On this day, the 12th of First Fall in the 532nd year after the Unification of the Kingdom of Homestria, the House of Lairds rejected the proposal by Minister of Science Professor Glistering Radiance to establish a task force to address the developing situation in Cloudsdale state. The proposal was rejected 57-63, Lady Inkheart commenting that the issue was not of sufficient urgency to warrant federal override of Cloudsdale's autonomy and that the proposal in question failed to adequately consider the threat of the Unmarked movement.
Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.
"Sunset," Radiance gently spoke up. "I know that you're a smart girl, so I'm pretty sure you know that banging your head on the wall like that isn't a good idea."
"Then why," she asked, slumping over against the wall of her office. "did I take this job?"
Minister of the Treasury Blue Chip had officially hired her on the 9th, and she'd spent the last three days briefing the science department about what she knew, supervising experiments on magic, and getting virtually nothing else done. Any action she suggested that went outside the bounds of the science department ran into a brick wall of inaction, got shredded by technicalities and loopholes, and then set on fire by people whose greatest talents seemed to be obstruction and the ability to not see or hear what they didn't want to. It was astonishing, really; the likes of Lady Inkheart weren't trying to stop her out of genuine opposition or malice, they were trying to for political considerations or out of sheer inertia. It was fascinating, much like an earthquake, petty Mannish concerns trying to uphold their significance in the face of something that cared little either for those concerns or those who voiced them. She was trying to throw people living in a valley behind a groaning dam life preservers, and they were throwing them back because they didn't like the color.
"Is this how the government regularly functions?" she sighed, lifting her face from its resting place. "Is this really the institution Homestria trusts to lead it? If so, a lot of those jokes of Granny Smith's suddenly make a lot more sense. 'Fill out these forms, in triplicate, then scan them and upload them to our website.' Why not just have the forms on the website in the first place?"
"Some things could stand to be brought up to date," Radiance admitted. "but the government isn't as bad as you make it sound."
Sunset looked back at her, incredulous. "I've read through the Senate Records," she replied. "Literally, one piece of legislation has been passed in the last week. In that same time, at least fifty bills have been either rejected, filibustered until they were withdrawn, or rerouted to subcommittees. And the reasons some of those bills were defeated are ridiculous; 'The Cloudsdale Task Force Act doesn't offer adequate protections to the capitol city of Castellot from the Unmarked political movement,' of course it doesn't! That's not its job! You might as well say that tax collectors don't provide adequate protection, or doctors! Does Lady Inkheart just not like passing bills, is that it? Is the Senate's job to produce legislation that never gets passed?" She began pacing heatedly. "This is exactly why old me wanted to be a tyrant," she rambled. "Things need to get done, and if everyone gets to decide what should be done, that ends up being nothing but arguing, everyone unable to agree on doing anything except fighting about what should be done. Hay, there'd probably be a few who don't agree about that! I understand the appeal of democracy, I do, but it misses something really important; there are only a few people in government because government works better with fewer people. Requiring people to agree makes it hard to get stuff done, and the point of government is to be able to do stuff that people usually can't. Democracy's chaotic, but the whole point of government is to make sure that there's order in the citizens' lives." She sighed, then ran her fingers through her frizzled hair. "I'm half-considering trying to convince the princess to seize power," she mumbled.
"If you did try, good luck," Radiance smiled, putting a comforting hand on Sunset's shoulder. "She's happy right where she is. But I'm not the best person to explain why doing that would be a bad idea. Fortunately, I know who is." Pressing a few buttons on Sunset's desk intercom, she asked, "Chip, it's Radiance. Think you could give Miss Shimmer a bit of a rundown on democracy really quick?"
"Sure," crackled back the Treasury Minister's answer. "I'll head down there as soon as I get Half-Crown to take over. Er, there's some whiteboard still open, right?"
"Plenty of space for you to draw your pictures," Radiance chuckled as she glanced up at Sunset's only half-filled board. "Alright, we'll see you soon." Sighing and shaking her head in amusement, she stepped back from the intercom, then pointed at Sunset. "You'll want to get comfortable," she warned. "Chip can get quite into this."
"Quite into what?" Sunset asked, sitting down and turning to face her office's writable wall. "Seizures of power? Conspiracies? Political jokes?"
"Democracy," Chip panted, standing in the doorway.
"How'd you get here so fast?" Sunset asked, vaguely concerned. "Your office is at least fifteen minutes away."
"Not," Chip panted, stepping inside and closing the door. "as the democrat's feet fly. However," she wiped her brow. "this democrat isn't as spry as she used to be, and needs a minute to catch her breath."
"Take your time," Sunset frowned. "You didn't have to run here, you know. This could've waited."
"Not for me," Chip shook her head as she regained her breath. "And not for the kingdom, either. Someone as bright as you not liking democracy when Starlight's on the rise? No. Can't risk you falling in with her."
"But what she's proposing is democracy," Sunset protested. "Democracy taken to the extreme, yes, but still democracy."
Chip stared back at her, jaw agape, then turned to Radiance. "Good thing you called me when you did," she said. "This is serious. Well," she cleared her throat and rolled her sleeves up further. "looks like it's time for you to get a crash course in politics, Miss Shimmer. Hold on to your seat; this is going to be quite the ride."
"Now," Chip said, spidering over to the whiteboard and picking up a marker. "there are three main kinds of government you can--no," she shook her head, pausing before she could write anything down. "No, we need to go back further. Miss Shimmer," she slapped the cap back on the marker as she turned to her audience. "what is government?"
She blinked, then hesitantly replied, "The organization which provides order to the lives of its citizens."
"So the thing which tells people what to do?" Chip asked, though Sunset was unable to tell whether she was being sarcastic or not.
She awkwardly shifted in her seat. "Not just that," she cautiously replied. "A government also provides security, without which order is impossible, and helps maintain order in the rest of the world so far as it's able or needs to, to prevent chaos from sprouting up there and eventually afflicting the citizens in the government's own territory."
"So, a government basically tells its people, the people of the rest of the world, and the world itself what to do?" Chip refined her earlier question.
"A government tries to help creatures establish order," Sunset frowned, not liking how tyrannical Chip was making her definition sound. "If it needs to, yes, it forces them to, but only as a last resort."
"So a government," Chip mused, clearly reading Sunset's tone. "tries to guide and instruct those under it, using whatever means that task requires."
Sunset nodded.
"So it tells people-"
"Government allows its citizens freedom," Sunset snapped. "It doesn't force them all to be one thing or think one thing. The only thing it forces on its citizens is not to bring chaos, the failure of good order, which in the end harms the chaos-bringer as much as those on the receiving end."
There was silence for a few moments. Then, stroking her chin, Chip asked, "Is the freedom to obey order really freedom at all?"
Sunset swallowed. "Order's the wrong word, perhaps," she replied, brushing the hair out of her eyes. "Maybe harmony's the better word. Harmony isn't static, or all the same; almost anything can be in harmony, and thus if you're part of harmony you can be almost anything, the only exceptions being things that aren't part of that harmony. For instance, me and the girls could be singing a song, and I could sing any note I wanted, so long as that note was in harmony with the others. Yeah," she smiled. "Order was the wrong word. Governments help creatures to establish harmony, everyone working together with chaos' creativity and order's stability."
"Then why shouldn't the government include as many people as possible?" Chip asked. "Why not include as many notes as possible in its harmony?"
"Because that makes it harder to create harmony," Sunset shook her head. "The more notes you try to add, the more likely it is that some of them aren't going to work together. Government needs to include just enough different notes to get the basic pattern down, then leave it to the citizens to finish the song. If the government tries to include everyone, tries to get the entire harmony down, all everyone gets is a headache."
"One last thing before we go on," Chip raised a finger. "Is the freedom to only do what's in harmony with others really freedom?"
"Is it freedom if you can walk only wherever you want?" Sunset retorted.
Chip smiled. "I like it. Anyway," she stood back up and walked back to the whiteboard. "as I said at the start, there are three main kinds of government, three main ways," she dipped her head to Sunset. "to try and establish harmony. First," she drew a large, rough circle. "there's authoritarianism, rule by the one. Second," she drew another circle a short distance away. "there is democracy, rule by all. Finally," she drew a circle between the two previous ones. "there is oligarchy, rule by some. All other kinds, aristocracy, anarchy, even our own constitutional monarchy, are variants of one of these three core systems. But which system is our government a variation of?"
"Oligarchy," Sunset replied easily. "The Senate tries to establish harmony for the rest of the kingdom."
"Close," Chip raised a finger. "The thing is, though, ultimate power doesn't rest with the Senate; it rests with those who elect them, and the people who elect them, or elect the people who appoint them, are..."
"The population as a whole," Sunset frowned.
"Correct," Chip nodded. "And that makes Homestria..."
"A democracy," Sunset sighed. "No wonder it's been so hard getting things done."
Chip stared back at her curiously, then capped the marker again and asked, "Tell me, why is it so important to get things done?"
Sunset blinked in confusion.
"Why is it so important for the government to act?" Chip asked again. "How do you know doing nothing isn't the best course of action?"
"Because I'm trying to save peoples' lives?!" Sunset sputtered, eyes bulging in incredulity. "The whole reason things come to the government's attention is because the citizens can't resolve it themselves, and if the government can't resolve it, who will? If the government doesn't act, what's going to stop whatever's causing trouble? If we don't do anything about Cloudsdale, and Cloudsdale doesn't do anything about it, what's going to stop the situation from spiraling out of control and people getting hurt?"
"What's stopping the people from stopping it?" Chip asked. "Cloudsdale's one of the most militant of the states, I doubt they'll have trouble finding equipment or individuals trained to use it if anyone tries something like you did at the Fall Formal."
"They aren't trained to fight magic-users," Sunset shook her head. "Magic's too big for them to deal with alone; I'm not sure the whole state put together would be able to deal with whatever it is. Magically generated storms...I can't just let them fight that alone."
"And now we come to the crux of the matter," Chip steepled her fingers. "Why don't you trust people, Sunset?"
"Huh?" came the confused reply.
"You say that the government needs to step in in Cloudsdale because the Cloudsdalers can't deal with magic alone," Chip elaborated. "Yet you were perfectly willing to stand against Twilight Sparkle during the Friendship Games despite having the same lack of training with magic in this world, and you didn't try to stop your friends from helping you deal with the Gloriosa incident at Camp Everfree despite them being even less trained. Why? What led you to think that Cloudsdale needs help but you and your friends didn't?"
Sunset clenched her fist. "We were the only ones available," she calmly replied. "If we'd waited, who knows how much damage Gloriosa would have been able to do?"
"Perhaps," Chip shrugged. "Or perhaps it was because you have a high opinion of your own abilities--and a low opinion of others'. Now, I'm not saying that's unjustified, just perhaps worthy of examination. For example, examining why that opinion seems to disappear during your early experiments with your friends' magic, then reappear shortly later when Twilight experienced her brief bout of magic-madness."
"I forgot it in the heat of the moment," she snorted.
"Possible," Chip admitted. "Though you bringing that up does remind me, do you remember Hoops and Dumbbell?"
"Vaguely," she frowned, wondering how this was connected. "They were transfers from Cloudsdale Middle School, though I have no clue how they managed to pass. They tried to farm their homework out to me when I arrived, though they quickly regretted it. Anyway," she dodged the unpleasant topic of just how she'd done that. "I didn't see them that much over the next few weeks, while I was getting my-my network in place, but then," she frowned. "I found them in the gym, trying to bully Fluttershy into doing their homework. And-and she looked at me, realized who I was, and she just looked so afraid, so hopeless..." She shivered. "...Next thing I knew, I was in the nurse's office, Fluttershy holding some ice to a bump on my head, though she wasn't able to look me in the eyes. It took me some time to learn what happened, Fluttershy wasn't particularly useful as a source, but eventually I pieced together that I charged into the gym and somehow managed to fight off both Hoops and Dumbbell before sending them to the principal's office to admit what they'd done. It," she looked at the ground. "wasn't one of my proudest moments."
Chip simply looked at her silently for a few moments, before saying, "Celestia sent us as much information about you as she could find when we first struck the deal, though much of that was simply notes from her journals. The story about Hoops and Dumbbell really stood out to me, for one simple reason, a question; why? Why would a girl trying to become the tyrant of her school save another girl from her bullies?"
"I wish I knew," Sunset shrugged. "Not all the things old me did make sense."
"Combined with some of the other things they mentioned, though," Chip continued. "I think I managed to find an answer to that question. Did you know that, during your reign of terror, Canterlot High actually experienced a decrease in incidents of reported bullying? Celestia noted it herself, called it 'remarkable,' and I agree; once you set yourself up, it was like all the bullies fled Canterlot High."
"Fled me," Sunset murmured sadly. "the worst bully of all."
Chip fell quiet for a moment, then asked, "Did you know that incidents of cheating also fell during your rule, according to Celestia? If the decrease in reported bullying was remarkable, this was miraculous; suddenly, a third of detention was cleared out. Vice-Principal Luna," she chuckled. "actually liked you, according to her sister; 'Luna says Sunset's the oil that keeps CHS running,' she wrote, 'the judge whose rules keep the students in line.' Of course, this was before the Formal, so her opinion almost certainly changed, but still, interesting."
"And disturbing," Sunset frowned. "I was a tyrant; how could Luna think I was doing anything good?"
Chip shook her head sadly, then asked, "You remember Abacus Cinch, yes? Judging by your clenched fists," she nodded at Sunset's reaction. "I'm guessing so. Did you know that she was once considered a model principal? I'm guessing not," she said as Sunset coughed out a lung in shock. "She was, though, and for good reason; Crystal Preparatory Academy had high athletic and academic performance, as well as minimal visible problems. Of course, that was all shattered by the Friendship Games and their aftermath, but until then CPA seemed to be the best-run school in the kingdom, without rival or peer. And, according to the investigations, part of that was due to her leadership, cajoling and coercing-"
"Bribing and threatening," Sunset angrily corrected.
"-bribing and threatening her students so that they behaved, at least as far as the outside world could see. Combined with the Washouts as enforcers, she was able to keep a grip on the students and make them behave as the outside world wanted them to, at least when the outside world was watching. In fine, she managed to keep CPA running..."
"...by being a tyrant," Sunset whispered in realization.
"Everyone wants tyrants not to be liked," Chip sighed. "Everyone wants tyranny to be resisted, rejected, rebuked, refused in all forms. Everyone wants everyone else to stand up against tyranny, to sacrifice whatever it takes to secure freedom. The problem is, people don't like sacrifice; they like houses, bread, water, money, victory, but they don't like sacrifice. You used to be a tyrant, yes, but tyrants can do things free leaders can't; you managed to bully all the other bullies into quiescence, and put fear of your anger into people enough that they adopted your stance against cheating. You gave the people what they wanted; what reason would they have to look closer at how you got it? If they did and saw something they didn't like, they might have to sacrifice, and nobody likes sacrifice. Better to just accept what you give them, good and bad. But I digress," she cleared her throat. "While this might explain how you were able to get away with the things you did, it doesn't explain why; why extinguish other bullying?"
"Decrease competition," she quickly answered.
"Why stop cheating?" Chip continued.
"I," Sunset hesitated, before sighing. "I don't know, I guess just because I didn't like it. Like, is asking you to do your homework too much? Is asking you to do the ridiculously easy homework they gave us too much to ask?"
"Do you know what I think?" Chip asked. "I think you were trying to help them."
Sunset gave a bark of laughter at that. "You do know how unfriendly I was then, right? Why would old me have wanted to help anyone?"
"Maybe help isn't the right word," Chip smiled. "'Rescue', that's a better one. 'Save', even better. I think you were subconsciously trying to save them from cheating, from the long-term problems cheating would cause. And I think that that is why you were willing to try to stop Twilight, why you were willing to risk your life against Gloriosa, why you want the Senate to send a task force to Cloudsdale; not out of a high opinion of your abilities, or a low opinion of others', but out of a want to save, a want to rescue, a want to keep everybody safe and warm."
Sunset put a finger to her lip in thought; what Chip was saying did make sense. If her friends asked her if she wanted to do something, she might say no, but if they asked for her help, she was at their side in an instant. And, she flinched, it even made sense for her time as tyrant at CHS; the old her had thought of the Wondercolts as useless idiots, but they were still her subjects, which made them her useless idiots. She even vaguely remembered justifying her actions to Flash that way once, telling him that he'd thank her later.
"It," she slowly replied. "makes sense, but...what do I do with it? Do you...want me to take control of the government instead of the princess? If so, sorry to disappoint you, but-"
"No, no no no no no," Chip shook her head. "That's not what I was thinking at all. To be honest, I was just trying to figure you out, so to speak, trying to figure out how to explain this to you. And this," she said, walking back over to the whiteboard. "is the shortcomings of the various types of government. We'll start with authoritarianism, and its biggest problem is that," she began writing up on the board next to the circle in question, marked 'A'. "people aren't perfect, they make mistakes, and if you only have one person in control then the odds of them making a mistake and either not noticing or not correcting it skyrocket. Who likes admitting that they're wrong? The problem with oligarchy," she moved over to the middle circle, marked 'O'. "is that people are self-centered, they care most about themselves. Separate a group of people and tell them that they're leading society and their first thought will be how to make sure society knows that, typically involving overcomplicated outfits. The problem with democracy," she moved over to the last circle, marked 'D'. "is that people are short-sighted, they care most about the now. When you put a lot of people together, all those nows compete for attention and they ignore the future, unless it stops ignoring them."
"So," Sunset pursed her lips. "people are imperfect, self-centered, and short-sighted. Cheerful idea."
"Not necessarily," Chip admitted. "But this is; those problems decrease the more people you add."
"But you just said that the problem with democracy is short-sightedness compounds," Sunset protested. "You want fewer people in government then, not more."
"Short-sightedness does compound as you add more people," Chip nodded. "but those extra people stand a greater chance of including a far-sighted individual, one who can show the others that they need to think about the future. That, to be blunt, is why democracy works; sheer numbers make it more likely that someone in government is competent, that someone knows how to do the job."
"So," Sunset furrowed her brow. "democracy is basically a bet, as opposed to the investment model of authoritarianism?"
"The investment model," Chip tapped the 'D' marked circle. "only works if people are far-sighted, and the fewer people there are in government the less chance there is of that. Democracy is a bet, yes, but it's a better bet than authoritarianism or oligarchy."
"Why do you seem so keenly against democracy, Miss Shimmer?" Radiance asked. "It's almost like you want it proven wrong."
"It's like I said, Radiance," Chip replied. "Miss Shimmer is, above all, a rescuer, and she wants government to be more centralized so that she can aspire to save more people. Of course, there's a problem in her thinking." Turning back to the whiteboard (and ignoring Sunset's indignant sputtering), she began writing, a simple equation that quirked Sunset's brow up in curiosity;
GOVERNMENT =/= SOCIETY
"Government is a part of society," Chip explained. "not the other way around. Government has no power outside of society, but society has power far outside of government. Government is not the only option; it is not the only rescuer. Miss Shimmer, let me be blunt; you do not need to be a tyrant to rescue people. A democrat is just as capable of rescuing others as an autocrat. Indeed, a democracy is better at rescuing people; in authoritarianism, only the autocrat has the power to save, and they cannot be everywhere. In a democracy, it is up to everyone to rescue their fellow citizens, everyone's responsibility to keep the harmony going. My only question is, why do you see it the way you do? Why do you want to be the one to save everyone? Not glory-hunger, I think, if it was you wouldn't be as keen to bolster your friends. Nor do I think it desire for power, I think that's the other way around. An attempt to make your parents proud?" She hesitated. "Who are your parents, anyway? Celestia tried to find them, but nothing came up."
"They're none of your business," Sunset snapped.
"She's the one who signed you up," Radiance sighed. "If your parents cause trouble in the future-"
"They won't," Sunset snarled.
"Orphan, then," Chip murmured, causing Sunset's burning glare to snap around to her. She raised her hands conciliatory, saying, "Sorry, sorry, thinking out loud."
"Well, think quieter," she growled. "Is the lesson over?"
"Almost," Chip replied. "Just one more thing; you mentioned that Starlight was an extreme democrat earlier, yes?"
"Yeah," Sunset frowned, momentarily unbalanced. "I mean, she is, isn't she? Advocating for 'removal of the oppressive elite' and all."
"That's squabbling over spoils," Chip shook her head. "The elite have always tried to figure out ways to take from their rivals, Starlight's just giving it a new coat of paint. More importantly, the revolution she's advocating for, the 'Grand Unmarking?' Who came up with it? Are the people the founder's of the revolution, or merely the tools Starlight uses to accomplish it?"
Sunset couldn't answer, turning her words over in her mind.
"An autocrat is, over time, bad, Miss Shimmer," Chip continued. "but nothing is worse than an autocrat that disguises themselves as a democrat. They promise the people the best of both worlds, but end up giving them the worst, and, just like most other people, they don't like admitting that they're wrong."
"Okay," Sunset sighed, putting her hands over her face. "Okay, Inkheart's right, the Unmarked are a problem. Any advice for how to get things past her in the Senate, oh wise one?"
Chip ignored the jab, instead replying, "The same way you'd try to get her to go to the movies or whatever; democracy is just like friendship, Miss Shimmer, you need to give and take to get things done. Inkheart's blocking your proposals, see if you can't entice her to stop."
"You mean bribe her," Sunset snorted. "Bribe her to do what needs to be done."
"For Cloudsdale," Chip tapped the central circle. "Try and get her to see that it's important for her, too. And if that doesn't work, like I told you, government isn't everything. You have resources outside of government, so use them if government isn't working."
Sunset snapped her fingers. "Rainbow and Fluttershy are originally from Cloudsdale," she smiled. "I can ask them to check on the situation."
Chip smiled and nodded, then frowned. "One last tip, Miss Shimmer, a very important one. Do you know what your parents would think about what happened here?"
"No," she growled in warning. "And even if I did, it wouldn't be any of your business."
"Well, I do," Chip replied. "They'd want you to grow a thicker skin."
"Why, because I'm angry that someone brought up my dead parents?" she spat.
"Because I managed to use them to upset you enough to do something you didn't want to," Chip answered. "I'm not saying don't get upset, I might as well ask you to stop breathing, I'm saying don't lose your head. Get upset, get sad, get angry, but don't lose your head. If you don't learn to do that, the Senate'll pick its teeth with you. If Inkheart catches word of it, she will press and press about it to keep you off-balance. Don't let her; get upset at her words, yes, feel free to, but don't let her use them to get you to stop thinking. If you let her, she'll get away with a lot worse than confirming that you're an orphan."
"It isn't right," she snorted. "She shouldn't use them for-for petty things like that."
"Oh, my, you are a newbie," Chip whispered in awe. "You said she 'shouldn't.' Politicians don't care about 'should', Miss Shimmer, only 'will' and 'is.' And don't bother with 'right' or 'wrong,' they care about those only a little. Most of the time, it's 'popular' and 'unpopular' that drive them."
"This isn't right," Sunset protested. "Government should-isn't supposed-isn't about petty favors or popularity contests, it's about serving and protecting the kingdom."
"It should be," Chip agreed. "Unfortunately, most politicians don't care about 'should.'"