Punky's Log: Day 213
The picture of Brassheart is nestled in a bed of flowers and little gems now, little things of value lay around it like offerings at a shrine. Every time a flower starts to wilt, somepony replaces it without asking for recognition. All the pegasi ponies - none of them neglect the cloud barrier now, let it never be said we didn't learn from that day - make sure that it never rains of that one spot of land. Despite the beauty of the gems, nopony ever steals them, each one is kept shiny and in place. The closest thing Equestria has to a God is its Princess, but here Brassheart had become immortalized, he's begun to stand for everything that unifies the Princess' rejects.
Today, this thought started me off on a pleasant note, the idea that everypony loved Brassheart so much that the feeling carried on past his death. However, when I left to go to Mystic's house, the day took a turn.
"Whoa whoa whoa, what are you doing?" I trotted over to the painting, which three guards were removing. "You can't do that!" One of the guards turned to me and smiled, and I recognized him as one of the guards that I had knocked out when I fought back against the guards removing us from inside the wall.
"Under Regulation Eighteen, vandalism of the wall surrounding this land - whether propaganda or a neutral expression - is strictly prohibited, we can." As the yellow stallion turned away and took a torch from his colleague, I saw red. I rushed the stallion, knocking the torch away from the unharmed painting. The guards stared at me in shock, then the guard I attacked smiled.
"Under the Seventh Regulation, any display of disloyalty will be razed at the source, whether shown through literature, speech, or action, I now have the legal right to punish your display of disloyalty in order to prevent its spread." My heart sped up in a panic, but I swallowed down my nerves and locked my shaking legs. Looking around us, a crowd of exiles was forming around our altercation, staring hatefully at the guards. They expertly ignored it.
"Bring it, you faceless little sheep." The guard, who was actually taller than me, sneered. The pegasus guards opened their wings, and all three let the blades in their armored horseshoes extend. As they attacked, the crowd around us pulled inward, pulling me into the fold and surrounding them. The guards stepped back, their eyes widened.
"U-under the Fourth, Fifth and Seventh Regulations," the blue-maned earth pony began, "we, the guardian force of this land, now posses the legal right to terminate this i-insurection against the ruling force of this land." Nopony batted an eye at this, and we all stayed silent. A pegasus colt beside me smirked.
"Didn't you hear him," another guard demanded, unnerved. "We have the legal right to mow down this entire gathering!" A pony far behind me chuckled. As the guards tried to hide their panic, more exiles joined in the first's laughter.
"Mow us down how, exactly?" I turned to see Wheaty Fields, his eyebrow raised in disbelief and amused condescension in his voice. "There's thirty of us for every one of you." My eyes widened as he said this, and after looking back at the mob behind me, his math seemed accurate. I smiled in disbelief, there was a time when I would have been the target of at least this many hateful ponies, but today it looked like I was leading them.
"I think," I said between giggles, "you three should put the painting back now." They did, and the two pegasi quickly flew up the wall while carrying the earth pony guard. As they did, the earth pony shouted one final threat down to us.
"Just you wait until Commander Dagger finds out about this!" I froze.
"Come on, Colorguard, they're not worth it," a pegasus said. The blue-maned earth pony smiled, the fear on my face telling him he'd hit a weak spot in me. If any other pony had been named, I would have laughed off the threat with the others. Instead my knees went weak with fear, and I let out a small whimper.
"What did I just do...?" I felt a hoof on my shoulder and turned to see Fields staring back at me.
"The right thing." I paled, I hadn't realized I had said this out loud, and I certainly didn't expect his support.
"But, I thought you thought I was bad," I said timidly.
"I said you were trouble," he clarified, but this didn't help. "But I think maybe it's time for some trouble." I smiled up at my friend's father.
"Thanks, sir." He nodded once, then dispersed with the rest of the crowd. As the sun set that evening, we all scrambled back to our homes. Once I was safely inside, a piece of paper was slipped under the front door.
Commander Dagger is requesting that more soldiers be assigned to guard us in response to the mob. Burn this letter and spread the word. ~Rainy
I smiled, thankful for the eavesdropping Rainy did in the clouds. As I burned the note, my stomach jumped with fear. Today, we could outnumber them, but tomorrow? A month from now? We might not. We'll have to be less conspicuous in our disobedience if we want to keep living, or we really could be mowed down. I've sent the message on, by morning everypony should know.
Outside the walls, I can hear the bone wolves again, just like I do every night. But this time, it's different. I feel brave. I throw my head back and howl, and in the same breath the sound spreads. From house to house the sound carries like a disease. Before long, almost everypony is howling along. Lanterns light in every guard post window along the wall, and the orange lights quickly move about. I smile at the thought that on the wall, the guards are frantic.
When the sound quiets, I pull the bottle of the dreamlessness potion from my bedside table and take a swig. I have enough to worry about without the decaying stallion in my mind.
AN: Aw man, this is so short compared to the last chapter. So sorry! I hope you all enjoyed it regardless. Please review!