Liberation
My name is Celestia Sunbeam I. And I dreamed of a world without war or poverty or hatred. To that end, I invented a magical syrum called HARMONY that supresses all emotion. My ponies can now look forward confidantly to an expected and safe future, free of all that is obsolete. Hate-Obsolete. Depression: Obsolete. Love-Obsolete. Friendship-Obsolete. Free Will... Obsolete.
***Based on the movie Equilibrium.***
***WARNING***
Gore
Violence.
Minor Swearing
Anthro ponies
***WARNING***
Chapter 1, You Tread Upon My Dreams
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-My name... is Celestia... in the first years after the fall of Nightmare Moon, a massive world war broke out as Griffons, Minotaurs, and Dragons across the world tried to vie for power over what they believed was a weakened Equestria. It was the third world wide war since the unity of the tribes...
Those of us who survived... knew... equine kind... could not survive... a fourth...
that our own... volatile natures... put simply... could no longer... be risked...
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And so... I created a new arm of the law. The Solar Paladin.
It is the Solar Paladin's sole task to seek out, and eradicate the true source of pony's inequinity to pony...
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Their ability... to feel... to love... to hate... to weep... to grow attatched. Emotion... became a threat... it became... obsolete. And I made it so... that this sin of feelings would never again threaten my little ponies...
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Ever.- excerpt from Celestia sunbeam, First of her name
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Briar stared at the ancient painting... how old it must be... how much history must be contained... how beautiful it was... the feelings it inspired...
"THE POLICE ARE HERE!" a stallion shouted as he busted through the door into the rundown room on the side of a decrepid building deep in the wastelands of Ponyville.
Briar stood up with grim resolve, he turned and looked outside to see five police cars rool up to the building pulling out shotguns and assult riffles.
Briar turned back to his fellow rebels and pulled out a combat shotgun; with a pump of it he said, "you know what to do."
In seconds, the ponies were up and moving around, hiding any and all art and books they could get ahold of and store them away before grabbing guns.
One of the overzealous rebels charged outside the front doors and was immediately met with a hail of gunfire from the police. The mare spazmed as countless bullets sailed through her body.
"UP IN THE WINDOWS!"
The police aimed high as the rebels returned fire down onto the ground tearing the already tattered area further asunder. Briar smashed out one of the windows and fired a few slugs down below killing two cops before returning from the retaliating fire.
Two armored vehicals lined up and SWAT members rushed out and into the building, the Unicorns lighting up bullet proof shields around their armor as she busted the doors down.
Fighting the armed police was one thing, but military trained Battlemages was quite another; the rebel's bullets bounced off the magic auras as heat seeking enchanted bullets sailed back at them curving around corners and columns reducing cover to complete obsolete nill. The firefight quickly turned into a slaughter.
Outside, one last vehical pulled up. A sleek white care, and out from it stepped a pink Earth Pony mare, Pinkamena, with a straight curtain of even pinker mane and dull blue eyes in a black Paladin suit.
Out from the other side stepped Rainbow Dash, a cyan blue Pegasus, also wearing a black Paladin suit, with a rainbow streaked mane and equally as dull and faded eyes; though they seemed a bit... brighter...
The two mares looked to each other for a moment before walking calmly into the massacre of bullets and shouting.
light poured in through the bullet holes in the walls, doors, and windows as the mares rounded a corner to find a group of SWAT huddled around a barred double doors.
The captain walked over to the new arrivals.
"Paladins," she bowed, "light's out, barred doors and maybe a dozen inside."
Pinkamena responded soley with words and not so much as a facial twitch of emotion, "knock the doors down, shoot the lightbulbs." she ordered.
The captain nodded, "yes mam." and nodded to the SWAT who then cocked their guns and and aimed at the door hinges while others aimed at the lightbulbs in the hallway.
The pink mare, drew two large black pistols from her coat pockets; each one with long nozels and clips containing over 30 bullets with the latest technology as well as having the stopping power of a 50 cal.
Pinkamena stared silently at the door, gradually increasing her breathing rate bit by bit, until she was hyperventalating; with copious amounts of oxygen in her blood, she sprinted at the door full force whipping past the SWAT members before lunging at the door just as they shot the hinges off; she slid along the wooden platform into a large pitch black room while at the same time, the SWAT shot out the lights in the hallway.
Pinkamena calmly stood up in the center of the room as the rebels fired blindly around her.
After a few moments, there was only darkness.
"Where is she?"
"Is she dead?"
"I can't see anything!"
"Shut up!" Briar shouted, "quiet... listen..."
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Every one of the rebels held their breaths for the slightest sounds.
Suddenly, bullets sailed out from Pinkamena's guns as she crossheld her pistols; killing two ponies. With a sudden switch in aim, she killed two more, another movement of her arms aiming one gun ahead and another over hear head to her rear; more shots and another change in direction killed even more.
In a matter of moments and a series of highly practiced synchronized movements, Pinkamena let loose a tornado of gunfire in every direction hitting everypony in the room without wasting a single bullet.
The red lights from the tips of Pinkamena's guns were the only light in the room until the SWAT entered with flashlights seeing the carnage across the entire room; 23 ponies lay dead with gunshots to the head or heart.
XXXXX
The Paladins made it to the top floor where they found Briar, who'd bled out from his severe wounds but not before apparently contacting the base of the rebels as shown by a very old radio machine long since abandoned in obsoletion.
Next to the table were a few books and bottle of alchohol.
Pinkamena looked aorund the baren room. "... this is it..."
Rainbow Dash scanned the area, "... where?"
"There." the pink Paladin pointed towards the carpet. SWAT came it and yanked the rug off before using crow bars to pry open a hidden trap door and exposing several ancient and priceless paintings.
A scientist came in and examined it with a strange device.
"... it's real." he concluded. Years of countless culture, inspiration, and history piled up into one little hole.
Pinkamena stared at it for a while before speaking two words, "burn it."
Two pyromancers came it and lit the painting ablaze with their magic roasting the priceless artifacts.
After they left, Rainbow Dash walked in and stared into the flames... stared into the scorching culture of pony kind. Into the physical record of emotion...
Her lip quivered ever so slightly as her eyes got a bit brighter.
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The two mares rode silently in the sleek white care out of the wastes back towards Canterlot.
Pinkamena turned to see Rainbow Dash staring out the window as she fiddled with a book.
"... why didn't you leave it for the pyromancers to burn or the evidentiearies to collect?"
Rainbow Dash looked down at the book titled 'The Magic of Friendship'. "They miss things sometimes..." the mare replied, "thought I'd take it in myself..." she looked away out the window again, "get it done properly..."
Rainbow Dash pensively contemplated the beautfiul landscape of Ponyville, or what was left of it... "how long will it take for us... to take care of all this... to burn everything..."
Pinkamena shrugged, "resources are tight, we'll get it all eventually."
Rainbow Dash stared at her partner for a few more moments before looking away with an unreadable expression.
Meanwhile, the care rolled into the grand city of Canterlot which had vastly expanded over the decades to include not only the entire mountain, but hundreds of miles surrounding it as well, a giant metropolis of white sandstone dull and bereft of color or emotion inspiring luster greeted the Paladins as the car crossed the bridge from the wastes of Ponyville into the outskirts of Canterlot. Outside, Celestia's voice rang out
*Welcome... to utopia... the last, peace that reigns throughout Equestria. At last, war is but a word that fades from our understanding.*
the gates of the wall opened to allow the Paladins access.
*At last... we... are... home.*
Rainbow Dash looked out the window of the car towards the massive air ship that sailed over the city, its entire balloon being used as a projector screen with Celestia's face, large speakers jutting out of the ground across the city projecting her soothing voice.
*At last, there is no longer disease in the heart of ponies. It's symptom... is hate.*
(que epic depressing music of tyrants)
Dash could see far away, large TV screens showing historical records of police footage from decades ago of gang war violence.
*It's symptom, is anger.*
On yet another screen resting high on an outdoor theater filled with hundreds of ponies in grey, white, and black suits bearing dull almost grey eyes with only the slightest bit of color to them watched with expressionless faces as a record showed Sombra torturing the Crystal Ponies.
*it's symptom, is rage.*
Pinkamena looked out her own window and saw on the other side of the side form the top bridge, was another screen showing a foolish pony standing in front of an invading tank refusing to move.
*it's symptom... is war.*
And yet another screen showed a nuke detonating a mushroom cloud anihilating countless lives in the Griffin lands.
In another part of the city; another mass of hundreds of blank empty ponies sat on stone ponies while armed Royal Guards with assault rifles stood along the walls; the ponies all bearing white, grey, or black clothes with the color of their eyes lacking all luster.
*it's cause, this... disease... is equine emotion.* Celestia's image continued to say, *but Canterlot, I congradulate you. For there is a cure to this disease, at the cost of the dizzying highs of equine emotion, we have supressed its abysmal lures.*
Noon struck. Everypony... every single pony throughout all of Canterlot stopped what they were doing and pulled out a small injector needle while the large screens around the city showed a pill with a rainbow liquid; bearing the title of 'HARMONY' on its side.
Every single pony held the injector needle up to their neck, and shot the next dose of HARMONY into their systems, continuing their supressed emotions, their inspiration, their ability to feel, their ability to generate free will. The atonomoton's eyes which had just the smallest bit of dull collor to their eyes, suddenly had irises that went entirely grey.
*you as a society, have embraced this cure. HARMONY.*
Rainbow Dash could see the Monastary filled with Paladins training in the courtyard.
*Now, we are at peace with ourselves. And ponykind, is one. War is gone. Hate, is only a faint memory.*
Out on the streets. Two Royal Guards stood beside a young Paladin-to-be colt who gazed down over the citizens from his elevated point on the column scanning the crowd with a critical eye watching for the slightest show of emotion. When he spotted it, he tapped one of the guard's shoulders and pointed towards a pony who the guards immedately rushed and dragged out of the streets while he struggled and screamed.
*We now have a clear concience, it is this concience that guides us to a brighter future, free of emotional conflict.*
The large screens across the city showed Royal Guards dumping books, pictures, and records into a bit before lighting them on fire.
*And to that end, we must find those sinister things that may tempt us to feel again. Literature, art, music... friendship... and destroy them!*
Royal Guards patroled around the masses of emotionless drones called ponies.
*Equestrians! You have won! Over your own nature! You. Have. Survived!*
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Pinkamena and Rainbow Dash's watches beeped, reminding them of their daily shot of HARMONY.
Both mares pulled out a small injector device and loaded it with a small cylinder of rainbow liquid.
"You know," Pinkamena began, "every time we enter the city, it reminds me of why we do what we do."
Rainbow Dash loaded the syrum, "it does?" she asked, mind wandering.
Pinkamena frowned... then turned to the cyan mare, "I beg your pardon?"
Dash finished loading the syrum and injected herself. The gorwing color in her amythst eyes were complete whiped out and replaced by a lifeless grey. She turned to Pinkamena with a stone blank expression, "it does." she said monotonously.
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"Thank you, come in." a deep velvety voice spoke, "do you know who I am?"
Pinkamena stood before a very tall dark blue Alicorn with a turquise mane.
"Yes of course," the Earth Pony responded, "you're Arch-Hierophant, Paladin-Grand-Knight Luna. Head of the Monastry, and voice of Celestia's will."
Luna nodded as she sat in her chair, more of a throne really, in the center of the highest floor in the Canterlot Castle. Several Roayl Guards stood along the walls.
Luna smiled as she folded her hands, "now I was told.. that you were practically a prodigal student. Knowing almost instantly if somepony is feeling emotion."
"On my record mam, yes." Pinkamena responded.
"And how would you say you go about such a skill?" Luna asked with a cocked eyebrow.
"I... am not sure mam... I am able to... on some level... sense... how an offender thinks." Pinkamena responded pensively, "... put myself in their position."
"As if you were one of them... as if you were a sense offender." Luna responded coyly.
"I... suppose you could say that mam."
Luna leaned back in her throne, "you're a family mare?"
"Yes mam, a colt and a filly. Pound Cake himself is in the monastary on the path to becoming a Paladin." Pinkamena answered.
Luna nodded, "... and their father?"
Pinkamena didn't so much as hesitate to say, "my spouse was arrested and incinerated for sense offense four years ago mam."
Luna gave a hum, "by yourself?"
"No mam, by another." Pinkamena answered.
Luna stretched her lips into an unnatural smile, "and how did you... feel, about that?"
Pinkamena frowned, she blinked like it was the most absured question in the world, "I'm... sorry, I don't fully understand mam."
Luna shrugged, "how did you feel?"
Pinkamena blinked again... she stood silent for a few contemplative moments, "I didn't feel anything."
"Really?... and how is that you were unable to 'sense' your husband's feelings?" Luna quipped.
Pinkamena's jaw locked. She glanced over to the Royal Guards and their guns. She then looked down at the ground, "I... I... I've asked myself that same question mam, I don't know."
Luna stared back with a blank expression, "a momentary lapse in judgement perhaps... I trust you'll be more vigilant in the future?"
Pinkamena nodded, "yes mam."
Luna looked back down at Pinkamena's file before closing it.
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Pinkamena descended the steps from the castle; her mind was... distracted... and that comment of being more vigilant... perhaps Luna was right; perhaps she should be even more cuatious than before...
Pinkamena made her way into the Monastary and headed up towards her desk where she sat down and ran some clip files from the car's camera.
"every time we come back into the city, it reminds me of why we do what we do"
her own voice rang out.
"it does?" Dash asked distractedly.
"I beg your pardon?"
Dash injects herself with HARMONY
"it does." she sais monotonously.
But more specifically. Pinkamena watched Rainbow's eyes very closely. The color that built up in everypony's eyes was common before the next does.. but her eyes were just a tad bit too... bright...
Pinkamena played the recording over and over again.
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The Paladin entered into the Royal Archives and adressed the book keeper, "looking for evidence administrated today, contraband number 84360A21A; a book I believe."
The pony checked over the lookings.
"It was late this afternoon, it may not show up in recoreds yet." she added.
The Archivist sifted through the cybernetic library, "I'm sorry Paladin, but nothing has been admitted today, and there's nothing under that listing."
Pinkamena frowned, "it was an item brought in personally by Solar Paladin, Rainbow Dash. Check again."
The Archivist blinked, "mam, Rainbow Dash has not dropped anything in for weeks."
Pinkamena's teetch clenched for a split second, "you're mistaken, it was a book of some kind."
"Paladin..." the Archivist turned the computer screen around, "there's nothing."
Pinkamena's face took a dark undertone, "thank you..." she turned and left the castle.
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Pinkamena's car strolled up by the gate guards and interrogated the Royal Guard overseeing passage in and out of the city.
"She's been passing through towards Ponyville almost every night for weeks. We assumed it was enforcement related."
An ever so slightly small knot formed in Pinkamena's gut as her suspicians became more and more fact based. She gave a nod to her driver and the car exited the city.
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Rainbow Dash sat in the ruins of the Ponyvile Mayor's Mansion. She sat upon a chair reading 'The Magic of Friendship'
The doors opened as Pinkamena strolled in.
Rainbow Dash didn't so much as acknowledge her until she stood in front of the mare blocking her reading light from the sun passing through cracked and heavily stained grimy windows.
"I always knew it would be you..." Dash said as she continued to read.
Pinkamena used her gun to push the book up slightly and saw its title before resting her armed hand infront of her waist and clasping her wrist with her other hand.
Rainbow Dash lowered her book and stared up at her fellow Paladin. It was then that the Earth Pony saw the newborn luster in Dash's eyes; much brighter than they should be, and staring back with defiance.
"But I being poor... have only my dreams, I spread my dreams under your hooves. Tread softly... for you tread upon my dreams." she finished.
Dash stared into Pinkamena's eyes, "I assume you dream Pinkie..."
"... I'll do what I can to see they go easy on you." Pinkamena finally spoke.
Dash chuckled darkly, "we both know... they never go easy."
Pinkamena swallowed, "then I'm sorry..."
Dash glared as the color in her eyes flared up in vibrance and anger, "no you're not! You don't even know the meaning of that word! It's just a... a stitchial word for a feeling you've never felt..." her ears sagged as her gaze dropped. "don't you see Pinkie? It's gone... everything that makes us what we are... shrouded away.. burried, burned, forgotten... supressed..."
"There's no war." Pinkamena countered, "no murder."
Dash barked out a mirthless laugh, "what is it you think we do?!"
Pinkamena jerked her head in a 'no' "you've been with me, you've seen how they can be, the jealousy, the sorrow, the rage... they're like feral beasts."
Dash's head dropped, "a heavy cost..." she reached for her gun, "I pay it gladly." and placed it on her lap. Pinkamena stepped back and pointed her own pistol at Dash.
The air became thick with tension as Dash slowly rose the bock up in front of her face blocking their vision from one another.
Pinkamena could see Dash's hand graps around her gun.
"Don't..." the pink mare whispered in an almost... pleading tone...
Dash cocked the hammer back on the gun.
A moment passed by... then two...
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A sickening thunderclap seemed to ring out as the gun fired. A loud bang so common yet in that moment, producing a sound that seemed to twist one's insides. A bullet sailed stright through the cover of 'The Magic of Friendship' and into Dash's throat, and out the back of her neck.
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Pinkamena stared at Dash's dead body. She heard hoofsteps and turned to see another Paladin. A purple Unicorn mare.
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Twilight pulled the care into the city and stopped by Pinkamena's apartment complex.
"You and your partner were close?" Twilight asked.
Pinkamena didn't answer.
Twilight looked away, "I hope you're as pleased to be assigned with me as I am the placement. I was told this would be a career making advancement."
More silence passed.
Twilight turned to face Pinkamena, "I'm like you Paladin... intuitive. Sometimes I know when a pony is feeling before they know it themselves."
More silence...
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Pinkamena exited the vehical, and was about to leave when Twilight spoke up again, "Paladin... I hope to one day be as... uncompromising, as you."
Pinkamena stared back with a completely blank face before shutting the car door without a word.