Chap... Interlude 7.2?: Nothing to See Here
Spring Rain knew it was only a matter of time until her well ran dry. Governments took a dim view of circumvention of the law, even if justice were served. Still, it was incredibly rewarding to do well by doing good.
The origins had been modest. With no means of support, the herd had agreed to have one member attend the Ministry-mandated acclimation course while the other two secured their financial base. With a borrowed owl, she had sent her mother a bit of muggle rubbish. As she suspected, one mare’s trash was another’s mare’s treasure. Her mother had exchanged the bits and bobs for the small gems that were her seed money. The goblins had been more than happy to give good galleons for the craft store supplies.
It had been foal’s play to recruit a Ministry witch who had been helping the refugees settle in. With a few muggle repellent charms, some apparation, an owl with a pony-carrying pouch, and a good bit of ingenuity, Spring Rain had everything she needed to export the commodity that no number of bits could buy. Now, however, those bits were being exchanged for gems for which goblins gave good galleons. The bits were flying in on one side while galleons poured in on the other. Everyone involved benefitted; clearly, it couldn’t last.
They waited for their next commission as they sat by an open doorway that the muggles ignored and avoided. Thankfully, they didn’t have a long wait.
“There he is,” Velvet Bridle said, pointing at one of the young human males walking by in an orange jumpsuit. “Grab him.”
Their witch companion did not waste time and waved her wand in what was becoming familiar patterns. The male in question peeled away from the pack and wandered into the room without drawing the attention of those with whom he had been walking and conversing. He was a fine specimen, something the young human mares would drool over, if they had access to him. Circumstance saw fit to see that wouldn’t be happening for nearly a decade. He was a perfect candidate to show circumstance could just bugger off.
“Adam Smith.” Spring Rain smiled from the comfy chair their witch companion had transfigured for her. “Good morning. Please come in and have a seat.”
Adam blinked as if just coming back to his senses. He took in the fact that he was in a room with three women. Two had hair with differing shades of black while the one offering him a seat had vibrant green.
Rudely, he berated them for interrupting his routine.
“There is no need for such vulgarity.” Spring Rain tsked. “We are all friends here, after all.”
Adam noticed the folder sitting on a small table next to Spring Rain. “Another shrink? I ain’t got anything else to say, so sod off.” With those words, he turned to leave.
The witch in the room waved her wand and said, “Sobrietate.” The young man flew backwards across the room and landed in the offered seat with and expulsion of air from his lungs.
“I insist that you hear my offer,” Spring Rain said, picking the folder up off the table to peruse the contents. “So, do us all a favor and drop the act. You’re not fooling anythree.”
“Anyone,” the witch corrected.
“But there are three of us,” Spring objected.
“Are you an idiot?” Adam demanded, trying to stand up, but finding himself firmly anchored to his seat.
Spring ignored him and read from the folder. “Your life is in shambles,” she informed him. “As things stand, you are not going to see the outside for a good long time.”
“Sod off!” Adam said again, not impressed by the observation.
“Why do you insist on being disagreeable?” Spring asked. “We are here to offer you a way out. Give you a second chance. Improve your lot in life, even.”
Adam sneered but gave up struggling as a lost cause.
“You see, we don’t consider protecting your older sister from your loathsome father as a compelling reason to remove you from society. In truth, we think it adds to your desirability.” Spring thumbed her way through the papers in the folder. “No one . . .” She emphasized the word “one”. “. . . can dispute that you were excessive with the use of an iron poker, but we all know you had ample motivation. We also understand that you won’t get a fair shake anymore if you choose to stay in the system.”
“It ain’t like I have a choice.” Adam said, his tone wasn’t as hostile as it started.
“You have the choice to leave this world behind, start anew with some loving wives, and forget your past.”
“You must think I’m stupid.” Adam snarled. “There ain’t no way you’re going to get me out of my sentence and give me a harem to boot. All from the goodness of your heart too, I’d wager.”
“That word is so amusing.” Spring closed the folder. “I love the way you young stallions think it means you’re making out like bandits. No, what I am proposing is that I marry you off to a group of wealthy young mares who will delight in having you for the rest of your life. It might be a gilded cage, but would you rather be bound by matrimony or by cold iron? From what we have observed, all sides are happy with the arrangement. You get your freedom, they get a willing husband, and your government doesn’t have to worry about rehabilitating you. Of course, our families back home are paid handsomely for our services.”
Adam looked at Spring with mistrust. “You’re just damned slavers!”
“We prefer the term ‘matchmakers’.”
“What’s the catch?”
“Aside from having to adjust to a new body, we have yet to find one.” Spring shrugged. “I’d be lying if I said everyone involved wasn’t waiting for some other horseshoe to drop. So, we are all laying low and doing our best not to draw the attention of the authorities from either world.”
Adam’s eyes went wide at the implications. “What if I say no?” he asked after wetting his lips.
“Then our friend here removes the memory of this conversation, and you make your way to breakfast none the wiser.” Spring said. “We provide only the best for our clients, meaning we don’t have to settle for those your psychiatrists don’t think are redeemable or those who would be troublesome because they want nothing to do with the deal.” Spring leaned back in her chair. “You may find it remarkable that we are willing to share one male among many. The thought of having a harem excites you. But please realize, we find it wonderful that one of you is willing to be with seven of us at once. Heck, we’ve found that we have to limit it to seven since human stallions are enthusiastic enough to try to manage even more than that. Truthfully, seven may be too much as it is.”
“What are you?” Adam demanded. “Some hideous bug-eyed monster?”
“Hideous?” Spring pursed her lips in displeasure. “No, those who have come before you have stated that they needed an insulin shot to protect them from the cuteness overload that is our true form. If you wish to insult, there is nothing stopping you from saying ‘no’.”
“Spring, look; it’s William,” Velvet Bridle said, peering out the still-open door. “It looks like they beat him up again. We need to help him.”
Spring sighed. “He’s already turned us down.”
“I don’t care.” Velvet Bridle sobbed. “We need to try again.” She turned to the witch. “Bring him over.”
The witch nodded and performed the necessary spells. Soon Adam watched another wander into the room with a dreamy expression. The newcomer was limping badly with one eye swollen shut. His face was more a purpling bruise than not.
“What?” he asked hesitantly, scanning the room.
“Here, let’s make this easier,” the witch said. “I only obliviated you the other day. I can clear that up easily enough.”
Two words later and William had tears in his eyes as he said, “I want to go with you, but I can’t leave. I’m all my younger brother has left.”
Spring smiled. “I think something can be arranged.”
Dexter couldn’t believe his luck. The heavy snows had made his morning walk treacherous, but he wasn’t willing to break his routine. How else was he going to keep up with his hobby? The decision was turning out to be the right one. The luscious blonde that had moved into the apartment building just down the block was out in front of the structure, scrabbling to retrieve the items that had escaped from her ripped grocery bag. With a jovial smile, he sauntered over to help her.
“Here, let me help you.” Dexter smiled as he picked up a can of tomato sauce.
“Why, thank you.” The blonde flashed him a dazzling smile that frankly should have been illegal. “Whoever you are, Ah have always depended on the kindness of strangers.”
Dexter smiled back at her, feeling his confidence surge. “Well now, there’s no need for us to be strangers. My name is Jack.”
“My now, aren’t you just courteous as well as strong and handsome,” the blonde said seductively. “You may call me what mah friends call me, OB.”
“Your friends call you OB?” Dexter asked, collecting the last of the wayward groceries.
“That they do,” OB said with a move that hiked her skirt to show more skin than was modest. Grandfather Winter would have been displeased at the blatant disrespect for his season. “Now, if you wouldn’t mind, I’d appreciate your help in getting these things up to my apartment. I’m sure karma can be persuaded to put in an appearance.”
“I’m looking forward to that.” Dexter smirked, hungrily eyeing what was so willingly being put on display. There may have been other words exchanged on the way up, but he, frankly wasn’t paying to much attention to what was said.
“Here we are,” OB said, opening the door to her flat. It seemed to be decorated with shadows. It didn’t appear as if any of the curtains were open, and she had to have some thick ones, judging by the lack of sunlight filtering in. Dexter followed OB inside, noting that she didn’t bother to turn on the main lights and was instead relying on a soft green ambience that filled her home. The exaggerated seductive swinging of hips as she sauntered over to the counter separating the kitchen from her living room clearly displayed what she had in mind.
“It’s rather dark in here,” Dexter said, closing the door behind himself. Doing so brought to his attention a layer of unusual tacky substance covering the door and wall. “What’s this stuff?” he asked.
“It’s dark because we won’t be needing much light.” OB purred. Then, when she noticed what he was asking about she added. “That is just some useful substance that my family produces. It has many attributes, like sound dampening. Something that we’ll demonstrate soon. We wouldn’t want to disturb the neighbors.”
The phrase “too good to be true” slipped through Dexter’s consciousness. An evil smile crossed his lips as he watched OB start to put away her groceries. “Is this where we make some small talk?” he asked. “Like, ‘what do you do for a living?’.”
“Oh, Ah help maintain the quality of the food supply,” OB said, her skirt definitely hiked up higher than it had been before, showing something black and lacey. “My part of the family has been doing it for generations, culling the bad apples.” A knowing giggle escaped her throat. “Celestia thinks that everything has gotten better solely on the merits of her ponies alone. She doesn’t know of the work that goes on behind the scenes.”
“Ponies?” Dexter asked, placing his burden on the counter next to the bag already there. “Are you one of these ponies they were talking about on the news?”
“Heavens no,” OB said.
Dexter let a sigh of relief escape; that was a complication he could do without. “So? Maintain the food quality?”
“Yes, this orchard needs pruning, so to speak.”
“Sounds tedious.” Dexter said, reaching toward the knife rack sitting on the counter. A wickedly sharp chef’s knife was soon in his hand.
“It is rewarding work, Dexter,” OB said, not turning to see what he was doing.
“What exactly does it entail?”
“Like Ah said, getting rid of bad apples, individuals who harm the collective and are a direct threat to the food supply.” OB shrugged. “Today, the first target is a serial murderer who has managed to avoid capture.”
Dexter stiffened, halting the inspection of the blade in his hand. “Really, are you a policewoman? How do you go about finding and capturing a murderer?”
“Oh, I have family members who can sense those who need to be pruned and, well, you are here aren’t you?” OB still didn’t turn to look at him. “Don’t worry; a Dexter shall be leaving the apartment soon enough to lead a much healthier and productive life. Pity it won’t be you.”
Dexter sucked in a breath and took a firm grip on the knife. “Lady, I don’t know what you are playing at, but I’m not amused.”
“Obvious Bait,” a voice behind him hissed. “Stop playing with the food.”
Dexter whirled and stared into the shadows only to find a dozen pairs of glowing, green, pupilless, eyes staring back at him.
Outside the flat, no one could hear him scream.
Accounting was supposed to be steady work. It was supposed to be nine to five, five days a week. He was supposed to be home on this frigid Saturday, not in the office after a triple-length commute through knee-deep snow.
The initial investigation had been swift and damning. The issue seemed damned trivial. There were no missing funds. There was no shrinkage in stock; in fact, the opposite was the case. The corporation yard had been blessed with tonnes of unaccounted soil. Building material didn’t spontaneously appear by magic, even though magic was real. There had to be a logical explanation. It had to be an accounting error.
All fingers had pointed to him. Now, he was stuck at his desk, bundled up like an eskimo, shuffling through receipts by torchlight. He sincerely wanted to strangle the bean counter who insisted that all anomalies had to be reconciled immediately. He sincerely wanted to strangle the idiot who insisted the department should save money by cutting off the utilities during non-working hours.
The weather in Canterlot was perfect for the Hearth’s Warming holiday. The city was covered in pastern-deep snow, and there was just enough of a chill to keep it from melting. Everypony should have been in the holiday spirit, but trouble knew no season. Still, this situation seemed to be trivial, if not simply annoying.
In the living room of the modest mansion, a lemon-colored unicorn with three-toned hair sat on a large cushion and reflected on her worries. Had her mane been real, the intruder at the school would have been causing her to go prematurely gray. Technically, it violated no covenant. Technically, it posed no threat. The intruder was not even a member of a rival hive, and it was feeding on friends that had arrived with her instead of exploiting indigenous resources. However, the fool had been sitting on a wellspring of sustenance, much more than any one ling could manage. It was appalling how much she wasted. Her infiltrators had reported that the intruder was treating precious food like vomit and was literally flushing it down the drain. The situation was an affront to sensibilities.
That was the worse of it. The intruder didn’t know any better, and educating her was a needless and considerable security risk. Even though the hive wasn’t losing anything, it was being denied access to an amazing new resource. It was grating that everyling had to be ordered to give the intruder and her friends a wide berth. Centuries of security couldn’t be risked over something so trivial.
It was bucking annoying. There had to be some way to tap into the bounty. There had to be some way to get her to share.
She was broken out of her brooding by the arrival of a scout.
“My queen,” the red pegasus said, entering the room, “I have news.”
The lemon unicorn sighed. “Good news, I hope.”
“The hive is completely empty, my queen,” the pegasus said. “Not a ling to be found.”
“They finally starved out?” The unicorn grimaced, glad that it wasn’t her subjects.
“No, my queen, there were no bodies. They are just gone.”
“A hive that large cannot just pack up and leave unobtrusively,” the queen mused. “There are still no reports of population surges anywhere in the known territories?”
“No, my queen.”
“This is worrying,” the queen said to herself. “Chrysalis could not have just vanished off the face of Equestria.” Then, she commanded the drone. “Triple the patrols; the last thing we need is for a desperate army to suddenly appear on our doorstep.
“Yes, my queen.” The pegasus backed out of the room, bowing.
The cage was a gilded one, but it was still a cage. If her gaoler hadn’t provided some distraction, she would have gone mad long ago. The books were fascinating. The prisoner had more time on her hooves than she knew what to do with, so she read. Imagine, a whole new society populated by mythical humans. Their literature was captivating, with untold new ideas to explore.
Runes alone were well worth her scrutiny. They didn’t take much mana to initialize, and they could do so much, things she couldn’t do in her weakened state, things she couldn’t do with the inhibitors blocking her connection to magic.
A gentlemouse and scribe was her inspiration. What he could scrawl with his finger, she could scratch with a hoof. She could scratch the runes into the walls of her cell and cover with dust and decorations.
The ambient mana would be more than enough to power her constructs, but she couldn’t make them obvious. She couldn’t give away her scheme until she was ready to escape. Nopony, noling would be able to stop her once everything was set.
Such painstaking preparations would take time. Such time would try the patience of a saint. Such time was all she had.
Sighing, she turned the page.
What had he gotten himself into?
The woman who had entered his room hadn’t been anyone he had known. She hadn’t been introduced by his foster parents. She had just wandered into his room as if she owned the place with a look of pity on her face.
The woman had known exactly what to say. He had leapt at the chance to see Will again. There hadn’t been even a of hint of hesitation when he had reached for the flap on the pouch worn by the owl the woman had been carrying.
Now he was trapped in an enclosed space that shouldn’t exist, hoping beyond hope that he would be allowed to see his brother again.
Thankfully, the wait wasn’t long. The pouch regurgitated him onto a pile of cushions, and there was his objective, landing right beside him alongside another bloke wearing an outfit exactly like his brother’s. That didn’t matter; his brother was here.
“Will!” the eleven-year-old boy exclaimed, throwing himself at his last remaining family.
“Max!” Will said, wrapping his arms around the boy, tears evident in his eyes.
“That is so touching,” a female voice said sarcastically.
“Hush, Inner Radiance,” another female interjected. “You have no sense of sentiment whatsoever.”
“Whatever,” Inner Radiance sneered. “I don’t like the idea of such a young colt being involved. Just get them changed. I have mares waiting for their purchases.”
The other female snarled, “They’re ponies, not purchases. Or, they will be.”
Both Will and Max turned to see two unicorns looking at them. One had a pleasant smile and the other just scowled at them.
“You are cute,” the bloke who had come with Will said, taking in the appearance of the two miniature horses as he stroked the smiling mare’s withers.
“Flatterer,” the unicorn bearing the smile said, a blush marring her creamy coat. “Welcome to your new lives.”
“Get on with it.” The scowling unicorn snapped, “Time is money.”
“Right.” The smiling unicorn rolled her eyes before her horn lit up. “Brace yourselves; I’m about to send the change message, and the process is more than a little disquieting, but not painful.”
“Will, what’s going on?” Max managed to get out before he shrank, still holding onto his brother.
“I’ll explain later,” Will said, his features melting away.
“A pair of unicorns and a pegasus,” the still scowling Inner Radiance said. “I would have preferred all unicorns, but the pegasus does look yummy.”
The pegasus looked at his hoof before saying. “This isn’t so bad. Now, where is that harem I was promised?”
“It still amazes me how agreeable you human stallions are,” the smiling unicorn said. “If he were one of ours, he’d be whining over how much work we were going to impose on him. Most dream of only having one mare.”
“Funny definition of work, that,” the new pegasus stallion said.
“Whatever it is you are charging for this one isn’t enough by far,” the smiling unicorn said to Inner Radiance, nudging her with a knee.
“The trick is not to get greedy,” Inner Radiance berated, clearly getting impatient. “The longer we keep this operation out of the limelight, the more money we make in the long run. It’s not technically illegal, yet, Summer Frost.”
“I think you completely missed my meaning.” Summer Frost pouted as she traced her frog on the new pegasus’s croup. His wings snapped open in response.
“I know full well what you meant. Need I remind you to keep your hooves off the merchandise?”
“You’re no fun.” Summer Frost continued to pout.
“I’m not paying you to have fun. Get back to scouring those assessment records. I want a pair of stallions who are willing to share the same herd. I have no idea how those fillies pulled off having five, but I want at least two. I could charge five times the going rate with just that.” Inner Radiance turned to leave. “Follow me, it’s time for me to fulfill our half of the agreement,” she said to the males in the room. “You are going to get what you were promised. The mares are going to get what they paid for. And I’m going to get my bits.”
“I don’t like her,” Max said to his brother in a whisper, wobbling slightly on his new hooves.
“We don’t have to put up with her for long,” Will said. “Come on, we were promised a new caring family, and despite her attitude, I think she’ll deliver on the goods.”
“Hurry up now,” Inner Radiance called out over her shoulder. “I do have a social gathering to get ready for.”
The three new ponies climbed off the cushions and did their best to follow.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Max asked his brother as they trailed after Inner Radiance through what could only be described as an extravagant mansion.
“It gets me out of the Queen’s resort and you out of the foster home,” Will said. “Shouldn’t you be asking about why we are no longer human? I would have thought that would be your main concern.”
Max shrugged. “All they are talking about on the telly is ponies this and ponies that. I figure, if you can hack into a bank’s computer, you can hack into whatever’s needed to take care of us.”
If ever there were a perfect example of “money pit”, this was it. The Stuart Era manor had seen its prime long ago. Its plumbing had been put together by grace and by God, and its wiring was an arsonist’s dream. HVAC wasn’t even a distant dream. Where most saw disaster, others recognized opportunity. The manor grounds included meadows and woods, and the site was within walking distance of a quaint village, a perfect place to raise the children who would eventually be brought there to live.
For what they wanted, the place was practically perfect. They had plenty willing to invest the sweat equity needed to shape the manor to their needs. Soon enough, the land would be brimming with love. Their benefactor had already committed to the endeavor, and the solicitor had promised the paperwork would be filed on Monday.
Two men stood in front of the building, surveying the property.
“We sent out two more loads this morning,” one said casually. “I think we may need to find new places to dispose of the material; our current recipients are starting to think it’s mating season for the soil.”
“Who would have thought it would have been such a hassle getting rid of excess rock and dirt?” The second sighed. “Do what you need to; the tunnels must be dug. Just remember to be discreet.”
“I do know what I am doing.”
Another sigh. “I am aware. I just can’t help worrying that something will go wonky, as the locals say.”
“How much longer will the Queen be staying under the princesses’ noses? It seems like an unnecessary risk.”
“Not much longer. We have our hoofhold and won’t be going back. All that is left is to dig in.”
“You need to stop fretting. Everything is going exactly as planned.”
“I know; that’s what worries me.”
In another place, there lay a wide-open field covered in white, snow as far as the eye could see. Jack Frost and Grandfather Winter must be vying for the attention of Ice Queen here. Bleak and barren, no feature could be seen, except for the white — and one small speck of black? Was that a thumbnail-sized crystal? Wait, was that the shadow of a house nearby? No, I guess it was nothing.
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Too many scenarios to comprehend in this chapter. Whoever orchestrates these events must be one heck of a Chaos master.
Oddly, this makes me think of
Boy, we're inventing new kinds of unethical business practice over here!
This seems like a red flag.
Hmmm that is a interesting reason for equestria being so peaceful.
Lings pruneing thier food supply.
Called it.
Congrats, player. You just got the bad ending.
9739244
Just so I'm not leaving you hanging, it will be about four or five more chapters until we get to the date.
Summer frost? Isn't that kinda an oxymoron?
9743975
Doubly ironic in that his name was Dexter...
9743994
Not really - I live in Colorado, and I've seen a number of summers where you could hold a snowball fight. Usually above 14000 feet, but there were occasions where you'd see morning frost as low as 9000 feet during high summer.
Hell, friends of mine ( though no recently ) have seen snow in Hawaii. At altitude, but still.
9743954
What do you mean, it is just mailorderd grooms.
9743937
*blinks*
'zat you, Discord?
:)
9744088
That may be the argument, but the diplomatic repercussions of this, once the news eventually breaks, will be all kinds of thorny. As they said themselves, there's money to be made in this. And where there's money there will always be someone willing to supply the market. Sure right now they're only somewhat predatory, propositioning individuals with nothing to lose. But sooner or later somepony will decide to just go about this changeling-style, with a shopping list and a quota.
It's amazing what they can do with mind magic these days, write you a whole new life's story and have you believing every minute of it.
9744100
...true. but if you can do that whit just about anything.
But more inportantly thies are ponies we'er talking about, thats NEEVVER gona happen.
9744100
But there we come to a problem with people trying to cheat the Equestrian system: Celestia is the Equestrian system, and if she says "no, this is reprehensible, we're making laws against this and will retroactively go after those who violated them" there isn't much of a constitution that's going to stop her.
Heck, even on our world we have examples of this. Nuremburg comes to mind.
Hmmm, I doubt that the person the changelings picked up was Dexter Morgan. A sociopath probably isn't good food for a changeling at the best of times. Still, it's nice that they're doing the whole vigilante thing and plucking the worst offenders off the streets.
It's interesting that mares are picking through the Queen's Resorts for non-violent offenders. That's probably going to come to bite them in the flank later on, when they realize that humans are a mark or two above them in subtlety and caution. And ah, the CMC's legend continues to grow...
9744165
"That's why we do this very very quietly, serving discerning customers who value discretion, and banking with that delightful Gringotts establishment. With a bit of luck and caution our wares will have spread far enough, and will contain a sufficient percentage of willing, enthusiastic even, participants, that truly damaging prosecutions cannot be made without ripping up prohibitive swathes of society.
Remember the desperation of the market here, lots of herds won't bother to ask questions beyond "how much?". And we are but humble matchmakers, facilitating passage for our human clients. After all, if all involved are happy and healthy, and appropriate taxes and regulations were observed, was there really any harm done to anyone?"
9744173
Well, it's not about Dexter being 'food', it's about him being a problem FOR the food. He's a threat to humans who are decent food sources for the Changelings, so the sooner he's removed, the sooner they will have more food.
Think of what the Changelings are doing as... active pest control on the farm. Applejack would understand, though she probably wouldn't approve. :D
.... and now the appearance of the wizards and witches is not a problem for the muggle government. The ponies are.
Problem solved!
9744178
This is abusive to high degree, do note how they seem to have no punctuation about wiping the mind of a target and then are all too willing to try again in later time. This is one of those small things which turns predatory practices like this to downright illegal and will get everyone involved locked up.
Also if they need to hide under the radar then there will be less oversight about how the sold humans are treated in the other side. In essence this is slavery, they tossed all pretenses for freedom of choice when they decided that trying again to get people to join is an valid option. All they need to do is to slowly learn what makes the mark tick and then strike when they are in vulnerable mindset.
Edit:
And that is before they sold a child in this manner, without his knowledge or acceptance.
And I'm done with how this story makes humans, especially men, look. Peace out, hope those left enjoy it.
9744178
Because the consent is made under pressure, which makes it blackmail at best. And it involved money. It's a transaction of people for money. Which means they're treating people as a commodity to be sold. Which means it's slavery.
Early chapters established that treating stallions as property is grounds for near-immediate exile. The only technicality that makes this 'legal' seems to be "they're originally humans, so they're technically not stallions." That is a technicality so flimsy even a regular court would slam it down the moment it left your lips. Celestia is not going to be anywhere near as merciful.
Why does that still sound threatening?
Well. That's a whole UN building worth of warning flags.
Nice to see the perilous vexilology cuts both ways.
Yeah, the interplanar mail-order husband business isn't so much in a legal grey area as black that hasn't been noticed yet. Between the prison breaks and the resource exploitation, once one government or the other notices, they'll come down like several tons of bricks on the operation.
He is wise.
And that crystal... yeah, this won't end well. Okay, it may end well, but the middle will be rough.
9744251
Well, they didn't wipe his mind with the intent to get another chance, and they restored the memories when changed circumstances justified another offer.
Also I don't know what's up with the kid, but in this story it is specifically illegal to raise a child for the purposes of marrying a close friend or relative, so I think they might be doing it as a package deal. "Marry this one stallion as long as you agree to help care for his brother until he's an adult" or similar.
Though I will note that what they're doing is certainly illegal in the human world, as they're helping convicted felons escape. They're perhaps not violating the spirit of that law since they're taking the felons somewhere they'll never be a threat to the society that imprisoned them (though some might argue they're letting the felons escape punishment for their crimes and therefor undermining the system of deterrence), but they're certainly violating the letter.
Also unless they're going crazy with the memory charms someone is going to notice a lot of missing felons rather quickly.
OB is best changeling!
9744291
I wonder which is going to happen first: Cadance's jailbreak, or the Canterlot changelings realizing the current Cadance isn't who she's claiming to be?
9744356
My money is on jailbreak by the other changelings.
9744368
Hmm, problem with that is that this means the other changelings will have to make a choice between revealing themselves, or keeping Cadance a prisoner themselves, since Cadance is very unlikely to stay quiet about her time out.
That's going to be a fun reunion too. Especially with Clouded Hope, her not-quite-daughter.
9744086
Hmm. I had no idea.
Am I the only one who is reminded of the mansion from Mouse Hunt?
Wait so there's another hive in Canterlot? Were they suppose to be there during the invasion in the original show cannon? This is just balls out confusing now. I think the use of Changelings in this story is making things way overly complicated.
Them treating men and stallions like merchandise really rubs me the wrong way. Screams of slavery to me.
Looking for a place to dispose of waste rock and dirt? Why not add it to the waste rock piles from mines operating in the area? Far less likely to be noticed. They get added to all the time. Mines kinda do that.
Edit; I am wondering exactly how so many changelings made it to Earth unnoticed at this point. Thst would warrant a whole lot of owl pouch rides.
9743994
Depends on where you live. It's snowed on the 4th of July here before.
9744165
Slavery is illegal in the United States. Human trafficking is still a major problem. Just because Celestia makes it illegal doesn't mean that ponies and other will stop trafficking men/stallions and others.
9744287
Just a small quibble, not even a criticism of the spirit of your post. This in no way encroaches on the legal definition of blackmail, or any type of extortion, for that matter.
I'm not saying it's not predatory or moral, just that it is not blackmail.
Since I'm at it I should also mention that the only crime mentioned so far that had a penalty attached was "Stallionnapping with intent to molest". While a disdain for the mistreatment of stallions has been presented, it is a stretch to assume all mistreatment warrants banishment. I'd imagine there is a more tiered approach rather than a figurative "Off with her head!" for all offenders.
9744191 Have you tried going DIRECTLY to Youtube and copy/pasting the URL from the top bar? Because Youtube doesn't do what seems to be happening to you. As far as I know, the URLs you're getting only come about when copying off of a browser image or video search page.
9744481
I refer you too Chapter 62.
9744720
You have to install Google Chrome & use that as the search engine.
Bing just flat out won’t do it
Have this by way of thanks
9744704
It's a problem, but it's still illegal, not 'technically legal so we have no problems if we're caught.'
9744717
Hmtrue, blackmail is the wrong word, but I would say a deal that boils down to "get sold into servitude or we let your justice system throw/keep you in jail" is pretty extortionist. The mares even refer to the situation as 'a gilded cage' and the ponies as 'purchases.'
9744287
Or you could just click on “Online Brides” on your search engine.
About the only difference that I can see is that on Earth it’s men seeking women, on EQ it’s mares seeking stallions.
9744826
It's nitpicking and probably off track of the sentiment behind your posts, but extortionist doesn't apply in the legal sense. There was no threat nor intimidation stated or implicit. It was an offer to improve the prisoner's lot by means that are illegal with a cost that is at the very least questionable. IE.."Take my offer or I'll leave you in the exact same situation I found you in" is not extortion unless there is the threat of imminent harm or loss of property and even then it can be fuzzy.
It is a semantics objection, nothing more.
Edit: And blackmail is a specific type of extortion.
It's interesting how changeling's eyes often glow green, especially when in disguise (and they gain those slit pupils and visible sclera unique to their queen, too... hmm...), but aside from Thorax's original form, and ofc, Chrysalis herself, which are actually green; and Pharynx, whose eyes were... I think purple? Most changeling eyes are actually blue. Hell, even their body highlights are usually kind of blue, and their armor, too. A very minor degree of variation amongst the drone class does exist, but as I said, it is very minor... Speaking of Thorax and friends, will we be seeing any reformed changelings in this story at all? Or would that be telling? Tangentially related, I wonder what Ocellus looked like pre-transformation... it is implied that she is familiar with Chrysalis, and even fears becoming like her, so I have to wonder...
9744864
This underlines that the agreement is a coercive one, after it has been struck the person who agreed to cannot actually consent to any "marital duties" which often come within such arrangements. It is either sex trafficking or labor trafficking, both of which are illegal in their own rights. It is made plain that there is no backing off from the said agreement. Could be it is merely ill phrased statement but do remember this is made to kidnapped person who is held there against their wills, in some cases several times and sometimes just after they have been victimized in another crime which the person making an offer fails to report forward.
In this instance at the least it is clear that exportation is present, the person making an offer states that they will return him to his old life and seem to be abandoning their duty of care to person who has been victimized by another violent crime. They clearly have clear understanding that such abuses happen to the target yet they only use it to further their own claims without suggesting any kind of intervention even if the agreement is not reached.
I am not certain it is fuzzy at all. Not the least when this is linked with other crimes such as kidnapping ward of the state from foster care with direct intent to sell him to precarious position where he could easily be victimized along his brother and aiding an escape of an convict. (This is no way equal to what happened to banished mares from Equestria as that was sanctioned by the government or they had paid their dues to the society already.)
9744992
I'm digging myself in deeper here. And it's all over definitions not any disagreement over the underlying sentiment. Remember, I'm not arguing to justify these mare's actions. I'm just explaining why the crimes mentioned do not apply.
First of all, you could not bring an indictment for either sex or labor trafficking. Both crimes need an element of force, coercion or fraud. In this instant, I'm sure you'd want to argue for coercion but that is demonstratively not the case. They let at least one prior applicant go unmolested when their offer was rejected. The worse we could go in this direction is a commercial sex act and that one would almost certainly be thrown out since matrimony was discussed. This wouldn't even be considered a forced marriage, since it was defined as the payment for services rendered.
Even though one party was clearly taking advantage of the other they are co-conspirators. There is a quid pro quo where one side is coming out ahead and the terms of the deal are clearly laid out in good faith. Morality aside, the only crimes here are the breaking and entering, trespassing, theft of confidential material, conspiracy to prison break, aiding and abetting a prison break and prison break. That and the whole removing a minor for their foster home.
And truthfully, I'm not sure if prison break is illegal in Briton so those last two charges may not apply.
9745144
EXACTLY! What this is, is marriage for pay. If I offer some gal from a war-ravaged nation a Green Card in return for several years of uninhibited sex and general housekeeping, that makes me an absolute scumbag, but it wasn't illegal until quite recently. Even now, I could get away with it if I stayed married to young Miss X for the minimum required number of years. (The number having been set by the IRS and ICE as a purely financial thing.)
It's merely that here, the pay isn't money or a green card, it's a "get out of jail free" card, and really, No Different than what Discord did. Remember, the majority of the mares he rescued were convicted criminals, convicted by Celestia herself!
At the moment, the only crimes committed are the crimes of breaking these people out of prison, and that's only a crime on THIS side of reality. If I break someone out of an Equestrian prison, the USA normally wouldn't care a bit, except if it caused a diplomatic problem. Crimes done in other nations are THAT nation's problem.
Celestia will have quite a bit of a problem on her hands - if she pushes this as stallion-napping, then she'll ALSO be morally obliged to send the stallions back to Earth. And they don't want to go!
Technically, they aren't "unwilling", they wanted to come to Equestria. So. No "stallion-napping" has been committed here. Celestia will have to invent a new category of crime, which will take time, and excuse those who did it before she wrote the new law, or enforce the law ex post facto style, which is a damned dangerous thing to do for any legal system.
9745144
Let me know if this topic annoys you on any level just something which often gets me all riled up in ponywords,
I am quite confident that force and coercion are present in this event as elements. The people choose not to be part of the offer and like i said earlier one of them clearly states he does not wish to hear the offer. He is ignored and restrained by force until he is forced to adhere to the demands. Coercion on other hand is demonstrated by psychological manipulation which comes in manner of mental magic and going after one of the victims after he has been victimized by another party.
The deal might appear to the gaining party to be equal, that is often what happens in these kinds of situations. Could be the men might consider the deal equal too but that might matter less. What is the real question is what keeps the said men forced into the marriage if they wish not to be part of it any longer and what are the results of it. If it is hinted that they are to be deported if they wish not to take part then it is IMMEDIATELY sex or human trafficking. Even if they would make such an agreement and they would go back on it, since they have made the said agreement under duress of being not free men.
9745222
Also one of the key elements here is that the men involved are in vulnerable position, they are not free agents to make agreements from position of freedom like most mail order brides are. Let me illustrate this by reversing the situation a bit. Let us say this kind of service would become public on earth, some country's prison system was subverted one some fashion and women in the said prison was given choice to either remain in the said prison or be sold as brides. How well do you think this kind of action would mesh with the international laws?
The situation is different in the case of the mares. Those who were still in the dungeon are questionable but they had understanding of where they were going. They were to be banished from the country of Equestria and then were to be free mares. Those already banished already had paid their dues to the society and could choose to stay where they were. No laws involving them was broken since they were not part of any country also while there was an exception of marriage the choice in the matter was not settled that was something they could pursue in their own time. (Or so it appeared to me) And they were not 'sold' to any human as wives.
There is several key distinctions here, and that is ability to make choices. No one person is making profit of the situation and oversight from the governments involved to make certain things are done with full knowledge and understanding of the situation by adult who is able to make a free decision. Jailed person who is sold to specific persons by shadowy and enterprising individuals do not have any of these. But i do agree it is a quite a ethics violation that those mares got married to the leader of the organization who was setling the issue Earth side but that is something the wizards surely deal internally. (They were desperate mares who immediately latched on something to protect themselves, case could be made that it was massive misconduct from whats-his-face-shadowy-group-leader.)
Aside the fact that she might want to deport the said ponies to face trial in country where they broke these laws, and their actual willingness to consent to this kind of practice needs to be determined after they are free from the influence of their buyers or the ponies who sold them. Also it is uncertain that their wishes actually matter as they might have custodian in form of prison warden, some kind of council or something else depending on the laws. What is quite certain that these men are part of vulnerable population, as their rights to act are infringed by the government at the moment.
9745144
I think it's usually productive to reverse genders in a situation like this, and then ask questions about morality.
Let's say a police officer catches a woman stealing. He tells her "Sleep with my friends or I'll arrest you and make sure you're convicted". I think it's pretty clear that the police officer is trying to coerce the woman and is committing a crime.
The only real difference here is that it's A) Men instead of women, and B) They're already in jail and are being offered escape after the fact. So maybe a better example would be a judge saying "The jury says you're guilty, and sentencing would be three years in prison, but I'll let you off if you sleep with some people in return for them giving me money". I think we can all agree that judge wouldn't last long (he would go to prison). Same for a prison guard offering the same terms in return for helping someone escape.
So I kind of have to agree, what these ponies are doing is very, very illegal. You could make an argument for victimless (and even that's... kind of iffy), but it's still illegal. OTOH, these ponies are criminals, and criminals of a similar crime, so it's not necessarily out of character for them. But I can't blame people by being really put off by it and the idea that it would be acceptable.
9744287
9744251
Sometimes there's nothing like getting the other side's perspective to really appreciate how very wrong they are. Good to know that all involved are roughly on the same page.
9745222
Aye, even if Equestria has never done anything like this, due to a fundamental lack of participants, humans have been doing this for centuries. The problem with trying to fit both side's legal conventions together is that both have cultural and legal precedents that the other would find abhorrent.