Guest Tale: The Loyal Opposition Pt 3 by Ponibius
The next day found me back at the Governor’s Manor in Coldharbor. I hadn’t wasted much time returning to Cadance’s office. A number of ideas had been running through my head after my conversation with Argentium, and they weren’t going to go away until I spoke with Cadance. Thankfully, I reached her office door without incident. Being the Empress’ personal student and the future sister-in-law to the governor had been more than enough for most of the guards to let me see her.
My hoof rose to knock on the door, but I stopped myself. I turned to Strumming, giving her an apologetic smile. She had been my shadow since leaving Argentium’s cave, but despite her proddings I had refrained from telling her much about what we had spoken about. She hadn’t been happy, but she hadn’t been in a position to do anything.
“Hey Strumming, mind if I talk with Cadance in private?”
“Sure thing.” She moved to take a position by the door, but then stopped herself. A faint frown found its way on her features. “Everything okay?”
“I just have a lot on my mind lately,” I assured her. “It would be nice to talk with somepony I've known for a while and trust. You know how it is.”
In truth, I didn't want an agent of the Ministry of Heart to be in the same room as us for what was probably going to be a pretty sensitive talk—at least if what I suspected was true. Part of me felt guilty for sending her away, but this was something I wanted to do alone and without outside interference.
Strumming stared at me thoughtfully before nodding. “Sure thing, Twilight.” She reached over to give me a quick pat on the shoulder. “I'll be hanging out the lobby. Want a chocolate bar? I've got one to spare.”
I gave her a half-hearted smile. “Thanks. And sure. I wouldn't mind one after I've talked with Cadance. How about when I'm done here, we see about getting some snacks for the trip back home. I'm sure they have some interesting stuff up here.”
“Probably lots of ice cream.” Strumming considered me for another moment before giving my shoulder a supportive squeeze. At that, she turned and walked down the hallway.
Now left alone, I took a long breath to ready myself before opening the door and strolling in. “Hey, Cadance!” I said with as much cheer as I could muster.
Cadance looked up from her paperwork and beamed at me. “Twilight! Good to see you again. How was your trip?”
“It was alright.” Despite myself, I couldn't help but let my wariness a creep into my tone. “Hey, think we could talk about something serious?”
Cadance’s smile was replaced with a far more serious look. “Of course, Twilight. You can talk to me about anything.”
I silently wondered it that was true as I cast a high-quality privacy spell over the room. Once that was done, I quickly checked to make sure there wasn't any sort of magical presence in the room that I wouldn't want there for a private conversation. Satisfied that no one was magically spying on us, I sat opposite of Cadance. “It's about my meeting with Argentium.”
Cadance nodded. “I thought as much. How did it go?”
“It was ... very interesting,” I decided upon. “The two of us talked about a lot.”
Cadance’s ears perked, and I could sense her weighing my every word. “Argentium is always interesting to speak with.”
“You can say that again,” I agreed. “There is so much I could learn from her if given the time.” I shuffled on the cushion I was sitting on as I built up the courage to broach the topic that had brought me here. “Of course, not everything we talked about was exactly fun.”
I saw something flash behind Cadance’s eyes that I couldn't readily identify. “I hope it wasn't too upsetting.”
“‘Upsetting’ isn't the word I would use.” I pressed my lips together as I considered how best to move forward with the conversation. “Nightmare Moon was a prominent part of our discussion.”
Cadance blinked. “Nightmare Moon? What about that old legend?”
I frowned. Did Cadance really think she could lie to me? “I think you know.”
Cadance rose one of her eyebrows in a questioning look. “Excuse me?”
I took another long breath as I built up my resolve to move forward. “Cadance, I'm not stupid. Quite the opposite in fact, if we look at various statistics, tests, and my education. I know I may not be the best at reading ponies, but I can put facts together. That’s not even getting into the fact that I was taught by one of the foremost politicians ever. I have experience with dealing with ponies who just want to manipulate me. You think I haven't had ponies try to suck up to me or use me because of who I was? For who my grandmother and teacher was? Hay, I could have had a small army of sycophants following me everywhere by now if I really wanted it.” I narrowed my eyes. “So sooner or later, I'm going to figure out when I'm being manipulated. Do I really need to spell this out for you?”
“Twilight, I don't know what's gotten into—”
I reared up and slammed my hooves on the desk, causing Cadance to flinch away from me. “I said I'm not stupid!” I stared her right in the eyes as I continued speaking, all the frustration that had built in me during the flight bursting out. “Cadance, I like you. I really like you, and I know my brother is gaga for you. So I'm really hoping you'll be honest with me and not pretend I can’t see what's right in front of my eyes. Yes, I know I'm a scholastic bookworm who spends most of her time with her nose in a book, but that isn’t the same thing as saying that I’m blind.”
I got off of her desk, but I still kept my gaze right on her. “Let me lay it out for you so you know exactly what I'm talking about: you had me come north, and then my brother just so happened to not be around when I got here, nor is anypony else I know. And it just so happens that now of all times, Argentium wanted to see me? Without warning? You certainly didn't mention anything about something as important as me meeting Argentium the Runescaled in our last letter, yet she mentioned she had talked to you, and that you were the most tolerable governor she had met.”
Cadance leaned back in her chair, her eyes wide. “Twilight, what are you saying?”
“What I'm saying is that you're working with Argentium,” I told her. “She talked with me about Nightmare Moon and the Elements of Harmony. You called her an old legend, but Argentium would have every reason to tell you about Nightmare Moon and the fact that she’s coming back in a few months, what with you being the only other living alicorn in the world. Considering she wants to help Luna, it only makes sense to bring you into her plans, and I think she has.”
Cadance stared at me in silence for a time before she finally spoke. “That would be a very serious charge.”
“You're telling me.” I shook my head. Even now I was having trouble believing I was having this conversation with my old foalsitter. It wasn’t like I had many concrete facts to string together, but I knew I was right. Argentium and Cadance were working together in preparation for Nightmare Moon’s return. “Technically, it could be considered treason.”
Cadance scowled. “Do you think I'm a traitor?”
“That depends on what you're really doing.” My ears wilted, and I felt some of the fire go out of me. I sat back down, waiting to hear what she had to say in her defense.
Cadance’s gaze fell to the ground. When she spoke, her voice was weak and listless, like all the fight had gone out of her. “I'm ... I'm not doing anything, Twilight.”
“Don't lie to me, Cadance.” I ground my hoof on the floor. Why was she keeping this up? I just wanted to know the truth. Didn’t she think I could handle it? “I don't want to think that you're doing something that's going to harm Equestria. If I do... I'm going to have to do something.” I pointed to the door. “There’s an agent from the Ministry of Heart just down the hall from this room. I don’t want to think I’m going to have to have a conversation with her about what I’ve brought up, especially when it’s you I’m worried about, but I’ll do what I think is best.”
My heart ached for Cadance as she flinched at the mention of the Ministry. What secret was she keeping that could be so bad? Did she think she couldn’t talk to me because I was the Empress’ student? I really didn’t want to talk to Strumming about Cadance, but things looked worse and worse for her the longer we spoke. If she was somehow conspiring against Equestria and Empress Sunbeam, even with the best of intentions...
“Cadance, talk with me.” I reached across the desk to her. “I want to understand what's going on. Argentium was talking about Nightmare Moon—Luna, whatever you want to call her. The Empress has her plans for her, I'm sure Argentium has her own, and I’m really not sure where you stand in all of this. Considering what’s at stake here, I need a little more information than nothing right now.”
“Twilight, I ... I don't know what...” Cadance shrunk away from me. “I ... I can't...” She wrapped her legs around herself and sighed. “I can't lie to you. It's ... too painful. I love you too much for that.”
“Well, that's two of us.” I sighed and felt my own shoulders slump. “I want to be able to trust you.”
“I ... for a long time, trust has been very difficult for me.” Cadance took a deep breath, and I could see her making a decision. “For a long time, I've been part of an organization known as the Circle.”
I tilted my head at the name. “I've never heard of it.”
“I would be worried if you had.” She ran a hoof through her mane. “It is supposed to be a secret society, after all.”
I sat back as I mulled that over. “Then I guess we better start with the basics, then.”
“What did you want to know?”
“I suppose everything would be a bit much for one go?” I asked.
Cadance chuckled ruefully. “It might be good to have a starting point. I suppose you should know what the Circle does. We watch over Empress Sunbeam and ensure that she doesn't go too far.”
My eyebrows furrowed. “Too far with what?”
Cadance spoke with careful deliberation. “I'm sure you've noticed she has a certain ... brutal pragmatism.”
I rubbed my leg. “Just a bit, yes. I have had lessons with her.” The Empress has always taught me to deal with problems in an ... efficient manner. A manner that often did not often consider things like mercy as an option. No, she argued for crushing a threat in such a way that it could never hurt you again, rather than giving it a second chance to redeem itself.
Cadance nodded. “Then I'm sure you understand that sometimes she needs somepony to remind her that there are better ways to do things.”
I frowned at the way she said that. “Well, yes. That's what her advisors are for.”
“Which is why her advisors have often secretly included members of the Circle,” Cadance said. “But the problem is that her advisors are subject to her authority. If she doesn't like how I manage Northmarch or disagrees with my advice, she has the legal authority to strip away all my power and reduce me to an ordinary citizen. Or worse.”
I scowled, not liking the way she was making my grandmother sound. “She's not that unreasonable. You should know that.”
“Her pragmatism usually outweighs her wickedness, yes,” Cadance reluctantly agreed.
“She's not wicked!” I snapped. “Not really. Sometimes she has to make hard decisions for the good of Equestria.”
Cadance spoke in a soothing tone. “Twilight, she's conquered every single nation her armies are physically capable of reaching. I'm sure she plans to annex the dromaeds as soon as she can find a way to get past the thunder lizards. That’s the way she is.”
I shook my head. “Most of our neighbors did attack Equestria first. The gryphons had been raiding and waging war on and off with Equestria for centuries, so you can’t tell me that she was wrong in finally ending that threat. And that’s not even getting into how Gryphonia and the gryphons are way better off now than they were both in terms of economic prosperity and political stability. Then the Zebrican Empire had been an expansionist empire when it ran up against Equestria. It was their stated policy to conquer Equestria and bring it under the rule of the sultans, so go figure the Empress wasn’t wild about that idea. And do I really need to get into the type of piracy and slave-den Freeport was before it was conquered?” I waved dismissively. “And most of Empress Sunbeam’s conquests were centuries ago.”
“What about Northmarch?” Cadance shot back. “The conquest of the caribou was relatively recent.”
“That's ... complicated.” I could easily have written a small book about the integration of Northmarch into the Empire just from what I knew off the top of my head. The situation was made all the more complex thanks to the fact each of the thengs were separate political units, and that the absorption of each theng happened separately and under different circumstances.
Cadance sighed wearily. “Yes. It is a complicated situation, one not even Argentium and I can agree on. I've been trying to find a way to ease the transition into the Empire while Argentium seems determined to derail the process.”
I frowned as I remembered everything I had read about Northmarch. “From the sounds of it, the current system just doesn't work. Thanks to Equestria having to deal with each theng separately, it’s a mess to actually manage Northmarch. That was a big reason for the last revolt here—the previous governor had gotten so sick of dealing with dozens of political units that he tried to disband the thengs in order to make the province more manageable.”
Cadance nodded sympathetically. “You have dozens of treaties, with there no consistency among them beyond a few points.” She rubbed her forehead. “It’s a nightmare. The status quo isn't viable, but nobody can agree on how to fix the problems.”
I bit my lip as I considered the problem facing Cadance. “Maybe you should get everyone together to find some common ground on what will fix the problem. Have you ever thought to call an Alltheng to discuss how to fix Northmarch’s problems?”
Cadance shook her head. “The Alltheng has no authority to pass legislation.”
I wasn’t going to be shot down so easily. “Unless everyone agrees that it does. If you, the Empress, and the leaders of the thengs agree to abide by a central authority, then it becomes the de jure and de facto ruling body of the province. After all, laws are effectively rules we all agree to. If an Alltheng came together under you, you get most everyone to agree on creating a new system like a permanent Alltheng, and they can get the thengs to agree to submit their authority to that body of government.”
I could see the wheels turn in Cadance’s head as she considering that idea. “True, it is theoretically possible. Though getting everyone to agree to such an arrangement...”
“It wouldn't be easy, no.” I rubbed my chin, my mind racing as I considered one idea after another. “But if you could get Argentium to agree to the idea, you would meet with a lot less resistance from the caribou at least.”
“If.” Cadance frown as she thought it over.
I smiled encouragingly. I was pretty sure I was onto something here. If I could just get past the initial resistance... “As the Empress would always say, you just need to know what someone wants to get them to agree to an idea. Everyone wants something.”
Cadance grinned. “Teaching me your teacher's lessons?”
I chuckled and rubbed the back of my head. “If it works...”
Cadance chuckled in turn. “True, true. Though there are other problems too. There’s the fact that I’m still getting used to my position. I’ve never been anything like a governor before, and Northmarch is one of the most difficult posts in the Empire. I need to get a grip on what I’m doing before I can do a radical policy shift. The previous governor tried to change how Northmarch worked, and well ... he’s dead now.”
I winced. “I guess I can’t argue with that.”
“Then there’s the issue of bringing all the leaders of the thengs together,” Cadance said. “A lot of the thengs have rivalries, bloodfueds, alliances, and so on. Putting them all together could make for a pressure cooker. It could explode in my face if I’m not careful.”
I rubbed my chin as I thought over the problem. “At least you should have some idea what all those inter-theng dynamics are, and you would have the local Guard units to help deal with any issues here in Coldharbor.”
Cadance bit her lip pensively. “Maybe. But there’s another big problem. If I call an Alltheng, it creates a big opportunity for all the caribous’ leaders to come together and conspire against the Empire. I could end up creating my own revolt with this, or a permanent Alltheng might bring enough unity to the thengs to all them to start a major revolution. Not even getting into how the caribous would then have a body of government from which they could start issuing demands from the central government. That’s not something the Empress will like.”
I grimaced as I thought of all those problems. “Those aren’t small issues, no.”
She shook her head. “No, they’re not. Not to mention I’m going to be pinned down to do a lot politicking. If I’m going to be working with a legislative body, then I better be very sure I have the votes to make a measure pass, or otherwise I’ll be undermining my own authority. It’s going to erode away at my influence every time I attach my name to a bill and it gets voted down by the Alltheng.”
“Legislatures can be messy like that,” I said. “Still, it might be something to look into. You can’t deny that the current system is almost broken as is.”
“It’s a long way from perfect, but I don’t want to break it ever worse while trying to fix it.” Cadance sighed. “I’ll think the idea over, maybe ask my advisors think about it. You might be onto something.” Her smile slipped a bit. “The problem is that while Argentium and I might both be in the Circle, that doesn't mean we agree about everything. Just like I don't always agree with your moth—” She caught herself and slapped a hoof over her mouth.
“What about Mo—she's in the Circle too?!” That couldn’t... My family was... That didn’t make sense! She couldn’t have hid something like that from me all these years, could she?
Cadance grimaced. “It probably would've been better if I had let her tell you that.”
I gave her a flat look. “You think?”
Cadance rubbed her face. “The Sparkles have been involved with the Circle to one degree or another since its founding.”
I buried my face in my hooves. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. After all the talk about how loyal my family had always been to the Empress, now I was hearing my family was at the core of a conspiracy against her. “How far back does this go?”
“All the way back to when Sunbeam took the throne,” Cadance said. “There were ... concerns about whether she would rule as well as Celestia had. Thus, the Circle was formed to watch over her.”
I ran my hooves over my face as I tried to absorb this latest battering of information. “Right, of course this conspiracy is centuries of years old. How have you kept it secret for all these years?!”
Cadance bit her lip. “We haven't. At least, not all of it. Sunbeam knows more about us than I would like.”
My mouth worked uselessly for a few moments before I could say comprehensible words again. “How have all of you not been arrested yet? Empress Sunbeam isn't exactly favorable to conspiracies, you know.”
Cadance sighed and nodded. “I suppose even she realizes that she needs to have a loyal opposition.”
I rubbed at my head as I tried to digest that idea. “I think I can see her logic. Kinda. She has always told me that knowing who your enemies are is important. As well as the fact that the spy you know about is far less dangerous than the one you don't.”
“I am not her enemy,” Cadance said testily. “Perhaps not her friend, but we both ultimately want what's best for Equestria. That's why I want to help peacefully integrate Northmarch.”
I took a long breath. “So, what should I do with that information? If I were to tell the Empress that I knew about you...”
Cadance grimaced. It didn’t take much imagination to figure out what the Empress might do with her and her conspirators if she decided to deal with them. The best they could hope for ... I didn’t really want to think about it. “I would prefer that you didn’t.”
I sighed. “So would I.”
“So what do you want to do?”
That was the question, wasn’t it? What was I supposed to do? “I want to do the right thing,” I told her. Whatever that was.
Cadance stepped around the desk to place a hoof on my shoulder. “Then help me. Join the Circle.”
I bit my lip. “Me?”
Cadance smiled warmly and nodded. “Yes, you. You would be so helpful to the Circle, and you could do so much good with us.”
“B-but I'm the Empress' personal student!” I protested. I could hardly believe what I was hearing. Me? A conspirator against Empress Sunbeam?! “I-I-I ... it would be unimaginable!”
“Exactly.” Cadance squeezed my shoulder. “She listens to you. Trusts you. And the Circle wants what's right for Equestria, too.”
I looked away from her and down at the floor. “And what about Luna?”
Cadance paused before answering me. “A difficult question. Much will depend on her state after the Elements are used on her. Empress Sunbeam will never trust her. Not after what she's done. I ... would be willing to give her a chance.”
“The problem is convincing my teacher to do that,” I told her.
“Is that something you want?” Cadance asked gently.
I wrung my hooves. “I want my teacher to do the right thing. The trick is making it happen.” I shook my head. “But it seems the first step is stopping her from ending the world. After that ... we can see.”
Cadance nodded. “We can work out the details of Luna's fate after we save Equestria. One step at a time.” She tipped my head up so that we could look one another in the eye. “And I need you to take this step with me. To join the Circle. Please.”
Could I do this? Could I join the Circle? Cadance stared at me, her smile was so warm and welcoming, but behind that smile I could sense her desperation for me to join. She needed this. Desperately and deeply. How must have keeping so many secrets have affected her? Something told me that even Shiny didn't know about the Circle, that she had kept that secret from him. Now she wanted to be able to share her secrets with me.
I couldn't imagine Cadance wanting to do anything evil. That went against everything I knew about her. Not to mention my mom was part of the Circle too, and I of course trusted her. The both of them being in the Circle had to say something. I wanted to help Luna too, even if defeating Nightmare Moon and making sure she didn't return to be a threat took precedent.
I so badly wanted to tell her yes, make her feel better and say that I would stand by her.
But then I remembered my grandmother, and about how she had trusted me with the Element of Loyalty.
I narrowed my eyes. “No.”
“No?” Cadance’s smile dissolved into a look of bewilderment. “But why? We're trying to do what’s best for Equestria, the same as you.”
“Because you’re trying to turn me against Grandmother Sunbeam!” I took a step back from Cadance and she flinched as though I had slapped her. “She’s given me everything! The manor I live in, a comfortable lifestyle that only a hooffull could imagine, a first-rate education with her as one of my teachers, and so much else. And most importantly, she’s given me her love. Yes, I know she might not always show it, but she does love me, and I love her right back.”
Cadance reached out a hoof. “Twilight, I—”
“I'm not done yet!” I slapped her hoof away. “What's more, she’s entrusted me with something incredibly important. She’s trusting me to help defeat Nightmare Moon with the most powerful artifact in Equestria’s history. Do you have any idea how hard it is for a pony like her to do that when she has so much trouble trusting anypony?”
Cadance lip quivered as she spoke. “I'm not asking you to turn against her. Please, listen to me.”
I shot her a hard look. “No. I’ve heard what you have to say and what you're asking me to go behind her back and conspire against.” I jabbed her chest with a hoof. “And for what?! To help some old queen who went bonkers and tried to kill everyone? Or is this over some dead queen who threw in the towel over eight centuries ago?”
Cadance's own features hardened at the mention of Celestia. “Now that isn't fair. She was grieving and she couldn't handle the depression. It was hard on her to lose her sister.”
I met her gaze without flinching. “Yeah, and so what? Here's the hard truth, Cadance: Celestia is dead, and she has been for a very long time. She gave her crown to Grandmother, and then rolled over and died. She left the job of dealing with her insane demigod sister to the Empress, and maybe you should trust the mare Celestia left in change to clean up the mess she left behind.”
Cadance shook her head and I could see the mounting anger in her face as she scowled at me. “You don't have all the facts. If you knew what I did—”
“But I don't!” I stomped a hoof. “Because you, Mom, and everypony else in your precious Circle didn't trust me with those facts! You had months—years to tell me the truth, but you didn't!”
Cadance put up a hoof to try and forestall me. “Twilight, please, calm down. We had very good reasons for not telling you the truth. If you'll just hear me out, I—”
“I already know why!” I yelled, running right over her attempt to explain. “It's because you didn't trust me. Because you thought I was so blindly loyal to the Empress that I’d do whatever she tells me to. You thought that the very first thing I would do after you told me the truth was go running to my grandmother and blab everything you told me, ruining the so-called secrecy of your organization.”
I shook my head and turned away from Cadance. I was furious with her. She had put me on the spot, and now I was tearing her down for it. I felt sick. “So let me tell you how it is: I know where I stand, and that is by the Empress. I’m not going to betray her trust by joining you. Loyalty goes both ways, and I know at the end of the day the Empress will stand by me.” I looked over my shoulder to see Cadance. “I’ll stay true to myself and do what I think is right, and right now, that’s sticking with the pony that’s been there for me my entire life. While that may be far from perfect, at the end of the day, all we can do is all we can do.”
Cadance sniffled, her eyes now puffy as she tried to hold back tears. “Please, reconsider. I do trust you. Just give me a chance.”
I huffed out a long breath, thinking over my words carefully. “Alright then, I just have one last question.” I narrowed my eyes at Cadance, and she gulped under the glare. “My brother—the stallion you love, who you're going to marry, and who’s the reason you're part of our family. Have you told him any of this yet?”
Cadance opened her mouth but nothing came out. Sobs started wracking her sides and she looked away from me. If there was a more broken and miserable pony in all of Equestria, I didn’t want to see them. But that didn’t change the fact that she didn’t trust me. Not really. Not with the truth.
“That's what I thought.” I stormed out of the office, and the sound of Cadance’s crying followed me.
I felt like the most miserable pony alive on the train ride back to Canterlot. After my argument with Cadance, I didn't want to stay in Coldharbor. A guilty part of me felt bad that I hadn't been gotten to see Shiny, at least assuming he wasn't part of the Circle too and the whole scheme to bring me over to their side through trickery.
I sighed and rolled over on the bench as I ran over everything that had happened, from when I had arrived in Coldharbor to the conversation with Argentium, and finally my argument with Cadance. I was sure I had done the right thing. If the Circle had really valued my opinion—if they had respected me—they would have been much more forward with me, and a lot sooner.
Instead, Cadance had only told me the truth after I had cornered her. Endless night, I had threatened to tell the Ministry of Heart my suspicions if she hadn't opened up with me.
Then I had found out they wanted me to work against my grandmother to help a pony I had only read about, a madmare who was liable to try and kill me and everypony I cared about if she won. All for a series of promises made to Old Queen Celestia, a mare who had died centuries ago. It wasn't like Celestia didn't have other options available to her. She had been an alicorn, a former queen, and in favor with the Empress she had put on the throne. I could think of half a dozen solutions that would have worked better towards helping her sister. For all anyone knew, she might have been able to place herself under some sort of suspension until her sister returned and have helped deal with her personally.
Instead, she had dumped everything on a mare she apparently didn't trust and left ponies like me who hadn't known about any of this with a big mess to clean up. Now my relationship with Cadance had fallen through, my vacation had been ruined, I probably had a very uncomfortable conversation with my mom coming down the pipe, and a whole other dimension had been added to the Nightmare Moon problem.
It wasn’t like the Circle was going to accomplish much, anyways. If I knew the Empress, she already had at least three plans ready to go to shut them down and make sure they didn't disrupt her plans for Nightmare Moon. So way to plan ahead, Mrs. Old Queen Celestia.
No, I was going to follow in the lead of a mare who had it right. Princess Midnight Sparkle had been loyal to her mother her entire life, and had accomplished so much during that time. She had helped her mother stabilize Equestria after the devastating Lunar Rebellion, won wars of conquest against Gryphonia, the Diamond Kingdom, and the Zebrican Empire, and put Equestria on the road to becoming the prosperous empire it now was—all without plotting behind the Empress’ back. That’s the pony whose example I needed to follow. I might want to avoid the wars and conquest, but the general emphasis was the same.
Shame Midnight had died a long, long time ago. Otherwise I would be sorely tempted to talk to her about my own loyalty problem. Discussing the problem with her and writing a report about it sounded a lot more fun than my current situation.
Strumming reached over from her bench and poked my shoulder. “Okay, who are you and what've you done with the real Twilight?”
I blinked at the sudden interruption of my thoughts. It was definitely thinking and not sulking. “Huh?”
“You're not reading your books.” She pointed to the untouched pile of books I had bought for the trip back south.
“Oh.” My ears wilted as I realized how I must have looked. “Sorry, I haven't really felt up to it.”
Strumming moved over from her bench to sit next to me. “Why not?”
“I'm a bit down at the moment.” I sighed as the memories of my argument, still very raw, came back in a roaring torrent of anger, frustration, and guilt. “I ... had an argument with Cadance.”
“Oooh, that's no fun.” Strumming patted me on the shoulder.
I shook my head. “No, no it isn't, and I'm pretty miserable about it.” I could only imagine how this was going to go over with Shiny, too. He must have wanted to see me too while I was up north, and now that wasn't going to happen. Depending on if he was in the Circle or not, he was going to have a lot of questions about what happened.
“What'd you fight about?” Strumming asked.
I sat up and shuffled in place. Now it came to what to tell everypony about what happened between me and Cadance. I could tell Strumming everything that happened, and she would almost certainly tell the Empress in turn. From there, I wasn't certain what would happen. The first option was that she would just sit in that information and not do anything she wasn't already doing with the Circle.
The second option is that the Empress would act openly and eliminate Argentium, Cadance, and potentially the whole Circle as threats. Empress Sunbeam could certainly interpret the Circle’s attempt to undermine her authority with the bearers of the Elements as a direct attack against her. If the Elements were as powerful as the old stories said, then they could potentially be turned against her. That type of threat wasn't something she was prone to tolerating.
That could easily lead to some sort of conflict. The Empress could pretty easily deal with most of the Circle, unless they had some ace in the hole to deal with the her—which in of itself was a scary thought, if an unlikely one. If the Empress had even a hint they had a weapon like that, she would have acted a lot sooner. Argentium would be a trickier proposition; dragons didn’t get as old and powerful as her by being careless.
Chills went down my spine at the thought of those I cared about fighting each other. If the Empress ended up fighting those that I loved, right at the worst possible time...
“It's a bit private,” I lied. Half-lied, I guess. “Sorry.”
Strumming shrugged. “Family stuff, I get it. Anything I can do?”
“I don't think so.” I didn’t agree with what Cadance was doing, but that wasn’t the same thing as wanting her to be seized by the Ministry of Heart, or worse. Besides, it wasn’t as though the Empress didn’t know about them, and she had to at least suspect what they were up to. If she hadn’t acted thus far, then she had her reasons. “It's a big mess that has been around for a long time.”
“Hate those.” She scooted closer to me. “In that case ... need a hug?”
Thinking it over, I nodded. “I wouldn't say no.”
Strumming wrapped me in a hug that felt really good after all that happened. I returned it. “If I'm not allowed to do this, don't tell anyone.”
I grinned at the idea of Strumming getting yelled at for breaking some regulation about not hugging those under her protection. “I can keep a secret if you can.”
Strumming grinned back. “Deal.”
I squeezed her, already feeling at least a little bit better, even if it didn’t really solve the underlying cause of my misery. “Thanks. You're a pal.”
“Cool.” Strumming slowly broke the hug to face me properly. “What perks come with being the pal of the Empress’ protege?”
“Probably getting stuck watching me read all the time,” I snarked.
“Well, I already do that.”
I rubbed my chin, thinking a bit more seriously. “The Empress might like you a little bit more... As long as you don't misuse this newfound friendship to your advantage. She's driven off a few sycophants over the years, so I’d recommend not just befriending me because of who I am and who I’m related to. It probably won’t end well.”
“I figured as much.” She waved dismissively. “Relax, no nefarious schemes here.”
“That's a relief.” I narrowed my eyes at her. “Unless my spy bodyguard is lying to me. What with being a spy, a trained liar, and all the implications that go with those things.”
Strumming flashed me the most perfectly innocent of smiles. “Would I do that?”
“If you thought it was your job to?” I shot right back.
Strumming shrugged in resignation. “Yeah, in that case, I would lie my very shapely plot off. But at least I'm not lying to you about the fact that I'd lie to you.”
“There is that at least.” At least Strumming was honest about who she was. I still wasn’t sure about being buddy-buddy with a spy, but at least I had an idea about where I stood with her. “Granted, I'm not sure how firm of a foundation that is for a friendship.”
“Sorry, that's the best I can do.”
“I think I can understand.” I ran a hoof through my mane. “You are who you are.”
Strumming nodded. “Your grandmother tells me to jump, I jump.”
“Now that's something I understand.” I remember when I had turned in an essay a week ahead of time to the Empress. Her response was to give me a pat on the head and then promptly tell me I would have to do two essays with the same amount of time the next week. “You probably don't want to know the type of assignments she's given me.” The Empress could be ... inventive with her assignments sometimes.
“Probably not,” Strumming agreed. “That's just part of how it goes in my line of work. You just have to accept the boss knowing things you don't.”
I frowned as I was reminded of my own problems with Cadance. “Doesn't it ever bother you to know that you're not being told everything? That there are so many secrets you would like to know, but ponies are keeping from you?” I knew that was already happening all the time around me. Certainly the Empress didn’t tell me everything, but that was always for very good reasons. I didn’t need to know every state secret.
Strumming rubbed her chin as she considered the question. “Sometimes I get curious, or I worry about ponies I know. So ... yeah, I guess it bothers me sometimes.”
“How do you handle it?” I was curious to know how she dealt with problems similar to my own. She probably had a lot more experience at it.
Her gaze became more distant as she spoke. “I guess ... I guess I'm just used to it. And I hope that whoever's making the decisions knows what they're doing. I have a hard time with it, sometimes. Like with my cousin.”
“Seems like mixing family with secrets only makes it worse.” I sighed, feeling grumpy again. “I'm really getting tired of secrets.”
Strumming smirked and poked me in the shoulder. “Good thing you're not a spy, then.”
I chuckled harshly. “I think that would drive me crazy.” Considering how I had a nearly insatiably hunger for knowledge, dangling information in front of me just wasn’t going to end well.
Something changed in Strumming’s more jovial attitude, though I couldn’t really tell exactly what it was. “So ... what was Cadance keeping secret from you?”
I winced at the sudden change in topics. “It's ... not something I feel comfortable talking about right now.” It was tempting, way too tempting to tell her the truth, but I fought against that temptation. It just didn’t strike me as a good idea. Now I had to wonder if it was because of problems like this that made Mom warn me not to go blabbing to agents of the Ministry.
Strumming shrugged again. “Your call. I'll be right here if you change your mind.”
I gave her a brittle smile. “Thanks for that. It means a lot to me, especially right now.”
“Anytime.”
I hugged her again. I liked to think Strumming had at least some good reasons for helping me. “I'll make sure to pay you back someday.”
“You don't need to worry about that.” Strumming patted my back. “I'm here to serve.”
“I'm sure the Empress appreciates your loyalty.” I said.
“I hope you do too.”
I think I did.
The day after I returned to Canterlot, I made my way to Empress Sunbeam’s personal quarters. There was something I knew I needed to tell her. Not to mention she would probably like to know I was back in town. Well, she probably already knew, but there’s finding out I had returned through her spy network, and then there’s actually going to her myself. Besides, I liked visiting her.
The guards let me into the miniature throne room that served as a sort of entrance to her quarters. “Empress Sunbeam? It’s Twilight. Can I come in?”
“Of course, my child,” she called out from further back into her quarters.
Following the Empress’ voice, I entered her lab. Rather than displaying the ostentation of the smaller throne room, her lab was largely utilitarian in function. Various enchanting tools were carefully laid out, alchemical instruments sat on tables, and shelves were covered by jars and boxes filled with ingredients.
“Wow, it's been awhile since I've been in here.” I had been given plenty of lessons about enchanting and alchemy in this lab. It was one of the Empress’ specialties, and I knew she liked to enchant in the few hours she had to herself. Getting something she had enchanted was considered to be one of the greatest signs of royal favor in the Empire, and I had seen such gifts prominently displayed in the homes of some of the ponies who had received them. My family’s own manor had a bunch of artifacts like that lying about, now that I thought about it.
“I suppose it has been, at that.” The Empress put down a pair of enchanting tools by a set of very expensive-looking robes. She stood up from her worktable cushion and smiled at me. “You did pick a good time to visit. Hold still for a moment...”
“What for?” I instinctively froze for her.
The Empress pulled out a measuring tape and went about wrapping it around my barrel like a seamstress. “Just making sure I had everything right...” She finished her work with the measuring tape and nodded with satisfaction. “Yes, I think that should fit properly.” She put it aside and then lifted up light, silver shirt of finely crafted mail. “Try it on.”
I blinked as I took the armor and gave it a more careful look. “W-wait, armor? For me?”
She nodded and a flicker of pride burned behind her eyes. “It's mithril chain. You'll barely even notice you're wearing it, especially once we finish working on it.”
“We?” I gave the armor a second look. The Empress wanted to enchant a suit of armor with me? It was such a massive honor. I could only think of a hooffull of ponies that had been given that type of opportunity, and the types of enchanted items they had made together were the artifacts that ponies told stories about.
“A new project for you, my child.” The Empress motioned towards the table, where more pieces of the armor lay waiting to be enchanted. “Between that mess with the Discord Shard and a few other ... incidents, I think it is high time you learned to equip yourself as a magus should.” Something flashed over her features, and a wistful look came to her eyes. “Ah, I remember when I helped Midnight make her first set of magus gear...”
“You did?” I asked as I put on the chain shirt. “What was that like?” More than a little bit of me was tickled by the idea of being given an honor one of my distant ancestors, the Empress’ own daughter, had received.
“It was ... a curious sort of thing,” she settled on. “I enjoyed working with her, but it is somewhat disconcerting to make armor for your child. To know that one day my Midnight's life might depend upon the quality of my craftsmareship.”
“That must have been hard.” I walked around and even did a few stretches. The armor was surprisingly light and easy to move around in; instead of feeling like I was wearing a bunch of interlocking links of metal, I was no more constricted than if I was wearing a cotton shirt. “Even harder when—well, she was her. From everything I read, she was in the thick of it a ton of times. She fought just about every other type of monster and enemy to Equestria out there.”
“Yes, she was.” There was a brief period of silence as the Empress got a distant look about her. This was something I had grown accustomed to with her. Once she had gone silent for a full five minutes thinking about something in her past. It made me wonder if that was some kind of side effect of living so long. It would make for a fantastic study about the nature of alicorns. Shame I didn’t see the Empress letting herself be turned into some sort of lab rat.
Eventually, the Empress shook her head and returned to the present. “And it seems likely that you and Sunset will be too. At least, you certainly ought to be properly equipped when the time comes to face Nightmare Moon.”
I grimaced as that issue came up again. “I can't argue with you there.” I shuffled in place as the feelings of my own insufficiency weighed on me. “I hope you won't think less of me if the idea of facing her scares me a little.”
The Empress gave me a warm, grandmotherly smile. “Twilight, I would be very worried about your sanity if you weren't scared.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at that. “I'd be a bit worried about a pony who wasn't worried about fighting a demigod too.”
She wrapped a wing around me. “Do not worry, my child. I intend to do everything I can to help keep you safe.” After a brief moment, she added, “Starting with teaching you to enchant your own armor.”
I smiled up at her. “I would really like that.”
My grandmother guided me towards her enchanting table. “Well then, shall we get started?”
“Let’s.” I stopped just short of the table to look to her. “But first, there was something I wanted to tell you.”
“Yes?”
I wrapped my legs around her in a big hug, squeezing her as tightly as I could. “I don't think I've told you this enough, but... I love you, Grandmother.”
Grandmother smiled and returned my hug, all but engulfing me in the gesture. “And I love you, my child.”
I didn’t know what all was going to happen in the future. I didn’t know if we would be able to use the Elements of Harmony, or if everything would turn out alright with Cadance and the rest of my family, or with Sunset, or a hundred other things. What I did know was what I was loyal to: my principles, my country, my family, and my grandmother. It wasn’t going to be easy to balance all of those things, especially in days like these. Conflicted loyalties were probably going to be one of the most difficult things I was going have to deal with in the near future. But as I had told Cadance, all we can do is all we can do.
Besides, nopony ever said loyalty was easy.
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6880454
Admitely, it pisses me how much better is Sunbean´s Equestria in comparation with Celestia´s version: Most races united, most monsters are dead, less wars and conflicts, more technological and magical development, Sunset never had her fallout, the Sparkle House kept Amethyst/Sparkler, Dash is a Wonderbolt, Rarity, Trixie and Lyras are badasses, etc.. I would like to see the cracks under the surface of the Empire´s perfection, all consequence of the Empress´greed and self serving manipulations, growing up until it begin desestabilizing the whole.
Implying that Twilight is the element of loyalty, when it makes no sense........Oh for clestia's sake >_<
That is both heavily hamfisted and just doesn't work with Twilight......... At all. Outside of her being the element of magic in the original world, there is nothing going on that implies her qualities is for that state is any greater or lesser.
Also her loyalty is is blind. She blindly follows the empress. The ony she should question the most. The one who made the world into what it is, a state of perpetual war and tension.
Blind loyalty is not loyalty, it is delusion.
Its pretty damn clear that they do not have what is needed to even use the elements. Theya re forced together here.
7261213 Taht is my issue as a whole with this entire project. It is not believable, it just makes the character a mary sue, and it is making base asumptions about the elements of harmony. Hell i even feel there is an ipmlication that somehow they could beat nightmare moon without it...... which is bullshit.
I have no idea what the writer is doing with any of this. By all means, this equestria should be doing far worse than Celestia's in eveyr way. Yet we are not allowed to see any cracks
This is fascinating. I think Twilight made the wrong call here, but it's easy to see how she came to that decision. I just feel like trusting Sunbeam is gonna blow up in her face. It was intense seeing Twilight and Cadence have such a big falling out, too.
7261213 7261224 Nightmare cult still active, Element bearer of laughter is dead, anyone with good moral background and with power is part of the circle and Frenemies with the empress and fighting for a brighter equestria.
7261214
Fanatism is the corrupted version of Loyalty.
Twilight 's blind devotion to her teacher/Mother figure ( either Celestia or Sunbeam) has always been a flaw, not a virtue, in her character.
I still miss Pinkie...
7261849 that is not enough sadly. there has to be more than that. OBvious tensions between races, maybe even things like the Everfree being extra agitated or something.
7262296 Or maybe the tree of harmony and by extension the elements of harmony are fed up with the Empresses abuse of their power and when the elements of harmony are activated, they will strip empress sunbeam of the sun mantle and restore the mantle of the moon upon the cleansed Luna and present the mantle of the sun for some pony more worthy of it's use IE Sunset Shimmer or Twilight Sparkle.
7261897
Strumming showed up (and was described) in "The Prisoner's Dilemma"
Also, I'm rather baffled that some people can ready a chapter about the caribou being on the verge of rebellion (again) and a secret society trying to subvert one of the Element-wielders, and somehow conclude that there's total harmony between all races in the Empire and no cracks at all in the system.
7262745
Maybe because Sunbeam's only political opposition (the Circle) exists with her knowledge and approval, the Nightmare and her cult are meant to be defeated by the New Elements, and difficulties aside, everything else seems to indicate the Empress will continue conquering the rest of the world.
Cadence: "My faithful friends, finally is the day we were awaiting for. The return of the Princess Luna to be cleansed by the Elements and the restoration of the diarchy. The plan is..."
Sunbeam (slamming the door): "Cadence. I have decided the whole Nightmare thing is too important for you and your" secret society" to mess up, so pack your things; you are going with the Caribous".
Cadence (pouting): "Curses!"
"guess we better start"
"we'd"?
"that often did not often consider"
One too many "often"s?
"piracy and slave-den"
"pirate-and-slave-den"?
"with there no consistency among"
Ought that "there" to be there?
"this conspiracy is centuries of years old"
"hundreds of years" or "centuries old"?
"whole scheme to bring me"
"scheme was to"?
"would just sit in that information"
"sit on"?
"option is that the"
"was that"?
"which in of itself"
"in itself" or "in and of"?
"there’s actually going to"
"there's me actually"?
"lifted up light, silver"
"up a light"?
"nodded and a flicker"
"nodded, and"?
Quite enjoyed this tale of Twilight and her loyalties. I have to wonder if a point of turning will come with a revelation that Midnight was one of the founders of the Circle, considering Twilight's decision to follow in that ancestor's footsteps. The whole "Twilight as Loyalty" has been interesting to contemplate, as she indeed has earned that "Faithful Student" title again and again, but then she also is far too thoughtful and intelligent to trust blindly. I don't see her being able to put these questions about Luna's fate out of her mind now that the seeds have been planted.
As for the constantly debated state of Sunbeam's Equestria, I don't think that it needs to be on the verge of collapse or a state of dystopia to be inferior to Celestia's Equestria. To me it seems a relatively fine portrayal of an Equestria that has traded freedom for safety to a certain degree. We like to imagine that it's an all-or-nothing thing, but there are shades of everything, from brutally oppressive regimes to fully functioning but strict ones. This Equestria seems to function fine, but I personally read a much more muted tone into it. The pony that most represents Joy and Laughter is presumed dead in this world, and that's obviously a thematic choice. Everypony is keeping secrets. Yes, supposedly threats that would be yet to come have been eliminated beforehand, but the show's Equestria has always come out stronger for having faced them. Ultimately, I know that the show's path leads to great happiness under 5 alicorn Princesses representing Day, Night, Love, Friendship and whatever Flurry-Heart will bring. The Element bearers are transforming the world, spreading positive ideals to the griffons, and dragons, and even multi-colored humans living through a portal with Sunset Shimmer. It's a golden age, surely... The pay-off to a long-running trust in harmony.
Sunbeam's Equestria is merely stable and functioning, by comparison. She may have brought unity earlier, but it is one formed by treaties, trade, and threat, not intrinsically held beliefs. If this last chance of grasping Harmony is allowed to pass, if things are not shaken from Sunbeam's ways, this Equestria will never know anything better than what it has now. Perhaps that is not tragic enough for some people, but for me this story works precisely because I know what they're missing out on from watching the show.
7263715
That's... a fine reflection about the setting.
You know, it would be interesting if both Discord and the Tree of Harmony, in their weakened states, were working against Sunbeam 's rule.
7263792 I could definitely see something like that as well... Sunbeam has crafted a world where open conflict is cut off or ended as quickly as possible... But is a lack of conflict truly harmony, or just order?
This Equestria reminds me of the film "Pleasantville" (even to the point where I imagine it in less vibrant colors than Celestia's kingdom.) Things are, on the whole, "pleasant" enough. Disruptions to that pleasantness are cut off without hesitation. Dissatisfaction exists, but it is kept from openly boiling over and quickly repressed if it does. It doesn't seem to get fully aired out and resolved... Simply outlasted. Unity is achieved through attrition, rather than fulfillment, meaning that entire generations live their lives wanting something else that they can never obtain, only for their children to grow up never knowing enough to want such things in the first place. It is very much a society formed by an immortal with the patience to simply wait it out.
I think that the very fact that the Tree of Harmony sent the mane six to disrupt Starlight Glimmer's efforts to create "Harmony" at the cost of personal fulfillment shows that it wouldn't fully support Sunbeam's efforts either.
Oh my dear CELESTIA, Twilight!
Other than being irritated with Twilight, I found it interesting that Twi was so quick to judge Celestia so negatively (especially considering Canon!Twilight lol). While it was a bit annoying to read, I wondered how she would talk about Sunbeam if the latter had originally been the Queen, and Celestia the empress...
Side note to those who thought that Sunbeam's Equestria is totally fine with no problems: are we reading the same story?
7263715 This is a perfect contrast between Canon!Equestria and Phoenix Empire!Equestria.
Imagine Equestria where every single problem in the show's canon never happened, or it was just solved immediately. The characters didn't do any work at all, someone either helped them right away, or another problem in the past caused this one to never happen. Not only would that be boring in a narrative sense, it would be boring in real life, and also completely change the way the characters think and act.
I mean, sure there are times where I DESPERATELY wish that I could've worded something a bit better, or that I hadn't gone to the four schools I'd gone through from Kindergarten-8th grade. However, those 9 years made me who I am today, and my experiences and actions have made me a different person than I could've turned out to be. If I had never been bullied from 2nd-6th grade, I don't think I would have become as vindictive as I am today. If I had met my current vocal coach when I was a little girl, I would probably have not gone through at least my freshman year of high school, where I've made so many friends and memories that I hold dear.
If I hadn't had an argument with my mom one morning, in 5th grade, I could've possibly died in a horrific car crash at an intersection that we had to drive around that had happened moments before.
Everything happens for a reason. While Sunbeam's empire might seem peaceful/lacking open war, it really isn't. Because she pretty much forced every other nation to become a part of Equestria (most notably the North, where the caribou HAVE BEEN REBELLING HER RULE, with the support of a fucking powerful dragon), those nations have had some unrest. Meanwhile, in Canon!Equestria, Rainbow and Pinkie pretty much set up the foundations of some kind of friendship between the Gryphons and Equestria, and Magic Duel leads us to believe that Celestia already has an alliance with the Saddle Arabians.
Also, Luna might DIE in this AU, so...
7265662
That reminds me of Rainbow's own issues with her place in the Wonderbolts. Yeah, it might be rather satisfying that her achievement in performing the Sonic Rainboom was instantly recognized and lauded, to the point where she was assigned to be personally trained by the Wonderbolts and would obviously gain the next open slot on the team. But having it work out that way makes a huge difference for Rainbow's relationship with the 'bolts, and her dreams of joining the team. Instead of it being something she fought for and struggled to earn, her dream was practically handed to her on a silver platter. And we see some of the other problems with that setup when we get to Fleetfoot's issues...
Wow, Twilight, that... you shooting down Cadance like that was quite harsh.
I mean, I get it that you can do a lot of stuff in the heat of the moment, especially when you just snap, but that was... wow.
Then again, this was never intended to be a fluffy story full of rainbows.
Speaking of fluffy... that very last part of the chapter was just so nice! All the fuzzies and smiles and warmth.
I wonder what Twilight will do when she finds out Strumming planted bugs on her
Wow. I've been letting this accrue unread chapters for over a year. I am genuinely ashamed of myself. Still, at least I got a massive dose of awesome when I finally did dive back in.
In any case, the developments thus far are very fascinating indeed. Also, I'm rather astonished by people who can look at this distrusting, rigid, desperate, resentful, and generally bolloxed-up Equestria and think it superior to canon. The cracks are there if you know how to look for them, and you look for them by reading the story.
And that's saying nothing of Sunbeam's approach to the Elements: throw them at the prospective Bearers, spoil the key revelation, and cross your pinions. This is what happens when a mare who's anything but harmonious takes over for Celestia. Nation building she can do. Using ancient artifacts of virtue? Not so much. I suppose we should be grateful that she didn't decide to blow up the moon. I suppose she learned her lesson with Discord.
Twilight's character arc definitely promises to be a fascinating one. That's a lot of loyalties for one little pony to balance. She's certainly living up to her Element, but I'm not sure how she'll manage.
In any case, looking forward to more. Hopefully I'll actually read it in a timely manner.
Gotta say, for right now I'm right along with those who think this version of Equestria really sucks compared to canon. I suppose if this all culminated in Sunbeam's plans working out, yeah, that'd probably sour me on the story. I'm not sure that's how it's going to play out, though.
I mean, sure, canon Equestria hasn't conquered its neighbors, but...seriously, are we actually going to call that an improvement? It's never seemed like canon Equestria has problems with its neighbors, at least not ones that couldn't be solved cleanly.
We're told the Empire is "prosperous". Well, the ponies in canon Equestria never seem to really want for anything, Granny Smith's pending hip surgery aside. Sure they may not all have the money to buy all the luxuries they want at once, but there don't seem to be problems like homelessness or starvation or a brutal labor market rendering your cutie mark "unemployable".
Point is, canon Equestria doesn't actually seem to have many problems that the Empire doesn't. And, one can reasonably assume, it got to where it is with a whole hell of a lot less bloodshed than the Empire did.
More than that, there's the observed issues with "can any of Sunbeam's element bearers actually wield their assigned elements?" along with what I think is the bigger issue: can they even work together well enough at all? I mean, one has to assume the Elements of Harmony would require their users to be in, you know, harmony with each other. I think there's some definite rifts there, though, and they're not growing together as friends but instead being forced together as...coworkers, I guess? Point is, they sure don't seem like they're all acting as one, in the way you'd expect agents of harmony to do.
7271550 The Winningverse Equestria is significantly darker than canon Equestria, and the Phoenix Empire has to be compared to the Winningverse. The Winningverse is not really dark, but it's not a sunshine and rainbows world like canon Equestria is. The notable advantages the Phoenix Empire has over canon Equestria is a democratic/meritocratic system instead of an aristocratic system for every position besides Empress, no wars/raids from Gryphonia, and no Changeling invasions. I personally believe Sunbeam's Equestria is better than Celestia's, but Harwick in the comment directly below yours does an excellent job explaining why he thinks Celestia's is superior.
7272874 You're losing me a little here. First, you say that the Phoenixverse has to be compared to the Winningverse, not show canon. But then it sounds like you're doing that anyway. If you're talking about the Winningverse, then I'll concede I can't really say much there because I haven't actually read the "core" stories for that, though.
I still can't get past Sunbeam being a borderline sociopath and the Empire being built on conquering other nations and races followed by erasing their indigenous cultures, along with running the pony equivalent of the Stasi. Those are deal-breakers for me.
7265662
Not to mention the Yaks and what canon!Ponyville (not just Pinkie &c) had to go through and Fluttershy and Tree Hugger's work with the Breezies prior to their migration.
7275092 The Winningverse is very close to show canon. It's small things that make it darker, like ponies actually dying during the Changeling invasion, and the existence of a city-state called Freeport that has lots of piracy, crime, and indentured servitude. If you feel that conquest and a borderline sociopathic leader are too much, that's fine, but it's my opinion the larger GDP and more advanced technology make up for that.
7275935 thanks I forgot about that lol
This trio of chapters has left me feeling like the Elements won't work on NMM the first time around, and she'll laugh at Sunbeam's pathetic misdefinition of Harmony being synonymous with Order. Then the Elements get taken up their rightful bearers/a real friend group and save Equestria.
I think every Twilight chapter after this is going to be very interesting, to say the least.
Against my better instincts, I'm gonna jump headfirst into the whole Canon!Equestria vs Sunbeam'sEquestria with a new but very simple insight: History is written by the victor. Isn't it convenient that every war or conflict Sunbeam's Equestria fought in, the other nation always happened to be the aggressor? This is especially strange when you consider that in Canon!Equestria, these wars never happened (that we know of), evident by the fact that Equestria in the show isn't an empire that rules over all the other nations. Sure, there might be some truths sprinkled here and there - we know from the Lunar Rebellion story that the griffins did often harass Equestria's border settlements - but that's how the best lies are made.
If it weren't for the fact that I'd read the previous story in this continuity, I would even go so far to suggest that Sunbeam's takeover was a straight up usurpation, and that Sunbeam had stolen the throne from Celestia with some form of trickery (which is actually a fair interpretation of actual events, I suppose. It's not like Sunbeam didn't know how badly Celestia wanted to give up throughout the LR, all she had to do was provide her a reasonable sounding avenue to do so). It wouldn't surprise me if some ponies in this Equestria believed exactly that, though they're probably regarded as crazy conspiracy nuts even by those not in favour of the Empress. Regardless of what they think, I'm just gonna put on my tinfoil hat now to save myself some trouble later!
After reading these chapters, I'm interested to see the inevitable moment when Twilight has to confront the ugly truths about her mentor, whatever those truths end up being.
7287090
No on both counts. In fact, Sunbeam's rather peeved about having another alicorn running around.
I just realized the fact that Twilight Sparkle, who is now the Element of Loyalty, spent this whole story portion calling someone a spy.
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Sunbeam's Equestria is a fascist dictatorship. The cracks are there - I mean, the Ministry of Heart are literally the Thought Police, Sunbeam is a sociopathic tyrant who cares for her own power first and foremost, and while she wouldn't want to, wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice Twilight or Sunset if she stood to gain enough from it.
'Better' is a relative thing. Celestia's Equestria has flaws, yes, and not the same level of technology, but then, what's 'better'? I'd argue there are far more happy ponies in Celestia's Equestria. Yes, she does not impose her will on the world - but if one wants their children to grow up well, you have to let them make mistakes.
The thing I hope to see most in this universe is for Celestia to return, somehow. After all, it may be the Phoenix empire - but Celestia is the chosen of the Sun, and the only pony we've ever seen who has a phoenix as a true companion.
But yea. Sunbeam Equestria is nice on the surface, but the ugly is there if you look, and there's a lot of it.
Everyone keeps going on and on about Celestia being too depressed to go on, and while that may have ultimately played a part in her decision to transfer power, the fact of the matter is that Sunbeam rules lawyered Celestia out of her immortality because Tia had injured her over a misunderstanding caused by her own poor reputation, and ahe promised to do everything to help Sunbeam recover and Sunbeam held her to the letter.
Apparently these events aren't public knowledge, probably Sunbeam's own doing, and is probably part of what Cadance wanted to tell Twilight, though I wonder if it would have made a difference even if she'd been allowed to. As others have pointed out, Twilight's blind faith in her mentor has always been a part of her character, leading her to go along with some of Celestia's less well thought out plans in canon, and here may lead her to stand by as Sunbeam kills Luna one way or another (which is yet more rules lawyering from her, since killing Luna through mortality technically fulfills her promise to Celestia to let her live).
"....while there is no consistency...." or "....with there being no consistency....."
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Aye, but at least this indicates that while Twilight may be loyal to her mentor, at least she isn't doing it blindly. She seems quiet aware of her shortcomings and more brutal tendencies. Honestly, I'd make the comparison to Shadow Kicker. Shadow knew that Celestia had made mistakes, and that they had lead to the deaths of ponies. But she stood by her because she believed that she wanted to do the right thing, and that her way was the best way forward, despite her friends, family, and colleagues all telling her otherwise. To be frank, Twilight has more reason to believe in Sunbeam that Shadow had to believe in Celestia.