Chapter 92
With cautious hesitation, Twilight Sparkle crept closer to Princess Luna, who stood staring at the door of the room that Sumac had slept in. Trixie had locked herself inside and Princess Luna was trying to gently extract her, but Trixie refused to budge and the Princess of the Night was losing her patience.
Clearing her throat, Twilight then tried to moisten her mouth enough to speak. Her current emotional state made things difficult, she felt a whole maelstrom of emotions, some of which she was unable to identify. More than anything, she wanted to be angry, but she could not figure out at whom she should be angry. What Twilight needed was her friends, but they weren’t here.
What she did have was a sister, but Twilight didn’t know what to feel about that.
“Luna… a word with you if I may… princess to princess.”
With a regal arch of her eyebrow, Luna turned her head to face Twilight. There was no haughty expression, no arrogance, no real expression of anything really, and she looked into Twilight’s eyes to acknowledge her. With quiet patience, Luna waited for Twilight to figure out whatever it was that she wanted to say.
“Go and prepare for the reading of the will and whatever that entails,” Twilight said, hoping that her words sounded like a suggestion rather than an order. What was needed, more than anything else, was calm. “Sometimes, Luna, you can be a little overbearing, even if you don’t mean to be, and I think that Trixie needs some quiet reassurance… from a sister.”
With a reserved nod of acknowledgment, Luna replied, “We do agree. Sometimes, We do make a situation worse with Our overbearing nature. Perhaps you can do what We cannot.”
Shocked and a little surprised, Twilight couldn’t help but comment on the changes she observed in Luna. “You seem a little—”
“Calmer?” Luna asked.
“Yeah.” Twilight nodded. “And your speech—”
“We are closer to Our sister now than We have been since Our return. We are starting to feel the oneness that We had thought lost. Gosling has done much to bring Us together.” With another bow of her head, Luna stepped aside and gestured at the door with her wing. “We wish you luck, Twilight.”
Blinking, Twilight thought about the answer that wasn’t an answer. She studied Luna for a short time as the alicorn retreated, and then, with a smile, Luna plunged through a hole in the floor. It took Twilight several seconds to realise that even with the current crisis, Luna now possessed a genuine happiness.
Somehow, that made everything better.
Lifting her hoof, Twilight knocked upon the door.
“Go away.”
“Trixie, can we please talk?”
“No.”
“Can we please have a sister to sister talk?”
After a long wait, “...No.”
“Can a little sister come and talk to her bigger sister?”
Again, there was a long pause. “No. Sumac told me how you really feel.”
Grimacing, Twilight stood outside of the door, mouthing terrible curses that she would probably scold other ponies for saying. Of course Sumac wouldn’t keep secrets from his mother and Twilight appreciated his loyalty while resenting his honesty. After a few minutes of seething, she reminded herself that she was angry with the situation, and not with Sumac.
“Trixie, please—”
“I have in my possession a bottle of zap apple tincture. That door opens and somepony is getting a faceful of hurt.”
Stepping back from the door, Twilight hoped that Trixie was bluffing. After using the Alicorn Amulet, Trixie had a much higher degree of control over strong magic than most ponies. It took several seconds of contemplation, but Twilight realised that she was at an impasse. She wasn’t about to pick a fight with Trixie, not now, and with the recent revelation, not ever.
It was time for a different approach. “Sumac, may I please come in?”
There was no audible response and Twilight couldn’t hear any talking at all on the other side of the door, but she was certain that a discussion was taking place. With nothing else to do, Twilight waited and battled her growing feelings of impatience. She thought about Luna’s cool, calm demeanour, and if Luna could do it, Twilight reasoned that she could too.
“What do you hope to gain by entering?” Sumac asked through the door.
Brows furrowing, Twilight had to wonder if his response was coached or if Sumac had come up with it himself. She couldn’t tell. He was smart with an I.Q. boosted through magical means, much like Pebble and so many of her other students. Distracted, Twilight had an internal debate on whether or not Sumac had come up with his question himself.
“I can’t make things better,” Twilight said, thinking about Applejack for some reason. Honesty was, no doubt, her best approach. “I probably can’t smooth things out, either. But I am really worried about the both of you, I’m scared, and I want to know that you’re okay.”
“She’s telling the truth.” Sumac’s voice was faint coming through the door.
“Well, of course I’m telling the truth.” Twilight couldn’t help but feel just a little bit offended.
“I just taught Sumac the inventite veritatem spell. He’s a quick study. I doubt anypony will ever lie to him ever again, not without him knowing.” Trixie’s voice sounded flat and exhausted, she also sounded as though she had been crying.
There was a click from the door and Twilight, casting her gaze down, stared at the door handle. Before opening the door, Twilight stopped for a moment and opened her mouth to say, “That’s a pretty advanced spell. I’m impressed that Sumac was able to learn it.”
A little honest flattery never hurt anypony, Twilight thought to herself as she pushed open the door.
Pulling the door shut behind her, Twilight looked at the two ponies and one dragon all huddled together on the bed. Her mind drifted, she thought of Lemon Hearts and all of Lemon’s worry. After a few seconds, her eyes focused upon the bottle of zap apple tincture held in a secure magical bubble beside Trixie’s head. It remained for just a second, just long enough for Twilight to see it, and then it vanished.
“Trixie, I really hope that you won’t punish Sumac for what he did.”
“I have no intention of doing that,” Trixie replied. “I told him that I’m proud of him.”
The words made Twilight’s tongue go dry. While she had hoped that Trixie hadn’t punished Sumac for a momentary outburst of anger, she hadn’t expected Trixie to be proud of him. Twilight’s memory dredged up files of conversations in the past, and she recalled that Trixie had done this before, that she was proud of Sumac for just about anything and everything he did, and after a few seconds of thinking, Twilight now understood why.
Trixie was being a good mother, the sort of mother that she herself had wanted. For Twilight, it was a stunning revelation, and she gained a new appreciation for Trixie. A little voice in the back of Twilight’s mind suggested that the silence was getting awkward and that she needed to say something before the quiet became an unbreakable force of oppression.
“Trixie, I really am grateful to have you as my friend, and I just need a little time to come to terms with the fact that you are my sister,” Twilight said, feeling self conscious about her words.
“Truth,” both Sumac and Trixie said together.
And now, Twilight realised why.
“It really doesn’t change anything.” Twilight squirmed and found an interesting picture on the wall to look at. “I treat all of my close friends like sisters… or brothers, I suppose. We’ve all laughed and cried together, been happy and suffered together. I honestly can’t see them as anything but sisters… or brothers, as the case may be.”
“Truth,” Sumac and Trixie said in unison.
“I wish you two would stop that, it’s super creepy.” Twilight returned her attention to the pair and instead of feeling angry, she tried to be sympathetic. Trixie had endured a terrible life and Sumac was all too aware that everypony wanted something from him. “Look, right now, I have nothing to gain by lying to either of you, I value your friendship too much and I’m too scared about losing it as it is. I’m terrified that all of this is going to change things between us in a bad way.”
Again, both Trixie and Sumac said together, “Truth.”
Letting out an annoyed huff, Twilight’s cheeks bulged and her ears drooped down against her face. She was going to have to sort this out, somehow. “Okay, fine, keep doing what you’re doing, but keep it to yourselves. Sumac, I was honest with you this morning and that should mean something.” She could feel Sumac’s eyes piercing into her as she awaited his response.
“It does. That’s why I told my mom to let you in and give you a chance… as her sister. She didn’t want to let you in and so I made a deal with her.”
The words felt like a slap for some reason, but Twilight could not say why. She bit back an angry retort, wondering where it came from and why she had one ready. She took a deep, calming breath, just as Cadance had taught her to do. After taking a moment to calm herself, Twilight reminded herself why she was here.
“The reading of the will,” Twilight began, “will happen soon. Dandelia has been silenced. Princess Luna has worked to create a safe space for the two of you. As Matron of House Lulamoon and the Court of Lions, Princess Luna plans to offer Sumac reparations for the insults and poor treatment he has suffered as a guest in the House of Lulamoon. She is both disturbed and mortified by Dandelia’s behaviour.”
“Spoken a bit too much like a princess, but at least you are telling the truth.” Reaching out, Trixie patted the bed. “Come and sit with us. Sumac went through a lot of trouble to convince me to let his aunt in so she could talk.”
The words hit Twilight like the gentle caress of a flying cinder block.
Now, she felt even worse for what she had done and her manipulations of Sumac. She blinked to relieve the stinging pressure she felt in her eyes and blinked away the excess moisture she could now feel. Dragging her hooves over the floor, she crossed the small room, lept up onto the bed, and then settled down in the pony-loaf position where Dandelia had lain the night before.
“I don’t know how I feel about about Dandelia being my grandmother, I’m still willing to give her a chance I suppose, because I’ve learned how important it is to forgive ponies”—Sumac paused and looked Twilight right in the eye in the fearless sort of way that only foals could seem to do—“and while it is going to take me a long time to sort all of that out, the silver lining in this stinky situation is that I have you as my aunt. Sort of.”
Still blinking away tears, Twilight nodded.
Sniffling, Trixie wiped her own eyes with her foreleg. “Some good has come out of this, I suppose. I’ve come to a better understanding of what Sumac means to me. I think I also understand my mother a little more, but it’s hard. I don’t want to have to choose between my own mother and my son and right now, I feel like I’m being torn apart.”
“I can’t even imagine what you are feeling,” Twilight said, and she waited for both Trixie and Sumac to say, “Truth.” After several seconds, no such proclamation seemed forthcoming and Twilight was able to relax a little.
“Even though I hate her, a part of me still loves her,” Trixie confessed, “but I think that my own forgiveness and my own long walk to redemption has made me sympathetic. Maybe just a little bit.” Sniffling, Trixie gave Sumac a squeeze. “Still, if it came right down to it and I had to chose, it would be Sumac. It wouldn’t be easy though, and to be completely honest, I know it would break my heart.”
“So, are you going to give your mother a chance to make up for what she’s done?” Twilight asked.
“She can do so from a distance,” Trixie replied as a certain fierceness crept into her raspy voice. “It will be on my terms, by my rules of engagement, with me being in charge. If she wants forgiveness, she can meet my reasonable demands and earn it, just like I had to earn it.”
“That seems fair.” Twilight wiped her own eyes, and then folded her wing back against her side, careful to not snag her primaries upon the bed. “You’ve come a long ways, Trixie.”
“I know.” Trixie’s acknowledgment was a humble utterance.
“Let’s do whatever it is that we have to do, because I wanna go home.” Sumac looked down at the quilt he was sitting on. “I miss Pebble and Octavia. They help keep me calm. I wanna do magic with Vinyl and I wanna study in school. I just want things to go back to how they were.”
“Me too, Sumac, me too.” Twilight let out a sigh and looked at Trixie. “Let’s go and get this over with. I have your back, and I’ll always have your back.”
“Truth,” Sumac and Trixie said together.
Stats
Page generated in 0.044 seconds
Total duration
1,019 users online
265,996 hits today, 1,872,792 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Whenever I have run an RPG and truth-telling spells come up I always manage to enrage at least one player when they detect a falsehood as truth because of clever wording.
"Technically correct is the best kind of correct."
Now, let me say that my two colts, Flint and Tinder, are not what you would call the sharpest tools in the shed (in fact there are times I'm surprised they learned not to eat the paste in kindergarten), but they have their talents and they earned they place in Twilight's school just like everypony else - on their own merits. And just like all the other folks with their own young 'uns in Princess Purple's school, that makes me proud.
(Uh... Miss Lemon Hearts, you are still keeping them away from the pointy scissors in art class, right?)
7744558
Lemon Hearts: One time, they set the scissors on fire. I wish I understood how that happened. **Shrugs** Magic?
7744565 Anything can burn, steel, rock or anything, it just has to get hot enough.
(that was my egghead moment for today)
? = to
1 'about' or marking for a pause?
Indiscreet earth pony magic at work.
Poor Trix is in almost the same position as her mother was with her now.
7744565
Ah. Yes. I don't understand it either. Carry on.
(I'll just be running away now, seems you've got everything under control!
)
7744565 Whoa...whoa...whoa. What are you saying, that it's NOT normal to light scissors on fire?! That's CRAZY TALK!!
7744584 Just don't run with those scissors!
7744524
Spoken like a true bureaucrat. Hermes salutes you!
Chlorine trifluoride will light nearly anything on fire. Scissors, concrete, water, humid air...
Just saying.
7744635
Sodium too.
7744588 not normal in the least especially metal scissors
7744618 Not just bureaucrat but I am reminded of the fea in books by Patricia Briggs who technically can't lie either. They certainly find ways of not telling the truth without lying
7744641
I'm sure Twilight must have some sodium in the labs somewhere...
Where did this idiot urge to say "truth" come from?
7744806
Because, being smart ponies, they were using a truth detection spell.
Did that elude you?
7744579
If fire isn't solving your problems you are not using enough fire.
7744664 There's many stories of Trickster creatures that often times can't technically lie, but are expert enough at Secrets & Deceit that it's practically as if they are lying.
7744850 nerdist.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/plasma-slow.gif
7744819 You can't expect the down-to-earth Twilight Sparkle to be honest?!
7744889
Me? What does this have to do with me?
7744878
Isn't that the Man At Arms episode where they made the chakram(sp?)
7744898 Don't know, just wanted a good plasma torch gif. First time I used one back in 87', i was hooked on the pretty lights!!
Couldn't believe how well it cut turning steel to plasma. Was doing work experience at Horwood Bagshaw harvestors, one of the first people to use this new machine. Wrecked about 6 nozzles....Ooops!
Edit: found it
Trixie and Sumac should be careful with the whole 'know the truth' spell. There may be reasons why ponies don't use it all the time (even though Twilight seems to know of it). I thought that device heretic did a nice job discussing some possible ramifications of that in one of my favorite pony fanfics, And the Temptress Came Unto Her
“Enough, Twilight, enough,” Nightmare Moon growled. “I'd find your ingratitude insulting if it weren't so obviously spoken in ignorance. Now, consider what I'm offering you—nothing sinister! I'm offering you magic to see the literal truth of things. What could be more honest than that?” The creature grinned hugely in a truly terrific display of affected sincerity.
“Oh, no,” Twilight said, quickly. “I know this one. I know where this leads! Suddenly, Twilight Sparkle can't be fooled, nothing can be hidden from her. That's not finding the truth, it's betraying everypony's trust!”
Nightmare Moon smirked. “Is it?”
“Yes. The foundation of friendship, completely gone—”
“Come now, don't exaggerate. You don't need to prove your virtue to me,” the Mare in the Moon said, with a soothing tone Twilight found repulsive. “Surely at least once, your friends lying to you, or concealing things, has risked your friendship with them or put everypony in danger...made things harder than they had to be, at least.”
Twilight frowned. “That's when we need trust the most. If somepony is so screwed up about something that they're hiding it, or lying about it, they need to know they can trust you so they'll open up about the truth, and you can resolve the situation together. I don't need any magic for that except the Magic of Friendship.”
7744889
She's a princess. Until recently I had faith that that meant she understood the greater good comes before the wants of individuals 100% of the time. However, because the others were allowed a bit too much information than they needed about the processes through which leaders enforce this, they are now skeptical of anyone in charge telling them the truth, even when they don't need to know what the truth is.
7744860
Like many supernatural in the Dresden Files, specially the Sidhe.
7745069
My favorite is the "Denethor effect" : making sure the spell /artifact shows the ugliest, more depressing truths rather than the positive ones , so the user soon becomes cinic and paranoid.
7744524
This is why one of my players favoured Detect Thoughts over a simple Discern Lies.
7744860
And this is why I like running games with Fae antagonists. For some reason none of my friends think I'm any good at deception. Ah well, just makes them easier to fool.
7745083
I'm not surprised they're skeptical at this stage, although I do think they kind of always knew on a subconscious level what Twilight's job entailed, having it explicitly revealed has knocked things a bit. It does seem that this conversation (and last chapter's agreement with Sumac) has helped allay some of the problems somewhat (and this is the correct use of truth spells, permitting that extra reassurance when people need to KNOW you are being honest).
Truth..?
Couldn't resist.
7744524
It's even better when using a mythological creature that cannot lie, nobody even bothers with the spells.
I curse the Sidhe, because writing them is so bloody hard.
7745069
This. The proliferation of 'I'm emotionally important to those in power therefore they shouldn't hide anything from me' that, while they seem to NOT be doing it on purpose still colors the decisions we've seen so far rankles me. If you can trust your leaders with your life and livelihood and to directly and truly care about both, you should be able to trust your leaders to tell you what you need to know or what you need to hear (especially since you know them personally). No more or less. Also it's pretty selfish when you consider that they're already born gifted, or acquired a certain amount of talent far beyond almost anyone else, are graced with the love and friendship of their superiors beyond what others get, and they HAVE to also know truths that aren't theirs to take and to use it to make decisions that affect a lot more than just themselves.
Even if that never comes to pass the internalized selfishness of it makes me want to slap a lot of people. Which is also fine, it's not a problem with the writing, just that the characters are thick-headed and I want to slap them for flaws I don't like.
But if you have to steal truth from some one then does that truth even have value anymore? The truth, given willingly, is a powerful and meaningful thing. If they can't lie, then what's the worth of it anymore? Now it's just... data. It's not even the truth, it's just data you didn't have.
7745372
You're presuming that the people making the demands are acting wholly rationally. Emotionally, I can see why people really like to know what's going on when people are making decisions that affect them. As for having a greater degree of access to the truth, I personally reckon that people should have access to all relevant information, regardless of how important that person is (going the other way from your argument, which is suggesting that everyone should have the same lower baseline access, assuming I've read it right).
I do agree that truth has much more value when given, rather than when taken. Hopefully the princesses will carry on the trend Twilight has begun.
7745372
Yeah, these uppity peasants always wanting to know more than they should and doing what they want rather than what we say. That's what we get for allowing them to learn to read in the first place!
Seriously, when your superior is keeping the truth, is for your own good or because he wants to keep his advantage over you?
I understand a ruler needs to keep some state secrets from the public. Is natural, nacional security and so... but when those secrets concern me and my wellbeing then OF COURSE I WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THEM.
Sumac is a kid, a goddamn kid. He is not part of the government staff. He has not signed any agreement to allow Celestia, Luna or anyone else to recruit him as a warrior, diplomatic, or magical resource. Even the lowest person has the right to be upset when a greater power, even a living Goddess, is planning to use his life as a piece in a great game of chess for some "greater good". That 's not arrogance, but concern for one's freedom.
7745083
Oh come now, with Trixie's bloodline, she is one of the ponies that should be in charge. Why aren't you championing her rights?
7745510
"Should be in charge" and having been responsible for the safety and well-being of the masses all this time are two vastly different things and you know better. I'm championing nothing other than good sense and an understanding of both sides of the issue - I just happen to not like one side of the issue. So pbblt. To be honest, Trixie as she is now I would never want to see a crown on, that would be very scary. For her, and for her subjects. It's something she'd have to develop into, I think... it'd take time.
7745489
And again there's a difference between wanting to know and needing to know, or even if you should know. In a situation like Earth governments where there's a lot of shady shit going down and corruption runs rampant? Yes, transparency is a VERY good thing that we never really have. In this setting? Do you need to know how close the world comes to destruction every Thursday? Do you need to live with the threat of things hanging above your head you can't POSSIBLY affect in any way and that the only safety from is the plans of the Princesses - which could easily be disrupted if everyone like you knew about what all's going on and what they're doing about it? Especially as a herd species where they panic together and thus completely throw chaos into what could have been a carefully-laid plan to protect you all. As I said before, people - or ponies - should only know what they need to know, and no more. What's more, they aren't the ones who are remotely capable of deciding what it is they need to know as a whole.
Not to mention because the majority of people in a population see things from vastly different perspectives that if they don't agree with how something is being handled, even if it is the only/best way to handle it, they will cause a ruckus and all sorts of issues most of us can't comprehend start building up to create an even bigger problem down the line - because if people don't agree, even if what you do gets the results to allow them to live safe and happy, they will find a way to fry you even if it hurts themselves - people are stupid as a whole and that is fact.
Where if none of this stuff is known everyone goes on about their daily lives relatively happy while the movers and shakers run their asses off to keep 'em safe and happy, without disruption from the self-important peanut gallery that just HAS to do something about it to feel as if they're in control of matters too far above them to truly understand or are so beyond their scope that they are as mewling kittens before 'em.
As for the issue of his freedom, again. While that entitles him to feel upset, yes I agree completely, that does not make it WRONG is my point - hence my annoyance with Twilight's change of heart. If you would put one person's feelings, freedom, or life above that of everyone else, that is the kind of person I do NOT want in charge - which is what giving them the choice is effectively doing. If someone had the power to save the world and was the only one who could, and chooses not to, then the world dies because you respected that person's personal wants over the lives of everyone else. Or, you could leave the illusion of choice, remove their ability to say no, and make sure this one person becomes the savior they need to be so the world keeps spinning and no one has to die. If you were a bystander in this situation, knowing what I just said, how would you choose? "Yes, make that person save everyone else at any cost!" Or "Well they don't want to, so we should respect that." and then promptly die to whatever it was they were the only defense against? If it were you, it's easy to say 'yeah I'd do the right thing if you gave me the choice' but when actually confronted with it, how many would find that they could make the decision themselves? In my experiences, people tend to freeze up when it's go-time, if not back away completely. It's a smaller number of us that are already moving just as soon as we see the problem.
7745377
I'm not, in fact. That's why I even specifically stated that their flaws (while completely understandable) annoy me. They are completely normal flaws that most people possess, and many times (typically by those afflicted with them) are not even considered flaws. Totally natural, totally normal, I'm just not a fan of them in real people.
But I cannot agree. Your ideal works only in an idyllic population to begin with. Where we've seen these ponies are not that different from humans. People tend to think too highly of the masses they are a part of. "I could comport myself well if I knew such and such", which - while you have no way of knowing that, might actually be true! But what about your neighbor? What about your neighbor's friends? What if they learned something they don't like, but isn't actually a bad thing objectively? What if that neighbor and their friends go find more people who think like them, selfish, backwards-thinking, or just not understanding the importance of something even if it's explained to them?
Letting slip certain bits of information has caused bloodshed in our history in no small amount. Information control is not an evil, and if performed by a body that is itself relatively free of corruption (doesn't exist in our world, does here in Equestria) falls under protecting the masses from themselves. Information is power, but it is also dangerous in the wrong hands. Not everyone can handle what they see and hear, and others twist it into justification for acts of dire evil and willful ignorance. We see it every day in real life. And so, giving it to everyone means it winds up in the wrong hands many, many times over.
Or, by keeping things others don't need to know to yourself and those who are helping you keep everyone safe and everything running smoothly, you never have to worry about hundreds or thousands or millions looking over your shoulder at every little thing you do, LOOKING for reasons to mistrust you, opponents crawling all over your every step trying to find ways to turn everyone against you even while you slave away for their best interests and keeping said opponents healthy, safe, and and alive. Limiting what you can do to help people by how your most subtle action APPEARS to millions of different viewpoints and perspectives. There's no way to counter that except for them not to know. No matter what you do, lots of people are going to be crawling up your ass so far they'll need spelunking gear before they set up camp in your colon and refuse to leave like especially angry and ignorant ulcers. And if you do get defended by the people who understand or aren't trying to find a reason to give you the boot for their mentally-impacted or selfish desires, it causes internal friction among the populace, worsening the quality of life for everyone or perhaps even leading to violence.
It's just safer for everyone involved if some things, even (or especially) certain things that affect the whole, are just kept close to the chest. If there's something the people can do without screwing themselves over, by all means inform them: hell, tell them you need their help. Get them straight up involved! But for everything else? Need to know basis, because a crowd is a scary thing that no one who is part of the crowd actually understands fully.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
At any rate, I hope I got my opinions based on my own experiences of years as a leader and follower across. I tend to have to put down more words because it's difficult for me to communicate full thoughts concisely and much gets left out that completely changes the tone or intent of the message or counterpoint I'm trying to convey, leading to me having to explain myself over and over again until it finally covers what I was trying to say in the first place.
7745591
I was joking, hence the
7745591
That's fair. I'm aware I'm an idealistic optimist most of the time, and tend to assume the best of people. I shall defer to your experience on how these things actually go. In this particular case we certainly can trust the princess' good intentions, so permitting them their secrets is much more palatable. I'm warier with real-life leaders as their good natures are less assured, but I can certainly see your points about how the release of too much information can cause harm. Part of my feelings on freedom of information is the belief that people should have a say in their own lives, and that being informed is part of that (it's why I specified that people should have the information that pertains to them), but again, if I put on a cynical hat, I have to recognise that people don't always know what's good for them, and there's some information about themselves they shouldn't have for that reason (an example being the prescription of a placebo, where the benefit obtained is significantly less if you know you've been prescribed a placebo).
Don't worry about writing to much, at least if you're addressing me, I'd rather read a slightly-longwinded but full explanation than a concise paragraph that misses bits.
7745611
I was too! That's what the raspberry was for, the jokey-scolding.
... The bit about Trixie and the crown was a serious afterthought, though. 
The old girl needs love and rest.
7745613
Trust me, I definitely see where you're coming from. The ideas you have are ones I'd love to be possible! Even ideas I championed when I was younger and less battered about by the world and the people in it. When I didn't look around at my peers and feel frustrated at their inability to do what was right or necessary. When I didn't look at those who left me in charge and then decided they knew better about things they refused to be educated on, or were too short-sighted to understand and feel the knife in my back twisting slowly.
If everyone was moralistically-inclined, and held a great understanding of how things need to work at any given moment, if everyone was equally educated and didn't have such drastically different and biased viewpoints based on where/how they grew up, who taught them, who forced their personal values on them... then I think people could be trustworthy as a mass. Of course we'd lose any sort of flavor as a people, but that's a different problem.
That placebo metaphor was rather apt!
7745627
If I may speak as the author:
Twilight was concerned that she lost the popularity contest and that Sumac has a Princess Cadance stuffy. Even though it isn't expressly mentioned, there is an intense rivalry between Twilight and Cadance as each tries to outdo the other. Celestia fosters this, encourages this, and if given a chance, will stoke the coals to make it blaze ever brighter. Society benefits from this rivalry.
With Sumac taking on a Princess Cadance stuffy, Twilight sees it as a personal loss. A big part of her motivation here and why she does what she does is to get Trixie, and by extension, Sumac, firmly in her corner. See, I actually write out the motivations of the characters and their interactions so I have a good logical grasp upon it.
Twilight wants Sumac in a position where he gives his talent willingly and she never has to ask, and she'll take whatever calculated risk she'll have to so that she can secure that. She has certain morals and ethics to her actions though; she won't willingly compromise her friendships, she will never ask more of a pony than what she deems them capable of, and if her actions puts a pony in her danger, then she puts her own body on the line to assure their safety.
Think back on the story, especially Castle Midnight, and you will see an established pattern at work with Twilight's behaviour. She's playing the long game and she wants to win. Everything she does follows a logical progression and she is very, very careful with her chess pieces. If they get knocked around too much, she tends to them herself and sees to their betterment, an action that she learned from her own mentor.
Twilight has learned to nurture fanatical devotion in her rank and file followers. Ponies like Tarnish are fanatical zealots in their devotion to both Celestia and Twilight. Twilight has learned to foster unwavering faith, and she does it by being a friend first and a leader second. She is grooming Sumac to be an established member of her chosen inner circle, and she will give him just about anything to make certain that she has his willing, voluntary loyalty.
Sparkle's Spartans don't fight because they have to, or because they are asked to, they fight because the greater whole that they are a part of is threatened. They feel a powerful sense of inclusion and belonging. They're not Twilight's minions or her lackeys, they are her equals and associates. They're not fighting for a princess, they're fighting for a friend that is an intimate part of their lives. They fight because they believe in what Twilight represents, and Sparkle's Spartans have an almost religious, fanatical zeal to them.
That makes them unbelievably dangerous, and it is the logic I followed for how they were able to defend Ponyville. They weren't just defending their home, they were protecting their way of life and their valued entitlements given to them by Twilight. Any student of history will know that folk like these prove to be the most dangerous, because they have the most to lose.
They are the last sorts you want to pick a fight with, and Twilight knows this. She learned it from her mentor.
7745662
Hm, so Twilight didn't break down and have a crisis of faith in regards to the system and her fellow rulers. She was being a bratty politician even in a moment where she was vulnerable. My pragmatic side approves. Though I still wanna smack her a little bit. She's learned from Celestia, clearly, but seems to be taking more risks.
Twilight plays a (slightly more) dangerous game, she does. Especially if she gets Sumac to trust her and he later realizes that even though she threw Celestia under the bus to win him over, she's essentially just done the exact same thing.
7745683
I understand that pulling back the curtain is dangerous, but sometimes I really want to talk about it.
If people knew the real motivations going on, they would scream.
7745688
Hey, I feel you. This is interesting stuff. I know when I show a favorite story or show to a loved one it's hell not to try and hype them up for a favorite upcoming scene or so. Moreso when it's something you've brought into being yourself and want to share with others.
So when they say "Truth" is Twi lying or are they confirming that she is saying truth?
7745662
This strikes me as something similar to saying "There are no selfless actions because you derive a pleasurable sense of righteousness from doing good things, so you're really doing it for your own benefit instead of theirs."
It's something that is definitely true, that Twilight is playing popularity games with her allies and friends, but... it's also a cynical way to phrase "Twilight fosters a strong sense of community and righteousness by treating everyone like friends, not followers. She leads by setting an example of goodness and friendship, and sacrifices for her friends when need be."
It's at very least a very positive way to go about it.
7745787
Twilight is telling the truth. Had she lied, they would have said so.
7745688
An urge I fully understand, the amount of times I've spoiled my own GMing plans because I can't keep my mouth shut. You have my sympathies, and admiration for the success you have at suppressing it.
7745802 okay, just checking.
7745806 I HATE that! When my GM tells me something is a bad idea or that something isn't wise, i hate it. I prefer when the summary comes and i wasted actions. At least i know others are also wasting actions, makes me fell less stupid. And vice-versa, don't tell me something is a good idea, let me reap the risk when the summary comes out.
7745814 That's a reasonable complaint, but nothing to do with what I said. I was talking about a tendency to talk about what's going on behind the scenes, the plots and plans of the NPCs that the players don't know about yet, like Kudzuhaiku was talking about revealing the motivations and plots of characters in his stories. Sorry for any confusion.
7745802
Any chance of a chapter or side -fic showing us Team Evil 's perspective, Grogar and co.?
I know you are taking inspiration from the Lord of the Rings, and Tolkien didn't like the concept of "villain protagonist", but I'm curious about what the old goat is up to.
On the other side, I like characters like Stinkybug and his harpy pal, and how the Princesses acknowledge there aren't "default evil races" and are happy to help them when asked.
7745837 woops! Sorry.
7745662
Yeah Celestia, invite the jealousy and competition between two alicorns sister (in-law). What can possibly go wrong?
Truthsayers.