Sun and Hearth Post-Update Blog: Chapter 6 (A Fine Kingdom) · 4:44am Mar 8th, 2017
First, if you haven’t heard about FanOfMostEverything’s Imposing Sovereigns contest yet, you are following all the wrong people.
I’m writing a story for it set in the Sun and Hearth setting. I mentioned last week that I wanted to write a story about the relationships between the founders from each tribe, and this seemed like a great opportunity to write the one about Clover and Platinum.
There will be no spoilers or need to read Sun and Hearth, it’s set before any of the flashbacks, though it does expand on a section coming up in a few weeks. But if you’re curious about the setting or why I’m so crazy about it and you haven’t read Sun and Hearth because novels or incomplete or romance aren’t your thing, this story will be a fine place to jump in.
So expect that story later this week!
Now, for the post-update blog for A Fine Kingdom (Chapter 6 of Sun and Hearth.) Make sure you’re caught up before you click. Spoilers below the cut.
Ending credits:
Random Trivia!
I’m doing it again. When I was writing Best Young Flyer I got into a strange pattern where the chapter titles ended up alternating between longer titles and two word titles. This time it’s long titles and three word titles, but I honestly have no idea how this happens. I haven’t looked to see if I keep this up yet, I just noticed it when I was adding this chapter, but if I’m not careful I’ll trigger my “putting things in order” compulsion and have to continue it.
This is a big chapter, twice the average length so far. Chapter lengths in this fic are all over the place, and there’s a reason for that: I was concerned that the flashbacks would break up the flow of the plot, so I was careful to keep chapters thematically cohesive. That is, within each chapter, even if you’re not reading about the modern time period you’re reading something that connects to it at that point in the story. This meant that even where I could have combined or split chapters to make the length more regular, my hands were kind of tied.
This chapter is why this fic was published. I finished what were, at the time, the first four chapters, and then the fic sat for over a year. But in my out-of-order scenes and notes was the dialogue for the council meeting, and I loved it too much not to write it.
The teakettle was recent and unassuming and very well made, both quick to heat and well-insulated. It was a Hearth’s Warming gift from Celestia, though obviously selected with the help of somepony who knew their way around the making of tea.
Any place in the multiverse where that world’s Celestia doesn’t have a Dotted Line working for her is almost certainly a dystopia.
World Building:
A couple of things from the council meeting:
There’s a discussion about whether the dragon has harmed “thinking beings,” which is forbidden by the charter. In more detail, the Charter of Equestria defines four classes of beings: Ponies, thinking beings, creatures, and dangerous or invasive creatures.
Ponies are their own class for one specific reason: The charter sets a higher standard for laws and amendments that can be shown to impact one of the tribes either favorably or unfavorably. This would include laws regarding magic use, the weather, or farming practices. The point is to ensure that two of the tribes don’t gang up on the third, or if one tribe is the majority in a town or on the council they can’t run roughshod over the other two. Not as much of an issue in modern Equestria, but it was the core of the charter just after Hearth’s Warming.
Thinking beings are specific races given almost all of the rights afforded to ponies except the protection from targeted laws and amendments to the charter. Griffons, zebras, dragons, mules, minotaurs, etc. The idea behind this is that the founders considered it reasonable that a town may want a law regarding, say, carnivores or oversized beings, if they’re enough of the population to have an impact.
Creatures are animals, not protected by the charter and allowed only whatever rights or protections a town wants to grant them, except for…
Dangerous or invasive creatures are specifically listed creatures that are allowed to be hunted or trapped at all times in Equestria. Town are forbidden from limiting or banning it. The list includes things like timberwolves, parasprites, vampire fruit bats, chimera, manticores, and, until very recently, changelings.
This is one of the most controversial parts of the charter in modern Equestria. At the founding, the idea was to ensure that ponies could proactively defend themselves and their towns from obvious potential threats without waiting for somepony to be hurt or worrying about being charged with a crime. It’s rarely been abused because most ponies would prefer to run away or hide until that’s no longer an option.
It has been abused as a political tool, with various factions throughout history trying to get griffons, dragons, or buffalo reclassified due to local unrest. Most of the time cooler heads have prevailed, but it’s often brought up as a point against it.
The other, more obvious reason that’s it’s controversial is the question of defining entire species by their most dangerous examples. The recent discoveries surrounding changelings, especially, have many ponies questioning the validity of this category and may be enough to have it struck from the charter in the near future.
Another thing mentioned at the council meeting that bears explanation is the Treaty of Olympony. One of the oldest treaties recorded between different species, it predates Equestria and acts as a kind of Geneva Convention regarding magic and magical warfare, including restrictions on the use of celestial bodies and weather, the use of mind control on soldiers or foreign nationals, and theft of magic from other beings or lands. It also established Tartarus as a prison for violators.
Questions to answer:
Who is best founder?
Is Twilight Celestia's favorite pony to troll ever, or just currently?
I'd figure that in modern times, other species would bristle at their being lower on the law totem pole than ponies, particularly ones that are very similar like mules and zebras. That charter also means hunting is allowed, which is interesting… I'm guessing that that's gone in and out of vogue throughout history, unless there are other provisions against it becoming a recreation activity
I'd want to sit down to tea with Clover… followed by Puddinghead.
I figured she's the one still standing
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I don't think many ponies hunt purely recreationally, at all. But they might make patrols around towns in dangerous areas or go looking for a dangerous creature that had been sighted, and I could see there being freelance "monster hunters" who do that for adventure and/or profit.
And as to the thinking beings bristling, you might want to ask the buffalo in Appleloosa about that.
ETA: To elaborate, between the ponies treatment of Zecora and the buffalo, and their isolationism with regards to the yaks, griffons, and dragons, and their "no offense" casual racism towards mules, it's pretty clear that the idea of integrating other species fully, on more than an individual basis, is a very new one in Equestria. Like, the last few years.
Best founder is probably either Puddinghead or Pansy, though Clover follows at a dangerously small distance. Platinum is also great. Hurricane and Cookie can both go suck an egg.
Joking, of course. They have great banter. Loved the "griffon argument" bit.
The Treaty of Olympony is both fun to say out loud and a really interesting idea that feels super realistic. Like, everything about it just makes instant sense and also has a certain ring of truth to it.
If I wanted charming conversation I'd talk to any one of them but Hurricane.
If I wanted something done I'd talk to him.
Awhile back I imagined a teenage Spike saying "I don't want a hoard and a lair and a mate, I want a job and a home and a wife. And why does everyone use animal words when they talk about dragons anyway?"
It's Spike being a whiney teenager, but he has a point (like many a whiney teenager, I suppose).
How'd I miss this the first time...
YOU KNOW THE CHIEFTAINS!! BOIL THE BREAKFAST EARLY, YOU KNOW THE CHIEFTAINS.
Back to reading!
I'd happily have tea with Clover or Pansy, second choice being Pudd'nhead or Cookie. As to Twilight's status as Celestia's favorite "victim" I think Twilight might be the most recent, but she can also give back, most would be horrified to even consider trolling The Princess of the Sun.
There's a hilarious video where Twilight trolls Rainbow Dash something fierce: https://youtu.be/jPAbA-EZvIw