A day went by in which Twilight Sparkle adjusted to her newfound size. The changes to her daily life were mostly small, but they were many, even down to simple things like getting out of bed. She had to make sure her new horn did not scrape up the bathroom ceiling, make sure that her chairs still fit her larger form, make sure her writing desk was properly adjusted. Spike had been as stunned as all her friends when he had seen her; he had cried a bit, but she had sat beside him in the dark and snuggled close to him, and he had fallen sound asleep tucked underneath her wing.
Now the sunshine filtered through the window, and Twilight yawned herself awake. Beside her, on her bed, Spike stirred. He blinked his green reptile eyes and looked up at her. “Morning,” he said.
“Morning,” she said. “How'd you sleep?”
“Probably better than you, giant girl,” he said, and smiled.
She laughed and noogied him. “It's not that cold. I'm surprised you didn't get hot under my feathers.”
“Eh, I was fine,” he said. He clambered off the bed, but stopped and turned to look at her. “Twilight, I... I'm sorry for being so scared of you.”
She smiled. “I know, Spike. You don't have to apologize. If I were in your place, I would have been freaked out, too.”
“I... I, um,” he glanced from one side to the other, and kept looking to the left, “I love you, Twilight. You, uh, know that, right?”
She nodded. “I love you too, Spike. That's all you need to say.”
“Ha! Well in that case- gack!” He belched up a great whiff of purple smoke, one which swirled and came together as a scroll. “Oh! A letter!”
“Who's it from?”
He broke the seal and rolled open the parchment. “'My dear Twilight Sparkle, you and your five friends, as well as Spike, are cordially invited to an official presentation before the Equestrian Royal Guard in two days' time. I shall be formally creating an integrated command structure for the Guard that accommodates both deer and ponies, and I would like you all to be present. Your faithful mentor and friend, Princess Celestia.'”
“She's integrating the deer into the Guard command? That's great!” cheered Twilight. “We'll definitely go! Write her back right now, Spike.”
“Yes ma'am,” said Spike, hurrying to get some paper and a quill.
A day later, the sun shone hot upon the plains of Gildedale. Clive Croexeus stood upon the very shallow hill that marked his Waystation, the resting place of pronghorns in the Pronghorn Network. He gazed across the endless fields of golden grass, noticing the wind that blew over the full expanse. It was quite peaceful, when one got right down to things. It put him well at ease.
“Clive? I say, Clive old bean?”
“I'm here, good fellow,” Clive said, glancing round as Niles Nigellus came up from the spiral ramp that led down to the Waystation. “What is it?”
“There's a message for you, sir,” said Niles. “From Princess Celestia.”
“Is there, now?” he said, turning round. “Well, then, you'll have to let me see it.” He trotted for the ramp and followed Niles down it, down into the cavern painted with the imprints of the Dreaming. Clive took a moment, closed his eyes, and knows for just a bit the echoes of infinity. He can feel her, feel Celestia, feel the pony he has known so long, feel her in the imprint of the message she has sent. They are united, as she is with all her lovers, and though he knows he is not the first, and will not be the last, he cherishes his time with her, and has cherished it all days since its starting.
“Clive?”
“Coming,” he said, trotting to the message grotto. He stood before the well of light and watched the new report.
Clive, darling, Celestia's voice hissed and snapped, I should very much like to see how you're doing. Could you come here tomorrow afternoon, to Canterlot? I am making an important announcement. I am going to integrate the deerfolk of the Shimmerwood into the Equestrian Royal Guard, and I could use some moral support. If you're busy, of course, I'll understand. But I would like you here.
“Integrate the deerfolk into the Guard command?” said Niles. “Well, by George, that's quite a large deal. Especially given the history of deer and ponies.”
“It is indeed,” hummed Clive. “I do hope Celestia knows what she's doing. I hope she is not upsetting too many ponies.”
“Why wouldn't she know what she's doing?” Niles asked. “Obviously the ponies know their history and are at peace with it. It's a sound decision in wartime.”
“Perhaps...” hummed Clive. “But regardless, Celestia's call is not one I can easily ignore. I'll be there.”
A day later, Falalauria awakened to the sound of chirping birds outside her tent. It was a curious thing for her to wake, at least as an outsider would perceive it. Her Sight worked even in her sleep, such that she knew the moment she would wake; but still she slumbered out of consciousness, so she only knew the moment she would wake as she awoke. It was a strange sensation, but she'd made peace with it centuries ago.
Now she yawned, and stretched as she arose. Her antlers shimmered, and a gentle music filled the air. She was ready to go out and have breakfast when a gentle tapping came at her tent's door. “Hello?”
“Um, hello, Miss Falalauria, ma'am!”
She smiled. “Hello, Spike. Come in.” The little dragon toddled through the entrance, coming to a stop and glancing up at her. She hoped she wasn't too intimidating; she sat down, just in case. “What brings you here so early?”
“A message, my lady!” he said brightly, holding up a roll of parcel. “I think it's from Princess Celestia?”
Falalauria engaged her magic and the scroll rose up into the air. “Thank you, Spike. Would you like to stay for breakfast?”
“I'd love to, but I gotta get going. Twilight wants my help organizing the Languages section of the library!” He backed up. “So if you don't mind...”
“I don't mind at all, Spike. You are dismissed.” He smiled, and then ran out of the tent. Falalauria turned to the scroll. “Now what could Tia want to contact me about?” She rolled the scroll open, and she began to read. “Hmm... hmm.... hmmm... integrating the command? An excellent idea. My deer will be excited, at any rate. And I'm certain this goes well for us.”
A day later, the parade grounds of Canterlot were filled with ponies. Unicorns and pegasi and earth ponies of every shade and hue were milling all about, though most of them glanced eagerly up at the large stage settled in the stony siding of the area. There must have been more than a thousand ponies present, and more of them, pegasi of course, rested upon clouds up in the air. Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack all stood upon the stage, Spike right next to Twilight. Luna was there also, as was Shining Armor. Clive the pronghorn also stood there, though he fidgeted a bit at waiting for so long. Even Magus Javier was there, standing next to Fluttershy. Standing at the back of all was Falalauria, pink silk woven like streamers through her antlers.
In a burst of rainbows and sunshine Celestia appeared upon the stage, posing regally before the cheering of the crowd. She let them cry for several moments more, then raised a hoof for silence. “My beloved subjects,” she began, her voice projecting magically to the crowd, “I have gathered you here today for an important announcement- well, you've probably guessed that already.” A chuckle rose; she smiled. “The war with the dark lord goes well, but its waging could improve. Every day, brave ponies sacrifice their strength and love and lives for all Equestria, and they need every bit of help that we can muster. In particular, they need the recognition that not only ponies are fighting on our behalf.”
A murmur rose up from the crowd.
“As most of you are aware, the white-tail deer of the Shimmerwood have been our guests in Equestria for the past few months. They have behaved as kindly and as courteously as you might expect any guest to act, but they have gone beyond even this. Those of them that are trained in combat have assisted us in battling the dark lord. At the Battle of Manehattan, scores of white-tails served bravely in defense of the city, many giving their lives to protect it. This sacrifice deserves our recognition, and our thanks.” She smiled. “But it also deserves our awareness. The white-tails are a powerful and wise fighting force. Their armor and weapons and magic are an excellent augmentation of Equestria's own defenses. It is time they formally became a part of our war effort.”
The crowd was quiet. Falalauria could tell they were confused. It was a happy sort of confusion, however, and she could not wait to see how they'd react. But then of course she could See, couldn't she? It wouldn't hurt to peek fifteen minutes into the future. She had been so concerned with helping Luna and Celestia prepare today's event, she had not given time to seeing it within her Long Sight. Now her starscape eyes expanded, wheeled- she gasped. “Oh, no!”
“Thus, I am officially announcing that, from this day forward, the deer of the Shimmerwood shall be integrated into the regular military command of the Equestrian Royal Guard. Deer and ponies will drill together, train together, fight side-by-side.”
“Tia!” cried Falalauria, dashing up behind her; those both on the stage and off it startled at the disruptive behavior. “Tia, we must call off the ceremony. Do it privately.”
“Call it off? Lala, what are you doing? I'm in the middle of this,” whispered Celestia. She turned back to the crowd. “What is more, deer with sufficient command experience will be placed in positions of authority, even over ponies.”
“Tia, tell them to leave! Tell everyone to leave, right now! We're moments from disaster!”
Celestia, with furrowed brow, ignored her. “I realize this is a dramatic step. Not in half a century have pony soldiers been under the command of a different species. However, I am confident that this arrangement will lead to the greatest, the firmest benefit, and will lead us, in all our love and goodness, towards victory.”
Ah, yes, victory- but for whom indeed?
Everypony jolted as the voice ran through their heads- all did, except for Falalauria, who merely hung her head in full defeat. The others glanced in all directions- “Look!” cried out an earth pony, and pointed up. Those on the stage followed the hoof, and gaped.
Reiziger's head floated in the air. It was enormous, at least half as big as all of Canterlot. Its antlers stretched the whole width of the city, and its gleaming, whitish teeth were taller than most towers. It smiled, and its red eyes blazed. Hello, little ponies. Sorry to block your sun.
Celestia and Luna reared back, and the world erupted into blasts of gold and silver. The entire mountain range was shaking from the power of the magic, the whole sky gleamed with light so bright that nopony could see anything else. It nearly blinded some of them, and all of them could taste the ozone generated by the power being used. Moreover, the twin blasts lingered, hanging in the air for several moments, nearly driving everypony mad.
At last, the battle magic dissipated, and the sky grew clear. You're not going to get rid of me that easily, I'm afraid. With a swirl of shadow in the sky, Reiziger's head reappeared, grinning down at them.
Celestia noticed first. “It's just a projection!” she cried out.
“He is not fully here,” said Luna next.
No, indeed, I am not. I am miles and miles and miles away. What is more, it is taking all my strength to get through your considerable wards and shields. I could not hurt you even if I wished to, and you cannot hurt me.
“Then why are you here, you jerk?” Dash shouted.
Why, I had to be here. I had to witness for myself this momentous day, this day on which the natural order of things was restored!
“Natural order?” Twilight repeated. “What do you mean? What are you talking about?”
The order your dear princess just gave. Deer in charge of ponies! It makes me smile. So good to see that you ponies have come back to your senses, and recognized your one, true place!
“Oh no,” Luna whispered, and felt powerless.
“Our place?” growled Shining Armor.
The place you last occupied thousands of years ago, when the association between our folk was at its strongest- and at its most proper.
A prickle ran up Twilight's spine. “Wait...” she whispered. “Wait, hold on, thousands of years ago?”
Go on, Twilight Sparkle, think it through.
“Twilight, listen, he's lying-” said Celestia, eyes suddenly wide.
Don't interrupt!
“But thousands of years ago... during the height of the deerfolk... ponies weren't sapient. They couldn't have participated in your civilization!”
Oh, of course they could have- and they did! Just not in the way you arrogant ponies would assume.
The crowd was loudly murmuring. Celestia felt rooted in place, felt powerless to stop the nightmare playing out before her. Falalauria had stood, but now she stepped backward, and then she disappeared.
“They did?” asked Fluttershy.
Who do you think plowed our fields? Who do you think waited on us at table? Who do you think lifted our heavy burdens?
The crowd went dead silent. Everypony looked up shocked and horrified into the sky. Twilight's stomach dropped. “But... but you all had ma... mag...”
Magic? Why would we waste magic on such mundane tasks? Why, when we had such a ready supply of free labor? And then in everypony's mind there came a burst of images, so vivid and so real they could not have been faked:
Ponies harnessed, pulling plows across the endless fields. Ponies hauling deer around on litters, flying litters held by pegasi. Unicorns employed as magic batteries, deerfolk draining them to fuel themselves. Ponies kept in dingy, dirty stables. Ponies being whipped for misbehaving. Newborn foals torn from their screaming mothers. Ponies inspected at sales, deerfolk looking at their legs and hooves and teeth. Ponies slathered up with ugly makeup and made to perform in circuses and freak shows.
As the images departed, Dash was trembling. “You... you used us as slaves...”
Yes, that's right. It's all you're good for, after all.
She wheeled at Javier, her face a mask of rage. “You used us as slaves!”
“I... we...” Javier backed sheepishly away.
“I don't... I can't take it!” Dash cried, and she flew off in a streak of rainbow.
“Rainbow, wait!” cried Applejack, but she was gone.
“Javier, it's not true,” said Fluttershy, tears in her eyes. “It's not true, it can't be true!”
“No, it can't!” cried Twilight. “It can't be true, because if it were, we would already have known about it! There's no way something as... as big as this could have gone unknown by ponydom for all this time! Somepony would have found out about it, and written about it!”
Oh, some ponies knew about it- isn't that right, Celestia and Luna?
With awful slowness, Twilight turned around. Celestia and Luna looked down at the surface of the stage. Twilight walked up to Celestia, trying hard to look into her eyes. “It's not true. Please, Princess Celestia, tell me it's not true.”
Celestia looked down at her. “Twilight... you must understand...”
It's not hard to understand at all! Your princesses knew from the very beginning about the deerfolk's dominion over ponies, and they hid it from you! Makes you wonder where their loyalties lie, eh?
The crowd was thrashing, shouting, screaming. Twilight jolted back. “No. No!”
“Twilight, you must understand, ponies weren't ready to know!” Celestia said. “We- we-”
“How could you do this?” Twilight started weeping. “You lied to me! Every time I've ever asked you about the history of the deerfolk- all the books you've ever given me- all lies! I trusted you and you lied to me!”
Oh, don't feel too bad, Twilight. After all, it's not as though ponies were the only species under our subjugation. More images flashed through their minds.
Antelopes forced to pay tribute. Bison shoved off of their land. Elephants made to perform at shows. Zebras sold at auction. Giraffes made to fight to the death, while cheering deer looked on. Griffins used as royal guards against their will. Breezies grown and kept as pets. Diamond dogs made to bare-knuckle-box inside a filthy ring. On and on and on.
And why not? The deerfolk were the greatest civilization ever to live upon this Earth. We were the apex of culture, the pinnacle of sophistication. Why should every other species not bend the knee to us?
“How could you?” Twilight shouted at Celestia again. She stepped backward and vanished in a whisper.
“Twilight!” cried Celestia. “Twilight, come back! Please come back!”
Fluttershy was weeping. Applejack had sat down hard upon the stage. Pinkie Pie laid down upon her stomach, hooves over her ears. Rarity stood frozen in pure shock. Rage and fury came out from the crowd now. Some were throwing cans and bottles at the stage. Javier, like Falalauria before him, teleported far away.
Oh my, it seems I've killed the mood. The massive head was smiling broadly. Well, I did keep my pledge, didn't I? No harm done. Farewell, my little slaves! So good to see you back in the harness and back under the lash again! In a slow unspooling of black smoke, the head broke up and dissipated into empty air.
“Orders, your highnesses?” asked Shining Armor.
“I... I...” Celestia kept shaking her head back and forth.
“Allow the crowds to disperse,” said Luna flatly. “See to it that they do not hurt each other.” She glanced up at the sky. “The pegasi that were airborne... it is too late to catch them, isn't it?”
“It is,” said Shining Armor.
“So there will be no censoring this, then,” said Luna. “General Shining Armor, please see that nopony is harmed today.”
He snapped off a salute. “Will do, princess.” He started trotting off... but then he stopped, and turned around. “How could you?”
Luna closed her eyes and hung her head. “Please do thy duty, general.”
Shining Armor's eyes grew narrow, but he followed his orders all the same.
It all just . . . goes down the drain.
Now that the ponies and deer aren't allied and they don't trust the princesses anymore, the tables could easily be turned.
And maybe that was the plan all along.
I just know that NOW it has truly begun.
5639533 That would require fictional characters to act rationally, which simply never happens.
Also, gotta be honest, the old 'bad guy makes one speech and instantly breaks up all the good guys thing' really only works when the audience is, like, 5.
Adults don't automatically believe the word of the obviously evil black monster, nor does something that happened several thousand years ago instantly trigger angst and the need to revenge and whatnot.
Hell, we allied with Stalin in WWII against an evil that was... in restrospect pretty much the same as Stalin.
WHEN I SAY "SLAVERY" YOU SAY "SORRY"
yeah, this makes the heroes look stupid and is not at all a good plot twist
Also, I think you contradict yourself, declaring ponies of the time non-sapient but then having them perform tasks more suited for self-aware slaves, such as waiting tables
5645912
Perfectly put
Two words for all that:
Ohhhhhh, crap.
I get the sneaky feeling, though, that, somewhere along the way, that little show is going to come back to bite that jerk Reiziger in his big, oily plot.
And i, for one, can't wait to see that happen!
Can we say "Pyrrhic victory" for Ol' Evil Fog there?
Seriously, how couldn´t both the Deers and the Sisters see this coming, specially when their enemy was alive back then?
5645912 Plus also, we're friends with Germany now because, like the cervids, they've atoned for their assholery. If we can do it, if chaotic beings like us can look past the horrors of the Nazi era, certainly creatures of friendship and harmony can do the same.
Falalauria knew something was going to happen.
I don't get it -- it happened thousands of years ago when they weren't even sapient -- why would anypony care?
5646022 I think that that's the point that everyone here is making.
But I also think that Reizi-butt is going for the old "Divide and Conquer" ploy.
Only time will tell if it actually works beyond the events of this chapter.
Speaking just for myself, it will be most interesting to see what Jetfire has in store for our heroes (both equine and cervine) in the next chapter, and beyond.
5646022
5645973
Twilight had learned--and presumably, ponies were taught--that they weren't sapient at the height of deer civilization. Then Reiziger shows them that ponies were...but were basically slaves.
I think the ponies' reaction isn't so much to to the fact that their ancestors were mistreated, but the fact that their leaders have been knowingly lying to them all this time.
5646133 honestly they had no reason to even talk about that era
5646133 Where in the flashback did it even hint that they were sapient? They were used like we use actual horses. Pulling things and dressing them up to perform in circuses.
5646188
waiting tables, crying out as a foal is pulled away, also do you want something non-sapient flying you somewhere? Also makeup in a circus sounds more like clowns
5646213 'waiting tables' does not appear anywhere in the chapter.
Also, this gives leeway to ponies considering the possibility that Alicornization and the apparent elongation that goes with it is a result of a pony becoming more deerlike and therefore is under the sway of the deer.
Which it kind of is, from what we've seen.
5646261 "Who do you think plowed our fields? Who do you think waited on us at table? Who do you think lifted our heavy burdens?"
5646343 Okay. I missed that the first time, and it didn't turn up in a search since I was looking for present tense and rereading the actual flashback.
That makes it a little more reasonable to get upset, but it was still thousands of years ago. And it's not even the first time Celestia's lied about history.
I really can't see the characters reactions as making any sense. This whole chapter is just .
5646387
I agree completely
to be perfectly honest nothing in this chapter seems logical or sensible
5646340
more deerlike? Best Night Ever shows that ponies know about horses, so they'd have no reason to see Alicorns as deerlike just because they're bigger than ponies
5646261 Waited on us at Table is the phrase used.
This is called propaganda and it still works to this day. Easier to work on crowds than individuals.
5645912
Even non-fictional characters act irrationally. Their relationship with cervines is less than 5 monthss old and they're in the middle of a war. The big bad blocked out their sun and Celestia couldn't do anything about it. That more than the speech is what set most of them off. The speech just spread seeds of intolerance and mistrust to mass effect. I don't have a good analogy without derailing the thread and I respect this author and the site not to do that intentionally.
5646133
That's the part of it that will hit those closer to Celestia; like Twilight.
5646402
It's logical and sensible that it was to have the most impact with the least amount of work. He's undermining an authority that's held sway for a long time. He's used the tactic of cervine v everything else. He did it in a public forum. He did it to ponies unused to conflict with great effect. The ponies don't care more that is happened that more that they felt they've been lied to and Celestia was powerless to stop him. They can't even sweep it under the rug. Deer will be looked at with disdain, even the ones that are seeking refuge in the Everfree.
Reiziger is trying to win a war. Any attention he can get off him will help him succeed in that. If the army doesn't trust itself to watch each other's backs; they will fall easier. He follows no rules of war.
He wants them to change, but not fast enough to stop him. He's hoping to change the crowd for the worse, but individuals are unpredictable.
Gotta admit, the main problem so far in this fic has been, not that the villain is overly competent (although he is extremely competent, and to a point that does approach that), but that the heroes are too incompetent. Leaders millennia old are blundering in ways that are painful to watch, and the protagonists are being set up for their own betrayals or hijackings or whatever. Reiziger has so far neither lost nor suffered more than acceptable losses at any point, with the possible exception of one or two deliberately faked "losses" for strategic reasons, which don't count.
I enjoy depictions of Celestia or the Mane Six as changelings or windigos or the like, Trixie redemption stories I consume by the dozen, Spike-as-Element-of-Magic is good fun, and so on and so forth, but this OOCness isn't working out. What I'm trying to say is that alternate universes and interesting canon reinterpretations are great, but I don't like stories that play noble heroes for fools, over and over. Dangerous Business was great, but I think I'm done here.
5647559 the trope is being overplayed like a record. Every chapter it is guaranteed that millennia-old leaders will make the most ignorant of mistakes, that Reiziger will never use the full extent of his power or tactics, and that the main six will set up their own problems like hobbies.
Because, let us be realistic, if the princesses had simply said "That was a thousand years ago, these ponies and deer weren't alive then, this is completely irrelevant and Reiziger is trying to drive us apart because he wants to keep us from banding together...", and if the ponies, especially the main six, had any intelligence or acted true to their elements, they would never listen to Reiziger knowing anything he says is formulated to destroy them.
I feel like the characters aren't themselves and aren't consistent, and are being made to act to advance a plot.
There are so many things i do love about this story and Its a Dangerous Business, from the world building to the epic moments to the magic to character growth, but for me it is coming at the cost of character integrity.
5647659 Pretty good summary, yes.
Another thing is that this fic is genuinely making me unsure if it will end well. Some fanfics don't, after all. And frankly, an "artistic" ending that's really just "good guys lose in the end, even in Equestria, even the best" is so much more of a downer to have read all the way through than a bland self-insert cliched Mary-Sued-up HiE with bad grammar and relentlessly lavender unicorns. One might hope the tags would clarify that the intent really is for Reiziger to, y'know, lose in the end, except that I've seen a few too many stories in which the tags were deliberately left misleading and only in the very last chapter was the twist revealed that oops, Dash really will die of cancer! and then Scootaloo commits suicide! or whatever.
Clearly Celesta should have summoned up a big sheet to cover up Reiziger while Luna shouts over the top of him. Get the royal band to break out the Vuvuzelas.
So, they all just took Reiziger's word for it, that history would repeat itself and every other race on the planet would be reduced to mere slaves for the deer? Why wouldn't any of the ponies realize that the deer shouldn't be defined by their past when they are making a very conscious and visible effort to change? Hell, it was Celestia who told them that the deer had fought and died in defense of a pony city; a sign and center of intellectual, social, and technological development for ponies. I.e. exactly what Reiziger implies the deer would not want the ponies to have. If they trust the bad guy who has been razing their country over their own princess in this situation, it implies that they had barely any faith or loyalty for Celestia and her ruling decisions in the first place.
Well, this is bad.
I think the really bad part is an undertone that hasn't been explored yet: One of the reasons why Reiziger says he deserves to rule/destroy the world (and the reason deer were in charge) is because he was born better, and a very large part of that is that he is more magically powerful than everyone else, and even though he clearly did things to increase his power, he wouldn't be able to do them unless he was already born as strong and high as he was. Since a high amount of magic, the kind that creates longevity, essentially has to be born with, this means that the reason why the deer are in charge is indirectly because they have long lives by dint of being born powerful enough to live multiple pony lifetimes and study tactics for that long.
The logic for why the deer should be in charge of the Equestrians in the modern military, why they were given command positions, is the same one that Reiziger uses to justify why he is superior.
I think most of the characters haven't really started thinking it through, but I'd be surprised if it didn't come up. Especially once Feanor starts justifying why what they did was okay to Twilight.
5648642
Excellent catch. This is an issue that has actually simmered for a long time among the deer, and it will see the light of day in this story.
5647803
I shall go ahead and guarantee that this story has a happy ending. That is what I have been set on from the beginning, and I won't be changing it now.
Well then. I don't really get how Celestia and Luna act. They've hidden the truth from their subjects all this time, why can't they simply continue to do so? There is absolutely no benefit to the ponies knowing the truth in this case. It might have been a bad decision to hide it in the beginning, but now it's too late, releasing such information will only cause widespread distrust.
Still, I guess not saying something is easier than blatantly lying. I'd love to say that this information isn't really important and won't cause too much distress, but I unfortunately know that people don't react that way. Thinking rationally is hard, and people, and ponies probably far more, will rally around one idea. Regardless of how much sense it makes. Especially in a crisis situation, where staying calm is even more important, and almost always not done.
Everything else has already been said by others.
5645973 I noticed that too.
"Wait, they had animals waiting tables? Then the ponies had to be sapient already!"
Too many contradictions going on.
5648325 Just once I'd like to see one of these Biggest Big Bad villains make this sort of speech just for all the good guys to shrug and go, "So what? That was, like, 5,000 years before I was born! Dude, get over it!" And then beat the snot out of the baddy.
5647406 Propaganda only works when the masses have some faith in the messenger.
The giant demon thingey ain't exactly a bastion of good faith, ya know?
If we was actually clever, he'd have enlisted some saboteurs and spies to spread the truth for him. But he's basically a blunt instrument when it comes to using his head. He's simply lucky all the other races are really stupid too.
Woooooooooow... Really?
Who freaking copy-pasted the flower sisters everywhere?
"When your enemies fight amongst themselves only you stand to gain."
Reiziger is a brilliant strategist because mind games create panic, which destroys countries.
5647406
it's logical and sensible that he uses the tactic, it's that it works that makes no sense
5649105
5650256
Well, yeah. That's why we like ponies, right? They're stupidly cute and adorable.
The reactions of everyone in this chapter made basically zero sense. If I found out the distant ancestors of my next door neighbor owned and abused my distant ancestors like 5000 years ago, my response would be "Who the hell cares?"
5645995
5646022
5663931
Remember the chat between Feanor, Twilight and Zecora back in chapter 20?
Unlike the German, the Deerfolk NEVER attoned for their past or even apologized for it. From their perspective, subduing and enslaving the "lesser" races was their natural right, and even a benefit for such primitive species ( I assume they had their own Manifest Destiny ).
Their glory days are gone, so now they are forced to rely on manipulations and lies to make others work for them (as they have been doing with Twilight and co).
Why ponies should care about the Deers´ old slavering ways? because it´s clear they would do it again given the chance.
Oh, and the little detail of the Princesses trying to hide the truth from their subjects.
Celestia...
When the millenia-old deer that is able to see the future tells you to shut up or else face disaster, it's usually a good idea to listen!
The other posters have a good point, but 5669524 also has a good point.
First of all, who are you going to believe, the long-time benevolent leader of your country, or the guy who popped up out of nowhere and killed your allies?
Second of all, yes, the deer are unrepentant assholes. But there's this thing called "priorities", and right now, I think the deer that's killing ponies and deer NOW is a little more important than the deer who enslaved ponies back then. You can be DAMN sure there will be a reckoning when this is all over, but in the interest of self-preservation, that will simply have to wait. Reparations have waited 5000 years, I think they can wait another 6 months.
I see several reviewers saying “So what? It happened thousands of years ago.” Normally that would be my reaction...However, I think what's really upsetting to the ponies is that Princess Celestia, their wise, benevolent ruler, lied to them for all those years. Sometimes the cover-up is worse than the crime itself. Twilight sums it up nicely:
Having said that, I think perhaps this chapter could be drawn out and fleshed out a bit more. Maybe have some of the ponies show doubt and ask Applejack to verify Reiziger's visions with her Truth sense.
This story is a lot better about the “talking heads” effect than it was in the early chapters, at least. We do see each of the M6 and Shining Armor's reactions to Reiziger.
Not the Breezies!
5663931
Well...
5649162
... as the stallion says, ponies are canonically prone to hysteria - more so than humans - so I suppose that part made sense, on a moment's thought. Sorta. Especially if some sort of "Saruman voice effect" was in play.
But... Celestia a) not being honest about history because for frack's sake it WAS five thousand years ago and b) not stopping when the world's greatest seer told her to was rather considerably less credulous.
5704986
I think everyone can agree that the entire chapter's just off on many levels.
over a month and no updates.. uh oh.
I think this chapter would work a lot better if it wasn't so melodramatic. The set up is great, Reiziger plan is pretty genius, I just imagine it would plant seeds of doubt that would later grow and cause notable damage rather than dropping a bomb that blows apart the good guys immediately.
Like, fights breaking out during training, or even worse, actual combat. Or perhaps deer getting even more maltreatment than before, like getting kicked out of a restaurant, and perhaps some deer retaliating in a negative way. Isolated incidents at first that would cause bigger stirs. And of course people trusting the princesses a little less especially on matters concerning the deer.
5671990
Well said.
Also, shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiet. If only Celestia had listened to Lala...
Propaganda, a wonderful weapon, especially when it has the truth in it.
Dammit Celestia. When the future-telling demigoddess tells you to GTFO, you GTFO.
Also, like, why is this a surprise? They already knew the deerfolk were corrupt as hell in the years leading up to Reiziger's war.
Oh, idiot ball, how I love thee not.