//------------------------------// // A Royal Precedent // Story: The Small Shop On Elder Street // by SirEcho //------------------------------// Murmurs, whispers, and the occasional cough. Unassuming to most but these were the sounds of many battles, of a never ending war that had raged since the dawn of governance. Politics. An old stallion cleared his aging throat. "The next session of parliament will begin, today we have the honor of hosting the executive branch to participate by parliamentary summon, as is tradition on the winter solstice." A hush fell across the sea of ponies. A single hesitant step was the response, revealing a white leg wrapped in gold, the clack of the heel reverberating through out the room. Another followed, then another, each step increasing with confidence till there was no lack of it. "All rise for Her Majesty, Alicorn of the Sun, Protector of the Three Tribes, and Diarch of the Equestrian Kingdom-" He paused for a moment to catch his breath. "-Princess Solaris Aurora Celestia." A century stood and a century bowed, as they had for centuries before. "Please, be seated my subjects." Celestia said in the royal voice from her podium, which placed her at the epicenter of parliament. It naturally led her gaze across the tide of ponies who retook their seats. She held in the political war game brewing in her head, though a slight pause before sitting betrayed her unusual mood. What was it Cliff had said? Hope for the best- She idly tapped the engraved sun on her peytral. -and prepare for the worst. The speaker from earlier continued on. "We shall begin with the annual budget for the coming fiscal year..." Celestia then relaxed into her seat. Let the games begin. A mare slammed her palms on her desk in frustration. "I still don't understand why must we appropriate funds for the Bridle Isles? Why must we give that kingdom foreign aid when we have our own problems here? The amount is ludicrous as well, Twenty three million with half being a lump sum, what a waste of-" "-Do you have no moral?!" A stallion interrupted. "Would you rather leave our partner, our friend, our progenitor to collapse? Do you not realize at the very least a modest relief now could prevent bigger disasters in the future? We have all seen first hand the ill effects of a collapsed sovereign. War and extremism, it's best we intervene now then pay for it later." "Have you forgotten our past with them just because of our amicable trading terms? Our ancestors left that land not only to escape the great famine, but also to seek freedom from the heavy handed and tyrannical monarchy without representation! Only for them to chase us and claim us as their colony! The war for independence left many a young Equestrian inside a shallow grave. It wasn't until the Princesses and nobility came to power that they acknowledged us as a sovereign nation." "That was centuries ago! We may not be allies but I for one shall not leave fellow ponykind to die! You suggest we leave foals out to the timber wolves?!" A knock of a gable on wood gave its resounding call. "Order! Order within parliament! You both have made your cases, time to put it up for a vote." Everyone took their seats and pulled out a small enchanted crystal. "You may cast your vote when you are ready, time limit of fifteen minutes starts now." Many rushed about having hurried discussions; all coordinating, cajoling and curtailing favors towards their desired outcomes. Slowly but surely, some retook their seats and raised their crystals. Small dots of green for 'Yes' or red for 'No' began to fill the political sea, but a surprising amount of white for 'abstain' was strewn across it. Soon, the room was filled with the glow crystal lights. The speaker of parliament tapped a crystal which sat upon his desk. He took the tally. "The Bill fails by a narrow bipartisan abstainment and thus fails to get a bipartisan or super majority." He said calmly. "So the bill for now shall-" "-if I may?" Celestia interrupted to which the speaker simply nodded in response. She had been studying the bill while the debates raged and had come to an epiphany. The princess stood up and addressed the crowd. "I offer an amendment to the bill." She paused letting the words sink in as politicians grumbled. "I see by the unusual amount of abstains that there is a lack of confidence in the bill. I suggest removing the lump sum and using the remaining bits instead to provide funding for a disaster relief operation run by the Equestrian Military. It would also serve as good training for future disaster relief efforts and make sure the money is well spent." She paused once more. "Any objections?" A young mare arose from the house of commons. "Your Majesty, with all due respect the Isles are dangerous and may put the lives of our military personnel at great risk. Would you be willing to accept the Equestrian lives that may be lost?" Celestia gave a few pensive nods. "I understand your concerns Miss Roseheart, but I assure you this mission will be entirely voluntary and any who will endeavor on it, will be fully aware of the risks involved." Then an older Stallion stood from the house of nobles, his large weight resting on a cane. "Your majesty, and what of the Bridleland itself? Would that kingdom approve of such actions? As the whole intention of the lump sum was for it to be used as a diplomatic incentive to allow us to provide aid. They may say the Equestrian forces is an occupation force rather than a equesitarian effort and they could use it to their own political advantage." The princess lips tightened in a mild grimace. "You mean a bribe? I find that unacceptable, we are not going to help prop up a regime, we will save lives. I will use what diplomatic channels we have and come to more acceptable terms, I assure you." The old noble gave a nod and retook his seat. "Time for a vote!" Once again the politicians raised their colored crystals and the old speaker took his tally. "The amended bill passes with a narrow bipartisan majority, now pending royal ascent..." "Today we have the Fair and Universal Representation bill. The bill would reaffirm that all representative positions within the legislative branch to be elected by the citizenry, of the citizenry, for the citizenry. To do so, the text would loosen criteria to allow any citizen to hold any office. Effectively merging the house of nobles with the house of commons into one house. Dubbed the house of congress. Due to the scope of this bill thirty minutes shall be allowed for discussion. Begin." There was a lot of commotion from the nobility side. Usually scoffs and snorts of disdain, as at least once a year the house of commons would try to pass this bill. So there wasn't a large amount of concern among them except for a few older nobles who were more perceptive to Celestia's mood, of those few eyed Celestia suspiciously while others had slight smiles on their faces. One being a Sir Fancypants, a white unicorn stallion with stylish blue hair who was sporting a particularly large grin beneath his monocle. Well Celestia, as promised, I shall pull out all the stops today. The unicorn began whispering to his neighbors as he called in some favors and leveraged others less willing. While on the other side of parliament, there was an air of excitement that was slowly building. Though it wasn't all peachy as there was a minority who did not agree with the bill in its entirety and would seek to have it amended or flat out fail. The leader of this opposition being a noble, Duke Willful L. Persona, an old gray unicorn stallion with short gray hair and a pair of gold rimmed spectacles on his face who had a sour look that reflected the thoughts within. You think I will allow honor and tradition to be cast aside?! To let the common rabble run this country and control the legislature?! Nay, I would rather let the Bridle Islands reconquer us. One day, I will bring light to all our ills... He then also began his whispers, rallying those like minded into a fervor and using them to coerce more into their cause. "Time is up." All representatives took their seats, a thick tension permeating the air like a humidity of tangible political praxis. "You may now begin voting." Almost immediately the house of commons had a huge swath of green, except for a red patch in the corner where the Doctor and his associates resided. On the nobility side, in the exact opposite, was a huge swath of red with a patch of green in the corner, where Fancypants and his associates resided. "The tally." The speaker took a few moments to double check the readings. "The bill reaches a majority but fails by lacking a bipartisan majority or a super majority." The Doctor smiled but Fancypants gave a devilish smirk. "With that we call this session to a-" Celestia cleared her throat. "If I may once again?" The speaker nodded and once again let the Princess take the stage. "Seeing as how the bill did reach a majority." The parliament now lay still in bated breath. "I as Princess, head of the executive branch, invoke the royal majority superseding the need for a bipartisan or super majority and expedite this to receive royal ascent." A pen drop silence was held, as the Celestia pulled what was the equivalent of a political declaration of total war. She had not invoked a royal majority for centuries, and only done so sparingly in times of crisis. The silence held for a few more moments, then all of parliament fell into absolute anarchy. At a small party in an old neighborhood, a radio played a big band tune to which everyone enjoyed as they went about their party business. That was until- "We interrupt this broadcast to bring breaking news." All were quiet as they gravitated towards the radio. "We are getting reports of a new controversial bill being passed in parliament, which lead to a massive brawl between politicians in the big house and required the deployment of guards to break it up. The bill in question was the Fair and Universal Representation bill..."