Turning back to the book Twilight decided to continue reading. After all, she had plenty of time before she was expected to dine with the Princesses. Maybe enough to squeeze in one or two more chapters if she was lucky.
Twilight was pulled out of these thoughts as her eyes glimpsed the title of the next chapter, a title that caused her eyebrows to furrow in confusion and an odd feeling of anxiety to tug at her mind.
"On...Brutality?" Twilight muttered the title to herself. Suddenly, her eyes widened and a wide smile erupted on her face. "Oh, of course! It's probably about how rulers should always be kind and caring! I don't know what I was thinking before."
It was with this new understanding that Twilight began the misunderstood chapter.
~0~
Your glorious majesty Princess Celestia, you rule over us with a kind and caring nature unmatched by any other sovereign. When Equestrians call you 'the mother of the kingdom', they mean this with the utmost reverence and respect. You are truly the greatest ruler in the history of ponykind.
But this kindness has convinced the minds of our people, even those of the highest intellectuals, that a kind ruler is the only ruler that can truly be effective. This is, of course, not true even in the slightest. And so, to demonstrate this, I will begin this treatise by writing of the first thing most of our minds would produce if the subject of power was introduced: sheer, physical power, the kind possessed by the Earth ponies and the various wild beasts of Equestria. Some would think this power has no place in a kingdom, that any ruler so brutal would surely be ineffective and disposed of almost immediately.
This is incorrect.
To see this we may simply look at the dragons, the beastly race that many of us fear. Although many ponies view them as primitive savages with no order or hierarchy, the dragons do, in fact, recognize a sovereign in the form of the Dragon Lord. The Dragon Lord holds the same power as any ruler, with the ability to legislate, judge his subjects, and execute his will. And in this sense, the dragons will make a perfect study for the concept of a brutal ruler.
It was 400 years ago when the great Dragon Lord Bahamut took power. In those days one earned the title of Dragon Lord by defeating the current holder of the title, forcing them to submit in a trial by combat. Bahamut challenged the old Dragon Lord Kingu and, by defeating him, took the title for himself.
Bahamut, then, had quite the advantageous position, for the one who secures a rulership by their own merits and abilities will find it is rather easy to retain. By proving himself more powerful than Kingu, Bahamut displayed to the rest of dragonkind his strength and ability, and so they were ready to submit to him.
But naturally there will always be those who challenge in such a society. But Bahamut, understanding the role of brutality in his reign, grievously injured any who would dare attempt to take his title. In doing this he accomplished two things. The first is that, by maiming the challengers, he made certain they would never fight again. The second is that, by showing his brutality, Bahamut struck fear and self-doubt into any dragon who had even the slightest thought of becoming Dragon Lord. And in this sense, Bahamut remained lord of the dragons until very recently.
But it is not merely the dragons who operated like this. Perhaps it would be wise to include an example much more applicative to ponykind.
The ancient Pegasus city of Strata was presided over by the Equestrian hero Commander Hurricane, the very commander we all celebrate during our Hearth's Warming celebrations. But the commander was not simply a somewhat brash and rude pony as many of the tales depict. She was a brutal military commander who ensured control over Strata by sheer force if necessary.
The Commander rose through the ranks of the Stratan military by showing her effectiveness in combat, leading many successful campaigns in the early conflicts against the Unicorns and Earth ponies. Upon gaining the highest military rank in Strata, Hurricane turned this brutality against her own. She dissolved the Gerousia, the council of Pegasi over age 60 that held the legislative power of Strata, thereby making herself the chief power in the city. Any dissidents were either quickly quashed by her troops or defeated in personal combat. Like Bahamut, she secured her power through example, planting the seeds of fear and doubt in any Pegasi who thought of challenging her.
There is but one issue with a kingdom ruled through brutality: the weakness of the ruler. While it is true that these rulers are initially quite strong and able, that curse we call aging effects us all.
In recent times Bahamut was defeated at the hands of the dragon Marduk. At nearly 500 years old, Bahamut had become weaker, his scales shedding and his claws dulling. And his children, spoiled by the successes of their father, were in no position to challenge the new Dragon Lord. And so the dynasty of Bahamut fell.
Commander Hurricane met a similar fate at the hands of the young Hoplite Spear. Hoplite Spear, like Commander Hurricane many years before him, had advanced through the military of Strata by showing his prowess in battle. He eventually became the second in command to the great Hurricane, but this did not sit well with him. He craved more power and so challenged Hurricane for her position. Commander Hurricane, mane greying and joints aching from the ravages of age, fell easily to the spear of Hoplite, and so the dictatorship under her fell.
Brutality is, for a while, an effective way to rule, as it is better to be feared than loved if you cannot be both. But these rulers, so drunk on their victories of bygone years, fail to secure their positions by other means, and so will eventually be brought down by one who, like them, uses brutality and opportunity to seize power.
Let ponies not confuse brutality for cruelty, which I have wisely decided to depict in the next chapter
~0~
Twilight's eyes were so wide that if any other pony was there they would've said you could serve dinner on them. to say Twilight was shocked would be an understatement. Rather, Twilight had been electrocuted, the equivalent of an entire thunderstorm's worth of energy running through her body. Or so it seemed.
"How...How could any sane pony write this?" Twilight stared down at the book in absolute horror. Her lips started to tremble and her eyes filled with tears as she couldn't stop thinking about the chapter. "He...he makes it seem alright to kill and oppress. "
As tears slid down her face, Twilight only had one question.
"Why would the Princess have this?"