Planning the Next Move
Imprisonment did not agree with me. You’d think I would be alright with being locked up in a room with a bunch of books to read. I’d spent plenty of time exactly that way in my tower, back when I’d been Celestia’s student. The only difference was which side of the door the locks were on. Apparently, that was an important difference. I might not have wanted to go out and talk to random ponies or something, but the fact that I couldn’t ate at me. It cast a dark shadow over everything I did to try and keep busy.
At least I’d made some progress with all the information I’d pulled out of Metal Mome’s head. I had all the information on his golems, but the thoughts had been a bit jumbled. I suppose the one good thing I could say for my confinement was that I had enough time to get all that sorted out. If I ever got a chance, I’d like to take a look at his golems and see what I could do with them. I’d already thought of a couple fun new upgrades I could add to them. Pity I would probably never get a chance to do that. Even if I did manage to break out, the EIS had probably seized Mome’s golems. I could probably build my own from scratch with enough time and resources, but I wasn’t likely to get those.
I’d discovered a rather big problem with my plan for reforming Freeport: even if I did escape from EIS custody, they’d keep chasing me. Strumming hadn’t given up the first time I got away from her, and she wouldn’t if I pulled it off again. Enacting any kind of grand plan to change Freeport would never happen if I was constantly on the run from Equestria’s spy service. Even if I managed to stay one step ahead of them for a while, it was probably only a matter of time before Celestia decided to just take matters into her own hooves. I might have all the skills of an archmagus, but I didn’t have enough to stay hidden from her if she was really looking for me.
I groaned and flopped down on the bed. There was no point thinking too far ahead of myself. First I needed to actually escape from the EIS, then I could start worrying about how I would keep my freedom. Besides, Puzzle would probably know a lot more than I did about how to stay hidden in Freeport, so I might as well hold off on worrying about that until I freed it too.
Before I could move on to a more productive line of thought, somepony pounded on my door. A second later, Strumming loudly called out, “Hey, Bacon-mane! You’re not using the toilet or anything right now, are ya?”
“No!” Just hearing that question made me blush a little. “Why would you even ask something like that?”
The door opened up, and Strumming strode in, grinning at me. “I just didn’t wanna walk in and catch you on the pot. It’d be really weird and awkward for both of us, not to mention kinda gross.” She gave me a quick once-over. “How you holding up?”
I gave the most poisonously sweet smile I could manage. “You’re giving me the best prison food I’ve ever had, and my cell is the nicest one I’ve ever been in.” Technically true, since I’d never been imprisoned before, so any experience defaulted to the best. “Aside from being illegally held against my will, I'm just peachy.”
Strumming rolled her eyes and nudged me in the chest. “Oh don't be like that. You can’t spend all your time living in the past and whining about every bad thing that happens to you. You still have it way better than anypony else would in your horseshoes. Besides, this is just a transitional period. I know things are a bit rough right now, but in couple of weeks you'll be back home in Canterlot, and all of this will seem like a lifetime ago.”
I grunted, since actually saying what I thought about that line of horseapples probably would’ve gotten me in trouble. Considering I was planning on asking Strumming for a favor, I should probably try not to antagonize her too much. Not that she’d ever let my attitude get to her too much, but why take a chance? “I'm bored. There's nothing to do in here but read.”
She scoffed. “I thought you liked reading? Your profile said you had almost no social life because you were always studying. I guess that figures—knowledge is power, and you’re pretty fond of power.” She tapped her chin, then smirked at me. “And hey, they always say power corrupts too, so I guess it’s no surprise that all that studying kicked you down the path to the dark side.”
I took a couple deep breaths and reined in the urge to snap at her. “Yeah, I like reading a lot. You know what else I like? Chocolate cake. That doesn’t mean I want chocolate cake all the time for every meal.”
“Are you kidding? Chocolate cake for every meal would be awesome!” Strumming’s grin quickly faded into a frown. “Damn, now you made me hungry for chocolate cake. Soon as I’m done here I’m gonna go get some. Could get you a piece too, if you want.” Her frown vanished, and she nudged me in the stomach. “Though maybe not. The life of a scholar isn't that great at keeping the pounds off, especially once you get older and lose that teenage metabolism. Imagine what Princess Celestia would say if I brought you back all fattened up.”
“I don’t think one piece of cake is going to turn me fat,” I grumbled. For that matter, I didn’t especially care for her comments on my scholarly lifestyle either. It’s not like I was horribly out of shape or anything. I’d been healthy enough to handle myself in the fight with Mome and his crew, after all.
“Yeah, sure, one piece won’t do it. But then you decide that since a little cake didn’t do any harm, you can have a bit more. Then a bit more, and a bit more, until one day they’re hauling you out of your house with a crane because you’re too fat to stand up on your own.” Strumming pulled a bag of potato chips out of the seemingly endless supply of them in her saddlebags. “That’s why you gotta watch what you eat, maintain a healthy diet and all that. And hey, you said you were bored and wanted something else to do to fill up your time? How about some exercise? Plenty of room here for some situps and pushups and stuff. Besides, you’re a prisoner now, and everypony knows prisoners love exercising. Gotta fulfill those stereotypes.”
I scoffed and dismissed that as more of Strumming being her usual weird self. How such a strange pony wound up as a spy, I would never know. However, once I stopped and thought about her suggestion for a bit... “You know, that's not a terrible idea. Is there any way I could get out of here to run some laps on a track or something?”
Strumming shook her head. “Sorry, this is an embassy, not a gym. There’s a weight room the guards use, but other than that we don’t have much in the way of actual facilities.”
I rolled my eyes. “It’s not like I have to have a perfectly maintained jogging track to get some exercise. Just some room to work with; I can run along the walls or something.”
She answered with a knowing grin. “Running along the outside perimeter of the embassy? Now that sounds like a good way for you to get yourself into trouble. And since it’s my job to keep you out of trouble...”
A bit of irritation slipped into my voice. “Yeah, sure, as soon as you take me outside I’m gonna run for it. 'Cause I can totally get away when you've got a suppression ring on my horn and dozens of guards watching me.”
She smirked and poked me in the ribs. “I said you could get into trouble, I didn't say you would actually manage to escape. Very different things. This whole process will go a lot easier on you if you never try to escape, and that’s a lot easier to manage if you avoid temptation. So yeah, running around on the outer edge of the embassy is out.”
I glared at her, grinding my teeth. Something about that mare just never failed to get me pissed off. “Well there has to be something I can do. I'm going nuts being locked up all day, every day. There's not even a window in this room!”
The spy stuffed a couple potato chips into her face. “Oh, I get it. Going a little stir-crazy are you? In that case, I’ve got some good news for you. We finally managed to find a ship whose captain didn’t mind us converting a chunk of his cargo bay into a nice magically secured holding cell for you. Soon as we finish setting everything up and making the other arrangements you’ll be outta here and on your way back home.”
“Yay, I can trade being locked up in here for being locked up on a ship.” My voice was just bursting with enthusiasm. “So basically, it’s the same as being here, except the food will be worse, and I might get seasick. That’s really something to look forward to.” I scoffed and started pacing around my tiny cell. “This is nuts. You’re treating me worse than a criminal. Even prisoners get to see the sun every once in a while. What do you think Princess Celestia would say if she found out you have me locked up like this?”
“You kinda are a criminal, Sunset. You broke the law.” She grinned and wrapped one of her legs around my neck. “But hey, let’s not focus on the negative stuff. It’s not healthy. Now you weren’t planning on doing anything if I let you out for a bit, were you? ‘Cause you might be right that the Princess would say I overdid it a bit with your security. The thing is, I can live with suffering a bit of royal displeasure from overzealously guarding you.” She shrugged and ate a couple more chips. “It’s not like I’m being nasty just for the sake of being nasty or anything. Worst case, I might get scolded a bit and told not to do it again or whatever. But if I decide to go easy on you, and then you get into more trouble or even manage to escape from me ... well, that would get me into a lot of trouble.”
I groaned and flopped back on my bed. “It’s pointless. Even if I did escape, you'd keep coming after me. Or you’d get fired, and they’d just send somepony else after me instead.” Probably someone a lot worse than Strumming, too. Sure, the spy was incredibly annoying and pretty ruthless, but some of the stories I’d read about warlock-hunters were terrifying. Admittedly, a lot of those stories came from darker times when the magi had to enforce the laws a bit more harshly, but I’d rather not push my luck.
Strumming leaned back against the wall and grinned. “You’re right. If you ran for it I’d chase you. And you have to realize, bacon-mane, there isn't anyplace you can go where we can't find you, grab you, shove you into a crate, and ship you back to Canterlot. The only real difference is how much trouble you cause, both for us and yourself.” She finished off her bag of chips. “I mean, escaping and going on the run would really mess up your whole plan for proving your innocence. Everypony knows only the guilty ones go on the run.”
“Yeah, sure, there’s no point in trying to do anything.” I sighed, staring up at the blank ceiling above me. “So is there any way I can just get a bit of time to see the sun?”
Strumming frowned, tapping a hoof against the ground for a bit. “I suppose we could let you mill about the embassy garden for a while. It’s closed off, so there’s no risk of you trying something that’d make all our lives more complicated.”
“Thanks.” I nearly choked on the word, but showing a little bit of gratitude for her magnanimity was the smart move. “Could Puzzle and Kukri join me?”
The spy shook her head. “Don't push your luck. The changelings have to stay in isolation if we don’t want a lot more trouble with our security. The kid we could handle, but if Puzzle got loose ... well, I’d bet it probably knows how to beat all the usual tricks for identifying a bug.” She chuckled and shot me an easy grin. “Relax, they’re fine. We're keeping the kid nice and spoiled with candy and toys.” Her eyes rolled back in thought. “Or is she a larva instead of kid, since they’re bugs? But she’s still bug-shaped, not in some kind of larval state. So I guess calling it a kid works. Anyway, Puzzle's been through a lot worse than being locked up in solitary for a few days, so you don’t need to worry about that one either.”
I glowered at her, less than amused. “Well can I at least see them? I’m sure you can arrange something with enough security to ensure they don’t break loose and swap with somepony the instant you blink.”
“I probably could arrange something like that if I really wanted to,” Strumming conceded. “Not gonna happen, though. We’re busy setting up a high-value prisoner transfer while also trying to keep the fact that we have you and your changeling buddies under wraps. I’m sure the Council already suspects us, but as long as they can’t prove anything, their options are limited,” she finished with a smug grin. “So ... yeah, I’ve got my agents pretty busy already, and I can’t really spare the time to properly secure a meeting for you and your pet bug, especially when you’re leaving in less than a day. Sorry-ish.”
She didn’t sound very sorry at all. The way she flippantly blew me off was really starting to get under my skin, and now that I wasn’t likely to get any more favors out of her by smiling and pretending to be nice, I decided to put her back in her place. “You know, I might be a princess one day. And I have a very good memory.”
I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised that the threat made absolutely zero impression on Strumming. She wasn’t amused or offended, and she certainly wasn’t the least bit frightened. She just shrugged and waved my warning away. “Given the direction your life’s been headed lately, I wouldn’t bet on you picking up a princesshood anytime soon. I’m pretty sure using dark magic is a big no-no for potential princesses. Hay, I don’t know why you ran off, but I’m at least eighty percent sure it’s because you lost your shot at princesshood.”
She was half right. I hadn’t lost my chance, but I’d definitely run into some massive obstacles that would’ve taken a long time to overcome. Not that I was about to admit that to her. “Yeah, I’m sure some low-level spy is an expert on who Princess Celestia is considering granting ascension to.”
“You’d be surprised what a mare in my position can learn.” I was tempted to punch her in the face a couple dozen times to wipe that confident little grin off her face. “And it’s a pretty safe bet that if you ever did become a princess, you’d also be seeing things my way. Princess Sunset is gonna have to be a lot older and wiser than Sunset the Runaway. I figure at some point that will include realizing that I’m right.”
“If I were you, I wouldn’t bet anything I cared about on that.” I answered her smug smirk with one of my own. “I hope you like far reaches of the frozen north, 'cause if I have any say in it, that's where you'll spend the rest of your life.” Let her freeze her wings off somewhere so cold the caribou never went there.
To my utter annoyance, Strumming just shrugged that threat off. “Honestly, from what I’ve heard it isn’t all that bad. My parents spent a while in the station there back when I was a kid. Actually worked with your mom once or twice. Trust me, all the snow and ice isn’t a bad thing in the least. It just means that six months out of the year everyone’s too busy staying next to a nice warm fire to actually get up to any funny business.” She chuckled. “Besides, I can go searching for the lost treasures of the Crystal Empire while I’m up there.”
Ugh, that old mare’s tale. Celestia only knows how many ponies had gone searching the lost wealth of the Crystal Empire. None of them had found it in more than a thousand years of looking, which meant it was a pretty safe bet that there wasn’t anything to find. Personally, I would bet that whatever treasures had survived the Empire’s fall had either been snatched up by scavengers long ago, or wound up in the hordes of those two dragons who lived up in the frozen north. Everyone knows dragons love collecting jewels, gold, and anything valuable.
I thought about trying to threaten her with some other horrible assignment, like going undercover as a dung shoveller or staking out one of the gryphon slaughterhouses, but at best Strumming wouldn’t care, and worst she would find some other way of turning my threats against me. So instead I unleashed the nastiest scowl I could manage.
Naturally, it didn’t work. “Now come on, turn that frown upside-down!” Strumming grabbed me by the cheeks and forced my mouth into a smile. “You can't control how the world works, but you can control your attitude towards it. Being grouchy is only going to make you and everypony around you feel worse.”
One of my eyes started twitching. “Let's just go outside before I decide that the best form of exercise I can get is to try and murder you with a dull plastic spoon.”
“Go for the eyes,” Strumming suggested. “Just about anything’ll mess somepony up if you stick it in their eye, no matter how poor of a weapon it is. You might not be able to kill me that way, but you’d definitely ruin my day.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Strumming grinned and slapped me on the back. “I think that’s the first time you actually listened to my advice. See, we’re already making progress! Though I think I’m gonna have to keep an eye on you next time you have a spoon.” She paused, then snorted to herself. “Heh. ‘keep an eye on you.’ I wish I’d planned that.” She stretched her wings, then went to the door and opened it. “So, let’s get that walk in before you make with the spoon-stabbing. If you behave yourself, we can make this a regular thing once you’re back in Canterlot.”
Classic prison management: give me a few minor privileges to encourage good behavior, and give me something to lose if I acted up. The worst part was, it would probably work.
Strumming led the way out of my cell, letting me just tag along behind her. I was a little surprised by the lack of manacles, but I guess there wasn’t really much need for them. There was no way I could outrun Strumming, not to mention all the other guards in the embassy. Much as I didn’t want to admit it, she was right that I wasn’t in the best of shape. I’d relied on my magic to stay mobile in the fight with Mome and his pirates, and as long as I had a suppression ring on my horn, that wasn’t an option.
Stepping out of my cell did at least give me a bit more freedom to actually study the ring. While spellcasting was still out, I could at least do a little bit of passive magical perception now that I was outside of the magical dead zone and test the defenses a bit. No surprise, the ring on my horn was heavy-duty enough that I didn’t have a prayer of just powering through it. I had a pretty strong suspicion that Celestia had made the thing herself. It would have to have been her or one of the archmagi—nopony else would have the talent to contain me.
If I ever wanted out of this cage, I would have to find some way of beating the ring. There was no way I could escape with my magic locked down. The sealing spell would keep me from removing it myself, and as far as I knew, Strumming was the only pony in Freeport who could remove it. I could always cut my horn off below the ring, but that would be excruciatingly painful, and I’d still be stuck without my magic until it grew back, and that could take months. Maybe even years.
Well, nothing for it but to keep thinking and hope an opportunity presented itself. Maybe Strumming would finally make a mistake, and I’d be able to get out of here. Puzzle had gotten me away from her, so she wasn’t infallible. I just needed to beat her.
I put that issue aside for the moment as Strumming led me into a nice little enclosed garden. It was pretty small, but big enough for me to walk around some and I could finally see the open sky and feel the sun on my face. I never realized how much I’d liked the sun until I’d been locked away from it for a bit. I guess that figured, though: it was Celestia’s sun after all. For that matter, I had a sun on my flank as well.
Unsurprisingly, the garden was full of plants native to Equestria. Freeport’s natural vegetation was pretty sparse, especially since just about every usable bit of land was on the islands was either urbanized or devoted to agriculture. The nice big cherry tree in the middle of the garden was an especially nice touch.
Strumming grinned at me. “Pretty nice, isn’t it? I mean, it wouldn't be a proper embassy without a garden for us to do all our plotting and scheming in. Plus, this way we can have nice little garden parties.”
I started slowly circling around the place, taking all the sights in. There was a nice little walking path along the edge of the garden, lined with crushed basalt gravel that really stood out against traditional Equestrian marble architecture of the embassy itself. I guess when it came to lining a garden path, nopony wanted to pay extra to import the stone from Equestria, so they’d just used local stuff instead. “So this is where you plan the child kidnappings from?”
The barb bounced right off Strumming. “Sometimes, but only if I have to.” She directed a faintly concerned frown my way. “And don’t forget that the ‘child’ you’re talking about is a creature with an uncontrollable biological need to suck the love out ponies in order to survive. I’m sure you like it, and it likes you back, but all you’ll be is another meal if it gets hungry enough.”
I scowled at her. “She's still just a kid. Besides, it’s not like Equestria hasn’t managed to be friends with other races that have carnivorous inclinations.”
I might’ve said more, but my hoof came down on a large piece of gravel in exactly the wrong way. The chunk of rock poked up into the frog of my hoof, then wedged underneath my horseshoe, getting nicely jammed in where it could keep poking me every time I took another step. “Ow! Celestia's teats!”
Strumming smirked at me as she trotted over to check on my hoof. “What was that about your mother-figure’s teats?“
I blinked in surprise and felt cheeks warming. “Shut up. I got a rock stuck in my hoof. I can't control what I say on reflex.”
Her smirk widened. “Sounds like you need even more help than I thought.”
“Shut up!” I grumbled and continued walking, just to get away from her.
Strumming frowned and quickly caught up with me, staring down at my wounded hoof. “You alright? If you’re actually admitting it hurts right in front of me it must be pretty bad. Lemme have a look at it.”
I growled and turned my wounded hoof away from her. “I just stepped on a rock the wrong way. It stung a bit, no big deal.” I shot her my best angry, resentful glare. “Why do you care? Planning to spend a while gloating about how if I’d just listened to you I’d be back in my room instead of having a stubbed hoof?”
Strumming let out an annoyed huff. “Believe it or not, I am trying to do what’s best for you. I don’t spend all day up in some ominous evil tower, cackling about my latest plan to make you miserable just so I can say ‘I told you so.’ The truth is, you have a knack for making terrible decisions along with a complete inability to admit to your own mistakes. If somepony doesn’t set you straight every once in a while...”
“And you’re more than happy to nominate yourself for that role, right?” I scoffed and got back to walking, partly just so I could turn my back on her. My hoof was still stinging, but I could deal with a little pain.
“Actually, it was Celestia who gave me the job,” she shot right back. “You know, the pony you call your real mother?”
I wasn’t sure if I bought that. To be honest, I still wasn’t sure where Strumming sat in the EIS hierarchy. When I’d first met her, she made it sound like she was a low-level agent, but if she was just some nobody, I doubt she could whistle up a dozen embassy guards to act as her personal thugs. Or be authorized to risk sparking off a huge diplomatic incident while grabbing me. And if she was being literal about Celestia putting her in charge of me...
Urgh. Conversations are so much easier when you’re not talking to a pathological liar.
The next time I passed by her, Strumming grabbed me by the shoulder. “Stop and listen for a bit, Sunset.” I reluctantly did so, and the spy took a deep breath then deliberately met my eyes. “Do you think I like the idea of you doing things like dabbling in black magic, or ending up dead in a ditch somewhere in Freeport? Come on, give me some credit.”
“Yeah, sure, I totally buy that you’re just looking out for me.” I snorted and pulled away from her. “That’s why you tried to manipulate me into signing a confession.”
“Believe it or not, that was for the best.” Strumming sighed and rubbed her face. “Sometimes it's just easier for all involved if the defendant fesses up and begs for a lighter sentence. Especially in your situation: you don’t need to get tossed in jail or cut loose on your own, you need Celestia to give you some guidance and finish your training.” She landed in front of me. “Sunset, can you honestly tell me that you’ve done a good job with your attempt at living on your own?”
I growled and walked around her. “Yeah, I can. I did what I had to do with Metal Mome, and I saved a lot of ponies’ lives doing it. I should be getting a medal for what I did, not being tossed in jail.”
Strumming stared at me incredulously. “Oh. Wow. I gotta say, Sunset, you are really good at rationalization and rewriting the past to cast yourself in a better light. You’ve already forgotten that the only reason all those civilians were in danger in the first place was that you dragged them along with you. I’m kinda curious to just sit back and see how much more you’ll embellish the truth after a couple years.” She smirked and nudged me in the ribs. “Then again, if you’re that good at lying, maybe I oughta be offering you a job...”
“I am not lying!” I growled and stomped, only to instantly regret it since I came down on my bad hoof. “Agh! Endless night!”
Strumming frowned after me as I started walking again despite the pain throbbing up from my injured hoof. “You sure you're alright? You’ve got a bit of a limp.”
I shook my hoof a few times, but couldn’t dislodge the rock stuck in my shoe. “It's just sore. The rock jabbed me right in the frog...”
Strumming frowned down at my hoof as I struggled to make my gait as normal as possible to disprove her claim that I was limping. “We better have a doc look at it, just to be safe. The last thing I need is you getting an infection and having your hoof fall off or something. I’m pretty sure Celestia’d get mad if I only brought most of you home.”
I grumbled and waved her away. “Yeah, sure. We can do that once I'm done walking.” I started up another lap around the garden, continuing onward in spite of the low, steady throb shooting up my leg.
The spy scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Fine, be stubborn about it. You’re only hurting yourself.”
She was probably right about that, but I certainly wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of hearing me admit it. Instead, I walked five whole laps around the garden just to spite her. And myself, I guess, since I’m the one whose hoof was hurting. Maybe Strumming did have a bit of a point when she said I had self-destructive tendencies.
After the fifth lap, I’d had enough of hurting myself for no other reason than sending Strumming a message. Strumming stood by the door, watching me with a mixture of annoyance and amusement. “Ready to have that hoof looked at now? If you wanna keep being stubborn, I can help you find a couple more sharp things to jab it on. ‘Cause I gotta say, watching you make yourself miserable for no damn reason at all is really putting me in my place.”
I brushed past her on the way back inside. “Fine. If you really care that much, send a doctor down to the prisoner's cell. Can't have the dangerous criminal interacting with the normal ponies at the infirmary, can we?”
“Oh, spare me the pity party.” She cut in front of me, then pointed down a hallway. “We're taking you to the infirmary. Less wasted motion that way.”
I ignored her directions and walked right past her, heading back to my cell. It was probably a longer walk than the one to the infirmary, but I didn’t care.
Strumming flew over and caught up to me again, grabbing me by the shoulder. “No, we're getting you treated. I’ve been pretty tolerant of your stupid stubborn streak, but I have to draw the line when you're hurting yourself out of sheer bullheadedness.”
I growled and did my best to pull free of her, but her grip was too solid. “Let go of me!”
Strumming gave my shoulder a quick shake, her patience finally fraying a bit. “Sunset, stop acting like a child. I know you're unhappy, but this isn't helping. You’re smart enough to have read an anatomy book at some point, so I know that you know bad things can happen if you injure your frog and don’t get it properly treated. Besides, this will let you stay out of your room for a bit longer. Maybe we can even do something else for a bit once you’re bandaged up.”
I planted my injured hoof on the ground for a bit more leverage, gritting my teeth as I pulled away from her. “I'd rather be in a dungeon cell than spend one more minute with you!”
Strumming released me, and for a moment I thought she actually looked a little stung by my barb. She let out a loud, exasperated groan. “Feather it! Fine! I’ll take you back to your cell, okay? Dear Celestia, why you’re being such a pain in the plot about this...” She trailed off, grumbling to herself as she changed course for the dungeons. “You know, you make it pretty hard for somepony to help you.”
“I don't care.”
“You should.” She trotted up to the entrance to my temporary holding cell and opened the door. “You’re gonna have a pretty miserable and lonely life if you keep pushing away everypony who wants to help you or be your friend.”
I trotted back into my cell, heading for the bed so I could get off my sore hoof already. “Whatever.”
Strumming sighed, and I could almost hear her teeth grinding. “Wash your hoof and get a bandage on it, I’ll send a doctor to have a look at it once you’ve had a bit to calm down. You’re probably due for a fresh bandage on your side, too.”
“Yeah yeah...” I got back up and walked to the door, but only so I could shut it in her face.
Despite the door in between us, I could clearly hear Strumming’s next words. “Feathering teenagers. I don’t get paid enough for this horseapples...”
I heard her hooves tromping away and waited another minute or so just to be safe. Then I hopped up onto the bed and turned my hoof around to get a better look at it. The rock I’d stepped on was still wedged between my shoe and the hoof itself. I leaned in, carefully gripped it in my teeth, and removed it. My hoof didn’t stop hurting the instant I got the rock out, but the pain went down to nothing more than a dull ache.
I put the rock down on my pillow and gave it a quick inspection. Pretty big, but flat enough that it hadn’t jabbed my hoof too badly after I stepped on it. The bottom side had a reasonably smooth surface, but alas I’d stepped on the rougher top instead.
“Not perfect, but it’ll have to do.” I quickly stashed the little rock inside my pillowcase. In all likelihood, nopony would even think to ask about what happened to the stone I’d stepped on. Especially after how pissed off I’d left my chief jailor.
Phase one of the escape plan was complete. Now I just needed to finish up the rest of it before they loaded me onto a ship tomorrow.
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OOooooh! Sunset, what is with that rock?
5571059
Somepony's getting shanked in the kidneys.
A hint to the magic mirror portal, maybe?
Well ,Strumming, while I fully agree with your analysis of Sunset´s character and current situation and the fact she should go back with Mommylestia before she goes further on the Dark Side or gets killed, you certainly lack of tact in dealing with the angry, rebelious teenager.
Aren´t spies supposed to be good in manipulating people?
5571059
Next Chapter: "Boulder Origins" or "Life and Time of a Sedimentary Rock"
He has a point...
Heh, this guy could annoy Discord.
Yeah, good luck with that.
I so totally hope Shimmering gets squashed.
5571059
Maybe it's green and glowy? :-P
That was actually pretty clever of Sunset. Now we see what she does with it.
Strumming being handpicked by Celestia for the mission is just way too off. She is an extremely antagonistic smart-ass that seems to be treating an assignment given to her by the highest up leader of the nation as an annoying chore that she’s doing everything she can to get it done with as quickly as possible while getting her revenge for the posting by nettling Sunset at every turn.
If anything, she’s just driving Sunset all the more away from Celestia rather than trying to pull her back in.
While teens do need a firm hand and a proverbial slap in the face to knock some sense into them, if that’s all you do, the kid will knife you in the back the first chance he gets and do his best to make sure you bleed out.
Can't wait till step 5 "Skewer the winged beast!"
Strumming annoys me.
I wonder if Bison get offended if you call them Yaks?
5571672
Exactly. Strumming is possibly one of the worst possible choices for this job. I'm starting to wonder if she's secretly a Nightmare Cultist or something.
And personally, I hope Sunset goes with the spoons instead of the backstab. It's the least Strumming deserves.
It seems we have a fan of the Winged Hate Beast in the audience, down voting comments.
You know, just down voting comments is unlikely to convince us that the turkey pony deserves to live.
So to get under Strumming's skin a bit, all Sunset had to do was inform her of how she actually sees Strumming as a person? I'm not sure if I'm right about that, but Strumming was getting a few cracks in her mask when Sunset started telling her exactly what she saw her efforts as. Whatever. I still hate Strumming, and if Puzzle turns out just as she predicted I'll still dislike her. I don't want Strumming to die or anything, but I'd love to see her put in her place... The way she's just so smug about everything irritates me like none other. She's just a giant walking asshole... *Strumming hate done*
5572925
My guess is that Sunset's fall to the Dark Side is going to involve killing Strumming. Force Choke! Force Choke! Force Choke!
I don't understand why most of the readers here dislike Strumming. She's been pretty much 100% right about Sunset every step of the way, and appears to genuinely care about Sunset's well-being, even if all of that care is due to being ordered to care.
She's funny, acerbic, direct, and dangerous. What's not to like? By contrast, Sunset is a giant turd of bad decisions and stupid rationalisations that only reinforce her view that she's capital S Special.
I don't think Strumming can tell the difference between what's good for a pony and what society/Princess Celestia thinks is good for a pony. Last I checked Subset is probably old enough to be an adult in Equestrian society and her parents/Celestia are technically just interfering, unless I missed some piece of world building/lore somewhere.
I am in favor of something bad happening to Strumming. Painful and long term would be great, but death or incapacitation is fine too. *evil grin*
If she was "hoof picked by Celestia" this is probably all on the down low and she has no backup at all. Frankly, that they had to search for a captain that would let the modify his cargo bay kind of screams that is all under the table.
P.S
Strumming is bad at keeping plans secret from Sunset...
5571672
Honestly I think people, especially teenagers sometimes need to be left to dig themselves a big enough hole that they're willing to accept help getting out of it. I think that if you don't give people any independence/autonomy/responsibility they never learn how to be independent/autonomous/responsible.
Sunset's really not at that stage where she actually wants the help.
I've lost track, are we talking about chocolate cake or dark magic?
Heh, I can think of a place.
Pretty sure keeping a list of ponies to get revenge on isn't going help out those princess aspirations.
I'm guessing the point of the rock is for something to use on the suppression ring. Sure, she might be able to get away with poking Strumming's eye out with it, but that's probably not going to help much when the real goal is a jailbreak.
5572992 That's pretty funny actually lol. But I hope Strumming doesn't die, especially at the hooves of sunset.
5573014 I'll go ahead and say that I'm one of those who does hate Strumming even though she has been right pretty consistently. The problem I take with her is the way she acts all smug, to the point where she belittles Sunset by just dismissing her whole journey as "just a teenager lashing out". I'm not blind though, I see how Sunset is obviously being her usual hot-headed self and just making some awful decisions because of it, but she's effectively being controlled by the very past she's trying to escape from. When you have someone who THINKS they know what's best for YOU and then they try to exert that opinion onto your life, it's at that point the line has been crossed.
5573014 I can't imagine why so many people would be annoyed by the character who pokes fun at teenage angst. Nope, no idea...
More seriously, it's an exposition problem. Strumming is supposedly a top secret agent, and Sunset is a teenager with poor social skills. Strumming should be so good at manipulating Sunset that she has no idea what's going on with Strumming (To be fair, I'm basing this off watching The Americans). The problem is, this is a 1st person story from Sunset's perspective, so if she has no idea, we the readers have no idea. So Strumming has smug little tells for the same reason Chrysalis sang a song about being evil, because otherwise we readers would have no idea what's going on.
Nice chapter, still the same style and tact. I already look forward to the next one!
Had a hard time getting into this chapter.
With all the security measures in place, I don't think I'm going to buy Sunset's escape no matter how it goes down. Short of the Council ordering an assault on the embassy (probably through some third party) or revealing they own some of the guards, there's just no feasible way that Sunset can get out of this. I'm still interested in her character development and future adventures but this whole affair is casting a dark spot on the story for me.
Something I feel Strumming should have pointed out: she's not actually holding Sunset illegally. Sunset is an Equestrian citizen and committed a crime. She was arrested by an Equestrian agent acting on orders from the crown and being held on sovereign Equestrian territory. The only illegal thing Strumming has done was taking Puzzle (whom I suspect of terrorism and acts of espionage against Equestria) and Kukri (still a bad move by any account) hostage.
Sunset Shimmer has a plan, and I bet it involves, wait for it....a small stone.
5576885
> Sunset is an Equestrian citizen and committed a crime.
No body - no crime. There is NO body on the Equestrian soil and there is NO Equestrian citizen suffered from Sunset's actions, and the act happened outside Equestrian border. What the hell is so fucked up in Equestria that it is concerned with enforcing its law outside its borders, when no of its citizens suffered? At best it would result in a glorious diplomatic mess. At worst... well, wars started from less.
Since Strumming is not on Equestrian soil and she is NOT a part of local police, she has no right to enforce the law, local or not. The local police has. Legally Strumming clearly violated local law in a very severe way. Even dropping what she did with Sunset, she imprisoned local changelings. Local government is guaranteed to be pissed, and probably will try to make an example of her. I would not be surprised, if they would requiest Strumming's head and Celestia herself will gladly obey because her spy screwed up so gloriously.
Edit:
Putting simply, and assuming that legal law works on Equus similarly to IRL, Strumming is in the wrong twice: first she kidnapped a person on the Freeports's soil and second she assumes that Equestrian law is applicable to an act, happened on the deck of Freeport's ship - effectively Freeport's soil according to IRL law. IRL this would result in a diplomatic fallout at least. It can be shrugged off once or twice, but if Equestria pull this with any regularity, it will result in violent actions (for example, extermination of Celestia, since she is to be dealt with before a war, and eliminating her likely will render war unneeded.). And Strumming KNOWS that she is in the wrong and actively tries to rationalize it saying it is for the best.
5573014
>She's funny, acerbic, direct, and dangerous. What's not to like? By contrast, Sunset is a giant turd of bad decisions and stupid rationalisations that only reinforce her view that she's capital S Special.
She is too intrusive and excessively antagonistic. Maybe it is okay for some ponies, but the human me finds her behaviour unacceptable. Same actually applies both to Celestia and Sunset's mother.
5572925
5573014
Yep. Even if Puzzle Piece is manipulating Sunset (and I do believe he is), he still treats Sunset with professional courtesy. I don't know how to word it clearly seeing as how he's still manipulating her... but basically Puzzle respects Sunset enough to put forward his best hoof in doing so.
Whereas Strumming... yeah sure, she's doing this for Sunset's good... but from her words and her attitude, it's basically apparent that Strumming has zero respect for Sunset. As far as she's concerned, Sunset's just an idiot brat throwing a tantrum on the floor. Sure, Sunset's bratty. But she's also got her awesome traits and Strumming sees none of it.
It doesn't matter if someone's trying to help you or not. If she harbors that sort of holier-than-thou attitude towards you, she deserves no gratitude. It just means she's not helping you for your sake; she's helping you to prove how right she is and how trash you are.
5574253
Strumming isn't acting like an unreadable top secret agent, because not for one second of her mission did she ever take Sunset seriously.
How else do you think she carried the idiot ball this chapter and let Sunset get away with a sharp rock (presumably to break out of a triple-max asylum Hannibal Lecter style)?
5578674
I was agreeing with you until you suddenly jumped to the conclusion of "Assassinate Celestia."
Poor princess can't catch a break. Raise and lower the sun everyday and still everyone is just looking for the most paltry excuse to assassinate her.
And how the heck is she "too intrusive"? Her dream visitation is equivalent to your mother calling you at 2AM because she's in a different time zone. Annoying, but "unacceptable"?
5579254
>until you suddenly jumped to the conclusion of "Assassinate Celestia."
Celestia is the most powerful weapon of Equestria at the moment AND she is one of if not the only critical figure holding it together. So, if Equestria becomes a nuisance too much to tolerate, Celestia is the first target. Of course, it is not the first choice, it is the last resort, to be used after all other means proven insufficient.
Celestia in the dream approved Strumming's action, participating (and gaining the traits) by proxy.
5579021
> A place like Freeport doesn't just attract evil, it breeds evil.
Places like Freeport breed freedom. So known 'evil' is a byproduct. Given that 'Freeport does not want to change' and that we have yet to see a stream of emigrants from Freeport, I'd say the city likes the deal. In fact, IRL there is a lot of people who believe the government must have as little influence as possible, so I wouldn't be surprised.
You know, this question really encapsulates everything wrong about Sunsets situation. She can't actually say whether she was doing aright or not because she hasn't really gotten the chance to find out. If Strumming is to be believed, since she left Canterlot the EIS has been working to ensure that Sunset has faced no consequences for her decisions, positive or negative. For example, could Sunset have supported herself with enchanting? She doesn't know because the EIS supported her regardless. So she wouldn't learn from any potential failures and reevaluate her abilities. With Metal Mome Sunset didn't have time to evaluate whether the success was worth the means and consequences before Strumming abducted her.
I'm starting to wonder if Sunsets whole trip was something of a play act put on by Celestia and the EIS. Let her wander aimlessly for a while and work through her issues while preventing her from accomplishing anything important or growing from her failures. Then, when Sunset realizes that she fulfilling no purpose, she comes home to reconciles with Celestia and gets direction in her life again. But now that Sunsets has gone seriously off script, it's suddenly vital to get her home as soon as possible while drumming into her that her bid for her own life was a miserable failure to the point that their willing to break every diplomatic rule in the book to do so. Basically, Sunset set out to find her own life, but now that she's starting to succeed in doing so (for better or for worse), everyone from equestria seems desperate to stop her.
Looking forward to the grand escape.
5579459
This is what happens when you give a mother the powers of a goddess-queen (and no sister to set her straight).
In other words, see "Life story of every mortal child of Zeus, ever." In their case they're dealing with a petty stepmother, so Sunset is slightly more fortunate.
5579021 99% of Revolutions don't end like the American Revolution, they end like the Russian Revolution, with a river of blood spilled and a new dictator replacing the old, Lenin, Oliver Cromwell and Napoleon wielding far more absolute power than the monarchs they replaced, because they had the might of a revolution behind them.
By contrast, look at how the American Confederation of States became the United States of America, or England transformed from rule by the nobles of parliament to a full democracy through legislative acts, or the establishment of modern India, done through peaceful reform.
More than just "the house" wields power, every group with numbers has a measure of influence and political power, and they usually succeed at their goals when they strike a series of compromises with the most dominant power to gain more political power without threatening outright revolution.
This is a perfect example, Freeport is not a totalitarian regime with a controlling ideology and a cult of personality around its leader, it's just a bunch of merchants who want to maintain high profits and still have a peaceful home. If they think their own lives or ability to conduct business is jeopardized, they will fight tooth and claw and leave only ashes to the victor, but if they see an opportunity to accommodate rival groups that keeps the peace and lets trade continue, even if they have to change their business practices to be a little less profitable, then they will take it rather than see everything they've worked for destroyed.
5581324 Considering what happened with Luna, I'm not certain she's the right pony to play Celestia's conscience. Attempted genocide is kind of evil.
5581537
(1) The USA became the USA through the Civil War, which once and for all branded a united, nationalist ideology onto the collection of states.
(2) India became independent not through politics-as-usual in a congress/parliament, but through mass protests and civil disobedience. It's nonviolent, which is to be lauded... but in essence it's still "sticking it to The Man." India would have never gotten what it wanted by operating through the existing system, which was one set up entirely by a foreign power beholden completely to popular opinion back at home rather than the welfare of India.
You seem to be espousing a certain Randian vision of freedom-loving, socially-responsible angelic bourgeoisie as the foundation of Freeport, an interpretation of entirely your own invention. According to Chengar, both in his own words and between his lines, Freeport is ruled by a collection of Robber Barons and Mafia Bosses. Y'know, the kind of ppl who couldn't care less about child labor, working conditions, or social justice.
There's a good reason the Princess regards it with wariness and distaste which doesn't manifest when she deal with any other sovereign power.
5582196 If the system allows for peaceful protest, then peaceful protest is working within the system. The Civil Rights was not fought actively by the federal government, who instead co-opted its movement and accommodated it through the Voting Rights Act. The Civil War was a failed revolution by the Confederate States attempting to work outside the system to "stick it to the man," history shows how well it worked for their particular brand of reform.
I agree completely that Freeport's rulers are a bunch of robber barons/ mafia bosses, I never said they gave a shit about child labor or social justice. I said they were self-interested business creatures who wanted to keep making money, and they would be willing accommodated peaceful reform if the alternatives appeared less profitable, and violence and uncertainty in your home town is almost always unprofitable.
I don't know where you get the idea that Celestia is more weary of Freeport than any other sovereign power, it's a minor trading hub that occasionally doubles as a pirate haven, think Singapore 100 years ago. I suspect she's more weary of the Griffon Empire, or the Elk, or any other large aggressive race with a significant military presence, to say nothing of the Changlings.
5582245
Gandhi being jailed is part of the system "working as intended". Or did you jump to the American Civil Rights Movement with that last post? Anytime riot gear is being deployed and used across the country, things aren't exactly "working within the system". A country can weather social unrest, but it's never things "working as intended."
The Confederacy failed yes. Nobody ever said any revolution is guaranteed to succeed. But I'm not arguing about right or wrong here. Just that fighting the establishment using the establishment's rules, not making a fuss, nobody rocking the boat... is a modern fantasy. It only seems to work because the establishment hasn't had enough time yet to corrupt everything that was once good, but like the fall of Rome it's the inevitable fate of all systems of power.
Anyways, all that is straying from the point, which is that there is no way Freeport's current society can peacefully transform into a fair and just one via established systems working as intended. To think that it can is to believe the Randian fairy tale.
IMO, Celestia is more weary of Freeport for mostly moral and humanitarian concerns. Like how North Korea is a festering little armpit which is completely irrelevant, but keeps making too much of a stink for global powers to comfortably ignore.
5582425 There's always riot gear out, by that definition a football match signals the collapse of society. Part of peaceful protest does indeed involve people being arrested and jailed, that's how they get attention from the media that act as the 5th estate. People protest constantly, it's one spectrum of a political pressure tactic, but if it doesn't involve violence than it is definitely part of the system working as intended.
The British Government absolutely arrested Ghandi, they also assisted Patel and Menon (in the form of Lord Mountbatten) in using diplomacy and negotiations to combine 500 states into the country of India, most of those states were monarchies that peacefully transitioned to democracy.
Political reformation by working within the system has been around since the days of ancient Greece, within an authoritatarian system it becomes political intrigue, but the backroom deal has always been with us, and it has virtually always succeeded where violence either fails or creates a cure worse than the disease.
As for Freeport, I don't know where this Randian stuff comes from, I doubt Freeport is based on a Bioshock game, but it's no North Korea, people are free to come and go as they choose, Freeport doesn't try to make war on its neighbors, they just make money no questions asked. The Griffons and the Zebras seem to have a pretty good relationship with Freeport. It's certainly not as nice or law abiding as Equestria, but it's definitely more Barbados than North Korea.
Well Sunset, let's see your grand plan which involves a smooth-ish rock.
5582477
There seems to be a contradiction in your run of posts. You hold an optimistic view of human society. I think it's unfounded, but I can respect it. After all, MLP FiM is a show which cherishes such optimism.
However, in the same posts I see you condone a city which you agree is ruled by robber barons and mob bosses. You seem a reasonably well-informed individual, so I think you know what the history revolving around ppl like that entails IRL. How you seem to uphold law and order, but then coddle dramatic examples of human corruption, is beyond me. Which is why I kept using the word Randian; it seems to me you consider unchecked capitalism to be an ingredient for utopia.
I never said Freeport is N. Korea; I said it's an armpit, which is what N. Korea is. BTB, the underpinning of Barbados' economy during the colonial period was first indentured servitude, then slavery. Typical example of colonial capitalism. "People are free to come and go", indeed. So yes, imagine Barbados.
5584919 Oh I'm quite pragmatic, that's why I'm so pessimistic about violent ways outside the system to revolutionize society, because they almost never work, and they often make things worse.
I like to think of myself as a fairly well informed individual regarding history, and I think you are as well, given your breadth of historical examples. I do know the history of people like those, I don't think it's that far off from the Founding Fathers you were citing in the American Revolution, who were primarily slave-owning large landholders who would probably qualify as Robber Barons today.
Corruption is a funny word, it means the law is suborned by those who write it, I would argue that Freeport is only semi-corrupt because it is so lawless there are simply no laws to corrupt, it's why modern Somalia technically has very little corruption, because who would bother to bribe a bureaucrat there? (Now today's Somalia, with its lawlessness and everyone armed to the teeth, is a much better example of a Randian fantasy). In any case, I don't see where you say I'm "coddling" or "condoning" anyone, when all I'm saying is that better results can be obtained by negotiating with rational self-interested individuals, no matter how loathsome they are, rather than fighting with them (provided you have things like leverage to hold over them and the means of monitoring and enforcing compliance over any grand bargains struck).
I don't see where you get utopia, but capitalism at it's most unfettered definitely fits my current description of Freeport, and it seems to fit yours as well. That's why I was saying that Sunset or any other reformers would basically need to fetter said capitalism, that would be the primary thrust of their reforms, and that this fettering would be a noble effort more likely to succeed than any other approach.
You're absolutely right that Barbados was originally a slave colony, it didn't become a huge free-wheeling port of trade until the 1800s, after numerous violent slave rebellions had gotten slaves killed, and then the British Empire abolished slavery there by decree in 1834.
I honestly would like it better if Sunset just straight up left, I hate Strumming, and Sunset really doesn't have anything to prove to anyone. I can't wait to see her escape and I hope we will be seeing some more dark magic.
5582477
>As for Freeport, I don't know where this Randian stuff comes from,
IRL Randian stuff was a reaction to USSR way of things. Rand went to extremes... But given her experience it is understandable.
Equestria gives strong USSR vibe. Single moral authority (Celestia), apparent nepotism (twilight pardoned for many fuck-ups), solidarism rhetorics (elements of Harmony, anyone?), obscure and secrete higher political decisions (the prequel to this story), community-wide 'volunteer' work (winter wrap-up), Job by distribution (cutie-marks, though it is questionable analogy, but still). Kinda understandable, that some people have reaction similar to Rand.
Wait, is that why EQ Sunset is so skinny? Strumming's comment gave her anorexia? I wouldn't have blamed Sunset if she'd stabbed Strumming with her horn. Calling an emotionally unstable teenage unicorn with a penchant for black magic fat isn't a good idea.
5586779 Eh, you have a point about the political dimensions, though for me Equestria always reminded me of 18th Century France under Louis XIV more than anything (his nickname was the Sun King as a bonus). Monarch with near absolute power who has diminished the power of the nobility to the point where they just kind of hang around her, but with a huge popularity among st the common folk. But as long as you have Filthy Rich bragging about undercutting other businesses and seizing the market with Barnyard Bargains, it's hard to equate Equestria with the USSR.
And the cutie mark system is so open to interpretation. Is it a way of enforcing harmony by giving everyone a place in society? Or a way of encouraging individuality by giving everyone a "unique" special talent? I could go either way.
5587126
>But as long as you have Filthy Rich bragging about undercutting other businesses and seizing the market with Barnyard Bargains, it's hard to equate Equestria with the USSR.
Nope. "Free market" did exist in USSR: officially in time of 'new economical policy' up to 1928. Later it was oficially eliminated, but in practice near the end of USSR it was again in effect, but hidden and officially illegal, even if in full effect. And even in-between, individuals still 'speculated', i.e. reselled (illegal, but wide practice); and village folk often came to marketplaces to sell their products (more or less legal).
As for Sun King analogy, I must note that in his time moral authority was Church's prerrogative, and clergy held a lot of power.
5587633 Sure, the USSR did have a free market, but you would hardly have business ponies bragging about how much money they made for show and tell, right? Even before it was officially illegal, that was quick way to get known for having "anti-revolution" tendencies. I will say that Equestria is definitely statist, They have "the weather factory" that produces weather for all of Equestria, that does sound fairly command and control. And if you want to get into evolutionary biology, I suspect sapients descended from herd creatures are more open to a communistic style society than sapients descended from pack creatures.
The emphasis on luxury by the upper classes, especially fashion, is hardly conducive to the society of the USSR however.
That's true to large extent about the church, after all it was Cardinal Richelieu that so ably gathered up power for the King and declawed the nobility. However, the King was also "God's Representative On Earth" to France, the Church and State supported each other in each reinforcing the other's moral authority over the peasants. By the 18th Century I would argue that even in predominantly Catholic France, the state had more leverage on the church than vice-versa.
5587724
> but you would hardly have business ponies bragging about how much money they made for show and tell, right
.....
As far as I'm aware, various bragging was common. It is true, that officially reselling was frown upon, but other than that... A director of a large plant had a lot of privileges, and could brag about his effective work. Even if it was oficially frown upon.
>The emphasis on luxury by the upper classes, especially fashion, is hardly conducive to the society of the USSR however.
Again, oficially. Unoficially, upper class had a lot of privileges. It was a bad taste to show off to common folk, but other than that, they had even personal cooks, not talking about access to better food, clothes, and pretty much everything. AFAIK, it all was not inheritable, but still.
>By the 18th Century I would argue that even in predominantly Catholic France, the state had more leverage on the church than vice-versa.
We are yet to see ANY equestrian independent higher authority other than Celestia.
5587857 You're right about the privileges and perks of the party elites, and they probably did brag in private. But the entire city of Canterlot makes Versailles look like industrial Detroit, and it's right where Celestia lives. Heck, she personally and publicly judges decadent dessert contests. Can you imagine what would happen to the photographer who published a picture of Dear Leader stuffing his face with a fancy cake in a local paper? (Of course, we never saw Featherweight again after that episode...
)
I think from a political stance, sure Equestria has the top-down control that the USSR had, combined with the powerful communitarian ideology that is reinforced at every turn. But the outright celebration of capitalism and private wealth indicates the economics of Equestria are drastically different from the USSR.
5587880
>Can you imagine what would happen to the photographer who published a picture of Dear Leader stuffing his face with a fancy cake in a local paper?
Well, there are some photos of private parties in Kremlin at times... Not much, but still.
> But the entire city of Canterlot makes Versailles look like industrial Detroit, and it's right where Celestia lives.
Moscow WAS the city with best (i.e. best quality and largest choice) supply of various final goods in USSR, and this is where the Kremlin is. The political elite was concentrated in Moscow. The most ambitious architectural projects were concentrated in Moscow. Dunno, looks a lot like Canterlot to me.
>But the outright celebration of capitalism and private wealth indicates the economics of Equestria are drastically different from the USSR.
They definitely are not identical, but the actual difference may be not that much. Anyway, the show has not provided enough info on the subject, so it is up to interpretation.
5588003 Most of the fancy stuff of Moscow was left over from the Tsars, whom Celestia also bears a fair amount of resemblance too. But you're right, ultimately we're just speculating on a society we don't really have enough evidence to really quantify.