Golden Arrow (Revisited)

Phase 1 (part 3: the speech)

Gold Star sat at her desk in the morning, her glasses on as she wrote down potential words for the speech that Red will read such as 'odious' and 'subjugated'. She wrote about how Ponies would be saved from the fascist regime that Celestia held under her hoof, she talked about previous victories that Equestria has seen and how that Ponies can stand up to the dictator that is Celestia. She was doing good progress with her speech, she knew that Red would love it. Soon Red walked into the room and put down a case, and walked to his lover and kissed her cheek.
"Hey beautiful. How are you doing?" He looked at her and then to the piece of paper on the desk. "That looks interesting." He read the script through his mind. "Keep up the good work." He chuckled and nuzzled Gold Star softly.

Gold Star looked at him and smiled, giving him a kiss back.
"Heh, i knew you would love it, I'm going for something aggressive, something that grabs the attention of Ponies, I know that we all can fit in the town-hall in the middle of the village. And it will just look like a normal meeting." She smiled and explained to her love.
"Good." Red smiled and walked to the case that he had put onto the bed, he opened it and pulled out a suit that was made to his specifications by Rarity. Gold didn't really see why being formal would have an impact but Red insisted that he would wear a suit, so she left him to his own devices, he then put on the suit and struck a small pose.
"How do I look?" He asked his lover and smirked softly.
"Absolutely smashing." She giggled and walked to him, she then kissed him on the lips gently.

Taking off the suit, Red examined it, it was a black and made of wool and cashmere. The inside had a crimson silk lining. The tie was purple and made of silk, it was light and very strong, the shirt was polyester but white, it had a pocket at the top where he could put a pen or something, since he was still working at sweet apple acres he managed to gain enough money to buy his own pocket watch. This one had a golden chain and a Dragonite frame, the gears were made of steel. The suit had thin aluminium woven inside so it was extra strong. Red then hung up the suit and dusted it down, ready for tonight.

Luna and Cadence were busy putting up flyers in town, they were just notices that said town-hall meeting tonight, the main six were all over Equestria, putting up flyers in the cities for their town hall, this would be the first televised speech in years. However Celestia would have no clue that this was happening, she never really intervened with other Ponies businesses. Back in the house Red was getting worried about the speech that he would read. He had never read one out, he wasn't confident, he let his fear cloud his mind. He read the speech to himself and Gold could see the fear, in his eyes and she nuzzled him.
"Its ok hun, I know what its like to be scared. Trust me, now just breathe in and out slowly." She smiled and kissed his cheek. "You'll do great. Who knows, i might have a bit of a surprise for you." She teased and smiled softly at him, she had the perfect night planned for the two of them.

It soon grew to dusk and Red was inside the town-hall, he put the speech on the podium and adjusted his suit, the cameras were pointed at him and microphones were put to his mouth, he was still scared though, Gold Star smiled at him as she sat in the front row of the room. Ponies and creatures now started to flood the building slowly, Red was starting to get nervous again, he started to shake but stayed strong for his love, soon everyone in the town was inside the hall. The Ponies behind the cameras nodded to Red and Red gulped softly, hoping to not butcher the speech.

"Hello and welcome, my heart goes out to all of you, friends and families alike, it has come to my attention that we have been pinned down by a tyrant for too long." He looked up and looked at everyone in the room. "So tonight, I propose that we as a nation will fight for our freedom, for those who live in complete fear and anger for the future of our livelihoods. To finally put an end this fascist regime, no Pony, Griffin, Dragon, Yack or Hippogryph should live in fear of the tyrant that is Celestia.
When the Storm King lay at the crest of our great island for a year, with his flying ships and his grand army, he was told by someone, "There are bitter weeds in Equestria." There are certainly a great many more of them since the Elements of harmony returned to rid the evils of this land." He looked to the cameras and then to the crowd before him.

"So I have, myself, full confidence that if all do their duty, if nothing is neglected, and if the best arrangements are made, as they are being made, we shall prove ourselves once more able to defend our Island Home, to ride into the storm of war and hopefully out, and to outlive the menace of tyranny that is Celestia. If necessary for years, if necessary alone." Red gulped and looked to the cameras again, then to his love, with a smile he continued.

"At any rate, that is what we are going to try to do. We will resolve Her Majesty's dictatorship and make this country a better place. That is the will of this great nation." He spoke proudly to his audience.

"The Equestrian Empire and the Hippogryph Republic, linked together in our cause and in our need, will defend to the death of our native soil, aiding each other like good comrades to the upmost of our strength." He paused and took a sip of water to calm his nerves. "Even though large tracks of Equestria and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the hooves of the Celestial army and all the odious apparatus of Celestia's rule, we shall not flag or fail."

"We shall go on to the end, we shall fight on our land.
We shall fight on the seas and oceans if need be.
We shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be,
We shall fight on the beaches.
We shall fight on the landing grounds.
We shall fight in the fields and in the streets.
We shall fight in the hills.
We shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the Equestrian Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in Faust's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old." He looked up again, the Ponies and creatures all had smiles on their faces.

"You have been under control for too long, let loose and fight for what you believe in, no girl, boy, man or woman should have to live in fear and listen to prejudice from the speakers that blare from all sides of the world you call home. You should be free to do as you please, this country needs a new leader and i would like it if you would join me in taking down this fascist regime once and for all, I thank you all for listening tonight. Now, if you want to help out, we need volunteers to go and overpopulate Canterlot. And we will need to talk to a selective few of you, so go home and rest up. There will be another meeting tomorrow. Thank you and goodnight." Red smiled and got off the podium and everyone in the room clapped and cheered, Gold Star ran after her love and kissed him lovingly.
"You did amazing hun." She nuzzled him and stroked his cheek.
"Couldn't have done it without your help." He smiled as they walked off.

Gold Star lead Red up a hill, it was nice and secluded, on top of the hill was a picnic blanket and an ice bucket with some apple cider bottles inside, a candle was lit and let off a romantic vibe. Sitting down Red looked at the display and looked to Gold Star, she kissed his cheek and sat down next to him, she then laid against him with a smile.
"This is nice." She sighed contently as she brought out the food, it was some carbonara, she had made two types, a meat filled one for her lover and a plain one for herself, she then used her magic to heat it up and passed the food to him, Red smiled and started to eat, he was hungry after the speech.
"Indeed." He chuckled and took a cider out of the bucket, opening the bottle he started to drink it.

It was some hours after they ate and drank, Gold Star then smirked as an idea popped into her head, she then kissed Red passionately, who in turn pushed back into the kiss gently and carefully.