Chapter 2 - Investigation
“Alright, Bon Bon, I’ll be out for the rest of the night!” Lyra yelled back into the home she just left.
“Okay, Lyra. Don’t work too hard at the bar and-” Bon Bon began before she was cut off by the unicorn.
“Yeah, yeah, I know. No…obsessing. I’m just making a quick stop at the library on the way there, that’s all. I promise.”
Bon Bon sighed, but smiled all the same. “I—I’ll miss you. Come back soon.”
“I will.”
With those final words, Lyra left.
When Lyra knew she was out of hearing distance, she let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. “Urgh. Why do I never have enough time in the day to do everything?! If it isn’t work, it's Bon Bon. I don’t necessarily regret spending more time with her, but it’s seriously cutting into truth-seeking time!”
Lyra grumbled a bit more before—finally—a cooler head prevailed and she thought a little more clearly. “Well, if I want to spend more time truth-seeking, I’ll either need to cut time out of my schedule with Bon Bon—which will cause her to hate me—or I cut out some of my time at the bar, which will likely make the Boss annoyed. Well, if it is between annoying my boss and getting more time to study precursors, I know what I’d rather want.”
It didn’t take her long after that to reach the library—that is to say the Friendship Castle Library. Although it would be missed, it was clear—after Twilight's friends dug up the Golden Oaks Library four months ago—that the old library was not going to be rebuilt. Still, Ponyville shouldn’t have been so surprised. It was clear the newest Princess would have very little time or resources to spend on getting it into working order again. Heck, it took nearly two months for the new library to even be open to the public, and all the newest Princess needed to do for that to happen was books on shelves. Apparently the newest Princess not only had to deal with Equestrian internal affairs, precursors, and some research project she had started, but was also taking orders from the magic table in the ‘circle of thrones’. Everything surrounding Twilight Sparkle was just a confusing mess. How the mare did everything and still found time to sleep was anypony’s guess.
'Well, it's about time ponies stopped guessing,' Lyra thought.
These trips to the library weren’t purely for the study of Pre-Discordian era history and culture. No, there weren’t nearly enough books on the topic to last more than maybe a few days reading. After all, the age was more or less destroyed by the eponymous Avatar of Chaos. No, she was here for one mare.
“Hello, Princess,” Lyra spoke politely as she entered the castle. She walked past the alicorn as Twilight and her dragon companion made their way out of the library. Lyra exuded an air of enthusiasm…in an attempt to distract them from her true reason for being there.
“Oh, hello … Lyra…” the alicorn muttered back, clearly preoccupied with the books she and Spike were carrying.
When the door shut and Lyra was left alone in the library, Lyra looked around the room. Like all the other rooms in the castle, this one was made entirely of crystal—although the seats surrounding the tables were given additional cushions. It’s no surprise that the princess—who no doubt spent much of her time here—would ensure everything was comfortable. On all the walls were tall bookshelves that reached to the ceiling and several ladders were strewn throughout for easier access to the higher shelves. Lyra found herself quickly climbing one of these ladders so that she could put an ear up against the ceiling. Casting a spell, she could now make out faint sounds coming from Twilight’s bedroom.
“Alright Spike,” the female voice said, clearly Twilight. “Can you put the books down over there? I won’t need them right away.”
“Alright Twi,” Spike replied followed by a loud thump. The suddenness nearly caused Lyra to fall off the ladder but she somehow managed to cling on. Grumbling, she re-cast the spell she just lost and put her ear back to the ceiling.
“So is this for…that thing?” Spike continued.
“Yes, and if we are going to talk about it, I’m going to have to soundproof the room.”
‘Urghh,’ Lyra groaned. ‘They do this every time! Every day for the past two months, thwarted by her darned soundproof spell! What is this big secret and why is she so paranoid! It isn’t like anypony is listening in on—never mind. I just wish there was some way to break through without Twilight knowing about it.’
It seemed that Spike was equally frustrated. “Really, Twilight? It isn’t like there is anypony listening in and I don’t want to wait two minutes every time we need to talk. Let me look.” After a moment’s delay he spoke up again, saying, “See? Nopony outside the door or out the window. I have an idea! Why don’t you just scan to see if there is anypony listening in? That would take less time, right?”
Lyra heard a sigh before Twilight relied. “Oh fine … well, you’re right. There’s only Lyra in the libr-. Right, Lyra." Twilight then lowered her voice to a whisper—although that did not prevent Lyra's spell from picking up her words. "Look Spike, I’m not saying any sensitive information about that with her around. She’s been going on about this for months.”
‘I take offense at that,’ Lyra thought, 'although I can't deny that she's right … given the circumstances.'
“But it isn’t like she could hear us from the library, right?" Spike pleaded. "Don’t you need to be like, well, you in order to cast a spell needed to hear though ten hooves of crystal?”
There was a sigh again. “Alright…just this once. Seriously though, if you had just let me do the soundproof spell, we would already be talking about it right now.”
‘Yes!’ Lyra thought triumphantly. ‘I knew investing three months into learning those cool spy-movie spells would be worth it! The truth always prevails!’
“So you said that you’re going to be taking care of Sweetie Belle’s treatment, right Twi?” Spike asked.
‘Sweetie Belle? What does she have to do with anything. Actually, now that he mentions it, I haven’t seen her come into the shop since…’ Her eyes went wide. ‘Since the precursor discovery! Oh Celestia, how could I be so stupid!’
“Yeah. I mean it’s either that, or she has to ride all the way to Canterlot and back every weekend. She doesn’t deserve that and there’s no way I’m going to let that little filly’s life be any more complicated than it already is.”
“That’s just it, Twi, you’re making your life more complicated to make hers easier. I know that she’s been through a lot, but couldn’t somepony else do this? I mean, you already have your research on that communication thingy, the precursor business, whatever your princess duties are and the Crystal Table quests. Speaking of which, when did you start following the orders of furniture? I mean, apart from that time when-”
“Yeah, yeah, we all know the story. I was stressed, Pri- Celestia had a test. I was convinced that Celestia's writing desk was my exam proctor, I get it. I’m … better now. Anyway, I’m not following orders … I’ll figure out how that table works too … someday. Being able to know where me and my friends are needed in Equestria is just … too convenient to pass up.”
“Still, why can’t you just have somepony else help Sweetie Belle with her horn? I mean, couldn’t … uhm … Rarity help?” Lyra noted that he spoke that name with a particular twinge.
“Rarity, really? Look Spike, she’s a good friend and would do anything for her sister, but I don’t think she would be ready to handle a sudden—possibly fatal—Thaumaturgic Cascade if it happens. Apart from me, Doctor Wellbeing and a few other highly specialized magical doctors, only maybe Celestia or Luna have enough ability to handle something like that without irreversible damage to Sweetie Belle.”
He sighed, “Twilight, I just don’t think it’s a good idea to-”
“I know, okay, I know exactly what you're trying to say. I’m getting too in-over-my-head for my own good. Maybe you're right. Maybe I’m just not ready to be a Princess. If we call off the meeting with the bureaucrats next week, I'm sure I can avoid any permanent political damage and-”
“Come on, Twilight," Spike scolded. "I didn't mean it like that. I'm sure a little re-adjusting of your schedule and that extra hour-or-so a week will fit right in. We’ll make a list, just like old times.”
Twilight giggled. "Old times? I'm sure my number one assistant of all dragons would know that I'll never give up my lists!" There was a shuffling of paper. “Now item one-”
‘Hmm,’ Lyra thought, takin her ear from the ceiling and releasing the spell now that their conversation was essentially over. ‘So something happened to Sweetie Belle at the exact same time that the precursor stuff was discovered. Apparently, a ‘Doctor Wellbeing’ is looking over her. Yes! Finally, a lead! Now I just need to-’ Her mind’s wandering stopped when she looked at her watch. “Horsefeathers!” she whispered. “I’m late for work!”
She stumbled clumsily down the ladder to the floor of the library and sprinted off to work. “The Boss isn’t going to like this, not one bit!”
Lyra was hastily packing her lyre away and was about to leave the Silly Filly bar when a strong hoof tugged on her wither. Startled, she turned back to see a strong earth pony mare with a burgundy mane and brown coat looking down on her. It was her boss, Malted Wheat, wearing her usual worn apron and even more worn expression.
“I don’t like this, Lyra, not one bit.”
Lyra groaned. “I know, Boss. I don’t mean it but sometimes I lose track of time and-”
“I know, no need to explain it. It’s just who you are.”
“Great!” Lyra said cheerfully, hoping that now she was out of trouble. “In that case, why don’t I-”
“But…”
Lyra went back to sulking. ‘There is always a ‘but’ with these things.”
“...it’s unacceptable.” The mare concluded with a grunt as she sat beside the unicorn. It was clear from her posture that she was uncomfortable with this 'heart-to-heart'. “Look. I know you might think I’m being harsh, but I can’t act any other way when you don’t take this job seriously…and I’ve been lax for far too long.”
“Now wait just a-”
Lyra’s interruption did not stop the mare one bit, and Malted Wheat’s commanding tone left Lyra’s meek objection in the dust. “Your filly friend isn’t going to help you out of this one. I don’t care that you are just ‘distracted’ or ‘misunderstood’ but this behavior has gone on for too long. I have to draw the line somewhere. I’ve looked around town and there are a few other ponies who would be willing to do your job. I don’t like it—they are asking for more money than you and I doubt they are as good—but I need a competent and consistent worker.”
“S-she isn’t my filly friend…” Lyra whimpered. Of all that was said, that was all she could object to.
Malted Wheat sighed. “Here’s the deal. I’m willing to let you start a little later if you…need it but you will need to make it up some other way. Washing dishes, taking out the trash, whatever you see that needs doing until I’m satisfied you’ve earned your keep. You make it up to me, I’ll keep you on. But, you need to come in when you say you will. I need notice. Some ponies come in expecting entertainment and I need to tell them when that is. Every time you’re late, you’re making me look like a foal.”
Defeated, Lyra gave her assent. ‘This isn’t really a good deal,’ Lyra groaned internally, ‘it isn’t like I’m showing up late because I want to. How am I supposed to give her notice if I lose track of time? Not to mention that the only reason I’m doing it is because I want more time to find out about precursors. This…extra work sounds like it will take even longer to finish then the usual stuff. That kinda defeats the whole purpose.’
Regardless of Lyra’s grievances with this new policy, she couldn’t do anything but agree. Her boss had her on the ropes now. Malted Wheat had covered all her bases whilst leaving Lyra’s completely exposed. One wrong move and Lyra would be fired—and worst of all—the Boss could truthfully say she ‘tried everything she could’.
In her grumpy mood, she went back home, completely forgetting about what she heard about Sweetie Belle.
Or at least, she had forgotten about it for a day. There was nopony—not even her boss—that would be getting in Lyra's way in this. This was to be the biggest task she would undertake in her life.
It didn’t take her long to track down Doctor Wellbeing’s practice to Canterlot and that very weekend she made a trip there. Bon Bon wasn’t thrilled to be left alone for another weekend but Lyra did promise to make it up to her next weekend. Still, Lyra wasn’t a foal. She knew that it wouldn’t take much for somepony to discover that she knew if she wasn’t careful. Instead of asking around, she discreetly walked around the outside of the hospital and peered into all the rooms she could. It didn’t take her long to find a little white filly in a second floor room reading a book.
Okay, so maybe Lyra didn’t consider that—after the first floor—she would need to climb a nearby tree to peer into the remaining rooms—which wasn’t very discreet. Lyra also didn’t notice any of the strange looks given by the ponies trying to enjoy the nice garden outside the hospital, but in her mind at least, Lyra was being inconspicuous. Luckily for her, none of the ponies were hospital staff and so they just figured she must be one of the mental cases and therefore mostly ignored her unusual actions.
Even more lucky was the fact that Sweetie Belle’s room was right next to one of the hospital lounges for visitors. She probably could have also waited outside the room and listened in on anything inside from the hall, but this made it far less likely to be noticed. So—just as with Twilight—she sat on a couch in the lounge, opened a book in front of her, and cast a spell to listen in. From her viewpoint, she wouldn’t be able to tell if anypony came in or not so she had to keep the spell cast at regular intervals. With the book out, though, it would just appear like she was flipping the pages with her magic.
It took an hour-or-so, but eventually somepony came into the room. At this, Lyra immediately held the spell and listened in rapt attention.
“Hello again, Sweetie, how have the doctors been treating you?” the first voice, a female one, said. It sounded a bit melancholy.
“Oh, hi, sis. It’s been fine. I mean, the physical therapy hurts but it’ll make me better, right?” the second voice said, equally melancholy. Based on the context, Lyra figured the first voice was Rarity and the second was her sister Sweetie Belle.
“That’s right, darling. I also hear that you just got some good news, is that right?” Rarity asked with a certain amount of mirth in her voice.
“Darn,” Sweetie cursed, “Go figure; you could weasel it out of somepony. Yeah, they said even if my horn doesn’t get any better—with the progress I’m making in the physical department—I should be back home in Ponyville in a month!”
Rarity coughed awkwardly. “Well, I hardly weaseled the information, darling, although a lady has her ways. Nonetheless, this is excellent news! As such, Twilight helped me find a little something to celebrate.” This was followed by a rustling that Lyra couldn’t make out.
“Oh, Oh! Is that the thesis on the Thaumaturgic creation of aliphatic crystallized copolymers?! I thought that they weren’t going to release that research for another month!”
‘Huh?’ Lyra thought, ‘Why the heck is a filly doing so excited by some complicated research paper?’
Rarity sighed. “Yes, Sweetie, the thaumaturgic co-thingy. Anyway, Twilight said she was able to pick it up from some 'review board' before they…um, did whatever it is they do. Seriously dear, why do you care about this … stuff? I honestly can’t make heads or tails of any of it: ‘A series of aliphatic-aromatic poly-carbo-thingies poly-buty-carbo-whatsit-co-whatever PBCTs, were synthesized using the ‘Rolling Tri-Carat’ Method and-’ oh, I give up. Seriously, is this even written in Equish?”
Sweetie Belle giggled. “Well, it’s just saying that they were able to successfully ‘roll’ multiple chemical substrates of plastic together using magic to form this ‘PBCT’.” Seeing her sister’s deadpan expression, she quickly added, “Oh, um, PBCT is this really cool plastic which not only bio-degrades but is also moldable at higher temperatures making it perfect for use in industry!”
‘Okay, now I’m really confused. She actually knows what all that means?!’ Lyra shook her head and grinned darkly. ‘Oh, I’m not sure what’s going on but this is the best secret ever!’
Rarity groaned again. “That still doesn’t explain why you care. Just because that … thing made you smarter doesn’t mean that you need to waste your time reading these silly things. You used to be so much more interested in fashion, art and music. What changed?”
“It isn’t a thing, Rarity! Tablet was one of my best friends and it helped me see that there is so much in the world I don’t know! I still like fashion and stuff I guess, but there are more important things for me right now! I need to read this thesis if I’m going to be any help to Twilight…or at least to convince her I can help. She is planning on creating sophisticated lattice structures to make some form of new magic ‘super-crystal’, but she’s been too busy to work on it on her own.”
‘Precursor technology making ponies smarter?!’ Lyra thought. ‘There's no other explanation! Now I know why the Princesses wanted to keep this a secret! This isn’t just the discovery of a decade but the millenium! There are still so many questions though, why is she here in the hospital? Why is Rarity so against all of this and what is this ‘Tablet’ exactly? Based on the context, it must be some magical artifact.’
Rarity didn’t respond for a bit, but there was more shuffling. “Well, as much as it disappoints me to say, at least you are getting back to some definition of normal. It’s at least better than the past month of sulking you had. No, you won’t hear complaint from me again. You are my sister and I will respect the choices you make. Just…try to remember how you used to be, please? Whether I—or you—like it or not, that Tablet changed you.”
“I know…and one of these days, I’ll get everything figured out. But that precursor facility in Boiling Rock did more to me than just zap my horn— It made me realize that there are so many things I can do if I put my mind to it. I can't go back to old Sweetie Belle anymore.”
They were both silent for a moment. “And for that, know that your sister is proud of you. You went through that harrowing ordeal and you are still my sister, no matter what. Now, why don’t we go to the cafeteria and get you some ice-cream? I know there are still plenty of things about you that remained the same and-”
“-and I can promise you that my love of rocky-road ice-cream will never change!” Sweetie Belle concluded with an adorable squeak.
It was at this point that Lyra cancelled her spell and thought. To the other ponies however, it looked like the unicorn was having an epileptic fit with all the giggling and shaking that was going on. ‘OhmygoshOhmygoshOhmygosh! There is another precursor ruin! Wait, wasn’t boiling rock where that earthquake… Where there wasn’t an earthquake! Ohmygosh! The possibilities! A ‘Tablet’ that makes ponies smarter, an ancient precursor ruin hidden by the government that caused…something to happen!’
She stopped giggling and shaking in time for a manic grin to form on her face.
‘I’ve got more investigating to do!’
‘Well, that might have been a bust, but this, this is a sure thing,’ Lyra thought, holding a pair of binoculars to her face.
Lyra, having donned a fedora, trenchcoat and reflective black sunglasses, was now observing the Ponyville Train Station, the last stop on her path of investigation.
‘Now that I look back on it, the past month really sucked,’ Lyra thought, growing bored looking at the empty platform. ‘I tried researching everything that Sweetie Belle talked about: Mind Magic, her condition, heck, even the plastic ‘rolling’ thing for creating ‘lattice structures’ or whatever.’
Lyra sighed, being once again reminded of her limitations. She had not taken a science course, even a social science course since High School. Apart from learning that Sweetie Belle must have had a large dose of magic through her horn at once, she didn’t learn anything useful. ‘Anyway, I had to treat Bon Bon to a night on the town to make up for leaving for Canterlot a month ago so I couldn’t even go to the Boiling Rock Precursor Site until two weeks ago. Even then, it turns out that the whole place was swarming with EUP Guards. Oh yeah, all that science equipment and guards were just for the ‘relief effort’ right? Hah, I wouldn’t have believed them even if I didn’t know the real truth.’
Of course, Lyra was just a civilian. More importantly, she was a civilian trying to stay undercover until she had some real, substantial proof to show. She could not just sneak her way past one hundred guards or ask around. Still, she was certain she was right when she saw the very same Archaeologists that were in the newspaper working at that very site. That all but clinched it for her. This had to be a precursor site.
Unfortunately, every entrance was well guarded with rotating shifts and they had no doubt been concerned with how much she was loitering around the area by now. She was about to call it quits when she saw that somepony—or in this case somebuffalo—had placed a few ‘Missing Pony’ posters around town. What surprised her even more was that they weren’t about missing locals. Apparently three out-of-town fillies had bought a sack-full of digging equipment for rent from the local general store and never returned to pick up their deposit. She recognized the details on the poster immediately. Not only did it describe Sweetie Belle, but her friends too.
Which led to the here and now. After being barred entrance to the Boiling Rock site, she turned her attention back to Sweetie Belle. After listening in on Sweetie Belle’s patient room again the weekend prior, she got a confirmed date for when she would leave back for Ponyville. For the rest of the week, she tried—albeit unsuccessfully—to get more information from Twilight, the Apple Family, Sweetie Belle’s family or Scootaloo’s family. None of those leads could pan out.
The Apple Family was too keen and they kicked her out practically as she stepped hoof on their property. Twilight had also gotten back to putting up her soundproof barriers again; Lyra would probably have to wait weeks, if not months, until she got lazy or safe enough to not cast. Luckily, she didn’t have any problem with Scootaloo’s or Sweetie Belle’s houses, but unfortunately they never seemed to speak about the issue at all. It might even be that they weren’t ‘in-the-know,’ and with Rarity all alone at the Carousel Boutique, there was no reason for her to ever bring up the topic.
‘Still,’ Lyra thought, ‘despite all the setbacks, I’m confident I’ll win in the end. Now that Sweetie Belle is back in Ponyville, it is only a matter of time before she slips up and speaks to her friends or family about things. All that’s left is time, patience and a little sleuthing and I will have all the answers I need.’
Lyra put on a smug expression before levitating the binoculars back up to her face. “And the best part is,” she whispered, “nopony suspects a thing.”
As Lyra correctly surmised, Sweetie Belle was unaware of the unicorn mare scrutinizing her as she stepped off the train at Ponyville station. The day was clear, the sun was shining and Sweetie Belle could finally get back to the life she had before all this precursor stuff changed it.
“Well, Sweetie Belle,” Rarity began to ask as she departed after her sister, “how do you feel? Is Ponyville just as you remembered it?”
Sweetie Belle looked around to the town surrounding her and frowned. ‘It really is … and yet it isn’t,’ she thought before turning away from her sister, ensuring her frown was obscured. ‘Everything's the same … but me. There are ponies walking along the streets in their usual, carefree way. The merchants at the stalls near Town Hall are busy manipulating ponies into buying their goods, their competition with the big-name Barnyard Bargains ensuring that the local market remains efficient as per the effects of Consumer Sovereignty. Rainbow Dash is busy in the air, pushing back the warmer air today to ensure that the cold front in from the east tomorrow has enough humidity to keep the clouds in the air for an optimum rainfall. Everything is exactly as it has always been, but I see everything so differently now.’
“Sweetie Belle?” Rarity asked, concerned that her sister had not spoken or moved in over a minute.
“Oh,” Sweetie Belle replied in shock, shaking herself from her melancholy. “Right, sorry, let’s get back to the Boutique,” she said, smiling. “Yep, Ponyville is just as I remembered it. Nice and quiet and stuff.”
Rarity smiled back. ‘She clearly needs to get used to everything. I’m sure she will be back to normal in no time, and I know just the thing.'
“Surprise!” the cacophony of voices shouted as Sweetie Belle and Rarity entered the Boutique.
Sweetie Belle was—of course—shocked. She shouldn’t have been considering that Pinkie Pie had already thrown a ‘Congratulations on Saving the World/Not Losing Your Magic’ party two months ago. It only made sense that she would throw her a ‘Congratulations on Making a Sorta-Full Recovery’ party now. Still, her shock turned to smiles and tears as she saw all her friends again.
“Hey Sweetie Belle!” Scootaloo yelled as she and Apple Bloom rushed passed all the other ponies crammed into the Boutique. “You’re finally back!”
“Yeah!” Apple Bloom confirmed, “Ah don’t know ‘bout y’all but Ah can’t wait to get back to Crusadin’ with the three of us!”
Sweetie Belle tried to hype herself up like her friends, but she wasn’t feeling it. Seeing her friends made her very happy and she was thankful to finally be back to ‘normal’ but she couldn’t shake herself out of this horrible feeling that things just weren’t right. Rarity also noticed her sister’s lack of enthusiasm but thought she was unsatisfied with how often they came to see her. Ultimately, though, she ignored this and—seeing she wasn’t going to be needed for a while—got the rest of the party-goers to back away and let the fillies talk.
“Oh, I can’t wait either,” Sweetie Belle replied calmly, “have you done anything new?” She briefly looked at their flanks. “I see you still don’t have your Cutie Marks though…”
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo giggled at that. “Yeah,” Scootaloo replied with a sigh, “but, hey, half the fun is trying, right?”
“So what have you been doing?” Sweetie Belle questioned, grabbing herself some punch from the nearby refreshment table. “I know you visited two weeks ago, but a lot can happen.”
“Oh yeah!” Apple Bloom replied, “Didn’t Twilight get all mopey about the library gettin’ destroyed or somethin’? I remember my sis and her friends dragging the entire old library-tree across town because of that!”
“No, no,” Scootaloo chastised, “that was a while ago; when that Table-thing started sending them all over Equestria. I think that was even before our adventure. No, nothing really happened this week. Well, I guess there’s all this talk about building some type of bear-o-city or something for Twilight.”
“A Bureaucracy?” the white dictionary offered.
“Yeah, that’s it!” Scootaloo agreed. “Apparently there’s going to be a lot more ponies moving in to make Twilight more legit or something.”
“Doesn’t make much sense ta me,” Apple Bloom added, “you’re either a Princess or not, right?”
“Well,” Sweetie Belle started, “technically Twilight isn’t really a ‘princess-princess’ yet.”
“Huh?” they both asked, raising their eyebrows.
“Well, I mean, Twilight is a princess, but she doesn’t have any responsibilities like making new laws or anything. The bureaucracy is a bunch of ponies who make sure that Twilight sees all the important things a princess needs to take care of and that the decisions she makes get put to use by the rest of Equestria.”
“Wait,” Scootaloo questioned, trying to wrap her head around the problem, “don’t the princesses do all that? Why do they need other ponies to tell ponies what to do when the princesses tell ponies what to do? That just sounds really confusing and complicated.”
Sweetie Belle sighed, even she wondered why bureaucracies were so complicated, although for other reasons. “Well, I guess you could say that the princesses are still ponies. They can make decisions but they aren’t going to go to Ponyville—for example—and make sure ponies are doing what they said they should.”
“Ah kinda get that,” Apple Bloom said, trying to wrap her head around it as well, “but ain’t that what the guard ponies are supposed ta do?”
“Well you see,” Sweetie Belle said, getting into full lecture mode now, “when you get down to it, it's more like a whole collection of systems comprised of…”
“...and so with innovations in automated assembly and mass distribution carried over telecommunication systems, the basic understanding of intellectual property would require that either: A) the existing bureaucratic architecture be corrupted by monopolistic interests, B) the bureaucracy be completely overhauled with new ideas of shared responsibility which could undermine existing corporate interest or C) a new bureaucratic system governing balancing the public and private interests of the population be-”
It was about forty minutes into her explanation on possible changes in the bureaucratic process to meet the variety of developing needs of government when she realized several of the party’s ponies had stopped their individual conversations to listen attentively to what Sweetie Belle had to say. This sudden notice of attention made Sweetie Belle realize that she may have made a bit of a mistake.
“Urghh,” Apple Bloom and Scootaloo groaned.
“This is sooo boring, Sweetie,” Scootaloo spoke, looking physically ill and holding her head, “and my head hurts. Remind me never to ask you anything again.”
However, one of the ponies—who Sweetie Belle noticed eventually as Diamond Tiara’s father, Filthy Rich—disagreed and spoke up in this sudden lull in the lecture. “Don’t stop yet, little filly! You caught my interest with this idea that short-term economic output could be driven by the aggregate demand of a market.” His eyes were practically sparkling as he continued, “If I could convince Princess Celestia that the fiscal political action you mentioned could stabilize the long term consequences of the private sector’s selfish view of the macroeconomic model, she might consider reducing the current heavy micromanagement of industry!”
“Well, that may be, but-” Sweetie Belle started, only to be cut off by another pony.
“Oh, are you taking questions now?” a mare in the crowd asked. “Because that ‘legislative assembly’ you were talking about in the ‘tripartite political system’ sounds like it would really make the whole noble aristocracy we have obsolete. Don’t you agree?”
“Hey, I’m all for that,” another pony agreed.
“Yeah, those ponies are jerks,” said another.
“Huh, what’s going on? Who are jerks?” Twilight asked, breaking off from her chat with Fluttershy when she saw the crowd of ponies that seemed to have formed.
“Well Princess Twilight Sparkle,” Filthy Rich began to answer, “I think we have a filly genius on our hooves. Her ideas on a ‘Free Market Economic Model’ are really inspiring.”
“Yeah,” the political mare from earlier enthusiastically agreed, “but you can’t forget her political ideas of the separation of state powers! Thoughts like that could really change Equestria for the better.”
Twilight’s eyes went wide at the short-term personal implications, “What!”
The mare, realizing her mistake, quickly backtracked. “Oh, no no, not like that! I mean, the separation of governance into a legislative assembly, judicial court and executive Triarchal branches, of course! I would never dream that you weren’t suited to lead us Princess!”
Twilight breathed a short sigh of relief but still wanted desperately to change the topic of conversation. Unfortunately, she would immediately regret thinking that when Scootaloo asked, “I’m completely lost. Did the tablet teach you this Sweetie-”
Twilight immediately placed a hoof in the poor filly’s mouth. “Hehehe, what a kidder Scootaloo. Clearly I taught Sweetie Belle all this during Twilight Time of course,” Twilight lied, speaking the line she rehearsed for just this situation (Excuse #43 on the ‘List of Possible Reasons for Sweetie Belle’s Sudden Strange Behavior’). “I’m glad she has been thinking for herself on these complicated topics. Hehehe. But really Sweetie Belle, you should talk to me before you talk about your ideas in front of a crowd of ponies.” Twilight emphasized those last words with both her voice and a slight twitch of her right eye which made Sweetie sweat a bit and shift awkwardly.
Most of the ponies seemed to have bought this excuse, but before anypony could ask any more questions, Twilight teleported to in between the three fillies. “Alright, I think it’s time for the fillies to head on home now.”
“What’s this about Apple Bloom headin’ home?” Applejack asked, picking the worst time to enter the conversation. “Ah reckon she’s still got at least an hour left in her before she needs ta head on home.”
“No, I think she should head on home,” Twilight replied. “Scootaloo’s been talking about ‘tablets’ of all things,” she continued, nudging her friend, “the fillies are obviously so tired they can’t think straight, right?”
Applejack, now realizing the implications, agreed. “Oh, right. That’s makes sense, sure. Well, uh, Apple Bloom has some stuff ta do on the farm tomorrow anyhow, so , uh, we should probably head on back so we can have a fresh start on the day tomorrow and stuff. Yeah, that’s it.” Applejack barely got out between fidgeting her hooves and looking around nervously. She was clearly uncomfortable even with half-truths—after all, they would have an early morning the next day.
“Sorry, Pinkie,” Applejack spoke over the crowd to where Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were talking. “Looks like me and Apple Bloom are headin’ back to the farm for an early night’s sleep before farmwork tomorrow!”
“Okay,” Pinkie Pie said a little sadly before perking back up. “Well have a good night, you two!”
“And I think you are a little tired too, aren’t you Sweetie Belle?” Twilight asked in a demanding sort of way.
“Hehe, yeah Twilight,” Sweetie Belle chuckled nervously, “I sure am beat from that long train ride. We’ll talk later everypony.”
The rest of the ponies grumbled their assents, not happy that such enlightening conversation was cut short but understanding that Sweetie Belle was ultimately still a little filly.
There was one pony listening that wasn’t grumbling, however. Lyra—still in her fedora and trenchcoat—was sipping some punch by the refreshment table as her face formed a little smirk. ‘Looks like Applejack does know something about this ‘tablet’ too,’ Lyra thought, ‘It hasn’t even been more than a few hours and I’m already learning new things.’
The smirk turned into a full grin.
‘It won’t be long before everypony will know the full truth about precursors. I’d bet my lyre on it.’
Stats
Page generated in 0.041 seconds
Total duration
1,040 users online
255,758 hits today, 2,004,447 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Some of the things that get leaked to Lyra are a bit contrived!
Looks like the story is starting to take off, yay!
Dang it Lyra, you can't just eavesdrop on everyone. It's wrong. Stop it, Lyra. Stop.
Also, its not fair to Bon Bon.
I will be watching this eagerly.
Man, I love this story. I really hope Lyra doesn't end up destroying a bunch of lives in her search for the "Truth", though. It would put a serious damper on my like of the mare.
Looking forward to more socioeconomic ramblings from Sweetie. Next week in applied sciences, nanocarbon atomic structure diagrams and you! AKA 'so you want to build a space elevator?'
5859371
Agreed. It's like everypony is making oddly specific denials or conveniently saying things they already know while also conveniently forgetting the safeguards that would prevent that information from getting out if it was talked about. It's almost as if they've been tracking an eavesdropper's movements and intentionally feeding her false information to distract her from the real truth, which is...
that THE PRECURSORS ARE A HOAX CREATED BY THE EVIL SEA PONIES TO MAKE THE TRUTH-SEEKERS LOOK LIKE CONSPIRACY THEORIST NUTCASES!
T.T.I.O.T!
The truth is more important than anything... As long as the truth advances scientific thought.
Huh. Sweetie's political and economical stoofy feels very Western-ish. Oh well. Ah'm sure it ain't the Author's biases on politics and whutnot, ya know. Probably, some hint about them here precursors.
Anywho, ah liked the Sweetie stuff. Um. Yup. Sweetie stuff.
5859736
Oh no, it's definitely my bias (I'm a western thinker and I can appreciate my ethnocentrism), but I'm playing my bias to Equestria's bias since their society appears very Western-ish (cause, you know, MLP made in the USA; actually, they are somewhat of a Platocratic Ideal Society developed on an idea of destiny and accepting one's stratified place in society).
Free-market theories and a tripartite system seem like natural evolutions to the centralized economy (pre-WW1 England) and the aristocratic system (pre-revolutionary France) that I imagine Equestria would have so I figured they would be natural things that Sweetie Belle would develop from in her lecture on bureaucracy.
Notice, that she wasn't making an argument, rather the ponies around Sweetie Belle took the pieces of her lecture they felt relevant to them and argued those points. Sweetie Belle was merely discussing the various ways the bureaucracy changes to fit the needs of government and would have given a fairly unbiased account had I cared to write an actual 40 minute dissertation on the subject that nobody would want to read. So it was the the ponies at the party (and therefore Equestria in general) and not Sweetie Belle or the precursor knowledge that was biased here.
So Everyone there is a Republican apparently, and sweetie just fed their thoughts. I feel like this is the root of a revolution that will never happen
5859817 do you mean lowercase-r republican?
Nitpicks:
it's
I believe the "that" should not be repeated.
I would not hyphenate this form of this expression (as opposed to someone being involved in "a slip-up")
You didn't close the half-quote.
rushed past (or, "were rushing past", but IMO that's a bit more awkward)
I believe this should be something like "it's really considered to be" or "it could really..." or the like.
into
I hope Bonbon will slap Lyra out of this :)
Something people forget about Equestria is the Princess are really "gods" and superior to other ponies. They don't have virtual power like just lot of money or just good skills in leadership. It why the idea of another way of gouvernent will probably be very hard for ponies to think about.
Everyone is Equal,
Everyones the same when youre part of the team.
Welcome, to the new and improved sociopolitical enviroment, where it doesnt matter how good you were, it only matters how much goods you can make. According to the rules and regulation demanding you do better than your competition.
No matter to what detriment.
5859817
And I would say our governments are in a lot more need to fix then the Equestrian one.
5860032
Well, they are hardly republican since they are still want the Princesses in power. You could argue Republican if you mean 'Supporting of Free-Market Capitalism' but you can hardly blame a businessman as passionate as Filthy Rich of wanting to make his job more likely to be profitable and I doubt he is representative of all of Equestria.
5860033
Thanks a lot for this. I have fixed all the errors.
5860152
Oh yeah, this isn't like they are actually going to do any of this. I mean, if I had a dollar for every time one of my friends said they new of a sure-fire way to fix the government (but without actually doing anything themselves), I could probably do this full time.
5860225
Haha, well Filthy will have to convince Celestia first.
Oh please have Rich make DT invite Sweetie Belle over for dinner.
5860032 im actually referring to uprerclass republicans
5860336 well,i meant exactly that, free enterprise, but Ok, though im pretty shure they said screw the nobles
Very nice. I especially like how rapidly you've integrated details from the newly released episodes, and made it fit with your story. I greatly look forward to seeing this continue.
5859807 I'd, um... I'd read Sweetie's forty minute long dissertation on the evolution of bureaucracy
5860591 As would I
y'all
Ya'll = you will; y'all = you all
_________________
Decent chapter.
It seems Sweetie is becoming more and more intelligent... At this rate she will be even more intelligent that Twilight
Is there a way to upvote this story twice?
Or be a unicorn with a sonic talent, but it's not like there's a musician in the building or anything.
Anyway, Sweetie really should watch her tongue, lest she cause a revolution through casual conversation. As for Lyra... well, fate seems to want her to discover this. Good luck to her.
5860336
5860435
I guess I was confusing republicanism with whatever it is that wants democratically elected representatives at the sub-head-of-state levels.
5862885 Anti-Federlists is what you are referring to (I think) by your description. But (most) republicans want free-enterprise, less taxes for the rich(which is really stupid), less government funding (which is also really stupid), pro-death sentence, and a bunch of other stuff. Once again, this is a generalization, not every last republican is for what has been stated.
Also, are you confusing republicans or republicanism? Two very different things.
5863004 I was wrong the last time I asked this sort of question, but are you sure you don't mean capital-R Republicans?
5862455
VIVA LA REVOLUCION
5861049 move over purplesmart here comes squeakysmart
5862885
You're thinking of representative democracy, in this case with a likely context of constitutional monarchy (more of a diarchy/oligarchy, really)
I think it would be pretty interesting if by some means, Sweetie Belle will play out the role of a Detective, at some point down the line.
Not so much having her intentionally seeking out crimes to solve, as that wouldn't really fit the story thus far. More as a sort of spontaneous turn of events where she gets put in a spot where her intellect might help solve a crime.
5863496 I believe I am not, but I will look into this.
I want to see Celestia and Twilights plan of secrecy fail. and the FULL story of precursors be revealed to the public via Lyra! it MUST happen
5860591 i would read it too
Awwww yisssss
It's really never a good thing when your actions are indistinguishable from those of a mental patient.
*Reads that.
... Wait a second.
I kinda hope Lyra catches a break. Heck maybe Twilight will let her work on precursor research!
Lyra: wait... you're serious?! Why didn't you let me help earlier?
Twilight: You didn't ask.
Lyra: ......... :/
Grinning "in a predatory way" involves staring at someone directly. Predator's eyes, and all. When you're grinning the same way, but staring off into space like listening in on a conversation, it doesn't quite fit. I'd say "grinned fiercely" or "fell into a savage grin" or something like that.
> retconning in latest episodes just because
Cool story though, so far. Lyra is pretty terrible, but I also feel kind of bad for her. She's been lied to so much that she can't imagine any of those in the know to be benevolent. Even if Twilight sat her down and showed Lyra how learning about precursor technology could bring the ponies to meet the same fate as the precursors, who destroyed themselves so utterly as to leave almost no trace of their existence, Lyra would just think that Twilight is just lying about that danger just to keep the
manpony down. Lyra couldn't admit that Twilight was just trying to save them all, until the world was falling apart in smoke and terror around Lyra because of what she revealed. You have to catch people like Lyra early, or they'll never trust you, so even when you are honest to them they just think the conspiracy goes even farther. Or you could just be evil and kill or cripple them, but then they're kind of... retroactively justified in a bittersweet sort of way.Dammit Sweetie stop bringing supply side economics to Equestria!
I've been criticizing so much in my comments so far
no idea why. The story's amazing 
liked and faved! (And followed of course)
Sweetie Belle invented capitalism oh Celestia no.
YOU ABSOLUTELY MUST WRITE THE 40 MINUTE LONG LECTURE AND SEND OT TO ME. that would be awesome. Im in to that kind of stuff
ALL HAIL THE LA SAG NAE GOD
Laaaaasssssaaaaaagnnaaaaaaaaa