The Egg and the High Wall

by swirlstar

Chapter 3 – The System Is Other Ponies

Chapter Three – The System Is Other Ponies

The ‘system’ is other ponies.

That was all Twilight could think of as she trotted away from Sugarcube Corner, away from Applejack now returning to the farm for some last-minute business. The alicorn originally had something else scheduled for this particular time slot, but she had forgotten what it was. Her mind was a mess and she wandered around town without direction nor purpose.

There was simply too much to take in. First there was Princess Celestia’s advice and then the discovery of an entire subculture right under her snout; Rainbow Dash proceeded to dump a heap of information about an Anti-Rail protest and now Applejack talking about ‘the system’… like whirlwinds these new revelations whipped their way across Twilight’s mental landscape, buffeting the library within, toppling the carefully-categorized bookshelves and scattering their contents to the four winds.

“You don’t know nothin’ about Ponyville, Twilight.” Applejack’s impetuous comment rose like lightning above the storm; she could imagine the sneer on the orange pony’s face, the sheer disdain. The farm pony had intended that sentence to hurt, and hurt it did: deep down, Twilight knew that Applejack was right, that she in actuality knew so little about the town she ruled over – but it is not in the nature of hearts to admit defeat so easily, and already Twilight’s wounded ego was formulating all sorts of bitter ripostes against everything that her orange friend had said.

The system is other ponies! All this opposition, this discontent, these concerns – if this Rail was so hated by the ordinary Ponyvillian, their complaints would have forced changes to Celestia’s plan long ago. So where’s the anger? Where’s the action?

Twilight looked up indignantly, the marketscape of Market Square laid out before her. Produce du jour lay everywhere: under rippling awnings, atop wooden carts, and besides creaky crates; their shadows melded in among the shaded cobbles. The air, heavy with scents of fresh fruit, heated coals, perfume, and the ethereal sparking of magical brews – and in the midst of it all, foals buying for parents, parents buying for foals, wives for husbands and friends for each other... what was there to indicate the slightest hint of discontent in this town?

That’s the way Equestria works! If you have a complaint and enough ponies share it, the policy gets changed... Princess Celestia listens to every subject, but you can’t just expect her to bend to every single request! So in the end, if the Princess dismisses your argument, then that’s only the fault of your lack of support.

The alicorn was not so naïve to believe that Equestria’s government was perfect, but she was convinced enough that it was a benevolent force. Too many times, she had seen Princess Celestia break her back on some law or some policy to think any other way. All that work – was it not done to keep her subjects safe, healthy, and happy? Oh, but those under her are not like that – all the same, were they not working for somepony who tasked them with such well-being? Did their careers not hinge on achieving this single goal?

That was what annoyed Twilight the most when she heard ponies railing against the government of Equestria: it simply possessed no motive to oppress them! The things it did, the aims it set ultimately had to be responsible to a being whose overriding attribute was benevolence – so what were the malcontents angry about?

Increasingly the opposition to the High-Speed Rail seemed less about principle, and more opposition for opposition’s sake, like a teenage rebellion against one’s mother. Twilight might understand (barely), but she could not agree: not when it concerned the future of an entire town, not when it seemed so… ungrateful. Perhaps it would be another matter if the majority of Ponyville’s citizens had come out against the move – but so far, they hadn’t.

And thus, the system is other ponies.

Her mind concluded for now, the alicorn looked up just to see Carrot Top bobbing up and down frantically, having spent the past few minutes attempting to capture the royal attention.

“Princess! Princess!”

Obligingly, Twilight dashed over to the stall, dark thoughts scattering away as she saw Carrot Top’s face break out into a grin. Things like that always reminded the purple pony of her purpose, made her feel more than just a monster-defeating superhero.

“Oh, you came just in time, Princess!” Carrot Top announced, irises shifting ever-so-slightly towards the curious heads turning in her direction. “There’s a great inflation-busting offer on for carrots – one bit for three, two bits for eight! We’ve also got you other great deals for ‘taters, turnips, cucumbers, you name it!”

“Wow- oh, wow!” Twilight exclaimed, instinctively reaching into her bag. The prices were indeed a deal, much more than what Spike could normally get (but then again, he wasn’t an alicorn princess – Twilight wasn’t stupid). The pantry was still well-stocked to her knowledge, but there was no harm in getting a few more of the less-perishable goods, and in any case…

“Um, that’s a great bargain, uh, fend,” Twilight stuttered, trying out her Ponyville slang. “Guess I should say, um, ‘suh’ after this?... erm… anyway, how many buds- “

“’Sooh’? What are you t- oh Celestia, you speak Imp!“ Carrot Top gasped, her foreleg inadvertently smacking her cheek; she swooned. “By the Nine, Twilight Sparkle’s a- Twilight’s an Imper!” the goldenrod mare bellowed for all of Market Square to hear. “Our Princess is a spuddin’ Imper!”

Twilight gulped, feeling cold sweat forming on her nape. “Uh- hey, Carrot Top, I just- “

“You’ll be gettin’ no complaints from this puss, here!” the vendor exclaimed, producing a bag of iridescent carrots from under the counter. “Here – five zap carrots, fresh as vomit, no buds accepted! Now go tell the rest of the tribals to learn our language, sta?”

Carrot Top’s hysterics had attracted a crowd around the stall. Twilight looked around, embarrassed: a mixture of interest, approval, inquisitiveness and… disappointment? Yes, there it was: that one pony just off the left to the rear, frowning and shaking his head in a sort of resigned surprise. Twilight wasn’t sure if he was commenting on her vocabulary or on something that Carrot Top said, but either way, it unsettled her, and she could feel her heart beat faster.

Carrot Top was not helping. “So where’d you learn to speak Imp, ee? Was it AJ or studyin’ in that fancy castle of yours? Damn fifty-five, I swear I’d never see the day a tribal squid was goin’ to learn Imp… T-H certainly doesn’t do anythin’ to help- ”

“Why should the Princess learn such a vulgar language?” somepony from the crowd suddenly piped up, emboldened by his anonymity. “‘Spuds’ and ‘pusses’… it’s like being in a whorehouse- ”

“Spuddin’ slime!” Carrot Top angrily retorted, whipping towards the section of the crowd that housed the unwelcome interjector, now cowed and deathly silent. “Piece of mustard-ball tribal! Why don’t you come out instead of hidin’ around like a bug, and we’ll roll the camera in front of everypony, sta?- ”

“Hey, hey, hey!” Twilight interrupted, remembering quite clearly that ‘rolling the camera’ was a Ponyville term for fighting. “I don’t want any cameras to be rolled here and I don’t want to hear anypony calling each other hurtful names. I just learnt some Ponyville slang- “

“Imp!”

“-ok, Imp – I just learnt a few words and wanted to try it out; I didn’t mean to start a fight, okay? So why don’t you all just calm down, and- “

“Hey!” A very familiar voice swooped down from the skies. “Whatever you ponies are doing, knock it off- Twilight!”

Rainbow Dash touched down next to the purple pony, clad in the navy-blue barrel-and-leg padding uniform of the Equestrian riot police. “Wow, you sure do attract the crowds, Princess,” the pegasus said, lifting up her visor. “Guess I should’ve told you not to use the lingo when so many ponies are around. Some of them get real twitchy about the issue…”

“Great, a turtle,” Carrot Top muttered under her breath.

Back turned to the offender, the pegasus felt free rolling her eyes in exasperation. “Come on, Carrot: don’t be such a low-B. You don’t like tribals – I get it. Just keep that to yourself, and I won’t have to invite you for coffee, sta?”

Twilight could see Carrot’s lower jaw grinding as Rainbow tried to usher the crowd away. “Sta; but only for you, Rainbow,” she finally conceded, settling behind her stall. “Though you ain’t getting’ no special discount on Tank’s lettuce for a week!”

“Whatever – I’ll just ask Twilight to buy for me next time… alright, ponies; show’s over!” The blue pegasus announced to the crowd, forelegs waving dramatically in an attempt to get the crowd to disperse. “Come on, move!”

*

“…’Imp’ is short for ‘In-Ponyville’, and those who aren’t Imp are from The Big Tribe, so they’re called ‘tribals’. ‘Puss’ is obviously the opposite of ‘ball’, and ‘spud’ is a word that I’m not supposed to say while on duty. If you’re asking a question with an open-ended answer, you use ‘ee’; otherwise, you use and answer with ‘sta’. ‘Low-B’ means idiot. ‘Turtle’ – policepony. ‘Invite for coffee’ – arrest... Celestia’s sake, Twilight, you’re working through the language like a dictionary!

And here we are at ‘T-H’ – Town Hall!” Rainbow Dash said, having escorted Twilight across the length of Market Square. It was a longer trek than one would expect. “Got business with the Mayor?”

“I think I do now,” Twilight groaned, rubbing her forehead with her hoof. “I thought I knew everything about Ponyville… but then the slang, and the argument… ”

“Hey, it’s not so bad – we got ponies who are working day and night to try and make it better,” Rainbow Dash said, attempting a reassuring embrace of her lavender friend in spite of her armor’s contours. “Celestia’s sake this thing, making it so hard to move…”

Giggling gratefully, Twilight examined curiously the armor that she had occasionally seen in the news – they were frequently seen, though she couldn’t recall a time when they were ever used. Its dark, hulking form gave Rainbow Dash a bulk and menace that, in any other circumstance, the pegasus would have been profoundly unhappy with.

“I didn’t know Ponyville had riot gear,” the alicorn commented.

“We didn’t – Chief Constable had to import from Griffonia. The higher-ups are concerned about trouble at the protest later on – you know, occupation of the construction site, imps and tribals arguing, that kind of stuff. My view: I’d probably just trust the townsponies to keep it together.”

“I kind of understand their concern,” Twilight responded, still somewhat shaken.

“Ha! Trust the pony who’s done this more than you, pal – we’ll be fine.”

*

“You never told me about the protest,” Twilight stated, slightly accusatorially.

Mayor Mare always looked tired. Even on a Monday nine o’clock, the tan pony would look haggard, ragged, bags under her eyes and frazzles in her hair, a steaming mug of coffee to her right. Twilight always found that odd: she used to attribute it to the ravages of age, at least until she found out that the Mayor was barely older than her own mother, which only made things even more odd. Was the alicorn herself destined for such a fate?

I hope not, Twilight thought, as she watched her bureaucratic counterpart – or perhaps the better term was squid – take a long sip from her mug of coffee. Twilight might not be the most style-conscious of her generation, but Celestia darn it, she was too young to give up on her looks!

The mug landed back on the wooden desk with a thud. “Low-intensity protests happen almost every week in Ponyville about one thing or another, Your Highness,” the Mayor mumbled, voice soft and toneless as if reciting statistics. “This protest should turn out no different.”

“That can’t be true. You’re calling up riot police to maintain order. And I just went through a nasty confrontation between locals and outsiders.” Twilight reasoned, leaning towards the Mayor. It was a strong blend that the Mayor was drinking, a strong blend indeed. “Look. I know about the opposition to the Rail. I know of the tensions surrounding this town. I want to help, in any way I can. As Princess of Friendship, I know I can do something about this!”

Mayor Mare tensed up, looking at the eager alicorn with strange eyes. They were gray and sterile, to be sure, but there was something in them that seethed. There was nothing else out of the ordinary in the Mayor’s tired face, and that only accentuated the strangeness.

Taken back, Twilight hastily retreated. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t- ”

“Oh, not at all, Princess,” the Mayor said casually; her eyes flickered and she sank into her chair. She still felt rigid, somehow, and for that reason the alicorn refused to let down her guard. “I’m delighted that you take an interest in Ponyville, Twilight, and I – and the rest of Town Hall, of course – will be willing to help you in any way.”

The alicorn patiently sat as the Mayor signed off a few more documents, slowly composing her thoughts. “It’s true: we’re having a bit more trouble with… local tensions… than usual,” the tan mare finally began, setting down her pen with a clatter that echoed around the room, silent as the grave. “I must stress that this has always existed as an issue in our town – ever since ponies started to come in from Equestria, anyway.” Her gaze met Twilight’s, and it was still as uncomfortable as before. “It’s a deep-seated issue, very rooted in culture and history. But it’s not serious and, rest assured, we will monitor the situation closely as it develops.”

“Not serious?” the alicorn challenged. “The argument I saw in Market Square sounded pretty serious.”

“Ponies like to argue, Twilight: you know that.” Mayor Mare put on her best forced, mysterious smile. “I heard the dispute from up here too, you know. Ms. Top’s never been the most restrained of ponies – all the more so now, when there’s an actual issue of debate making the rounds.”

So far, so evasive. Twilight grimaced. Mayor Mare clearly didn’t want the alicorn to intervene, and Twilight was half-inclined to follow her lead: if this was a matter so tied up with the identity of the town, then she definitely wanted to make sure she was well-read before wading into the issue. The last thing the alicorn wanted was to make things worse without knowing what she had done.

“Can I ask if there’s a link between the localists, and the anti-High-Speed Rail protests?” Twilight pressed gently.

Mayor Mare frowned slightly. “Opposition to the Rail comes in many forms – environmental, budgetary, agricultural, relocative and so on – all of which can be construed as part of some vague ‘localist’ agenda. Most of the opposition consists of young adults who – let’s face it – form the bulk of every protest movement. They are bored and idealistic, and this type of activity naturally appeals to them.”

There was something in Mayor Mare’s explanation that was… unconvincing, and Twilight felt it. It certainly didn’t provide a satisfactory answer as to why this protest had Town Hall on edge, and the alicorn was sure that the Mayor was hiding more than a few facts from her. Oh, how she would have loved to rake the Mayor over the coals, and have her spit the truth out in the manner of a detective novel – but ever since that fateful meeting with Applejack, seemingly so long ago, Twilight was no longer sure of what she knew: she felt like playing it safe, and to play it safe she had to be light-hoofed and cautious.

“Do you think I should go to the protest?” Twilight suddenly asked.

Mayor Mare gave an involuntary twitch. “What?”

“Should I go to the protest. Ask what the protestors want. Maybe I can- “

“Ahem. Your Majesty,” the tan mare interrupted, more forceful that she had earlier been. “I- I don’t wish to be impertinent, but… ”

The Mayor fumbled around for a few seconds before deciding to go with the direct answer. “You’re not just an average pony, Twilight. You’re royalty: you can’t just go down there and be seen opposing your own Government. It would... it would…” She took a deep breath, amazed. “You’d be going against Princess Celestia.”

“The Princess isn’t like that. She’ll know that I’m just trying to help,” Twilight replied, a little glibly.

Mayor Mare stared worriedly at the alicorn opposite her. “Please, Twilight,” she pleaded in a low voice. “Don’t do anything rash.”

Comments

[Seether00]

Is Twilight an idiot? What part of make this railroad happen doesn't she understand?

[kpatkoch]

https://www.fimfiction.net/user/Seether00 as far as she believes is that she is to investigate and curtail negative action through words.