Buried Memories

"You're sure we can trust her?" Jet asked me as he lit another lamp. Electricity was a thing we had believed only came from the sky during storms but apparently it had been harnessed to do other things and had actually already been installed inside the castle, with plans to renovate over three quarters of the buildings in the Crystal Empire by the end of next year. Until then however we were very content with the candles and lamps we possessed.

"I've known her since we were 3, she's my closest friend almost like a sister to me. She's lost everything, she won't surrender the movement to anypony" I told my brother as he finished writing what must have been the 50th page of the Manifesto he'd set about writing over a week ago that he intended to be the draft for the democratic rule he'd set in place when we eventually, peacefully caused the abdication of the Royals.

"Subterfuge and secret networking is a tricky business, I'd have preferred more rebels to have joined our movement so that we could have expanded and began operating faster but we have what we have. How many ponies have the leaders of yesterday rallied to their banners and thus ours?" my brother asked me as he neatly arranged the pile.

I swallowed as I flicked through a clipboard and replied "A total of 39 ponies with 3 maybes if they see us actually operating in the open." The figure was not even a dent in our population, The Crystal Empire was around 45,000 ponies, a lot of ponies by the standards of a 1000 years ago but now I heard that cities in Equestria such as Manehattan and Canterlot had hundreds of thousands of ponies of all races.

Though I was doubtful of some new information however, though the new invention of the train was one I had witnessed along with everypony else, a rail connection already existed between the gates of the Crystal Empire and Equestria and every day supplies from the country flooded in, books to update our libraries, machinery for our factories and of course letters for the Princess, letters that seemed to cement that this aid was all a sham to simply annex the Crystal Empire into the Equestrian Kingdom.

Back on the issue of members however my brother was thinking deeply over the figures I'd told him and stood up explaining "This is a little bit concerning, I had hoped for almost a hundred but I suppose we are lucky to get what we get. What we really need are industrialists, ponies of wealth to help fund us, or at least some way in which we can draw funds to our cause, posters, flags and signs don't make themselves and we have no way of buying materials, ponies cannot get behind us unless we show our image, voice our opinions and what we stand for, what we stand against!"

Jet was a great speaker and a great leader but he could really talk for hours about anything that bothered him if nopony was there to stop him he'd talk or should I say rant for hours about the topic he'd picked a fight with that day.

That's of course why he'd been one of the main supporters of freedom in the time of Princess Amore, the traditional but much beloved Princess of the Crystal Empire. A Princess I actually quite liked, even seeing once at the Crystal Faire when she always made a small speech about the Empire and how she would continue to protect it from anypony and everypony until the sun died.

Well until she was killed, reports were sketchy but most ponies believe that upon catching Sombra stealing the Crystal Heart she attempted to turn him around, only to be turned to stone before finally being split into hundreds of little bits and scattered who knows where?

Even my brother was shocked hearing of her death and still described her as "A worthy ruler but none the less a dictator" which might not be seen by all as a quote to really frame her sheer beauty and Radiance.

Princess Mi Amore Cadenza had a suspected lineage to Princess Amore, she had the wings to prove it along with some name resemblance but then when ponies asked for verification through Canterlot we only got letters of declination sent back and apparently one didn't need to be born an Alicorn these days though I would imagine it impossible to turn a pony into an Alicorn unless you had some special magic and even then it sounded ridiculous.

I smiled coming back to reality as my brother thought deeply on where we were going to be getting funds from. "I have these brother, question her loyalty all you want but Sapphire has been amazing these past few days. The Royal Seal of the Princess and a letter with her handwriting. We have supporters with skills in calligraphy, we can get however much money we want from the very country we shall be combating"

My brother blinked at me and grinned his victory grin, standing up and patting me roughly on the side, ruffling my hair again even though he was but a few inches taller than me. "You are bloody amazing Siam you know that" he grunted, finishing his little celebration by kissing me on the forehead.

"We'll ask a special request be delivered to an Imperial Bank account number we shall open tomorrow, we won't ask for staggering amounts of money, they'll figure it out if we break the bank but they will deliver enough to start us off until we find backers… well done brother" he finished again as he marvelled at the seal.

"To think that Sapphire can get so close to the Princess. Just goes to show that Equestria may have gotten a technological and magical upgrade but the same mistakes are still being made that were being made in Amore's time."

I frowned and said "Sombra never made those mistakes, he inspected all his staff, all his guards and everything really so carefully that every aspect of their lives he'd know about. If he suspected them disloyal or of small use he'd send them to the mines, if he considered them to be loyal with the intentions of following his evil will then he'd make sure they were comfortable and treated like he himself was treated."

Although my words might be seen as admiring I actually did admire Sombra. A Pony with a rough backround, shunned by the most ponies who'd somehow unlocked dark magic that he'd used to corrupt minds, bend ponies wills, to kill, to torture and manipulate his way to King had it not been for the Princesses of Equestria.

Even so 1000 years of limbo was a price to pay for his destruction and now being subjugated to Canterlot our knights in "Shining Armour" I guess you could say.

"He could return you know?" my brother put towards me as I was thinking about Sombra. I shook my head and replied "I was there when we got the memories back dear brother, we saw him extinguished, his power no more, the crystal heart eliminated his shadows and melted the blizzard and now we can at least not worry about being snatched in the night."

He shook his head and chuckled replying "Think that if it helps you sleep at night dear brother but I know he's still out there, don't ask for proof as I have none. He built so many secrets, tunnels and catacombs beneath the city, in his mines. Developed so many powerful magical formulae, he's got more than a single ace up his sleeve. You don't get to be the King of Monsters unless you have these things."

I waved his idea away, not needing anything else to worry about as I set away all our notes and his Manifesto. "You are just being pessimistic, rejoice for today we have peace and tomorrow we have freedom."

Jet smiled at my enthusiasm but he was disguising his true feelings, most ponies couldn't tell but being his brother for the past 19 years had taught me some things about him, subtle tells that spoke mountains of how he was feeling.

"Something deep is troubling you brother? Is it to do with the movement?" I asked him curiously but he shook his head and replied "No Siam, I'm thinking about… thinking about Mom and well Amore's days. I mean you wouldn't remember as you were only 5 but I wanted to be a soldier at 16, to march around all day protecting the Princess and fighting monsters that came from over the mountains at night."

Jet never liked talking about the past so he must have been really hung up on something lately or stressed out to be digging it up. "I could never imagine you being a soldier" I chuckled lightly, trying not to upset the delicate mood which had fallen over the room.

I wanted to go to the academy and everything but… I don't know I suppose when Mom's business failed and we were down on our luck I began to despise the rich and the Elite, look where that took me? Ten years of standing up and ranting about the throne before Sombra came to power and wiped out that system in a few days."

My my eyes softened, remembering the times, they'd been hard on us, the country was in general struggling as the economy hiccuped. Maybe Amore could have changed things, maybe got us back on track. It didn't really matter as after that Sombra had come along and the rest was history we'd all like to forget.

"All I recall is that Mother called you her little rebel and that you would grow out of your silly ways and get a proper job working in the local community centre" I said and Jet laughed at the thought saying "That was Mom alright, damn she showed her disapproval but she never complained to my face."

We both were silent for a few moments, most likely reminiscing and thinking about her, I did usually as after all she had been my whole world and for Jet he had supported her through our Dad leaving us when I was still small.

I held a lot of hatred there as well. Jet did as well I knew but then again this was no time to dwell on the past lest it open up any more memories we didn't need to be remembering.

"We'll be alright Jet, no need to think about the past now. The future will be brighter no matter what, the monster who killed our Mother and defiled our land is gone and the Empire is out of limbo with it's power restored."

Jet nodded but there was something he was clearly about to get off his chest that was disturbing him. I took a seat opposite him and dimmed the candle a little as he looked at me, seeming to have a debate with himself.

He swallowed, his throat sounding dry as he began to explain "Sombra already put Mom in the East Ridge Mines, your sector was next for cataloguing and I knew you'd be sent next."

My brother probably through some act of subterfuge was able to weasel himself into a position at the Office of Relocation where he helped slow and sabotage attempts to move ponies to the mines, sometimes helping the resistance.

His position wasn't enough to stop them happening en masse everyday however and he had shamefully had to sign off on a number of city quarters.

"Sombra was planning to advance the mining operation, damning the safety. He wanted all the North this time not just chunks. I was about to be discovered so, so I began talks with the head Spymaster to sell out my rebel contacts and known collaborators in exchange for your safe passage out of the Empire" he said as his breathing became shaky and his body tense.

The delicacy in the room turned to complete stillness, no sound, only our breathing as I realised that he had been about to betray everypony to Sombra in order to save me.

His voice cracked as he said "I don't… I don't think I s-should be allowed to l-lead this part" and he finally broke down, sobbing at his actions.

I was bewildered at the fact he loved me so much but at the same time emotions of empathy and anger rose as I demanded "Why Jet, you knew I was old enough, I would have lasted in the mines for a long time, Celestia and Luna saved everypony well before any kind of mass labour movement began."

Jet kept sobbing, it was hard to see him faltering in his confidence like this but this had obviously weighed on his conscious for a while and he replied "I-I-I lost h-hope little b-b-brother, I d-don't deserve to b-be a leader, I g-gave up on everypony."

I shook my head as he fell to the ground and yelled "You gave up on nopony, you are the best leader I know and the leader the Empire needs right now, to unite it under true colours and if you damn well disagree I swear I'll just walk out right now."

He didn't say anything, just continuing to sob, his eyes red. Seeing grown ponies cry was painful but my own brother was torture. I knelt down and cradled his head as I thought about any words to calm him but no words came to mind, though I never was good with words.

"Just keep it together bro, we'll get there" I said with a sigh as I tried not thinking about the past. The pain there was too great but I knew that it would keep piling up and festering until one day we'd all have to confront it.

I was terrified of that day but in all honesty at the same time I wanted it to be said and done, this insanity had to end.