Auroram Usque Opacare

One

The crowds roared in unison, chanting their slogans of ‘Earth Ponies shall inherit the earth!’ and ‘Equestria for the working class!’ the red pony watched this from a distance, preferring not to get involved directly. It looked like no number of peace negotiations could pacify this lot, and what were they so riled up over? Because one unicorn walked into earth pony territory because he needed to buy food for his family.

The pony sighed and continued on his way. There was a light breeze which lifted his short cropped mane; he shook his head to remove the fiery orange hairs from obscuring his vision. As he entered a side street the noise of the protestors was reduced considerably. He continued down the familiar route, stopping briefly to give a nod to passing ponies, whom he vaguely knew from sight. As he reached the red brick structure standing at the street corner, he knocked one hoof twice on the heavy door.

Waiting for a minute, he began to tap one hoof on the ground impatiently, when at last the door was dragged open by a heavy set work horse covered in soot. Seeing the blue workers jacket the pony was wearing he nodded and let him pass through. He walked into the room, receiving general signals of acknowledgment from passing workers. As he passed through the main room he glanced over at a small crowd gathered beneath a speaker. All held newspapers in their mouths and listened intently to the propaganda echoing out.

“It is your duty, as proud members of the United Workers Force, to represent our noble cause at the parade this coming Sunday.”

The pony walked on shaking his head slightly. Officially he was a member of the UWF, but he hadn’t attended a single meeting, he only registered so he wouldn’t be made redundant. Not that he enjoyed his job here at the factory, but his parents depended on him to support them, and jobs had long since become a rarity in Manehatten. He approached the min desk and announced himself to the secretary busying herself with worker reports.

“Dusk, signing in for eight o’clock shift.”

The secretary nodded briefly, quickly ticking him off and getting back to her own work. Dusk moved off heading for the elevator. Currently the area was packed with packed with ponies who’d just finished their shift and were now stifling their yawns as they went to collect their bits for the day. Dusk could see that with this crowd he wasn’t going to get into the elevator any time soon, so instead he went around the crowd and began descending the stairs. The stairwell was considerably less packed, and with no speakers here Dusk was able to escape the politics for a brief moment while he trotted down two floors to where he worked in maintenance.

As he approached the door to his station he could hear the rumble and the high pitch whine of active machinery, and the steady hiss of leaking steam. He pushed through entering the low ceiling room lit only by a solitary bulb, flickering occasionally. Dusk approached the desk where another colt, slightly older than himself, sat with his legs propped up, leaning back with the newspaper open.

“Any news Derek?” Dusk enquired taking a seat opposite him.

“I’m barely reading it,” he replied, not making a secret of his boredom, “the riots have died down in Vanhoover, but Los Pegasus has tightened the security at its checkpoints.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes, when Derek glanced at the console to his right.

“I’m going to check out that leak we had yesterday, see how the patch is holding up.” He threw the newspaper down on the table and slowly wandered out of sight. Dusk remained still for a short while before reaching out for Derek’s discarded newspaper, the Manehatten Express. He read the headline on the front cover and wasn’t surprised, ‘Neigh Sayers reject UWF reforms.’ This was going to cause a stir; Dusk wouldn’t be surprised if they got pulled out of work right now to attend a mandatory strike.

Derek returned and saw him scanning the main article.

“This will just provide more reason for them to assume the Unicorns are trying to oppress them.” Dusk didn’t reply, a part of him recognised the economic struggle the earth ponies had faced since the Neigh Sayers were elected, but it didn’t justify all this violence.

“I’m going to have a walk around, see if anything needs done.” Dusk said passing the newspaper back and walked off, taking note of readings different consoles were showing on the way. “Pressure seems normal” he hollered back, Derek just grunted in response.

While he carried on he occasionally tapped a hoof against the pipe work, listening closely to check for anything that would hint at wear in the metal. It was all routine stuff, Dusk generally didn’t bother, but the increase in demand for electricity and water made it more important that these machines were kept up to check. He heard a soft dripping, and as he crouched down he could see there was a small leak in the base of one of the tanks. He removed a flash light from his jacket pocket and crawled under, clenching it between his teeth.

The leak didn’t look like anything too bad, but if it was ignored it could easily get worse and then they’d have another situation like yesterday on their hooves. He took a small spanner from his pocket and began tightening the bolts along the seam. He then covered the section with some duct tape. Easy enough, putting his tools away he shone the torch over it again making sure he didn’t miss anything. There was a thin coat of oil gathered around where the leak had been, better clean it so the metal doesn’t stain. He looked about and saw a sheet of an old newspaper. As he lifted it up to the metal ready to wipe away the dribble of oil, the light from his torch revealed the headline.

‘Princess Celestia abdicates.’ Dusk stared at the article, he read the date the newspaper had been published and he remembered that day… three years ago. Then the siren began, the noise slicing through the air. Dusk was dragged back to reality, only to wonder what had happened now.

Two

The Friendship Express sped down the line, Manehatten peering over the horizon, with the ocean stretching out behind it. The pony sat back in her seat, tearing her eyes from the view she looked back at the Pegasus opposite her. She’d never met her before today, but after a slight confusion with their luggage they found they got along quite well. So they’d sat together trading stories all the way from Baltimare.

“I’m just a little worried the guards may not let me through,” the Pegasus said nervously. The pony smiled kindly, hoping it would reassure her.

“It’ll be fine. Manehatten has no problem with pegasi, you’ll see Violet.” Violet still didn’t look sure.

“But you’ve never been to Manehatten since the troubles began.” Violet said frowning.

“No I haven’t, but my aunt writes to me and she says it’s not as bad as the media portrays it.”

“I hope you’re right Dawn.”

They remained silent for the final minutes of the journey. When the train entered the outskirts of Manehatten, Dawn looked out the window again and watched the stout brick houses roll by. They felt the train slowing and she saw the station approaching. Turning to face Violet in time to see her gulp down her anxiety. The platform came into view and Dawn stared out across the sea of ponies gathered at the station. The train came to a complete stop and Dawn stood up reaching for her case in the overhead compartment.

Together they shuffled from the compartment and stepped onto the overcrowded platform. Staying close to each other they began weaving between commuters making for the exit to the street. Once there they’d get a cab to Dawn’s aunt’s house. Due to a complication in the booking of Violet’s hotel room, Dawn had offered to put her up for a couple nights until she could get it sorted. While in the hustle and bustle of the station they went by unnoticed, but now at the exit, Dawn noticed they were getting some stares. At first she thought it was her bright yellow coat and red mane, next to the grey and brown locals of Manehatten she clearly stood out.

But when they got out onto the street it became apparent Dawn wasn’t the focus of their attention. The entire street which had been deafeningly noisy a few seconds ago was now eerily silent. Passerbys stopped dead in their tracks, staring in horror at Violet. Dawn’s stomach sank as she took in her surroundings; every pony in the street… was an earth pony. Then the siren started.

The crowd began converging in on them forcing them down the street. Where were they going? Violet was panicking now; Dawn could see her wings fluttering and knew what she was planning.

“Don’t fly, it’ll make things worse.” Violent conceded but she remained terrified. Eventually they reached a makeshift barricade made from stacks of sheet metal and wooden palates. Across the barricade the words ‘pegasi territory’ was daubed in red paint.

They were made to stop next to the barricade, and the mob became silent, waiting for something or somepony. After a minute the crowd began to make space for a small procession to walk down between them. All the ponies wore identical blue badges with the letters UWF inscribed on them, and leading the herd was a pony known all across Equestria. His name was Troy Claxon, the president of the United Workers Force. Dawn had seen him all over the news everyday for the last year, usually because he was stirring agitation regarding the ‘sufferings’ of the earth ponies.

“Look here comrades, once again the ‘noble’ pegasi spit on our customs and stray where they’re not welcome,” he announced to the crowd receiving cries of outrage. “Well we proud, hard working earth ponies will not stand for it. We’ll send them where they belong, the self righteous pegasi and any who would aid them.

Dawn knew he was referring to her, guilty by association. There was an almighty cheer from the crowd as a dozen or so began converging in on them.

Dawn felt helpless as their cases were snatched from them, then she watched as the rough ponies rummaged through them stealing anything that looked valuable and spreading the rest across the crowd.

“Alright Pegasus, get over that wall, and take your friend with you,” one of the ponies ordered. Violet hesitated and the ponies began advancing menacingly, but they were stopped by Claxon shouting out once more.

“Hold on, don’t send them off just yet.” Dawn saw that another pony had stepped forward and was now debating animatedly with Claxon, who seemed annoyed at the interruption but then changed his expression as whatever the pony had said sank in.

Claxon approached Dawn; the crowd had gone silent watching with great apprehension.

“What is your name?” he demanded. Dawn was caught so off guard it took her a second to remember.

“Dawn... sir,” she stammered.

“And tell me Dawn, what is your profession?” he could barely conceal the icy tone in his voice.

“I was a teacher in Baltimare. I was offered to fill a position here...” she trailed but he nodded approvingly. Then turning his back on her he addressed the crowd again.

“To associate with an outsider is a great crime, however in these desperate times we cannot afford to turn on one another. We must join hooves with all earth ponies if we are to be strong enough to obtain what we’ve been fighting for.”

The crowd was hesitant in its applause at first, but soon became more enthusiastic. The mob got the message and spread out so Dawn could leave. She turned briefly to see Violent nodding her on, she looked back apologetically, but not saying anything. She stepped out of the clearing and joined the crowd, she didn’t dare ask for her things back. Satisfied Claxon also returned to the group of UWF members, the pony who’d spoken to him before he had his change of heart was trying to make himself scarce but Claxon approached him specifically. It was only now Dawn took in the appearance of the pony who’d saved her, because she was sure if not for what he said, Claxon would not have let her stay. He had a red coat, short cropped orange mane and a blue workers jacket.

Dawn watched them walk off together, Claxon talking intimately to him while he looked awkward and uncomfortable. With Claxon away the crowd’s attention returned to Violet who was now being encroached upon. Reluctantly she spread her wings and began to flap up over the barricade, while the ponies all around Dawn shouted abuse at her. Just before Violet passed over the ridge an egg flew out of nowhere striking her on the head, she was thrown off course slightly and the crowd guffawed at her expense. Disgusted and ashamed, Dawn turned and fled the scene. She had to get to her aunts apartment, she didn’t want to be out on the streets a minute longer.

Three

Dusk was never one for speaking out; political agitation was particularly unappealing to him. He preferred to just look the other way; after all it had nothing to do with him. So then why had he approached Claxon and appealed to him to let a mare he’d never met and probably would never see again stay?

As soon as he heard the siren Dusk knew somepony had strayed where they shouldn’t have. Although he didn’t want to go, it would be risky not to, lest he was discovered. It wouldn’t go down well not to be seen supporting the UWF, let alone if you were a member as Dusk was. So reluctantly he left the factory with the other workers and flocked down the street to the east barricade. He never wore his UWF badge so he just mingled with the other ponies rather than walk in Claxon’s procession.

What followed was nothing new to him; these events had become increasingly more common in the last several months. Nor was it uncommon for an earth pony to be punished for ‘siding with the enemy’, but Dusk just couldn’t stand idle this time, and with every instinct in his body screaming otherwise he stepped out of line and approached Claxon.

Convincing him wasn’t as hard as he’d thought, he just made the simple argument that Claxon would look better among his own people if he were to be forgiving. Of course he lapped up any possibility of improving his image and so he permitted her to stay. After that Dusk just wanted to get away, but Claxon wasn’t having any of it, nobody challenged his authority and just walked away. Claxon briefly asked him to identify himself; he stated his name and UWF number: 3689. Claxon then asked him to accompany him back to his office.

The journey had been deathly quiet; Claxon clearly had no interest in talking until they reached their destination. Arriving at the old town hall, now used as the head quarters of the UWF, they navigated the corridors searching for Claxon’s office. Upon entering Claxon invited him to take a seat opposite his desk, he then poured two glasses of cider offering one to Dusk.

“You should know Dusk,” he began at last, “ponies don’t often argue with me once I’ve made a decision.”

Dusk remained silent; if he was going to be punished Claxon wouldn’t have bothered with the little courtesies, so what was coming?

“And frankly, it’s a relief to find somepony who has a mind of his own.” Dusk was taken aback by this but still he said nothing. “I’m trying to run a national organisation, I’m trying to improve the quality of life for us earth ponies, is it too much to ask for a pony with ideas instead of more yes-colts?”

Dusk realised after a second of silence he was actually asking, “not at all sir.”

“Look at that and tell me what you think,” he tossed a newspaper across the desk to Duck, leaning over he read the same headline he’d seen that morning, ‘Neigh Sayers reject UWF reforms.’

“It sounds like they’re feeling threatened,” Dusk said at last. While he didn’t for a second believe that, he felt it’s what Claxon wanted to hear.

“Exactly, we spent a good week drafting that bill, everything we asked for was completely reasonable.” Claxon stood up walking over to the window, “were going to try again, but this time we’re really going to put the screws to them.”

“Politically?” Dusk enquired afraid of the answer.

“That would be preferable, but we’re not ruling anything out.” Turning back he continued, “We have major support routed in the cities, but it’s the ponies on the farms we need. They represent deep seated tradition and family values that we need to push this campaign forward, and I need somepony on the ground I can rely on to get their support.”

Oh no. This is what you get for opening your mouth.

“I appreciate the offer,” Dusk said which couldn’t be further from the truth.

“Good, I knew you were the kind of pony I could depend on.” Seating himself behind his desk again he continued, “Now, I’ll need you on a train tomorrow. Ponyville, Appleloosa and Dodge City. That’s three stops and not a lot of time. Do whatever it takes to convince them to support our cause.”

Dusk sighed and responded, “you can count on me sir.”

Four

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Dawn demanded, her aunt just stared back sadly at her.

“I didn’t want to put you off coming, and I didn’t think you’d be affected.” Dawn had arrived at her aunt’s apartment only ten minutes ago and she didn’t hesitate in venting her emotions regarding the day’s events.

“I came here hoping to get away from all this.” She fell into the sofa pressing her face into the cushions.

“It’ll be over soon, you’ll see,” her aunt said soothingly.

Dawn lifted her head up and turned to face her aunt. She was getting on in her years but her eyes still bore youth.

“What happened April?” Dawn asked all aggression evaporating from her voice, “Equestria was founded on harmony.”

April nodded sadly, “and for a long time it was, even in time of Discord, harmony shone through the chaos. The same will happen this time; you just need to give it time.”

Dawn went straight to her room, she hadn’t eaten since the train journey but she’d lost any appetite she might have had. She lay on her bed staring at the ceiling. Then with her hoof she traced a six pointed star in the air above her while repeating the words in her head.

“Honesty, kindness, generosity, laughter, loyalty, and magic.” Give it time, and harmony would return. How much time did they have to give?

Five

Dusk sat in his house, or rather, his parent’s house. It didn’t matter that it was a mild day, the house was always freezing. He looked over at his father curled up in bed wrapped with blankets, staring into space. He’d been like that for a long time, ever since...

For the second time that day, Dusk thought back to the day, three years ago. At that time he was working as an apprentice engineer in his father’s shop. They had considerably more money back then, not so much that they could retire, but enough to live reasonably comfortable lives. Dusk’s parents had been devoted loyalists; they respected and adored the princess.

But then the protests that had been raging for months came to a head with the assassination of the royal steward. Princess Celestia finally gave into demand, making her first public appearance in almost a year to announce the abdication of her and her family. Dusk had seen something leave his father that day, and ever since then he was never the same.

His mother, though shocked, tried to adjust to the regime that followed, and while she lost her job, unluckily at the same time the shop ran out of business, she never let it get her down the same way his father had. When he came home and told them what happened she glanced over at his father who hadn’t reacted to the news, she then looked back saying simply, “be careful what you’re getting into.”

He had what little possessions he owned in a brown saddle bag, he would wear his workers jacket as it was one of the few items of clothing he had. He knew it was too early to be packing; the train wasn’t until midday tomorrow. But he had nothing else to do. Then suddenly his father turned his head to face Dusk.

“This is the end you know.” Dusk knew his father to come out with random statements, but that was a little dark even for him.

“End of what dad?”

“The end of all harmony, of Equestria itself.”

Dusk looked down at his hooves not wanting to meet his father’s gaze any more. People often said his father was crazy, and often he’d agree with them, but right now he could help silently saying, “I think you’re right there.”

He picked himself up and went into the next room lying on his bed. It had been a stressful day, and now he couldn’t even get to sleep there were so many thoughts in his head. The day three years ago. The protests. The riots. That mare. And strangest of all, what a waste of an egg that had been.