APPENDIX: "Free/Canter On", the complete lyrics
"FREE"
A joyous, racuous showstopping finale in the vein of a rock opera.
VERSE 1
[ASH & RIVER]
Just glance up at the sky and you will see
Nature's way has returned in utter harmony
That hateful sun has blighted its last day
Everypony can now turn to each other and say
[ASH] You're free to be you....
[RIV] and I'm free to be me
[BOTH] Free to take our place in the hierarchy
[RIV] A brand new dusk....
[ASH] for a brand new day of pony
[BOTH] The moon is shining down on our new liberty
PRE-CHORUS
[BOTH] Now that we're all free of our shackles and chains
Now that we're all free of our heartaches and pains
[ASH] No, no more of her taxing lies
[RIV] We all refuse to compromise
[BOTH] Now that we mesh together like a mise-en-scene
Now that we mesh together like a well-oiled machine
[ASH] No more of her cruel slaveries
[RIV] Keeping us down with fresh levies
CHORUS
[COMPANY]
Free at last, free at last, thank the princess, we're free at last!
All the pain, all the tears, thanks to Luna, are in the past!
Free at last, free at last, thank the princess, we're free to see!
Brand new world, brave new world, where we will know, who we should be!
VERSE 2
[BROWNIE]
Free from de pain, oh, it makes mah hair curl
Havvin' to find mah own way in dis wurld!
But now Ah kin get down on mah knees an' pray
Ah ain't got no mo' worries dis moonlit day!
[PEGASUS CAPTAIN]
It's in my blood and courses through my veins
An irresistable duty to protect the great chain
The chain of being that harmonizes ponykind
United we stand, united we fly, united of mind
PRE-CHORUS
[ASH & RIVER]
Now that we're all free of our shackles and chains
Now that we're all free of our heartaches and pains
[ASH] We've had enough of her outrage
[RIV] It's long past due time for a change
[BOTH] Now that we mesh together like a mise-en-scene
Now that we mesh together like a well-oiled machine
[ASH] No longer forced to conspire
[RIV] Against our true heart's desire
CHORUS
[COMPANY]
Free at last, free at last, thank the princess, we're free at last!
All the pain, all the tears, thanks be to her, are in the past!
Free at last, free at last, thank the princess, we're free to see!
Brand new world, brave new world, where we will know, who we should be!
"CANTER ON"
A sparse interlude in the finale, in three sections.
SECTION 1 (march-like cadence)
[LILY GILD]
The princess of the night has sounded the call
To join her on that mountain on the horizon
To build a shining city that will never fall
Never blister and boil under the harsh sun
[RIV] So canter on down the road to build that city
An eternal capital to last the eternal night
Don't you be lazy or forget your propriety
There's work to be done before our respite
[BRN] Yessum, ma'am, Ahm hearin' ya loud an' right
Wit mah hooves Ah'll raise up dis new city
Shinin' on dat hill, shinin' powerful bright
Thanks aplenty, ma'am, for dis here opportunity
[ASH] So canter on down the road!
[PEG] Yes, sir! We will obey!
[ASH] Like lightning and thunder, a hammer at the forge,
To make sure your wards shall never go astray,
You'll craft our new world....
[PEG] and lead the charge!
[ASH] Those are my boys, always fly brave and true,
As you lead the way into our brand new society
Be bold and proud....
SECTION 2 (quiet and reflective)
Hey, River, why so blue?
We're about to build the most perfect city
[RIV] I can't get the fallen Fayton out of my head
It was unnatural for a pegasus to love me
He broke every natural law with what he said
Yet all I can think of now is his bravery
[ASH] River, you know, as Lily says with insistence,
All things under the moon have rhyme and reason
A part of the natural order framing existence
His forbidden love allowed this changing season
[LIL] He was a pegasus and his bravery can't be denied
It was a thought of you that drove him to demand
Freedom from Solara, and though he may have died,
He ushered in the night under our princess's command
[ASH] Perhaps it was destiny, his forbidden love,
Because of it he died a brave hero's death
[LIL] All things serve the natural order above
Even gentle treasons whispered on our breath
SECTION 3 (growing bolder, building up energy)
[RIV] You would call him traitor? That noble pegasus?
[ASH] You called him so. Unnatural, didn't you say?
[RIV] Only because he believed in love between us
[LIL] No difference. Both treason and social decay
Are symptoms of a sick ruler who uses force
To corrupt a kingdom she wishes to crush
Rather than live with his unnatural remorse
Fayton chose to lay down his life saving us
[RIV] A hero he was, and ever shall be, in my heart
I refuse to cast him as a traitor to our cause
No, he'll always be a noble little upstart
His courage to do what's right gives me pause
In the end, Fayton choose how he lived and died
He was free to embrace the goodness in his heart
The natural order connecting us all, far and wide
The unnatural love he held surely played its part
And though Fayton may be dead, buried and gone
In the hearts and minds of the ponies he freed
His sainted memory will carry on, as we canter on
Down the road to Canterlot, his name will be our creed
No, Fayton, we will never forget!
We'll never forget what you accomplished....
[RIVER, ASH, & LILY]
In freeing us
In seeing us
As we are and always shall be....
Because of him, we're free....
We're free....
We....are....free....!
"FREE (REPRISE)"
CHORUS
[COMPANY]
Free at last, free at last, thank the princess, we're free at last!
All the pain, all the tears, thanks be to Luna, are in the past!
Free at last, free at last, thanks to Fayton, we're free to see!
Brand new world, brave new world, where we will know, who we should be!
VERSE 3
[RIV] So let's gallop on down the road to Canterlot
The sun has set forever on this blessed plot
Let's build a city to shine for eternity
Let's build a city in natural harmony
[ASH] Where you're free to be you, and where I can be me
[BRN] Where we's be takin' are place in de high-arkee
[RIV] A brand new dusk....
[ASH] for a brand new night of pony
[ALL] The moon is shining down on our new liberty!
[RIV] So let's gallop on down the road to Canterlot
As you raise those spires we'll inspire you lot
[BRN] You got it, Miss Wilde, and you sho'ly will see
Dat wit guidance we ain't gun be no mo' lazy
[LIL] So let's gallop on down the road to Canterlot
[RIV] I won't let Fayton's sacrifice be all for naught
[ASH] The greatest city there ever was or ever shall be
[RIV] With the blood of patriots we are forever free!
PRE-CHORUS
[ASH & RIVER]
Now that we're all free of our shackles and chains
Now that we're all free of our heartaches and pains
[ASH] An eternal night, an eternal age
[RIV] We're forever free of our cage
[BOTH] Now that we mesh together like a mise-en-scene
Now that we mesh together like a well-oiled machine
[ASH] That lifts us up so much higher
[RIV] To the point where we aspire
CHORUS
[COMPANY]
Free at last, free at last, thank the princess, we're free at last!
All the pain, all the tears, thanks be to Luna, are in the past!
Free at last, free at last, thanks to Fayton, we're free to see!
Brand new world, brave new world, where we will know, that we are forever free!
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Quite a bittersweet ending of the darker variety.
A lot of bad came out of this but at least also some seeds of good were...
->cue concentration camps
I guess there's no brakes on the trauma train after all.
Oh well, ALL ABOARD!
5292357
There ain't no gettin' offa this train we on.
This train we on don't make no stops!
I cannot get over this story. This is seriously one of the most beautiful atmospheric dystopian pieces I've read.
5417623
What can I say, it has a good pedigree.
What a fantastically dark piece. I can't wait for the sequel. Maybe others have guessed this before, but is Luna dead? It seems like it's being hinted that she's dead. She never does anything, the magic is mostly drained from the world, even at the super important defense council meeting at the end she doesn't appear, I wonder if Mace and Sunset are just part of some conspiracy to preserve the illusion.
5418493
It is entirely suspect.
5418493
5418910
It's a good theory, however, she does appear once, for a single sentence, at the very end, albeit not by name.
5420369 Oh yeah, I missed that. Well she's alive then, but I still wonder if she has any real alicorn magic left at this point, tyrants who build cults of personality around themselves don't just hide in the background, especially when their capital is attacked.
5420637
That's actually not an accurate assessment. I'd say the cult of personality is more the product of rabid nationalists than something she created herself. There are a lot of ponies benefiting from the eternal night, as she has broad support from the upper and middle classes throughout the story, and all the historical instances of rule by decree I described (that I can recall) are pragmatic acts in reaction to changing socioeconomic circumstances, not just her indulging her whims. Well, aside from the rather large whim that an eternal night is a good thing.
But her presence, or lack thereof, will indeed be important in the sequel, so I don't want to say much more.
5420836 Yeah, it does seem like after the initial murder of her sister, Luna more and more lets the unicorns run free. So there is that initial move to establish herself as the sole alicorn, and then for whatever reason (guilt, declining magic, some other reason) she seems to pull back. It's all "High Castle" this or "High Castle" that, rather than "Princess" or "Empress." It feels like Mace and Sunset have at least as much power as say the British Prime Minister, minus the need to ever call elections, and by now Luna has as much direct power as the British Queen.
5420939
My intention is that the split between universes is the same point depicted in the fourth season premiere. So, it was less murder and more of a heated duel between the two, fueled by Luna's resentment and subconscious paranoia. All she wanted is her beautiful night to continue.
Incidentally, she's called "Luna" because I was in the middle of writing this story when that episode aired, and I didn't know she would literally call herself an ominous name like "Nightmare Moon" right at the outset.
My official explanation for the discrepancy is that she abandoned the title and the armor after the fight. There may have been an element of guilt, though she would never admit to it.
As to who "has" power, it's more of an act of perception than anything concrete. There's a reason why the government plotline is paralleled by a theater plotline.
5546881
Because I never built up any cred by writing crossovers or shipping first, probably.
5546881 5548346
Interesting fact - this is the lowest rated story in my favourite list. I have an assumption that most people either absolutely love this story (judging by comments) or dropped it with teh "NOOOOOO" somewhere around Granny Smith scene, rather than having a mixed feelings about it. Guess it doesn't help spreading story too.
5559782
I did have somebody PM me and say that the summary was too vague, and that if it doesn't explain the story in fifteen words, less people will want to read it.
Fair point, I guess, but I liked what I had so far and didn't change a thing.
5678892
Another satisfied customer.
5681734
If you think this is weird, you just try and read the quasi-sequel Equestrian Time-Slip.
Been rereading some chapters, and Jesus are there a lot more spelling and grammar mistakes, blatantly wrong words, and awkward phrasings than I thought there would be.
When it comes time to start writing the sequel proper, I'll probably reread this to get back into the groove and make a metric ton of corrections as I go.
5682056
I'll have to do that. Of course, temporal weirdness barely even counts for me.
Belatedly realized that the chapter I commented on was most likely a direct Man In The High Castle thing, which makes a little more sense in context. (Haven't read the original.)
5685908
It was indeed a reference. Although I'm not sure I'd say it makes sense in its original context, it is thoroughly Phil Dickean, and that's why I love it. He always manages to simultaneously throw a curve ball and give you some existential paranoia about the nature of reality.
5704114
But fun?!
(site needs a Pipsqueak emoticon)
5728334
I live to surprise.
5560676
I would like to add on my vote for creating a real summary. One of the nice things about this site above fanfiction.net is that most stories here have informative summaries helping readers decide if they want to dedicate time to read a particular story instead of thousands of its competitors.
I have not read this story but ended up on the page because someone else recommended it. Alas, the summary is not a summary and considering the story's low ratio the most I can do is say maybe I will read this at some point.
You do not need to delete what you already have there simply add a real summary before or after that.
5795112
Honestly, a voice on the radio telling the listener about massive ecological devastation and then cheerfully trying to sell them something to help them cope is a far better summary of the story than me objectively listing plot points (especially since there's precious little plot or objectivity to be found within). I like the mood and the tone the intro establishes. I already whittled it down from a much longer monologue; adding more in the authorial voice would just clutter it.
I do hope you read it and enjoy it one day, but....sorry, I like the intro just the way it is.
But regardless, thanks for your comments!
This was disturbing to read.
Good job.
5800039
I try.
5800607
A course of action much more effective than violence would be to go around with a bucket of paint and start defacing every advertisement you pass.
5801506 Though in some parts of word one may end being captured and tortured for practising public art. Checking current violence forecast is highly advised beforehand. One may want to take ones anonymity with oneself.
5802361
Ah, but if doctrinaires meet violence with violence, they can claim it was tit for tat. However, if they meet satire with violence, they just look like assholes (cf. the Charlie Hebdo shootings). Art can be the most effective weapon in an arsenal, if it's handled properly.
-Alan Moore
This was... wow.
I don't think I've ever come so close to giving up on a fic halfway through. It was so compelling to have all the references to reality's worst moments and ideas smooshed together, like it was a surreal, dark mirror of Earth rather than of Equestria. But I nearly stopped because I was convinced there would be no dawn at the end; Twilight's vicious racism had me convinced she could never see things any other way despite her subconscious screaming so loudly at her how wrong it all was, and I was expecting them all to die in the explosion. It made it much sweeter, in the end, for the idea of friendship to still break through to her.
The characters were twisted so far from what we expect, but somehow they all belonged and were consistent with the world you created. The point at the end that they all tended to believe whatever they thought got them food/shelter/wealth summed much of the cast up very well, and the setting itself was much harder to dismiss knowing that it was pieced together from real things.
The story really captured the way that the hatred different groups had for each other fed them, to the point that it was almost farcical. The horrible conditions for Earth Ponies drove them to terrorism and revolution, but it was their violence most of all that helped justify the awful things done to them. Chrysalis considers starting a war to justify her claims that the ponies could not be trusted and would attack them. Rainbow Dash lets the bomb go off for political gain. Donut Joe summed up the average pony too well; he firmly believed all the rhetoric, was content with it because life went well for him, and faced with the violence of the bomb responded with vicious hatred.
Two things I didn't quite get, though. You said that Luna has a single line, but unless it was "I must protect this city" (which I thought Dash said) I didn't see it even when I was looking for it. And I didn't quite understand the implications of Rainbow Dash's final scenes. Had her racism and selfishness been an act, self delusion, or had she had a change of heart during the bombing?
5802560
I remember one episode of Drunk History talked about how the Klu Klux Klan was undone by radio broadcasts. A man infiltrated them and after finding the police unwilling to take action, he gave all the details of their activities to broadcasters of Superman Radio. Since the Nazis were recently defeated, the Klansmen became Superman's next enemies, and the radio broadcasts had real details of their silly handshakes and secret phrases. Membership in the Klan had been growing, but Superman radio brought them to their knees. They were a laughing stock, all their mystique gone and members quitting with the complaints like their children believing the Klan to be cartoonish villains.
5812838
I said Luna appeared for a single line, i.e. of prose. Specifically, this one:
She never really had a change of heart, but her dream caused her to question the real reason she's doing what she's doing, underneath all the self-serving self-delusion.
Not only does she let the bomb go off for political gain, she does it because she's obsessed with finding Shining Armor, who unbeknownst to her is actually the leader of the terrorist cell she's manipulated into carrying out the bombing. Of all the farcical ironies, that was the one I relished the most. I practically cackled with glee when I thought that plot point up.
5815550
Hmm, opinions on the description seem to run the gamut, don't they?
Thanks for the fave on the, uh, introduction!
I hope the rest of the story meets your expectations!
Amazing story!
The most horrifying thing about the world you've created is how consistent and strangely stable it is. Even with Twilight's extraplanar intervention I cannot imagine any significant changes happening overnight (pun partially intended).
5824703
Well, there's actually some rather big changes on the way, so stay tuned!
Amazing writing, right there. You really managed to convey the hopelessness and bleakness of the world, it felt depressingly possible. I especially loved the part of the musical. Regarding the ending... I was very much expecting something along those lines, was not disappointed.
Overall, this is going into favorites and I am keeping an eye out for the next one! Good job and thank you.
5829658
Well, I did base it quite a bit on real-world things, so there's a good reason. But I'm glad you like it!
5830389
In a good way, I hope?
Ok, I admit it - instead of first reading the original Man in the High Castle, I only got around to it after finishing this story. But this story made me think, so I picked the original about 8 hours ago... And finished right about now. I know, "egghead"
After reading through Man, I must say I am even more impressed by this story. I was mostly expecting something that held very closely to the source material and instead I only found trace influences in form (multiple intertwining stories) and certain story aspects (lost war, The River Runs Wild vs. The Grasshopper Lies Heavy etc.). Where Man was more philosophical, Mare was a little more down-to-earth and more brutal in the depiction of racial segregation and related issues.
And the final punchline, while vastly different from the original (at least in my opinion), was still an absolute treasure.
I said it before, but let me reiterate. This story is a pinnacle of world- and character-building. Truly an homage to PKD's masterpiece. That is all.
5831521
The River Runs Wild is actually not an analogue of The Grasshopper Lies Heavy. If anything, I based it more on the ersatz 1950s town from Time Out of Joint or Perky Pat's layouts from Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch.
If you read Equestrian Time-Slip, a one-shot bridging this story with the sequel, you'll find out what is the Grasshopper analogue. I'll say no more, because spoilers, but I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.
It's actually an homage to his entire body of work, which is why it doesn't follow the story of the book very closely. I wanted to focus more on the themes he wrote about than on the plot mechanics of any one book of his.
5831568
Yells at computer: WHERE IS IT? GIMME THAT!
*Finds story. Proceeds to load it into Kindle*
5834195
Well, I....
La la love you, pretty baby, don't mean maybe.
5847744
They like the play for the same reason The Federalist wrote an article praising "The Cutie Map" for being anti-Marxist: because they see something in it which conforms to their preconceptions, while ignoring anything which may challenge that understanding. People take what they want from a work of art, not necessarily what it truly is (if such absolutes even exist), and they see themselves in a unicorn struggling against such chains of slavery as high taxes, unaware of deeper ironies that may exist in the work.
5847753
The play's "solution" to racial confusion isn't really that much better than the audience's, I'm afraid. However, shortly there will be a play which shatters the ideological cell their minds are trapped in....but that's best left for discussion of the sequels to this story.
5849616 I have to say, it's quite terrible the play didn't turn out how any of us wanted. It turned out how the majority wanted it and how Twilight wanted it. Well, while Fluttershy got a different message, the message to protect others is a good one nonetheless. Also, was Trotten born with that name or was her previous name taken away from her and replaced by overlord Cynic's? Having read Chapter 15, I'm wondering whether the dream was Twilight's own or a message from beyond.
To be honest, democracy isn't anything to brag about really. It functions better than most forms of government, but it still barely functions. I'm quite worried that degeneracy is an actual thing that occurs here. Not racial degeneracy of course. The whole atmosphere of the story is oppressing. Many people is high school I knew used to be oppressed by the whole trap that is the education system. Some people just gave up on trying to rise up. Some people I knew never thought for themselves in the first place. I don't know if it's getting worse. The U.S. heading towards war right now it seems.
It's real hard when the new stations (which I gave up on watching a long time ago) are constantly feeding you their opinions and propaganda. I feel like nationalism speaks for itself of how far one progresses with it's line of thought. In this story, and the many wars and terrorist attacks of the world. Poor Gandhi.
Again, it's sad not that many people will think for themselves. Or even think. Well, time for Chapter 16.
5849701
It's just a stage name. Her real name is still Pinkie Pie, but she has some serious identity issues.
That question is going to be a vitally important one, going forward, and the answer, if there is one, won't be an easy one. But that's the way I like it!
You know, I find it to be a hilarious bit of synchronicity that you say that after I literally just finished the story I will shortly be posting.
5851271
It's not Vinyl, as the coming The Simulneighcra will attest; in fact, I never said whether Thorny was from the show or if she was an original character. But keep speculatin' away! It entertains me to no end.
Ooo, those words. When you know where the story is going, you will see the rich irony inherent in those words.
Ditto for these words, too. As soon as you read the opening chapter of Electric Shetlands, you'll see what I mean.
Allow me to direct you to the one-shot prequel to the sequel, Equestrian Time-Slip. Caution! Use only as a directed. Elsewise, it might melt your brain.
6081529
Yeah, if there's one major thing I'm dissatisfied with about this story, it's that the editing gets progressively worse the farther into the story you go (and the more I rushed to get chapters out quickly).
It's not pretty.
As I said in the comments above, I'm planning on doing a massive new copyediting pass on this when I gear up to tackle the sequel.
I'm glad to hear you like it! I'm curious what you'll think of the later chapters, then.
6092139
Well, I'm certainly not a fan of Rand. Or of the 50s, for that matter.
Never attempted Pynchon, but from what I understand he does the same confused jumble of time, space, and narrative that the Illuminatus! trilogy strives for?
6093389
It's more like they were both based on Muslims, particularly during World War One, where you had the European alliance with the Arabs to fight the Turks. Of course, their betrayal by the Europeans singlehandedly caused the rise of radical Islam in the present day, so it does not bode well for the future.
I always thought of Griffons as a Slavic/Turkic analogue, and I was gratified to see it confirmed by "Lost Treasure".
6092623
Noooo no no. The root of pony racism is the fact that they need earth ponies to work quickly and cheaply. It's a matter of economics. Any ideological justifications are just that: justifications.
I'm always happy to see my readers speculating on things, but that is in many ways the cornerstone of the story, and I feel it should be clearly laid out.
Saw this in my favorites again and I was hit by a wave of feels.
6192162
Those vibes are entirely accurate, but I've never read Pynchon. So what goes in his books may not necessarily be the way they go in my books.
6324629
If you've never heard National Socialist propaganda swing, I highly recommend you rectify that. It's an absolute riot.
While Goebbels and his propaganda ministry considered swing and jazz music a part of the Bolshevik plot to destroy western civilization, they also recognized how much the impressionable youth loved it, so the Nazi Party put their own spin on popular swing songs. It ends up sounding a lot like Christian rock or rap: a rebellious art form co-opted in an attempt to get kids to obey authority that mostly ends up being hilariously inept.
In the story, Cheerilee is in charge of earth pony propaganda efforts in the Midnight Guard. Part of that is brainwashing young earth ponies, while another part is being the frontmare of the state's official swing band. She may or may not be very involved with the band, but she's the "face" of the Midnight Guard's earth pony division, for all intents and purposes.