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Anon fights segregation (Complete)

By Lurkernon
Created: 2020-12-19 23:48:12
Expiry: Never

  1. 1.
    Originally published November 2014
  2. 2.
     
  3. 3.
    Prompt:
  4. 4.
    >"My shop is for ponies only. NO humans allowed."
  5. 5.
     
  6. 6.
    Apparently, segregation exists in Equestria.
  7. 7.
     
  8. 8.
    What do?
  9. 9.
     
  10. 10.
    ----------------------------------------------------------------
  11. 11.
     
  12. 12.
    > Start organization dedicated to the advancement of non-pony species.
  13. 13.
    > Gather griffons, diamond dogs, zebras, and other nonpoonies to your cause.
  14. 14.
    > Early efforts at protests are small, but prominently staged in Canterlot.
  15. 15.
    > Until they are quietly and brutally put down by unsympathetic guard.
  16. 16.
    > Faced with the reality that protest is not going to change anything, your actions turn darker.
  17. 17.
    > Stones replace signs.
  18. 18.
    > Molotov cocktails replace stones.
  19. 19.
    > You are declared a maniac and forced to go underground.
  20. 20.
    > That's okay.
  21. 21.
    > The dogs have plenty of places to hide.
  22. 22.
    > And your griffons are worth five pony guards each.
  23. 23.
    > A year down the line.
  24. 24.
    > You make your first move.
  25. 25.
    > Your rioters hit hard and fast.
  26. 26.
    > Dozens of shops in manehatten trashed, looted, and burned.
  27. 27.
    > The worst offenders - those who did not merely ban ponies, but revelled in their racism.
  28. 28.
    > It's to much, to soon.
  29. 29.
    > Nearly a third of your raiders are taken prisoner.
  30. 30.
    > But you learn from your failures.
  31. 31.
    > Your loot will be traded on the black market - sold for bits that will fund your efforts.
  32. 32.
    > The next targets are smaller, more widespread, less defensible.
  33. 33.
    > But now, you have a PR problem.
  34. 34.
    > In the eyes of the common pony, you're raiders, thieves, criminals.
  35. 35.
    > Degenerates lining their own pockets, not revolutionaries supporting the cause of equality.
  36. 36.
    > Counter-groups, seeking to 'protect the noble citizens of Equestria' from the 'degenerate pillagers' spring up.
  37. 37.
    > Racial purity groups in disguise, but worryingly popular.
  38. 38.
    > And then a golden opportunity falls into your lap.
  39. 39.
    > Appleoosa had long been one of the most open towns in Equestria.
  40. 40.
    > Buffalo, ponies, and others living in relative equality and peace.
  41. 41.
    > A choice for which they are now made a target.
  42. 42.
    > Your front's ears catch wind of an impending attack on the town, to 'drive out the bringers of disharmony and all who would support them'.
  43. 43.
    > Ponies included.
  44. 44.
     
  45. 45.
    > The guard will, of course, arrive far to late.
  46. 46.
    > It's going to be a massacre.
  47. 47.
    > One of your agents approaches the sheriff.
  48. 48.
    > He agrees to accept your help, so long as your militia behaves itself.
  49. 49.
    > You agree.
  50. 50.
    > Two days before the raid, you kidnap reporters from three of Equestia's foremost newspapers.
  51. 51.
    > A rough decision, but they have to see the truth.
  52. 52.
    > When the would-be 'purifiers' descend on Appleoosa, they instead find an ambush of well-armed, battle-hardened militia.
  53. 53.
    > They are disorganized, approaching one group at a time.
  54. 54.
    > Intended casual butchery turns to total rout.
  55. 55.
    > And all through it, the newsponies record everything.
  56. 56.
    > When the story breaks, of course, their tales have been twisted.
  57. 57.
    > But the kernel of truth is undeniable.
  58. 58.
    > Your forces were the ones protecting the town, not trying to level it.
  59. 59.
    > Doubt begins to form.
  60. 60.
    > Word begins to spread.
  61. 61.
    > The name Anonymous, long since forgotten by most ponies, becomes a household word again.
  62. 62.
    > Now you have a working plan.
  63. 63.
    > Those who accept true equality, you aid and protect.
  64. 64.
    > Those who refuse, you pillage and loot.
  65. 65.
    > Discipline becomes the norm, rather than a luxury in your ranks.
  66. 66.
    > You receive shelter from sympathetic ponies across Equestria.
  67. 67.
    > The guard is not fast enough to catch you. They've never dealt with anything like this.
  68. 68.
    > Instead they try and strike at the source.
  69. 69.
    > Your supply caches.
  70. 70.
    > How they find them is never entirely clear, although you have your suspicions.
  71. 71.
    > What is clear is that in two days, nearly a half of your resources across Equestria are lost.
  72. 72.
    > With the political climate in Canterlot at the moment, there is only one outcome in the trials of your captured allies.
  73. 73.
    > Guilty.
  74. 74.
    > Imprisoned.
  75. 75.
    > But amid the pain of loss, an unexpected boon.
  76. 76.
    > The thestrals of the Night Guard are already viewed with suspicion by many.
  77. 77.
    > When they see how your captured are being treated, the first cracks appear.
  78. 78.
     
  79. 79.
    > Two weeks after the trials conclude, you receive your first defector.
  80. 80.
    > The next, eight days after that.
  81. 81.
    > The next, three.
  82. 82.
    > Most are returned to their positions, to feed you information on the guard's activities.
  83. 83.
    > It doesn't take the royal guard long to try another massive raid.
  84. 84.
    > This time, you are waiting.
  85. 85.
    > Now you have prisoners too.
  86. 86.
    > And in contrast to the almost total silence in which the guard has held your lost, the prisoners you take are allowed to send word back.
  87. 87.
    > Popular opinion begins to shift.
  88. 88.
    > You are no longer boogeymen, burning shops in the night.
  89. 89.
    > Less than a month later, a force of royal guard and your militia quietly meet at the bottom of a valley.
  90. 90.
    > Prisoners are exchanged.
  91. 91.
    > Tears are shed.
  92. 92.
    > Another battle is won.
  93. 93.
    > A tense peace falls across Equestria in the following months.
  94. 94.
    > Your militia skirmishes with a few self-proclaimed 'purification squads'
  95. 95.
    > But there are no more major raids, no more massive guard operations.
  96. 96.
    > The final boon you need comes nearly a year and a half later.
  97. 97.
    > The Changeling hive had been in a state of near-social collapse for ages.
  98. 98.
    > They had finally reached out to Equestria to seek peace, but the nobles' council in Canterlot, hardened by anti-equality sentiment, refused.
  99. 99.
    > Total civil war occurs in due time.
  100. 100.
    > Your organization opens its arms to the fleeing changelings.
  101. 101.
    > They can have a new home, one that does not fear them.
  102. 102.
    > It is not a popular decison.
  103. 103.
    > Two major fragments of your group break away.
  104. 104.
    > One is crushed by the royal guard.
  105. 105.
    > The other rejoins after its leadership suddenly develops a severe case of blade-in-throat syndrome.
  106. 106.
    > When all is said and done, there are now suddenly several thousand dedicated new recruits to your cause.
  107. 107.
    > You have soldiers, government, territory where the 'purification squads' and 'Equestrian nobility' fronts dare not roam.
  108. 108.
    > You are a state in all but name.
  109. 109.
     
  110. 110.
    > You can be denied no longer.
  111. 111.
    > Word is quietly sent to you from Canterlot.
  112. 112.
    > The princesses are willing to negotiate.
  113. 113.
    > They offer a total pardon for you and any who operate under your banner.
  114. 114.
    > And a promise to begin ramming through legislation to make species-based segregation and assault illegal
  115. 115.
    > In return, they seek the disarmament of your organization.
  116. 116.
    > It's a fair offer, from their standpoint.
  117. 117.
    > But, do you dare?
  118. 118.
    > The purification squads and angry voices will not disappear - not even when the new laws come.
  119. 119.
    > Especially not for those such as griffons and changelings.
  120. 120.
    > This fight will not end with mere ink in a book.
  121. 121.
    > Do you dare to give up so much of what you have won?
  122. 122.
    > Do you accept the risk that you may place more lives - non-equine and pony alike - in danger?
  123. 123.
    > But, do you dare to refuse the best offer to end this half-war you're likely to get?
  124. 124.
    > Do you dare?
  125. 125.
     
  126. 126.
     
  127. 127.
    ----------------------------------------------------------------
  128. 128.
    [At this point I left the thread for several hours. Although the ending to the above had been meant to be rhetorical, people started suggesting courses of action. I wrote alternate endings for the options suggested.]
  129. 129.
     
  130. 130.
    > You stared at the message long and hard.
  131. 131.
    > You spent days in consultation with your highest lieutenants.
  132. 132.
    > You did your best to gauge the popular sentiment towards all the options among your varied subjects.
  133. 133.
    > No, not subjects.
  134. 134.
    > Citizens.
  135. 135.
    > Griffons, diamond dogs, changelings, zebras, even sympathetic ponies.
  136. 136.
    > Some had families or friends in Equestria.
  137. 137.
    > Some had lost families or friends to Equestria.
  138. 138.
    > No choice would satisfy all of them.
  139. 139.
    > A week later, with a heavy heart you touch pen to paper and begin writing your response.
  140. 140.
    > You only hope it is the right choice...
  141. 141.
     
  142. 142.
    Multi-ending mode, go!
  143. 143.
     
  144. 144.
    > Ending 1A: Inclusion, good end.
  145. 145.
    > Your answer to the princesses is short and to the point.
  146. 146.
    > Their idea has merit, but a total disarmament at this point is not possible.
  147. 147.
    > Instead, you offer a compromise.
  148. 148.
    > A proper, negotiated ceasefire between your militia and the guard.
  149. 149.
    > Celestia and Luna would begin pushing the legislation through.
  150. 150.
    > For every step forward you saw, you would begin drawing down more of your forces.
  151. 151.
    > It is not a solid plan.
  152. 152.
    > It requires trust.
  153. 153.
    > But if there is to be any coexistence in Equestria at all, trust is going to be necessary.
  154. 154.
    > Where better to start than at the top?
  155. 155.
    > The princess' reply comes indirectly.
  156. 156.
    > An announcement that the first legislation making it illegal to discriminate against a law-abiding subject of Equestria in matters of public property and resources.
  157. 157.
    > For a first step, it is a small one.
  158. 158.
    > After all, most of the nobles' court regards you still as lawless brigands.
  159. 159.
    > They cannot bring themselves to even consider the idea that you might some day be a lawful subject of Equestria again.
  160. 160.
    > Probably presume that they will merely bring their citizens back from your influence.
  161. 161.
    > But the princesses have trusted you to play along.
  162. 162.
    > And so you do.
  163. 163.
    > Of course, small steps are met with small steps.
  164. 164.
     
  165. 165.
    > Your first disarmament takes place in regions that are already well under your control.
  166. 166.
    > But the announcement that your militia will cease activities in certain regions comes as a total surprise to the nobles' court.
  167. 167.
    > Celestia's proclamation that militia members who lay down their arms will be given full pardons comes as a double slam.
  168. 168.
    > By the time they realize what they have begun, they have already passed two more bills making segregation increasingly illegal.
  169. 169.
    > Now the pressure is on them.
  170. 170.
    > For the first time, however unwanted, they are producing results.
  171. 171.
    > Now it is our turn to trust the princesses.
  172. 172.
    > Your militias still walk the streets, but instead of wielding blades they call on the guard.
  173. 173.
    > The efforts are not without incidents.
  174. 174.
    > Lives are still lost.
  175. 175.
    > But each of you take of your own sides' failures, and correct them.
  176. 176.
    > For the first time, they work with the guard - not against.
  177. 177.
    > The nobles' court tries to halt all further legislation until your militia are 'properly punished'.
  178. 178.
    > But the avalanche is already begun.
  179. 179.
    > The vast majority of Equestria's subjects and yours alike are tired of fighting.
  180. 180.
    > Twenty years later.
  181. 181.
    > All is not yet well.
  182. 182.
    > Bigotry still holds steady in some regions.
  183. 183.
    > But tonight, you face the culmination of your efforts.
  184. 184.
    > You are the guest of honor at a party in Canterlot tonight, to be recognized for your efforts in resolving a long-simmering conflict.
  185. 185.
    > Your honor guard - changeling and griffon, minotaur and pony - face the gold-clad royal guard.
  186. 186.
    > Both lines raise varied limbs in salute.
  187. 187.
    > And for the first time, you bow to a princess with a smile.
  188. 188.
     
  189. 189.
    --------------------------------------------------------------------
  190. 190.
     
  191. 191.
    > Ending 1B, inclusion, bad end.
  192. 192.
    > If there is ever to be coexistence in Equestria, trust is to be necessary.
  193. 193.
    > Where better than to start at the top?
  194. 194.
    > If only that trust had filtered down.
  195. 195.
    > When the first orders to disarm came down, there was grumbling.
  196. 196.
     
  197. 197.
    > Inevitably, success was not universal.
  198. 198.
    > In some places, the guard still sided with those who would support 'purity'.
  199. 199.
    > The second set of disarmament orders was met with open arguing.
  200. 200.
    > Some branches outright refused.
  201. 201.
    > Blood being spilled was only a matter of time.
  202. 202.
    > Still you drove ahead, stubbornly determined to see this to its end.
  203. 203.
    > Success was never instantaneous!
  204. 204.
    > If they would only hold out long enough, progress would be made!
  205. 205.
    > The nobles' court was passing more laws, however grudgingly.
  206. 206.
    > All you needed was more time, and things could change.
  207. 207.
    > The third set of orders was the breaking point.
  208. 208.
    > Assault by guards, conflicting opinions between races, and sometimes near-starvation had failed to break your organization.
  209. 209.
    > The drive for peace did.
  210. 210.
    > Two, three, four subgroups broke off.
  211. 211.
    > Refusing to stand down, staking their claim in various regions.
  212. 212.
    > You drive ahead, praying that they would turn to the cause of peace when you brought more results.
  213. 213.
    > Twenty years later.
  214. 214.
    > You resided in a manor in Canterlot.
  215. 215.
    > Along with the remainder of your loyalists, you had received pardons for your actions.
  216. 216.
    > But you had lead less than twenty percent of your once-subjects to this 'victory'.
  217. 217.
    > Six separate successors to your organization had not chosen to follow your steps and receive a pardon.
  218. 218.
    > In you opinion, most of them did not deserve such.
  219. 219.
    > Without you guidance, your resources, your contacts in the Equestrian government, none had come as close to peace as you had.
  220. 220.
    > They had nearly all devolved to their roots - wild raiders, robbers and pillagers.
  221. 221.
    > And in turn, the efforts in Canterlot to shift the national opinion had slid back.
  222. 222.
    > Why should they tolerate, when the other races continued to attack them?
  223. 223.
    > You and your peace-seekers were barely accepted, staying to certain regions that still remembered the goodness you had brought.
  224. 224.
    > And every night, you looked out the window and wondered.
  225. 225.
    > Could you have done better?
  226. 226.
    > Could you have brought peace?
  227. 227.
     
  228. 228.
    --------------------------------------------------------------------
  229. 229.
     
  230. 230.
    > Ending 2A: Seperatist, good end.
  231. 231.
    > Your reply was delivered to Celestia in due time.
  232. 232.
    > It was also delivered to four of the most prominent of the Equestrian newspapers.
  233. 233.
    > A declaration of independence deserved to be public, after all.
  234. 234.
    > And that was just what you were delivering.
  235. 235.
    > A declaration that however noble the princess' intentions were, they could not force the will of their entire country.
  236. 236.
    > Only by standing strong and standing together could you survive.
  237. 237.
    > And so that was what you did.
  238. 238.
    > You stood together.
  239. 239.
    > When the guard was mobilized to stare down your militia in the territory you had declared your own, you stood together.
  240. 240.
    > When Equestria fell to the bare rim of civil war, you stood together and stood strong.
  241. 241.
    > You opened your gates to all who would seek refuge.
  242. 242.
    > Equestria danced close, but never fell.
  243. 243.
    > The guard was called off.
  244. 244.
    > You made your second announcement:
  245. 245.
    > That conflict with Equestria was not your goal.
  246. 246.
    > So long as they would not halt those who sought safety with you, peace was and acceptance was all you sought.
  247. 247.
    > To be treated as an equal - if not as a person, then as a nation.
  248. 248.
    > The first few years were a terrible trial.
  249. 249.
    > Food was short, and refugees many.
  250. 250.
    > But you persevered.
  251. 251.
    > Barely any of your citizens could use magic.
  252. 252.
    > Science replaced it.
  253. 253.
    > Steelworks and shipyards sprung up.
  254. 254.
    > Griffon knowledge of the winds, changeling engineering, minotaur metallurgy.
  255. 255.
    > All combined to bring you life, and then prosperity.
  256. 256.
    > And when your newborn nation failed to turn into a haven for murders and criminals, public opinion in Equestria began to shift.
  257. 257.
    > How evil could you be?
  258. 258.
    > Your citizens were not slaughtering each other in the streets.
  259. 259.
    > Perhaps your choices had a logic to them?
  260. 260.
    > And slowly, grudgingly, the nobles' council begin to catch up.
  261. 261.
    > Began to accept.
  262. 262.
    > Equality, true equality, began to come into law there as well.
  263. 263.
    > Twenty years later.
  264. 264.
    > Equality was making slow, painful progress across Equestria.
  265. 265.
     
  266. 266.
    > Especially with so many dedicated supporters coming to your lands, it would be many years before it came in truth.
  267. 267.
    > But that was a thought for later.
  268. 268.
    > Today, you had visitors.
  269. 269.
    > Some of the Equestrian nobles were nervous to be coming to your new capital.
  270. 270.
    > You could understand why.
  271. 271.
    > A faint simmering of resentment still hung just out of sight.
  272. 272.
    > But as they entered your Hall of Law and saw the ranks and ranks of guard - your guard - saluting them, you could see their fears fading.
  273. 273.
    > These were not the ragged militia that had once ravaged their lands.
  274. 274.
    > These were a proud, dedicated force that aimed to do what the Royal Guard had been meant to do.
  275. 275.
    > Protect their citizens.
  276. 276.
    > All of them.
  277. 277.
    > As the princesses enter the hall, you rise and bow to them in greeting.
  278. 278.
    > And for the first time, they bow to you in return.
  279. 279.
    > As equals.
  280. 280.
     
  281. 281.
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
  282. 282.
     
  283. 283.
    > Ending 2B, Seperatist, bad end.
  284. 284.
    > Celestia's error had been keeping your negotiations secret.
  285. 285.
    > When your proclamation hit the streets, the nobles' council had been infuriated.
  286. 286.
    > Legislation was quickly run through severely curtailing the princess' power.
  287. 287.
    > Your only true allies had been gelded.
  288. 288.
    > When the guard was called out, you stood strong and together against them.
  289. 289.
    > Equestria's guard was dealt twin shocks that day.
  290. 290.
    > One, when your militia held the bloody ground against the once-invincible guard.
  291. 291.
    > Two, when they were ordered to suppress Equestrian subjects protesting the unprovoked attack on you.
  292. 292.
    > You were hardly surprised.
  293. 293.
    > It was just this suppression that had originally driven you from protest to take up arms.
  294. 294.
    > Protests turned to riots.
  295. 295.
    > Suppression turned brutal.
  296. 296.
    > The guard crumbled under the strain.
  297. 297.
    > For the first time in living memory, civil war came to Equestria.
  298. 298.
    > Brother against sister, daughter against father.
  299. 299.
    > Inevitably, some true criminals chose to take advantage of the chaos.
  300. 300.
    > Inevitably, it was blamed on you.
  301. 301.
     
  302. 302.
    > Again you held the line against the second wave of Equestrian guard.
  303. 303.
    > You fought them with minotaur steel and griffon cannon, changeling ichor and even pony magic.
  304. 304.
    > By the end of the year, it was clear that no true progress would be made against you.
  305. 305.
    > The guard retired to lick their wounds and adapt to this new threat.
  306. 306.
    > In the meantime, the reformed nobles' council continued to secure their power base.
  307. 307.
    > Which meant pandering to their harshest 'purity' elements.
  308. 308.
    > Those years were the toughest.
  309. 309.
    > Refugees flooded across the border to your lands.
  310. 310.
    > Dodging Equestrian guard patrols however they could, lest they be imprisoned for aiding the enemy.
  311. 311.
    > Your forces aided them as best they could, but it was never enough.
  312. 312.
    > Food ran short.
  313. 313.
    > Somehow, you survived.
  314. 314.
    > Twenty years later.
  315. 315.
    > You rest in your room far above the hall of law in your new capital.
  316. 316.
    > The report in your hand casting strange shadows on your desk in the light of the guttering candle.
  317. 317.
    > The nobles' court was cranking up the rhetoric against you.
  318. 318.
    > The Equestrian guard was mobilizing again.
  319. 319.
    > Another war loomed on the horizon.
  320. 320.
    > Of your victory, you had no doubt.
  321. 321.
    > The first series of repeating rifles were being rushed to your troops to make ready for the inevitable invasion.
  322. 322.
    > They would hold the line.
  323. 323.
    > But you wondered.
  324. 324.
    > You wondered, staring out into the pouring rain beyond the glass and feeling a wetness on your cheeks despite the windows being closed.
  325. 325.
    > How much more blood was to be spilt?
  326. 326.
    > How many more lives would be lost?
  327. 327.
    > Could you have avoided this?
  328. 328.
    > Could you have done better?

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