had perfect impersonation skills wasn’t going to be an easy task.” His friend said, a bit defensively.
“You’re right, you’re right! Please continue.”
“So, the way I heard it was this:” His friend continued, “They started constructing industry in the camps, to keep them working, and any pony that commits a serious enough crime is sent there.”
“Why ponies?”
“Well, as you obviously are aware, Changelings eat love,” Forked Path nodded, “Well, we had to feed you all somehow.”
Forked was shocked, “You imprisoned your own to be harvested for love?!”
“Woah, Woah!” His friend waved his forehooves, “I didn’t do anything, I’m just saying what I’ve heard.”
“Too many ponies have said that to me.” Muttered Forked Path.
“What?”
“They’ve said ‘I didn’t do anything’, as if it washes away all their guilt and complicity.”
“Hey! That’s not fair, I told you about the protests at the square, I told you what I did.”
“You’re right, I’m sorry, I’m just worried about my family.”
“Trust me, I am too.”
A pony in an officer’s greatcoat stood on top of the platform and raised a loudspeaker.
“You will all stand up and proceed to the exit in an orderly fashion, you will not resist as you board your allotted train. Any resistance will be swiftly put down with force!” As to accentuate his statement, an armored car rolled around the corner, its machinegun swiveled to face them.
The two stood up and faced each other.
“You’ll be out within a week.” His friend stated with certainty.
Forked raised an eyebrow. “How do you know that?”
“I can see it in your eyes, you’ve got somepony to get back to.”
Forked shrugged, “Might as well put my infiltrator training to good use. I’ll be out in a few days for sure.”
“I hope we meet again, Forked Path.” His friend said, smiling.
“I’ll be honest, that isn’t my real name,” Forked said, almost embarrassingly.
“I figured as much.” His friend replied.
“In Changeling culture, it’s a sign of trust to give anyone who is not a Changeling our true name,” He explained, “we live many lives completely distant from our original identities, and to reveal that name is to invite somepony into our most private life.” He said, almost reverently.
“Like a lover?” His friend raised an eyebrow.
“What?! No! Like a close friend, it doesn’t have to be love, bloody sentimental ponies.” Forked said trying to contain a blush.
“Well that makes sense, I guess. You already know my name is Rising Glory.” The disgraced tank commander said, holding out a hoof.
“Heh, yes, but you don’t know mine, and I may be using a different disguise next we meet. I am Hermis Rhombi, once loyal to Chrysalis, now loyal to none but blood.” He met Glory’s hoof and they shook.
“Pleasure to meet you, Rhombi, I have the feeling this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”
They then turned, joined the line, and mounted the train. A soft snowfall began to carpet the valley as the train slowly departed the station. Glory looked out his window and swore he could almost see a group of ponies, Four adults, and one foal, race across the back of the train station towards the third building in the row. He smiled.
The train continued leisurely rolling along the tracks, taking them out west. Never to return.
