Twilight trotted down the road away from Sugarcube Corner back towards the library, her mind going back over what Pinkie Pie had told her. It all seemed pretty logical. It was true, after all, that words did only have the power that ponies gave them. If this whole day was to celebrate something like that, then maybe it wasn't so bad after all. If nopony seemed particularly hurt by it, then there wasn't an issue.
Since it was a nice day, though, she decided to work off the cupcakes a little bit and cut through the park on the way back home. Spike was still playing with Sweetie Belle, so she wasn't particularly needed back there at the moment. She had remembered to put the sign on the door saying that she was out, so she had a little more time to herself if she wanted to take it.
Twilight took a deep breath and relished the fresh, clean air, and basked in the warm rays of the sun that were shining over her. She looked up into the sky and saw that there was not a cloud to be seen, save for one. One with a familiar rainbow tail hanging over the edge.
"Hey, Rainbow Dash!" she called out. Even if Rainbow Dash was involved in Cleansing Day, there was no reason not to say hi to her. She could respond with some slurs if Rainbow Dash had some of her own prepared.
Rainbow Dash poked her head through the cloud, and gave Twilight a greeting nod and a small smile. "'Sup, Twilight." Rainbow took to the sky and pushed the cloud closer to the ground until it was just about level with Twilight before plopping back onto it, crossing her hind legs and crossing her forelegs behind her back. "Anything new going on?"
Twilight smirked and glanced over in the direction of the town. "Well, I just found out about Cleansing Day, so that was a pretty big shock for me."
Rainbow clicked her tongue and subtly shrugged. "Yeah, I don't really do that kind of stuff. I'm one of those... what do you call them...?" Rainbow spun one of her hooves as she tried to think of the words. "Conscious objections?"
"Conscientious objectors?"
Rainbow nodded and lazily pointed a hoof in Twilight's direction. "Yeah, that's the one. What you said. I learned about what Cleansing Day was in school in my second year, and I knew that I didn't wanna do it, so I didn't." Rainbow tilted her head in a subtle shrug once more. "Just seemed kinda mean to me."
Twilight cocked her head and sat down in the grass next to Rainbow Dash. "I talked to Pinkie Pie about that. She said that Ponyville does it to remove the power of those words."
"I know that, but..." Rainbow hesitated as she ran a hoof through her mane. "I never liked it that we even joked about those words, even to make it so that we didn't feel so bad about them, you know?"
"Why?"
Rainbow deeply exhaled and rolled over on her cloud until she was on her stomach facing Twilight. "You know I dropped out of flight school, right? Well, my dad wasn't too happy about that, so he made me join the military battalion stationed in Cloudsdale so I'd have some working experience so I could get a job when I got out."
Twilight frowned and raised her eyebrow. "You were in the military?"
Rainbow Dash nodded. "Age eighteen to age twenty." Dash grimaced and rested her head in her forelegs. "I got stuck with basic Cloudsdale Air Force because I never finished flight school, so I wasn't allowed to advance any higher. A lot of the pegasi I ended up serving with weren't exactly... nice to everypony. Some were downright jerks." Rainbow's eyes narrowed and she raised her head to look directly into Twilight's eyes. "I had met some earth ponies and unicorns when I went down from Cloudsdale to visit Fluttershy a few times. Made a few friends too like Applejack. Imagine, then, that you've spent a whole day learning to kill things as efficiently as possible when you've never wanted to learn that, you're yelled at until your ears hurt when you can't kill fast enough, then you gotta salute them and call them 'sir' when it's all over.
"Have a whole day of that, then go back to the mess hall and listen to some jerks who went ground-side talking about the filthy mud ponies and the stuck-up horn heads."
Twilight flattened her ears and her gaze trailed to the ground. "I... I had no idea."
"Yeah, well, it gets worse." Rainbow scoffed and shook her head. "There's a perception among the pegasi militaries that 'mud ponies' are the kind of ponies who will lift their tails for just about everything that asks, so I had to hear them talking about that too. They don't think much better of unicorns, honestly, they just think you're a little 'higher end.'" Rainbow broke off a portion of her cloud and began idly poking at it. "Like I said, I'd already become sorta good friends with Applejack by that point, so I wasn't really going to stand for that kind of talk. One night I got in a little fight when one of the returning squads mentioned something about a 'pretty orange mud pony' he wanted to... you know.
Rainbow extended a foreleg and Twilight saw a scar a few inches long just under her knee. "Clocked the guy pretty good and broke his muzzle, but they were still armed with their wing-blades. I got a black eye, few broken ribs, and if I wasn't as fast as I was jumping back, I might not have this leg anymore." Rainbow grimaced and retracted her leg. "Of course, then they started on me. 'Mud licker, 'horn sucker,' that kind of thing. Stayed with me the rest of my tour of duty."
Rainbow crossed her forelegs and rested her head on top of them. "That's why I don't do Cleansing Day. I'm all for taking the power away from words, and I know that nopony here would do that, but I know that the idea is gonna be abused by somepony, and I've been on the wrong end of that kind of speech. It isn't something that I even want to joke about."
Twilight slowly nodded, and managed to look back up at Rainbow Dash, her ears slowly perking back up. "Do you... do you not like the others for participating in Cleansing Day?"
Rainbow shook her head. "No I don't feel anything like that, because I guess I can see the point of it all. Pinkie told me that she was doing it to 'Giggle at the Ghosties" too, but..." Rainbow sighed and shook her head. "And don’t think that all pegasi soldiers are mareanizing racists, it was really only three or four stallions, but it was enough for me to not like they idea anymore. I tend to avoid everypony today ‘cause of that. I only came out here because it's such a nice day out. Everypony knows that I'm not somepony who likes today, so I've never had any problems with it."
"Have you ever told anypony why you don't like it?" Twilight raised her head fully. "I mean, I think a lot of them might stop if they knew the other side of things."
"Nah, I wouldn't do that to 'em. If they want to because it helps them deal with those kinds of words, then fine." Rainbow scratched the back of her head. "As for me, I'd really rather not. All I've told anypony outside of a few in our groups is that I've had a few bad experiences with that kind of thing when I was in the military. They leave me alone about it."
Twilight flattened her ears again. "I had no idea. I wouldn't have gotten involved myself if I had known."
"Don't be like that, Twilight." Rainbow Dash managed a small smile. "Look, that's just my experience, you know? Like I said, if Cleansing Day is how the rest of Ponyville wants to cope with the fact that ponies can say those kinds of things to each other then more power to 'em. I just don't really want to get involved myself, ya know? It's not how I want to deal with that kind of thing. I don't think they're bad ponies, Twilight."
Twilight slowly nodded. "I guess that makes sense." She got to her hooves, and Rainbow sat up on the cloud. "Sorry if I... I dunno, offended you or something by even bringing it up."
Rainbow smirked and shook her head. "This ol' filly? Nah, you're good. You didn't know, and you had no reason to. It's just my opinion based on my experiences, that's all. Don't feel bad that you got involved, but..." Rainbow Dash waved a hoof. "It's not for me."
I'd be in RD's corner... For the same reason.
3410088 i'm with you, man! i'm 100% for rainbows side of things.
Congratulations on subverting my expectations. I never thought of Dash being an abstainer.
That was a surprise. I'm happy with the direction that you took Rainbow's chapter.
I'm guessing Fluttershy is the biggest supporter of them all.
And I was right about Dash, though for a different reason... Interesting. Got any more room on your cloud, Dashie? I'd rather stick with you.
Huh... Well so much for my idea earlier lol.
Hmmm....Fluttershy could be a surprise.
Awww, now I feel bad for RD. I still don't subscribe to the whole "Pegasi have to be in the military because reasons," headcanon, though.
Ah, so this proves those cloud nags are evil racists after all!
Lording over the world with their evil weather control satellites and pretending it's magic.
3410328 Why not? Tons of countries today have laws where their citizens have to do a token stint in the military. Given that pegasi have a military history as shown by the Hearths Warming Eve episode, it make sense to me that the pegasi would still keep some of that. Given Coudsdale's size, it would essentially be a police force as opposed to an actual standing military that could do invasions and such, on top of the fact that it would double as military reserves for the Equestrian Army as a whole. If Cloudsdale has a military to itself, it eliminates the need for a police force.
Huh. Didn’t really expect that from Rainbow Dash.
Which was actually really, really clever on BronyWriter’s part, because I’m willing to bet most of us thought Rainbow would be having a grand ol’ time of it, based on our other expectations of her.
And learning a lesson about expecting things of others based on second-hand information and hearsay is kind of the point, I think.
3410354 I know, I just don't subscribe to it. And, just because a country has a military history, doesn't mean everyone has to do service present day. It could happen, I just don't think it does. Also, if it's more of a police force than a military, what country would require all citizens to have a stint as a police officer?
P.S. What countries require military service of their citizens?
3410369
I know everyone I know from Singapore goes through it.
3410369
South Korea requires men to perform just shy of two years in their military.
3410369 These countries require military service. As for Cloudsdale itself, I said that it's also a reserve force for the actual royal guard/ Equestrian army. Soldiers have certainly played peacekeeping roles before. It's a military first, it just plays police roles sometimes.
I agree that military history doesn't automatically equate service, but here it is the basis of it. In the end for me it's less headcanon than a storytelling element. The show (as far as we know) doesn't have a day where everybody gets to be racist, and Cloudsdale doesn't have mandatory conscription. Why can I use one as a storytelling element and not the other? I gave Cloudsdale mandatory conscription for reasons I think were at the very least plausible to give RD solid reasons why she wouldn't want to participate in Cleansing Day.
Everyone's suddenly like "Wow, RD isn't a holiday abuser, then Fluttershy must be, right?"
Apparently people think that on Townwide Racist Day that pegasi subvert expectations. Granted "extremist" is the one part of the scale we haven't seen yet, but that seriously seems much more characteristic of a certain rabbit. If anything, I'd think Flutters would want absolutely nothing to do with the whole thing, considering how mean the concept is from most viewpoints.
The current beliefs of this holiday seem to be reflected by their personalities. AJ because of tradition, Rarity because she's all for fitting in as long as no one gets hurt, Pinkie because it's harmless fun, and Dashie because she's pretty indifferent about most things. I honestly expected Rainbow Dash to be pulled into the neutral ground. Not for the exact reasons stated in this chapter obviously, but because of how she is. She might not agree with what's going on, but far be it from her to try to stop anyone for doing their own thing.
BUT WHAT THE HELL DO I KNOW? I'M JUST A NOBODY THAT FLOATS AROUND THIS PLACE MAKING COMMENTS ON THE INTERNET!
3410354
Wait wait wait... Why in the world would Pegasi have to have a two year stint in the military? That doesn't make any sense to me.
I mean, I understand that there are plenty of countries that do this sort of thing. Israel for one (though it's plenty understandable for them given that they're surrounded on all sides by people that hate them). But why in the world would it apply to Pegasi?
I suppose the question is "why would it ONLY apply to Pegasi?" See, I get that Pegasi have a highly militaristic background. This is evident in Hearth's Warming Eve. But the Pegasi are no longer a nation all their own. The three tribes merged together and formed Equestria, which means they also adopted both Earth Pony and Unicorn culture into their society. Now, when Equestria was first starting out I might believe, as the cultures worked out their differences and were still somewhat segregated, that perhaps a 'Pegasus council' or something would demand that pegasi join the military, but a thousand years later the races are intermingled and all answer to a single established government in Canterlot. How in the world would such a law persist? Especially if there are (presumably a fair number given that pegasi aren't, in general, violent dickweeds) of ponies, such as Rainbow (and presumably Fluttershy) who obviously would rather it didn't persist.
If Unicorns and Earth ponies were subject to these laws as well, I'd get it. Equestria seems a touch peaceful for a nation that does this sort of thing, but I'd get it. But JUST Pegasi? Who is it in the government that's demanding this law stay in place? Who is it that has caused this law to persist and affect countless generations of Pegasi, even after the culture evolved beyond that and integrated other cultures into it that should have negated it. Why would the government demand that a third of its population be forced into military service when it's not controlled by pegasi, but a duo of princesses that embody all three races?
Even if it were divided down the gender line, I'd still get it. After all, males in America are forced to sign up for draft, but women are not. That makes sense, I guess. But when you divide it down a racial line like that... well... I hate to say it but this is a racist law.
How does such a law persist in a land governed by Princesses Celestia and Luna? It doesn't make any sense in the context of the world.
3410369 Switzerland does, and even after you leave the actual army, you're still in the militia.
3410554 Okay, as stated above, it fulfills the dual nature of royal guard/Equestrian army reserves and peacekeeping force in Cloudsdale. Cloudsdale as a city has its own military that it uses to fulfill its own ends (namely, peacekeeping, guarding stuff, etc) that is also a reserve force for the Equestrian Army. As for why unicorns and earth ponies aren't subject to this, well, 1. they aren't descendents of militaristic societies, and 2. why would they be? Obviously they can't join the Cloudsdale army because, you know, it's in the clouds. It's strictly a Cloudsdale law, much how individual states/towns have their own laws, therefore not racist. If Earth ponies and unicorns lived in Cloudsdale full time as citizens then they would be conscripted for two years as well, but they can't because it's a cloud city.
Basically it boils down to this.
Cloudsdale: We want all of our 18-20 year old able-bodied pegasi to serve in a peacekeeping force in our city.
Celestia: Okay, but they have to by in my army if I need them.
Cloudsdale: Okay.
I fail to see what's so ridiculous or far-fetched about that. It's simpler than a police force. Plus, RD said Fluttershy went into the medical corps, something that would give Fluttershy skills that she definitely uses, so it's not like military service=goes out to the field and kills things. RD only got stuck with that because she didn't finish flight school.
3410147 That's my theory, too. Then Princess Luna, who has no idea that the holiday exists, wanders straight into Fluttershy, who thinks Luna knows all about it. Hilarity ensues.
3410606
From what it sounds like you're saying, you're describing Cloudsdale as its own city-state. That would be the only reason I could see why there would be a "Cloudsdale military" rather than "Equestrian Military stationed in Cloudsdale."
Except from what we understand, Cloudsdale is not a city state, but a city in Equestria with no evidence to suggest it has its own autonomous government. But okay, let's go with appears to be your headcanon and say that Cloudsdale has its own autonomous Government and somehow can make military decisions without consulting Celestia.
You used a blanket term "All pegasi" which suggested to me that you not only meant pegasi living in Cloudsdale, but pegasi also living in Canterlot, Ponyville, Hoofington, Vanhoover, etc etc etc. If that's the case, you paint a picture of young ponies being forcibly shipped off from everywhere all over the nation to Cloudsdale to be forced to work in the military in some function, simply because they were unfortunate enough to be born with wings. That paints a terribly racist picture. What if the US government were to pass a law saying "All African Americans" or "All people of Irish descent" or "All Latinos" suddenly had to enlist in the military at the age of 18 for a couple years. There'd be RIOTS, because it's a law determined down racial lines and strips people of their personal privacy, safety, and freedom, sending them into danger (and yes, even the more peaceful branches like the medical corps would be in some degree of danger).
If that's not what you were trying to get by and only pegasi from Cloudsdale are involved, at least specify that by saying "All pegasi living in Cloudsdale."
Even then, it shouldn't matter if they come from a militaristic background. That was obviously THOUSANDS of years ago according to the lore, and their culture has obviously evolved far beyond that as well as taken on other cultural aspects from Earth and Unicorn ponies via cultural diffusion. Their culture should have evolved beyond that and keeping a tradition around for the sake of tradition is a clear path to disaster. Wise men use tradition as a guideline. Fools use it as a law.
And if every town has this sort of thing, where they have a military service as opposed to a police force as you suggest by bringing up city laws, then why isn't this a thing in Canterlot, Ponyville, etc etc etc. Wouldn't, then, Earth ponies and Unicorns have to do a stint in service anyway?
But even if they don't all ahve this sort of thing and this is exclusive to Cloudsdale... how does Cloudsdale get the authority to have its own military if it is but a city in Equestria? Unless it is its own autonomous nation, shouldn't the military be handled by the Federal government and not the state/city government? You don't see people signing up for the "Californian Armed Forces" or the "Chicago Military." I've heard of militias, but that's a little bit different, and from what I understand it's voluntary.
Ultimately, no. It's not simpler than a police force as a police force, like a militia, is voluntary and stinks of corruption and potentially even treason. While I understand the mechanics of what you're trying to get across, it's a silly sounding law that doesn't make sense in context.
...and if Rainbow didn't want to join, why didn't she just move to Ponyville before she reached 18?
3410660 Okay, I'd like to start off by saying that you're making a huge deal over something that's a storytelling element. I wouldn't have put it in if I thought that I was going to have to explain the entire Equestrian legal system, but I'm going to do my best to explain.
1. Yes, just Cloudsdale pegasi. I should have specified. A pegasus who just turned 18 who was born and raised in Vanhoover isn't going to get his draft notice.
2. Cloudsdale can't make it's own military decisions without consulting Celestia. When did I ever say that?
3. You're basing Equestrian society off of our own, when they have evolved in different ways. Saying "it's weird that they do it that way" is wrong when that culture came a vastly different way to get to where it is today.
4. Here's how it goes down. "Cloudsdale: Celestia, we want our own peacekeeping force that pegasi between the ages of 18-20 will do one tour of duty in. It'll replace the police force. It'll be ruled by us locally, but ultimately by you since it is technically a pseudo branch of the military. "
Give me one good reason why Celestia says no. Tell me why the pegasi of Cloudsdale say no, particularly since this was implemented a long time ago, and the pegasi are raised knowing that this is just something they have to do. It's just a half-step up from a police force. That's it. That's all it is. That's why it can be ruled by both the local gov't and Celestia.
5. Because she was a flight school dropout and it was her only chance at a job. Because she was eighteen and still living with her parents. Because she couldn't find a job and a house in time before being conscripted. Because Cloudsdale would see that as draft dodging to live in Cloudsdale for 17 3/4 years then jump ship right before your duty. Pick your reason.
3410697
Alright, here's my rebuttal.
1) Alright then. That's a little bit better and certainly less unsettling.
2) If Cloudsdale had its own military, trains its own military in its own way, and makes decisions around the city, it would be implied that they're making decisions in their city and the surrounding area separate from Celestia, would it not? As you say later in your comment, it's ruled by them locally, though Celestia can step in when she feels like it. Assuming she doesn't feel like it at the moment, they're doing things without consulting her or Celestia's military in Canterlot, meaning that they could be doing who knows what at any given moment. And that's just begging for disaster.
3) Admittedly. But, on the other hand, the show was made in AmeriCanada and seems to base most of its values off of AmeriCanadian ones. Not to mention most of the technology, aesthetic, and activity parallels very closely with our culture. It would stand to reason that, while obviously different in some ways, Equestrian society has evolved into something mirroring a more utopic version of ours.
4) Okay, here's how I see it going down.
"Cloudsdale: Celestia, we want our own peacekeeping force that pegasi between the ages of 18-20 will do one tour of duty in. It'll replace the police force. It'll be ruled by us locally, but ultimately by you since it is technically a pseudo branch of the military."
"Celestia: Why?"
"Cloudsdale: Your Majesty?"
"Celestia: Why would you want to do that?"
"Cloudsdale: Well if everybody from the ages of 18-20 were conscripted into a city wide military would it not be easier to manage than a police force?"
"Celestia: I don't see how it would be any better. You'd be working with young, inexperienced ponies who would be more likely to screw up and cause something terrible to happen rather than experienced, seasoned police officers. Furthermore, there really isn't anything in the military structure that is necessarily better than a police one. They're all run by ponies and all ponies are imperfect and make mistakes and there are flaws in both systems. Also, military methods are a touch overly extreme for dealing with civilians. Not to mention you'd be forcing ponies into service who may not want to have anything to do with it. You'd be taking away their freedoms and forcing them to do things they wouldn't want to do."
"Cloudsdale: But we're descended from great warriors! Who wouldn't care to join?"
"Celestia: That was thousands of years ago! Pegasi have grown beyond that sort of thing. Surely there will be hundreds, if not thousands of pegasi who wish nothing to do with the military."
"Cloudsdale: But... but we..."
"Celestia: What is this all about? Is the mayor of Cloudsdale planning something?"
"Cloudsdale: ...your Majesty?"
"Celestia: I find it suspicious that Cloudsdale would suddenly want to dump a perfectly serviceable Police Force for something obviously much more extreme in its methods and functions that is not in any visible way superior in handling peacekeeping, civilian protection, and law enforcement... not to mention would suddenly wish to take away freedom of choice from all of its citizens for two years of their lives and throwing them into harms way. Something stinks here. It almost smells like someone in Cloudsdale is trying to train an army for a coup."
"Cloudsdale: I wouldn't know anything about that."
"Celestia: I think I shall schedule a meeting with the mayor of Cloudsdale."
[Scene end]
Doesn't matter how long ago it was implemented, because this is how I see it going down. This is not only a law that strips ponies of their rights, it's one that is downright fishy. And unless it was implemented several thousand years ago, I have no idea how, after the integration of the three tribes into a brand new, diffused culture, it would have ever flown. Certainly not with Celestia at the helm.
And even if it was implemented thousands of years ago, I don't see how it's lasted so long. You mean to tell me in the bright, colorful, peaceful, rainbow covered world of Equestria there's never been a social movement in Cloudsdale where ponies who decided they don't want to throw themselves into harms way and potentially have to hurt other ponies stood up to have the law overturned? I find that highly unlikely that every single pony living in Cloudsdale is okay with this law's existence.
5) I guess I'd take any of them but the last one. Don't see how you could be punished for that if you've moved to another city. You would no longer be subject to the previous city's laws and would be subject to the new ones' instead.
3410747 1. Settled.
2. How much power do you think this (relatively small) peacekeeping force has? How big do you think it really is? You really think that if the Cloudsdale militia was doing anything other than basic peacekeeping Celestia wouldn't find out pretty much immediately and put a stop to it? I'll stress that they're pretty much just a half step above cops.
3. fine.
4. They're not dumping a police force, this replaces the police force. it is the police force! What, do you think this law was implemented ten years before the show? This is pretty well established. Also, do you seriously think that there aren't higher-ups in the force that wouldn't keep them in check? You seriously think that the (again, relatively small) force isn't run by experienced officers who would actually train the pegasi so they aren't neophytes, that they send them out into the field with no experience or training whatsoever?
Might as well get rid of the whole army then. And the police force. Let's be honest here, though, they wouldn't just be taught how to kill. RD's really just being dramatic. They heave to learn how to fight; it's just part of the job. I can see a bunch of reasons why most ponies wouldn't care. 1. It's a job straight out of flight school. 2. work experience. 3. Equestria is peaceful, and normally is under the Royal Sister. Easy job that doesn't put you in much harms way at all. 4. Free room and board. 5 Place to make connections. Stuff like that. It's not really a job that I see with a high on-field injury rate.
5. Then don't pick the last option.
Once again, though, I think you're making too big of a deal about a storytelling element.
3410771
2) How should I know? The fanfic isn't about them. I dunno, maybe you should write a fanfic about Rainbow Dash's experience in this thingamijig so that I can get a better idea of what you're trying to get across.
But depending upon the Cloudsdale population age distribution, if we say, decide that it mirrors our nation's, this means that at any point in time, at least 5% of the population is a part of this force. This means that 1 in 20 ponies, at any given time, are a part of the military in Cloudsdale. That may sound small at first, but it's actually quite the large number depending upon the total population of Cloudsdale. And you also have to remember that the number of ponies at any given time in the military is expanded by those who decide (for whatever reason) to stay on board with the military even after their mandatory term is up.
So that means that, at any given time, if we say that the population of Cloudsdale is, say, 1,000,000, that the number of ponies in the force will be well over 50,000.
This is a frigging huge police force. So you know what? Yes. I'd assume it holds a fair amount of power and, if it had the inclination, could successfuly go corrupt and cause a lot of damage at any moment.
Not to mention that a fair portion of the ponies outside the military at any given time would be made up of the elderly and children.
4) Yes yes, I'm sure that there will be ponies that will decide to stay on the force. Nevertheless, the majority will probably be made up of the young ones. Especially since, from what we've seen in scenes involving Cloudsdale, most of the cutie marks we've seen seem to involve weather production more than anything else, and will probably ditch the military to follow their true callings asap. So with that established, the vast majority of the force, save for the higher ups, will be made up of rookies with little experience, save for what they've done in simulations and training exercises, which is no substitute for field experience. And it will perpetually be this way. I'd hate to have to live in Cloudsdale if I could basically be assured that I'd never have an experienced officer to help me since almost nobody stuck around long enough to be any good.
And I'm not saying get rid of the whole army or police force. I'm saying that it should be a solely voluntary organization. You know... like a Police Force! Rather than bogging your organization down in inexperienced, useless rookies good only for cannon fodder that will never get better because they leave immediately because they'd rather be somewhere else, you have a smaller but high quality force of experienced people that want to be there because it is, presumably, their calling.
I'm probably misinterpreting a fair amount of what you're talking about. Again, maybe if you wrote a fanfic about this interpretation of things, we wouldn't be having this discussion at all since it would be better explained. But as is, it doesn't make any sense to me and I have no idea why the citizenship would go along with it since it throws innocent people into harms way needlessly. And I can't imagine it's an easy job with no risks when Equestria is a world with Draconequi, ancient evils, dragons, monsters, magical supervillains, and so on and so forth.
3410808 Go look at a picture of Cloudsdale. Does it seriously look like it has the capacity for a million ponies? Or even a hundred thousand?
But I'm honestly tired of arguing this and I see some of your points, even though I really do like the idea. I'll just change it to "RD went into the military base stationed in Cloudsdale because it was her best option after she dropped out of flight school." Better? Yeah, I like my idea more but if its confusing to you, it's confusing to others, and I don't want people focusing on that when the story isn't even remotely about that. In any way. This is a story about Ponyville Racism Day.
3410832
I dunno. I've heard people try and argue that Ponyville houses well over 10,000 ponies and that boggles my mind. It's hard to tell, from author to author, what interpretation of population they're taking.
I see some of your points as well, really. It's definitely a lot clearer than when I first started arguing this point. Still, yes, the idea that Rainbow just joined up with the military voluntarily because it made sense as a job after dropping out makes more sense than 'city wide mandate that everybody join.' I know that I certainly find that idea a lot more palatable and sensible overall.
If you really REALLY liked the idea, though, you shouldn't feel forced or obligated change it just for my benefit. It's your story after all. I'm just a guy that asks the nitpicky questions about plotholes that really don't matter in the long run. I do this to pretty much everybody, 'cause I like to challenge people to put more effort into worldbuilding and making the stories make sense. It was really just something that stuck out as a 'wait wth' moment.
3410851 Well, yes, I really, really like the idea, but a plot hole is a plot hole. even if it doesn't have much to do with the plot. It's already changed to make more sense. Like I said, if you found issue, others would too, and I don't want people focusing on that aspect of the chapter. I want people commenting on what they thought about Rainbow's motives for not participating in Racism Day. If people are going to instead comment on how it doesn't make sense that Cloudsdale has a conscription force, then what's the point of the chapter? You sometimes have to change a line to get the focus back where it should be.
3410867
Very true, very true. It's the sort of thing that bugs all writers, having to remove elements they made and find neat to make the story flow better and make more objective sense. Otherwise you get people, well... doing what I just did left and right.
As I said, though, it would possibly be very neat to see an entire story based around this Cloudsdale conscription force you've conceived and Rainbow/Fluttershy's experiences in it. That way, rather than having it be a distracting background element, you can build the whole story around it, thereby giving you time to focus on all the things that don't make sense and address them by explaining them better. Devote more time to the worldbuilding, the politics and methods behind it, the potential controversy around it, and so on and so forth and it would make an interesting story all its own if you devoted enough time to developing and explaining the context.
And on the note of Rainbow Dash, I might as well actually COMMENT on the chapter... I have to say I agree with her, though to be fair, I live in a much less utopic world than she does. In the context of Equestria I can understand everybody's points so far, but Rainbow Dash's is the one I most agree with given my own experiences and the simple fact that, well... she's right. This holiday is simply BEGGING to be abused by some jackanape who actually feels these ways.
3410354
Italy did untill 2004.
3410851it would be more like, 205, ponies, which in a small town may look like that much but isnt, cloudsdale probably holds close to 500 to a thousand ponies
3410902
Well, as I said, there's no real Word of God on this and the interpretation varies from author to author.
3410904 actually, the size of the cities was determined, I live in a small city that is iver 32 square miles in size and we have a lot of people, cloudsdale and pnyville would fit in this city to the point where they would only be about the size of one of our neighborhoods
3410924
How could you even begin to claim that you know what the sizes of the cities are when we've barely even seen them? Ponyville you could MAYBE get some grasp on its size from establishing shots and extrapolate a population from that (though there are likely multiple ways that it could be interpreted), but we haven't seen Cloudsdale enough to get any decent grasp on its size.
Didn't expect that.
3410940 dude, look at a picture of cloudsdale, its clearly not a big city, but it is still plenty big, but my town dwarfs it still. tneth largest city in georgia boys, take that
3410964
Looks plenty big to me.
3410975 ahem to quote a many people, thats what she said!
3410889 Thailand still have that, but can be avoided by joining the Homeguard on highschool.
I had a sneaking suspicion that RD wouldn't get involved in this.
Okay... that's another expectation off my list... let's see...
Well, I have yet to see the first or last one... well, until next time!
3410867 I loved the idea. it makes sense to me. But hey. If the majority doesn't like it well... erm.. FORGET DEM!?MK!!W (kidding)
But seriously, it makes perfect sense that cloudsdale might have a mandatory service time, commander Hurricane looked like the kinda pony who'd set something like that up. (or if it wasn't him, and was at a later date: I could see a descendant of his in the command structure making this request.)
The status quo does not need to be maintained. this was a fantastic idea here. if you get rid of it that's just a shame.
If you DO get rid if it though, THIS---> 3410885 is a good idea.
I support you in whatever descision you make.
3410885 "Cleansing Day" may be begging to be abused by someone, but so too is every law I can think of.
Laws against murder? They'll be used to punish those who act purely in self-defense.
Laws against rape? Some women will falsely cry rape, for reasons including everything from revenge for perceived injustices (such as breaking up with said woman) to avoiding awkward conversations. Yes, both examples given have happened in RL, with jail time for the accused. The scariest part of these is that evidence is not needed for a conviction.
Huh. I'd imagined Dash would be all over this sort of thing.
3411315 This kind of got out of my control. I didn't intend for it to become so... not parodyish, but it turned out that way. I hope to make the Fluttershy chapter funnier.
3410606 But it seems that Equestria wouldn't be the type of place for that to happen, military history or not. It's not always training for war, yeah, but it seems a waste of time for everyone to learn skills best suited for war, for 2 years, when there is no war in Equestria proper. They could be going to college (or living lives, since we see no school past elementary in Equestria.) or something more productive. Why would they have military training, when there were already plenty enough guards, and no war to give their skills another purpose. Anyways, Equestria doesn't seem like the place that needs that much peacekeeping, since we see nary a law-breaker, and no police force save the royal guard, and those arent even in Cloudsdale. Did you see any militia in Cloudsdale? I didn't.
3411445 It's moot anyways since I've removed the idea (even though I really like it) as others have had problems with it, and I don't want people focusing on the issue as that's not what the chapter is about. I changed it to "Dash did a tour in the military because it was her best option after she dropped out of flight school."
I like the unexpected, yet completely reasonable spin of RD objecting to badmouthing her friends, even for fun.
However, RD previously being in the military kinda conflicts with the semi-spoken cannon that the Wonderbolts are a branch of Equestias millitary and the reason RD didn't join sooner is that she was too young (hence her participating in the Young Fliers Competition and being called the "little pony that saved our lives" by Spitfire)
Regardless I'm enjoying this ponified thought expirement and it's branching into the socio-political that some consider taboo for some reason.
*follow*