The time seemed to fly by, Ponyville was rebuilt within a week, and parasprites were placed on the very small “kill on sight” list posted at the front of all guard stations and official buildings. Things were calm, sleepy even, only the excitement of holidays like Nightmare Night, November's Feasting Festival, which was a feasting day to celebrate the peace between ponies and griffins after decades of war, and Hearth's Warming Eve in December spiced things up.

On Nightmare Night, Kamina decided to go for a red mecha themed costume, to honor his old Ganmen Gurren. He even managed to convince Spike to dress as Lagann, and they teamed up the whole night for a themed costume, and with their friends, reenacted several of the battles Gurren Lagann had fought in, in heroic prose to the great delight of the town. Kamina even talked to a local publisher, who felt that his “stories” would make great comics, and so Kamina was all too happy to submit a written account of all of his and Simon's triumphs. The first issue was actually printed in November, properly titled Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann 1st Edition.

Everypony was invited to AJ's for the Feasting Festival, since while it was being held in town, AJ's family had always held it for themselves, and wanted to include them. Kamina discovered he had a slight addiction to caramel apples, which were actually apple halves with the core removed and caramel filling the gap.

Finally, for Hearth's Warming Eve, everyone got together in the library for a fun time as they exchanged gifts. Kamina had gotten something from each of them, even though he never asked for something, and he did so for everyone else as well, figuring he knew them well enough to get him what they liked. What he got, was, hilariously, a single part of the complete whole to a suit of armor. The same set of armor ironically, which made all of his friends amused that they each bought him just the piece they could afford and thought he'd like most.

It was a dull red, being colored during the quenching phase, and was similar to his mecha costume in it's angular spikes and shape, but still moved freely despite it's bulkiness and weight. It fully covered him from snout to tail, and was meant to be a pony-at-arms set, as the average pony would barely be able to move in it. Twilight even enchanted her piece, which was the helm, to protect against magic by reducing it's potency heading towards the wearer.

However, like all good things, Winter was coming to an end, and Kamina was baffled enough by the prospect of Winter Wrap-Up that he vehemently declared it ridiculous. Sure, if ponies could manipulate the weather, more power to them, but to manually change the seasons outside of nature's will? “Damn ponies with their damn micro-managing bullshit....” Kamina grumbled as he paced in Zecora's hut, beings it was the only place he could get away from such nonsense. “How can they just take things like this into their own hooves, and think it natural?”

[Please be at ease Kamina dear. The ponies have always brought their surroundings under their own will, rather than let things progress as they should.] Zecora tried to gently reason with him as she stirred a cauldron of whatever potion she was brewing now. This only upset Kamina more, because since the ponies pander to nature, not even the animals knew how to take care of themselves under their massive sphere of influence.

[I was fine with it before, when it was just a few animals, or the weather over places where ponies live, but to force nature to completely bend to their will? It isn't just wrong, it's robbing the world and the simpler creatures of their own right!] Kamina was an advocate of free will, and as far as he was concerned, this just stagnated the potential all non-ponies had. Zecora told him of how her people always survived and thrived in spite of the harsh climes of her homeland with the aid of their allies the gazelles and the giraffes.

They had a similar societal regime to Equestria, with zebras being their earth ponies, gazelles their pegasi, and giraffes their unicorns. Zebras were so in tune with the magic of the earth, they could grow crops and make mystical things happen with their alchemy, so Zecora wasn't something unique, just a savant. Gazelles had their dances, their elegant prances and astounding bounds which bound the weather to their efforts through hard work, and sheer belief, as aside from inciting it to happen, they had no further control. Giraffes were the largest, the tallest, and the most insightful, able to see beyond what most others could both by virtue of their long necks and their keen minds, able to harness the very mana of the world to manipulate their surroundings in various ways.

This further convinced Kamina that ponies simply tried too hard, that they were just selfishly forcing everything to be “just so” like little god-complex afflicted children. Sure, it was their will, but when anyone's will imposed on the will of others, it just became oppression. Sure, it was a cute, cuddly, sunny, barely-hurt-a-fly oppression, but it was oppression nonetheless. And Kamina always fought oppression.

But there was nothing he could do.

Somehow, that made Kamina feel an incredible pain he could not identify, as if his very soul was being defiled. Kamina sat, and winced as he took deep breaths, trying to calm down. 'Why does it hurt? Why am I in pain when nothing is hurting physically?' Kamina was feeling stranger as time went on. He felt so strongly about things he'd always cherished; free will, the will to carry one's ambitions forward, and the right of all things to live freely without oppression. It was bordering on obsession, and he was scared. He hid it of course, he couldn't let others know he was feeling like this. It was his will that he encourage others to be their best, so he couldn't afford to appear weak and discourage them.

There it was again.

'Damn it...I can't stop, why can't I stop?' Kamina shivered and felt something about to break when he felt the strong forelegs of his exotic mare wrap around his barrel from behind, and bury her face into the back of his neck.

“Peace dear, peace. I am here, we all are.” Zecora spoke in Equestrian much better now after months of practice with Kamina, like how he could nearly fluently speak Zebrican now, but it was slower going for her, since she focused more on him than herself, and she'd find herself speaking in rhyme still now and then. [Whatever ails you, I shall try to sooth.] She stretched up, and nibbled an ear, eliciting a shiver of another kind to run through him. [I have been waiting for months, I cannot resist you much longer.]

“...Me neither.” That was a lie, he could have resisted if he wanted as long as he willed it, but his will demanded he please her, and so it had to be. 'Why? Why am I a slave to my own will?'

===//////>

Kamina returned to town, refreshed, his worries eased, and a merry jaunt to his step. 'Woo! Zebras are flexible! How did she DO that? Not even the pony-sutra has a move like that in it!' Kamina had a stupid grin on his face as he ignored the happenings around him, and the musical number that accompanied it. Kamina learned early on that ponies and most beings on Equus had an uncanny tie to the power of music and song when he suddenly burst into a rap one day during a session with Twilight. He had no idea where it came from, only that it was inspiring beyond belief to him and all who heard him. Twilight actually surprised herself when she hit those high notes as a supremely amazing soprano compliment to his bass licks.

“Do the impossible, see the invisible!” Kamina suddenly belted out, drawing the instant attention of those around him, as a piano began to play in from seemingly everywhere.

“ROW ROW FIGHT THE POWER!” Several stallions nearby supplied in chorus.

“Touch the untouchable, break the unbreakable!” Kamina decided to let it happen, it was already in swing, it was done, he had to let it flow.

“ROW, ROW FIGHT THE POWER!” Rang out from everypony around as they continued to work, but with even more fervor for their tasks as Kamina continued to strut through town, throwing down sick lyrical fires.

“Power to the peeps, power to the dream
Still missing piece scattering, so incomplete
We, be the most incredible soldier from underground
See how easy, they all fall down

Digging to the core, to see the light
Let's get outta here babe, that's the way to survive
Yea top of the head, I'm on the set
Do the impossible, don't you wanna get

Cuz a lotta things changed, we be waiting in vain
If you wanna get by, no pain no gain
Wow, fakers wanna test me again
Sorry, my rhyme's gonna snatch your brain yo

I'm still starving for the straight up shit
We gonna make it happen with the crazy rap skill
Get ready to rumble, now is the time, uh-huh
If you ain't know, now you know
Good luck, fellows.” Kamina paused and pointed to Octavia, who suddenly became filled with focus. And sang more powerfully than she could've imagined.

“Libera~ me, Domine~
De morte aeterna~
In die illa tremenda. In die illa~
Duando coveli mobendi sunt et terra
Dum beneris judicare
Saeculum per ignem
Tremens factus sum ego et timeo
Dum discussio benerit atque bentura ira!” Octavia finished her soprano Equine solo, and gaped in surprise to Vinyl who's horn was sparking in arousal at her marefriend's pipes, making her blush. Kamina smirked as he decided to continue the song here, in town square with Octavia.

“Second verse dedicates to the real peeps
What we got to say is so real thing cuz
Revolution ain't never gonna televise
Kicking the mad flow, microphone phenotype

Open your third eye seeing through the overground
I'm about to hit you with the scream from the underground
Whole city is covered with the cyber flavor
G is in your area, one of the toughest enigma.” Kamina pointed to Octy, who smiled before she began as Kamina and several stallions chanted the first chorus under her.

“Dies illa~, dies irae~
Calamitatis~ et miseriae~
Dies illa~ dies magna~
Et amara balde~, et amara balde~!”

“FIGHT THE POWER!” The chorus exploded!

“Requiem aeternam, dona eis Domine~
Requiem aeternam, dona eis requiem~
Et lux perpetua luceat eis
Libera~ me, Domine~!”

“ROW ROW FIGHT THE POWER! ROW ROW FIGHT THE POWER!
ROW ROW FIGHT THE POWER! ROW ROW FIGHT THE POWER!
ROW ROW FIGHT THE POWER! ROW ROW FIGHT THE POWER!

LIBERA~ ME, DOMINE~!

ROW ROW FIGHT THE POWER! ROW ROW FIGHT THE POWER!
ROW ROW FIGHT THE POWER! ROW ROW FIGHT THE POWER!”

Everypony finished chanting with all their might, and were panting, gasping, sweating and glassy-eyed at just how powerful they felt. Not even realizing they'd completely finished their tasks within the town proper. Vinyl had actually pounced on Octavia, and they were currently making out in a small snow bank. “Octy, you are going to sing like that at home!”

“But Vinyl, I-EEP!” Octavia was surprised when Vinyl grabbed Octavia's tail in her mouth, and promptly began dragging her home. “Ah! Wait! VINYL!” As the two mares disappeared down the street, Kamina sat contently, having the pain and the sense of defilement lessened greatly.

'That was really good, so fulfilling.' Kamina opened his eyes, and looked around him at the smiling ponies, who all bowed slightly to him and went on their way. 'Despite how it started, today was a good day.'

===//////>

The tired and oddly content yet worried prince quietly entered the library, at least compared to his usual bursting in method of entering a room or building. “I'm home....” Kamina quietly and calmly stated, smiling gently at the thought. 'Yeah, home huh? Didn't actually register it until just now, when I needed the thought.'

Nobody answered, obviously they were still out participating in Winter Wrap-Up, which Kamina knew would take until morning the next day. His inspirational song may have taken care of the center of town, but there were still the outlaying areas and especially Sweet Apple Acres which needed a lot of ponypower to clear. 'Who am I kidding? Who am I to dictate the barriers of the will of others? So long as they do not enslave, or cruelly treat those dependent on them, I suppose that so long as their will accepts it, then it is fine.'

At this thought, Kamina gasped as his aching spiritual pain ceased entirely, and he smiled in elation. 'I don't get it completely, but whatever is happening, I have to be careful.' Kamina sighed in content, and climbed up the stairs to his shared bedroom, and climbed into the sheets. 'An early night, well, I might not support it entirely, but I already did a part for Winter Wrap-Up. I think I can catch some sleep.' The stallion nuzzled into the pillow as he wrapped the sheets around him to fight off the cold, having peaceful dreams for the first time in weeks, something his aunt was happy to see.

Author's Notes:

I do not own anything pertaining to the contents of this story, any and all content belongs to their respective owners, please support the official releases.

As a note; Halloween totally sucked this year, only two trick-or-treaters in two hours of sitting on my driveway like a tool, and I called it, Halloween is officially dead guys, it's just another cash-cow event, nobody's brave enough to actually celebrate it properly anymore.