May 27, 9:00 AM

Restructure housing and offer better accommodations to anyone who joins. This new space will be secured by expanding beyond the federal limits of the Isolation Zone. 45%

Sunburst’s plan was far more than a single suggestion, of course. A nation was not going to be built purely by supplying more labor, or making that labor more useful. But the population of infected did represent by far the greatest waste of an incredibly valuable resource. Why leave everyone sitting around doing nothing with their time?

It began with a meeting in Senator Gardner’s office, the very next night. She probably wouldn’t have involved her with the granular details of her plan, except for one key aspect: they were about to defy the federal government.

A federal government that seemed to wield practically no effective power in the lives of the individual states, that had stopped sending any meaningful support and still expected obedience. And importantly, a federal government that housed many of its VIPs within the Denver Isolation Zone.

“I don’t know how many of our guests are even aware of the specifics of the restriction or are still in touch with Washington. I think the chances of this not making it back to them are near zero. So if I’m about to get us killed by changing this, I’d prefer you stop me right now. If it’s just dangerous, then it’s a risk I’m entirely prepared to take.”

The seapony swam right up against the tank, inspecting the large board she’d propped up on a stand there. The map showed the present boundaries of the isolation zone outlined by a black line near the center. She’d drawn a new green line using paint, expanding the boundaries to encompass the entire Denver metro area, along with any remotely adjacent land that qualified as useful or fertile. Every resource they depended on, as many of the utility plants as possible, all within the new borders.

Senator Gardner said nothing for nearly two full minutes. Her face, always cheerful despite their grim situation, reflected real fear now. Possibly the first time she’d ever seen it there.

“Your first act as captain is to cross the Rubicon.” There was another change from the usual pattern: the seapony did not sing this time. “Bold, I freely admit. Perhaps the kind of sea-change we need to have any chance of survival. I have two questions. If you can answer them both, I will not stand in your way. If you cannot—you will have demonstrated you are not fit for this purpose, and I will replace you.”

She settled onto her haunches beside the table, keeping her expression entirely neutral. This was the problem with authority that derived from someone else—if Gardner was the ultimate source of her authority, then she was likewise able to remove that authority at a whim. Before she was even able to meaningfully experiment.

“I would be disappointed if you didn’t challenge it. That’s why I brought it to you.”

“Really?” The fish circled once past the glass. Her fins resumed that subtle rhythm of energy along them, and some of the music came back into her voice. “And you said you had no experience in leadership. Wayfinder, what will you do when the borders are gone? The wall and our soldiers are the only things keeping the population contained where it is. Or is it your plan to unleash them on the state, nevermind that they will all suffer and likely die when they’ve exhausted the resources of wherever they end up. Assuming they aren’t shot on sight by whoever they meet.”

I’ll have to thank Sunburst for catching that one. Wayfinder’s horn lit up, and she flipped back the first map, revealing a second page. This showed the zone filled in, with a series of three outlines expanding further from the core, each one fully enclosing the last.

“We will not be able to make the border as impermeable as it has been, I admit that. Removing many of those resources towards a more productive purpose is a benefit here. In the medium term, we will improve the quality of life here such that escaping is not foremost on anyone’s mind. And the few determined to escape at any cost—there is nothing we can do to contain them. We’re about to teach a quarter million people to fly. The only thing that will keep them here is wanting to be.”

The seapony trilled loudly, without producing any particular words. The sound didn’t seem upset, but she wasn’t enough of a seapony to know for sure. “You’ve considered the issue. That is what matters to me, we may move on. Second question: What do you intend to do so federal authorities don’t make us the example?”

She tilted her head sideways, ears folding. Wayfinder had practiced what she thought were all the most likely objections. But that one flew right past her without landing anywhere. “Make us the…”

“Example, yes. We are not the only Isolation Zone facing these difficulties. The economy collapsed, the supplies available to us were finite and fixed. Whatever production continues in the uninfected areas cannot be very significant. I’m sure the administrators of each of them want to break their rules too. Everyone inside is infected, and by now there are no ordinary people anywhere nearby. How tempting it must be to move beyond and take what is abandoned there.”

She stopped in the glass perfectly level with Wayfinder, meeting her eyes. “The first settlement to do that is going to be made an example. It’s simple game theory. If they don’t have the resources to act against all of us, they must guarantee that no one wants to be first.”

“Oh.” Wayfinder took a single slow breath, keeping her face as neutral as she could. She couldn’t show even a hint of hesitation here, no sign that she might not have considered this question too. Her mind latched onto the first idea she found. “That’s why it’s in three stages. If we tore down the borders all at once and let people flow out into the rest of the state, that would be obviously flaunting their rules. But we don’t have to do that. These first boundaries are still tight to the metro area. Lots of housing, extra shops, that kind of thing. We’re not defying anything, we just realize we had our own borders wrong all along. They meant to do the simplest thing and just give us all of Denver to work with. We misinterpreted our original orders.”

Gardner chirped again, and the sound came through her mic now made sense. It was laughter, but pitched such that it would carry easily through the water over a long distance.

“Probably works. If you do it slowly enough, carefully enough. If you can keep the population from overflowing out of the border and smashing into every little uninfected enclave left in the state. I can see it. Odds might even be in your favor to pull it off. With the first step. You won’t be able to say that when you’ve taken… a fourth of the state, looking at that last map. There’s no creative interpretation of our orders that allows for that.”

“No,” she admitted. “But by then, I anticipate we won’t need to contain people leaving the zone. At that point, we’ll have to deal with everyone trying to get in. And I suspect the federal government, if it even exists in the same form it does today, would be much happier to take credit for it than to attack an obvious success story.”

The fish seemed to consider that for a long, long time. Finally, she spoke. “I want you to find and destroy every one of these expanded maps. Make a new one that only shows the first expansion. When you do this… there are eyes in the zone who will come looking. Let’s make sure they don’t find any evidence you’re taking the first step of an open rebellion. You interpreted our orders differently, that’s all. The cover story has got to become the only one you use with anyone. No matter who they ask, that’s what they will hear. Understand?”

She turned her horn on the maps, and muttered something, energy focused on it. The pages went up in an instant, brighter and hotter than any true flame. The flame was purple rather than orange, and sent no smoke into the air. When they were gone, only the metal stand remained. “Like that?”

The fish pressed her body completely to the glass, eyes even bigger than they normally looked. “You… you remind me how you ascended to this role in the first place. Those powers of yours… there’s no point to searching you for weapons on your way in, is there?”

“None whatsoever,” she agreed. “But that spell doesn’t work on people. It’s for cleaning up trash. I haven’t actually learned combat spells. I assume they exist, but I’ve had other priorities than learning them.”

Senator Gardner returned to her slow swimming through the tank. “I suggest you make it a priority, Wayfinder. If we follow that plan that does not exist, you will come to find you’ve made numerous enemies. Make sure you survive whatever they try to do to you. You’re too valuable to lose right now.”

Wayfinder’s first presentation was to the authorities in each of the critical areas of Denver infrastructure, early the next morning. The next involved all the best officers in the city police.

Everyone told her it was completely impossible to make such a significant policy change within a week of deciding on it. Those people would probably have been right, if she didn’t have Sunburst’s help.

The unicorn was literally magic when it came to records and planning. He digested everything, absorbed building layouts and streets and the key failure points in utility networks that Equestria did not even possess. What he produced during their late nights together in the office, she delegated to the staff of assistants and aides that kept the force going.

Then she took those plans and brought them to the staff that would actually enforce them, along with the answers she’d prepared to obvious questions.

>They were leaving a lot of empty space

Yes, they intended to demolish many older buildings in the future.

>Why not fill every apartment right away, why spread everyone out?

Because she didn’t want the population to view the new freedom as a scarce resource that would run out if they didn’t fight over it. Their friends who lived in the expanded parts of the city would report that they saw empty buildings and many floors in larger buildings were simply going unused.

They had all the basics figured out, leaving only one sticking point when it was all done: How could she possibly expect an already-overwhelmed force to keep the peace in an area that would grow to twice the size?

She could tell that many did not appreciate her answer: they would not have to. Much of the conflict the zone suffered came because of people forced to live in miserable conditions with nothing to do. Wayfinder was giving them purpose, and they would earn an increased quality of life in exchange. In time, they would provide for enough of their own needs that food, water, and power no longer had to be rationed.

“You’re insane,” Peter told her, once the other officers had all hurried out to prepare for the incredible task she’d just given them, and it was just the three of them in her office. Sunburst had his own desk now, with the majority of the space dedicated to the boards and three large computer screens he’d integrated into his workflow. He usually kept to himself when she had visitors, including right then.

“There is no way this is going to work. You’re taking ten thousand work volunteers.”

“In the first week, yes,” she smiled at him. “Not all managed by the same people, or going to the same teams.” She gestured at the far wall, which now showed over a dozen different “departments” of their new government. Currently, Agriculture, Infrastructure, and Education had the most attention. But all would have their time eventually. “See? We’re splitting them up.”

“The density isn’t the problem, it’s controlling them. A hundred angry activists is a riot that few departments can control. What do you do when you open those gates and there are thousands of people who want to stampede their way out and loot? Asking them to rely on their better natures will accomplish nothing. They’re genuinely desperate. Most people out there have barely enough to eat, and they know we don’t have more shipments coming in. Hell, some of them might just claim they’re the original owners of whatever apartments or property you decide to appropriate. What do you tell them? Basically none of us can prove who we were before, as you know.”

She swallowed. Wayfinder’s original placement came from a lie Lance had constructed for her, so she could contribute her talents to protecting the city. Even attempting to investigate those claims would involve delegating enormous resources, without few of the underlying backbone to make any real inquiry into anyone. It simply wasn’t possible.

“We’ll file their claims for compensation,” she said. “I’ll find a few volunteers to take their complaints, collect evidence. Promise that they will be fully reimbursed or returned to their property as soon as we’re human again. Until then… we must expand, or we die. And if they seem credible and they’re eligible to serve, we can trust them at their word, assuming we’d be placing them where we were sending them anyway.”

Peter whistled, his tail flicking sharply against the wall and the desk. “Wayfinder… I know how… I guess you’ve been on this path since the first time we met. You were always the one making decisions. Saved me, pointed us at Granite Bluff, saved Hazel then me again.”

He approached her desk, voice down. “Do you realize what you’re doing now? To yourself?” At her bewildered expression, he hurried on. “If you fail, you get thousands of people killed. The zone goes from kinda sorta working a little bit to an enormous slice of hell. It gets so out of hand that you can’t bring it back in, or the feds drop a few big bombs to stop anyone from escaping when the borders collapse.”

She met his eyes, unblinking. “If we change nothing, that will happen anyway. I buy maybe three more months of barely-living, then we run out of food in winter.”

“Second option,” he continued. “You succeed. Somehow, god knows how. Probably your new boyfriend. I can smell the smarts radiating off that guy.”

“Thank you?” Sunburst said. “I… I think. Was that a compliment?”

“And socially awkward,” Peter went on. “I’m sure you’ll be very happy together, Blue. But here’s the thing. Look at how history treats great men. Look at their reward. All this stuff you’ve come up with feels a little like Lincoln, violating half the nation’s rules to keep it together. Only you won’t get a pass for freeing the slaves. One day it could be you who takes a bullet in a crowded theater. I don’t want anything to happen to you, Way. You don’t deserve that. Why should it be you who has to carry this? Even if you think you’re strong enough… hell, maybe you are. But you shouldn’t have to be.”

Wayfinder stood up, then reached over the desk to rest her hoof against his. “I think you’re going a little overboard with that comparison, Peter. But I’m… glad you care about me. I’d rather not get killed, but… you’re the second pony to be afraid something might happen to me. In the short term, I’ll focus on learning magic I can use to stay safe. Long-term, I’ll… have to hope that more people realize the reason I did what I have.”

He left her there in the office, the glass door slowly sliding shut behind him. That left Wayfinder alone with a Sunburst who was no longer scribbling or typing anything.

He looked up from his seat, tilting his head slightly to one side. “I assume ‘Boyfriend’ means more or less what the context suggests.”

She slumped down into her seat, head faintly on the desk. “That’s what you’re asking? Not the part about this being impossible and someone probably trying to kill me?”

“Oh, that.” He stood up. “He’s probably correct. Equestria’s princesses faced danger frequently. Sometimes from ponies, sometimes from other creatures. Though they had the benefit of Alicorn magic to keep them safe, an advantage you lack. I think it will be a good problem to have. If we endure long enough that we’re fearful of such questions, it will mean we’ve outlasted the food scarcity and the other problems it introduces.”

“Of course… you will need to decide how public a face you want to have on all this. Do you want to be out there recruiting the volunteers yourself, or safe inside this office? One is a lot safer. Another…”

“Another wins me a lot of credibility, if I succeed,” she finished for him. “Good question. If I tell you, will you come to dinner with me?”

That caught him completely off-guard. Sunburst stared from behind his desk, mouth hanging open. “I… do think I’d be willing,” he said. “You’re no longer so helpless that I would feel guilty. I’ll go. Now will you tell me?”

She would.

1. I’m going out on stage in front of the whole city. They need to know it’s a person making these decisions.

2. I’ll make it a broadcast, and leave the police to enact the policy. The less of me is attached, the safer I’ll be.