The Awesome Pony Rp: Under the Shadow of War (IC)

[Pherdistan]

Crystal Tree Castle

Razor Wing smiled and nodded. "Well, I think that it's somewhat of a good thing that Fancy's face wasn't in the newspaper." he spoke calmly, "Her actions have been nigh close to scandalous really. Even I have a sense of image and reputation for the family."

Razor Wing followed Twilight to the cafeteria, gently holding the hoof of Mimic, carrying their heirs and her womb. He smiled upon seeing what's for dinner. "That looks splendid, your highness." he spoke cheerfully, "You should come over to the colony sometime and try some of our form of changeling cuisine. So how are your little ones doing?"

Before Twilight could answer, Zing, Pitch Black, Olive Oil, Black Hawk and Eclipse all came walking into the room, greeting her. "Mom!" shouted Black Hawk and Eclipse, running up tp their step-mother, "We had so much fun at Rainbow Dash's! She tought us a whole bunch of new flying tricks!"

Twilight nodded to Razor Wing's suggestion. There was a recipe from a book of changeling culture that she wanted to make herself, but she couldn't find one of the ingredients on the market. She smiled upon seeing her children enter. "Hi Black Hawk! Hi Eclipse!" said Twilight. "So what--"

Twilight, though, twisted her lips upon seeing Fancy's manners. Rarity would have fainted if she saw it. "Uh... you're supposed to use a spoon to eat your soup... and put the soup in your own bowl." She pointed to an untouched white porcelain bowl right in front of Fancy. Sighing, she looked for another large soup bowl nearby. She found one near Silver Shield. "Okay, Fancy, could you pay attention for a moment?" she asked, and then turned to Silver. "Excuse me, Silver, may I have your bisque bowl?"

"Certainly, your highness," said Silver, looking up from his smaller bowl of bisque, and passed the larger bowl to Twilight.

"Thank you," said Twilight, and served her own helping of bisque into her smaller bowl. "Like this," she said to Fancy. "Alright, the first rule of any social situation, dinners included, is to observe what everybody else is doing and do as they do. If you're ever in doubt, following along will usually be the safest choice. Do you see how everypony else is using a spoon to eat their bisque?" It almost seemed a little embarrassing to start with the very basics. If she was going to teach Fancy how to act like a princess, she would first have to teach her how to act like a normal pony (or changeling).

But she swallowed it and turned to Razor Wing instead. "Well, it certainly looks like my children are doing well. They just had their graduations today."

Through clenched teeth, Fancy grudgingly nodded her head. Even the political and cultural orientation classes at the barracks didn’t feel this dull. However, the army life seemed to rub off some, as she managed to make it to the end of the lecture on dining (in front of a bunch of rowdy foals, no less!) with no more than a “yes ma’am”. She even managed to fill her own bisque bowl and fill the spoon with the soup. She stopped short of slurping, putting the whole spoon in her mouth instead, having taken a second to watch the others. The bisque was quickly gone, and she hurried to eat more, commenting on its excellence as she devoured the bowl and filled up another.

“So, uh, you got any drinks to go with this?” she asked, as innocently as possible, hoping the princess would pick up on what type of drinks Fancy meant.

Canterlot Police Station

The white stallion officer froze for a moment. "Oh, is it that serious? Alright, come on back, miss. We totally understand, privacy and all. Sirs, we'll take it from here," he said. The guards and the medic shrugged. Perhaps it was not what they were expecting.

The officer got up from his stool and led Frantic to a small, windowless, and soundproof room in the back. The officer turned on a bright light revealing a two low stools opposite of each other, separated by a white table, surrounded by sterile, silvery purplish-gray walls. The officer then took out a clipboard, a standard report form, and a pen from his pocket dimension. He looked over the form. He eyed the boxes for "murder," "rape," "extortion," "criminal conspiracy," and a line for "requests witness protection Y/N." He took a seat at the stool closest to the door. "Alright, I'm ready, miss."

Silent suddenly felt frozen. He’d decided this was all for the best, but he was suddenly feeling like he was at the edge of a cliff with his wings pinned. However, they didn’t award idiocy in Intelligence, so he proceeded to produce another story. It wouldn’t matter at the end, anyways.

“Well, I’m an aid for Deputy Radiant, over at Parliament. He was very suspicious of changelings. Obviously, with the integration, a few of them were in charge of security. He insisted I keep tabs on them, to be safe. So I made sure I got in early every morning so I could follow them around a little, you know?

“However, today, this one guard, he seemed a little… off. I’d never seen him before, and I’m pretty sure he was fidgety, nervous, sweating a bit, even. Of course, any security job, I imagine, has some stress, so I just kept my distance, but my initial suspicions were correct. He shot up the cafeteria, then ran. I likewise collected my wits and followed him, into the bathroom. He then broke the glass and left Parliament. Naturally, I think he snuck in there, probably connected to the assault on Cloudsdale as well. That’s all I can tell you now, officer.”

[The Flutterlands]

Rainbow Dash

Black Hawk and Eclipse smiled broadly and watched with child-like excitement as Rainbobow bow Dash performed her low-yo-yos and high-yo-yos. Nether knew that these maneuvers were militant in purpose and designed for warfare, but they nonetheless saw them as purely amazing. "Yay! Awesome!" cheered both Black Hawk and Eclipse, jumping excitedly on their cloud, "Can we give it a a try Rainbow Dash? That looks so cool!"

---

Amberloft

Pitch Black and Olive Oil listened to Potter Black's small history lecture with fascination. The reason for the Maretonia wars sounded quite similar to the Pony-Changeling Wars, which with the current war, were now widely taught in schools across Equestria. The first three Pony-Changeling wars were caused persecution, discrimination and massacres caused by those who were allowed in Equestria. The current war is now about the land of Equestria itself which once belonged to the Changeling race long before the ponies came to Equestria. "Wow, Dad." spoke Pitch Black, "I wonder why they didn't teach about those wars in school. I guess that with current events they're not considered relevant."

Pitch Black then smiled when his steak and vegetables arrived. He was glad that the food finally arrived for he was getting quite hungry. "Thank you, Sir." the black unicorn colt spoke politely as he took a bite out of his tofu steak, "Mmmmm! This is really good."

Olive Oil, however, frowned somewhat in confusion upon seeing her soup. "Excuse me, Sir." the young changeling girl spoke gently, though with an upset tone, "I think there have been a mistake. "I recall the soup of the day being vichyssoise. This is vegetable soup. Are you all out of vichyssoise, sir?"

---

Crystal Tree Castle

Razor Wing blinked upon turning to see his sister eat like a slob and he grimaced deeply. "Oh dear..." the prince spoke under his breath as he sat down and ate as he watched Twilight teach Fancy proper eating etiquette. Really it gave him memories of back when his and Fancy's parents taught them eating etiquette as younglings. To watch Fancy go through this again was quite jarring.

Prince Razor Wing then razed an eyebrow when Fancy asked for drinks. He of course knew what kind of drinks she was asking about and thus glanced at Twilight with a look. "I don't know." he spoke calmly, "Are you serving drinks, your highness? If so perhaps we could use this as a demonstration of drinking etiquette and moderation? Anyway, congratulations on your children's graduation. Changeling younglings in the Colony have been graduating this month as well."

Meanwhile, Bounty, Pitch Black and the other children were happily discussing their afternoon activities as they ate. Black Hawk and Eclipse spoke happily of their lessons with Rainbow Dash, while Pitch Black and Olive Oil talked about their time at the Amberloft with Potter Black. Zing, however, remained quiet, thinking about how to tell her family about her true self.

---

Sweet Apple Acres

Gregory giggled and jumped excitedly upon winning the game. "Yay! I win! I win!" the young fledgling cheered as he bounced in circles. He stopped bouncing and giggled with a nod when Apple Bloom told him to serve. Gregory picked up the ball with the talons and tossed it in the air before bouncing it towards Apple Bloom with a head butt. The young griffin giggled as they continued playing. The second round at first went well in Gregory's favor. Unfortunately though, the young griffin slipped up and the round eventually ended 11-10 in Apple Bloom's favor. "Awwww..." moaned Gregory with a frown and a pout, "I lost..."

Gretel smiled as she patted her son on the head. "Well, you win some and you lose some." she spoke gently, "It's part of life little guy. Now how about one more round before I make snacks for the gwo of you? It doesn't seem like Apple Jack's gonna be back anytime soon. So I guess there's no harm in going back inside eventually."

[Frenequesta]

Amberloft

Pitch Black and Olive Oil listened to Potter Black's small history lecture with fascination. The reason for the Maretonia wars sounded quite similar to the Pony-Changeling Wars, which with the current war, were now widely taught in schools across Equestria. The first three Pony-Changeling wars were caused persecution, discrimination and massacres caused by those who were allowed in Equestria. The current war is now about the land of Equestria itself which once belonged to the Changeling race long before the ponies came to Equestria. "Wow, Dad." spoke Pitch Black, "I wonder why they didn't teach about those wars in school. I guess that with current events they're not considered relevant."

Pitch Black then smiled when his steak and vegetables arrived. He was glad that the food finally arrived for he was getting quite hungry. "Thank you, Sir." the black unicorn colt spoke politely as he took a bite out of his tofu steak, "Mmmmm! This is really good."

Olive Oil, however, frowned somewhat in confusion upon seeing her soup. "Excuse me, Sir." the young changeling girl spoke gently, though with an upset tone, "I think there have been a mistake. "I recall the soup of the day being vichyssoise. This is vegetable soup. Are you all out of vichyssoise, sir?"

Perfect Hospitality almost didn't hear Olive Oil's complaint. As she spoke he returned back, and, after a second of taking it in, said "One moment, madam," and returned to the kitchen. A few diners could have heard him first muttering under his breath "I knew there was something about that that didn't smell right..." and then, a little later, when he opened the door to the kitchen a somewhat louder and angrier "Okay, who messed with--?"

Meanwhile, Potter nodded to Pitch's observation. "Hmm... I never remember voting on any curriculum reform bill recently. Maybe they changed it before I got into office. But I vote on a lot of stuff, and maybe I didn't just look at the title one day." He then took another bite out of his tofu, which he was already a third of the way finished with.

Ten minutes later, Perfect Hospitality came back to the table with a fresh bowl of vichyssoise soup. "We deeply apologize, madam, there was a mix-up in the back. Have both soups on us."

---

Meanwhile, the waiter attending to Sunshine and Flash came back with a fresh bowl of vegetable soup. "Pardon us, miss, but we confused your soup order with somepony else's. Here's a bowl of vegetable soup on us--and that vichyssoise too."

---

Through clenched teeth, Fancy grudgingly nodded her head. Even the political and cultural orientation classes at the barracks didn’t feel this dull. However, the army life seemed to rub off some, as she managed to make it to the end of the lecture on dining (in front of a bunch of rowdy foals, no less!) with no more than a “yes ma’am”. She even managed to fill her own bisque bowl and fill the spoon with the soup. She stopped short of slurping, putting the whole spoon in her mouth instead, having taken a second to watch the others. The bisque was quickly gone, and she hurried to eat more, commenting on its excellence as she devoured the bowl and filled up another.

“So, uh, you got any drinks to go with this?” she asked, as innocently as possible, hoping the princess would pick up on what type of drinks Fancy meant.

Crystal Tree Castle

Razor Wing blinked upon turning to see his sister eat like a slob and he grimaced deeply. "Oh dear..." the prince spoke under his breath as he sat down and ate as he watched Twilight teach Fancy proper eating etiquette. Really it gave him memories of back when his and Fancy's parents taught them eating etiquette as younglings. To watch Fancy go through this again was quite jarring.

Prince Razor Wing then razed an eyebrow when Fancy asked for drinks. He of course knew what kind of drinks she was asking about and thus glanced at Twilight with a look. "I don't know." he spoke calmly, "Are you serving drinks, your highness? If so perhaps we could use this as a demonstration of drinking etiquette and moderation? Anyway, congratulations on your children's graduation. Changeling younglings in the Colony have been graduating this month as well."

Meanwhile, Bounty, Pitch Black and the other children were happily discussing their afternoon activities as they ate. Black Hawk and Eclipse spoke happily of their lessons with Rainbow Dash, while Pitch Black and Olive Oil talked about their time at the Amberloft with Potter Black. Zing, however, remained quiet, thinking about how to tell her family about her true self.

Twilight knew full well what Fancy meant by "drinks," especially when everypony else had mineral water to drink. She nodded with a little reservation. "I don't serve alcohol very often; just during the first week of harvest, Hearth's Warming Eve, and a couple of birthdays here and there. I do have some champagne in the basement left over from last Hearth's Warming--the authentic one from Prance. I'd hate to use the good wine for this, but it's all I got. Besides, it might not last for next Hearth's Warming anyway."

She called for a server to bring the champagne and three flute glasses from the kitchen. After ten minutes the server came back with the champagne bottle in a small metal bucket with crushed ice, and the three glasses, setting one each in front of Twilight, Razor Wing, and Fancy. Twilight took the bottle and, holding the cork on one end and rotating the bottle on the other, opened and tipped it, letting the contents flow into the flute glass four-fifths of the way up. The bubbles fizzed up a little and settled down as Twilight put the cork back on the bottle and set the bottle back into the bucket. "Now you try," said Twilight to Fancy.

At that moment, she had a nagging feeling that she should have confirmed that Fancy was paying attention.

Sweet Apple Acres

Gregory giggled and jumped excitedly upon winning the game. "Yay! I win! I win!" the young fledgling cheered as he bounced in circles. He stopped bouncing and giggled with a nod when Apple Bloom told him to serve. Gregory picked up the ball with the talons and tossed it in the air before bouncing it towards Apple Bloom with a head butt. The young griffin giggled as they continued playing. The second round at first went well in Gregory's favor. Unfortunately though, the young griffin slipped up and the round eventually ended 11-10 in Apple Bloom's favor. "Awwww..." moaned Gregory with a frown and a pout, "I lost..."

Gretel smiled as she patted her son on the head. "Well, you win some and you lose some." she spoke gently, "It's part of life little guy. Now how about one more round before I make snacks for the gwo of you? It doesn't seem like Apple Jack's gonna be back anytime soon. So I guess there's no harm in going back inside eventually."

"Alright!" Apple Bloom chirped, and lobbed the ball up in the air with her tail for Gregory. The next round lasted a bit longer than the last, lasting 13-12 in Apple Bloom's favor. This time, however, it ended when Apple Bloom tried to dive straight at the ball after a rather short lob by Gregory. Misjudging the distance it was from her, she instead hit into the side of the wagon, right into those weak spots, making a great big crack in the wooden structure and dislodging the back axle from the plate, causing it to slide out under the bed and rolling a little, wheels included, towards Gretel.

"Oww..." she moaned trying to get up from the collision. A few seconds later she looked and saw the extent of the damage. "Oh no oh no oh no oh no what's Applejack gonna say? What's Applejack gonna say?" she panicked, and quickly tried to catch the rolling axle and bring it back to the wagon.

Silent suddenly felt frozen. He’d decided this was all for the best, but he was suddenly feeling like he was at the edge of a cliff with his wings pinned. However, they didn’t award idiocy in Intelligence, so he proceeded to produce another story. It wouldn’t matter at the end, anyways.

“Well, I’m an aid for Deputy Radiant, over at Parliament. He was very suspicious of changelings. Obviously, with the integration, a few of them were in charge of security. He insisted I keep tabs on them, to be safe. So I made sure I got in early every morning so I could follow them around a little, you know?

“However, today, this one guard, he seemed a little… off. I’d never seen him before, and I’m pretty sure he was fidgety, nervous, sweating a bit, even. Of course, any security job, I imagine, has some stress, so I just kept my distance, but my initial suspicions were correct. He shot up the cafeteria, then ran. I likewise collected my wits and followed him, into the bathroom. He then broke the glass and left Parliament. Naturally, I think he snuck in there, probably connected to the assault on Cloudsdale as well. That’s all I can tell you now, officer.”

The officer's form did not quite have a box for "terrorism," so he checked the boxes for "murder" and "other" and wrote down "terrorism" in the line, as well as Frantic's information. He also put down "Radiant--vigilantism?" on the same line before swiftly crossing it out with a frown. "That's all, miss? Okay, let me just take a little bit of basic information on you and we'll start the investigation with the Guard and keep in touch with you in case you got anything else...." Of course it already seemed a little strange to conduct an investigation with the Guard when it looked like the Guard had already interviewed this pony. But procedures were procedures for low-level agents like himself.

[Pherdistan]

Crystal Tree Castle

Razor Wing blinked upon turning to see his sister eat like a slob and he grimaced deeply. "Oh dear..." the prince spoke under his breath as he sat down and ate as he watched Twilight teach Fancy proper eating etiquette. Really it gave him memories of back when his and Fancy's parents taught them eating etiquette as younglings. To watch Fancy go through this again was quite jarring.

Prince Razor Wing then razed an eyebrow when Fancy asked for drinks. He of course knew what kind of drinks she was asking about and thus glanced at Twilight with a look. "I don't know." he spoke calmly, "Are you serving drinks, your highness? If so perhaps we could use this as a demonstration of drinking etiquette and moderation? Anyway, congratulations on your children's graduation. Changeling younglings in the Colony have been graduating this month as well."

Meanwhile, Bounty, Pitch Black and the other children were happily discussing their afternoon activities as they ate. Black Hawk and Eclipse spoke happily of their lessons with Rainbow Dash, while Pitch Black and Olive Oil talked about their time at the Amberloft with Potter Black. Zing, however, remained quiet, thinking about how to tell her family about her true self.

Twilight knew full well what Fancy meant by "drinks," especially when everypony else had mineral water to drink. She nodded with a little reservation. "I don't serve alcohol very often; just during the first week of harvest, Hearth's Warming Eve, and a couple of birthdays here and there. I do have some champagne in the basement left over from last Hearth's Warming--the authentic one from Prance. I'd hate to use the good wine for this, but it's all I got. Besides, it might not last for next Hearth's Warming anyway."

She called for a server to bring the champagne and three flute glasses from the kitchen. After ten minutes the server came back with the champagne bottle in a small metal bucket with crushed ice, and the three glasses, setting one each in front of Twilight, Razor Wing, and Fancy. Twilight took the bottle and, holding the cork on one end and rotating the bottle on the other, opened and tipped it, letting the contents flow into the flute glass four-fifths of the way up. The bubbles fizzed up a little and settled down as Twilight put the cork back on the bottle and set the bottle back into the bucket. "Now you try," said Twilight to Fancy.

At that moment, she had a nagging feeling that she should have confirmed that Fancy was paying attention.

“Oh, why thank you,” said Fancy, touching a hoof to the glass to hear it ring. Satisfied, she poured in the champagne. She’d had some previous experiences, and so poured enough in that the rising foam reached the top of the glass, but didn’t go over the top, and repeated it one or two more times until it reached the very brim of the glass. She then proceeded to down the flute of liquid, knocking her head back as if taking a shot, and went to refill it. She’d had much more of much stronger liquors in the past, and she prided herself on being able to drink large quantities of spirits and still managing to stand on four legs, at which point she would wake up in the brig.

The officer's form did not quite have a box for "terrorism," so he checked the boxes for "murder" and "other" and wrote down "terrorism" in the line, as well as Frantic's information. He also put down "Radiant--vigilantism?" on the same line before swiftly crossing it out with a frown. "That's all, miss? Okay, let me just take a little bit of basic information on you and we'll start the investigation with the Guard and keep in touch with you in case you got anything else...." Of course it already seemed a little strange to conduct an investigation with the Guard when it looked like the Guard had already interviewed this pony. But procedures were procedures for low-level agents like himself.

“Uh... okay," was all Silent could say. "Thank you, officer. Can I leave?" he asked, getting up. It had been a long day, and he wanted to get home and sleep on it. Hopefully, what had happened, and what he had just been doing, would make more sense in the night.

[Slorch]

"T...That was.." Derpy muttered. She looked around for a bit not knowing what to do next. "So, we can't exactly go in there for a bit. What should we do? She asks. A bit unsure of herself.

"We could... go out and eat somewhere, I have some bits insi-oh wait..." Sky said trying to think up a place to go. He honestly should just carry his bits around with him.

"Oh! Where would you like to go? It's getting pretty close to lunch anyways. And don't worry about the money I'm sure you'll pay back more then enough later." Derpy says as her eyes light up at the thought of a date with Sky.

[Roma Byzantina]

Rainbow Dash

Black Hawk and Eclipse smiled broadly and watched with child-like excitement as Rainbobow bow Dash performed her low-yo-yos and high-yo-yos. Nether knew that these maneuvers were militant in purpose and designed for warfare, but they nonetheless saw them as purely amazing. "Yay! Awesome!" cheered both Black Hawk and Eclipse, jumping excitedly on their cloud, "Can we give it a a try Rainbow Dash? That looks so cool!"

"Of course!" RD said as she ended her little show, glad to see the two colts excited by her teaching. "The low Yo-Yo is one of the most exciting maneuvers to use, it sacrifices height for a quick increase in speed. You've gotta roll with your front low into the turn, and drop into a steeper slice turn, and the high Yo-Yo is performed by reducing the angle at which you are banking during a turn, and pulling back up, bringing you up into a new plane of travel. You then rolls into a steeper pitch turn. The trade-off between airspeed and altitude provides you with a burst of increased maneuverability. This allows you to make a smaller turn, correcting an overshoot," she said ready to show the colts how to perform the two moves if they needed to see again and totally not ripping the descriptions off of a book.

"We could... go out and eat somewhere, I have some bits insi-oh wait..." Sky said trying to think up a place to go. He honestly should just carry his bits around with him.

"Oh! Where would you like to go? It's getting pretty close to lunch anyways. And don't worry about the money I'm sure you'll pay back more then enough later." Derpy says as her eyes light up at the thought of a date with Sky.

"Oh, in that case, how about Cafe Hay? Nice food, nice establishment, and reasonably priced," Sky suggested taking a moment to think. A date with Derpy would be fun and, he's always fond of the days that he spends with her. Derpy was his lifeline and kept him rooted so that he knew that no matter what, she'd be there if he needed help. What more could a changeling ask for?

[The Flutterlands]

Amberloft

Olive Oil smiled and watched as Perfect Hospitality trotted away to correct the mistake. She didn't mind the mistake too much. The changeling girl actually liked vegetable soup. However she was still nonetheless disappointed that such a prestiged restaurant, two hooves or not, would make such a mistake.

Olive returned ther attention to Potter Black as Pitch Black nodded. "I didn't know that they actually voted on what they taught in school, Dad." the black unicorn colt replied as he took a bite out of his own tofu steak along with some vegetables, "I thought it was the teachers who made that decision."

Olive Oil nodded before eventually smiling upon the waiter's return. "Thank you, Sir." she spoke sweetly before looking at her coltfriend, "Would you like to have the vegetable soup, Pitchy?"

Pitch Black smiled brightly. "Sure, Olive Oil." he said, taking the bowl with his hooves, "Thank you for sharing. A free bowl of soup. Cool, right dad?"

---

Crystal Tree Castle

King Razor Wing smiled as he watched Twilight teach his sister proper drinking. He raised an eyebrow and his smile flattened a bit when Fancy showed what she learned. "I suggest you slow down, Sister." the changeling king spoke, "Like this..."

Razor Wing took the bottle with his magic and filled his cup carefully as Twilight showed. He then lifted the cup with a magical grip before taking a small adequate sip with a sigh of satisfaction. "There. Now you try it, sister." he spoke calmy with a smile before glancing at Twilight. "Anyway, on to war talk. Our changeling forces have been trying compete with Chrysalis's forces in recruiting the Snow Changelings in the north to our cause. The problem is that the Snow Changelings seem to be quite xenophobic, even to us being their kin. The scars inflicted by the Witch-King, Sombra still runs deep I'm afraid. Not to mention that the thousand years of isolation had them create their own unique dialect of changeling tongue and an ancient dialect according to our experts, which only makes communications harder."

---

Sweet Apple Acres

Gregory giggled happily as he continued to play with Apple Bloom. However, he then squeaked upon cracking sound of the wagon breaking it's axel. "U-uhoh..." cried the fledgling with an extremely worried expression. He ran up to Apple Bloom to try to help her back on her hooves.

Gretel, meanwhile, caught the wheel with her talons, giving a concerned look of her own. "Mmmm... This doesn't look good." spoke the griffin lady grimly before sighing as she shook her head, "I'm afraid it can't be helped. We're gonna have to explain to Apple Jack exactly what happened. As a grown up, I'll take responsibility for this as a failure of paying attention."

---

Rainbow Dash

Eclipse and Black Hawk giggled happily as they listened to Rainbow Dash's lecture. When she was finished the bat-colt and fledgling flapped their wings before taking off. Both children tried their best to copy Rainbow Dash's technique. Being their first try, they were both a little sloppy with the low yo yos and high yo yos, but showed that they were learning quite well from their teacher. However, nether really knew or cared due to how much fun they were having flying about like this. "Like this, Rainbow Dash?" squawked Black Hawk, as he tried a high yo yo as Rainbow Dash showned but not quite getting the angel necessary just right.

"How about this?" asked Eclipse, trying to preform a low yo yo, but not quite getting the roll rught, "Are we getting it right?" Nonetheless, both children proved to excellent flyers in general, but also showed that they still have quite a lot to learn from their blue and rainbow mained teacher.

[Frenequesta]

Amberloft

Olive Oil smiled and watched as Perfect Hospitality trotted away to correct the mistake. She didn't mind the mistake too much. The changeling girl actually liked vegetable soup. However she was still nonetheless disappointed that such a prestiged restaurant, two hooves or not, would make such a mistake.

Olive returned their attention to Potter Black as Pitch Black nodded. "I didn't know that they actually voted on what they taught in school, Dad." the black unicorn colt replied as he took a bite out of his own tofu steak along with some vegetables, "I thought it was the teachers who made that decision."

Olive Oil nodded before eventually smiling upon the waiter's return. "Thank you, Sir." she spoke sweetly before looking at her coltfriend, "Would you like to have the vegetable soup, Pitchy?"

Pitch Black smiled brightly. "Sure, Olive Oil." he said, taking the bowl with his hooves, "Thank you for sharing. A free bowl of soup. Cool, right dad?"

"Well, yes and no," Potter replied. "We give all the school districts some autonomy to set the curriculum--mostly because some of the districts are farming towns, others urban, so you got different needs there--but what we do is sketch some broad strokes of what needs to be taught in the schools, let the Sub-Bureau of Education fill in the fine details, and they come up with a standard curriculum and they'll give out grants so the districts for the most part follow what we say. The Equestria Teacher's Union is pretty influential though with the Bureau, so the teachers do kind of set the curriculum too. I think they're biased against the rural communities though. I understand that Ponyville's only teacher for the last several years, though, had only recently joined the Teacher's Union... you know, come to think of it, I probably did vote on some education bill recently."

After the waiter came back with the correct soup, Potter finished off the last drops from his glass and refilled it. He swiftly took another sip. "Mmm, it's always nice to get something free. Especially from here. Some of my colleagues get free meals for some reason..."

The three continued eating for at least another thirty minutes. Soon it came time to pay the bill. Potter took out his checkbook and wrote down the over 1,750 bits for the total and 250 for the tip. The bottle itself cost almost a third of the bill. Like the children, he wasn't too happy about the mistake, and gave a somewhat lower tip than usual. Perfect Hospitality came back and quietly took back the check, perfectly reading Potter's dour facial expression when he came by. "Thank you, sir. Again, we deeply apologize for that inconvenience."

Potter then addressed the children. "So are we ready yet? I'm sure you'd like to get back home soon with Twilight."

Crystal Tree Castle

King Razor Wing smiled as he watched Twilight teach his sister proper drinking. He raised an eyebrow and his smile flattened a bit when Fancy showed what she learned. "I suggest you slow down, Sister." the changeling king spoke, "Like this..."

Razor Wing took the bottle with his magic and filled his cup carefully as Twilight showed. He then lifted the cup with a magical grip before taking a small adequate sip with a sigh of satisfaction. "There. Now you try it, sister." he spoke calmly with a smile before glancing at Twilight. "Anyway, on to war talk. Our changeling forces have been trying compete with Chrysalis's forces in recruiting the Snow Changelings in the north to our cause. The problem is that the Snow Changelings seem to be quite xenophobic, even to us being their kin. The scars inflicted by the Witch-King, Sombra still runs deep I'm afraid. Not to mention that the thousand years of isolation had them create their own unique dialect of changeling tongue and an ancient dialect according to our experts, which only makes communications harder."

“Oh, why thank you,” said Fancy, touching a hoof to the glass to hear it ring. Satisfied, she poured in the champagne. She’d had some previous experiences, and so poured enough in that the rising foam reached the top of the glass, but didn’t go over the top, and repeated it one or two more times until it reached the very brim of the glass. She then proceeded to down the flute of liquid, knocking her head back as if taking a shot, and went to refill it. She’d had much more of much stronger liquors in the past, and she prided herself on being able to drink large quantities of spirits and still managing to stand on four legs, at which point she would wake up in the brig.

"I didn't say--" said Twilight, with a hoof raised and her pupils narrowing, as Fancy treated the champagne like whiskey. She frowned in exasperation. "Just... be sure to leave some for your brother." She said no more about it, and took a sip of her own. It would take a long time for Fancy to learn how not to be a boor, much more be a princess.

Twilight nodded to Razor Wing. Her brother alluded to the Snow Changelings in a recent letter. She was quite disappointed to find but a single line about them in her whole library-- a merchant's note about a "white-shelled shape-shifter, of the changeling type, of caves not far from here" shortly before King Sombra took power. "Shining Armor told me the Allies were trying to contact them. It sounds like it's going to be a great challenge."

“Uh... okay," was all Silent could say. "Thank you, officer. Can I leave?" he asked, getting up. It had been a long day, and he wanted to get home and sleep on it. Hopefully, what had happened, and what he had just been doing, would make more sense in the night.

"We just need a few more personal questions," said the officer. "Nothing serious."

After getting Frantic's name and address, he nodded. "Alright, miss, you're free to go. Stay safe out there."

Sweet Apple Acres

Gregory giggled happily as he continued to play with Apple Bloom. However, he then squeaked upon cracking sound of the wagon breaking it's axle. "U-uhoh..." cried the fledgling with an extremely worried expression. He ran up to Apple Bloom to try to help her back on her hooves.

Gretel, meanwhile, caught the wheel with her talons, giving a concerned look of her own. "Mmmm... This doesn't look good." spoke the griffin lady grimly before sighing as she shook her head, "I'm afraid it can't be helped. We're gonna have to explain to Apple Jack exactly what happened. As a grown up, I'll take responsibility for this as a failure of paying attention."

"No, I think I can fix it," said Apple Bloom, who took the wheel from Gretel. She unraveled the ball and tied the splinters in the axle, and then rolled it back to the back of the wagon. With a bit of grunting she tried to prop up the back, twisting her back leg for support and slowly rolling the wheel and axle toward herself. She got the axle somewhat under the bed but she could not keep her position. She collapsed in a twirl, letting the bed fall on the axle, finally splitting it in two. She sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right, Gretel."

[Slorch]

"Oh! Where would you like to go? It's getting pretty close to lunch anyways. And don't worry about the money I'm sure you'll pay back more then enough later." Derpy says as her eyes light up at the thought of a date with Sky.

"Oh, in that case, how about Cafe Hay? Nice food, nice establishment, and reasonably priced," Sky suggested taking a moment to think. A date with Derpy would be fun and, he's always fond of the days that he spends with her. Derpy was his lifeline and kept him rooted so that he knew that no matter what, she'd be there if he needed help. What more could a changeling ask for?

"Hum,I thinkI know the place. Never been there though. Always pretty busy." Derpy said after a bit of thought. The day was only getting better. First had been their nice time together at the lake and now they were going to have a nice lunch with the person she loved. What more could a mare ask for?

[Amistrinal]

Applejack, Granny Smith, and Big Mac walked side by side back towards Sweet Apple Acres. All three were carrying groceries, and silence hung in the air. Applejack looked over at Granny, who glared straight ahead.

"You gotta remember Granny, when you see Roseluck-"
"No snippy comments, no name callin', no mentionin' that one time, I get it."

They continued to walk towards the farm.

Granny looked down. "You have to admit, she-"
"Eenope." Big Mac cut in, to prevent another argument.

AJ opened up the door to their house, and gave her groceries over to Big Mac. "Sorry mac, 'fore you came running I was doing a bit of maintenance on the wagon with Gretel and Applebloom. I should probably go check on them."
"Eeyup."

"No, I think I can fix it," said Apple Bloom, who took the wheel from Gretel. She unraveled the ball and tied the splinters in the axle, and then rolled it back to the back of the wagon. With a bit of grunting she tried to prop up the back, twisting her back leg for support and slowly rolling the wheel and axle toward herself. She got the axle somewhat under the bed but she could not keep her position. She collapsed in a twirl, letting the bed fall on the axle, finally splitting it in two. She sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right, Gretel."

Applejack approached the group a short time later and saw the broken axle. "What in the world happened to the wagon?"

[The Flutterlands]

Amberloft

Pitch Black nodded. His father's lectures were indeed interesting, learning about the Maretonia wars and how the school system worked. As he and Olive Oil continued eating, Pitch Black changed the subject to more fun things, like summer activities and movies coming to theaters that he was interested in seeing. Once they were done and Potter Black asked them if they were done, the black colt and youngling nodded. "Sure dad." Pitch Black spoke cheerfully, "We're ready to go. Looking forward to telling Mom and the others about our time here."

---

Crystal Tree Castle

Razor Wing nodded grimly. "Indeed. A hooffull of them have already appearedbto have sworn allegiance to Chrysalis." she's no doubt promising them vengeance against those who have persecuted them calling us changelings traitors against the race. I fear for this war. Things may seem good, but we're still currently in a stalemate and at the rate Chrysalis have been collecting hives, the scale may tip in their favor."

Razor Wing then glanced at Zing who was still sitting there quiet while eating her meal. "You seem to be quiet little one." he spoke with a warm smile, "You got nothing on your mind to talk about?"

Zing blinked and turned a little red. "W-well," she spoke softly as she glanced at Twilight, "T-there is something I'd like to talk about later tonight after supper, Mom. I-it's something... personal."

---

Sweet Apple Acres

Apple Bloom looked up guiltily to her sister, afraid but obliged to tell the truth. "Well, uh, you see, Applejack, we were all bored while you were gone and started playing a game--"

"And I wasn't paying attention, Surgar." Gretel interrupted grimly and apologetically, "At least not as much as I was suppose to. I take responsibility for my failure to take action when I should've."

Gregory stepped forward gave Apple Jack a long sad look. "A-are we in trouble Mommy Applejack?" he asked, his eyes deep like those of puppy dogs.

[Frenequesta]

Amberloft

Pitch Black nodded. His father's lectures were indeed interesting, learning about the Maretonia wars and how the school system worked. As he and Olive Oil continued eating, Pitch Black changed the subject to more fun things, like summer activities and movies coming to theaters that he was interested in seeing. Once they were done and Potter Black asked them if they were done, the black colt and youngling nodded. "Sure dad." Pitch Black spoke cheerfully, "We're ready to go. Looking forward to telling Mom and the others about our time here."

Potter nodded and led the two out, just as the dinner wave began.

The three came back to the Crystal Tree Castle to a lobby with two ponies waiting for Twilight. Potter actually recognized one of them--an aging former factory owner and real estate developer--he was one of his main donors. The lavender-coated, white-maned and bearded stallion adjusted his heavy square glasses in a slow surprise. "Mr. Potter Black? I haven't seen you for a while. What brings you here?"

"Why hello, Mr. Draughtsacre," said Potter. "Sorry you couldn't come to my last fundraiser. Just dropping off some of Princess Twilight's kids. Say, I got to fly--I've done so much for you, and you're here to see Twilight, right?"

"Right."

"Tell her Pitch and Olive are back, would you?"

The old stallion blinked. "Okay..."

"Good. See you in Canterlot!" Potter said, and gave Pitch a quick hug and near-bolted out the door.

Almost as soon as he did the door to the mediation room opened with two dissatisfied ponies walking out, looking angrily at each other. "Look, Moundy, I'm not sure why you think that your nephews deserve the family farm after their performance at the Best Young Flyer's Competition when the mutual funds--"

"You started it!" said Moundy, who started to raise a hoof at the other, before being stopped by Twilight behind them.

"Enough!" said Twilight, forcing down Moundy's hoof with her magic. "Just go! Come back when you're actually ready to talk!" She sighed as the two obeyed and parted ways, and then addressed Mr. Draughtsacre and a slightly younger earth pony stallion nearby him. "Sorry about that, Mr. Draughtsacre and Mr. Wax, come on in." The two nodded and entered the mediation room. Twilight followed them in, but not before noticing Pitch and Olive Oil. "Oh, hi Pitch, hi Olive," she said with a relieved smile on her face, which quickly retreated into the room.

Crystal Tree Castle

Razor Wing nodded grimly. "Indeed. A hooffull of them have already appeared to have sworn allegiance to Chrysalis. She's no doubt promising them vengeance against those who have persecuted them calling us changelings traitors against the race. I fear for this war. Things may seem good, but we're still currently in a stalemate and at the rate Chrysalis have been collecting hives, the scale may tip in their favor."

Razor Wing then glanced at Zing who was still sitting there quiet while eating her meal. "You seem to be quiet little one." he spoke with a warm smile, "You got nothing on your mind to talk about?"

Zing blinked and turned a little red. "W-well," she spoke softly as she glanced at Twilight, "T-there is something I'd like to talk about later tonight after supper, Mom. I-it's something... personal."

Twilight looked across the table to Zing, sitting just across from Silver Shield. She felt sort of guilty about him of late. At times she would go through almost a whole day without even him talking to him personally. She read bedtime stories to him when she could, but it didn't seem enough compared to the other children. It almost seemed a little awkward to talk about something personal with him, but as his adoptive mother, it was something she had to do. "Okay, we can talk later," said Twilight.

Thirty minutes later, the cafeteria had only five diners left-- including Twilight and Zing. They both finished about the same time, but Twilight turned in her plate later. She sat back down in front of Zing and smiled. "So, Zing, what's going on? Did something happen at Zecora's?"

[Roma Byzantina]

Rainbow Dash

Eclipse and Black Hawk giggled happily as they listened to Rainbow Dash's lecture. When she was finished the bat-colt and fledgling flapped their wings before taking off. Both children tried their best to copy Rainbow Dash's technique. Being their first try, they were both a little sloppy with the low yo yos and high yo yos, but showed that they were learning quite well from their teacher. However, nether really knew or cared due to how much fun they were having flying about like this. "Like this, Rainbow Dash?" squawked Black Hawk, as he tried a high yo yo as Rainbow Dash showned but not quite getting the angel necessary just right.

"How about this?" asked Eclipse, trying to preform a low yo yo, but not quite getting the roll rught, "Are we getting it right?" Nonetheless, both children proved to excellent flyers in general, but also showed that they still have quite a lot to learn from their blue and rainbow mained teacher.

Rainbow smiled as she saw the two having fun. Their technique could use some work, but that was what she was there for. "Almost," she said before showing them what mistakes they were making. This angle and that roll, and bringing your wings to such a position to get the best burst of speed to help with both. The two were talented, either way.

"Oh, in that case, how about Cafe Hay? Nice food, nice establishment, and reasonably priced," Sky suggested taking a moment to think. A date with Derpy would be fun and, he's always fond of the days that he spends with her. Derpy was his lifeline and kept him rooted so that he knew that no matter what, she'd be there if he needed help. What more could a changeling ask for?

"Hum,I thinkI know the place. Never been there though. Always pretty busy." Derpy said after a bit of thought. The day was only getting better. First had been their nice time together at the lake and now they were going to have a nice lunch with the person she loved. What more could a mare ask for?

"Well that settles it then," Sky smiled as he thought of their day so far. Who would have thought that just going to the lake would result in such perfection, what could go wrong? Sky not giving a care to Marephy's Law and its predilection to "what could go wrong" statements. He was sure things would go right for him now.

[Amistrinal]

Sweet Apple Acres

Apple Bloom looked up guiltily to her sister, afraid but obliged to tell the truth. "Well, uh, you see, Applejack, we were all bored while you were gone and started playing a game--"

"And I wasn't paying attention, Surgar." Gretel interrupted grimly and apologetically, "At least not as much as I was suppose to. I take responsibility for my failure to take action when I should've."

Gregory stepped forward gave Apple Jack a long sad look. "A-are we in trouble Mommy Applejack?" he asked, his eyes deep like those of puppy dogs.

Applejack looked at Gregory, and felt her initial anger at seeing the wagon wash away. After a moment, she sighed. "No, you're not in trouble. If the wagon broke from a game being played, then it could've broke when we needed it for something serious."

"However," Applejack said "You need to be more careful. If it had broken in a different way, or you'd been in the wrong spot, one or both of you could've gotten hurt. Just remember that the next time either of you are playing around near something breakable, alright?"

[The Flutterlands]

Crystal Tree Castle
Razor Wing and Mimic both enjoyed their meals with Twilight while discussing the war and their commimg children. However, Razor Wing noticed that Fancy managed to get herself completely drunk. Because of this, Razot Wing unfortunately had to cut the dinner short to take his sister home. "Thank you, Princess Twilight for inviting us over for supper. I hope you haveba great evening." he spoke calmly with a bow before escorting Fancy home, "Come on, Sis. Let's get you home. You've had quite a few more drinks than I would have hoped."

Later, Zing blushed a little when Twilight came to her. "M-my time with Zecora was nice." she spoke softly, "I-i helped her make a cure for haypox and we had some tea." She blushed a little deeper, pausing for a moment. "Before that, though, we talked about..." Zing continued, pausing for another moment before sighing nodding somewhat in resolve to come out, "I-i don't think I'm a colt, M-mom. ...I-i mean have colt parts, but it just a-all feels... wrong. I think I'm really a filly. I like my hair long like a filly, I-i like wearing dresses, p-playing with dolls. I-i just feel weird in the colt's room, too... I-i'm a filly, Mom."

---

Rainbow Dash

Black Hawk and Eclipse both giggled happily when Rainbow Dash taught them the error of their mistakes. They nodded excitedly when she showed them the proper technique of the maneuvers. The griffin and bat-colt giggled as they flapped their wings and got back to practice. The boys got a little better with their techniques, but eventually it became time to go back home. "Awww." moaned both Black Hawk and Eclipse, as they returned to Crystal Tree Castle under Dash's escort, "Bye Rainbow Dash."

---

Sweet Apple Acres

Gretel and Gregory both nodded with the former sulking her head somewhat. She still felt bad for the broken wagon and most importantly Apole Bloom getting hurt and guilty for not paying enough attention. Gretel understood how lack of attention was a sign of poor parenting and that actually almost got to her once. However, she was glad that they were not in trouble and smiled sweetly. "Understood, Sweety." Gretel spoke cooly as Gregory climbed onto her back, How about we go inside for some snacks before playing some more, till supper?"

[Frenequesta]

Applejack looked at Gregory, and felt her initial anger at seeing the wagon wash away. After a moment, she sighed. "No, you're not in trouble. If the wagon broke from a game being played, then it could've broke when we needed it for something serious."

"However," Applejack said "You need to be more careful. If it had broken in a different way, or you'd been in the wrong spot, one or both of you could've gotten hurt. Just remember that the next time either of you are playing around near something breakable, alright?"

Sweet Apple Acres

Gretel and Gregory both nodded with the former sulking her head somewhat. She still felt bad for the broken wagon and most importantly Apole Bloom getting hurt and guilty for not paying enough attention. Gretel understood how lack of attention was a sign of poor parenting and that actually almost got to her once. However, she was glad that they were not in trouble and smiled sweetly. "Understood, Sweety." Gretel spoke cooly as Gregory climbed onto her back, How about we go inside for some snacks before playing some more, till supper?"

Apple Bloom was relieved that Gretel took the blame and that no one got punished. She was still a bit disoriented from crashing into the wagon and twisted from trying to fix the axle (though at this point she couldn't distinguish the feelings); that was punishment enough. She nodded to her big sister with a penitent brow. "Alright, Applejack, I'll be more careful next time."

She then smiled when Gretel suggested some snacks. She was getting hungry and she wanted to think about happier things.

Crystal Tree Castle
Razor Wing and Mimic both enjoyed their meals with Twilight while discussing the war and their commimg children. However, Razor Wing noticed that Fancy managed to get herself completely drunk. Because of this, Razot Wing unfortunately had to cut the dinner short to take his sister home. "Thank you, Princess Twilight for inviting us over for supper. I hope you haveba great evening." he spoke calmly with a bow before escorting Fancy home, "Come on, Sis. Let's get you home. You've had quite a few more drinks than I would have hoped."

Later, Zing blushed a little when Twilight came to her. "M-my time with Zecora was nice." she spoke softly, "I-i helped her make a cure for haypox and we had some tea." She blushed a little deeper, pausing for a moment. "Before that, though, we talked about..." Zing continued, pausing for another moment before sighing nodding somewhat in resolve to come out, "I-i don't think I'm a colt, M-mom. ...I-i mean have colt parts, but it just a-all feels... wrong. I think I'm really a filly. I like my hair long like a filly, I-i wearing dresses, p-playing with dolls. I-i just feel weird in the colt's room, too... I-i'm a filly, Mom."

Twilight tried to process the revelation. She wasn't sure what to think of it. Did (s)he have a hormonal imbalance? Was it just a stage in life that she had just not experienced herself? Although she didn't think that Zing was going crazy, it was a nagging possibility. She had read about homosexuality and met with at least one lesbian couple in a mediation session, but she didn't think that they necessarily identified themselves as the opposite sex. It was certainly new, and she didn't want to jump to conclusions too quickly.

"I understand that you feel that way," said Twilight in the best empathetic tone she could muster. "I still love you, no matter what you see yourself as."

---

---

Monday, June 21, Canterlot

The fields of the Royal Park of Canterlot were teeming with ponies, changelings, and even a couple of donkeys and cows here and there for the Summer Sun Celebration. It was the one time of the year when the Royal Park threw off all pretense of pomp, opening its grounds to Farrier wheels, carousels, ring tosses, rubber duck races, streamers, balloons, and deep-fried corn-on-the-cob. Many of the celebration-goers had been up the night before, either setting up the rides and games or riding and playing them. And the fields continued to fill.

In most years, the celebration-goers would play, eat, and chat with abandon, excitedly awaiting the Grand Sunrise, the High Point, and the Grand Sunset. But this year, the revelry was muted. Few were even smiling. Many were still shaken from the Parliament shooting and the fall of Cloudsdale. Guards and police were posted at every stand and ride, watching out for any suspicious character or activity. Many passed by a Guard or officer with a marked unease, feeling as if the standards for behavior at the Celebration had been raised. Or at least that behavior would be more visible.

Twilight Sparkle entered the field with her children behind her. Twilight had put them to bed early the night before so they could get up in time for the Grand Sunrise, which had inspired Twilight to go into magic in the first place. But some of the younger children were still a little tired.

So was she, but for different reasons. For the last couple of days she had to deal with the news of the attacks of Cloudsdale and Parliament, especially since that changeling came to tell her of the massacres everywhere and particularly reports of a new griffin commander who seemed to be turning the tide. At least Rainbow Dash wasn't there that day--Twilight wouldn't have been able to sleep if her friend had disappeared. She also was a little jittery over the riot in Ponyville and that cult who seemed to want to reverse the work of nine months of improved pony-changeling relationships. She had also had been searching through her books on royal etiquette and pedagogy to find a better way to reach Fancy, as well as trying to research the phenomenon of body-mind mismatch. Yet she came into the park with no sign of fatigue, though without any particular pep.

Twilight first led her children through a narrow yellow gate that supposedly would help weed out potential Empire guerrillas, past the stands and the rides, and then to a gathering crowd surrounding a mobile gray marble platform with painted wooden sun and moon cutouts on posts in the back and a few gold steps in front. It was like the more recent platforms in the past, except this time two guards flanked each side of the platform, watching everybody just like any other Guard she had passed by. It also reminded her of the Canterlot Wedding without the force field (Shining Armor was with other top Royal Guard brass and Defense Bureau heads in an undisclosed location to rethink strategy) or the specific threat. She sensed a little more though--more than just a need for security--somehow, a marked decrease in trust and an orientation towards insularity, bordering on paranoia. It somehow seemed to reinforce the distress she felt at the riot. Even if the number of Guards were justified, it didn't justify the underlying aura she sensed.

After a few short minutes, the fanfare trumpeted, heralding the start of the Grand Sunrise. The already quiet crowd stood silent towards the stage, awaiting the Regal Sisters.

[Pherdistan]

---

Canterlot

---

Fancy woke up, groggily. She had a dim recollection of what had happened last night, relating to several very generous cups of champagne she had poured herself. Suddenly, she went rigid and fell out of bed, still only partially conscious. "Sergeant, please! I can explain this one, don't make me run around the barracks with my gear agai-" She stopped short when she realized she was in a room, small but cozy, with an actually, honest-to-the-Spirits bed. Sniffing tentatively at the sheets, she concluded they were fresh, likely washed the night before or so. Memories of the night came rushing back. Before she could process it all, a hangover decided to kick in as well.

"Ooh!" Grabbing her head with a hoof, Fancy managed to get to the door and unsteadily open it. Uncertainly poking her head out into the hallway, she called out "B-bro? You there?" Before looking up and down the empty corridor to no avail.

---

Canterlot, Summer Sun Celebration

---

Silent followed Radiant through the festivities, doing his best to forget about the sh*tshow that had been the Parliament shootout. He'd gotten off easy, giving the copper Radiant's address but his own contact info, and he was giving nightly prayers to Chrysalis that the police wouldn't pursue it further; he'd even said a few to the old Spirits, just in case.

Now, however, who could stand agape. He had never seen something so grand, so expansive, so majestic or, for that matter, so colorful and festive. It truly was something. And he had to pretend that he'd seen it all before.

"Lovely, isn't it?" commented Radiant, gesturing a hoof to the sliver of sunlight visible. "Well, I'll be going to my seat in the front," he said; as an MP, he got to sit front-row. Things had been such a mess that he'd forgotten to get Silent a ticket, so the changeling stood back, in the general crowd, doing his best to not mope and seem happy at the the celebration. No doubt HQ would be pleased at how scared and depressed everypony seemed, although Silent was beginning to doubt whether he and HQ saw things at the same level.

Nonetheless, he gave up thinking and just sat down, soda in hand, to watch the dawn rise.

[The Flutterlands]

Crystal Tree Castle

Zing smiled broadly when her step-mother told her that she still loved her for who she was. Zecora was right. However, Zing wondered of Twilight really actually understood how she felt. Nonetheless, the little zebra gave her mother a great big hug. "Thank you, Mom." she spoke softly, "I love you. Thank you for understanding."

Soon after, Zing went to speak with her siblings about coming out. While the younger siblings, like Black Hawk, Eclipse and Spot, didn't quite understand what she was going through, they all nonetheless nodded. Bounty smiled happily and stepped forward to give his 'sister' a hug. "Oh, Zing." he spoke soothingly, "Did you really think that we love you any less that we would hate you for coming out like this? Know that we would always love you no matter what."

Olive Oil smiled. "Of course." she spoke gently, "If you like wearing my dresses and playing with my dolls, I could share with you. I could even give you a makeover with make up and such."

Zing blushed a little as she embraced Bounty's hug and she smiled at all of her. "That would be great, Olive Oil. T-thank you, all of you." she spoke softly as she hugged each of her siblings, "You guys are the best and I love you all."

"No problem, buddy." spoke Bounty with a smile, hugging Zing again, "We love you too. We all do. Now let's get ready for bed. It's getting late."

The children nodded unanimously and began getting ready for bed in routine. They took bathes, brushed their teeth and fed their pets. Once all was said and done, they got into bed and Twilight managed to fine time to read a Daring Doo bedtime story to Spot and Zing before tucking them in for the night.

---

Two Days Later
Summer Sun Celebration

The children, Olive Oil, Pitch Black, Bounty, Zing, Black Hawk and Eclipse were quite silent themselves, following Twilight into the park, with Spot riding on her back, still partly asleep. The past two days were scary for all of them. With the fall of Cloudsdale and Hollow Shades, the shootings at Parliament, and the horrific riot that ended as quickly as it began, they were all shaken and terrified. Nonetheless, they each went join in playing games with other children. Pitch Black and Olive Oil glanced at some of them. A few of them gave them dirty angry looks.

Meanwhile, Gretel and Applejack walked through the yellow gate, with Gregory riding on the latter's back. Gretel had a very sad expression on her face. The thought of the side she once served as mercenary causing so much destruction and death, along with the death and destruction caused by this new cult going around, shook her to the core. It seems everyday this war gets worse and worse. Gretel held Applejack's hoof gently as they sat dowb while Gregory went to play and sighed sadly as she looked up at the stage where the regel sisters would give their speech.

Razor Wing, Mimic and Fancy also walked through gate, each having glum faces. Razor Wing and Mimic took the Cloudsdale and Hollow Shades Attacks, the riots and the Parliament shooting really close to heart. The very idea of nine months of work getting two species back together chilled him. Not to mention that aiding Twilight with taking care of the rights still left him exhausted and he began to believe that these events will have negative affects in the long run.

It wasn't long before Celestia and Luna descended onto the stage. They both had solemn looks on their faces and there was an unnaturally long period of silence before Celestia stepped forward. She held the Sun in place, not yet ready to raise it fully. She gave the many people before her a very sad look before beginning her speech. "Ladys and Gentlecolts, Changelings and fellow children of this world, the past weekend was one of horror." she spoke, choking on her words a little, "On Saturday Afternoon, we lost the City of Cloudsdale to the so-called the Changeling Empire. Afterward, Hollow Shades fell too and there was a shooting. The reactions, were also horrific. Sunday, there was a great riot that killed dozens of changelings and ponies alike. I assure you, we're gonna take back Cloudsdale and Hollow Shades and we're going to find the remaining rioters who killed so many of our citizens and bring them to justice. I give the victims and families my utmost condolences. ...Now with that, let us all, ponies and changelings together, begin our summer celebration with first sunrise of summer."

With that, Celestia bowed her head solemnly and backed away as her horn glowed and began to raise the sun.

[Fascist Russian Empire]

Ponyville,
The Prophet Visionary,
Sunday

For the metropolitan cities that had become overrun with the abominations, the deaths of several dozen changelings likely would have been considered a big deal; for Ponyville, a small rural town, it was a truly major moment. Over the course of a single hour, the firebrand prophet Visionary, with his passion and righteous fury, had succeeded in creating an atmosphere of mutual contempt and distrust between ponies and changelings in Ponyville; his fiery rhetoric, timed right when ponies were angrier than ever, had capitalized on the already sky-high levels of disdain towards the abominations to make it culminate in a great act of retribution against them. A very sizable portion of the town's changeling community had been butchered, with almost all the changeling-owned properties being targeted with arson attacks, the surviving abominations fleeing town only to return to damaged or completely destroyed property.

Twilight Sparkle and her degenerate changeling friends had tried to salvage the situation as best they could, but the damage was already irreparable by that point; the frenzied crowds might have returned home, but deep-seated hatred for the changeling race still lingered throughout the ponies of Ponyville, and the surviving changelings had largely grown their own contempt and distrust towards ponykind. The message had been clearly established; ponies and changelings were no longer going to co-exist, not in Ponyville anyway. In spite of Twilight Sparkle's months of meddling, her months of attempts to improve race relations in Ponyville, the town had become a boiling point of violently anti-changeling sentiment. It was, of course, no secret that Visionary was responsible for inciting the riots; as such, it was no doubt not going to take long for Twilight and the other changeling sympathizers to attempt to silence him, although he and his nine apostles had already left on train for Appaloosa, leaving the afternoon of the riot, where they would be totally surrounded by supporters of the Temple of Vision who would not allow hostile actions against their prophet.

Appaloosa

The moment Visionary stepped off the train and onto the wooden planks of the train station, he was bombarded with enthusiastic cheers from the local townsponies welcoming their prophet home. While a plurality of ponies in Ponyville were followers of the Temple of Vision, Appaloosa's religious demographic was truly dominated by the ToV; almost everypony in town was a follower of Visionary, with varying degrees of zeal, including most of the town guards. Even some of the buffalo who lived in and around Appaloosa were among Visionary's followers, though most buffalo still worshiped the gods of their own native pantheon. Opposition to the Temple of Vision in Appaloosa was very rare, and grew rarer with every passing week; constant atrocities committed by the changeling demons against innocent ponies consistently helped cement Visionary's status as the patron prophet of Appaloosa. In fact, there was only one noteworthy opponent of the ToV in Appaloosa; it was the town deputy, a mare by the name of Butter Gun, a degenerate changeling-sympathizer. She had been elected to her position prior to the rise of Visionary, and the conversion of Appaloosa's inhabitants to his religion; needless to say, her status as a race-traitor made her extremely unpopular with the rest of the townsponies, who longed to oust her from power and replace her with a true Equestrian.

On the opposite side of the fence in town was Braeburn Apple, Visionary's most dedicated follower in Appaloosa. With Visionary absent the past several months, Braeburn had become the overseer of the Temple's activities in town, and caretaker of the large shrine to the All-Maker in the center of town which had been constructed as a place of worship for the pious ponies of Appaloosa. Braeburn was a close friend of Visionary; they had been friends since childhood, and had always shared a special connection. Visionary had a rather unique affinity towards Braeburn, an affinity that extended beyond the normal fondness he felt towards those who shared his faith in the All-Maker; he wasn't sure why, but Visionary couldn't help but hold Braeburn in higher esteem than anypony else he knew. Braeburn was, for all intents and purposes, the tenth Apostle of Visionary, even if he was unable to travel throughout Equestria with him like the other apostles.

"The Prophet has returned!" This was the chorus that quickly started to ring throughout the crowds, swarms of ponies coming and rushing to see Visionary. News had already spread about the great act of retribution Visionary had made in Ponyville, and ponies started talking to him about it.

"We hear ya've been takin' the fight to the damn changelings; is that true?" One townspony in the crowd asked Visionary.

"Yer damn right it's true; somepony needed to fight back at them abominations." Visionary responded, his natural Appaloosan accent coming out and replacing his fiery prophet voice. His confirmation of his fight against the changelings was immediately met with a chorus of approval.

"Bout time somepony taught those bastards a lesson!" "Finally, some justice in the world!" "Those demons got exactly what they deserved!" These comments and many more rang throughout the crowds of ponies gathered around the prophet. After years of injustices and endless mass-murders perpetrated by the changeling race, coupled with the spread of Visionary's vehemently anti-changeling ideology, the ponies of Appaloosa were overjoyed at the massacre of changelings in Ponyville. The Equestrian government's normal response to changeling aggression had been to give endless numbers of political concessions to the abominations, forcing "integration" of their kind into Equestrian society and giving every manner of special privilege to them; as far as Appaloosa was concerned, Visionary had finally fought back against a race of criminals and evildoers, something that the government refused to do. His bold act of retribution was nothing short of heroism in the minds of the ponies of Appaloosa, having punished dozens of evildoers in defiance of the Equestrian government, doing what the Princesses were incapable of doing and protecting the pony community by preemptively killing those who seek to destroy it.

After a good half-hour of celebrating the beginning of resistance against changeling atrocities and welcoming the return of the local prophet, the crowds started to disperse, allowing Visionary to return to his family's humble home in Appaloosa. His family owned a farm in town, growing a variety of crops, living in a somewhat large two-story farmhouse. His father, Hoe-Pusher, and his mother, Plowed Field, were both overjoyed to see their son return after his long absence from town, and his twelve siblings were all also delighted to see their brother. Visionary was welcomed home with a lavish feast, his family (which was a bit poor during his childhood, but had grown substantially wealthier as a result of the Temple of Vision's creation, their status as the family of the Prophet attracting a lot of sales) congratulating him on his successes.

"Son, words can hardly describe what a blessin' you've been; not just fer us, but fer all of Equestria. Yer not only the messenger of the creator, but yer also a true Equestrian hero, fightin' the demons who're tryin' to destroy our civilization! Ya've done what just about nopony else has been willin' to do; ya've fought back 'gainst the changeling menace, an' showed them worthless vermin that Equestria ain't gonna keep panderin' to their kind much longer!" Hoe-Pusher said to Visionary, everypony else at the table giving a cheer of approval.

"Ah'm just doin' mah best ta follow the will o' the All-Maker; Ah'm nothin' more than his humble servant." Visionary said, his humility preventing him from accepting his family's compliments.

"So what brings ya back to Appaloosa, anyway, son? That changeling-sympathizer Twilight Sparkle and her goons givin' ya trouble up in Ponyville?" Plowed Field asked Visionary.

"No; not yet, anyhow. Ah'm on mah way down to the Forbidden Jungle to carry out a command from the All-Maker, 'long with my nine closest companions." Visionary responded.

"Really? The Forbidden Jungle? Well, if the All-Maker says ta go down there, Ah reckon it must be mighty important; ya and yer friends are, o' course, welcome ta take any supplies ya might need from the farm. We're all happy ta assist in whatever way we can." Hoe Pusher said, a bit surprised.

"Why, thank ya kindly, pa; mah companions an' Ah'll be leavin' shortly. Hopefully, we'll get back 'fore tomorrow mornin'." Visionary said, the family finishing up its welcome-home feast.

[Slorch]

"Hum,I think I know the place. Never been there though. Always pretty busy." Derpy said after a bit of thought. The day was only getting better. First had been their nice time together at the lake and now they were going to have a nice lunch with the person she loved. What more could a mare ask for?

"Well that settles it then," Sky smiled as he thought of their day so far. Who would have thought that just going to the lake would result in such perfection, what could go wrong? Sky not giving a care to Marephy's Law and its predilection to "what could go wrong" statements. He was sure things would go right for him now.

Derpy smiles back warmly. "Well the lets be off." She says as she turns in the direction of the cafe. The day had been great so far and it looked like it would only be getting better. A nice lovely lunch with a handsome stallion and maybe more lounging around afterwards. The day really couldn't get much better.

[Fascist Russian Empire]

Hollow Shades,
Lord Philip Blackwing

There are few things in the world that can match the ferocity and strength of a true griffin warrior; ponies are most assuredly not among them. This rang true at Cloudsdale, and continued at Hollow Shades, where King Philip's forces had little difficulty in seizing and ransacking the town. Marching into the secluded forest town the same day Cloudsdale fell, surprise-attacking during the night, Philip was able to quickly and easily break the lines of the unprepared townsponies and secure the little hamlet; the changeling insurgents in the town certainly made things go along a bit smoother. It was a swift, decisive victory, the king-in-exile and his changeling subordinates triumphing over the opposition with minimal losses; they were fortunate enough to take the town before the Equestrian military realized the full strategic value of Hollow Shades and sent a proper force to garrison and fortify it. Well, Philip did see the strategic value in Hollow Shades, and immediately put the (now enslaved) townsponies to work fortifying it, using lumber from the surrounding forest; he knew that, with some effort put into it, the town could become a mighty stronghold, an impregnable bastion against all foes. He was planning on leaving to return home soon enough, but that didn't mean he needed to use half-assed and rushed strategies; if he was going to oversee the changeling military, he was going to do it the right way, damn it, and leave behind a lasting military legacy.

So, after taking a few of the new slaves for his own personal purposes and taking a substantial portion of the (honestly, rather pitiful quantity of) wealth in the town to be used to fuel his family's war effort back in the Griffin Kingdom, Philip personally directed and oversaw the construction of palisades, watch-towers, trenches, and every other manner of fortification in Hollow Shades. His real field of tactical expertise lay in the offense, and relentlessly striking at the enemy, but he was still nonetheless reasonably competent with regards to managing a defensive effort, and directing fortification; as such, he stayed in Hollow Shades for a good while, putting into motion the beginnings of a grand militarization of the town, tapping into the great potential it had. With the "help" of some of the engineers in the changeling army, blueprints for a massive fortress were drawn, a fortress who's defenses would never be penetrated by the Equestrians; it was a time-consuming endeavor, but they managed to finish the plans by Monday afternoon, several hours after sunrise, although, with the town's small population, little progress was made into actually starting the construction work. Apparently, there was some pony festival of some kind going on; it was of absolutely no interest to the King, nor to his family. It did, however, present a unique opportunity to potentially catch the ponies off-guard, yet again; after all, if they were too busy with frivolities and merry-making to defend their land, it would be a prime time to begin the assault on Fillydelphia.

"These ponies are even softer than I could have ever imagined; pitiful, simply pitiful. I swear, at this rate I could have the entire coastline occupied in less than a month; it's like they don't even know what a war is, let alone how to wage one. So unprepared, so easy to surround, to quick to rout; the Equestrians are absolutely pathetic. How your empire somehow managed to fail so consistently against them up until this point is beyond me; not that it really matters at this point, I suppose. Regardless, the time is fast approaching to strike yet again at the pony nation; assign some troops to garrison the town, and start mobilizing the army southeastward towards Fillydelphia. It's important that we begin the next attack as quickly as possible; the ponies won't expect another assault so soon, they'll likely be unprepared, yet again. We'll rendezvous with the supply caravans on the way there." Philip said to his changeling second-in-command, inside Hollow Shade's town hall (which now served as the local HQ for changeling operations).

"So, what's the plan this time?" The changeling asked.

"Simple; we surround the town from all sides, utilizing the fleet from Manehattan to blockade the city, and start shelling strategic positions. Then, we'll start advancing; with the Equestrians being under constant artillery fire, and being attacked from every flank, the enemy garrison will shatter like glass. The ponies, after hearing about my handiwork in Cloudsdale, will probably be terrified at the very sight at the changeling army, and will scatter like rodents; with artillery raining from the sky, their lines will break even quicker. This is going to be a quick affair, I can already tell; now, let's get moving. Ideally, I'd like to start the battle before tomorrow morning; the ponies will be at their weakest if we catch them while it's still dark." Philip told his subordinate.

[Danceria]

Summer Sunrise Festival Grounds, Canterlot, Central Equestria
-Local Sunrise-

---

A hood would flip back once the magenta mare concluded her speech, as the traveler first laid eyes on the famed Princess of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle. It was a sign of respect for those who had fallen, and such words had put a mild damper on the traveler's mood. However, with the sight of the young fillies and colts whose tired eyes widened as the sun rose with majesty, a new sense of hope came to him.

In this land, Changeling and Equine coexisted, albeit now they were butting heads, this alone was light years ahead of Zodia's own dealings with Changelings. This breed seemed to be harmless, feeding off of love rather than the flesh of whatever they could get their mandibles on. Equestria was a land bristling with eclectic electricity, as peoples from far and wide traveled through these fairgrounds. Our travelling friend wanted to see the people of the world, and felt as if the whole world arrived here. He would also recognize some of the fillies and colts of the esteemed Princess, just a few hours before running through the fairgrounds laughing and playing games, partaking or passing by whatever stall he was occupying or helping out with. The newcomer proved himself to be an open minded and enjoyable companion, willing to lend a helping hoof or merry joke, the night passed with joy to this newcomer and he felt...like he belonged. It was a natural community, and its ideas would surely benefit his people when he returned-

Home.

That single word created yet another knot in his stomach, as he willingly accepted banishment, and traveled in search of knowledge, fed up with the corruption of his homeland. It was, in hindsight, not the best of moves. With rumor of war and massacre, he could be caught in the middle, and he would be forced to pick a side. A golden orb ascended higher in the heavens as the party-goers would applaud before dispersing. The traveler would remain in thought as the others went to their homes and lives.

If he was to be on a side, the Zebra thought, then he would most certainly wish to be on the side that had hope...

[Fascist Russian Empire]

Appaloosa,
The Prophet Visionary

After finishing up his visit home, Visionary and his companions made their final preparations for the trek down south to the Forbidden Jungle, taking food, weapons, ammunition, ropes, and various other traveling supplies from his family farm to help them on their journey. However, before leaving, Visionary felt compelled to accomplish one final preparation; he decided to speak with Braeburn, and invite him to join him on the pilgrimage to the All-Maker's forgotten temple in the Forbidden Jungle. After all, Braeburn was not only a dear friend of Visionary's, he was also one of the truest disciples of the Temple of Vision; there was nobody more deserving of joining him on his quest, Visionary thought, than Braeburn. With all the work Braeburn had put into advancing the All-Maker's agenda in Appaloosa, he was entirely deserving of seeing the All-Maker's great temple for himself. So, Visionary, accompanied by the nine apostles, went to the shrine at Appaloosa's town center, where they found Braeburn tending to it.

"Well, Ah'll be, it's the Prophet himself, back in Aaaaappaloosa! When Ah heard all the ruckus outside, Ah had a feelin' it was you!" Braeburn enthusiastically declared when Visionary walked through the doors into the shrine.

"So what brings ya back home? Ya've been gone fer months!" Braeburn asked Visionary.

"Ah'm actually on mah way down ta the Forbidden Jungle, headin' ta retrieve an artifact for the All-Maker. Ah wanted ta invite ya to come along, if yer interested." Visionary replied.

"Really?! Why, Ah'd love ta come along! But, first, Ah see ya made a few new friends back in Ponyville! How's about ya introduce us?" Braeburn said, noticing the new folk Visionary had brought into town with him. Hearing the question, Visionary couldn't help but think back on the three apostles he'd met in Appaloosa, and think back to how he met them. There were three apostles he'd met back home (four, if you include Braeburn); the first is an earth-pony farmer stallion by the name of Green-Hoof, who, like Braeburn, was a childhood friend of Visionary, though Visionary was much closer to Braeburn than he was Green-Hoof. Green-Hoof was among the first ponies to accept the All-Maker's truth, and had joined Visionary in his effort to convert Equestria almost immediately. He might just be a simple farmer, but Green-Hoof is nonetheless among the most dedicated of Visionary's disciples, living a life without wealth or luxury alongside the Prophet, being very well versed on the Book of Vision and all of Visionary's teachings; he also helps maintain the gardens of the Great Temple in Ponyville.

The second of Visionary's Appaloosan apostles is another earth-pony stallion, named Golden Quill; he was the town librarian, prior to Visionary announcing his prophet-hood. Impressed by the Prophet and his revelations, Golden Quill, like Green-Hoof, joined him on his divinely ordained mission very early on, though, unlike Green-Hoof, Golden Quill hadn't been acquainted with Visionary before his prophet-hood was revealed. Green-Hoof served as an evangelist, helping to spread the message; Golden Quill, on the other hoof, served as a scribe, recording the message. A talented calligrapher and historian, Golden Quill was essential for the writing of the Book of Vision, recording all of Visionary's revelations (in chronological order) along with the context they were given in (publishing them in a separate book). He is probably the quietest of the bunch, not a particularly charismatic pony; he mostly sticks to recording and preserving the Prophet's knowledge, serving as the ToV's first and foremost historian.

The third of Visionary's apostles from Appaloosa is a rather eccentric pegasus mare by the name of Lost Fortune; unlike Green-Hoof and Golden Quill, she wasn't a resident of Appaloosa. She was a treasure hunter from Las Pegasus, having finished an expedition to the Forbidden Jungle and stopping in Appaloosa to sell some of the junk she'd found, coming into town a few weeks after Visionary had begun his preaching. She was impressed with him, and joined him on his quest to purify Equestria. She served a rather flexible role for the Temple; she would help with all sorts of work that needed to be done, be it procuring supplies or gathering information. Today, she would be an invaluable guide on the group's trek through the Forbidden Jungle, seeing as she is the only pony among them who has already been there before.

Finishing his brief moment of contemplation on his Appaloosan disciples, Visionary began introducing his companions from Ponyville to Braeburn. First and foremost among them was a pegasus stallion called Broken Promise, a former royal guard from Cloudsdale. Broken Promise left Cloudsdale to head to Ponyville after having his wife and two children all be murdered by a changeling; filled with fury directed towards the abominations, he resigned from his post, blaming his family's murder on the government and its policy of favoritism towards changelings, arriving in Ponyville around the same time Visionary started preaching there. Hatred of the changeling race burning in his soul, Broken Promise was quickly attracted to Visionary and his radically anti-changeling message; before long, the pegasus took up arms to protect the Prophet, serving as a guard for Visionary and the Great Temple.

Second among the apostles from Ponyville is another earth-pony farmer stallion, this one named Orange Peel, a member of the famous Orange family. Orange Peel was originally from Manehattan, raised in the luxury that would be expected an Orange; however, unlike most of his family, Orange Peel had no real taste for luxury and finer things, and wanted a simple life. So, when the stallion came of age, he took a train to Ponyville, where he found work as a farmer, gaining employment at a farm on the outskirts of town. He lived a simple life in a simple town, renting a simple apartment; it wasn't the glamorous life someone from his family was expected to live, but he was entirely content with it. That was a couple years before Visionary arrived; when the Temple of Vision was established, and Orange Peel saw the simple life Visionary lived, abandoning material wealth, and heard him preach virtue and good deeds, he was impressed with the Prophet, and joined the ToV, where he quickly grew to become one of Visionary's most dedicated disciples. Orange Peel's primary duty involves tending to the gardens of the Great Temple, in Ponyville, alongside Green-Hoof, though he also periodically participates in evangelical missions.

The third apostle from Ponyville is a unicorn stallion, named Deep Insight, a resident of Ponyville by birth. Deep Insight, from birth, had a natural fascination with all things magical, and, from childhood, dedicated his time to studying magic. While he had above-average magical abilities, himself, his real talent wasn't casting spells, but, rather, understanding the principles of magic and all things related to magic. He had fully read and memorized the works of Starswirl the Bearded while he was still ten years old, and began improving upon them; by the time he reached adulthood, he was already a respected scholar amongst the magically-literate community, having published several books on magic theory. Delving deep into magic and how it worked, Deep Insight was able to successfully create all kinds of new spells, ways to increase magical efficiency, new enchantments and wards, ways to suppress magic, and many other accomplishments as he progressed in his career; he had a natural talent for detecting magic, understanding it, and improving upon it. When Visionary came to town, Deep Insight was thirty two years old by that time, and one of the most famous magic scholars in Equestrian history (although the vast majority of ponies had never even heard of him, just like Starswirl the Bearded); when he observed the Prophet give revelations, he was able to detect strange new magic coming from him. Sensing the existence of something extraordinary that compelled Visionary to give his revelations, Deep Insight felt that the Prophet must have been telling the truth and, as such, he decided to join the Temple of Vision in the hopes of obtaining Visionary's wisdom, ending up becoming one of the most dedicated followers. He serves as the primary scholar of the ToV, his intellect and understanding of magic making him the most qualified pony for the job; as such, he tends to the archives wing of the Great Temple, and is normally the one tasked with doing research into any magical matter which might concern the ToV.

Fourth is a unicorn mare by the name of Helping Hoof, a charity operator from Baltimare. She came from a long line of aid workers, and, following in the family tradition, became one herself, opening up a charity to help ponies across Equestria with food, medical services, and shelter, helping ponies after every manner of disaster throughout Equestria. When Chrysalis returned with her army and began leaving a trail of conquest and destruction throughout the country, Helping Hoof did everything she could to help minimize the damage done; she traveled far and wide, setting up aid camps to provide assistance and shelter to those disenfranchised by the war, using donations to fund her operations. She arrived in Ponyville shortly before the changelings attacked it, setting up a refugee camp there; it was burned down to the ground by the changeling invaders during the attack, and hundreds of refugees massacred in the process. Helping Hoof rapidly developed an intense hatred for the changeling race in the wake of the destruction, and found herself joining Visionary's cause shortly afterwards, where she became the overseer of the ToV's charity work and a close apostle of the Prophet.

Fifth is an earth pony mare named Healing Hooves; Helping Hoof's sister. Healing Hooves, much like her sister, wanted to help out Equestria, so she went to school and obtained a medical education, finding a natural talent for healing. She accompanied Helping Hoof throughout Equestria, helping deal with the aftermath of disasters; when the war started, she spent most of her time in refugee camps, providing whatever treatment she could to wounded soldiers and civilians alike. Much like Helping Hoof, she was in Ponyville when the changelings attacked it; needless to say, she was also outraged by what had been done, seeing the changeling savages indiscriminately massacre the inhabitants of a simple refugee camp, narrowly avoiding being killed herself. She was in the camp when it was attacked, and was severely injured by the attackers, causing her to have both physical and psychological scars, barely surviving the ordeal. Healing Hooves refused to look past what had been done; after dedicating her entire life to healing, she felt nothing but pure rage after seeing the changelings destroy her life work, killing the ponies she had worked so hard to help and nearly killing her, a pony who had never caused harm to anyone her entire life, too. Despising the changeling race more and more with each passing second, she vowed to do everything in her power to destroy their evil race and avenge the innocent ponies they had slaughtered, joining Visionary in his quest and becoming one of his apostles. She is the main doctor of the Temple of Vision, and she has, perhaps, the most fanatical hatred of changelings out of anyone in the ToV; she is good friends with Broken Promise, who has served as a trainer for her, teaching her the art of combat (Healing Hooves wanting nothing more than to be able to massacre the changelings like the worthless demons they are).

The final apostle from Ponyville is a unicorn mare named Iron Rose, born and raised in a noble family from Canterlot. Growing up, she developed an intense interest in military affairs, and wanted to become a royal guard (something a bit unusual for a mare, considering the fact that the royal guard is a predominately male institution). She trained every day to become the strongest warrior in Equestria, and proved herself to be an exceptionally talented fighter; with some help from her family, she was able to gain entry into Canterlot's finest military academy, where her skills were further honed and expanded to include tactics and strategy as well. She graduated at age twenty, at almost exactly the same time Chrysalis started her bid to conquer Equestria. With the army in need of new troops now more than ever, Iron Rose was able to enlist as an officer in the royal guard, where she distinguished herself on the battlefield, killing many changelings and helping win many battles. She was eventually promoted to serve as a Captain of the Guard, overseeing military activities in Fillydelphia, part of the upper-echelon of the Equestrian military. While she was very competent and proved fully qualified for her position, she was eventually wrapped up in political intrigues, voicing her vehement opposition to the government's new policy of allowing changelings into the military, knowing full well it was inevitably going to allow spies and saboteurs from the enemy to infiltrate Equestrian ranks. A lot of politicians took offense to it, and lobbied for her to be dismissed from her post; they were successful, replacing her with a more politically correct officer. Angry, and filled with a newfound disdain for the Equestrian government, Iron Rose went to Ponyville, where she joined up with Visionary, hoping the Temple of Vision would be able to do more to fight the changeling menace than the pansies in the government were; she ended up as one of Visionary's main apostles, and her role in the Temple primarily involves her overseeing the ToV's militia forces.

After introducing all six of his apostles from Ponyville to Braeburn, Visionary decided it was high time to get going.

"Ya ready ta go now or what, Brae? The sooner we git goin', the sooner we can git home." Visionary asked.

"Eeyup, Ah'm ready to leave; let's hit the road!" Braeburn replied, eager to depart. Without further delay, the eleven ponies left Appaloosa, heading southward towards the Forbidden Jungle, with Lost Fortune taking the lead.

The Forbidden Jungle

It was a damn long walk, and a damn tiresome one at that, but Visionary and his companions were able to arrive in a reasonably timely manner; Lost Fortune knew a quick path, cutting through the Macintosh Hills, avoiding the need to pass through the Badlands altogether, allowing the group to reach the Forbidden Jungle in just under three hours. Once they had entered the jungle, Visionary pulled out the Liber Secretorum to allow the group to review the map that would lead them to the All-Maker's temple.

"That's a, uh, mighty interestin' book ya got there, Visionary. What is it, exactly?" Braeburn asked, entirely confused by the strange magical book the Prophet had gotten his hooves on.

"Oh, right; Ah probably should of mentioned it sooner. This here is the Liber Secretorum, one 'o the All-Maker's artifacts; it contains a map that'll lead us to a massive, forgotten temple here in the jungle. You, uh, probably ain't gonna be able to read a word of it; not right now, in any case. The All-Maker's given all of us but you the ability to read portions of it; maybe after we get to the temple and recover his artifact, he'll grant the ability ta you as well." Visionary told Braeburn.

"Oh, uh, Ah see; it sure is a mighty impressive lookin' book. When and where did ya find it?" Braeburn continued.

"It was given to us by the All-Maker, in the Everfree Forest, just a couple days ago. We performed a task at his command, and he blessed us with the ability to begin reading it." Visionary answered, handing the Liber Secretorum to Lost Fortune, who proceeded to begin leading the group towards the temple. Braeburn and the others continued talking throughout the journey about how things had been going back in Ponyville and other such topics. After a good hour and a half of walking and talking, the eleven ponies found themselves at the base of a massive waterfall, surrounded by thick foliage, a large river passing through. Lost Fortune confirmed, after checking the map, that they had, in fact, arrived at the place they had been directed to go by the book. Immediately remembering the book's directions, Visionary shouted the code specified by the book.

"Fides clavem scientiae!" Visionary chanted. Instantly, a loud sound was heard from within the waterfall, and a stone barrier was lifted, revealing the entrance to a cave within it. Excitedly, the ponies rushed in, the barrier re-closing behind them. They walked down a long corridor, descending deeper into the ground, where they eventually found themselves in a massive, high-ceiling, open space inside the cave. Inside this massive space stood a huge stone structure; it was a stepped pyramid, in pristine condition. Its walls were covered with carvings depicting what appeared to be battles inside cities of strange architecture between a group of griffins and buffalo and a group of changelings; as the ponies climbed the steps, they saw many such carvings, each successive row of them showing the changelings slowly prevailing over their adversaries. At the top of the temple, the final set of carvings showed a draconequus wielding what appeared to be a flaming sword, battling a changeling which looked extremely similar to Queen Chrysalis (wielding some strange artifact against the draconequus), inside of a burning city (full of the strange architecture found in the other carvings, with numerous stepped pyramids, matching the atmosphere of the Forbidden Jungle), surrounding by dead griffins, buffalo, and changelings. It was a fascinating sight, to be sure.

After the ponies finished examining the carvings, they opened a hatch which led inside the temple, entering it and finding themselves in a main hallway of sorts. There were numerous rooms on either side of the hall, every one of which was extravagantly decorated; the whole temple was full of trinkets and furniture made of gold, silver, and gems. The ponies passed rooms filling all kinds of purposes; bedrooms, a dining room, a kitchen, storage rooms, what appeared to be a common room of some description, and more. They walked down the hallway, briefly examining each room, before finding themselves at a staircase, which they descended, leading them to another large hallway. Whereas the first set of rooms they discovered all seemed to be intended as part of a living quarters of some description, the rooms in the second hallway all seemed to suit some kind of militaristic purpose; there were armories, a forge, barracks, a strategy room of some kind, and other such rooms, the whole area filled with abandoned weapons and armor (many of which were made from valuable or uncommon materials, such as jade and obsidian).

Upon reaching the end of the second hallway the ponies found and descended another staircase; this one, rather than leading to a hallway, led them to a very large, wide open room. It was an apothecary of some sort, filled with ancient medical tools and equipment. Healing Hooves took a moment to examine the room, finding it all rather interesting, before the group moved on. At the end of the room, they found yet another staircase, leading them into another wide open room; this one, however, appeared to be a story room of some sort. The walls were completely covered with carvings, showing what the ponies could only imagine were historical events. Both the floor and ceiling were covered with what appeared to be text from some long-forgotten language. The ponies took the time to look through the carvings; the first set appeared to depict the same cities from the outside carvings, in ruins, lorded over by changelings. The next set appeared to show a large group of griffins arriving on a mountain and building what looked like Griffonstone. Next, was what appeared to be a tribe of buffalo setting up encampments in what Visionary could immediately recognize as being the land around Appaloosa. The next carving showed an up close image of the same changeling from the outside batch of carvings, still looking very much similar to Queen Chrysalis, sitting on a throne; it appeared to be laughing. The final carving showed the draconequus from outside, with an extremely angry look, tears falling from its eyes, pointing the same blade from earlier at what looked like a distant changeling hive.

After descending the staircase at the end of the story room, the ponies finally found themselves in a final room, larger and taller than any of the other rooms had been. The most immediately noticeable feature of the final room was a huge shrine made of jade in the center of the room, with a large sapphire statue of a draconequus on top of it (the statue wielding a ruby blade), gold coins of some long-forgotten currency covering the shrine. Amidst all the coins was a tall, narrow vial, made of what looked like solid diamond, full of an amber liquid of some sort. As Visionary touched the vial, the booming voice of the All-Maker filled the chamber.

"Well done, my loyal followers; you have arrived at the Temple of Healing, and retrieved another of my artifacts. This is the Diamond Phial; a very potent artifact, to say the least. The liquid contained inside is a powerful healing chemical. When poured, it will heal just about any wound it comes in contact with; when drank, it will cure almost any illness. The Phial has an enchantment which lets it automatically fill itself back it, allowing an essentially unlimited supply of the healing chemical within. That's not all, however; thanks to another special enchantment, its healing properties will only work if the Phial is poured by one of my faithful followers, making it impossible for non-believers to utilize it for their own nefarious purposes." The All-Maker said.

"Why, that's absolutely amazin'!" Braeburn said, almost stunned by what was happening. Not only was the All-Maker himself speaking to him, but he was being presented with a miraculous healing device, something which could save all kinds of lives.

"It is, isn't it? That's not all, however; while I had intended to present it to you all at a later date, current circumstances demand that I give one more artifact today. As we speak, changelings and changeling-sympathizers are conspiring to destroy my temple in Ponyville, and arrest my faithful followers; it is you, Visionary, my most loyal messenger, who is especially being targeted. The alicorn tyrants have chosen to align themselves with demonic forces, and enforce the will of the abominations; their right to rule has expired, consequently. I task you, my loyal followers, with building an army and waging war against the Equestrian government and their puppetmasters in the changeling empire. For this purpose, I present you my blade, Dawnbreaker; it is a sword without equal, forged in a holy flame which breaks upon those who dare defy my will. I made it specifically for the purpose of massacring abominations; changeling chitin will burn like kindling the moment it touches the divinely-crafted steel of my blade. It has powerful enchantments allowing whoever wields it to cut through changelings like butter, burning them to a honey-crisp in the process. That's not all; it also has a special enchantment that makes it glow a bright yellow whenever a changeling comes within fifty feet of the blade, giving you advance warning whenever one of the abominations is near you." The All-Maker continued. At the end of his speech, a 'pop' noise was heard, and the same blade wielded by the draconequus statue appeared in real form on top of the shrine, along with a sheath for it; it was long, had a faint red glow to it, was very light-weight, and had Visionary's cutie-mark emblazoned into the handle.

"Take the mighty Dawnbreaker, and use it to wreak havoc on the changelings and their alicorn puppets; pile body upon body. Purge the cancer that infests this great continent; depose the alicorns, destroy the changeling hives, and kill the maniacal Queen Chrysalis and the deceiver King Razor Wing. Let nothing stop you! The worthless, vile changeling race has stood as an affront to me for long enough! The time has come for my vengeance to be enacted upon them; they shall suffer dearly, along with all who would support them, for their crimes against my Kingdom! Do this, my champions, and your rewards will be immense, I assure you. Go now, my champions; go to the lands of the buffalo, to begin your quest. The great Chief Thunderhooves shall soon be in danger; save him, using the Diamond Phial, and he will become an invaluable ally in the quest to rid Equestria of the scourge which sullies its hopes and dreams. Then, call together a great meeting of all the ponies and buffalo of the frontier, and declare the Princesses unfit to rule; lead them in rebellion, shape them into a mighty army! Go, my champions; and carry out this command! Let the whole world know that Equestria will be free, and pure, once more!" The All-Maker declared.

Without hesitation, Visionary took Dawnbreaker, sheathed it, and strapped it along his waist, before taking the Diamond Phial and putting it in his saddle bag. The eleven ponies then marched towards the exist; they stopped by the extensive armories of the temple on their way, where they sorted through the ancient weapons and armor, finding some blades and sets of armor which appeared to still be functional and useful for them. Carrying many blades and wearing many armors of obsidian and jade, the ponies departed the temple, and made haste westward towards the land of the buffalo.

"Wow, in all mah years, Ah never could have imagined anythin' so spectacular. The voice of the All-Maker, Dawnbreaker, that temple...Ah knew the moment Ah met ya that there was somethin' special about ya, Visionary, but Ah never could have imagined ya were destined ta accomplish such great things. Ah'm...Well, Ah'm real glad ta have met ya, and Ah'm even more glad ta be a part of this." Braeburn said to Visionary, clearly amazed by everything that had happened.

"We're all real glad to have met you, Visionary. The things we've seen with you, the great tasks we've accomplished together; it's all been amazing, and we still have far more monumental things to accomplish than any of us ever could have dreamed of." Deep Insight said, the other apostles giving a cheer of agreement.

"Damn right! I knew, right when the changelings came and caused all that devastation in my aid camp, that it was part of my destiny to destroy them once and for all; today, the All-Maker is giving us that opportunity, to save Equestria and destroy the greatest threat it has ever faced." Healing Hooves commented.

"Just like he told us today, we are the Champions of the All-Maker; we will prevail over our enemies. We must prevail. No matter what obstacle tries to stop us; we'll tear through mountains if we have to, if it means saving our home." Iron Rose said.

"The fire of justice burns brightly; it will scorch all who seek the destruction of our homeland. Come, let us make haste; we must begin our quest as quickly as possible." Visionary himself spoke up, the eleven ponies moving westward with Lost Fortune's guidance back towards buffalo territory. Monumental changes were rapidly approaching Equestria; monumental changes which would permanently shake the political landscape of the continent. The powder had been ignited; it was only going to be a matter of time before the impending explosion shook Celestia's government to its foundations, and caused the political establishment to come crashing down in shambles.

[Frenequesta]

Royal Park of Canterlot

...With that, Celestia bowed her head solemnly and backed away as her horn glowed and began to raise the sun.

The ponies before Celestia looked upon her as she carried out the yearly ritual. In times of war, the Summer Sun Celebration was especially symbolic, demonstrating that Equestria would continue on in spite of outside threats. The sun rose slowly, coming up above the horizon, and Celestia began to rise herself. And then, with a flourish, she spread her wings in a partial eclipse, but the light still overwhelming her figure, and the rays refracted off her wings like a prism down to the crowd. The crowd cheered at the display, some giving their first smiles since the takeover of Cloudsdale. Twilight smiled too, keeping her reaction restrained, but still impressed as usual.

As the crowd began to disperse, Twilight turned to Spot, still on her back. "Wasn't that wonderful, Spot? It never gets old. Should we find something fun? I'm ready." And she trotted off towards the booths, ready to forget about her troubles more.

But they were not easy to take off her mind. Almost as soon as she left the ground before the platform she found Razor Wing, Mimic, and Fancy together. Besides a basic social impulse to greet them, she felt an itch to talk about her problems. "Oh, good morning, King Razor Wing, Queen Mimic, and Fancy," she said, bowing a little to each. "I'm guessing the past couple of days have really troubled you with the riots in Ponyville and the shooting at Parliament. I... I just don't understand. It seemed like ponies were just beginning to really accept changelings with all of our speeches and enforcement, and the overall positive news coming from the front lines. How can so many ponies just erupt in so much hate?"

----

Meanwhile, Apple Bloom had gone off with Gregory, ready to take on the whole array of games on the midway. It wasn't quite the same as last year, where she played the games to find her cutie mark, but it was still an opportunity for fun nonetheless. Her eyes were wide for the prospect of a giant stuffed rabbit at the ring toss, a trending board game at the water gun race, a set of pony dolls at the ring-the-bell stand, and a water gun modeled off of the Royal Guard's own weapons against the Empire at the fool-the-guesser stand. But she kept on coming up empty. And in any case, she was running out of bits. She wanted to play more but she felt a little guilty asking Applejack for more money, and without the extra profits from the farm because of the quotas, she wasn't confident AJ even would give her more.

She looked around with Gregory with just a few bits in her saddlepocket--enough for just one or two more games. She would have to make it count. Out of the corner of her eye she found Bounty by the skeeball stand--one she hadn't done before, and trotted over to him. "Hey Bounty, how's it going?"

----

Cherry Ranger was sitting at a small booth next to a Royal Guard recruitment stand feeling somewhat bored but keeping a smile. Despite the rallying cry of "Manehattan Arise!" on a bold, red and blue banner above her, nopony seemed to want to pick up Trilby's pamphlets. Constellation was in the front of the booth, offering passers-by the literature, only to be met with indifference. Her smiles and enthusiasm seemed to have no effect.

"Do you believe in prosperity, liberty, diversity, and tolerance...? Would you like to help take back Manehattan without joining the Guard...? The flame of Manehattan and its ideas still speak from the Wall..." She sighed and turned to Cherry. "Well, I guess Cloudsdale's on more ponies' minds."

She nodded. Both of them weren't happy to take this route. They knew that 99.9% of all Manehattanites and those from the surrounding suburbs were still trapped behind the Wall; they were the real audience--they doubted that any of the ten thousand outside would be willing to subject themselves to the injustices and oppression to rally for the resistance. At the same time, very likely Cherry's messenger was captured, if not killed, as the Empire took Hollow Shades, with thousands of pamphlets going up in flames. At this point, if the plan wasn't already lost, passing out at the Summer Sun Celebration was the next best thing. But it was a next best thing that was almost embarrassing.

A pony did come up to the booth, but one already familiar to Cherry and Constellation. "Good morning, Cherry," said Butter Gun. "How's this going?"

"Not a single one out," said Cherry.

"Well, it's still a slow hour at these booths. You'll find someone..." she sighed.

"What's wrong?" asked Cherry.

"Well, you know that group that slaughtered all of those changelings in Ponyville? It started... in my hometown. And virtually everypony there--and even a lot of the buffalo--are a part of it. I don't understand. I got 66% of the vote. I ran promising better protection of rights for everypony. How could they change so quick?"

"Well, to be fair, I don't think that changelings were on their minds," said Constellation.

Cherry knew that Constellation was likely right, but she thought that there was something else. "I've seen groups like them before, they sprout up every now and then. Somepony claims a vision and uses her charisma to get a bunch of people to her views--a lot of times it's just somepony wanting to fill her pockets, and it dies out quick once somepony gets on their tail... sometimes tragically... but something's really different about this one. The Justice Bureau hasn't done an investigation but there's no way that group could have done what they did without Guard or illegal weapons."

"Well, that's not helpful..." said Butter. "But I mean, can't we do anything about it? You've been through a lot of challengers and you've always come out on top. I'm just worried they're going to thrust a recall on me soon--and I'll lose badly."

"You can always campaign," said Cherry. In truth, she really didn't know how to handle her situation. "But you're going to have a hard time reaching people whose religious beliefs just don't match your worldview. And from this group... you're going to do it at your peril."

[Fascist Russian Empire]

The Buffalo Nation,
Visionary

It was a physically taxing journey, but Visionary and his companions were able to reach the lands of the tribal buffalo in very good time, the ponies, in their haste, taking a mere two and a half hours to reach their destinations. It was late, well after sundown, when the eleven ponies arrived in the capital village of the buffalo; it was a familiar sight to Visionary and Green-Hoof, both of whom had traveled to buffalo camps before on evangelical missions. The buffalo were a semi-nomadic peoples, with encampments spread throughout the frontier, but their capital remained in a constant position, the only permanent buffalo settlement in the region, a little ways to the east of Appaloosa, southwest of Dodge. As the ponies entered the capital, they saw a lot of buffalo frantically panicking and running about. Little Strongheart, a buffalo who Visionary recognized as being an important warrior and advisor for the tribe, noticed the ponies and rushed up to them, speaking in a clearly desperate voice.

"Ponies, you've got to help, quick! Chief Thunderhooves is under attack! Over there, quickly, follow me!" Little Strongheart told the ponies. Visionary immediately proceeded to withdraw Dawnbreaker from its sheath, and the ponies all followed her. After a moment of them all rushing, Dawnbreaker began to glow a bright yellow, and the ponies could see the distinct looking Chief Thunderhooves up ahead, being attacked by a knife-wielding changeling. Without hesitation, Visionary charged at the abomination at full speed, lunging at it and impaling it with Dawnbreaker, the sword piercing the monster's chitin almost effortlessly. Immediately, the changeling let out a foul shriek as it burst into a blue flame, dropping its blade and dying within seconds, its body burning away into ash. Visionary re-sheathed his blade, and turned his attention to Chief Thunderhooves, who was laying on the ground next to him, unconscious. The Chief was severely injured, covered with deep cuts, bleeding profusely.

Hastily, Visionary pulled out the Diamond Phial from his saddlebag and began pouring its contents over Thunderhooves' wounds. As he did so, his companions and a crowd of buffalo began gathering around him and the Chief, everyone anxiously watching. The deep gashes and cuts all over Thunderhooves' body quickly began to heal themselves as the contents of the Diamond Phial were poured over them, the wounds closing themselves and disappearing, everyone watching in awe as it happened. Within moments, the Chief, who was just on the brink of death, regained consciousness, and stood up, as if he had never been injured to begin with. Immediately, he spoke up to Visionary, in a clearly amazed and gracious voice.

"You, pony...I recognize you. You are Visionary, the priest from Appaloosa, right? You saved me from certain doom; when that filthy insect appeared out of nowhere and ambushed me, I was sure it would be the death of me, but you came and not only slew the monster but proceeded to heal the fatal wounds it inflicted upon me. What you've done tonight, Visionary, is nothing short of miraculous; I would have died, no doubt, were it not for your swift intervention. Please, tell me, what manner of power did you use to heal me, and how did you know to come to our land when you did?" Chief Thunderhooves asked Visionary.

"The All-Maker gave me the power to heal nearly any injury, in the form of a magical artifact with miraculous healing properties, and the All-Maker warned me that you were going to be in danger, instructing me to come help you. If there's anyone you should be thanking, it should be him, my master." Visionary told Thunderhooves.

"Hmm...You'll have to tell me more about this All-Maker sometime soon; I hear many of my brothers in the tribe speak about him, all the time. I shall take this day as an omen that I must seek out the knowledge your gods have to provide, Visionary. In the meantime, you have done me a great service; you have done my tribe a great service. Regardless of how you accomplished it, you have brought me back from the brink of death; I owe you a great debt, and we buffalo always pay our debts. Please, come with me, Visionary, and I shall see to it that you are properly rewarded for what you have done for me today." Thunderhooves told Visionary, proceeding to walk with his comrades and the ponies to the large wooden longhouse that served as his own personal residence and the seat of government for the tribal buffalo.

Chief Thunderhooves stood at the center of the large, lavishly furnaced longhouse, in front of a burning fire pit, with Visionary standing directly in front of him, everyone gathered around the two. With a loud, clear voice, Thunderhooves spoke up.

"Visionary, your actions today have been nothing short of extraordinary; tragedy was prevented this night because of your actions. You have proven yourself to be a true hero, demonstrating your valor by slaying the monster who attempted to assassinate me, and revealing yourself to have spectacular powers by performing a miraculous feat of healing for me, saving my life. You have certainly proven yourself to be a friend of the buffalo, my savior. For your valiant deeds, I, by my right as Chief, name you an official member of our tribe, an honorary buffalo and a welcome member of our community; if ever there is anything you need, we stand ready to assist you in whatever way we can, brother." He declared to the tribe, all the buffalo giving a rousing cheer of approval.

"I am honored to be a part of your tribe, Chief Thunderhooves." Visionary said, giving a respectful bow to the Chief.

"There is also an offer I wish to extend to you, Visionary. It is a sacred tradition of the buffalo for our tribe to have a seer, a wise oracle with a connection to the gods, providing wisdom to us all. I have seen this day that you have such a connection with your god; you have proven it, demonstrating divine gifts of both foresight and healing. As such, I invite you to become the seer and high-priest of our tribe, tending to the spiritual needs of us all and providing the wisdom of your All-Maker." Chief Thunderhooves continued. Visionary was momentarily stunned by the offer; it would put him in a perfect position to fully convert the buffalo tribe, a tribe which he was now a part of, into followers of the All-Maker, further securing the Temple of Vision's religious dominance over the area.

"I graciously accept; I will be overjoyed to spread the All-Maker's light and guidance to the tribe." Visionary said, full of enthusiasm. The Chief then proceeded to give a gesture to Little Strongheart, who rushed off for a moment and returned holding an elaborate buffalo headdress which she handed to the Chief. Thunderhooves then proceeded to place the (surprisingly well-fitting) headdress on Visionary's head, signifying his status within the tribe.

"We are honored to have you provide wisdom to the tribe, High-Priest Visionary. Now, let us celebrate your joining of the tribe! Let us smoke a pipe, in the buffalo tradition, as celebration; the traditional smoking of tobacco ensures long life and health, after all! It also helps seers such as yourself clear the mind to allow an easier time receiving the wisdom of the gods." Chief Thunderhooves said, giving Visionary a long, feathered stone pipe full of tobacco, before taking out one for himself, the two proceeding to engage in a traditional smoking ritual.

Tobacco usage was very common amongst the buffalo, and was a very important custom for them; it was counted as a sacred tradition, done on many occasions. The smoking of tobacco had been widely observed among buffalo for many centuries, though it was still quite uncommon outside of buffalo culture, with the secrets of tobacco cultivation being known only to the buffalo. Visionary (who had never indulged in tobacco before) found the practice surprisingly pleasant, finding himself relaxed as he and the Chief smoked together. He somewhat doubted that tobacco actually did anything special or beneficial like Thunderhooves claimed, but it was nonetheless a reasonably relaxing activity.

"I can still barely believe what happened; one of those bug-like monsters just showed up, teleporting into our camp without warning, and started attacking me!" Chief Thunderhooves said to Visionary in-between smokes, still a bit surprised about what had happened earlier.

"Changelings, that's what they call themselves, though I typically refer to them as abominations, which is a far more accurate term. Things like what happened to you earlier happen all over Equestria on a daily basis; the abominations have overrun pony society, and brazenly massacre everyone around them. They are a species of killers, vermin to the core; everywhere they go, they bring death and destruction with them." Visionary responded.

"I have witnessed this firsthoof today. If these changelings, these abominations want to start a war with our tribe, we'll give them a war, I tell you; we won't simply stand idly by and tolerate such a brazen and unprovoked act of aggression against us! It's become obvious to me today that those monsters have become a threat to all of us, buffalo and ponies alike, a menace that must be fought, and fight we shall. I just...I just don't know if we're going to be able to stop them; if what you say is true, and they really are all over Equestria, overrunning pony society as we speak, I don't know if our tribe will have the strength to defeat them." Chief Thunderhooves continued.

"Leave that to me, my Chief; I have a plan for destroying the abominations. The government of Equestria is supposed to defend their country from the demons that now threaten it; however, they have now betrayed Equestria. The very ponies who are supposed to protect Equestria are actively supporting the enemy, opening the gates across the country to allow vast quantities of abominations to move freely throughout the land; they invite changelings to live in every settlement, even going so far as to give special privileges to them, and the abominations, in turn, massacre every civilized creature around them. The Princesses themselves are now the first and foremost perpetrators of the changeling invasions throughout Equestria; they must be stopped, no matter the cost, and overthrown before they can strengthen the enemy any further." Visionary explained.

"By all that we hold sacred, things are far worse than any of us ever could have realized! The Equestrian government has aligned itself with those who seek the destruction of all of us, buffalo and ponies alike, and is giving support to the monsters who are now spreading death even here in the lands of us buffalo! I am in agreement with you, Visionary; if Celestia and the other pony Princesses are allowing all this to happen, they must be stopped and face punishment for their negligence. But, how do you plan to accomplish such a tremendous task?" Thunderhooves asked, setting down his pipe.

"I will gather a mighty army of buffalo and ponies throughout the frontier, and raise my flag in rebellion against the Princesses and their tyranny; then, we march on Ponyville, where my supporters there will join us in driving out Twilight Sparkle's forces and their changeling puppetmasters. Once word of our victory spreads, ponies from across Equestria will flock to our banner, and we'll begin fighting the enemy all throughout the country. It'll be a long fight, and many will die in the process, but there is no alternative; if we don't take up arms, now, before it's too late, the changeling abominations will grow in strength to the point of becoming unstoppable!" Visionary proposed.

"I have no objections; let it be so, Visionary. The tribe stands with you; I shall prepare as many warriors as possible, and we shall join you in fighting the enemy." Thunderhooves said.

"Very good. I'll depart for Appaloosa in the morning, and announce war against Celestia and the changeling menace during the Summer Sun Celebration. For now, though, I must rest; it's late, and I must retire for the night." Visionary told the Chief.

"Of course; I am rather tired, myself, as well. As High-Priest of our tribe, you are entitled to a grand longhouse to serve as your own personal estate here; I will have someone lead you there. I will also have your companions led to places for them to stay and rest for the night, though there is room in your longhouse for a couple of your friends to sleep as well, if you wish." Thunderhooves told Visionary; he then clapped his hooves, and a buffalo came out to lead Visionary to the extravagant building that would serve as his very own home in the camp. At Visionary's request, Braeburn came too; Visionary couldn't help but want his company for the night.

Most buffalo lived in temporary housing structures; tents, normally. Permanent structures, such as longhouses, were considered a status symbol, a sign of luxury and wealth; the priesthood within traditional buffalo society was of great importance to the tribe, which is why Visionary was granted one to live in. The interior of Visionary's home looked like what would be expected of a tribal buffalo priest's home; there was an altar, all kinds of buffalo-style furniture and decorations, jars and pots full of various traditional ritual supplies, etcetera. There was a fire pit in the center of the longhouse, with several chairs around it; Visionary and Braeburn each took a seat next to the fire.

"Wow, when the All-Maker told us ta come here, Ah certainly wasn't expectin' ya ta become a part of the buffalo tribe, much less a spiritual advisor fer them! This sure is fantastic; we'll be able ta git 'em all ta embrace the All-Maker's truth!" Braeburn said, rather excited about the ramifications of Visionary becoming the High-Priest for the tribe.

"Ah wasn't expectin' it either; it certainly is a great opportunity ta share the good news of the All-Maker with 'em. An' Ah have ta admit, these buffalo are certainly an interestin' bunch; it's nice ta be able ta be a part o' their society. Once we prevail over the forces of evil, Ah'll be glad to spend more time with the tribe; mah tribe now, Ah suppose." Visionary replied, his accent returning.

"Ah know what ya mean; these buffalo sure are somethin'. Ah'm glad they're on our side; friends ain't easy ta come by these days, especially friends willin' ta help fight the changeling menace. Ah just hope everything'll work out in the end; we need to win, we need to stop Celestia and her changeling friends from destroyin' our country! We're the only ones who can stop her, now; Ah just hope with everything Ah've got that we succeed. If we fail...Ah don't even want to imagine the horrors the changelings will inflict on Equestria." Braeburn said.

"We have the All-Maker on our side; nothin' can stop us, not while we have divine favor on our side. Ah'm sure we'll prevail at the end of the day. Now, enough worryin' 'bout the future; it's late, and we've got a rebellion to start in the mornin', so let's get ta bed already." Visionary responded, too tired for a lengthy conversation on the need to save Equestria. Braeburn gave a nod of agreement, and the two ponies went to bed for the night. Visionary's longhouse had three beds; one large one for the High-Priest himself, and two smaller beds for guests. Visionary and Braeburn each got into their own bed, and slept the rest of the night away.

Monday Morning

Visionary and Braeburn each got up early in the morning, only getting a few hours of sleep; after all, they needed to get started rallying the frontier ponies in rebellion as quickly as possible. It was the morning of the Summer Sun Celebration, the perfect occasion to ruin Celestia's day and begin the process of ending her reign of terror once and for all. The frontier ponies, throughout both Appaloosa and Dodge, were the most fiercely anti-changeling ponies in all of Equestria; discontent with the government's favorable policies towards the abominations had been building up for many months. They were a powder keg, and Visionary was the flint that would ignite them; with luck, it would trigger a domino effect, shaking the foundations of Celestia's government till they crumble, allowing a truly just monarch to be placed on the throne, one who would be unyielding against all monsters who threaten Equestria.

Exiting the longhouse, Visionary and Braeburn could immediately see that the village was bustling with activity, the tribe's warriors training for the upcoming fight against the changelings and their alicorn puppets, warpaint being placed on every warrior. The buffalo, rightly outraged over the attempted assassination of Chief Thunderhooves, were eager for retaliation against the changelings and their allies in the Equestrian government; they were ready to strike back against the menace which threatened their tribe. Within a moment of them coming out of their house, Chief Thunderhooves approached the two ponies, and spoke up to them.

"Ah, good, you're awake. The tribe's warriors and I are prepared to join you in your valiant quest to destroy the great evil which threatens our land, High-Priest Visionary. I have two hundred warriors already prepared; in the coming days, the tribe can mobilize another three hundred. We're providing everything we can; let us hope it is enough." The Chief, marked with warpaint and equipped with a tomahawk in addition to a bow and a quiver of arrows (the buffalo traditionally being very talented archers), told Visionary.

"Very good; we're going to need every fighter we can get for the upcoming war. We should start heading for Appaloosa as soon as possible, then we should proceed to Dodge; I've got a feeling the frontier ponies are going to be more than willing to join our righteous cause." Visionary said.

"Of course; let us depart, then, on the double. First, however, allow me to mark you as a true buffalo warrior; you are part of the tribe, after all, joining us in battle against our enemies. It is only fitting that you look the part." Chief Thunderhooves replied, taking buffalo war-paint and using it to mark Visionary's face with horizontal lines, in the buffalo tradition. Visionary, his companions, Thunderhooves, and his brigade of buffalo warriors then proceeded to start a hasty march westwards towards Appaloosa.

The Frontier

After an hour long march, the ponies and buffalo arrived in Appaloosa, arriving shortly before the sunrise. Visionary received a fair few surprised looks, on account of the fact that he was wearing a buffalo headdress and had buffalo warpaint on his face, and ponies were equally surprised to see Chief Thunderhooves with him alongside a buffalo war-band. As Visionary made his way to the town center, his apostles began announcing his arrival and announcing that he had an important proclamation for the ponies of Appaloosa. A massive crowd rapidly gathered around the Prophet, almost everypony in town coming to hear Visionary's announcement; everypony was off work on account of the Summer Sun Celebration, anyway, and ponies wanted to hear what kind of important message their prophet had to give them.

"Everypony, as you all know, today is known as the Summer Sun Celebration, a holiday to celebrate Princess Celestia. Well, ponies, I am here to tell you that you should not be celebrating anything about that wicked traitor! Celestia has been committing crimes against ponykind for years now, and the time has come for the truth to be revealed!" Visionary said, the crowds going silent.

"For many months, Celestia has engaged in criminally negligent behavior, allowing the changeling menace to get away with perpetrating increasingly devastating attacks on innocent civilians throughout Equestria. The changeling abominations massacre ponies in the streets, and what does Celestia do?! Nothing! Nay, worse than nothing! Celestia and her lackeys enforce the will of the enemy, against their own people! Celestia and the other Princesses have been actively collaborating with the changeling invaders for months now, giving extensive concessions and special privileges to their kind! The changelings cause destruction all across our nation, and the Princesses reward them for it! Then, when ponies like myself finally have enough of it, and fight back against the changeling menace, Celestia and her goons seek to punish us for defending our homeland against the filthy demons who seek its destruction! Is that their idea of justice?! Is that their vision for Equestria?! Well, I can tell you right now, that's not the Equestria I want to live in!" Visionary said with a fiery voice, the ponies around him giving rousing cheers of agreement.

"Day after day, night after night, the changelings terrorize our civilization; they kill everyone around them, they destroy everything around them! They kill our children, they kill our elders, they pillage our towns! The only ponies they spare at the ones they force into slavery! Are these the creatures we want integrated into our society?! Is that the kind of 'cultural enrichment' we want in our society?! Everywhere these worthless abominations go, they provide nothing but misery and strife for the civilized creatures of our nation, yet Celestia and the other Princesses constantly sing their praises, and force every town in Equestria to open their gates and allow endless swarms of the filthy little insects to come in and butcher everypony around them! Celestia is evil, I tell you; she has openly, unabashedly worked with the enemy, along with Luna, Mi Amore Cadenza, and Twilight Sparkle to kill their own subjects! The Princesses have all willingly allowed themselves to become nothing more than puppets for the changelings, conspiring with them to destroy Equestria; it is evident with everything they do!" Visionary continued, righteous fury building up in the crowds.

"Ponies live in fear because of the malevolent negligence of the Princesses! Ponies are dead, all over Equestria, because of the Princesses! The once great metropolis cities of Manehattan and Cloudsdale have been reduced to dim, hollow husks of what they once were, centers of slavery and agony, because of the Princesses! They have sown death, and so shall they reap it! I declare Celestia, Luna, Mi Amore Cadenza, and Twilight Sparkle all unfit to govern; I declare them all to be enemies of Equestria, enemies of ponykind, enemies of the buffalo, enemies of all things righteous and just in this world! We've stood idly by while they wreak havoc on our lands for long enough; the time for war has come! I vow to seek out all of the tyrant Princesses and bring them to justice, then I will hunt down and exterminate every last one of their demonic changeling puppetmasters! We will rebuild Equestria the way it was meant to be; governed by fair and equitable rulers who will never surrender to any invading army, rulers who will never stand idly by and allow their subjects to be massacred!" Visionary further continued, the crowds being increasingly swayed by the Prophet.

"Changelings are abominations, demons; an inherently evil race, vile and despicable to the core! We will hunt them to extinction for their transgressions; we will kill them wherever we find them, being merciless to them just as they were to us, until every last one of the abominations in the world has been hunted down and killed for their crimes! May they find mercy in whatever vile gods they worship, for I have none to spare! They knowingly and wittingly chose to commit endless atrocities against our nation; now their judgment day has arrived! Who will stand with me?! Who will join me in waging righteous war against the abominations and their alicorn puppets?!" Visionary proclaimed. The approval from the crowd was astronomical; virtually everypony expressed their approval for Visionary's cause. Hundreds of ponies, stallions and mares alike, agreed to take up arms and join Visionary's cause. The regular Equestrian flags throughout Appaloosa were burned as the sun began to rise, signifying the end of Celestia's rule over the town, and were replaced with an altered version; the blue background was replaced with a white one, and the two alicorns were replaced with a bow-wielding buffalo and a rifle-wielding earth-pony, the sun and moon between them being replaced with Visionary's cutie-mark. This would become the rebel flag, the rallying symbol for Visionary's cause.

With the support of the Appaloosan town guard, Visionary and his pony soldiers gathered a vast arsenal of weapons, ammunition, rations, and armor from a large munitions depot outside of Appaloosa (serving as the primary supply outpost for the Equestrian army in the south), in addition to several mortars and artillery batteries. Armed, armored, and fully stocked with supplies, Visionary's army and their buffalo allies began a northward march towards Dodge Junction, to secure the town and find more volunteers for the rebel army.

Upon arriving in Dodge, the rebels met no resistance to their cause; the ponies of Dodge Junction were every bit as volatile towards changelings, and every bit as resentful towards the government, as the Appaloosans. Visionary gave another fiery speech, much like the one in Appaloosa, with very similar results; their passions emboldened, and the fury in their hearts brought to life, the ponies of Dodge were eager to join Visionary's cause, the rebel flag being flown over the town, many of the townsponies taking up arms and joining the rebel army, the town donating whatever weapons and supplies they could to the rebellion. The verdict was almost unanimous; the Princesses had betrayed Equestria, and needed to face justice for it, and the changelings needed to be destroyed for their transgressions.

The rebel army bolstered with ponies and buffalo from throughout the frontier, Visionary and his troops began marching northwards; they would attack and occupy Ponyville, with the help of the Temple of Vision's militia within the town, and wipe out the rest of the changelings there. Iron Rose was placed in command of the rebel army, on account of her being the most qualified tactician out of anyone, and a plan was drawn to eliminate Twilight Sparkle's forces in the town and turn Ponyville into a strong bastion for the rebellion. The battle for Ponyville was about to begin, and with it, civil war was going to be brought to Equestria; the future of Equestria was at stake, the victor determining the path ponykind would take.