Waking early in the morning has become something that comes easy to me. At least when I have a task to do. Even though we went to sleep later than if Rumble had flown to Cloudsdale, we still had to be up before sunrise.

We didn't really sleep last night either. We were... plenty distracted. It was good though. In the end, I'm glad I stayed. I've never had this sort of affection given to me for so long before. I can see myself getting used to it.

Getting ready for the day went by pretty quick. And we were both fairly quiet too. There were a lot of things I wanted to say. I just didn't know how to say them. I get the feeling he fells similarly.

"So, you ready for this?" Rumble asks as he locks the front door.

"Yeah. Like I said, it'll be easier than it looks." I hope so at least. I've never done this at this distance before. And that's not even considering adding another person to the mix. But there's no going back now.

I take a deep breath as I set my mind to the task at hoof. My first few teleports will be mostly to test jumping with another pony. But once I get a feel for it, I'll try adding greater distances as I go.

FLASH

My first teleport goes by easily enough. It tells me I can go a bit further without worry.

FLASH

We're far out of Ponyville now. We can still see the town, but it will be gone soon enough.

This is a comfortable rate to go. I could try adding slightly more distance, but it's not necessary. At this rate we'll be there in only a few minutes.

"Hold on a sec," Rumble groans as he shakes his head. "Sorry. Never teleported that much before at once."

"Sorry. But we're going to make great time at least!" There's a reason I don't do this often. Most people aren't used to being teleported this often. And I can't help but feeling guilty for messing with his head when he's about to go on this training camp.

"That's good. How're you holding up?" He asks while rubbing his head.

"I'm fine. Like I told you, scaling the spell back makes it easier to cast. Even if it kicks back on me, it's almost negligible. I can handle it. Are you okay?" He takes another deep breath before nodding to me. I give him a sympathetic smile and cast the next spell, sending us closer to Cloudsdale.

"So... what's your plan... while I'm gone?" He asks between teleports.

"Um... plan?" I ask, not getting his meaning.

"For D.T." I can't help but roll my eyes at that. I don't want to even think about her right now.

"Honestly... it's back to the drawing board. I have no clue... what I'm going to do. Why? Do you have any suggestions?" He looks a bit uncomfortable from that. I can't tell if it's from the teleporting or the question though.

"Well... kinda. But nothing that really... helps." I wait for him to elaborate before teleporting again. He shifts his weight around as he thinks about it for a moment.

"Well... look. I'm one hundred percent on your side. But, and this is me just trying to be helpful, you're not going to win any fights on her level. Don't try to get into her arena, drag her into yours! I don't really have ways to help you do that, but it's really the only way I can see you beating her."

I nod to his logic. The thought has occurred before. But I don't really know what my arena is. I'm the awkward loner, where do I even start with that!? Maybe I should just stick with Pips idea of becoming more popular than her. Which sounds just as impossible.

"I get what you mean, and I appreciate it. But... without a plan there's no going back really. At least trying to fight on her ground I know where I can try... sorta. But... thanks. For being on my side that is."

He steps forward and gives me a small kiss on the lips. It makes me feel better for a moment. Distracts me from the overwhelming idea of revenge.

"Well, keep going with the fucking me stupid thing then. It seems to be working-"

FLASH

I teleport him away as embarrassment covers my face. Of course he was going to be a little shit about it.

When we make it close enough to Cloudsdale we say our goodbyes. You would think having been around the Spartans for so long I'd be an expert at this sort of thing. He's not even doing anything nearly as intense as that! But now I get it. I couldn't imagine having been with him for as long as some of the others have been together and then sending him somewhere where he could die.

After nearly giving myself a panic attack, Rumble took off for the city and I made my way home. I kept quiet along the way. There's a lot to think about right now, but I keep it all from my mind. At least for the time being. All I want to do is crawl into bed and sleep until the weekend. I know I can't do that, but it's still a tempting idea.

When I make it home I grab the door but flinch when it swings open. I feel my knees go weak when I look up at Dad staring back at me. Did he know I was gone? Is he going to be mad at me!? IS HE GOING TO KILL RUMBLE!?

"... Good news kiddo! I just let the school know you aren't going to be there today!" he tells me... too happily.

"... o-oh?" I ask, slowly relaxing.

"Yeah, you're going to Mooseden to help your moms out with the meeting today!" I look around as I try to piece everything together.

"Um... what meeting?" It's been a long time since I've seen such a look of pure joy on his face. It's... unsettling.

"Citizens meeting! You're forming a new government today!"

---

I get a giddy feeling as I watch the first of the I.T.A.'s landing in Mooseden's airfield. Shouldn't be much longer before the last of them make it here. Most are already in the town hall, but many of the Apples are waiting out front to greet other family members. With their rather large addition we've finally made it to our threshold. Now it's up to them to form a government and take responsibilities from us. And I couldn't be happier.

Mooseden is alive with traffic today! Bots are running all over herding people into town hall while people murmur about town. I think our numbers are around fifteen hundred. Something like that at least. I don't think this town has had this many people in it... ever! It's an exciting sight to behold.

"Shadow, how many more?" I ask her as I watch the ponies file out of the aircraft.

"Um... three more inbound. Looks like some stragglers from the Ape Empire, I think." I hum back to her. I think that's Si Ye's extended family coming in.

"Go find E'Claire and see if she needs help with anything else. I can take of the rest from here." She nods to me and trots off. I shield my face with a wing as the aircraft start to land, their escorts screeching past over head. We couldn't take any risk today, so each transport has two wings guiding them. Luckily nothing happened.

Most of this group are merchants and traders of various ethnic groups. Terradisia has become rather diverse, but it's still largely dominated by ponies. But when you look at the merchants and crafts people, that's where our diversity is mostly found. I greet a few of them and tell them their questions will be answered during the meeting. A few of them are fussy over being dragged away from various business dealings, they eventually make their way over to the crowd and mix in.

Orcs, minotaurs, ponies, even if it's just one or two, every race is represented here today. If we're lucky, today will be the catalyst for more to join our ranks. I'm one step closer to reaching my goal of raising Terradisia back to its former glory. I knew it would happen eventually, but seeing it finally happen. It's almost unreal.

"Easy, take over ground control."

"Affirmative." The utility bot takes my place as I start to meander around the crowd.

Part of me is just too excited to stand in one spot for too long. Being part of this crowd and hearing the people talking with one another, there's electricity in the air. Pretty much everyone knows what's going on today. At least in some small way. I don't think they get how much they are deciding. They don't get the role they're playing in history today.

"Captain!" I pause and turn to the voice. Storm drops by my side and gives a salute, to which I return. "Today's the day?"

"Today is the day!" I proclaim to him as I return to roaming around the crowd. "Have all the Spartans made it here?"

"Yes sir. Most are inside monitoring the crowd. A few are straggling around Mooseden, but they'll be in the hall momentarily."

"Good, Good!" I take a look around before I motion for him to follow me. We make our way inside the hall and push through the crowd to the back office. When we make it in I lock the door and pull out my phone to check over a few notes. I take a seat behind the desk while Storm sits across from me.

"Captain, is this really the best solution?" Storm asks.

"Trust me, this is the solution." I tell him as I read. "You don't understand yet because you've never had to be under government while a Spartan. Trust me on this. Today is our liberation."

"Alright... well. In any case, how exactly is this going to work? Are we going to explain different types of governments or... what?" I chuckle a bit at that.

"There's the beauty of it Storm. I'll save that for later though. Right now we're about to get started. Get the rest of the Spartans and get the civilians inside. Once you're done with that, have everyone else wait for me outside."

Storm give me a quizzical look but doesn't question any further. When he leaves I go back to my notes once again. This has only happen twice in recorded history. But if it goes as it well as the other times, this should be a great day. We finally get to wash our hands of all this bureaucratic trash and do what we were made to do. Focus on the fight.

I make it halfway through my notes before someone knocks on the door. E'Claire pops her head in and lets me know that everyone is inside. I thank her and jump to my hooves. This is it! Showtime!

We make it to the main hall and I can't help but smile at the crowd before me. Everyone is clambering about, filling the seats slowly. Even though the building can house twice as many people, it's still buzzing with life. I go to the podium and find a gavel underneath. I take a moment to admire it before giving a few the podium a few pounds. The crowd gets the meaning and starts taking their seats. I wait for them to get mostly seated before speaking up. Hopefully that'll get them to hurry up and keep quiet.

"Welcome! Welcome! Sorry for the sudden upheaval, but today is a tremendous day!" I yell out to the crowd. A few of them look to each other in confusion, but I can see several people who know what's about to happen. Namely my wife.

"As I'm sure most of you are aware, Terradisia has slowly been on the rise. We've been growing over the last few years, but only just recently have we finally met our goal. We are over one thousand citizens! At this time, I am no longer your leader. YOU are the leaders now! It is time for you all to do your duties and form the Terradisian government."

There's a moment of silence before the crowd explodes with questions. I let them argue for a moment longer before slamming the gavel back down. It takes a moment for them to simmer down, but they eventually quiet down. At least enough for me to speak over them.

"Please, please, calm down! You're going to need those vocal chords for later." I laugh at my own joke, but no one joins me. "Anyway, the floor is now yours. What will you all make of Terradisia? A monarchy? Democracy? Will you choose unity and freedom, or order and structure? You are the new founders of Terradisia and its future is in your hands."

Everyone stares at me and waits for me to continue. But there's nothing else for me to say. I set the gavel down and start to walk down the aisle. I can tell this is going right over their heads. They must have a million questions to ask. But none of that is my responsibility anymore. I pause when I make it next to Luna and Celestia. They both are smirking back to me. The chase is on, wonder who will end up on top.

"Good luck ladies." I tell them before taking my leave. I hear Celestia start to speak to the crowd, but I ignore it as I step outside. The Spartans are gathered around, waiting for me to address them. I guess this would be the time to say something important. Something to really match the moment.

"Spartans... let's get a drink." They all cheer with me. No more playing politician. No more playing the good guy. It's finally time for us to let go of the reins and do our jobs. As we walk off Storm comes to my side quickly. Out of everyone here, he's the only one who looks worried.

"Captain, I still don't know if this is going to be a good idea or not. Maybe we could go back and tell them about some options or maybe-"

"Don't sweat it Storm!" Damian yells. "They'll be fine... unless someone throws a folding chair. But, there aren't any in there, so we're good!"

"This is no longer our concern Lieutenant," I tell him. "Let them do their jobs so we can do ours."

After a few rounds and many questions from Storm, we decide to check on them. See how things are going. I really don't see why we would need to do this. But if it shuts him up, we can take a peek. I open the door and the sounds of shouts and screams of the crowd immediately thunders all around us. One side seems to be yelling at the other while there are some one on one arguments spotting the hall. I can see several piles of papers stacking in the back as Shadow tries to keep up with notes. But there are several piles of crumpled papers as well.

I stand there for a moment as watch the crowd holler at one another before nodding to the chaos. From somewhere in the crowd a folding chair comes flying towards us. It falls short and lands just before us, sliding until it taps Storm on the hoof.

"WHO THREW THAT?" Storm demands before charging into the crowd. Almost immediately the crowd breaks into a huge fight.

"Wonderful. We have a republic."

Next Chapter: Chapter 260 Our Dreams Lost in the Wind Estimated time remaining: 5 Hours, 23 Minutes