In Changelingia (West Equestria), Brie gains the support of a Changeling queen for his endeavors. Spark is doing his best to help an ill Wolf spiritual leader.
In Free Equestria (East Equestria), Iron is trying to intimidate a group of criminal griffin interlopers. Fantasy Play is helping to shut down an Anarchist press. Silver is helping his new household. Amber Sunset is walking through the city, and Dark Star has just finished helping the orphans.
2415 replies and 51 files omitted.
>>133563"Are you sure? You explain it well to me, While it was a bit complicated at times, you seemed to really know what you were talking about?"
>>133564"Well, these things help you to organize your thoughts, you know?. They help to put what you already know and have seen into words more clearly. I've been here and I've seen a lot of it since the uprising back in '90. Well, I have a couple pamphlets about that. About the centralization of power and whatnot. And a few more about the Resistance. But if you don't already know all of this stuff, well, there's a lot of good stuff in there. And you won't hear in on the radio or read it in the newspaper."
>>133565Fantasy nods. Then she hangs her head forward with a glum look on her face.
"Part of me doesn't really wanna see them, you know?"
>>133566She blinks, but cuts the next part of her hair
“Why is that?”
>>133567Fantasy looks down into her lap.
"Becuase if you're right then my Dad might loose his shop in the future. If the goverment is run by ponies who doesn't care about their citizens then I cannot afford to sit on the sidelines. But don't like conflicts..."
>>133569"But you seem like a nice pony so I don't think you're a liar."
>>133561If Amber's next stage is ready, I can play, otherwise I don't mind watching on the sidelines.
>>133569She takes a step back, frees her right hoof, and pats the back of Fantasy’s head.
“There there, little pony. I can understand the worry. You should be worried. But I can also understand the desire to avoid conflict. Remember most of all that it isn’t supposed to be your fight alone. This is a struggle that concerns all of the masses of the creatures, and it’s in our numbers that we show we will not be put down. But you don’t really have to do anything. I just think you should know. Become ‘class conscious.’ When that happens... you’ll know what to do.”
>>133570“Well, either way, you don’t have to take my word for it. We have a little novella. There’s this pony I know who used to be in the unions who drops them off for me, since he knows I see a lot of creatures. You can take a couple.”
>>133571Um... do you know what you want Amber to do?
>>133572Yes, Amber will trot to the west, deeper inland, eager to put that stallion's lurid stories out of her mind.
>>133572Fantasy nods.
"I think I will take some," she says and sends a smile via the mirror toward the mare behind her. "Thank you."
>>133573Amber goes further inland to find, first of all, that the grid pattern gives blocks that are longer north to south and thus there are fewer streets crossing East to West. Going further, she finds that many of these buildings are run down or crowded together. At one point she finds a street with a make shift barricade at the front of it, although it seems to be pushed open at the moment to allow for thru traffic
>>133574Another snip
“But be careful with them. The fascists will be suspicious of you if they know you have them.”
>>133575Without really thinking of
why there would be a barricade on a busy street in a bustling city, the mare passes through it to whatever neighborhood lies beyond.
>>133577“I think one is, and the other two aren’t.”
>>133578"Okay." Fantasy takes a deep breat and clenches her teeth for a moment. "I'll take them but I'll keep the illegal one at home. You would think that no information would be illegal to obtain."
>>133579“I know, right? But those in power are afraid of the truth, and want to keep it from us.”
>>133581And now, she completes the humane styling, fluffing up Fantasy’s hair so that the forward facing layers are more apparent.
“Well, that’s still five bits” she says
>>133582Fantasy looks in the mirror while she turns and tilts her head in it to inspect her new mane.
"Woah, only five bits for this? That's cheap," Fantasy says.
>>133583She smiles back
“A discount for a fellow. So you can look like you want, but not be so drained financially. I can tell you’re new here, and you probably need it.”
The mane flops a bit, but seems kind of precarious, otherwise the layers may come undone.
>>133584"My economy is quite stable at the moment. I don't mind paying full prize," Fantasy brings out her pouch with her magic out of her bag.
>>133585“All the same” she says.
“But” she looks down. There’s something for you in the back...”
>>133586"Heh," Fantasy chuckles. "Well, if you insist." Out of her pouch five bits fly out and form a tower on the counter.
"O-okay," Fantasy stammers and swallows. She looks over her shoulder towards the windows.
>>133587She goes to the back and opens a door and carefully moves something just out of Fantasy's view on what seems to be a wooden shelf to the left. She thinks she sees a small steel box move and open, but she pulls out three printed papers, one blue, and two red
"Uh" She looks down, clearly nervous herself. She looks at the papers, and then tenders them towards Fantasy, as if she doesn't know what to do with them
"Here."
Blue Skies keeps her eyes on Mint, while nopony passes outside in the moment
Fantasy quickly pull them into her magic aura, the flap to her bag lifts aside, and then the papers fly into her saddlebag. Fantasy then takes a deep breath and then looks over at Skies .
"There was nopony ouside, right Cloudy?"
>>133589"Hmmm? Oh. No." She answers, looking back
Mint breathes, and smiles awkwardly, seeming nigh exhilarated from the illicit act.
>>133590Fantasy releases a breath.
"Well, now I kinda wanna get home and put these-" Fantasy taps the bag with her hoof. "-bad boys under lock and key. Not just stand around with them in public."
"T-thanks again for the cut. Its actually wonderful. I love it." Fantasy beams as she peers up at the fringe of her mane.
>>133591"Well, they are meant to be read. But fortunately your mane won't need to be kept hidden." She returns to her warmer smile.
The bangs are definitely cut above the eye line, which means that the forward most layer doesn't look
that much like Songbird Serenade's mane, although the layers above do
>>133592"Hehe. No it doens't. If that ever gets illegal, then I expect every mare in baltimare[?] will riot." Fantasy smiled.
Fantasy seems a bit nervous.
>>133593She chuckles
"I bet they would. Don't ever let anycreature take what makes you, you."
>>133594Mint seems to be a little as well, although less so now that the papers are transferred
>>133595"Agreed." Fantasy nods.
"Well, I'll think I take my leave and as I said take these home." Fantasy starts to turn. "This was great. I may come back here if I decide to style my tail and if you do style tails that is. I haven't decided yet. I always wear this cloak so I never bohrter wth it." Fantasy lifts up a patch of fabric of her cloak.
>>133596"Take care, and come back any time" She says
Blue Skies stands up, not saying a word
>>133597Fantasy smiles back.
"Yeah, you too. Thanks again for, you know, everything."
Then Fantasy lets Mr. Snuggles crawl back on her back and walks out of the shop.
>>133598Mr. Snuggle jumps on Fantasy, and crawls up on her
Fantasy and Blue Skies walk out of the shop, onto the street
Fantasy walks back the way they came in a controlled pace, not too fast and not to slow.
A glum expression startsto appear on her features as further away they get. Shetiltes her head forward so the hair falls over her eyes.
>>133600Blue Skies looks around, and then speaks to Fantasy
"Ugh! Why do they all sound like that? It's like they are made in a factory. I wish they were as well educated about virtue and science as they were about 'class consciousness.' It's hard to suffer through them talking about 'nations dividing the creatures' and 'equality.'"
>>133601Unfortunately, her new haircut makes this impossible
>>133602>Unfortunately, her new haircut makes this impossibleYou are right. I thought that but yeah I thought wrong. That makes more sense.
>>133602There's a hitch up in Fantasy's throat.
"Hee... Heee... Haaa-haa-ha," exits her mouth.
Her eyes go wide for a second and then she shuts them and tear streams runs down her cheeks.
>>133604She stops walking and hangs her head while she sobs.
>>133604>>133605Blue Skies pats her
"I'm sorry Fantasy. Many otherwise normal ponies have been claimed by this ideology. That's why we must stop its spread. It's like a virus, forever trying to spread itself as it slowly destroys its hosts."
>>133606"I feel so dirty..."
What does Mr. Snuggles do when his owner is in distress?
>>133607Call up on the seaponies
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iakTl9SZTTYBlue Skies:
"I don't think it's wrong to pay for a manecut from an Anarchist. You did get a lower price, after all."
It's not clear whether he's responding to Fantasy's emotional state, but he
is snuggling up around the base of her mane, and partly underneath it around her shoulders
>>133608Fantasy for a moment cracks a smile but then she frowns.
"Hilarious *sob*," Fantasy says and wipes away the snot from her nose with the side of her hoof. "Did we really do the right thing?"
>>133609"Well..." She looks down and away. "You got what we assume are some copies of the pamphlets. But you didn't find out where she got them from, although she sort of hinted at it. On the bright side, it looks like she took a liking to you, and will trust you in the future. So can probably get more information out of her."
>>133610Fantasy is silent for a moment.
"She seemed like a nice pony, minus the Anarcho-syndicalism."
"I don't wanna do that again."
>>133611"Minus the Anarcho-Syndicalism? It is the Anarcho-Syndicalism that's caused Baltimare to revolt twice before in the past, to vandalize and burn houses of worship and destroy business, to murder police officers, politicians, and generally disrupt the social harmony. It's containing Anarcho-Syndicalism that we're here for."
>>133612"Why not? You did a pretty good job at it. She seemed to trust and like you and you could certainly go back to her again. And you could probably do this with more mares. I myself often have difficulty with females, but you didn't have any problems."